#“We survived the last one” no we all didn't

[keferon]

OUGH WAIT DISREGARD MY LAST WRITING POST. I HAD A BIG BRAIN MOMENT. THE GANG (Damus, The Twins, Skywarp + Thundercracker, Soundwave, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker, Skids, Windcharger) are all foster kids in a group home, we know this. Who runs the group home? ORION PAX.

POV Orion desperately looking for his kids after the Tsunami separated him from them, hoping he'll find them alive, dreading finding out one of them didn't make it. Weeks pass, he's losing hope, but refuses to stop searching.

Finally, he finds them in the care of Shockwave, this Big Old Pancake Man.

Orion is both utterly relieved by the fact his kids are alive and taken care of and utterly blindsided because OH NO THE MER THAT KEPT MY KIDS ALIVE IS H O T

Shockwave isn't planning on leaving his guppies anytime soon. Orion would have to be dead to leave his kids behind. The Family Comedy now gets a hint of romance as Shocks and Pax work together to keep their 10 boys alive. (At some point Starscream reunites with Skywarp and Thundercracker, dragging behind him the big sweetheart beluga mer that is Skyfire. Kid count goes to 12. We have passed Apocalyptic Ponyo and gone full send to Little Mermaid Brady Bunch)

…………..DAMMIT YOU ARE VERY CONVINCING

Okay okay maybe he isn’t exactly runs it but like?? Works there perhaps? As a teacher or librarian or idfk it doesn’t matter. What matters is that kids love him and also he was at home when the whole tsunami happened so he doesn’t know if they’re dead or alive. There’s literally no way to contact them and realistically? A big group of kids isn’t perfect for surviving the apocalypse.

ESPECIALLY because none of them really know how to swim. Except maybe Skids and Soundwave

Trying to think of an interesting way for them to meet now……..

[ragana62]

Hermione doesn't break rules openly, because she knows that having the aura of following rules means that when someone starts looking at the trio for who was responsible for all the laws broken, she will be written off on principle. She knows that being the responsible one gives her protection, and it gives all of them an escape route should things go badly.

I have always held it as a survival tactic. It's Hermione knowing that nobody even notices the quiet, polite, bookworm in the corner who just keeps her nose down and always turns in her work, with extra credit, perfectly complete a day early at least. The magical world is a dangerous place, she doesn't know anyone there at the start, and the people she does know have made clear to her on observation that even for those the magical world doesn't hate on sight, there's not much of a guarantee of help coming much less help that can do much of anything in the face of some of the opposition. She needs to fade into the background, because being in the spotlight is a target, and if she is going to take the spotlight, it needs to be for something positive like her academic work where she can still be written off as 'one of the good ones'.

And... it works. First year Hermione can walk up to multiple professors and say 'It's my fault, I read about trolls and thought I could stop it before it hurt anyone, they were just helping me' and every last one of them just nods and says 'yes, that seems perfectly plausible, good job boys, perhaps we don't do that again Hermione'. Second year Hermione already knows how to brew multiple NEWT level highly controlled potions and can steal the ingredients to make them, brew the potions in broad daylight, and turn up into the hospital wing when one goes wrong looking like a were-cat, and it raises no questions. The assumption is that she was just trying to work ahead and made a mistake, it absolutely wouldn't be that she stole ingredients to knock students unconscious and stick them into a closet so her friends could break into another house's common room while impersonating them. We see the pattern time and time again.

Hermione doesn't openly break rules, so her teachers, her peers even, don't look at her when a rule is broken, and more than that, if something goes wrong in the pursuit of breaking rules, she can bullshit her way out of it with little more than a 'oops, I was just really excited to try something new I learned and it went a little wrong, I'm sorry' and the problem goes away. And that's exactly why she feels confident she can get away with putting Rita in a jar, or stealing books from Dumbledore's office after sixth year, or any number of other things. Because she already has gotten away with things like that, and quite frankly, even if she does get caught, all she has to do is say 'I'm sorry, I was just really interested in some new reading material and didn't think he would mind since it was to help Harry...' and McGonagall will ignore it, or 'She broke the law, look, unregistered animagus! I was just trying to be responsible and help, especially with all the bad things happening around the tournament, you don't think she might have something to do with that, do you?' and everyone will just say 'ah yes, Hermione was just trying to enforce the rules and got a little overzealous, this is why we're going to make you a prefect. Maybe we need to put a little more thought into how we do that next time, okay? In the magical world, we tell an adult these things, instead of just jumping straight to trying to catch the perpetrator ourselves.'.

