#''it's not the done thing'' thinks Selene

[ace-malarky]

👀👀👀 for soul of the party?

ooh ok yeah

I really need to bite the bullet and admit that this one has stalled out and I should start from semi-scratch lmao

anyway

Selene’s gaze drifted back to the Feral as Lord Gaulivant made the same speech he always did; congratulating every entrant, talking up the duels and the jousting and making slight mention of the magic rounds, and reminding everyone of the other engagements of the tournament. A mage in the duels wasn’t unheard of – and neither was a Feral – but it wasn’t generally… done. She itched with questions and could only hope that the Feral, that Jasper sa Adrassa would turn up at some of the more social events so that they could meet. There was something about his name, too, that was familiar. But Selene would have remembered if a family of Feral Mages lived in town.

[doubleddenden]

Bro. She just wanted to play fucking Neopets man. She wanted to move on with her life and start over with fucking Neopets after regaining her will to live.

Idk if those three did this of their own accord or were threatened with termination if they didn't, but still? I'd rather have been fired. With their following it'd be easy as shit to start over. Even still, Nijisanji has displayed not only unprofessional behavior, but outright toxic and harassing behavior.

Like holy fuck. Not even a little class about this whole situation.

She survived an attempted suicide caused by a toxic work environment and poor management, so you fire her.

She tries to regain her life by restarting her old channel, so you release a business statement- officially aimed at investors- and say her termination will be ***negligible*** to profits.

She opens up a store and hits a subscriber milestone of 300k before her stream back. Knowing the internet hates you right now, YOU CHOOSE TO SELL MERCH instead of properly addressing and apologizing.

ON HER FIRST. GAME STREAM. BACK. After she has gone through mental hell, knowing she is suicidal, knowing she was looking forward to playing FUCKING. NEOPETS. Just to be fucking happy again. To do something her management wouldn't let her do. You have 3 of your top talents- timed at PRECISELY THE MOMENT SHE GOES LIVE TO START A NEW CHAPTER OF HER LIFE, JUST WANTING TO MOVE ON- release a "statement" that not only seems to be basically a loosely scripted "no u" statement, but also shoots themselves in the feet by revealing SOMEONE violated the fucking LAW to open case sensitive documents to disclose certain information to them- which is illegal, because only the lawyers were supposed to know those details. During her own stream, Doki started crying and had to end after only 30 minutes to contact her lawyer, but god damn she tried her best to keep a brave face and laugh it off.

And then. And then. Anycolor CEO makes a statement of his own- you know shit is bad when the CEO makes a statement, so what does he do first? Apologize- to INVESTORS.

That is just fucking CRUEL. That is cruel, and fucking STUPID by having Elira, Vox, and Ike say that shit, because the smarter thing for those three to have done in that situation would either to LEAVE if they were truly "besties" like they kept saying like Pomu, Mika, and other talents did (or are in the process of like Kyo), or like the other talents seemingly are smart enough to do, SHUT THE FUCK UP.

I will reiterate on the off chance anyone reading this thinks about auditioning: never aply to it. Go indie or try another company. For on the even OFF-er chance you ARE part of it: leave now, go indie, try another company, or shit do like Pomu and go back to school to try something else.

This was not professionalism, this is straight up targeted harassment at this point. At this point, I hope Doki takes the company for every fucking penny they're worth. You don't get to act like you're the ones in the right after clear and OPEN harassment and bullying, let alone whatever the fuck went on behind the scenes.

I didn't even care much for Selen other than she was Mumei Hololive's real life friend, but I'm actually somehow even more furious over today than i was in my last post about Doki's situation. How can you treat a human being like this? How can you, in a professional setting, behave this way and pretend you are the good guys? I didn't care about her before, but shit, I respect her now even more for standing up to that shit.

[e-dubbc11]

for November rain again...kat dahlia has this angsty ass brekaing up song called 'just another dude' and i think it'd fit great for some nice angsty fic for my man dean :)

My lovely Selene,

Thank you for sending in your asks, for reading and sharing my fics but mostly for being such a kind friend. And thank you for participating in my follower celebration, I hope you like what I did here. This song is full of angst, I love it! I’ll link it at the end and of course I had to give this a fluffy ending ♥️

Sweet Pecan Pie

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x F! Reader

Warnings: Smut (18+ please or I’m telling!) Angst, fluff, a swear word or two

Word Count: 1.8K-ish

Summary: As the owner of a small diner, you encounter all kinds of people and one in particular comes to town on a mission but keeps coming back because of you.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The first time he came to town was for a job, but first he stopped in for something to eat at your diner.

