#[so really not that far and i'm sort of trying not to spoil myself on stuff]

[drengar]

Like for a starter from Halsin or Gale!

I'm a bit too excited about having added these two so here's a starter call! Please tell me which one you wish to interact with. Both are also a valid answer! If you're a multimuse blog please give me a muse or two on whom you wish to interact with one of my muses.

Also please know that I haven't gotten past Act I so these threads are going to be focused there if any canon is mentioned.

[idleoblivion]

"Yes, Professor" Crewel x GN Reader

Synopsis: The allowance Crowley gives you just isn’t enough. Maybe you can convince your alchemy professor to assist you somehow…

Part 2 Part 3

Word count: 1.5k

A/N: Literally the first smut I've ever written so I'm so nervous to post this, I don't know what possessed me to write this but here we are lol.

Warnings: Teacher/student relationship, gn reader, shy/nervous reader, semi-public sex, mutual masturbation, dirty talk, unprotected sex, overuse of the word 'puppy'

You knock on the door to his office three times and hear shuffling for a moment on the other side. 

“Come in.”

You open it and take a few steps in before spotting him at his desk. Divus Crewel, your alchemy professor, as he sorts through a stack of what you assume are the lab reports you turned in earlier that day. He stops what he’s doing and motions you to a chair in front of his desk. 

“You said you wanted to speak to me, yes? I hope you weren’t lying about it being important.”

You swallowed and tried to straighten your posture as you sat down. “No, I wasn’t. Thank you for meeting with me.”

He looks you over and you feel your resolve weakening. Maybe this really wasn’t a good idea after all. 

Crewel meets your eyes expectantly. “Well, what is it then?”

You can barely continue to make eye contact with how tight your chest feels with anxiety. You play with your hands anxiously in your lap. After a few seconds of silence, he continues. 

“I don’t have all evening, pup. Tell me what you’re here for, quickly.” His tone became more sharp, prompting you to nervously begin. 

“So you know, about my…. um, living situation and uh, money… I, uh, I don’t really have a lot and m-my clothes and uniform are a wreck, and…. and my friends talk about seeing movies and going out but I-“

“Puppy,” he interrupts you, “I am aware of your circumstances. However, I am also aware that the headmaster does supply you a small allowance for food and clothes, even if they may be….” He stops himself from finishing his sentence as he looks at your uniform on you. “Never mind. I won’t lie and say I feel no sympathy for you, but if you’re about to ask me to start funding you as well, the answer is no. I could not allow myself to freely spoil every puppy who is less fortunate in my class.”

“I…well, I-“ you stutter, but will yourself to continue, “I didn’t say it would be for free.” The last part barely comes out as a whisper, but the look on his face tells you he heard it well. You shift in your seat at his change in expression. 

“Oh? Well, it still wouldn’t be considered appropriate of me to take bribes or favors from students, but…” he trails off for a moment, and you notice an increasing intensity in his gaze, “I suppose I can hear you out.”

If you were anxious before, you were almost panicky now. You hadn’t expected to actually get this far, for him to actually consider your offer and not just scold or report you, but you couldn’t deny the building excitement inside you either. 

“If… if you help me, I’ll, um… well, uh, what would you want me to do?” Struggling to find the confidence yourself, you try to make him spell it out, but he must realize what you’re doing as his smirk only grows. 

“I think you had something in mind to offer me, puppy, and if you really want my help you’re going to have to say it.” He stands up and removes his oversized fur coat and lays it on his chair behind him. “That’s an order, from your master. Tell me what you’ll do for me.”

He leans over his desk, looking at you smugly. Part of you wonders if he knew this is where your conversation would head, but you quickly disperse that thought and stand up yourself. 

“…Anything. Anything you want, I’ll do it.” You hesitantly step towards his desk and lean in. 

He laughs lightly under his breath, then looks back at you. 

“We’re just going in circles, aren’t we? Alright, puppy, I’ll be generous today and help you. Come here.”

You walk around the desk to stand in front of him directly. His gloved hand comes up to your face and holds your jaw gently. He leans down some, and speaks to you in a low voice. 

“You know, there’s that Al-Asim boy and Kingscholar, among others, who have plenty of wealth to throw around at this school. So, what brought you to my office and not their dorms, puppy? If you can say that, I’ll give you a reward.”

His hand on your face forces you to keep looking at him. You take one more deep breath before quietly answering. 

“I…I want you. Not them. You.”

He smiles at that and gives you a quick peck on the forehead. “Good puppy. Now sit on my desk.”

You lift yourself onto his desk and he walks forward, caging you in with his arms. He leans down and kisses you gently at first. Just his lips on yours has your body burning up as you wrap your arms around him. You let him slip his tongue in and he groans into your heated kiss. 

“You know,” he pauses and takes a step back, “I think I’ve still let you get your way too easily.” He pulls his desk chair back up and sits down while removing his gloves. “So, be a good puppy and get rid of these.” He grabs and tugs on the pants of your uniform. 

You feel your face get even hotter but comply, taking them off with your underwear and tossing them to the floor. You instinctively try and keep your legs shut, but he tsks at you and pries them open. 

He bites his lip as he looks at you, then meets your eyes with a predatory look. “Touch yourself for me.” 

You begin slowly, nervous and self-conscious under his stare, but the bulge straining against his pants tells you you have no reason to be. You try to look away from him but he calls your attention back immediately. 

“Eyes on me. That’s an order.”

You hesitantly obey and fix your gaze back on him. He undoes his belt and frees his cock from his pants. Your hands slow as you watch him intently. 

“I didn’t tell you to stop, puppy. Keep going.”

You’re both touching yourselves now, his eyes following every desperate movement of your fingers as you get more and more aroused. Watching him stroke himself to the sight of you adds to your embarrassment and pleasure. You bite your lip to stifle your voice. 

“Puppy, you want to me to fuck you?”

You’re ashamed of the whimper you let you out when he says it, but nod vigorously anyway. 

“Say it.”

“Yes professor, please fuck me.”

“Stop then. Hold your legs open for me.”

You obey and he walks back over to you. He kisses you again, deep and passionate while he undoes the tie of your uniform and opens your shirt. He gently pulls it off of you before his hands come up to grope your chest. 

He pulls your hips closer to the edge, and you can feel him start teasing you with the head of his cock. You bury your face in his shoulder as he starts inching himself into you. You moan feeling yourself stretch for him. He grunted as he bottomed out in you, then held still for a moment. 

He pulls you back away from his shoulder to look at you, and smirks at your lustful, blissed out face. He gives you no further warning before he starts moving, feeling you clutch onto him as he thrusts. 

You can no longer stop yourself from moaning loudly, with how deep he feels inside you and him nipping at your neck while his hips never slow or stop, he fucks you steady and hard. 

“Look at you, getting so loud. Is it good, puppy? You like it?”

“Ah- yes, yes professor, so good I-“

You nearly squeal as a particular thrust leaves you reeling, and he moans as he feels you tighten around him. He sped up, fucking you faster and harder until you felt tears welling up in your eyes. 

“Crying for me, puppy?” He smiled and licked a tear that had fallen down your cheek. The pressure building inside you was getting to be too much. 

“Professor, p-professor I’m-“ you gasped as he bit you on the shoulder and grabbed your hips roughly.

“Cum for me, puppy. You can do it, be good for me.”

With a wail, your orgasm hit you hard, making you keel over and grab onto Crewel for support. Your body was on fire and he didn’t stop for a moment, he just kept holding your hips with a tight grip you while he pounded into you harshly. He cursed under his breath, praising you in your ear as he chased his own release.

“Fuck puppy I’m close, take it, fuck-“

He finally releases and you feel his cock twitch as he cums inside you. The warm feeling has you softly moan again, despite how absolutely exhausted your body was. 

You both took a few moments to finish coming down from your highs. He makes you look at him again, and smirks at how fucked out you look. 

“So, we’ll get you some new clothes this weekend, puppy? That sound good?”

You tiredly nod, and he kisses you again.

[slutforalastor]

"Ah, he's got this problem." Your friend Mimzy waved her hand. "You know how animal demons get. I'd take care of him myself but I wouldn't want to spoil our working relationship. We go way back, you know."

Slowly, you nodded. "You'd consider it a personal favour?" That was how things worked in Hell. A consideration for a consideration. And dealing with the Radio Demon in rut was hardly a small favour, even if it did play well to your preferences.

"To me, yeah." Mimzy smiled broadly. "Just take him to a private room in the back and see that he's calmed down before it's time for the show. If he's cranky he's gonna start eating people, ugh." She fluttered her hand again. "Don't worry, though, he's an absolute sweetheart."

Seeing the Radio Demon turn sideways to get through the door, eyes glowing red and his huge rack of antlers festooned with cables, you were starting to doubt Mimzy's definition of sweetheart.

THIS POST CONTAINS MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS. 18+

Content: Rutting, antlerplay, role reversal, give and take, banter, mutual masturbation, light femdom, biting, marking, a lot of flowery language for smut

You'd heard the stories and rumors, saw the occasional report on VNN, but you'd yet to encounter the Radio Demon for yourself. Even pushed to the edge where something resembling humanity plunges into dark depths of depravity, he's maintaining a grip on decorum, his wavering smile barely forming the syllables when he introduces himself as Alastor, his voice impossibly mimicking the sound of a mono recording from a bygone time. Mimzy is going to owe you big-time.

"I'm doing well, sir. I have to say, you look like you've had an awful day."

"It is... most inconvenient," he stammers, shaking his head like a beached animal trying to throw off water. Just as Mimzy had requested, you'd waited for him in the private room, and you're still laying in the bed, your body draped across the two rows of firm pillows, down to your lingerie for his ease. With wobbling steps, he begins to close the distance, loosening his bowtie.

"I really must insist that this matter... stay between us." The restraint he's displaying seems as though it's taking every bit of faculties he can spare; his breathing, his sight, his ability to stand, all seem to be sustained with the minimum amount of effort possible. Even glazed in electric red, you can tell his eyes are focused intently on you.

"Who would believe me, anyhow?"

"... Too true, no one would dream of calling me a liar," he agrees, pulling his waistcoat off and leaving it in a heap on the bureau. His undershirt is the same deep red, intersecting black stripes making a cross across the center of his chest. He rolls his sleeves up, then sets his cane on top of his waistcoat. "Any... sensitivities I should know about?"

"I like being kissed on the neck," you venture, playing it safe for opening bids.

He laughs wickedly, the glow casting light further than it could reach before, his antlers growing another section in size, branching out that much closer to the ceiling. "Oh, Mimzy didn't tell me you'd be so pure. Surely you have something more entertaining than that?"

"You think I do this sort of thing often enough to have an itemized list?"

He tuts at your attempt at banter, removing his shoes and leaving them in the gap under the bed. "I don't have time for experimentation, my dear. I'm asking if you think you can handle what I have to give."

"I've handled everything so far," you smirk.

"Let's see how you handle the best, then," he mutters. With a wave of his hand, a black tentacle rises to wrap around your midsection, pinning you in place. He's climbing onto the bed, teeth bared like an animal seconds from pouncing. There's hunger in his eyes, desperation in his motion, a frantic bent to the way he's starting to falter, his kayfabe crumbling with every push of his knees. He's got your legs open, mounting you, and you can feel something alive and thrashing, barely contained by the slacks tenting away from his midsection. His eyes are narrowed in ravenous anticipation, his hips pressing him into you, etching his longing lengthwise against the fabric of your underwear. You feel your upper teeth against your lip, knowing that despite all your talk, you can't hide how appreciative you are of his straightforward approach.

With a hoarse exhale, he fumbles with his belt, the restraining tentacle slipping southward to yank your panties down. Your eyes catch a glimpse of how prepared you are for what's coming next, the evidence staining a dark spot in the light fabric. The Radio Demon hikes his slacks down to the midsection of his thighs, the tip of his firmness kissing against your entrance, his erratic movements keeping him from slipping in. You take it in your hands, which makes him rear up in ecstasy, a hissing growl punctuating the reaction, and align it directly where it needs to go. With a thrust motivated by nothing more than primal need, he forces himself deep into you, grunting in satisfaction at your breathy gasps when it settles into your apex. He gives you little time to adjust, burying himself into you with harsh, crushing strokes, the red in his eyes leaving a tracer every time you shut your eyes against the force of it. His hands are against your forearms, pinning the both of them on either side, and when your head goes back, he finds the crook of your neck with his teeth, his tongue, his lips, seasoning you with scratches, leaving welts from kisses and bites. They sting like fire, they excite like aphrodisiac.

"Is that what you mean, my dear? Is that what you're looking for?"

You whimper something that sounds close enough to assent for him to grow bolder, making a map of your body, marking a trail, carving canyons, raising landmarks that stand red and pulsing against the canvas of your skin. All this in the throes of his rutting deep into you. It drives you mad, your legs wrapping around his waist, bidding him to see just how much of his mind he can lose.

"God, your fucking taste. It'd be such a shame to just devour you, though. So many uses for the whole." Or maybe you're using the homophone of that word to make him seem kinder.

A flailing hand finds your throat, freeing your arms by necessity. You catch onto the rack of black antlers nearly driving themselves into the headboard, using them for leverage to arch your back. You can't tell if you've irritated or excited him with your little move, but the result is the same; he's pressing you with enough force that you can feel the force of it in your midsection. You're seeing red, the sound of him making a mess of you ringing in your ears, two organs vying for sensations yet to be experienced, every other part of you a mere pretense, a chorus playing ensemble to the true performance. And he's reaching the climax of it, his bucking hips shaking your entire frame. You can feel every shift of his disposition in the bone of his antlers, and you hold on for dear life as his urge rushes into your lower half, filling you with thick heat. You're moaning unconsciously, letting him keep you impaled for as long as it pulses with diminishing vigor, feeling every twitch in his shaft as it empties itself. Finally spent, he releases you, the tentacle unwinding from around your waist. Your fingers, knuckles sore from strain, release his antlers, and you extricate yourselves from one another. You can feel his seed weep from between your legs, your breathing rapid, your skin slick with sweat. He collapses onto his back, his legs still entangled with yours, the fabric of his slacks a strange texture on your drenched skin. Straining, you lift your head up, seeing that despite his exhaustion, his cock hasn't calmed one bit.

"Still... not satisfied?"

"This damnable rut..."

You pull yourself up, your lower half numb and leaving a trail of translucence as you crawl to the space between his legs. You wrap a hand around him, and he breathes a hissing inhale that tapers into a low, long groan.

"I didn't ask you..."

"You look like you're in misery, you really don't want the help?"

"I am in no position to keep going..."

"So let me handle it."

You can see the conflict playing out in his expression, but his hips gently bucking against your hand tell a different tale. "Not a soul can know about this."

You nod your assent, giving the part that needs it more of your attention. It's as lively as when he was frotting it against you, throbbing with want, coated with spend. It makes a marvelous lubricant, the wet sound of skin against slick skin nearly obscuring his quiet moans.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have sensitivities of your own, sir."

"Surely you can't mean..."

Your free hand dances like a bird across the branches in his horns, his vocalizations and submissive thrusts suggesting that you have stricken quite the nerve. He's already oozing pre into your palm, a searching hand walking a blind path between your legs, caressing you in kind. You've got a wild idea, just crazy enough to sound worth doing. There's a real chance you'll never cross each other's path again, might as well indulge. You spot a path that ends in a blunt point in his rack, and take it into your mouth, flitting your tongue against the rough material, firm and tasteless, but eliciting such a response from him that you'd not dare release it. His fingers are stroking you with all the effort they can muster, his thrusts weak but sincere.

"Cannot believe... you're getting away with this," he whines, his voice so submissive compared to the one you first heard that it threatens to send you over the edge. Why not press your luck? You straddle his waist, inching him into you margin by maddening margin. He's got no more clever quips for you, his curled claws clutching fistfuls of ruined bedsheets. The view from on high is a pleasant one. A few more motions, and you feel that sensation alighting in him once again; you're ready to join him. His whimpers go up an octave, the crackling filter in his voice thickening, distorting. For the second time, he climaxes inside of you, your own orgasm arriving in tandem. The both of you cry out, his subdued and sweet, yours unrestrained and carnal. You fold into him, his initial reaction wanting to pull away, but he grants you this favor, letting you find the crook in his neck in parallel. He speaks unfiltered, more as Alastor than as the Radio Demon.

"You know, it can be so hard to find willing assistants for these difficult times. Perhaps I could call on you again, my dear."

Maybe it should be you that owes Mimzy.

[siddyyyyyyyy]

University Romance

Johnny 'Soap' McTavish x fem!Reader

part four; three, two, one

!MDNI!

wc: 2.1 K

summary: You and Johnny are two professors at a university, and he often catches you working late in your office. Also, you're just really good friends and there's probably more to it.

warnings: 'crazy' chemistry professor Soap, no y/n used, Johnny and Reader are about the same age, hickeys, oral (fem receiving)

a/n: welcome to the final part of it! decided to spoil you guys a little bit with smut, I'm tired from their constant pining, so here you go. Enjoy!

The restaurant looked actually really cosy from the outside as you‘re waiting for Johnny to arrive. After not even a minute, he shows up and looks absolutely handsome. You don‘t remember the last time you‘ve seen him in more formal clothing, the formal yet casual attire brings out his well-sculpted muscles. Trying not to stare, you pretend to check your phone for any messages before he is right in front of you, tapping your shoulder with a small smile.