(I also think this is why Dumbledore is so confident in just saying 'two turns, you can save them both, have fun kids' and knowing she will know what he means. He has a rather similar understanding that appearances will always matter more than actions when it comes to consequences, even if I don't always agree as much with the actions he chooses to use appearances to cover over, and I think he recognizes that in her as well.)

i love how hermione has such a rule following aura that everyone ignores that she is the real rule breaker of the trio. harry sneaks out at night sometimes. hermione straight up kidnapped a whole woman and held her prisoner in an enchanted jar. even tom riddle didn't do that.

[cocogum]

The Great Wave - Chapter 17 Review

‼️SPOILERS FOR THE CHAPTER‼️

Nothing too major happens in this chapter which I think is a good way to relax a bit from all the serious stuff (and doppelgangers) that we've had to see in older chapters. But sadly, we don't get to see Amalia freaking out over the orphan ouginaks like a customer at a pet smart store (sorry @kirichux looks like it'll just stay a fantasy 😭) Too bad that didn't happen (for now 👹). Either way, it's at least nice to know that Yugo was actually not personally angry at Joris but rather just had a very serious while thinking about daddy Rasalar's face in the last chapter.

OMG LUIS STILL KEEPS CALLING HIM JOJO ‼️‼️‼️

I mean I know that he still does call him 'Jojo' since we also saw him in season 4 calling Joris like that, but I'm just happy to see him addressing him like that even in the Great Wave 💕💕💕💕

And yeah Luis is right, relax you're not acting as Bonta's representative/messenger right now lol Even your shushu has a point which is honestly saying A LOT. You can call them your besties here Joris don't be shy 🥰🥰🥰

And speaking of Yugo, I'm semi glad that the face he made last chapter wasn't meant for Joris. Cuz not only would he have confused the living hell out of Joris but he would have also scared the crap out of these kids.

JORIS IS WORRIED FOR HIS DEMIGOD BESTIE ‼️‼️‼️ OMG RASALAR IS GONNA GET HIS SEXY ASS KICKED ���️❤️❤️❤️❤️

(sidenote: I personally see Lilotte as Joris's mortal bestie while Yugo is his demigod bestie. Yeah that's how I think i know it's clever ✨️✨️)

(yeah @geekgirles ur right, these two look so good in that panel 💗💗)

Like Joris is literally hearing that his demigod bestie got poisoned by the dragon who was meant to use him as a vessel. Shit was always personal but Joris knows that he crossed a line when he went for Yugo 🩷🩷

This must be such a weird day for Joris to visit memory lane again. First, he catches a thief who looks way too much like his past best friend. Then, he learns from Yugo and Amalia that the dragon who was meant to use him as a vessel poisoned Yugo.

Who's next on the list that would resurface from the dead and punch his childhood in the dick? His mom??

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHHA-

So uh Atcham really doesn't remember...either he sucks at remembering past faces or he's genuinely tweaking.

No cuz like wtf is going on in his head?? Same with Kerubim. Aren't they aware that they're standing face to face with Lilotte's doppelganger??? Come on, they literally look THE SAME. Fine, maybe Atcham kinda forgot since he had only seen Lilotte a few times BUT KERUBIM DOESN'T HAVE ANY EXCUSES TO NOT REMEMBER!?!?

He literally watched Joris GROW UP WITH LILOTTE. She was literally his best friend! After she died, can you honestly tell me how many more mortals Joris has gotten this close with??? Exactly. Atcham may be dumb for not remembering one of Joris' friends, sure, but Kerubim is the true dumbass here.

Speaking of Lilotte actually, Thirteen is clearly her doppelganger but it would be super ironic if her number (aka name 💀) was meant to be a bad omen for Harigue lol (if you forgot who that was, I don't blame you. It was that disgusting old man's name who slaved these precious kids)

Like her number name literally meant 'bad luck'. And you're telling me that she ended up being the one to bring Joris to his base? Yeah, if that isn't shit luck for that old bastard, then i don't know what is. It's especially ironic for her because that ended up being her lucky number 💕💕💕

ALSO PUPUCE IS ALIVE ‼️‼️‼️ WTF ‼️‼️

She's such a fighter, look at her still moving around with her little stubs 💕💕 It's nice to know that she survived 500 years with Joris and can still manage to run around...Pupuce is a real fighter lol

Also fun fact about her kind, they kinda work like bees: when they attack the player, they instantly die afterwards. So one attack equals immediate death. Looks like Pupuce is a pacifist....💀💀

These two bozos forgot that their asses got handed to them and are now Joris's kids. Yet they don't wanna share their stuff with OTHER orphans 😭😭😭

I swear to god it doesn't matter how old they get they are still lazy morons in each life.