As his teeth sank into the burger, he moaned as the grease dripped from his lips, down onto the plate, and he made the same noise when he took a bite of the pecan pie he ordered for dessert.

“This is the best thing I have ever tasted.” He said with a spot of whipped cream stuck to his lips.

He said the same thing to you later on that night with his head buried in between your thighs lapping at your entrance, devouring you like a man starved. Whispers of his name turned him on as your orgasm started to build. His tongue moved in and out of you with long eager strokes while his hand gently pressed against your stomach to try and keep you flush with the bed.

As he continued to push you over the edge, a soft whimper escaped your lips, “Dean.”

Dean Winchester.

That wasn’t the name on the FBI badge he flashed earlier in the evening. Dean was his real name, along with his brother Sam, he told you the truth about what they did for a living…”Saving people, hunting things, the family business.”

And after he saved you from a werewolf attack, you saved him from having to find a place to sleep for the night.

You tugged gently on his hair as he continued to fuck you with his tongue, the modest pulls on his light brown hair were a silent plea for him to stop teasing you. It had been a long time since you had been properly fucked, you needed him, and he took the hint you were dropping. With each drag of his cock, Dean hit that sweet spot, bringing closer and closer to climax, whispering against your mouth, telling you how good you feel, how tight you are, and praising you for taking his whole cock like a “good girl.”

His hands explored your body like no one had ever done before. It was a surprising sensation, exhilarating, and you didn’t want it to end. Shocked by your own lack of restraint, your heavy breaths moved in tandem with his as his body ground down harder against yours, the wave of your orgasm building faster as your walls began to tighten around him.

Dean was just as desperate for a release as you were, thrusting and panting quicker now, you cry out his name just as you explode all around him, and your knees quivered as you tried to catch your breath.

Dean’s lips found yours again, his kisses were hungry and you obediently melted into those kisses while he hit his peak and a strangled moan fell from his lips into your mouth.

“You feel so good, sweetheart.” He told you, kissing the tip of your nose and smiling at you as he rolled off of you then pulled you close so you could fall asleep on his chest.

He stayed until morning, then it was time to move on, but he would call any time he was in town or close to town. The job only brought him into town the one time; he kept coming back because of you. And that’s the kind of relationship you continued to have with him which, you admit, was fun for awhile until you were starting to think that’s all you were to him…a piece of ass.

Did he have one in every town? Was that his “thing?” Did he save pretty girls from scary monsters then take them to bed like he did with you?

It continued for months and while you enjoyed every minute of it, you weren’t sure you wanted it to be like this anymore.

Tangled in each other’s limbs and wrapped up in the bed sheets, you finally worked up the courage to ask him, “Is this all we are, Dean? Is this all I am to you?”

“What are you talkin’ about, baby?” He asked in a confused tone.

Turning to face him, you asked, “Do you do this in every town you have a job in?!”

“What? No!” He shouted. “That’s what you think of me, y/n?! I don’t have to stay here and listen to this, ya know.”

Unraveling yourself from him and the sheets, you angrily threw on a t-shirt and got out of bed.

“Then don’t stay!” You replied, scolding him. “And hey, if you really want me to feel like a whore, just leave some money on my bedside table on your way out!”

You didn’t like looking like a fool, you didn’t like being used, and you certainly didn’t want to be around someone who didn’t feel the same way as you felt about them.

Your diner allowed you to meet a lot of different people from all walks of life, families, travelers, and even monster hunters.

You enjoyed Dean’s company, it wasn’t just the sex. It was the talking before and after, or when he asked you if you created any new recipes lately, and slyly asking if he could test them out before you put them on the menu for the diner.

He was so cute and sexy.

But he didn’t say much on his way out of your bedroom and out of your house, probably never to return, and leaving you alone to try and get over someone who was never yours to begin with.

**********

Weeks had passed without a word from Dean, no texts, or phone calls, and he definitely didn’t come into the diner. You were positive you had chased him out of your life for good.

And yeah, maybe you did come off a little harsh but you were certain it had everything to do with the fact that you had developed deeper feelings for him and knew he didn’t feel the same way about you. At least that's what you had assumed.

But instead of trying to talk to him, you chased him away like you did with every other relationship you had.

After closing one night, you decided to put on some music to help you finish cleaning and locking up for the night. Lately, you have been listening to a lot of angry girl rock music and tonight was no different.

You, you treat me like a fool

You're making me feel used by you

Oh what do I do to break loose

Oh I'm so confused

I guess I'll pay my dues

Why do I like this abuse by you

Oh what do I do to break loose

You're just another dude

Gritting your teeth and angrily scrubbing the counter, you continued to sing, pretending the counter was Dean’s face as you fiercely moved the sponge back and forth.