»You there? Please don‘t tell me you‘re gonna spend the entire time looking at your phone. You‘re gonna miss out on the view.«

What is he doing to you? Is this on purpose? Is he still standing in front of you? Judging from the way his subtle cologne still wavers in the air, he is still standing right in front of you. With a small sigh to ease your nerves, you put your phone away into your purse, mustering your eyes at him.

»Relax, I‘m not missing out on our hangout.« You answer back with a small smile and notice his expression falter for a moment at your words. He recovers quick though, and you both get inside the new restaurant, being greeted by dim lights that create a warm and cosy atmosphere around. The waiter leads you both to a table for two in a far corner, glad you can have some sort of privacy in that corner.

You were about to sit down when he gets behind you, pulling the chair out for you, doing the overly cheesy gentleman move. It forces a small chuckle out of you, trying to tell him that you can do this yourself, but he doesn‘t care. You really try not to think too much about it and just see it as a friendly way of messing with each other, but he seems completely serious about it.

Okay, you are confused. He is claiming he will pay for everything tonight, so don‘t bother taking your purse out at all. What is this about? Did he do something and is trying to cover it up by being so sweet? There‘s no way, he is doing too much.

»Sorry, did I miss something? What is this all about?«

You finally manage to ask during the dinner, the food on the table being the only thing actually calming your nerves and making it seem like a normal hangout to you.

»What? Nothing, what do you mean? I‘m just treating you tonight.«

Obviously, you don‘t buy it and tilt your head at him, making him purse his lips almost sheepishly.

»Okay, be honest, Johnny. You‘re being too sweet right now.«

Your table falls into a brief moment of silence; the background noises from the other guests eating and talking fill the silence softly.

»I‘m.. I am bad at this, but I actually tried to ask you out. Back then, at your dad after the grill. This was supposed to be a date, but I guess I didn‘t express myself correctly.«

Processing his words is difficult. He tried to ask you out, and you were too stupid to realise. This is your love life, wow. It could also very well be a very bad romcom. It‘s humiliating, really.

»We don‘t need to pretend this is a date though, I probably overstepped with being… so overbearing.«

»No! No, don‘t apologise, I should be the one to apologise. Actually, now that I think about it, I missed so many signs...«

Johnny‘s heart beats probably faster than a racing car drives as he listens to you, trying to focus on the words you say instead of focussing on how gorgeous you look in the dim light right now. Finally, he snaps back and tries to reassure you, a sheepish and dorky smile threatening to form on his face.

»It‘s totally fine, I‘m a patient man after all.« His audacity to throw a little tease into this is unmatched. But it helps to ease the tension and bring a small smile onto your face, looking down to your lap for a moment.

»So, this was a date all along?«

He nods slowly at your question, watching your reaction closely as he does so. You‘re not sure who is more nervous at the moment, feeling like a high school couple right now.

»Well, if you‘re not comfortable- «

»No, no, I‘m okay with that! Promise.«

Johnny smile brightens, and for a moment, he is unsure of what to do or say next. The silence doesn‘t last long though, as you get to talk more freely with each other once it‘s settled, feeling butterlies across your whole body the entire time. It‘s such a nice feeling to know someone you certainly cherish and care for feels the same about you and probably even more. The rest of the dinner is spent with more loving looks and soft gazes, lingering touches on each other‘s hands over the table, resulting in following him back to his home.

----

Big hands cup your thighs, lifting you up and carrying you to his bedroom, not wasting any time on exploring your soft lips with his own. He doesn‘t care that he is being a little messy with you, it feels perfect and right to be with you like this. With a soft thud, you land on the cushions of his bed, enveloping you in the faint scent of his cologne and the distinct smell of the musky but inviting smell of him. It‘s enough to get you going even more, wrapping your arms tighter around his neck to keep him as close as possible while making out. Your lips move against the other in a rather frantic rhythm, subtle sounds of lips smacking echoing in the dark room.

With a small sigh, he breaks the kiss and trails his lips down your throat; leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses on your delicate skin. You loose your grip around his neck, trailing your hands down his arms, all the way to his shoulder blades. It leaves goosebumps and electrifying shockwaves through him, resulting in him groaning lowly against your neck. That, however, only caused for you to shiver lightly and attempt not to hum back in response.

His kisses trail down to your collabones, gently gracing his teeth against the sensitive skin before tugging at your collar and works on unbuttoning your shirt. Of course you let him, helping him with the process, starting to get impatient and wanting more from him. His touch is addicting, his scent is intoxicating and the way he feels against your body… you can‘t get enough.

Soon, you are both almost fully exposed, Johnny hovering over you again, and trying to keep at least a little of his sanity under control.

»Tell me, how bad do you want me?«

»Johnny, not now...« You sigh out, hands trailing up his well-built chest, sounding way more needy than you wanted to be.

»Impatient, hm? Just tell me you need me. Please.« He also sounds more desperate than you‘ve ever heard him speak, especially to you. What he demands only makes your cheeks grow even more rosy, putting on a darker tint of pink across your face. Thankfully the room is fairly dark, even though you wish you could see more of him.

»Need you, Johnny...now.«

It seems like he crumbles at your words, resting his forehead against your shoulder before he collects himself and moves down your body.

»Fuck, always wanted to hear tha‘ from you.« He mutters as he traces his hands down your bare sides, settling down between your legs and gently pries them apart. You lean up on your elbows to watch, feeling another rush of adrenaline at him being right in between your legs, feeling his hot breath against your legs and aching core.

His fingers tease at the seam of your panties, eyes focused on your whole form. The material of your panties are more than soaked after all the making out and hot touches across your body, not sure how long you will last with him like this.

Your thighs are being pushed back with his hands after discarding your last piece of clothing, laying down flat on your back for him. He wants as much access as possible on you, humming lowly at the sight of your dripping cunt. A sharp gasp leaves you as soon as his tongue meets the sweet and messy bundle of nerves, bucking your hips into him without meaning to. More gasps and pants leave you as he gets more intense, his tongue pushing and putting more pressure against you, making you a breathless mess underneath him. You grip tightly onto his sheets, thighs trembling around his head.

He seems like a madman, thirsty for any amount of slick he can slurp from you, the sounds becoming more obscene and embarrassing for you. Johnny doesn‘t mind one bit, in fact he seems to be enjoying this more than you. Finally getting to taste you, smell you, please you as he dreamed of.

His big hands tighten their grip around your thighs, making sure you don‘t clamp your legs around his head and suffocate him. Even when he would be more than happy to die that way…

It feels like you are growing closer to edge, moans getting high-pitched while one hand finds his head, urging him to keep going.

Johnny groans against you, nose nudging against your clit as his tongue works on you and brings you over the edge. With a final thrust of his tongue, you gasp and clamp around nothing, your grip around the sheets being even stronger than before. You become a babbling mess, thanking him and saying something about feeling good while you bask in the shockwaves of the climax, moaning and shaking under him.

Johnny lets you ride out your high on his tongue, probably as satisfied as you, if not more. He cleans up any cum that drips from you, making sure there is nothing left, even when he still wants to lap at you even then.

»You okay?« He asks more softly and massages your thighs gently, watching your fucked out expression as come down from your high. You can‘t respond verbally, but you give him a thumbs up, receiving an amused snort from him. He moves off from between your legs and settles on the bed beside you, brushing out some hair sticking to your forehead.

Once he lays down beside you, you realise that only you received pleasure. You want to make him feel good too.

»We can… go on. If you want.« Johnny snaps out of his stare, his hand still resting by your stomach as he traces small circles into it.

»No need to. I don‘t have any protection with me anyway.«

You‘re not sure why, but you feel slightly disappointed at his words. But that he is responsible enough and neglects his own pleasure for both of your safety is enough to warm your heart again in a strange way.

You end up falling asleep after he cleans the mess up from between your legs, cuddling up in each other‘s arms, under the comfort of his blanket. And that was probably the best sleep you‘ve ever had, safe in his warm embrace after he took such good care of you.

----

The next morning, you wake up to Johnny sleeping over your whole body, legs entangled with yours, and arms trapping you underneath him. You trail your hands up and down his back, nails lightly scratching against his bare skin, which causes him to stirr lightly.

After some longer moments, he seems to finally wake up and shift on top of you to get comfortable again.

»You are heavy.« You mumble out from underneath him, making him let out a groggy groan as he rolls off you but keeps his arm over your middle. The room is quiet again, save for the slow and gentle breathing from both of you.

»What time is it?« Johnny huffs out as you crawl over him to his nightstand, taking a look at the digital clock on it.

9:53 AM

No way. You overslept. Both, for that matter.

»John- Johnny, c‘mon, we need to get ready.«

You urge hushed, shaking his shoulder with your hand as you sit up beside him. He doesn‘t move as much though and only grumbles something under his breath before he searches his hand for you. He manages to grip your thigh gently, squeezing softly in a lazy attempt to calm you.

»Relax… no one cares anyway, and you never missed a day before.«

He mumbles softly, still laying on his stomach, but eyes on you. ----

Redcrest High University, Monday 9:53 AM

»Seems like those two won‘t appear today, huh?«

»Finally. I was getting sick just from watching Mctavish‘s puppy eyes. Good thing they are catching a break.«

Professor Garrick answers to the biology prof, earning a nod from the other. ----

Johnny‘s bed, Moday 9:54 AM

You soften at his touch and words, sighing out and finally settle down beside him once more.

»Don‘t tell me you wouldn‘t want to spend more time with me and instead go to work.« He shifts to get closer, pulling you close to his chest. His words make you shake your head, nuzzling into him in return.

»Wouldn‘t dream of it.«

You mumble back softly to him, making him smile and squeeze your waist with his arms.

a/n: I really hope you enjoyed this very small series, I didn't plan on writing some smut, but decided it would only be fair and also wanted to try out how well I can write that (it was really hard typing with one hand okay). thanks for reading!

[babyangelsky]

Two Worlds: Novel vs. Series (Part 1)

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had begun reading the novel for Two Worlds because I was curious about the changes that had been made for the adaption. Truthfully, I've been curious about it since the special and enough people liked my post to encourage me to put this together, so here we are!

Few things. Firstly, the official English translation of the novel is only updated through chapter 7 which equates to about episode 3 of the series. Approximately.

Secondly, good god is it convoluted so to make things easier on myself and on you, I'm going to break down the changes to each world in two separate posts and not jump around which is what the novel does.

Thirdly, if you'd like to read the novel yourself, the first seven chapters are available for free here! It's the official translation and updates are a bit irregular but it is being updated! Trigger warning for discussion and sometimes graphic mentions of suicide. Please proceed with caution.

I also have to thank @thainovels for being so lovely every time I've asked them for help. What are the odds the novel updated the day after I asked you for help finding a complete version?!

This is gonna be LONG so to spare your dash and anyone who doesn't wanna be spoiled, I'll begin under the cut.

World 1, aka our starting world in the series

Okay so, broad strokes. One of the biggest differences between novel and show so far is how much time we spend in Phupha's perspective and indeed, in perspectives other than Phupha's or Kram's. We really only get Kram's perspective in the chapters dedicated to World 1 and he's barely appeared in the chapters dedicated to World 2 so far.

This author also really loves to go on a tangent which kinda bugs me in a "I'm a writer too and I wouldn't do things this way dammit" sort of way and while that's my own cross to bear, objectively it does pull focus from the main plot and make the story more confusing than it has to be. Although I do appreciate the insight into the other characters.

How Things Start Off

Unlike the show which opens with Kram painting by the river, the novel opens with Kram trying to make friends with Phupha. At this point it's unclear how long Phupha has been staying at Kram's house but it doesn't seem like it's been very long.

In the show, Kram is the grumpy one who doesn't wanna talk or hang out and Phupha is the more open one, but it's flipped in the novel. Kram is a lonely lil ball of sunshine and he's excited to make a new friend and Phupha's generally very grumpy about his circumstances.

Kram also calls him "your grace" which I suspect is what the translator chose to use in place of "khun chai" since Kram also calls him that in the show a few times. I really wish the show had kept this detail because unlike in the show, Kram uses khun chai playfully and eventually affectionately. It's also worth noting that he doesn't call Phupha "phi" despite their age difference because he doesn't want to create distance between them.

Their first bonding experience is going for a walk just like in the show rather than walk aimlessly in the forest, Kram takes him to see the waterfall that is so central to our story. The locals refer to it as Moonshadow Cave.

We learn that Phupha is afraid of heights (and very traumatized) because of the circumstances surrounding his mother's suicide. He opens up to Kram about it and also tells him why his father sent him to stay with Kram and his father.

At one point, Kram steps onto a little ledge around the back of the waterfall and gently coaxes Phupha to join him so they can see the view. But remember, Phupha is afraid of heights and traumatized so after a few moments he panics and goes to turn back. But he turns back a little too quickly and stumbles and ends up face to face and very close to Kram.

SO THEY KISS ABOUT IT. Maybe it's adrenaline, maybe it's horniness, who knows! Certainly not Phupha!

It's getting late so they come down from the mountain to go home. Kram's head is spinning from the kiss, he's confused, he can still taste Phupha. Phupha's confused too, he doesn't know why the hell he kissed Kram, and just as he's in the middle of telling Kram that it was just the adrenaline and didn't mean anything, they hear something rustling in the tall grass.

The Tiger Incident

Yep. The thing they hear is a tiger smack in the middle of having a deer for dinner. Here is the first of two or three major plot points (so far) that were cut from the adaptation entirely.

They come across the tiger and even though they try to move as quietly and slowly as they can to get away, they don't get very far before the tiger notices them and starts chasing them down. As they're running, Kram falls and hurts his leg. Kram knows of a small cave where they can hide, and They manage to duck into it just in time. Fortunately the entrance is too small for the tiger to follow them in there so they're safe but homeboy is still waiting outside to eat them, so they're forced to stay there until morning or until he gets bored and leaves.

Kram and Phupha snuggle together for warmth because of course they do and in the middle of the night, Phupha realizes that Kram has a fever.

The next morning, Phupha sees that Kram hasn't gotten any better so he decides to go and get help for him. Luckily the tiger is gone, so he leaves the cave and marks himself a path so he can find his way back. When he exits the forest, he sees Kram's dad and a group of villagers talking amongst themselves. They'd been looking for the two of them since they hadn't returned from their walk and are very relieved to see Phupha.

Phupha tells everyone what happened and they go back for Kram, and this is where things get very weird. He notices that the branches he broke to mark his path aren't broken anymore and when he and the villagers arrive at the cave, the weeds that were covering the cave entrance are thicker than they were before. And Kram?

Kram is fucking gone.

He is straight up gone. He is not in the cave where Phupha left him despite being sick and unable to move because of his injured leg. Phupha obviously begins questioning his sanity as a search gets underway.

Fifty people including police search the forest for two entire days to absolutely zero avail. Kram is nowhere to be found. It's like the forest swallowed him whole and Phupha is feeling so guilty and Kram's dad is being so kind and not blaming him at all and it's all very fraught.

The search is paused on the third day because of heavy rain but that's not about to stop Phupha. He needs to find Kram and he's in the forest desperately wracking his mind for every last detail of the path he took from the cave and the surroundings while rain is pouring down on him. He thinks he might've found the right spot and sees a cave, but passes out before he can reach it.

When he wakes up, he's back at Kram's house being tended to by Duandow, Kram's childhood friend (we'll get to her in a bit). First thing he does is ask about Kram and miracle of miracles, KRAM HAS BEEN FOUND AND IS OKAY! His leg wasn't broken and he's in rough shape after not having any food or water for a couple days but he's expected to make a full recovery.

Duandow tells him that the cave Kram was found in--the one Phupha passed out in front of--was in an area that had already been searched by the police and that the locals believe that dark magic blocked the entrance to it, which is why they hadn't been able to find Kram before.

If that sounds really goddamn weird to you, THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS. Something fucky is going on with this forest but there are absolutely no answers I can give you as to the why and the how. The novel hasn't given us anything yet.

Phupha and Kram

Another huge difference between the show and the novel is just how much the relationship between Phupha and Kram progresses and how physical it actually is. In the show we only get a few kisses and some snuggling but they go a lot further in the novel.

A lot further.

After the tiger and the fucky forest trauma bond them, they're hanging out on the mountain near Kram's house one evening and as they get to talking and open up to each other some more, they're interrupted by a swarm of fireflies. Kram tries to catch one for Phupha but can't quite manage it, and somehow they end up very close together again.

SO THEY KISS ABOUT IT. AGAIN.

Not only do they kiss about it, clothes start coming off and things start getting hot and heavy before Kram's dad calls up and interrupts them. He doesn't actually see anything (since they're horizontal and shielded by the brush) but he does notice the state they're in when they come down.

Which leads me nicely to the painting.

The Nude Portrait

Remember the nude portrait Kram did of Phupha? In the show, it comes about after Kram accidentally paints Scarface Tai. Phupha sees the painting and realizes how skilled Kram is and hires Kram to paint him.

In the novel, Kram shows Phupha a spare room where he stores all his works and as they're looking through them, Phupha comes across a nude portrait Kram had done of DUANDAOW. KRAM'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND.

Kram tells him that she had agreed to pose for him one day so he could practice painting figures, as all artists do, and Phupha gets all quiet and grumpy and jealous about it. So what does he do? Hire Kram to paint a nude portrait for him like the one Kram had done for Duandaow.