I missed Luis's house magic 💕💕 The dofus movie made his skills look so smooth and satisfying like the motion and the way the bowls would just appear out of thin air, I loved it!!

AND THE CHILDREN‼️‼️‼️‼️

LOOK AT HOW THOSE LITTLE PUPS ARE OGGLING THE TABLE!!! That fucking old man never fed them right, he literally lashed out at them that they should be grateful that he feeds them every once and a while. So for them, seeing as table filled with food without anyone pushing them away or sneering at them is literally like seeing a miracle happening right in front of their eyes.

I bet that some of them still can't believe that they're out of the sewers. Those poor kids must be thinking they probably died or something because ever since Thirteen came back to the sewers, they got saved by a strong important guy that managed to scare the shit out of 'their master', got taken out of the sewers, got told they could just call their rescuer by his first name, got told they could stay at their rescuer's house, got told they could eat his food and sleep at his place, AND got told by their rescuer that he would give them normal names.

LIKE PLEASE YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT SOME OF THEM ARE AT LEAST DOUBTING THEIR OWN EXISTENCE RIGHT ABOUT NOW!!!

All I can say is please let Yugo's wave not annihilate them and shred them into more pieces than they're already missing 😭😭

I can't tell if they're purposely being petty assholes while having the mental age of a kid. Cuz wtf bro this is like being a mom and showing off your new baby to your other kids only for them to hate the newborn because they'll have to start sharing everything with them 💀💀

I'll smack these two 😃😃

TWENTY-SEVEN STOP YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE HIM ANYTHING 😫😫😫😫

Don't get me wrong, it's so cute that he gave his (make-shift 😭) teddy to Joris but the fact that he was thinking about giving him anything at all, especially his TEDDY, was as if he gave him some sort of payment rather than a gift. Because why would he give him his teddy of all things? He's still so incredibly young, he obviously uses it all the time. So to give it away would mean that he's so incredibly grateful, he would see it as his payment to Joris so that he and his siblings would be able to stay here 😭😭😭

STOP IT WOULD MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE!!!! 😫😫😫😫

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS WTF MAN 😭😭😭

He says it way too casually too 💀💀

"Yeah no, he's been a pain in my ass for like 500 years now 🙄🙄 urgh I can't stand him sometimes i swear 😒😒" like excuse me????

I'm waiting for the Joris fans to use this face as their pfps lol

And into the abyss they go...

[finelinejua]

If We Burn.

-A frat boy Harry Styles fanfic.

The rules were simple: No feelings. No attachments. No one finds out.

But Harry has never been good at following rules. And Olivia? She's just as bad at pretending she doesn't feel the heat every time he looks at her.

They can call it a mistake all they want. But mistakes don't feel this good.

They were never meant to survive each other. But that doesn't mean they won't go down in flames trying. And some fires aren't meant to be put out.

CHAPTER 1:

The first thing Harry felt was the pounding in his skull. A relentless, brutal ache that made him groan and drag a hand over his face. His mouth was dry, his body heavy, and his head was full of static.

"Fuck," he muttered, voice hoarse, cracking like he hadn't spoken in days.

The scent of stale alcohol, sweat, and perfume clung to his sheets, thick and suffocating. The kind of scent that told him last night had been a mess. He cracked one eye open, immediately regretting it when the dim morning light slashed across his vision like a knife.

His room was a disaster—clothes scattered haphazardly, a half-empty bottle of whiskey balancing precariously on the nightstand, crumpled condom wrappers discarded near the bed. His leather jacket was on the floor, tangled with a thong that definitely wasn't his.

He shifted, wincing as he pushed himself upright. The ache in his head pulsed angrily, punishing him for every drink he had knocked back last night.

He exhaled slowly, blinking blearily at the empty space beside him.

No one was there. Just rumpled sheets and the ghost of someone long gone.