Oh, baby, you got me running running running running all over town

I got nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing to show

But these wounds are proof

It's all 'cause of you, 'cause of you

You're just another dude

With the earbuds in your ears, you didn’t hear the door open and when you turned around to find Dean standing there, you clutched your chest tightly as you felt your heart jump into your throat.

“JESUS CHRIST!” You shouted in surprise.

Dean smirked. “Nope. Just me, sweetheart. You left the door unlocked, you should be more careful.”

Narrowing your expression at him, you replied, “Very funny, Dean. What the hell are you doin’ here?”

“I’m here to talk to you.” He said. “Wait…Was that song about me?”

“They’ve all been about you lately. What of it?” You snapped, continuing to scrub the counter tops.

“Can you stop that so I can talk to you for a minute, please baby?” He asked.

You pointed a finger at him.

“Oh no, you don’t get to call me that.” You said.

Dean grabbed the sponge out of your hand and flung it across the room.

“The fuck are you doing, Dean?!!” You yelled.

“I want you to listen to what I have to say!” He said.

Leaning across the counter, you looked into his hypnotizing green eyes and said, “Fine! Talk!”

Dean wiped his lips with his thumb and forefinger before he started, You could tell he was nervous and not used to saying what he was feeling.

“Y/n, do you think I just move from town to town bedding local women?” He asked.

You replied, “I don’t know, Dean. That’s not usually a topic of conversation when your dick is buried deep inside me.”

“I do love how direct you are, sweetheart.” He said with a chuckle.

His smile quickly disappeared when he noticed how unamused you were.

“Anyway…I usually don’t come back to town after I’ve finished a job especially if I met someone. It’s a one time thing and they never see me again. I came back here because I genuinely liked you, I liked talking with you, laughing with you, eating your pie…both kinds.” He said with a wink and a devilish smile.

You were angry that he made you blush.

“And I usually don’t share my real name or life with anyone. I let you into my real life. I could have walked away after I saved you from that werewolf.” Said Dean.

“Then why didn’t you , Dean?” You asked.

A warm smile stretched across his lips as he replied, “I told you. It’s because I liked you. And I’m sorry I made you feel like you were just another notch on my belt because you’re not and look, my life isn’t exactly stable, I don’t have steady relationships because of what my brother and I do so—”

You cut him off by leaning across the counter and gently pressing your lips to his. Dean kissed you back, his hand cupping your cheek as you melted into his kiss like you had done time and time again.

It was really hard to stay mad at him when his feelings were pouring out of him like blood from an open wound.

“I like you too, Dean.” You whispered as heat rushed to your cheeks and you gave him a warm smile.

“You do?” He asked.

You nodded.

“Ok, well are you done listening to angry, man hating music? I did say I was sorry.” Said Dean.

“Maybe.” You said with a wink.

His tongue brushed against your bottom lip as you gasped against his mouth and he became frustrated with the counter directly in front of him so he climbed over and caged you in against the edge.

Dean nipped at your chin before his teeth clashed with yours in another aggressive kiss. You pulled away to ask him, “Are you hungry? I could make–”

He claimed your lips again and replied, “Oh I’m hungry sweetheart, but not for food. I want a taste of your sweet pecan pie, first.”

Warmth flushed across your cheeks as you smiled and replied, “I’ll lock the door, baby.”

Tag List: @munsonownsmyass @gijos @vaguekayla @stoneyggirl2

Others that might enjoy: @k-marzolf @jvanilly @fluffyprettykitty @deans-spinster-witch @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

[itarobattemon]

Endlessly fascinating how the response to the gods in Downfall is going.

I really love how they tried to save everyone. They really tried to seek a different way. To not destroy the whole thing. (And from a storytelling/audience pov, the delight and horror in knowing how it all ends already, but still hoping to change the fate) Even as the gods debated the merits of mortals with such power.

And how it was that last wish from Selene that more or less sealed Aeor's fate. They could have just destroyed the genesis ward, and not the whole city. People, groups, families could have been spared. They were gods, they could have done something. But if everyone had that knowledge? Messy and complex. No one is safe. No one could be.

Gotta say, since the divine gate is being considered bc of all that happened, of seeing how people and celestials felt, if it shows anything it's that they really do care and they want to try and limit the destruction.

Cough, Both Asmodeus and Ludinus are wrong. They should not be killing gods. That is not the answer.

Also, seriously, it would make me think how Ruidus and all is not a benevolent 'just gonna eat gods' thing, but rather the end of ALL things. Not worth it! Just saying! Does this not prove releasing the god eater is a Bad Idea?!