If you'll recall, this is pretty much what happens in the show when Tai asks Kram do paint a nude portrait of him. He gets jealous because Kram had done one of Phupha and asks for one just like it. It seems like the writers reworked that bit since they also wrote out that Kram had done a portait of Duandaow.

And that's not all they reworked.

The painting session with Phupha in the novel begins the same as it does in the show. Kram is doing his thing while Phupha looks all pretty with his cloth in the river. But just like the nude painting scene with Tai, Kram starts getting distracted because of how good Phupha looks.

And I just have to say, the author always makes a point to describe how beautiful Phupha is, but I especially appreciate them taking the time to tell us that Phupha has lovely ample breasts and pretty nipples. Especially because wiping sweat off those lovely ample breasts is what brings Kram so very close to Phupha for the third time. Except this time, they don't just kiss about it.

THEY FUCK ABOUT IT. RIGHT BY THE RIVER. AND THEN GO RIGHT BACK TO THE PAINTING SESSION WHEN THEY'RE DONE.

In the show, this painting scene is where we get their first kiss but as you have seen, beloved reader, we are several kisses in by this point in the novel

Dilok

It's after this that we cut to Kram's dad's perspective for a bit, and I only mention this because it's so goddamn funny and also serves to highlight a few of important points.

The man is just so endearingly oblivious. He saw how disheveled Kram and Phupha were when they came down from the mountain as I mentioned above and assumes they fought each other after having an argument. This man interpreted two horizontal silhouettes moving together as a FIST FIGHT. He assumes they're angry at each other when they won't even look at each other.

THIS MAN THINKS KRAM AND PHUPHA ARE FIGHTING TO THE DEATH EVERY TIME THEY GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN AND COME BACK LOOKING SWEATY AND FLUSHED AND RUMPLED AND IF THAT'S NOT THE FUNNIEST THING GODDAMN THING I'VE EVER READ I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS.

In one instance, Dilok catches Phupha leaving Kram's bedroom early in the morning and believes Phupha when he tells him he "fell asleep" after he and Kram "talked" all night. Dilok even thinks to himself how proud he is that they're so mature and communicate so well! I love Dilok so much, you don't understand.

That aside, however, his hilarious misinterpretation tells us that unlike in the show, Kram and Phupha are fucking on the reg. And bear in mind that Kram still technically has an ash exchange ceremony coming up with Duandaow but before I get into everything with her, I wanted to share this passage where Dilok happens upon both her and Phupha's portraits because it says something important about Kram's relationship with Duandaow. Also because I love it.

Duandaow

Duandaow's presence is yet another major difference between the novel and the show.

The show doesn't tell us a whole lot about her. We know only that she has an ash exchange ceremony coming up with Kram and that when she realizes that Kram has feelings for Phupha, she takes herself out of the equation so they can be together.

The novel gives us so much more. She's featured prominently when Kram disappears in the forest, she cares for Phupha when he passes out, she appears every time Phupha goes to her grandmother's store to get medicine for Kram, and of course there's the fact that Kram painted her.

She has been in love with Kram her whole life. In addition to getting her history, we learn that they've known each other since childhood and that they were very close since they were the only two children in the village that were the same age. And it's partially because there's no one else for either them that being with Kram is a foregone conclusion to her and it's why she assumes that's the case for him as well.

She confesses to Kram and he responds with something along the lines of "Who would I love if not you? It's just us here." It's not an "I love you, too" but she takes it that way. Kram literally has no one else so his response may seem sweet but to me, it reads as him accepting on some level that there's no other option and settling.

I do think he cares deeply for Duandaow but I don't think he's in love with her. Several things drive this home for me (including that passage above) but the one that stands out the most is actually when they lose their virginity to each other.

It happens one day after they go swimming together (at the infamous waterfall I might add). She makes the first move and he hesitates at first but he gets swept up in the moment and it's all very shy and sweet. Thing is, after it happens, Kram keeps things strictly friendly between them. So much so that she thinks the whole thing got wiped from his memory.

And this sense of "who else if not you" persists pretty much their whole lives up until this point. They have an ash exchange ceremony coming up because why wouldn't they? There's no other option. Oh, the comphet of it all.

She isn't stepping aside for Phupha because she doesn't realize there's something between him and Kram. She notices something there that makes her suspicious but those suspicions are nebulous at best. It never occurs to her that they could have any relationship beyond friendship because why would they?

The Other Love Triangle

Phupha has had silent, one-sided beef with Duandaow ever since he saw that painting of her. He's polite to her but just barely, he doesn't make any effort at friendliness or real conversation. He's jealous and he has good reason to be, because he and Kram haven't declared any feelings for each other or had the "what are we" conversation.

Not only that, there is an ash exchange ceremony coming up. Phupha has no idea what that ceremony is until he asks Kram's dad one day and Dilok tells him IT'S A MARRIAGE CEREMONY. Show!Kram had some nerve getting pissy at Phupha for having a fiancee he didn't tell Kram about when Kram had one too!

Here Phupha is, so very in love and in a very physical relationship with Kram, and then he learns Kram is about to get married to someone else. He doesn't know whether Kram returns his feelings, he doesn't know where he stands, there's been no hint of calling off the wedding, so what does he do?

He takes himself out of the equation just like Duandaow does in the show.

Phupha chooses not to confess his feelings to Kram, he spends one last night snuggling him, and then he takes the L and quietly goes back to his life in Rattha.

Oh, what's that you say? You wanted some salt in that wound? How about the fact that KRAM GOES THROUGH WITH THE CEREMONY AND MARRIES DUANDAOW?

More? HE ONLY REALIZES HIS FEELINGS FOR PHUPHA AFTER HE'S ALREADY GONE AND ONLY MARRIES DUANDAOW OUT OF OBLIGATION AND BECAUSE PHUPHA IS NO LONGER THERE.

It's a MESS and there is no resolution for it because the novel translation isn't done!

*screams*

Tai

You might have noticed that I haven't really talked about Tai and that's because he only shows up once in these few chapters we have so far. The ones that take place in World 1, that is. But boy howdy does he come in with a bang when he does. Literally.

When Phupha hires Kram to paint him, Kram asks him to take him into the city as payment. There's an arts festival happening and Kram wanted to go so he could show off his dad's paintings.

Everything is going lovely, everyone is having a good time. At least until Duandaow shows up and Phupha turns into a salty salmon about it but we already talked about her.

The brand new chief of police has been asked to make a speech to inaugurate the festival and a short while after he gets on stage to make it, there is a bang. It's followed by screams and a second bang.

Tai showed up at the festival, shot an officer in the gut, and then killed the chief in cold blood to get revenge for the chief recently killing his father.

Bedlam ensues. People are screaming and terrified and fleeing the scene and Tai is looking to flee the scene too, but it just so happens that Kram is blocking his escape route. Tai shouts for him to move but something comes over Kram and he's not budging. Doesn't matter how much Tai threatens him or how much Phupha pleads with him, Tai belongs to the gang that killed his mother and he ain't moving.

My boy doesn't move even when Tai points a gun in his face. That's how much he hates this man and everything he represents. And Tai fully intends to kill him, but there's a moment where he locks eyes with Kram and something shifts within him.

There's a shot, but because we switch to Duandaow's perspective in that moment, we don't know exactly what happens. We know only that the shot missed and that Phupha rushed to hug Kram to his body and shield him from the shot.

Kram was in point blank range. There was no way in hell that shot missed unless that's what Tai intended. But that's all we've gotten of Tai in World 1 so far so there hasn't been a chance to dig into anything more.

The Stabbing of Viroj

There's one more thing I wanna mention, which also happens to be the stopping point for the translation at this time.

In the show, in World 1, Phupha's biological father Viroj gets attacked after Phupha and Kram go talk to him about the incident in the gallery with Tai and the conversation Phupha had with his father.

In the novel, that conversation with Adisak and Phupha's aunt and stepmother takes place right after Phupha goes back to Rattha and for the subsequent conversation with Viroj, Phupha is obviously alone.

The circumstances that precede the stabbing at a little different but that's a whole other tangent so I'm not gonna get into it. The rest of it is largely the same as in the show.

Someone breaks in, stabs Viroj, Phupha hears a scream and comes upon the scene, he has the realization about his hemophilia, he calls an ambulance and the police.

Only a few details are different. In the novel, he does actually manage to call for help but help never comes so he decides to take Viroj to the hospital himself. Unfortunately Viroj dies before Phupha can take him.

After his death, Phupha calls his dad Adisak to tell him that someone killed Viroj and to ask him to call for help. Adisak does, and when Phupha gets a call from the paramedics asking for more information, the paramedic asks where the patient was stabbed.

Problem is, Phupha never told Adisak that Viroj had been stabbed. Phupha immediately suspects that Adisak knows more about the attack than he let on and was possibly even behind it.

This is as far as the translation has taken us so I have to stop here. Sometime before the finale I'm gonna write up part two to this absolute saga, which will be the differences between World 2 in the novel and show.

If you've read this far, thank you. You're lovely and I love you. ❤️

[sunlightsilence]

MY THOUGHTS ON SIDE ORDER

If you see this, you don't have #side order or #side order spoilers blocked. .

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So. Side order's gameplay is fantastic to me, I've completed it with all 12 palettes now. I love splatoon and I love roguelikes so this was sort of a match made in heaven for me.

Creating the OP builds, the final boss, the general colours and music and vibe of the game is amazing! Everything to do with Pearl and Marina are *amazing* and they're so hella gay it's adorable :D And I love that they're not even hiding the queer representation now. Marina having a sprawled out Pearl as her desktop background is so cute, even seeing an elevator scene where they gush about eachother, and another one where Marina worries that Acht is hitting on Pearl.

And... cannon They/Them Acht! I remember all the people on Reddit being like "it's just the marketing team mistranslating their pronouns in a tweet!" NOPE, it's in game too!

Hell yeah :D Smollusk is adorable and I love him, and maybe we finally have a splatoon villain tumblr won't turn into a tumblr sexyman since he's a literal infant xD

And Pearl Drone is so hecking cute, I love her so much!! If you spin around in the lobby she spins too, and if you stay still she falls asleep :D

I did my first run with Brella cause it's my fav and it has my beloved inkstorm kit from S2! It took me three tries before I beat the tower for the first time, but then every run afterwards with different weapons I've always cleared it (I was got bounced off the tower for that first death and the second I was caught offguard by how fast the reefslider spam is)! Brella was definitely my favourite run, but I also really enjoyed the roller and brush runs. My roughest run was with the Splatling. I had dreaded doing charger after that, but charger turned into my fastest run!

I could see myself unwinding in this mode hundreds more times. I am saying this all to demonstrate that I really love this DLC, it might be my favourite of all the single player modes so far, either that or S2 hero mode. So my following criticisms are out of love for it because it's close to perfect. So the big one is... "the dlc is too short!" I hear that a lot on both tumblr and reddit and someone inevitably chimes in with "You don't play a lot of roguelikes, do you?" I mean... do YOU? I've done over 100 runs in Wizard of Legend, and thousands of hours on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Etrian Mystery Dungeon. Yes it's made to be run multiple times, but when a run is only 20-30 minutes it's still only about 6 hours of content if you do all the palettes. And these could be fixed with the assets they already have! Like imagine an Endless mode where the difficulty (enemy speed and hp values and number of spawns) kept ramping up higher and higher each floor, with the leader board being kept track of on the app. Or a daily tower run to save a random cephalopod from being grayscaled - the daily inkling/octoling's palette giving you a random weapon/sub/special for that day that followed the rules of 8's Octoshot (more hacks = less chip slots). Or like a super hard difficulty mode - imagine a mode where every floor had a danger modifier, and maybe a Parallel Cannon spawns into the stage to try to hunt you down (maybe it's even invincible so you have to run away from it while doing the stage objective?) I know the Octoshot is kind of the "hard mode" (it's still not too bad though since it's basically just like starting from the beginning without hacks), but it's not fun being limited to just the one weapon type. Especially for it for people who find the regular shooters boring. I don't feel like this is an unreasonable request either, Wizard of Legend - a roguelike made by *two* people - for instance has a few options for post game challenge runs (a randomized mode, a mode where the enemies start from the highest difficulty from floor 1, an extra long run that touches on all the bosses, a BOSS RUSH mode, Curses - basically one thing gets massively buffed while a second thing gets massively debuffed). The Mystery Dungeon games tend to have unlockable MASSIVE dungeons that start you off from having nothing. (like imagine a 99 floor floor tower where you started with no hacks, and a basic shooter with no sub/special and you had to earn new weapons/subs/specials/hacks as you go). Could do the Curse style idea with extra special Marina hacks. "Hey 8, I just figured out a hack that turns everyone's Max HP to 1 - both yours and your opponents!" "This hack will make you much faster but the floors will always be dark!" Or those Bonus challenges, imagine if there was an option to do conditional runs with them. Like "Beat the Tower without using your special, unlock a specific splat tag banner" Again, I am only criticizing because I love it. It's just also the easiest and shortest of all the single player campaigns we've gotten I feel, and if they were going to lean into the roguelike genre, I wish they looked into how other roguelikes reuse assets to lengthen the gameplay and provide extra challenges to keep players interested for a long time.

AND I AM STILL MAD YOU CAN'T PLAY AS A SQUID AND THEY REMOVED THE PLAYABLE SQUIDBEATZ (half joking. Not really upset, but I do find it odd now that there's more campaigns you can play as an octoling than an inking on the switch now despite inklings being the mascots...... rotm/oe/so vs just s2hero/rotm. And I don't see why we can't just have minigames back, they remove more minigames each entry and paying to listen to music now is frustrating...) Haha... But yes, overall, I loved it. It's a 9/10 from me. Adding squidbeatz and some post game longevity / challenge modes would have made it a 10/10. I can't wait to play more, I can't wait to visit Inkopolis Square again next splatfest :')

Now, onto random observations!

The lobby has jump ramps on the back corner pillars. I don't know why!

You can turn Color Lock on in the main game and it *does* affect Side Order. It gives you permanently Blue+yellow or Blue+green ink, even in the hub area.

So with this boss, it uses the hairstyle from your S2 hero mode data to get their appearance... But I swear mine is using the feminine voice here and when being splat, despite that hairstyle being locked to masculine inkling voices in Splatoon 2? I do use it with the feminine voice in Splatoon 3. Or maybe the voices are just mixed into one here, I can't quite tell? Well it made enby me happy to see. I do kinda wish we got a challenging superboss fight with 4, these felt a bit weak.. but it seems to imply they aren't specifically 4 but Order made them based on their data... So...where is the real 4?!!! Did she never show up to work? Speaking of that boss....

Around the room are these white pipe like structures...

That will be instantly recognizable to anyone who dabbles in japanese model kits - they're sprue trees, like the kind used in Gunpla.

The robotic boss has robot model kit building pieces in the background :D

I still don't quite get the intro scene where everything goes digital on the train.... So it's implying either A) your character got Grayscaled.... But your character is fine when you go back to town... you don't even see any characters standing around suffering it's effects, they could have had some npcs spacing out or acting weird ala Persona 3... or B) you're getting pulled into the memverse too, but there's no sign of your S3 character *at all*... (though this would have been a good way to let us play as an inkling too nintendo >:l *angry woomy noises*)

Honestly I felt kinda like Acht's inclusion was sort of superfluous at first... mostly their role felt like "Pearl & Marina: *does something gay* Acht: wow these two sure are hella gay right 8? i feel like we're third wheels". I kept waiting for some kind of...reveal? Their memories are pretty much fully restored instantly rather than rolled out gradually like I was expecting...I was thinking maybe they'd, like, link them to Paul, or follow up on the recognizing Pearl somehow or being linked to the engineers that created Order or...SOMETHING, but it never came. Other than maybe dropping a hint about the person who instructed them and Marina when they were in school? Their role was really just "I'll hold the elevator and jump in for a song"... But maybe that's okay, eight and Acht are trauma victims and this was meant to be a place to heal them. Maybe it's okay that we take it slow getting to know them.

Okay that's all that's brainworming away at me for now, I'm sure I'll think of more later. Again, I really love it, definitely a 9/10 for me. I hope yall enjoyed it too :)

[sygneth]

Echoes of Elysium | Disco Elysium AU ...something?

Warnings

General warnings for my blog's content applies. Check here.

This AU is (rather) not very alternative. I am just trying to develop further events and some background for the characters, but even though I'm making research and I try to stay canon-compliant, only to fill in the gaps, I cannot guarantee it will never happen. Especially in this fandom, where many interpretations and paths are equally canon, we may not agree on some things, I hope you'll enjoy my point of view nevertheless. Some episodical OCs will appear too.

INDEX

EOE on ComicFury!

EOE on Tumblr:

Chapter 1: New Beggings -> START

EOE on AO3:

Main plot (uhh still in the process of uploading!)

Ficlet series (additional content)

LORE:

Precinct 41 plans and explanation

Plot outline

After Martinaise things are slowly getting back to normal, but the general atmosphere in the city gets thickens every day, La Retour is hanging in the air. Despite this, Harry is trying to stay sober and make amends. It's hard to say if Kim's appearance on the 41st is making things easier or harder between Harry and his old friends.