His jaw tensed.

He should be used to this by now—waking up to nothing but the wreckage of a night he could barely piece together. Still, a flicker of something unfamiliar curled in his chest. Annoyance? Amusement? He wasn't sure.

Didn't matter.

His fingers dragged through his hair as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, planting his feet on the cold floor. He sat there for a moment, elbows resting on his knees, trying to shake off the lingering fog in his head.

Flashes of last night began to surface, hazy but sharp in some places—

A bar. Music pounding through his bones. Laughter, loud and uninhibited. The clink of glasses. The bitter burn of tequila chasing him down.

The party had been chaos.

Niall had been the loudest, arm slung around Harry's shoulders at one point, yelling over the music about some ridiculous bet he had lost. Louis and Zayn had been instigating, fueling the night with reckless grins and a challenge in their eyes. Liam had tried to keep things under control, but even he had let loose after a few shots.

And Harry? He had been floating through it all, drink after drink, soaking in the noise, the warmth of bodies pressed too close, the static energy of a post-concert high.

Then—

"Could you be careful and look where you walk?"

Sharp, unimpressed, cutting through the haze of his drunken bliss.

Harry had barely stumbled into her, but she had spoken like he had just committed some unspeakable offense.

He had turned, ready to snap something back, something cocky and sharp—

And then he had seen her.

The last time he had seen her, she had been younger, still trailing after her brother, wide-eyed and full of attitude. Now, she was standing in front of him, all fire and bite, staring at him like she couldn't believe he was wasting her time.

It had thrown him completely off balance.

"Wow," he had mused, eyes flicking over her, his lips already curling into a smirk. "Haven't seen you in a while."

She hadn't looked impressed.

"Yeah, well." A beat. Then, dryly, "Not long enough."

That had made him chuckle, low and lazy, intrigue slipping into his bloodstream like something he couldn't quite shake.

She had changed. Gone was the awkward kid, replaced with someone sharp, poised, and entirely unfazed by him.

He should have left it at that.

But Harry had never been good at letting things go, especially when someone acted like they couldn't care less about him.

So he stayed. So did she.

The back-and-forth had come naturally. She had been quick, unbothered, countering his teasing with jabs of her own.

He had casually reached for an ice cube from his drink.

And instead of dropping it into his glass, he slid it across the table.

Directly toward her.

"One drink?" he offered, cocking a brow.

She had rolled her eyes. "One drink and then you leave me alone."

She had lied.

One drink had turned into three. Then four. Then a shared cigarette outside, smoke curling between them in the cool night air.

"You're still as irritating as I remember," she had muttered, taking a slow drag from his cigarette before passing it back.

Harry had laughed, shaking his head. "And you're still as full of shit as I remember."

She had smirked. And that had been it.

The rest of the night had unraveled in heated glances, too much alcohol, the way she had let him press her against the bar, her breath hitching just slightly when his hands had settled at her waist.

One thing led to the other.

And now, she was gone.

Harry sighed, dragging himself to his feet, stretching before reaching for the half-smoked cigarette on his nightstand. As he walked toward his balcony, he lit it, inhaling deep, letting the burn settle in his chest.

His tongue swiped over his bottom lip, still tasting the faint trace of her lipstick.

A scoff slipped past his lips as he exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

Fine. Whatever.

It wasn't like he cared.

After a shower, Harry stepped into the kitchen, towel slung low on his hips, running a hand through his damp hair. He barely had a moment to process the scene before a chorus of whistles and laughter erupted from the couch.

"Oi, look who finally decided to join the living!" Louis called out, grinning over a cup of coffee like he owned the place.

"Thought we'd have to send a search party," Niall added, legs kicked up on the coffee table, clearly enjoying himself.

Harry sighed, rubbing his temples. "Not in the mood, lads."

"Oh, but we are," Niall shot back, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Saw a girl leaving earlier. Pretty thing, moving fast—practically bolted out of here."

Liam smirked, stirring his tea. "You must've really charmed her, mate."

Harry scowled, grabbing a coffee mug and filling it, pretending like his stomach hadn't just twisted a little. She left that fast? He knew he should've expected it, but still...

Harry scoffed, unfazed as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Don't know what you're on about."

Louis grinned, leaning forward like he was enjoying this far too much. "Really? So the girl who walked out of here at sunrise, looking like she was escaping a crime scene, was just a figment of our imagination?"