[markantonys]

While I still don't think the show has done enough to show why the world despises and fears male channelers (since it really should've been embedded into the world building, so far we only know that the Aes Sedai hate and fear them) and it does kinda lessen the impact of the narrative that none of the EF5 had at least an initial gut reaction to Rand being able to channel. I do wonder how they're gonna handle that topic moving forward, cause it kinda has to be addressed now that Rand is actively channeling. I could see it being expanded more deeply as Rand's madness progresses/tie it into his arc.

the show has made it ABUNDANTLY clear that Male Channelers Are Considered Bad News By All. it IS embedded into the worldbuilding. was the king saying that logain's gone mad and trying to kill him not enough for you? was the people of tar valon jeering and throwing fruit at him not enough for you? was rand and mat saying "hey if i'm a male channeler please kill me" not enough for you? was rand's terror the second he realized selene saw him channel not enough for you? was selene's act of how a normal person would react to finding out her boyfriend can channel not enough for you? was his heartbroken yet unsurprised reaction to her rejection not enough for you? was the whole backstory of a male channeler causing the apocalypse not enough for you? do you think that show-onlys are completely incapable of putting all these pieces together along with aes sedai treatment of male channelers and coming to the conclusion that male channelers are probably not very popular with most people and it's going to be very tough for rand that he is one?

literally what else should they have done that would make sense within the very small world and very early story of the first 2 seasons/3 books that they didn't already do? shown emond's fielders sitting around the dinner table talking about how much they hate and fear male channelers when none of them has ever met one and thus it's not relevant to their lives? wasted time doing a whole sidequest for rand in s2 where his abilities are discovered by some Average Citizens and they react badly? shit all over show!mat's characterization and given him a negative reaction to rand in s2 that would not make sense for his current show headspace, just for the sake of furthering rand's randpain? i'm sick of the rand stans who act like rand is the only character who matters and mat's characterization should be sacrificed just so we can go "oh poor rand uwu even his own best friend is mean to him". portraying mat in 2x06 as the sort of person who bullies and kicks his best friend while he's down would've been beneficial because......? what is so wrong with the show making the ef5 feel like mutually loyal friends instead of "rand is the best and most loyal friend in the world but the rest are little shits who abandon him as soon as the going gets tough"? seeing as in the books, mat continues to be an extremely loyal friend to rand throughout the series but most readers are too stupid to see through his unreliable narration and realize he doesn't mean it when he says that rand channeling is like him eating babies, i'm not surprised the show decided to simplify things in order to convey the true heart of mat's character (loyal and caring friend to rand) in a more obvious manner.

and i guarantee you that no show-only is going "oh, it's only aes sedai who have a problem with male channelers, everyone else thinks they're cool". that's not happening. show-onlys are not stupid, and they understand that male channelers are considered bad news by all; or maybe they haven't thought much yet about how male channelers are viewed by the average public, but in future seasons once we see rand getting shit from the average public, they are not going to be surprised or confused or go "but i thought it was only aes sedai who had a problem with them and everyone else thinks they're cool?", they're going to go "oh, well we've seen how much aes sedai hate them, so it makes sense that everyone else does too". stop. think for 2 seconds about "have i actually seen a large number* of show-onlys misunderstanding X and/or do i think it's plausible that a large number of show-onlys would be likely to misunderstand X, or do show-onlys have enough context clues to figure out X for themselves or to be unsurprised when X is expanded on and made more explicit in future seasons and i'm working myself up into a state over a non-issue?"

*there are always going to be a handful of people incapable of critical thinking who willfully misunderstand what the show is showing us, just like there are readers like that with the books, hence unless a LARGE number of general-population show-onlys are misunderstanding X, as opposed to just 20 idiots on twitter, i do not consider it a failure by the show in portraying X.

[korkorali]

I think the worst bit for me about all Those Sorts (you know the type) of fics is that they always take Della extremely out of character in order to make her the 'antagonist.'

And that sucks because it's just not necessary! It's the worst because you can have Della & Louie angst where Della's the 'antagonist,' and it's in-character.

You just have to have Louie be wrong in the end (kind of).

The reason why Della and Louie clash in Timephoon and Glomtales! isn't because Della 'disapproves of scheming in entirety' or something, it's because she's done the same goddamn thing as him.

(And side note- Timephoon is honestly an amazing piece of storytelling, because it allows us to see Della's thought process for taking the Spear of Selene by showing us Louie doing pretty much the same thing.)

She's been through it all before, and she knows how it ends.

And that fucking terrifies her! The idea that one of her kids is making the same mistakes as her, could go through the same thing as she did, and she's the only one who can see it, is terrifying.