The Return happens. In the after-revolutionary mess, everybody tries to move on, but things are changing in almost every aspect of life. And on top of this, a particularly hard case drops and somebody has to take care of it.

The start of the project is directly after Martinaise, so forgive me this vague description, but I would hate to spoil the plot haha.

Okay, from now on additional info, still important but not crushial.

I want to focus on the relationship between the people of Precinct 41 and their internal experiences. Impactful events and thicker action will happen too, but mostly in the later chapters of this.

There are also some important premises of this AU I would like to highlight:

Kim was raised in an orphanage, presumably held by some Dolorian organisation (order?). Some of his old-fashioned manners and vocabulary are remainings after growing up in a religious environment (even if he's not very religious himself).

Eyes died around 9 months before the events from the game. Since then, Kim has been willingly working alone. His superiors were not very fond of that but somehow he managed not to get partnered with anyone.

Harry has no known family members left. At least as far as he and his friends know.

Jean and Harry's partnership started four, maybe five years ago. According to the game, it was "two years minimum" but personally I think those losers were stuck with each other for much longer.

Jean's years-long, unexplained depression has roots in some sort of personality disorder. Also, he is codependent on Harry, probably co-addicted too. He had problem with speed himself, however it's not nearly as serious as Harry's. I see him as more of a weekend/party drug user, as for now.

I assume that since the communist revolution gay relationships were technically legal in Revachol. Technically, because there are still no rights for same-sex couples and the social recognition is poor and rather negative (I got inspired by my own country in that matter)

That's all I can think of now. I will probably just add new information in the description of he pages.

Okay, cool, one last thing. What do you mean by "...something?"? Is this a comic? A fanfiction series? What am I looking at?

The answer is: I don't yet know. I am planning this to be mostly a comic, but I cannot say there won't be some written as fanfics parts or some kind of in-between media. I don't really want to limit myself to one medium only, but at this point, I have no idea what this will evolve into. I honestly just want to have fun lol

[pinkrangersarah]

I REALLY hate that Hazbin Hotel was only given eight episodes per season. Like, that is definitely not a lot of time for a story like this to flourish so a lot of it ended up feeling rushed to me. I can't really blame the creators for this as the time constraint wasn't their fault, so I have to cut them some slack.

Final thoughts:

I'm a sucker for themes of gray morality, love that here. It is fascinating that not even angels know what allows a soul to be granted entrance into Heaven, so they come off as very hypocritical when Adam can behave like a blood hungry, sexist jackass but the second Charlie lets the F-bomb slip she's looked down on. Excited to know what becomes of Pentious being redeemed and allowed into Heaven whilst Adam was slain in Hell.

I am so glad the Overlords are not the pompous pricks I was prepared for them to be. With a cast consisting of many assholes, I'm glad that most of the Overlords actually seemed pretty diplomatic and have a mutual respect for one another, minus the Vees. Rosie is an absolute delight and Carmilla won me over in "Hello Rosie". It is absolutely hilarious that Rosie's domain, Cannibal Town, is the most pleasant and charming place in all of Hell.

I do hate to be that person, but I actually thought the finale was sort of underwhelming. Again, there were time constraints so it's hard to criticize them for that, but everything was just thrown at me and I wasn't given the time to let moments sink in. (To be fair, I did accidentally spoil myself for Sir Pentious, so that one is mostly on me, but the scene still came and went very quickly.) Lucifer sort of shows up out of nowhere, but it's hard to complain when I enjoyed watching him go ape shit on Adam.

I don't know if it's another hit by the time constraints or if I just find Vaggie to be too boring (which I do), but I am not invested in the Chaggie romance at all. Their duet felt empty because I personally don't feel the chemistry between them, which is a shame because I want to like them. I love the dynamic they're supposed to have, but it feels so shallow.

I am glad they're allowing themselves to take on certain slow burns, though, like the budding romance between Angel and Husk, and the fact Alastor's soul belongs to somebody. I was prepared for them to reveal what Alastor's deal with, but I'm glad they didn't because it makes me eagerly anticipate next season.

Lilith's reveal pissed me off, and I'm trying to remind myself that there's still a whole other season to see what her game is, to not jump to conclusions. I am literally begging her not to be a secret antagonist. I don't think the theory of her owning Alastor's soul is completely out the window; my sister speculates that she sent Alastor to help Charlie because she couldn't (she seems to also have some deal in place) or wouldn't. My theory is that she got fed up with Lucifer doing nothing, allowing the extermination to happen, succumbing to selfishness and abandoning them. VivziePop herself said Lilith and Lucifer were madly in love, so I'm hoping it's family drama that will be given the attention and time to heal.

Despite its flaws, this show feels worth the wait. The animation is great; it's very fluid, the characters are expressive, and I really like most of the character design changes from the pilot. It's wonderful to see how far this team has come from the pilot. I've been a slut for shows incorporating songs since Phineas and Ferb, and Hazbin has so many great songs. The amount of times I've listened to many of them on Spotify is starting to get embarrassing.

It's still early, but I think Hazbin Hotel has earned its spot as one of the most anticipated shows of 2024, and will earn its place as one of my top ten shows of 2024.

[sweetvixen1996]

ok, i never read manga or watched anime, but i see arlong park being mentioned in context of nami, so i wanted to know what was it about? do you mind spoiling me? 😂

as a new live action zinami shipper i just hope for any possible zonami crumbs in the future 😂😂

Oh boy, that is a BIG QUESTION. But I'll do my best to answer

Arlong Park is both an arc, a place, and an important moment in the sorta Meta of One Piece.

As an arc, is serves as very much the climax of the East Blue Saga. It has the biggest fights, the most elaborate backstory (so far), and is an event that leads to Luffy getting his first bounty.

For Nami, in particular, it is Her Arc. It is the one where her backstory, motivations, dreams, fears, and psyche are most explored. The long and sort is that the villain, Arlong, killed Nami's mother and enslaved Nami to make him maps. With the promise that if she gathered enough money, Nami could buy her and her village's freedom. For course, he's a filthy liar, and Luffy and the others need to help step to unleash some well-deserved beatdowns.

As a location, Arlong Park is where Arlong and his crew of fishmen (and Nami) live. It is a repurposed marine base and, as we learn much later, redesigned and renamed to look like the theme park that Arlong and his friends were unable to go to as children due to prejudice against fishmen. This all factors into the much large story about cycles of hatred that exist within the large story of OP that I don't have time to get into here.

But the important thing is that it serves as a great location for the final fights of the arc, giving three different environments to use and different ways to play to the different fighters' strengths. And, considering it served as Nami's prison for so many years, seeing it get destroyed is immensely cathartic.

Now, for the meta angle... When fans of OP are trying to get others into the series, we often say, "If you get to the end of Arlong Park and still don't like it, One Piece is probably not the series for you."

This is because Arlong Park is when the series really BECOMES One Piece. It's where all the elements of the story that make it great -the characters, the fights, the backstories, the worldbuilding- really come together in full force. That's not to say the previous arcs are bad, but rather that each did a few things very well while Arlong Park did EVERYTHING well.

Specifically, the famous 'Luffy... Help me' scene has become an iconic moment in anime in general. Many OP fans (myself included) cite it as the scene that made them fall in love with the series. When watching reaction videos and people reach that moment, I can sometimes even see some 'click' in their eyes. It's the moment they GET IT!

All these years later, and this moment still makes me tear up.

As for Nami & Zoro... This is definitely an important arc to their relationship.

Zoro has spent the previous arc being rather wary of Nami (and not without cause) but when Luffy orders Zoro to bring her back, he is determined to do it -even if it gets him captured. A fan-favorite moment occurs when a captive Zoro is brought before Arlong and Nami. Despite Nami herself and Arlong swearing that this cold-hearted person is Nami's True Self, Zoro decides to go with his gut and test her.

He throws himself into the water, still tied up, and banks on Nami to save him. And she does, even though it makes Arlong suspicious. Especially after Nami frees Zoro and gives him his swords back so he can escape.

(I'm really sad we don't get this moment in the live-action series)

This has Zoro convinced she's a good person in a bad situation, yet later, when it appears Nami has killed Usopp, Zoro is once again confused about her character. It's only when Usopp turns back up and explains what happens that Zoro fully throws his swords in Nami's corner. He even sleeps through her backstory because, by this point, he knows she is good.

Hope this all helps but honestly you should just go experience it yourself because I can't do the arc justice.

[pathetickuroo]

a ranking and analysis of “epic: the musical” songs so far, from someone who knows a lot about theater and not a lot about mythology

RANDOM DISCLAIMER: to reiterate from the title, i know a lot about music and theater, but NOT a lot about greek mythology. i'm trying to slowly read the odyssey as sagas release so that i'm never too far ahead but i can still have a sense of where things are going. aside from that, i have very basic foundational knowledge from vague exposure to pjo (but i never got into pjo myself LOL)

(also no one better spoil the odyssey for me in the tags or the comments i swear to god this is supposed to be about the SONGS)

putting it under the cut so people can scroll past if they want; this is long as fuck and i'm not gonna pretend it isn't.

9. the horse and the infant

i almost placed this one higher SOLELY BECAUSE OF "PENELOPE… PENELOPE, AND TELEMACHUS". (side note: low placement absolutely does not mean bad. i love every song in epic. like, excessively.) i'm probably going to talk about odysseus's voice A LOT. i love it. the reason i got into this in the first place is because back when early auditions were happening, one of the demos came up on my fyp and i was baffled by the vocals. from a plot standpoint i really like what this song does lyrically and what it shows of odysseus in particular but also how the gods interact with the mortals. zeus is immediately talking down/condescending to odysseus (which is fair because. it's fucking zeus, and also a detail that was pointed out to me by my friend), who reacts saying he "knows" he's ready for, essentially, whatever zeus throws at him… until he finds out zeus is making him kill a baby. the first two songs in the musical (this and "just a man") both reveal so much about odysseus, which is of course good because that's who we're supposed to sympathize with.

anyway. love this song. fuckin bangs.

8. just a man

normally with these early character-establishing solos i like them a little at first and then always skip them after that first listen. that's just a Thing for me. like, i know who you are now, i don't need to hear it again. but not this song. this was the first song that really told me i was gonna obsess over this musical for a long time and that it was going to ruin my life. my ONLY criticism, and it's not even a big one because it doesn't truly bother me/disrupt my listening experience at all, is that it's hard to hear any distinct emotion from odysseus for most of it. BUT I CAN'T EVEN BE MAD BECAUSE HIS VOICE IS SO STUPIDLY GORGEOUS. maybe that's hyperbole but i feel like you can't blame me for that. again as far as plot hearing odysseus's internal struggle about killing the baby is very foundational for our understanding of the character. also, the dual meaning of the lyric "when does a man become a monster" which as others have pointed out refers (most likely) both to odysseus wondering if fulfilling his end of the prophecy will make him a monster and also wondering when, if this baby grows up, it will cause whatever destruction zeus foretold… i have a lot of feelings. i like this song a lot. a LOT.

SECOND RANDOM DISCLAIMER: at some point, you will probably start to think i sound pretentious. i like my own funny words and think i am a magic man. you are allowed to not like my funny words.

7. open arms

i would like to briefly touch on how much i love steven dookie's voice before we proceed. ok thanks. ANYWAY, this to me is our first real shift away from the musical theater genre-sound, something that i love about modern theater and particularly composition. the vocal style is less theater-inspired to me, too--until the lotus eaters show up--which really speaks to the message of the song in my opinion. the laid back sound after the sort of chaos and pain of the past few songs is refreshing to me. as far as characterization it solidifies what i feel we already knew about polites just from that little bit of him we heard in full speed ahead, but shows the more caring side to his positivity (the "you can relax, my friend" refrain and variations). i also love what it shows about the dynamic between odysseus and polites, establishing further that polites isn't just a soldier but a friend. this is one of the songs that i don't have a lot to say about, truthfully, but mostly because every time i listen to it i'm just enjoying the sound LOL

6. full speed ahead

SIX HUNDRED MEN. SIX HUNDRED MEN UNDER MY COMMAND…. this is where we really meet some new characters, and their introductions--true to form for the show--show a lot about them, both right away when they show up and all the way through the end of the song too. eurylochus, the battle-minded second-in-command to odysseus, and polites, the kind-hearted best friend to odysseus, both make their positions very clear not only in their verses but i feel also in just the way that they greet odysseus/each say "captain" (but that could also just be the different qualities of their voices). re: vocals, more vocal excellence from odysseus (have i mentioned "and ithaca's waiting etc" yet?), and polites sounds so fucking good constantly, and eurylochus has such a consistent tone through his whole verse. re: polites, a lot of the other voices in this musical are kind of standard fare (respectfully! i love theater voices genuinely) for what you imagine theater actors to sound like, but polites (played by steven dookie) has such a unique tone for this medium and i love it so so much. the soldier ensemble is insane too. from a compositional standpoint i LOVE the call and response, particularly on "so, captain, what's the plan? (captain, what's the plan?)" + that section where the soldiers echo odysseus that comes right after that. i didn't think this would beat just a man when i started this, but i was very wrong. very very wrong.

5. polyphemus

i don't want to talk about plot OR musicality, first. i want to talk about sound design. the choice of the particular sound effects that were used with the reverb and the overlapping noises from the sheep paint a very clear picture indeed of polyphemus's cave. (something that definitely did not hurt to accomplish this end was the teaser video where odysseus, eurylochus, and polites were in the dark holding candles (? i think, some kind of small light sources at least).) audio panning was also present in the intro for this track, i would say up until polyphemus starts to sing it's pretty prevalent, and audio panning is my favorite thing you can do to establish spatial understanding in non-visual media. okay, moving on. in this song, odysseus directly parrots polyphemus's words and melody, and this is a theme that continues in the other songs the two are both in. this also, to me, shows that one of the layers of his plan is to make himself seem more agreeable to polyphemus (which in itself as a fact i think is rather clear in terms of plot, but i think the specific methodology from a compositional standpoint is fun). AND JUST TO SAY: the moment at the beginning where this suddenly becomes a horror musical made my heart drop through my ass in the best possible way. i had to stand up for the rest of the saga because sitting down limited my range of motion too much and i had to go insane. in terms of characterization, we know that odysseus is smart and resourceful mostly from what we hear about him from others, but i feel like this song is the first one where we see that firsthand. i love this song.

4. warrior of the mind

the first song i had to just sit with and loop for a while (i did the same with just a man, but several days later upon relisten). athena's vocals never fail to astound me, teagan earley's tone is so clear and strong, and this is kind of specific but i like the choices she made on vowel placement, particularly on that last "mind" in the first chorus. also, i'm not even going to beat around the bush: i'm a trumpet player, i've been playing trumpet for theater and in other contexts for almost a decade now, and when i heard that low trumpet line underscoring the first establishment of the melody in the chorus, i KNEW an octave kick was coming and i was THRILLED when it delivered so perfectly. i don't know if it's synth trumpet or a live musician, i assume synth just for ease of production, but either way, i'm obsessed with it. absolutely a fantastic composition choice when it comes to ramping up the energy of the second half of that chorus. again in regards to composition: obsessed with odysseus's harmonic line in the second chorus. it took me a while to pick the notes out because i go a little harmony-blind sometimes when i'm too busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing but once i got that line in my head i was all about it.

(did not think this section would be so wordy, but) what this song shows about athena in my eyes is her fondness for odysseus--which sounds obvious until you remember how zeus interacted with him vs how athena does. athena gets close to talking down to odysseus sometimes, yes, but in more of a human, sarcastic way ("you'll see where it ends"). one could argue that the entire intro is her condescending to him in some way, certainly, but when she almost immediately also establishes that she sees the merit in his skills and his mind and has for some time now, it takes away the sort of preachy sound that was there when zeus was doing it. again in the characterization vein it shows odysseus's spirit, the more childish side of him (of course, because he was younger for much of this song) that we don't get to see in the songs that are set in the "present" period. in warrior of the mind, we see odysseus, the boy. in all the other songs, we see odysseus, the king.

anyway. i adore this song. if that wasn't, like. clear.

3. survive

THE ECHO OF THE HORSE AND THE INFANT. MY JAW WAS ON THE FLOOR. people other than me have said that this could be a way of showing that the fight with polyphemus is the will of the gods and i can see the merit in that standpoint but i also think that this is, in this telling at least (which is a distinction i make because i started the odyssey literally today and read maybe 10 pages before i had to go to class so i don't concretely know the details), showing that this is the first real conflict odysseus and the soldiers have been in since the seige of troy. also interesting to note: this song, if i'm not mistaken, is actually in compound meter at least in certain parts (before u fight me on this take a second to count it both ways, i'm not even entirely sure because of how i've been feeling the pulse). also, this reestablishes what i said earlier about polyphemus and odysseus parroting each other, but in this case i think it's polyphemus trying to do as much damage to odysseus and the soldiers as possible, certainly more like mocking them than trying to communicate on their level. (but also, melodic repeats are kind of just how music works, lol. remember when i said u might start to think im pretentious?)

now, maybe this is my sympathetic lens for odysseus showing, i fully admit that bias and own up to any way it may skew my judgement, but in that first chorus, i feel like odysseus isn't just trying to rally his men but to find the will in himself to fight as well. after the long war in troy and being confronted with polites's ideology, i would certainly be weary and sick of fighting. something about "it's just one life to take / and when we kill him then our journey's over" sounds so self-consoling to me. idk! maybe just me!

i'm, uh. not gonna talk much about the plot at the end, there. for obvious reasons, as someone who foolishly got attached to polites. we're gonna gloss over that. (fellow polites likers, how we feelin, though? we all coping?)