Harry smirked, raising his mug. "Sounds like a personal problem, mate."

Niall chuckled, shaking his head. "You're really not gonna tell us who she was?"

"Not much to tell," Harry said, taking a slow sip. "Fun night. The end."

Liam gave him a long look, as if trying to read between the lines. "Being the one to have a one night stand almost every weekend... you're too calm about it, but what's new?"

"Should I be writing poetry about her or something?" Harry deadpanned.

That earned a laugh, and the conversation shifted to something else, but Harry could still feel them watching him, waiting for a crack in his composure.

He didn't give them one.

What they didn't know wouldn't kill them. And it's not like he was thinking about her.

Wattpad link to the fic: https://www.wattpad.com/story/390344008?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_writing&wp_page=create&wp_uname=finelinejua

[witheredgardenparty]

I will never forgive a single one of you

[cordelianewman]

It was really more amusing how so much could change, but such simple things could stay the same. Even if it was something as silly as swatting someone's hand away from a few fries could make you laugh and remember those sweet memories. "We can get you a new desk calendar if you want, probably a good idea to update it, or at the very least throw out your old one because that last year one isn't going to help you anymore." she pointed out. Though those weren't exactly the first priorities when there had been so much going on in the last few months to really worry about anything else. Giving a roll of her eyes, "No, I wouldn't get one for all pregnancy related things, that would just become unhealthy, tracking ovulation, periods, when we have sex, that becomes.... a job, and regardless that we have decided we want this, we want to try I don't want it to become a job or an obligation to have sex." Sex for them had always been intimate, even when angry, there was always a connection, she didn't want it to become a business transaction because they were hoping to add a little one to their family now. "I appreciate that you're not going to let me do anything too strenous so long as you don't treat me like I'm broken because that will upset me." She had survived a pregnancy by herself with practically no one, worked right up till going into labor. Not that she knew Cage would want that for her this time around, he'd want to give her everything. "I never was in any danger, I am just saying you pointed out that she thought I was competition, when she didn't realize it was never a competition, I was always going to win." she quipped giving a short nod as if that was the best obvious explanation and that was that.

"You're very right chances are when I'm craving something it's going to be in the moment and very much I want it now, not oh let me go make it and then eat it. By that time I probably will be craving something completely different and upset that I just made all this stuff I no longer want to eat." Which obviously would be very upsetting to a pregnant and hormonal woman! She needed her good food. Nodding when he said it may not go perfectly but that both boys were incredibly mature, they loved their siblings, and there was no denying the boys were amazing, kind, gentle souls that would protect their little sisters no matter what. "I just hope they understand why we would want this but it doesn't change what they mean to us, you know? That it's not a replacement, or our "real" child." Giving a roll of her eyes because that was ludicrous. "Not too many toys we're starting to get overrun in the house with toys but I also know it's what they would want most. Clothes would not impress them in the slightest, which both makes me proud and disappoints me." Though Rosalyn and Cienna did love their sparkly dresses and shoes, regular every day clothes for surprise presents? Not the things they were looking for. "Such a smart man." she leaned in pecking his lips before ending the first store. They shopped around for a bit, going in and out of different stores picking up few different things here and there before stumbling upon a vintage shop seeing a case of jewelry. "Oh we should check in here." she said before taking off inside.

There were so many big and little ways that they had both changed from those early days; not just how Cordelia handled her food, but he loved her all the more for it. And if they were sitting down to eat that day and she swatted his hand away from her fries, he would laugh and remember her as a sixteen year-old girl hanging out after practice, just wanting to spend time away from her home and family. Now, he would just order her a whole separate plate of fries to take home and eat later, if she wanted. "Good idea," he nodded his head thoughtfully, "I need to get a new desk calendar for home. My work one's fine, but I noticed the other day that the one in the office is still from last year," which probably was testament to how hectic life had been over the past few months, but he thought -- he hoped -- that things were settling, that they were getting everything back under control, one step at a time. While bringing up the idea of adding a baby to the family, but that was besides the point. He let out a small laugh as she talked about the pregnancy, not wanting to take too much on, raising a brow, "is this the part where you tell me that you're going to get another planner to keep track of pregnancy things?" Actually, no, he shouldn't joke. She would. By the end of this, Cordelia was going to have a bag overflowing with planners, and he made a mental note to make sure she didn't overextend herself with worrying about those, too. "No," he agreed with a shake of his head, "the boys will help me with it. And it's not like I can't handle the farm work on my own, either, when you can't help. But I'm not going to let you do anything strenuous." But then his thoughts were turning to the little cat in the house with sleek black fur, knowing that Twix and Cordelia were friends, grateful for that, but unable to hold back his amusement as she stood her ground, saying that there would never be competition. "Cordelia, baby," he laughed, giving her a look, "you're right, don't get me wrong, but… she's a cat.. You don't make me sneeze when you rub against my nose, so I don't think you're in any sort of danger."