The way to start out a story like this is simple; have an adventure go wrong. Not in a deadly way, not in a way that's caused by Louie (at least, not that anyone but him notices), not in a way that costs anyone their life- but in a way that causes them to lose the treasure. The adventure is a failure, and they have to come back empty handed, like New Gods on the Block.

Maybe some people get hurt, maybe it's vaguely Louie's fault (and even then- it'd be better if it wasn't even his fault, it's just his brain connecting patterns where there aren't any), but the most important part is that they don't get the treasure, and it's like- one of those ones that can only be found once every hundred years or something.

Louie feels responsible (I mean all of the kids do, but as it'd be a Louie story he'd be the one focused on) and upset that they want to all that trouble and don't have anything to show for it, so he tries to figure out some way to go on the adventure again.

Turns out, after a bit of research, there is a way to get to the treasure again! Louie brings it to Scrooge's attention excitedly- but Scrooge turns it down. Says it's too dangerous, that they're not doing it, end of story.

...Not end of story- everyone's still obviously miserable. So Louie decides that 'okay, if it's 'too dangerous,' then I'll just go in secret. It'll be fine, Scrooge is just overreacting.'

So he starts trying to put a plan into place to get the treasure in secret- but Della, somehow, seems to know what he's doing (hint: it's because she knows what she'd do if she was in Louie's shoes). And is consistently getting in his way.

And there you go- a perfect setup to have Della consistently and purposefully stepping on Louie's toes, getting in his way, trying to stop him from doing things, and it's even in-character! It'd probably start out with the two acting like everything's perfectly hunky-dory, even though both of them know that the other knows that they know that the other knows why they did this one thing.

As plans get deeper, it'd escalate to Della trying to actively call Louie out, but he always manages to just barely weasel his way out of it, and eventually commence his plan.

It obviously goes wrong. But Della's there to help. And finally she'd actually explain why the fuck she's been something of a thorn in his side for the past few weeks, why it seems like she knows what he's thinking: because she does.

Because she's been through the same thing.

Because she fucked up, and left her stranded on the moon for ten years, and she does not want that for her kid. (And of course everything could've been solved if she'd just sat down and talked to Louie about that at the onset, but it's Della- she only likes to bring up the moon when it's funny. She would've thought 'nah it's fine, I can handle this, I don't need to bare my soul, I shouldn't burden anyone with that' without realizing that oh yeah, no, that's the exact same thought process she doesn't want Louie to think)

And of course they'd argue, because it'd be a high-stress situation and neither of them would have the composure to pretend that everything's alright and they haven't been sniping at each other for the past week or so, and eventually it'd finally come up; eventually, they'd finally bring up that they thought the exact same thing when Louie did this, when Louie took the Timetub, when Della took the Spear.

'...And if anything goes wrong, at least I'm the only one who'll get hurt.' (Because you cannot tell me that that was not the last thought running through both of their heads when they took the timetub/Spear of Selene, you cannot convince me that they didn't think they were doing right by their families in that moment, that they hadn't done their due diligence and minimized risk down to one person.)

And Louie wouldn't understand, because he did the right thing. He minimized risk, he made sure nobody else would get hurt. But that's wrong- because if he got hurt, then Della (Donald, Scrooge, their family, her kids) would get hurt too. That they could fly into a vacuum all they wanted, but at the end of the day, they still didn't exist in one.

Eventually, they'd get out of there and abandon the mission again. Maybe they'd succeed, but probably not. But that's not important- what'd be important is that they were both safe and alive and okay.

There- a Della & Louie thing, extremely angsty, well Della as the 'antagonist,' and it's all in-character. Easy.

[canmom]

so hades 2 huh

it's fun! i am more convinced after actually playing it than i was in the runup to it. the green colour palette looked a little drab in the videos but it works better for me fullscreen in game, and I really like the second zone's design. the major aesthetic change does go a little way towards making this feel like 'new Supergiant game' instead of just a rehash of the first game.

the difficulty floor is higher than the first game. i think it's well-tuned to go into if you've beaten that one. so far i've played 6 runs, seen the first boss in 5, and and beaten her in 2 of them; yet to get more than about halfway through the second zone after that tho!

the new mana mechanic is kinda interesting, lots of tradeoffs to make. it's a bit more granular than the cast in the first game; you use it to do powered up versions of your attacks, and spending it also charges up the Call-equivalent.

i'm increasingly intrigued by the setting, and i really like some of the side characters like arachne. i think the time skip was a good decision - the story of Zagreus et al. was definitely done. the epilogue ending of the first game was way too neat.