2. remember them

if you'll recall from many many paragraphs ago, i mentioned that in "just a man", i felt like there wasn't much emotion in odysseus's voice. this? the intro of this? this, to me, kind of makes up for that. and i mean the VERY beginning, the anger/intensity in that first verse. something that i noticed, that the fellow polites likers will be upset with me for pointing out, is that starting on "mark my words now" and through eurylochus asking "but captain, what'll we do with our fallen friends?", the guitar in the back is playing the melody of "we're up, we're off, and away we go" from "full speed ahead", the first song we hear from polites in. (sorry guys, if i was burdened with this knowledge you will be, too.)

this song and "polyphemus" both do a really good job of establishing horror-style tension. eurylochus's "there are more of them?" and what i would call horror sirens on the strings in the beginning of polyphemus are what i mean, here. it gives that nice stomach-swoopy feeling that recreational horror is so fond of. the ramping tension when eurylochus is pleading with odysseus to order them to run is fantastic too.

re: odysseus vocals. "my friend is dead! our foe is blind! the blood we shed, it never dries! is this what it means to be a warrior of the mind?!" will never NOT make me insane. it makes me want to scream, genuinely. and via the lyrics and instrumental sound we understand the ruthlessness of odysseus's vengeful side as well. again, possibly my sympathetic lens, but "let's grab the sheep and away we go" and during the argument up to that aforementioned point, odysseus just sounds tired to me.

also, i'm sure we all collectively shat our pants when we heard athena. i don't have much to comment on the matter further than that, but know that i was losing my fucking mind as soon as i heard her voice.

last thing: odysseus's choice of words when revealing his name is interesting to me. the "infamous" odysseus? infamy has a very negative connotation and maybe that's just him acknowledging that to polyphemus he'll always be painted in a negative light due to his actions in the cave, but it's an interesting choice in verbiage to me.

1. my goodbye

you were a fool if you thought this was ever gonna get anything other than first place of all the songs that are out so far. hearing athena and odysseus tear each other to pieces was so satisfying on the second listen with the new understanding that the partnership was sort of exhausting on both ends. i confess that my first thought right after i finished this song the first time was "HOLY FUCKING SHIT" but my SECOND one was "bro really wrote a breakup song and thought we wouldn't notice (but said with a positive connotation)". as far as i understand it, and i've asked questions about this so i'm fairly certain, there was nothing romantic in nature about the relationship between athena and odysseus (which i see as a good thing), and the song sounding like a breakup song is more a fun creative choice. and i DO think it's fun, in that case! so with that interpretation in mind, when i go back to the lyrics now, i think about how odysseus's original idea that he and athena would be friends was shot down and in this song i start to feel that maybe despite athena's best efforts they DID consider each other as friends. and of course i think that's intentional--that's why "you're not looking for a mentor, i'm not looking for a friend" cuts so deep.

there's also something in the way the two characters argue with each other that i find so compelling. i feel like athena is really trying to be right, or maybe not that she's trying to be right per se but that she's trying to make odysseus understand why he's wrong. odysseus, on the other hand, seems to be trying to hurt athena as much as possible, in as few words as possible. athena's argument has one core idea, and it's that odysseus is reckless/unfit to be her disciple because he's too emotional. odysseus, on the other hand, brings up several points, like 5 or 6 different little gripes about athena that he's probably been holding onto for who-knows-how-long. it just shows how the focus is entirely different on both parts and i like it a lot LOL

vocals absolutely deliver of course, that goes without saying. and i made that point earlier about how i felt odysseus didn't show much emotion in voice, and maybe this is just me being the #1 jorge rivera-herrans defender or something but i feel like a sort of detached-ness was intentional this time. like odysseus saying, "you can't fire me, because i quit." that's not entirely me being biased, i think the language reflects it too: "this way, you'll close the door and have your damn goodbye." that sounds dismissive to me, and the way that he previously frames athena leaving as something that would be good for him ("this way, you won't plague my life").

anyway….. less of a ranking and more of a song analysis where the songs just so happen to also be ranked. this was originally gonna be on my priv twitter, but the character limit was driving me up the wall, so. here.

[chirpsythismorning]

You can't expect people to take you seriously if you're not providing any proof? If Will and El are twins and Joyce and Hopper are their bio parents, why don't any of them know about it and why haven't there been any hints about it? I'm not even trying to be rude here I just haven't seen any evidence. Let alone strong evidence

I've gotten a few confused asks about this theory and how it just doesn't make any sense..?

I'm not saying that I completely understand the ins and outs of how it works, in fact I'm still completely immersed in theorizing and not being certain of anything! Quite frankly, I don't understand it (how time works/the rules of the game), though I think that's necessary because otherwise everyone and their mother would have guessed this surprise by now if it was any more obvious than it already is.

I also just feel kind of bad about spoiling what could possibly be going down, especially bc this would clearly be a series long surprise.

I've been theorizing for months now with @shippingfangirl013 about this. It started with us sharing thoughts about Twelvegate and just sort of piecing together s4 lab scenes and then eventually going back to the beginning to see what we might have missed from this new lens, that being the possibility that Will is Twelve. And that's when we realized A LOT of stuff has been overlooked from the very beginning, which provides not only answers to certain questions we had, but also brings forth even more questions that we wouldn't have come up with, had we not looked back further into the details in the first place.

She has a bunch of posts that are severely underrated in regards to this whole theory, so I urge you all to check those out:

Twelvegate Theory: Drowning in the Quarry and Will & El (Part 1)

Twelve Actor Resemblance to Young Will Byers

Stranger Things S5 Conglomerate Twelvegate Theory (Part 1)

Conglomerate ST S5 Theory Parallels

Also be sure to keep an eye out because she has some really big brain analysis in the works that you dont want to miss. I can honestly say she plays a big role in why I feel fairly confident about this theory, because I myself didn't really believe it at first. But now, after everything I've seen, it's kind of hard not to.

Even if you don't like this the idea of this theory or just simply don't believe the evidence presented that you've seen thus far, at the very least looking at this could expand your ability to look further at other details on the show and even pick up on evidence of your own. I find that more often than not, knowing about the existence of certain overlooked details allows you to find even more overlooked details that others missed.

For the sake of your doubtful ask, and for anyone else who isn't even considering this theory because it seems too far fetched, I'm going to share some of my favorite unhinged evidence for whatever the hell gate we're calling this...

But first, here is some basic context for the chaos that follows.

Something important to note, is that we don't meet Hopper, El or the Byers the night that Will went missing. We only met Will and the party. Instead they saved the rest of the main character's introductions (his family, mind you) for the following day, after Will had gone missing. This also means they saved their introductions for AFTER the big power outage that happened that night right before he disappeared.

I find this interesting because this choice allowed them to make those introductions feel arguably 'starting point'/reset-like (like in a video game).

You'll also note there is a 'Pizza One' box in that first scene when the party is in Mike's basement playing their campaign, moments before that power outage. This could have been a hint that the very start of the pilot episode at the Wheelers may very well be the OG timeline, that we've been straying from ever since. And so let's say hypothetically, if we had met Hopper, El and the Byers BEFORE that power outage, whose to say their lives wouldn't have looked slightly different...?

The first time we are introduced to Hopper is in the scene directly after the opening credits, which was right after the scene of Will disappearing in the shed. Hopper is sleeping on the couch in his trailer, wearing both his daughter's blue bracelet and his watch. We also get 3 references to keys in this scene (a 2 ft long key decal in the literal opening shot). And if that's not enough, what follows is Hopper getting ready for work, putting a yellow pen in his pocket near a painting of an owl, before grabbing his keys and walking out the door.

The first time we are introduced to Joyce (the Byers), follows directly after the scene with Hopper, where Joyce just so happens to be looking everywhere for her keys, Where the hell are they?, followed by finding them on the couch, despite already looking there previously with no luck (interesting Hopper was sleeping on the couch with Willel symbols on his wrists only moments before this hmm). We then get a shot of Joyce showing concern over Will not eating breakfast, followed by scolding Jonathan for forgetting to wake Will up, adding I've told you this a thousand times, before she walks past an owl on the wall in the hallway and opens the door to another owl on the wall in Will's (unoccupied) room...

Let me just say, for the sake of this fictional family, I hope to god they haven't been through this thousands of times. Though I fear they might have. At least more than once...

There are a lot, A LOT of scenes that go down like this. As the show progresses, we get a lot of references to time passing and confusion and impatience and it almost feels like they themselves know deep down this isn't their first rodeo, and yet they're still playing along bc how exactly can one question their reality?.

The problem right now for me, is that I don't understand the rules of the game. How does time work? What even is the goal of the game (to win, I presume?)? Maybe Vecna's having to keep reseting the time loop, to get the results he wants, and over time he's getting closer and closer to the results he wants, but it will ultimately (predictably) lead to him failing once and for all in the final season, when all is inevitably revealed?

Hypothetically, if this is all some game/pocket universe Vecna has thrown our core characters into, essentially surrounding them with 'fakers', then how do we know what is/isn't real? Or I guess whether or not we're in a timeline/loop either closest to, or furthest away from the original timeline? That's why it's hard for me to go further in terms of definitively piecing everything together time wise. Not only that, but we also don't even know for sure what Vecna wants from Will and El, truly.

But I do think that a lot of the answers to the truth are hidden in plain sight.

If you're genuinely curious, I encourage you to rewatch the show for yourself to see if you can pick up on things! Be sure to keep an eye out for keys and owls in particular. Also, El's flashbacks of Mama/the rainbow room might prove to be important... like, literally slowing down and pausing and screenshooting every single frame level important...

Who knows, you might even stumble upon a completely different undiscovered theory in the process!

On that note, here is just a slice of my favorite evidence in regards to this theory, that will hopefully open your mind to the possibility:

When Hopper asks about Lonnie's whereabouts, Joyce insists TRUST ME HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. They made sure to keep the keys on the wall OUT of the frame in those shots referencing Lonnie by name specifically. However, when the conversation circles back to Will, and then follows after with Joyce telling Hopper to find her son, the keys are once again visible in both of their shots.

This scene right here is pretty epic. We all interpret Hopper's investigative skills throughout the series as him just being good at his job. But I would argue this scene in particular gives off very intense deja vu. It's as if Hopper knows where to look, because he's done this before. It's as if he's getting a gut feeling in certain areas that actually could be close to the truth, because this is his thousandth time doing this (Jesus, for their sake, I hope that's not the case).

Still, Hopper showcases a lot of unbelievable detective work throughout the show, and I think it could very well be hinting at him drifting in and out of awareness over the fact that he has done this before, which allows him to make such incredible guesses that lead him to the answer sooner than he would have in any normal situation (and yet, never too close...)

Has this always been here? That's what Hopper asks about a dent in the wall. We interpret it as maybe Hopper trying to figure out if this could be connected to Will's disappearance. But what if it's more than that? What if it hasn't always been there? What if this is a glitch in the matrix of sorts, and he noticed that glitch, bc this isn't his first time doing this? (Also peep the owl that shows up at the very last second in the shot directly below, with Joyce and Hopper in the frame, just as he gets the urge to check the backyard...)

This scene... This fucking scene ya'll. It just doesn't make any sense. This is one of several scenes throughout the show that have so many unanswered questions. I think it's because something else is going on that weren't not supposed to understand yet. That shot with Hopper encased in a rainbow is cool and probably means something... Hopper intensely walking into the frame as he steps towards the shed, with the upside down horseshoe above the door also probably means something...

Hopper literally walks up straight to where Will was in the shed the night previous, bc he's just that good of a detective. Yeah, okay... Suddenly the light overhead is blinking dramatically, only to switch off completely, which leads Hopper's eyes to catch this makeshift fort in the corner of the shed. Before he even gets a good look at what he's seeing, he's interrupted by Callahan, pulling him out of his deja vu state, followed by the light switching back on instantly, as if the occurrence was all in his head.

This also happens a lot, where our main characters are being interrupted by other characters, only seconds before they were close to solving something. And I just find that interesting...

This one is kind of peak comedy because, all it's doing on the surface is implying that Joyce and Hopper have a romantic history, but it also sneakily involves Will in the joke, as evidence that they have been intimate... The Chief and her, they've screwed before huh? ...WILL! That a 'yeah' or did they...

To be honest, I was really doubtful about Joyce and Hopper being El and Will's biological parents at first, even despite believing twelvegate and the possibility of them being twins. And this doubt mostly came from the scenes we get with Terry aka El's 'Mama'.

Initially, I had convinced myself it would be too sad, considering how much backstory we got about Terry. But @shippingfangirl013 made me realize that there is something very off about these scenes with Terry, that I think kind of went over all of our heads.

First of all, Mama is essentially the equivalent to the name Papa, and so we should start by unpacking that. Why didn't the writers have El distance herself from that exact association she links to Brenner, by just having her call Terry 'mom' like most kids call their mother? It doesn't seem that serious on the surface, but again this is a choice the writers made... Maybe it's because they wanted the audience to subconsciously associate those two with each other (Papa/Mama)? Also peep Jim giving Will Byers vibes, all lit up by the sun like Jesus (or I guess... God?) below!

The main thing I want to talk about though, is that despite Terry's vegetative state, she's still managing to give us hints about how she feels and what she thinks, with very subtle micro-expressions.

When she meets Hopper and Joyce in s1, Terry looks completely unsurprised. You could say she looks the same all of the time, because of her vegetative state, and while I mostly agree, there are some outliers in the mix.

When Joyce mentions El being her daughter, what we get is a reaction shot of Terry dramatically closing her eyes for an extended period of time, almost like she's experiencing frustration over them woefully misunderstanding the truth behind what's going on.

And I think that's kind of the whole point of the vegetative state here, that perhaps if Terry could say what she wanted to say, it would give away the truth that has been hidden all along, AKA Joyce and Hopper are El and Will's true parents. When Joyce then mentions her missing son, showing Terry a picture of him, this woman LITERALLY turns her head to the right, looking straight up annoyed... Why? Why would she do that unless this is her ?/? time meeting them, hearing this same old silly charade?..

But then here... THIS moment when Hopper asks about Brenner and Terry's relationship with him, that's when it gets interesting. Terry doesn't look exhausted over their ignorance anymore like she seemed to be in the moments previous. Now, she's back to her stare of nothing, and yet seeing this in contrast to her micro-expressions, almost adds a new layer to what this could possibly mean... Perhaps this could be hinting that Hopper is a lot closer to the truth than he realizes, warranting a knowing look from Terry, with her almost impressed, thinking Damn Jim, maybe you'll figure it out this time and I can finally be released from this hell...

This might seem like a reach to assume Brenner and Terry had any sort of relation beyond her being a lab volunteer, but something I think you might be interested in knowing, is that Terry has a little collection of Bonsai tree books beside her chair... Bonsai... does that remind you of anyone...? (If you check out those posts by @shippingfangirl013, you might know what i'm referring to...)

The fact that Hopper even mentions Brenner and Terry's presumed connection to him is just one other example of Hopper subconsciously picking up on things he discovered in previous loops that are close to the TRUE truth, allowing him to narrow things down quicker this time around, without needing to take all the steps to get to that point.

An owl behind both Joyce and Hopper here, while they talk about what allegedly happened to Terry and her daughter Jane.

And there you have it folks, the acknowledgment that the truth could have been covered up, the moment Hopper stands in front of the owl artwork (literally covering it up). Owls, which have been tied more than anyone else to Hopper, Joyce, Will and El (tying them together?).? Also the crib between them... Nothing to see here.

This one is pretty self explanatory. We even get a parallel to this in s4 with El AND Will, though next time they'll confirm Hopper's role in the equation. So, be ready for that...

These scenes are so important to this theory because despite them all being separated (who knows how many times now), they have this epic finale of coming together. We get these really heartfelt scenes with El and Joyce and Hopper, Will and El, and then Will and Joyce and Hopper, and it's all very emotional and just so much deeper knowing that the truth could be that they're all tied to each other more than we (or even them) realize.

11 & 12 between the two hands on the clock, in a moment that parallels X-Men and also the lab massacre (which presumably had both 11 and 12 in attendance...). Mike calling out to El emotionally the moment that Joyce and Hopper are reunited with Will. My heart can't take it!!!

Someone actually noticed this shot of Hopper recently, I can't remember who! But it made me want to go back to see what shot is right before it. And low and behold, it follows directly after a shot of the Byers family reuniting. Kind of interesting they made the choice to have this shot right afterwards, of Hopper sitting next to Ted (aka a dad), while looking lost in thought as he stressfully bites his nails, with his arm sporting his daughter's blue bracelet...

Not suspicious at all. That creepy shadow behind Owens as he makes an almost knowing comment about Joyce and Hopper being 'Mom and Pop', followed by Hopper looking like he's missing something...

And for this scene to follow shortly after? Hopper literally acknowledging Owens whose waving at him politely, and yet choosing to not wave back at him?... He KNOWS something is off, but he just can't quite put his finger on it...

As you probably know, most of the scenes with the birthday mug in Mike's basement involve either El (in s1) or Will (in s2-3), which is interesting considering the other few notable birthday references we get in the show, including this really cryptic sequence above, involve Joyce and Hopper...