Those cupcakes… actually, the entire night, had been a whirlwind. Cage had only experienced a pregnant woman twice in his life -- at least up close and personal -- once with Colton's mother, and again with his sister, when Lucie had been pregnant with Archer. But he hadn't lived with one that wanted muffins late at night and had him in the kitchen pretending that he knew anything about baking. Which he did, but maybe not the custom creations that she had been expecting. "I mean… you're a good baker, babe, you could just stock up the kitchen and make whatever you want whenever you want it, but… I'm assuming this is the part where you say that you just want to eat it and not actually make it?" Which was fair, and he understood. Sometimes putting in the hard work was not on the to-do list. "Either way. We'll figure it out," he promised her with a small smile. It would just be one of the hundreds of things that they would have to add to a list of things to figure out, to work on, from health and wellness to… well, muffins. But if it was what she needed, then it was what he would make happen. "I can't stand here and say that it'll go perfectly, they're teenaged boys. But I also think that they're very understanding, mature teenaged boys. I know Colton and Rosalyn as siblings are a little untraditional, but look how well they get along, and how good he is with her. And Cienna was Shawn's little surprise sister, and he always tells me that she was the best surprise that he ever got, so," maybe they would have their bad days where they bemoaned dirty diapers or a screaming baby, but Shawn would be off to college after the next school year, and Colton had the kind of active social and sports life that gave him time away from home… he knew it would work out in the end. Nodding his head with understanding, he offered he a knowing smile. He'd tell Lou, for sure. Someday, when the time was right; they had shared so much about their kids, shared experiences and deep thoughts. And Kellan and Mason, because his brothers would understand. But in time. They'd understand that, too. Cage's heart warmed a little bit at the thought of their family, their kids at home; it wasn't what he had expected, nothing that he could have predicted, but somehow, it was better than that. And maybe hat meant they deserved gifts… just a little bit. "We can do that. Clothes for the boys, probably toys for the girls… although we'll play that by ear," God knew they had enough of those. "No, you?" he laughed, shooting her a look. "I already planned on it, Cor."

[flyhighisco]

after matches like yesterday you can always tell which madriddies are new here

[danwhobrowses]

Okay I've had a sleep, I've seen a lot of what the fandom has to say and I'm gonna just talk about my thoughts on the episode 118 stuff in more detail too.

Spoilers under the cut and it's a little bit (5 paras and a tl/dr at the bottom) long

I have never liked the Release Predathos option, but it had been very apparent - since probably as far back as the vorbing - that Matt had been pushing the narrative towards that option whether Bells Hells wanted it or not. The lack of alternatives provided meant that yes, the Hells had little choice but to deal with Predathos themselves; Ludinus was likely not dead, they were low on strength and resources even after a short rest to fight another full-strength Ludinus, and even if they caved in the core and killed Ludinus again someone else would've tried to come and release Predathos. On that I can't really fault the cast for playing ball with the DM and I can't say what the characters are doing is out of character or with bad intentions, it simply annoys me how close we were to entertaining the idea that should've been discussed earlier of putting Predathos somewhere nobody can get to. Objectively it was still a terrible idea, one that even in delivery could've been better prepared with Imogen not in range of the two saving throw buffs or having any Inspiration as she took on Predathos knowing from previous experience that a wisdom save is likely to be involved. But again, the alternatives offered up to them are sparse, nothing else in the narrative had offered a clear solution and if something did suddenly come up it would've felt too much like a deus ex machina. The Hells are not doing this because they want to do Ludinus' plan, but doing so is by proxy doing Ludinus' plan, and thus the problem as of current lies in the Plot.