still, starting a revenge plot in media res is curious. especially when Nemesis lampshades the lack of personal motivation. compared to Zagreus's very pressing and relatable motivation (run away from my abusive dad), Melinoë's motivation is a little more abstract - this seems to be deliberate. but it does a fair bit to sell the sort of 'desperate resistance base' setting. it definitely seems rather like they're setting up a twist down the line. but it lacks the immediate emotional hook of the overbearing patriarch in the first game. curious to see how it will work once I've seen more of the story.

as far as the new gods, I'm fascinated by the decision to make Hephaestus and Hestia both be Northern - probably Yorkshire. it's always fun hearing regional UK accents in games. they do also both feel like responses to the criticism that Jen Z never designs fat characters lmao. still, they are good designs. both have satisfying mechanics. Selene also has a really good design I think.

the other gods' mechanics have naturally been redesigned to fit the new game. still broadly the same themes, e.g. Zeus will still be lightning based, but different interpretations of what that means, so for example you have 'hitting an enemy produces a lightning blast behind them' as the primary Zeus mechanic instead of chain lightning. which definitely keeps things fresh. Melinoë's kit has a lot of directional attacks and, with the Cast now being an AOE which slows/freezes enemies, there's a lot more emphasis now on positioning enemies to set up AOE attacks which is interesting.

the witch stuff is quite fun in an admittedly slightly cheesy way. it's definitely pull on aesthetic currents which aren't at all Ancient Greek, like the pointed hats. but hey! I can get into it, it's not like the game's aesthetic has ever been all that strictly historical. even if I am still scratching my head at 'so mote it be'. apparently it's an archaic word meaning 'may', i.e. 'may it be so'.

of course the main thing is, the actual moment to moment gameplay is fun. it flows just as the first game did, and it's just as addictive with the way it spreads out story breadcrumbs. the vfx and such look great, the movement is already super tightly tuned (tbf it's basically the same as the first game with the addition of a new 'hold dash to sprint'), and there's a already good variety of enemy mechanics.

there's some obvious placeholders for some of the UI art and character portraits (notably none of the keepsakes have been drawn yet), but overall it's surprisingly polished for an early-access build. all the voice acting is already there - it's fun seeing the Supergiant voice cast return in new roles.

the meta progression element... there's some neat ideas, like an upgrade system with a limited set of slots that very much calls to mind NieR Automata's chip system. so there are some stronger tradeoffs to make; it's not as simple as 'spend resource, get better' as it was in the first game. and it's clearly possible to advance quite far even without a lot of meta resource investment. so far it definitely feels like my main limit is skill, and I'll progress further once I learn more of the enemy patterns and figure out what builds I like to play.

(though I guess the idea with this kind of game is that the power ups quietly boost you and make it feel like you're getting better a lot faster than you are just learning the game lmao)

overall, it's just really fun to have another Supergiant game to sink my teeth into haha. I still wish they'd continued their streak of coming up with new IPs each time, because they'd come up with fantastic settings, but there's plenty of interest here still.

also the more I work in game dev the more I can appreciate just what a ludicrous amount of polish there is in Supergiant's games. I can only imagine the amount of work it must have taken to tune the feel of everything this tight.

[powdermelonkeg]

so, it’s confirmed that Zelda’s “Time” powers came from Sonia, and her “Light” powers from Rauru, but we know from other games that only the women of the royal family can use the “sealing” power inherited from SkSw Zelda. do you think this means that throughout history, the “Light” powers associated w the sealing are actually separate from the sealing ability? I just remember being really lost after that cutscene, cause even if Rauru somehow was a descendant of Hylia, he wouldn’t be able to use those powers, and the sealing of whatever evil is causing trouble always has a fancy light show with it lmao

So, this is a very complicated question with a very complicated theory to answer it.

We know that Sonia's primary, and, in terms of usablity, only power is Recall.

However, I do believe she's Hylia's descendant, not Rauru, despite Rauru being the one with the light/sealing power. Evidence on that here.

Being Hylia's descendant would make Sonia's birthright be a whole host of other powers, possibly latent, but more probably something that Sonia's never actually been in the right situation to use. Let's take a look at what Skyward Sword Zelda can do.

She can seal the Demon King-

-but only at the expense of her own life force being rendered inert while she does.

She can bless the Master Sword-

-but it's already as strong as it can get.

She has strong connections to time...

...but we knew that already.

Of these three powers, only one would be relevant to Sonia's skill set. The Master Sword can hardly be doubly-blessed, and the Demon King has yet to show his face.

More importantly, however, Skyward Zel's sealing power works MUCH differently to Wild Zel's.

Wild Zel's sealing is instantaneous, fueled by emotion, with seemingly no draining effect on her person.