Now, if you still didn't believe me about Terry's behavior being off, I think this piece of evidence might help support our claims a little bit more for you to consider. Because, why, WHY when El approaches Terry in the void and says I'm home, is Terry's response No..? Why would that even make any sense? Why would El's biological mom say No to her missing daughter implying that she is her family? Unless, she's not of course...?

Something interesting about the flashbacks that Terry shows El, is that they're very sporadic and hard to understand. Not only that, but we STILL get callbacks to these memories heavily even in s4, which tells me there is still something there that has yet to be picked up on, by both the audience and El herself, which is why they keep resurfacing in different forms. My favorite moment out of the s2 flashbacks though is probably this moment where it looks like a baby is born, only for Brenner to look back, like there's more to come (another baby?? TWINS?). But this type of twin imagery, only gets stronger in s3-4...

After 2 seasons of building up this meeting of these two characters who have been mirroring each other since the very beginning, here we are... Also, why even hold back for so long in introducing them? Maybe because them finally interacting properly is going to cause some things to resurface... And you definitely don't want to overlook these shots of Hopper and Joyce in Melvald's with two baby's in between them, followed by a shot of keys... Hmmmm.

Remember when I said to pay attention to the Terry/Lab flashbacks El experiences over the seasons?

Well this particular flashback below comes from 3x06: E Plurbius Unum aka the episode that was originally titled The Birthday, might prove to be important...

Jonathan and Will in a scene prior to El's flashback, has them situated interestingly between this Lucky Charms box and this Spill & Spell game, which is then followed by this scene with El experiencing flashbacks... And...

Rainbow? Lucky (Upside down horse shoe...) Enter flashback

I'm not going to be able to show each frame of this flashback, because in total there are over 30 different quick images shown and repeated...

And so, If you want to find out why this is the strongest piece of evidence for Willel twins in my opinion (brought to you by @shippingfangirl013's big brain), go back and rewatch to see how many times they show the image of baby El and young El in the rainbow room... Also take note of how shots of Kali (008) are interspersed consistently within this flashback, aka a character that is known for having powers to make people invisible, and to also make people see things that aren't actually happening...

Here's that parallel I mentioned earlier making a return, but instead tying El (and arguably Will) to Hopper being their biological father. Also peep El's bracelet and Will's watch being prominent in a lot of their shots together throughout s4, now that they share the screen a lot more.

The Wright Bros...

No, but seriously, Willel's bracelet and watch mirroring each other often in their scenes together, and by association also paralleling Hopper wearing one of each, dramatically showcased in his introduction to the series, can be something so personal to me...

THEY'RE TWINS YOUR HONOR!

This one really goes off. A car passes by a couple times during this flashback El has (IN S4), causing a shadow to cast behind Will, almost creating this duplicate-like effect... This is literally happening while El is having a flashback to her 'birth mother', while staring at a family (with their faces warn out/blurred) on a billboard, with an arrow pointing towards where Will, aka her twin, is standing to the right of her...

This one below has gotta be my favorite though. And it's because I literally remember watching this scene the first time and being confused?

Tbh, that's when you know something is more complex than it appears. Whenever something feels off within the context provided in the moment, it's probably because there's something deeper going on and there are multiple meanings at play. This means they're using this small moment as an opportunity to provide dual meaning in plain sight, that we wont understand the dual meaning of until later on down the line.

Are you ready..

Hmmm. I wonder what this could possibly be alluding to? Could it perhaps be the writers hinting at Hopper unintentionally projecting his own situation onto Dmitri? Is it possible who Hopper believes to be his child (daughter... son(s?)?) and his (ex)wife, are not actually who he and everyone thinks they are...?

Well. There you have it! These are just some of the many, many hints hiding in the details that point to the possibility of the Byers actually all being, Hoppers...?

For now, this is just a theory! So even though it's cool and there is a serious amount of evidence pointing to it, it will most definitely continue to transform and look different over time, the more we look deeper and discover more. Nothing is set in stone, for now it's all just theories and speculation.

Again, if you're curious about what else there is out there in regards to this theory and other possibilities surrounding it, please follow and check out @shippingfangirl013 posts! She was way more on board with this theory than me in the beginning and arguably still is, because I do still experience occasional doubt about it, for sure.! And so without her I would not have come to half of these conclusions! I look forward to you guys seeing other stuff she's discovered bc seriously... Her poor storage ya'll.

And also, if you're interested in the time-loop aspect specifically in regards to this, I encourage you to check out two recent posts I did about this. Part I actually starts with those first scenes introducing Hopper and the Byers and how other scenes later in the show parallel it. VERY VERY cool stuff, and tbh if you've made it this far, I think you'll be intrigued...

Time Loop Fuckery in Stranger Things Part I

Time Loop Fuckery in Stranger Things Part II

[wataksampingan]

Spoilers for Ep 69 COZ OF COURSE I'M SCREAMING (as well as Ep 70 and beyond coz I apparently hate myself and spoiled myself on Naver Webtoon. Again.)

It's a SUPREMELY interesting choice of translation in that scene where Theo has to pretend he knows how to behave like a normal loving husband. The English line the translator chose is "Isn't that right, Pereshati?"

Which is fine, coz 1) he doesn't call her anything different, and 2) this is a far more subtle shift - Theo only says her name in highlighted moments (e.g. when he fell off the bed, when he noticed her a little unsettled by his ferocity in the last chapter). Otherwise, his dialogue doesn't use her name at all. So this is him trying to emphasise their closeness... by using her full name (Lord love you Therdeo Lapileon, you hopeless dork)

However. In the original hangul, he outright calls her 부인 (buin) - 'wife'. Just to hammer in the awkwardness of "HI YES HELLO WE ARE EXTREMELY MARRIED, YES THIS IS MY TRUE, LEGIT WIFE, NOTHING ELSE GOING ON HERE" (the Webtoon comment that called him "an underrated comedy king" should be one of the top comments of the YEAR coz it's truer than we could've ever hoped)

Anyway, in modern usage(?) apparently its considered impolite to refer to your own wife as "buin" (someone better versed in Korean, please enlighten me)? It's more appropriately used to refer to another person's wife. But technically speaking, MILAOWM is set in some... 18th-19th century world so I would argue it could be okay to use...?

It's possible that it could be an equivalent to the way "madam" was used in the Regency era when men would and did call their own wives "madam". It was considered a proper term of address back then so I can only suppose "부인" in this regard can act the same way. But, I also recognise it would be a pain in the ass to translate it as "isn't that right, madam?" and then have the entire fanbase go berserk over why he's calling her something we mostly recognise as a formal term for strangers these days.

The... unofficial, let's say, translation went with "isn't that right honey?" which, while it would have achieved the same effect as 부인on the readership, also isn't quite the most accurate read on the line.

Literally speaking, the translation would have been: "Right, wife?"

...which would have been hilarious, but also WAY too close to Borat and just... undermines his dignity as a ML, possibly to irreparable extents (maybe? I don't think I would have minded coz there is really no fooling us at this point: Theo can do cool things if he puts his mind to it, but his default is Socially Awkward)

But because I'm biased: just you wait, Perry. We're all waiting with you for the time he smiles at you with his whole heart and you MELT - JUST WAIT.

Anyway, I thought that was just interesting and just makes me determined to keep Google Translating my way through the Naver versions. Also reading it on Naver is how I found the April Fool's 4koma and let's not go there coz I'm already thoroughly distracted.

The hand holding is just icing on the cake. Theo shattered me into pieces for a variety of reasons, but the hand holding is just *chef's kiss*. At this point, this is all progress on Theo's part ("if it's Pereshati, it's okay also I'm in love but no one say anything about that yet") it'll be another long wait until she figures out that she's fallen for him (so we hope) We are all Vicountess Otiz at this point.

We are also all Gloria Lapileon. MADAM. YOUR GRACE, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING.

That determined LOOK on her face in Episode 70 after she sort of denies Daniel a chance to play Cupid since Theo clearly hasn't made any progress in wooing Perry. That is the expression of a Grandmother with A Plan to Help Her Awkward Grandson Win the Hand of the Fair Lady who Saved Her Great Grandson/Family. I know she's been given the idiot ball to hold this whole time with regards to her own family and their household, but I love this matriarch and I wish her every success.

Meanwhile, the other current love of my life, Pereshati - is so tired of shenanigans and having to worry about so many people. I'm crying. She literally mutters to herself, "Why am I surrounded by weak* men?" and the bodyguard nearby, in utter shock, thinks to himself 'd-does she mean even the Grand Duke?'

[*the 'weak' here can refer to physically weak in hangul]

Just to preempt the "PERESHATI DON'T BE MEAN" comments, look at this from her perspective:

Count Jahardt: been sickly most of her adult life

Theo Lapileon: has just recovered from seizures, severe blood loss and a 3 day coma, and is honestly more fragile than he lets on

Adeus Potson: has been hurt twice, looks like a puff of air could blow him over

Celphius Lapileon: probably not included in her list, but he's still a wee babby, also full of toxic blood, and must be protected at all times

She's just so tired, guys. Exhausted by everything. Men, essentially (the women are also exhausting but they're not as fragile).

Also she doesn't have the full picture of the kind of demons Theo has been fighting/Adeus' true motives (though that is about to come SHOOTING OUT THE LEFT GATE) so we'll see how this shakes out eventually if/when she finds everything out.

I am not ready for Ep 75 being the season 1 finale. Truly I am Not Ready, but it must be done of course. I don't know how seungu is doing but I hope they're able to rest and recuperate and take care of themselves so this series can continue fucking me up being lovely and the target of my current obsession.

Shout out to Islette and Phineas - please let this father-daughter side relationship be given a spin-off/side stories coz poor Islette has been subjected, undoubtedly, to Phineas' unceasing tutoring coz he's a well-meaning worrywart and probably wants her to get up to the level of literacy she should have at her age (regardless of the trauma) and I just want to see how Phineas learns and grows to become the most whipped papa in the world

Honestly: who run this world? Girls.

(Okay, girls AND Marvin and Celphi, coz that map foreshadowing is heavy; why is Schwartz not considered a vassal state of Castor, despite having been defeated recently? HMMM.)

[darkfeanix]

Feanix Reads Dragon Age Comics

#1: The Silent Grove

I'll be posting my thoughts on each series as a whole, rather then individual issues. Below the cut are all the thoughts I had while reading The Silent Grove.

WARNING: It does get a bit Alistair critical, as I feel like this series really brought out the worst in his character, which in turn brought out the worst in me.

Anyway, here they are, my thoughts:

The Silent Grove (I)

So, first thing's first, it's strange seeing young Varric here. It's a bit surprising how quickly I've gotten used to silver fox Varric in The Veilguard promotional materials, with the longer hair and a bit of beard growth. Younger, cleanshaven Varric just looks weird to me now. The art style also doesn't help. I'm pretty sure the art style was one of the things that turned me off the first time I tried to read them when they first came out.

I'll admit, as far as protagonists go, King Alistair wasn't a huge draw for me, and even when the comics were first releasing, I don't think I actually read them until after the final issue of Until We Sleep had been released. I was always more of a Morrigan boy, and even in the first game, there were times when Alistair grated on me. We'll return to that point later.

Now, Isabela on the other hand? Yeah, she's the reason I even started reading these comics. I do love my captain.

I'd forgotten that Zevran is mentioned by name in this story. Apparently he was meant to be in the comic in Varric's place, but was "cut due to concerns about party dynamics", which to me sounds like a skill issue. Zevran has a pre-existing relationship with both Alistair and Isabela, and it's well-established that Varric doesn't like going out (to the point that the entire party will roast him for it in Trespasser no matter who you have with you).

This is baseless speculation on my part, but I feel like they went with Varric because Varric is probably more popular than Zevran.

The Silent Grove (II)

Okay, I'd like to lodge a complaint: Isabela deserved a new outfit. Varric and Alistair both got spiffy new outfits. Isabella doesn't even get pants. And it's meant to be freezing cold. We open with a guard complaining about how cold it is (cold enough that we can see his breath). Then we cut to Isabela climbing out of the sea. Does she not feel the cold?

She obviously feels the cold; later in this very same issue we see Alistair putting his cloak on her. Why didn't Isabela get an outfit upgrade again? (Don't answer that, we all know why.)

I feel like Varric literally questioning what he's doing there proves my point; maybe it's fitting with his luck that he gets dragged into this sort of thing, but his role just as easily could have been filled by Zevran. Of course, that being said, I do enjoy it when he narrates his circumstances out loud. It's a fun character quirk.

I appreciate that we see a Vashoth (or possibly even Tal Vashoth) as a member of the Crows; it emphasises that the Crows really do take anyone into their number. A pity that all the others basically look like human men. Not elf or dwarf in sight, and no women.

I wonder if the intention was for the reader to believe the prisoner was Maric. He says it's too late, and Alistair's narration says that his quest has failed, but I'm trying to imagine reading this for the first time without having spoiled everything for myself. I feel like I would assume that the man Alistair finds is Maric.

The Silent Grove (III)

First shot of Yavana, flashback, from behind. No pants. Pretty sure she is only the second named female character in this series so far, and neither of them have been drawn with pants. I can literally see Yavana's butt cheeks. Ugh.

Lack of pants aside, she does have a really cool design, though.

This part felt like a lot of exposition, some pretty scenery, and Alistair saying that high dragons are worse than darkspawn. Really, Alistair? You fought during the Blight, and you think that high dragons are worse than darkspawn?

"In my life so far, I've taken the sword to three dragons. The big ones, I mean – not the ones that look like scaly, tooth dogs and love horse meat, but the high dragons that make the earth shake. Not even darkspawn are that savage. A dragon feed on anything. A dragon exists only to kill."

This reminds me way too much of Iron Bull's speech about dragons.

"Dragons are the embodiment of raw power. But it's all uncontrolled, savage… So they need to be destroyed."

Ugh. At least right after Alistair gives that speech in his narration, the dragon literally chooses not to kill him. He never gives any indication that he learns from his interactions with the dragon, though – at least, not that I remember. Maybe the next two issues will prove me wrong.

Anyway, we will come back to this later as well.

The Silent Grove (IV)

I love Yavana. No surprise, right? She's Morrigan's sister, and she's written almost like a mix of Morrigan and Flemeth. I do wish we could have gotten to know her more.

"In destroying what it does not understand, mankind would destroy itself."

But gosh, I really dislike the way Alistair is written… well, I was going to say here, but the truth is everything about his interactions with the dragon and Yavana makes him come across as narrow-minded and really unlikeable to me.

"Meaning you don't understand either, but it's what your mother told you."

Yeah, we'll come back to that later.

Claudio is… eh. He's a bit player. His connection to Isabela's past makes for some interesting plot developments, and he's obviously tied to the larger story involving Maric – though, as above, I'm not sure if I would have made that assumption if I hadn't been already spoiled the first time I read this. I probably would have assumed he was just planning on ransoming Alistair back to Ferelden or something. Or, heck, putting him in that prison like Maric was.

I appreciate Isabela deciding on the spot that she's not going to abandon Alistair. She's grown a lot from the women she was at the start of Dragon Age II.

The Silent Grove (V)

Isabela marching back into the Silent Grove and yelling Yavana's name is very funny to me.

I'd completely forgotten about Isabela and Varric making a deal with Yavana. That makes me even more annoyed about the ending of this arc. But we'll come back to that later.

"You wanted me alive. Now you have to try to keep me."

Okay, I'll admit, that's a good line. Some of that charming, funny Alistair shining through. A shame there's so little of him in these comics.

I do wish slut shaming Isabela wasn't something that the writer felt the need to carry over from the game. Even with Claudio being a bad guy, it comes across as really distasteful considering they've designed her character to show as much skin as possible.

Badass final page with Yavana standing over Claudio's body and talking about how getting the truth even with him being dead.

The Silent Grove (VI)

"You almost missed the fun. Evidently we're going to ask Claudio how it feels to be stabbed in the chest."

Oh Isabela, how I love thee.

Yavana's idea of a séance involves a lot more pyrotechnics than one might expect, but it is quite exciting. I am curious if she burned his corpse, or if it was some magic of Titus's to try to keep his name out of Claudio's mouth?

Yavana's explanation of the Hall of Sleepers, and what Maric's deal was, really convinces me that Alistair was wrong and that she does understand what she's talking about. In the same way that Morrigan prioritised sparing Urthemiel's soul from death even after Flemeth is killed. I don't think either one of them (certainly not Morrigan) does what they do simply because their mother told them to.

Which brings us to possibly my least favourite part of this entire eighteen issue series.

Fuck you, Chantry Boy.

It's later, so here we are. I hate this moment. It makes me hate Alistair, for doing exactly what Yavana says mankind has always done and killing what he doesn't understand. And yes, he says he does it because he blames her for everything that happened in Ferelden after Maric left, but here's the thing: Yavana didn't make the fucking deal with Maric! Flemeth did!

And the thing is, two issues ago he accused her of simply parroting what Flemeth told her. He accused her of not understanding what she was doing. Which is it, Alistair? Is she another pawn of Flemeth's, or is she the wicked witch who took your daddy away?

Except she didn't take him away, Maric made that choice on his own. He made a deal so that he would be able to save his country, and then he held up his end of the bargain by travelling to Yavana.

Uggghhh!