Right now, they're at a very high risk of the plot not justifying a story, because why did we have this campaign if the outcome is gonna be the same? If the plan is to reset Exandria why didn't we have C3 in the post-reset era and trickle in what happened as lore? Bells Hells have often lacked agency when it came to the Predathos portions of the campaign, but even when they took agency to try and be more than what they were made to be they found themselves punished or being withheld the catharsis they needed to grow. Regardless, the plot is currently failing the characters, and thus the characters are failing the audience - to the point where some in the fandom now want them all to die or for Braius to betray them all - because we the audience don't see the appeal of the direction.

There is a caveat though: it's not yet over. We expect that there will be a fight between the Hells and Predathos!Imogen (we need a name for that) and possibly Ludinus swooping in with the harness to try and steal a victory, but that does mean that the theatre of imagination can come into play in dealing with Predathos itself. There is of course uncertainty whether Predathos can die, since Vecna at 0hp would've just discorporated them for a bit, but there are a lot more options for the Hells to entertain now than there was at 118, including having to kill the vessel - be it Imogen or transferring it to another like Ludinus or Liliana, being able to expel Predathos from Imogen and entrapping/banishing/killing it with the knowledge that yeah that was a terrible idea, or somehow having Imogen suppress it and remain control over herself (and hope that the same rule doesn't apply to her as it does with Delilah being free when Laudna dies), which all can involve exciting twists and turns and creative solutions befitting of a conclusion. In that hope is the opening for a more exciting and satisfying end, and while the plot has had rightful criticisms a good ending can make up for them just as much as a bad ending can ruin a good plot.

So in short; I don't like that Imogen did that, but I know why she did it. And why she did it is more the plot's fault because we never saw it as a good idea, just the only decision that was pushed to be made. There's hope though, and all is not lost, but the plot as well as the characters are gonna have to earn it.

[frozcnlight]

The young woman was about to answer to Garth, but her sister's question took more priority to her, as it caused her to think how to explain everything that had happened. Stubbornly, her eyes were fixated on the wooden surface of the table, then went to the flowers that stood neatly in a vase. She had found quite the interest in decorating the litle amount of rooms she called her home ever since and the currency here wasn't too difficult to understand actually - at least from what she had noticed so far. Thinking of this, she really should look into getting a job soon, huh? But how did one do that in a time where E-Mails and computers didn't even exist as a word yet? If there wouldn't be people around, Miran was sure she'd sink her head to the table in frustration. But not wanting to worry her sister or getting judged by the young man who was a complete stranger, she held her head high as if this thought hadn't crossed her mind. She was good in holding some things in - it was a necessary skill to survive her work (and the family).

"I guess I was just very lucky.", nevertheless she laughed nervously and gave away that she definitely hid the story behind her survival or where she had been. She wouldn't talk about it any time soon - she feared that she might traumatize her sister, "I've been in this cottage for a long time now and mainly focused on understanding this world - and trying to cook. Well, that had definitely gone wrong more often than not.".

Just thinking about the amount of burnt food she had to eat in the last few days made her want to really cry. How had nobody ever warned her of the difficulties?! It wasn't even like she couldn't look up recipes or such - there was nothing where she could look anything up neither! It was mostly just a moment of 'throw in whatever seems to fit together and see what comes out.'. Funnily most of those things didn't fit together in taste for some reason - or she just did it wrong.

Clearing her throat, Miran tried to change the topic by focusing back on Garth, "It's been some time now... I must be honest, I am somewhat disoriented about how long we have been seperated, because in my first few days I too tried to simply survive.". She tried to laugh, "But that's just natural, isn't it? Losing your home all of the sudden is a really scary experience after all and you don't know for a moment what to do, where to go and who to trust. You're just on your own...".

"Such troubles sound rather serious to me". He took a small sip from his tea, taking note of the quality, when he also took in the fact that this woman wasn't from around here, it impressed him all that more. It seemed as though he'd learned at least a little about her so far - she knew her teas, though judging by the weird face that Strelitzia was pulling, the same may not be said for fruit tea. "Allow me", he said, reaching across the table to take Strelitzia's cup, resting his hand over the top for a few seconds, before handing it back over, "Here, how does it taste now?". Strelitzia gazed from her cup to Miran, to Garth, hesitating for a few seconds before picking the cup back up and taking a cautious sip, gasping at the sweet taste, "Oh! That's yummy! How did you do that!?" "Let's just say I've had a few years to learn", he smiled, glad that the little girl was looking a little more relaxed finally. He was aware that his questioning may have been worrying her, as she'd been the one to let so much slip in the first place, and as much as he wished to continue playing with Miran, he didn't wish to upset either of them either.