When fully unleashed, her seal is as total as it is inescapable. It doesn't require her to put herself to sleep until Link can deal the final blow with the Master Sword. The closest thing to Skyward Zel's seal that Wild Zel did was in keeping the Calamity at bay for 100 years while Link slept. During which, it's heavily implied that she was conscious, given that she spoke to Link the instant he woke.

With Rauru, his sealing ability seems much more similar to our princess's, with only some key differences visually.

His right hand gathers light around it, and needs to be extended to fully function.

When the seal first activates, it forms a spherical shape, which is inescapable, albeit on a much smaller scale than Zelda's.

It's a little hard to see, due to the magnitude of Zelda's power, but it IS a sphere.

And although this act does cost Rauru his life, it usually doesn't. He's done this before, multiple times, as stated in Messages from an Ancient Era tablet A Pilgrimage of Light:

"The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. "Of erli daies sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged ond assaylled. "Uncesinge in striffe, thei broughte to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng ond quen ysete thamselue to bringen scurge to ende. "With might of light ond pouere, driven abak ybeen, ond the roial couple made thes shirines to selen him awei. "Thes holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. "Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen."

The translation, to the best of my efforts:

"The king was late to come this evening, so made the queen to share tales of her land, of shrines all green glowing. "Of early days since Hyrule's founding have diverse monsters her realm besieged and assailed. "Unceasing in strife, they brought to despair folks' lives. King and queen set themselves to bringing scourge to end. "With might of light and power, driven aback they been, and the royal couple made these shrines to seal him away. "These holy seals been called Shrines of Light. "Great king, great queen, I thank you. You fought when you were maiden-child, that I could peace to know."

Sonia and Rauru went around making the Shrines of Light that we find in present day and receive blessing from:

So, with the exception of the Demon King, who was so powerful that he could resurrect thousands of years later, Rauru's seal behaved like Zelda's—instant, fueled by emotion, inescapable, projected by the right hand, with no immediate toll on the user.

But what does this mean for Zelda's sealing ability? Despite behaving similarly, it doesn't look similar at all.

Let's look back at what happens when Sonia and Rauru combine their powers.

Rauru brings his hands together in a triangle shape, possibly invoking the same Triforce motif Zelda gives when she unleashes her power. The Secret Stone, which magnifies his light abilities, glows in a similar shade to Zelda's seal.

Sonia extends her right hand as her own tear glows. Despite it only amplifying her time power, her hand shows the same color Rauru's light gives off—as well as being in a spherical form.

Rauru draws in her power (and Zelda's, whose is a combination of both already and therefore adds no new properties) and forms a bright yellow light with a sphere around it.

It's better seen from this angle, where we can also see what looks like an inverted Triforce in the middle.

They're nowhere near the level of focus Zelda's Triforce has, but the triangles are definitely there.

And then it becomes a catastrophic force of power, able to wipe out an entire swarm of Molduga in a single hit.

Zelda's lineage's sealing ability is a culmination of all of this. It's Sonia and Rauru's powers combined, taking Hylia's seal, the Goddess's full power-

-and attaching that strength to something instantaneous and geared specifically to lock away darkness-

-by combining the power of time with the power of light.

Hylia's sealing power isn't Rauru's, but Zelda's is Hylia's AND Rauru's combined.

As a side note, this is also why I think, despite Rauru contributing his power, the magic remains only matrilineal. Hylia's descendants—meaning in this case, Sonia—are the only ones that carry her abilities. Rauru's power attached itself to Sonia's to create Zelda's, but Sonia's abilities—with or without Rauru's boost to them—can only be accessed by her daughters and granddaughters.

Strong enough to rival any magic in the world in sheer might, this later became known as the Light Force.

TLDR: Hylia's seal = Slow, nonlethal, exhausting toll, powerful, golden lightshow Rauru's seal = Fast, potentially lethal, concentrated, opposes Ganon, spherical lightshow Zelda's seal = Fast, concentrated, opposes Ganon, spherical (from Rauru), nonlethal, powerful, golden (from Hylia); a hybridization of both seals, the best of both worlds

[totallyjustabunchofhocuspocus]

Fic Preview

A sneak peek of the next chapter of Come Away, O Human Child, an urban fantasy Buddie AU

Read on AO3

Buck stays with Eddie and Chris for a week. Two weeks. Three weeks. More.

He goes back to the loft a few times, of course. For more clothes, or to check his mail, or just to give the place a quick dust and open the windows for a bit. When Eddie has long shifts, he sometimes takes Chris there to spend the night so they can play video games on Buck’s bigger TV and order from the Korean barbecue place that doesn’t deliver to Eddie’s house. Truthfully, the ink had barely been dry on his lease when everything with the Devil’s Mouth went down. He hasn’t really had time for the loft to feel like home…but more and more he’s realizing it’s never going to feel like anything other than a (very expensive) storage unit.