Issues ends with Alistair bemoaning his own status as a pawn and saying he's going to kill Titus.

And then his final narrative just feels so shoehorned because it's close to the kind of humour we're used to getting from Alistair in the game, but this isn't that Alistair.

"My name is Alistair Theirin, and I'm king of Ferelden. Long live the king, long may he reign! And so forth. Pray to the Maker he doesn't do something stupid…"

You just did! Seriously, fuck you, Chantry Boy.

Final Thoughts

Oof. It had some okay moments, but to be honest, the best part of this comic for me was Yavana and, well… Yeah.

The thing is, I don't feel like I'm familiar enough with Alistair's character to say whether or not he's acting out of character. Is all of this something that a hardened King Alistair would do? Or is it the writing emphasising all the worst parts of him without balancing it with what made Alistair so popular?

Anyway, not a great start to the re-read. I really hope I have more fun with Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep, but I'm done for the night.

[erixyin]

Posion Running Through My Veins | Part 2

Well, here's part 2. Enjoy because it's gonna be a bumpy ride! Extra-long chapter - technically two chapters combined into one. Hope you like it

A lot is going on and I don't know how I'm gonna end things, but I don't need to think about that until the next part. Oh boi let's get angsty. This is a heavy Billy Hargrove chapter and also the reader is a singer and songwriter. Reader has written most of the original songs that Corroded Coffin play. It's a long one because I felt like rambling and spoiling you all since it will probably be a bit of a wait until the next update. I don't think three parts is going to be long enough.

I'm sorry it's so bad but I needed something to fill between the last chapter and the gig on Friday. It's not kicking off yet but it's going to. I'm so sorry for the angst.

Tag list: Please let me know if you want to be added in the future!

@sidthedollface2, @yaskna, @ancheyew, @samurai-hearts, @bucky-hydra-hoe-barnes,

Song used: This Love by Taylor Swift

Summary: Billy confronts and comforts you after your fight with Eddie. Reader puts her feelings into a song. Tensions continue to brew about who the song is about. Robin and Steve are worried.

Warnings: crying, mentions of trauma. fem!reader, reader uses she/her pronouns, possessive!eddie, eddie muson x reader, billie hargrove x reader, past relationship with billy hargrove, reader basically has a mental breakdown through her music, mentions of injury, violent and hot tempers, sorry for the long descriptive paragraphs i can't help myself, lmk if I've forgotten anything.

Words: 5003

No minors allowed please and thank you

Please do not repost anywhere. I will be posting on my AO3 account and linking it here.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

"Hi Billy."

He let go of your waist and gave you a boyish grin. It was playful and soft. Not many people saw this side to him. Especially after everything that went down.

You breathe an exhausted sigh. This really isn't what you needed right now after the fight. Your emotions still tight inside your chest. Feeling like you were about to spill over at any second.

You walked past him, hoping he'd get the hint that you wanted to be alone. No such luck. Instead, he kept up pace beside you. Eyes trained on you, your face and you saw him frown slightly at the sight of your other hand trying to cover up the bruise on your wrist that was starting to turn black and purple.

"You finally moved out, huh?" he finally asked. It was phrased as a question, but it felt more like a statement. A reflection on what he had missed while he had been under treatment. Maybe he had heard from Max that you had moved out into your own trailer. Maybe they had driven passed your uncle's house, since it was on the way to the trailer park. Or maybe Billy just knew that after everything that went down last summer, you had to get your life sorted and do what was best for you.

"I... yeah" you stumbled over your words. Exhaustion and pain on your shoulders and you were still winded by the swirl of emotions you had felt in the past few hours.

Billy held you gently by the shoulder, noticing the way you bit your lip at discomfort, before dropping his hand. He stopped in front of you. You were now far enough away from Eddie's trailer that you could start to breathe properly again. You looked back and saw the lights still on.

When you turned back to Billy, the bad boy appearance had temporarily dropped, and he pulled out a packet of cigarettes. He took one out and slotted it in his mouth, then offered you the packet. "I still don't smoke" you said, looking up at him, a twinkle in your eyes.

"I know." His smile was so goofy and friendly that the cigarette almost fell out of his mouth. Words no one else wouldeverhave the guts to describe Billy Hargrove as. His smile grew as you took one out of the packet without another word, a small smile creeping onto your face.

He reached into his back pocket for his lighter. Black covered with doodles of hot pink flames. "I cannot believe you still have it" you raised your eyebrows at him as you leant towards him to light your cigarette. He cupped his hands around the tip to ensure it was lit. He shrugged, not giving you the satisfaction of an answer as he lit his own. Chuckling, you took a long drag of the cigarette. Coughing slightly as the smoke filled your lungs. "Damn I have not done this in a while" you managed to splutter out, choosing to completely ignore the look of pure amusement on Billy's face.

Both of you sit on the table of the wooden bench just outside your trailer. You breathed deeply. The peaceful silence settling in as the stars started to wake up and take their spotlight next to the moon. This was something you had missed. You loved Eddie with everything you had but every moment with him was loud or talkative. You never had a moment where you could just sit together and be comfortable in each other's silence. But then equally, you couldn't as easily talk about things with Billy. It was always a struggle for him to reveal his true emotions. Even with Neil gone, so much had happened last summer. The things he had done, the things that had happened to him. You knew him opening up would be even rarer than before.

"Your boyfriend give you those bruises?" Billy asked, staring straight ahead of him. Of course he noticed you inwardly groaned to yourself.

"He's not usually like this. We just had a bad fight, that's all." You took another long drag, watching the embers of your cigarette butt float off into the air. Looking down at your wrist you gently smoothed over the bruise, sucking in a sharp breath when you did. It was worse than you had thought. Muttering a "fuck" under your breath, you blinked sharply trying to ignore the pain. Your hand shivering slightly as you brought the cigarette to your lips. You didn't want to even think about the bruise Eddie had, in fairness probably accidently, left on your shoulder from the parking lot.

"Was it about me?" he asked, still staring ahead. Eyes unwavering from wherever he was looking. You couldn't read his emotion from the side. If your brain hadn't been so tired, maybe you would have spotted the direction the conversation was going in. Biting your lip, you had no reason to lie to him. But at the same time the emotions you through you had calmed down, threatened to spill over once again. When you said nothing, he just nodded and let out a deep sigh. "He gets like this a lot when he gets mad?" Billy had a way of making his questions sound more like statements of fact. It made it difficult to argue with him, but it also made you face the ugly truth quicker.

"No, he's not like this usually. It's his dad he-" you cut yourself off, not wishing to tell Billy Eddie's trauma just like that. It wasn't your place. "He just lost his temper alright." Standing up you took the cigarette out of your mouth and stamped it out on the ground, ready to leave this conversation. Running away again you heard your voice inside your head, how typical. Shaking your head slightly you pushed the thoughts to the back of your mind.

"Doll" you let him take hold of your non-bruised wrist. Not with the same painful grip Eddie had had on you, but something gentler, still firm. "You and I both know that shitty fathers aren'tan excuse" he looked at you, his icy blue eyes staring into yours.

The unwavering eye contact between someone you know wasn't going to back down, made you finally crack. The first tear fell down and then then the second, and then before you knew it you were crying your eyes out in front of your ex-boyfriend Billy Hargrove. You allowed yourself to lean into his touch as he held you like he did before in the parking lot. Except this time with him sitting down on the bench still, so you could lean into his neck and let him engulf you into a tighter hug.

You stayed their crying silently. The fear from the car ride, the flashbacks of Eddie yelling at you and hitting the steering wheel, the pain on your wrist and the feeling of being trapped. It was all too much for you to keep locked away. Even after everything that had happened to you with the Upside Down, almost losing your ex-boyfriend and the fear of it all coming back again. You thought you could handle relationship drama. You certainly could handle everyone else's, even Steve who was trying to date every single girl in the state.

"I'm sorry" your muffled apology, while Billy just held you. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. He was better at showing his emotions through actions rather than words. He shushed you gently as you kept trying to apologise as you tried to silence your sobs.

You eventually pushed against him, pulling yourself up and out of the hug. You were about to apologise again, but Billy got up from the bench and put his hand on your chin. His thumb gently grazed your lips, in a gentle attempt to stop the apology from escaping. It fucking worked because it took you a heartbeat longer than necessary for your brain to start working again.

"You need sleep, my girl" he let his hold on your chin linger for a little longer and then added, "And if he hurts you again, you let me know" this time his eyes were serious. You looked at him eyes wide, "I won't hurt him, not until he does it after the warning" he smiled at the end and so did you. Part of you thought he was joking but deep down you knew Billy would kill Eddie if things got too out of hand. He was gentler after everything that had gone down, more in control of his actions. But he still had a long way to go. You knew that more than anyone.

You wiped your eyes and smiled a goodbye as you headed into your trailer. Looking back to give him a small barely audible, "See you tomorrow" something that you usually said to Eddie if you couldn't spend the night at his. You didn't think much of it, Billy knew what you meant, and you went inside and locked up. Ready to have a long night sleep, drained from crying and the emotional rollercoaster you'd been on today.

He lit another cigarette with the black and pink lighter and blew smoke up in the air as he stared directly at the trailer you had come from, the lights still on, a figure in the window. Billy smirked and got in his severely beat up car, it roared as he drove away.

Looking out your window one last time as you heard the car speed off, the lights in Eddie's trailer now off.

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The next morning your head felt heavy, like a hangover or a migraine. The only thing pulling you into the present reminding you that the blur of events yesterday wasn't a fever dream was the smell of smoke on your clothes that you slept in, and the bruises still left on your wrist.

The fight and the words that Eddie has said. rushing back to you but you pushed them down. Not having another mental breakdown, you thought to yourself.

You decided doing the only thing you wanted to do after the fight was to write them all down and maybe turn them into a song. At first, you didn't know what to write. You wanted to do a solo gig or maybe join forces with Robin and Steve on stage, but you hadn't gotten around to figuring it all out. Plus, you didn't know how Eddie would feel about being in two bands, and you definitely didn't want to ask him about it right now.

Maybe after Friday?

Tuning your guitar, you realised you still hadn't called Eddie last night when you had gotten in, and he hadn't called you. "Well, whatever" you muttered to yourself, "he can sweat it a bit after yesterday." It's what he deserved you thought to yourself, but you didn't say it out loud. It felt too mean.

The words starting to flow onto the page and suddenly you were putting chords to paper, playing it and then reworking it with the song.

You grimaced as you looked at the time and realised that you had already missed first period. "Fuck!" You groaned shoving your notebook into your bag and your guitar into its case. This was gonna be a fucking awkward day and there was no getting around it. Looking at the sky, it was thankfully overcast which meant you could wear long sleeves, and no one would notice. Well actually...you thought to yourself before you smacked yourself into gear and shoved a fresh band t-shirt on and the jeans you were wearing yesterday. Shoving your shoes into your docs you darted out to your car.

Locking the door behind you, you heard a roar of a car engine behind you. You saw Billy in his torn up black car, with somehow a working engine. You hesitated. With his driving you could get to school and not miss too much of second period but at the same time if Eddie saw you pull up... It could get ugly. You looked behind his car and saw that Eddie's van was already gone so you couldn't have asked him for a lift even if it had crossed your mind.

But the decision had been made for you when you realised if you were late another time the school would call your folks andthatwas a situation you did not want.

Billy saw you hesitating at your door and the engine roared louder, as if an invitation to get in.

You gently put your guitar in first and then yourself, sitting your backpack on your lap. "Someone's eager to get to school, or maybe you just missed me so much since yesterday." He winked at you, and you just scowled. You were really not a morning person, and you didn't want to give hm the satisfaction of a response.

"Billy just fucking drive" you rolled your eyes and fastened your seatbelt. Billy just nodded and drove, like a fucking maniac, but you were right. You did get into school before the end of second period.

The drive was silent, you were thankful for that, after the last one didn't go so well. You didn't even ask if Max had already gotten to school, you hoped you hadn't just pinched her ride without even thinking of her.

When you got out the car you gave Billy a quick "Thanks!" Before you dashed in, really hoping that not too many people clocked that you had just gotten a lift to school by the Billy Hargrove.

Making it to second period, thankfully it was music so you, Robin and Steve could do fuck all and sit in one of the little music rooms and just chill. The teacher seemed confused that you had brought your own guitar with you but then couldn't be bothered to ask why so let you three go without a word. "I want to see you perform your creation at the end though!" Mr Bradley called after the three of you basically ran to one of the tiny music rooms.

"Can I copy your notes from Chemistry? I slept in" You asked the room, but it was for Robin. You knew Steve was going to ask the same thing because even though he had been there, he was focusing on other things.

"Only if you have a song that you can perform at the end of this class. Because I am not having Mr Bradley fucking harass me after band with 'when are you going to perform the song you've been working on for weeks' okay? I'm not going through that again." Steve walked over with his tambourine ready and your guitar on your lap and Robin being the musical genius she was able to play the everything.

Reaching into your notebook you pulled out the song you were writing. "Yeah, I have a few things" you said, flicking through the pages. A lot of the ones before the one you were writing this morning were mostly for Corroded Coffin, the one this morning was laced with pain and all the emotions you were trying to get rid of. You saw Steve trying to peak over at the words, but you held the book tighter to your chest. Giving you a confused look, since you were never too secretive with these two about what you were writing, you gave a half-hearted excuse of, "It's not completely finished yet."

"Can I tambourine to it though?" Steve here asking the important questions. You nodded before checking back to read over your rush of notes and then gave a hand gesture equivalent to 'I'm not sure?' "I'll just have to incorporate my genius another way then." He moved his hair with his hand dramatically and you chuckled. You could always trust Steve to lighten the mood.

You knew he was trying to cheer you up. Since neither of them had heard from you after you got into Eddie's van yesterday, they assumed it wasn't good. You knew Steve was trying to dance around the question. But Robin wouldn't be able to hold it in for much longer.

And like clockwork, "So what happened last night?" Robin asked. You shrugged, not really wanting to get into it now since you had only just started to feel better. The negative emotions that had finally started to escape you were now slowly burrowing their way back in.

"Hey, what happened? I know that Billy dropped Max off at the trailer park. Did he see you? What's wrong?" Robin further pressed. You knew she wasn't trying to pry; she was just worried about you. You let out a small 'ow' when she placed her hand on your wrist, attempting to comfort you. Shrinking away when she heard your small noise of pain.

"Show me" Steve said instantly, in his parent tone. You knew there was no arguing around this one. You reluctantly pulled up your sleeve to reveal the purple, green and black bruise bound around your wrist. You heard Robin gasp and Steve looked like he was ready to kill someone with the tambourine he was holding.

"Who did this to you?" Steve was standing, pacing around the small room. You shook your head. You really didn't want to talk about this right now. All of the pain and worry seeping back into your mind that you had tried to push away, to write away, it was now coming back. "Wait you said Billy was at the trailer park, right?" He looked at Robin and Robin was wide eye. You continued to shake your head, but Steve ignored it. "You can't defend him forever y/n! He's a dangerous guy! You saw what he did to all those people last summer!" Steve went for the door, and you blocked him instantly. Putting your hands up to try and calm him down. Robin looking in-between you two, clearly struggling with what she should do. "He's dangerous, and he's not going to change! Look at what he did to you!" Steve was now practically yelling, and you were trying desperately to quieten him. "The first thing he does when he gets out of hospital is to try and drive a wedge in your new relationship and physically hurts you." Steve finally put down the tambourine. "I won't stand for it. You don't deserve that." His voice lower but still firm and seething with disappointment and disgust.

He pulled out his car keys and gently tried to remove you from in front of the door. You, still shaking your head, trying to form words in your mouth but all that came out were panicked breaths. "Steve calm down, this isn't helping" Robin pushed Steve out the way and put her hands on your arms. "Look at me, tell me what's wrong. We just want to know what happened." She could see that you were physically trying to stop yourself from shaking, on the verge of a mental breakdown.

You let out a strangled sob as you looked into Robin's eyes. You looked to Steve, seeing the anger was gone he was more concerned for you. Then in a very small voice you managed to stutter out, "It was Eddie" and then you buried your face into your hands.

Robin pulled you into a hug and let you cry into her.  She looked at Steve and mouthed 'Eddie?' and Steve nodded. Both of them stunned by the fact that it had been Eddie to injure you like this, not the only guy to match and overpower Steve in a fight.

With no malice, but firmly enough you wiped your tears and your snotty nose on your sleeves, pushing away from Robin. Proceeding to sit back down on the chair you had been previously. You put your guitar on your lap and pulled out your pen and notebook. "Please, can we just focus on music right now. I don't wanna discuss this anymore."

You refused to look at them both and eyes planted on the lyrics you had written this morning, more of them coming to mind. Steve was the first one to pick up his tambourine and went, "So what am I doing again?" and let out his best warm smile. You returned it, yours a little sadder as you strummed your guitar absentmindedly.

Robin carefully sat down on the table behind you, managing to sneak a glance at the words written in your notebook whilst you weren't looking. "We got 15 minutes left and then we are gonna rock Mr Bradley's world!" she said it with a forced laugh. The negative feelings crushing under the weight of Steve and Robin's attempts to abide by your wishes and just have a good time. You loved them with all your heart.