"I understand. Homesickness can be rather severe even for the strongest of us", he spoke as though he understood such things, but the closest thing to a 'home' he had was his library, "I'm sorry if I drew up any such feelings. I've travelled beyond this nation and have never heard of such a place though...I couldn't quite help but be curious".

But, if he wished to learn more then it would be wish to perhaps drop the subject for now, another small sip of his tea taken as he relaxed against the back of the chair. How long had the elder sister been here? Outsiders where usually treated with nothing but suspicion, but she seemed to have settled in rather well, from the little that he could tell anyway.

Strelitzia sipped quietly on her drink, smiling lightly as she felt Miran's fingers run through her hair. She hadn't realised just how much she'd missed such a kind gesture, her eyes lifting to meet Miran's, trying to understand the reason as to why she was lying to the kind man that had saved her. Was it wrong to tell the truth of where they had come from? Had she been wrong to tell Garth as much as she had? She'd simply been so relieved at being rescued, at finding someone friendly, that she'd rambled away to him for almost two days now.

"Well, I don't know for how long you two were apart from, but I was taking care of her for the last two days roughly. She was rather tired from her adventures in the woods. It was lucky I was nearby...I would hate to imagine what would have happened, especially if her Divine Protection wasn't reacting as it should". Garth gave the younger sister a soft smile, hoping to help calm her further. It wasn't too hard to pick up on how nervous she was.

Still, it was difficult to accept that this was where the conversation about another world had ended, his thirst for new knowledge rather difficult to hold back, a curse and a blessing, but to press too hard was of course only asking for either walls to be placed in his way or suspicion on his shoulders. He had to wonder which may be the most inconvenient.

"Miran?", Strelitzia spoke up as the silence continued to settle around them, "...where have you been? How...how did you survive?"

[parsapuff]

Who put the entire charmony dove copypasta in my poll come out rn

[running-in-the-dark]

my niece is staying with us for the whole weekend for the first time. until now it's always been one night only, not two.

it's the second night now and I have already decided this is not happening again anytime soon. I'm so fucking exhausted. it'd be less exhausting if it was my nephew, I think - he's older and also doesn't need as much help (even when he was her age).

I love my niece but she just asks so many questions. like when we're watching a show or a movie, even if it's one she has seen before (even multiple times), she doesn't understand what's going on and constantly asks me to explain everything. I don't mind it, really, but it does take a lot of energy. plus tonight it took over two hours for her to fall asleep because she was scared by the noises of the house and the nearby road. I get it, but damn I'm so fucking tired, I just want to sleep 😭

[keeps-ache]

another day another consumption of vegetables

[andyling]

how the fuck has Tango not died yet

[fluffypurpleglitterdemon]

If they keep the “reds aren’t allowed to be friends with yellows/greens” rule on Limited Life I am going to start biting

[snowflop]

I want to be a hater about the cyl results so I'm making my own post so i can bitch in the tags about it. The tags will get long so the tldr is BOOOO everybody but Alfonse.

[jaerie]

Back in the first few years of the 2000's, there weren't many visible queers to look up to and so we went hard for the ones we had and it fostered my need to support queer artists for the following generations ever since. For a pair of closeted baby gays in high school, hearing wlw openly singing about it was a form of liberation we didn't have anywhere else at the time. That show in 2003 was one of the first places we timidly let our true rainbow spirits fly and Indigo Girls music will always hold a place in my heart as part of my coming of age soundtrack in the LGBT+ world. They spoke last night about their appearances being cancelled by parents at schools in the 90's because they were out, how students protested against it that they still see at shows even now, and how it feels like we are quickly sliding back into those times today. My high school girlfriend and I helped to establish the first LGBT club at my high school that still exists today and it breaks my heart to think about the way we were treated back then for being a part of that group happening to the teenagers there today when it feels like we had grown so much as a society even in my short lifetime.

There are still challenges, but our strength and visibilty feels more powerful now than it did back then. I was so excited to go back and see them the last two nights after 21 years and feel the empowerment of a determined teenager again. Continue to wear your rainbows and be visible and proud for those who need it. Support each other, take care of each other. Let's not allow history to repeat itself.