"So, I was thinking if you harmonise with me on this note-"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You ended up telling Mr Bradley that you would perform the song at lunch time, since you needed a little longer to rehearse and perfect it. It was really because you had a free period before lunch and Steve was making both of you laugh at his tambourine slapping hip swaying additions to his performance. Sometimes it felt good to just pretend to be regular teens at school, take a break from the reality of everything.

You knew performing at lunch time would mean that you would miss seeing Eddie, since you had no classes that overlapped today. But honestly? That's what you needed right now. A bit of space. Collect your thoughts and focus on your music.

You checked the tuning on your guitar one last time before double checking everything was fine with the instruments. Your anxiety getting the better of you and you just needed one thing to go right today. You could see the people start to gather for lunch time. You wondered if Eddie was already there waiting for you at their signature lunch table.

Shaking your head like an etch-a-sketch, pushing the only important thing to the front of your mind: Robin was on keyboard, bass guitar and backing vocals, Steve was on tambourine, backing vocals and gonna do a cheeky little razzle dazzle. Leaving you on your acoustic guitar and adjusting your mic.

"Well, I'm waiting" Mr Bradley said down below in one of the audience chairs, with a clip board. You sucked in your breath and looked at Robin and Steve. Counting yourself in. Just before you were about to start playing you saw the hellfire kids get to the table. You paused, knowing that Eddie would be on his way soon. Taking a deep exhale, you started playing and Robin and Steve followed suit.

"Clear blue water, high tides came and brought you in" you started singing, your voice wobbly at first until after a couple of beats it sounded more confident, still quiet. You pushed your nerves down. Even after performing at The Hideout so many times in front of your friends and the odd regulars, your anxiety always heated up on stage. It's just me and my friends performing a song in my bedroom was all you thought to yourself as you continued through the verse.

"Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again." you breathed a sigh, "and you were just gone and gone." It felt and sounded so therapeutic to listen to the words you had written down in your state of turmoil and have them sung back to you in a calming, melodic way.

"In silent screams and wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this" you felt the pull on your heart strings as you sang.

It was still only you on the guitar and occasionally Steve's tambourine to keep you in beat. you took a deep breath, ready for the chorus:

"This love is good; this love is bad. This love is alive back from dead, oh" Robin's keyboard joining you with the vocals and it suddenly sounded so beautiful. You never would have guessed that all of this pain could create such a beautiful song.

"These hands had to let it go free and, this love came back to me, oh"

At the exact moment you sung that line, Robin saw Eddie stroll into the cafeteria. She made no indication to you, but she glanced over to Steve, and he gave a subtle nod understanding. Thankfully you were still buried with the music, just focusing on the mic and playing, nothing else.

Then the second verse began:

"Tossing, turning. Struggling through the night with someone new" and if you had been paying attention it was that exact moment that Eddie clocked that you were performing on stage with Steve and Robin. Steve tried to keep his expression calm, but he noticed Robin almost missing her note on that line.

"In losing grip, on sinking ships. You showed up just in time." You now allowed yourself to get louder, ignoring the bustle of the cafeteria and as it got noisier. You just let yourself sing. Allowing those emotions to flow through and out of you and into this song. Unbeknownst to you, Max came and sat in one of the chairs behind your music teacher with her lunch, shortly followed by El, and then the rest of the hellfire kids. An unreadable expression on all of their faces. Finally, Dustin made his way over and sat next to Max. He looked heavily concerned and kept making sharp eye contact with Steve.

You changed up the chorus after the second verse randomly, almost catching Robin and Steve off guard.

"This love left a permanent mark. This love is glowing in the dark. These hands had to let it go free and, this love came back to me, oh."

You took a deep breath, preparing yourself for the bridge. It felt like you were confessing your feelings for the first time again. Sharing your darkest secrets. But if anyone asked you would say it was just a song and it held no meaning. Even though that wasn'tentirelythe truth.

"Your kiss. My cheek." You blushed but continued, "I watched, you leave. Your smile. My ghost. I fell to my knees." You almost faltered over that last word, but you powered on.

"When you're young, you just run. But you come back, to what you need." You sung that last note with all the power you could muster.

You continued on with the chorus, finishing on "this love came back to me, oh." Finally opening your eyes and allowing it to focus on the audience. You saw the kids all with their lunch on their laps. But your eyes landed on a fluffy haired individual who was leaning against the wall at the back. His eyes on you and you could see thoughts were ticking over in his mind.

Putting down your guitar, you noticed your music teacher looking pleased with your group. "Now that was worth the wait and all the excuses you kept throwing at me; however, I expect to see this kind of effort in every assignment I have for you three from now on." He got up and you saw on his clipboard he had given you all As for this assignment. With that he left, and you could release a breath you didn't even know you were holding.

Sliding off the stage, you were about to head over to Max. Throughout the song she was watching you as if she were listening to all the lyrics properly. As if she knew something else.

But Steve caught your arm and nodded over at Eddie who was only a few steps in front of you now. "Hey sweetheart" he smiled, his usual warm and silly smile. As if all of yesterday evening, hadn't happened. You gave him a small smile back, not yet ready to forgive him fully. Not until the bruises had at least started to heal.

You thought he was about to apologies again or pull you aside and have a talk with you. But to your surprise, instead, "Let's get my superstar singer of a girlfriend some lunch." And gently put his arm round you, carefully avoiding the place where he had gripped you only 24 hours beforehand.

"Only if you're buying." You let him lead you away from the group back towards the cafeteria, which was now bustling with people.

Steve and Robin were having a mental conversation with each other behind you whilst this exchange was going down.

The hellfire kids, all got up with the remainder of their lunches and followed Eddie back to their usual table. Adam, Gareth and Jeff were probably sat there on their own wonderingwhere the helleveryone else was.

All except Max, you said something to Lucas, and walked over to the duo. Biting the inside of her cheek she glanced back at you, laughing about something that was happening between Eddie and Dustin. The red head turned back to Steve, clearly wanting to say something but was clearly struggling to put it into words.

"C'mon kid, spill" Steve said, placing his tambourine down and sitting on the edge of the stage. Robin also crouching down, to sit next to him.

"You won't tell y/n?" She asked. It was clear whatever she was about to say, it was to be strictly kept between the three of them.

"Yeah, pinkie promise or whatever" Steve said holding out his pinkie, as to which Robin and Max rolled their eyes. Only Robin indulged him in the pinkie pact seal. He gestured to Max to spill. The pact now sealed.

After looking at her shoes and messing with her headphones a little She took another look over her shoulder, double checking whoever she was worried about definitely wasn't there or at least out of earshot. She brought her voice into almost a whisper, leaning closer to Steve and Robin's faces.

"I saw her and Billy outside her trailer last night."

[If you liked this please like, reblog, comment and follow for more!]

[charlidrawz]

Marvel & Disney Kingdoms:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

I had a blast with this! The art's cool & the story had me hooked- I can definitely see this being some inspiration for the movie if it's still in production. Ironically enough, I kept picturing Owen Wilson as Chandler. The characters are genuinely really intriguing, so if they are in the film I'd love to see them fleshed out even more.

The Enchanted Tiki Room

I'll be 100% honest, this one was not my favorite. It got a bit more interesting as it continued & easier to understand what it was going for, but my immediate reactions went from "Why only five???" to "How are there five." I didn't super love any of the characters except Michael, which isn't even a bias of any sorts- he was just genuinely the only character I liked from start to finish. Some of the concepts I was kinda into, but I think the main issue I had was regarding the content being possibly offensive to my peoples' culture & at the very least the accents of others'. -I wasn't super into some of the content here at all to be honest, & some jokes or weird reveals were just way too out there & felt like they shouldn't have been added. When I read a comic based on Disney Parks & their attractions I don't mind some "out there" content... but having an older woman fantasize about her dog turning into a handsome man & then later making out with a much younger man felt not only wildly uncomfortable, but like crossing the line. I love Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room... I was raised with it- but it was really hard to not just finish reading these issues, but even getting through the scenes with Jose & the gang was difficult for me; I was borderline skimming over their lines because I couldn't handle how not only lowkey poorly written the interpretations of their accents & personalities were, but genuinely upsetting & even frustrating their "arguments" would get. I actually had hope that maybe the reviews would be wrong & I would at least enjoy this if not it could have been my favorite. It was not my favorite. by any means. It made me uncomfortable & I felt sick trying to finish it. The ending was pretty solid. 👍 That's about as much as I can get myself to say.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days [Volumes 1 & 2]

It's hard to talk about Kingdom Hearts without majorly spoiling the series for folks so I'm just gonna leave ya'll with that. I am seriously enjoying the series so far & actually caved & got the franchise on steam since they're all on sale collectively for under $100 The art is lovely as always, & I'm super excited to continue!

[I did not know about the strike at the time & was unaware that Kingdom Hearts may be part of the struck games list for now; I will not be streaming the games until action has been taken. I'm not a member of any organizations or working for any companies, but it still feels wrong to be talking so positively about even a special interest if it may be actively supporting peoples' decisions that can seriously negatively effect artists' works & likenesses. I enjoy Disney content, but I do not condone every decision or comment made by certain individuals working at/running the company.]

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 34: A Different Dance

As always, I shamelessly spoil anything and everything in these posts so you really shouldn't read them unless you're up for that.

We continue with the Wheel icon as Perrin's personal destiny takes shape.

He was too busy wondering if the black-haired girl knew what yellow eyes meant.

Perrin's paranoia about this is quite cute. Yes, Perrin, the gal was checking you out from across the room because of your hard-to-notice-at-that-distance eye color and not because you're a strapping young lad. Wish Mat and Rand were here, why don't you?

“There is another false Dragon, innkeeper? In Ghealdan?” The hood of her cloak still hid her face, but she sounded shaken to her toes.

Moiraine has clearly figured out through her spy network that Taim and the other guy fell almost immediately after Rand's proclamation, so the idea of another false Dragon is very scary. It would mean that Rand isn't the real deal at all.

“I only know what I hear, Master Andra. ’Tis said the fellow has a stare can pin you where you stand, and he talks all sorts of rubbish about the Dragon coming to save us, and we all have to follow, and even the beasts will fight for the Dragon. I don’t know whether they’ve arrested him yet or not. ’Tis likely; the Ghealdanin would not put up long with that kind of talk.”

It's great how the plotline of doom haunts us even in these early books. Moiraine and Lan would have done the world quite a favor if they'd just knifed Masema in his sleep.

“Only with those who displease her,” Lan said blandly. “Her bite is far worse than her bark.”

Talking blandly instead of darkly or outright growling is how you know Lan is downright jubilant.

Perrin, you will not believe it! My bed is sung wood! Why, it must be well over a thousand years old. No Treesinger has sung a piece so large in at least that long. I myself would not care to try it, and I have the talent more strongly than most, now.

I really want to know what's led to the mega-decline of the Ogier. It makes sense that between the Breaking and the Longing they can't do everything they used to, it isn't unreasonable that they can't build cities of old anymore because they're not being asked to do, just maintain them, but humanity lost its gifts because of the Taint. There's not really an Ogier equivalent, and a lot done to preserve the Ogier way of life. Did they just burn through all the real old-growth trees?

It was no use telling himself the adults would certainly have told him to go on about his business, that he was a stranger in Remen and the Aiel was none of his concern.

There we go Perrin, there's some sensible thinking. You just bitched that reality can't be the way it is because it wouldn't be just and *you* cared more than that. So whatcha gonna do?

No answers came to him, so he went back to the beginning and patiently worked through it once more, then again, and again. Still he found nothing except regret for what he had not done.

Dear lord why do I do this at work when I can't drink away the pain?

Moiraine pulled the pale blue robe that hung from her shoulders around herself. “You wish something?” she asked coolly.

Poor Moiraine, the one time Perrin comes to her of his own free will it's with so little respect that she can't help but go "Please get the fuck out while I'm changing."

“I could almost suspect he had learned to Travel,” Moiraine said with a small frown, “except that if he had, he would have gone straight to Tear. No, he has the blood of long walkers and strong runners in him. But we may take the river anyway. If I cannot catch him, I will be in Tear close behind him. Or waiting for him.”

Moiraine's a great bullshitter when she doesn't have an answer. Rand might be running off Aiel energy (you'd half-expect someone in-setting to claim they have extra leg muscles what with history always repeating itself), but he's also not stopping to sleep anywhere near as much as the main party, which buys him a lot of extra hours on net.

She could not help with Min’s viewing, not beyond telling him what he already knew, that it was important. And he did not want to tell her what Min had seen. Or that Min had seen anything, for that matter.

Ironically, if Perrin had said, "Min told me an Aielman in a cage is important to me, I'm gonna go rescue him," Moiraine probably would have sent Lan with him. Purely because of the Min aspect of things, of course; if Perrin ever had ideas of his own that weren't Pattern-approved Moiraine would instead have Lan tie him to a horse or four. I lament a lot of the lack of communication between our good guys but and I diss Perrin's intellect way more often than I thought I'd be doing but our boy is 100% not wrong not to want to trust her here, even though he also is very much wrong.

The common room was full as it could be, with every chair taken, and stools and benches brought in, and those who had nowhere to sit standing along the walls.

Lord Orban might not be a Gleeman, but he does have a very recent war story to share, so it checks out that everyone is desperate to hear more.

He felt a little ashamed; just because he did not like the man was no reason to suppose the Hunter would take his boasting that far.

Dammit Perrin, your gut is so rarely right you should go with it when it is.

He still had the feel of being watched, but he still saw nothing. He listened, and heard nothing. He smelled chimney smoke and cooking from the houses, and man-sweat and old blood from the man in the cage. There was no fear scent from him.

It's destiny watching Perrin, or maybe the shadow. Also it's funny, I think I've seen "man-sweat" a couple of times and it's an odd thing to specify since most (all?) animals don't sweat and no one would assume Gaul had "woman-sweat". Perhaps the wolfs are rubbing off on Perrin more than he wants to acknowledge.

“You are strong, wetlander.” The Aiel did not move beyond working his shoulders. “It took three men to hoist me up there. And now you bring me down. Why?”

Perrin is an exceptional guy in so many ways that he keeps forgetting about the different ways someone might think him exceptional as he tries to cover up the big ones.

I am Gaul, of the Imran sept of the Shaarad Aiel, wetlander. I am Shae’en M’taal, a Stone Dog.

Hi Gaul! Sadly we don't learn much about the Imran sept or where in the Waste it might be, though it's probably close to the Dragonwall because the Shaarad are one of the four clans that fought the Aiel War. The Stone Dogs are an odd society for the scouting going on at present though - they're really more the rear guard of the Aiel forces.

“Well, I am Perrin Aybara. Of the Two Rivers. I’m a blacksmith.”

Perrin's upset that he has servant's quarters and has no idea that he's just introduced himself to someone who considers his profession borderline sacred.

“Three days ago, I watched a girl sporting in a huge pool of water. It must have been twenty paces across. She . . . pulled herself out into it.” He made an awkward swimming gesture with one hand.

You'd think that the Aiel War and the river crossings necessary to wage it would have made the Aiel a little less frightened of water, but here we are.

“It is too late to run,” Gaul said, and a deep voice shouted, “The savage is lose!”

Perrin, why don't your super senses ever do anything useful? Gaul should not have known these guys were here before you!

For an instant they were caught by surprise, but an instant was apparently all the Aiel needed. He kicked the sword out of the grip of the first to reach him, then his stiffened hand struck like a dagger at the Whitecloak’s throat, and he slid around the soldier as he fell. The next man’s arm made a loud snap as Gaul broke it. He pushed that man under the feet of a third, and kicked a fourth in the face.

The real secret of Aiel combat is that their intense dedication to honor means that anyone else who might be fighting them has to be doing so in a dishonorable enough way to qualify as a ninja, and once you're a ninja, the law of inverse ninjitsu is as much a part of the Pattren as gravity.

Perrin had only an amazed moment himself, for not all the Whitecloaks had put their attentions on the Aiel. Barely in time, he gripped the axe haft with both hands to block a sword thrust, swung . . . and wanted to cry out as the half-moon blade tore the man’s throat.

Perrin could really do with a therapist, huh? Dude doesn't like violence even though he's really, really good at it.

Some of the men groaned; others lay silent and still. Gaul stood among them, still veiled, still empty-handed. Most of the men down were his work. Perrin wished they all were, and felt ashamed.

One wonders if ANY of the unconscious are among Perrin's victims or if it's just the dead.

Sarien and I were careless, being so long in these soft lands, and the wind was from the wrong direction, so we smelled nothing. We walked into them before we knew it. Well, Sarien is dead, and I was caged like a fool, so perhaps we paid enough.

Frankly I'm still surprised they managed to kill even one Aiel, the hunters being the losers they are. Musta been Faile's work somehow.

Perrin started to run, too, then realized he had a bloody axe in his hands.

I'm glad that Perrin is just barely smart enough to remember not to run with scissors. It's a low bar, but an important one.

“Is this your work, blacksmith? The Light burn me! Is there anyone who can connect it to you?”

Lan really thought that with Rand on the loose and Mat about as far away as possible that he wouldn't have anywhere near the level of headaches he did back in book one and Perrin just outdid every single one of Mat's shenanigans in the space of half an hour.

I saw a girl running, but I thought. . . .

No, I really wanna know what your first instinct to "girl running away from Perrin" is, Lan. But since I'll never get an answer, my headcanon is that he assumes Perrin tried to flirt with her and that was more than enough to scare her.

Next time: Faile joins the party!