Eddie’s house is home. It’s too early to be thinking in terms of permanence and forever, but in his heart, Buck knows that home is always going to be wherever Eddie and Chris are.

Before he knows it, it’s been over a month. A month of the most dizzying ups and downs, the most breathtaking upheaval. A month of falling asleep by Eddie’s side at night and waking up to him every morning. A month of slotting himself into Christopher’s morning routines even more firmly than he already had been. A month of taking care of his Diaz boys the way he’s realizing he’s always wanted to and being cared for in return in the way he doesn’t think anyone has done for him since before Maddie left their parents’ house.

He and Eddie take things slow—slower than he ever has in any relationship, honestly. Part of it is due to Chris’s presence. Buck’s never dated (hah, ‘dated’…as if that word could really encompass what Eddie is to him, what he wants Eddie to be to him, what he wants them to be to each other) someone with a kid before. It’s not like he didn’t understand how much having a child affects somebody’s schedule—hell, he’s been in the thick of raising Christopher with Eddie for months, he can acknowledge that now—but wow, it’s really hard to find time for intimacy and alone time with a child around. Especially one they’re still trying to keep their relationship a secret from for now.

But the greater part of it is they just don’t want to rush things. Don’t want to put any pressure on each other, on this thing that is growing between them.

Eddie and Shannon were so young when they got together, and even when they were apart, Eddie says he never felt right straying from his vows. Buck would be lying if he said his heart doesn’t flip every time he really lets himself think about that—about the fact that after all this time, after everything he’s been through, Eddie finally feels ready to try again, to be with someone again, love someone again and he chose him. On the other side, this is the first time Buck’s been with someone and had any expectation of a future. He can’t even completely blame the curse for it. Even if he hadn’t been cursed, he knows most of his previous relationships were transient. Selene and Derek had cared about him, and he about them, but there had never been the kind of passion and need he feels for Eddie. What he’d had with Rafael down in Peru hadn’t even progressed to a situationship—more an extended hookup (and really, human/merperson relationships are already extremely uncommon for obvious reasons). Abby is the only other person he’s ever felt something for a fraction as strongly as he feels for Eddie. The only other person he’s ever seen himself trying to build some kind of future with.

And even that is nothing compared to what he feels for Eddie. He knows it’s really unfair to compare the two—the combined weight of his curse and her own frustrated dreams and ambitions was always hanging over their relationship. He had loved her, and he knows she loved him (as much as she’d been able to, anyway), but even in his wildest dreams, what he had with Abby never felt as real as this. As solid. As sure. It’s breathtaking. Unbelievable. And yet, somehow, it’s real. It’s happening.

Buck can have this. He can keep this. A month ago, all that was looming on the horizon for him was a horrific death, and now he has this. A family. A home. A future.

But it’s also been month of figuring out how to exist without the golden light of his magic. A month of catching himself trying to reach for all the little charms and enchantments that have come to him as easy as breathing for as long as he can remember. A month of changing the way he thinks and reacts, of retraining his instincts. It’s like trying to re-write muscle memory and it’s so hard, but he’s doing it.

He has to do it. If he wants a life with Eddie and Christopher, if he wants to see Maddie have the future she deserves so, so much…he has to be able to exist without his magic.

Physically, he’s completely recovered from the backlash shock and has been for weeks. He can’t go for his recertification until he gets a formal assessment of his magic…which he won’t be able to do until he’s had a physical and psych evaluation by department-approved therapists. He has no doubt he’s going to get the all-clear for physical, but he can’t get cleared by psych until he’s completed at least two courses of alchemical therapy to try and heal his connection to his magic. He’s still on medical leave and partial disability until then, but like he told Bobby, he’s already filled out the paperwork to schedule his recertification. He just needs a couple signatures.

He's so close to the finish line he can taste it.

He’s just finishing chopping the last of the herbs for the chimichurri he wants to serve with the steaks they’re planning on grilling for dinner tonight when he hears Eddie enter the kitchen. A moment later, his partner’s arms wind around his waist and he smiles as Eddie just leans almost his whole weight against him, resting his cheek against the back of Buck’s neck.

“Reached the summit of Mt. Laundry, yet?” Buck asks playfully, setting the knife aside to rest his hands over Eddie’s. They’re halfway through Eddie’s first forty-eight off in a while, and the afternoon has been dedicated to getting on top of some of the larger chores around the house that they’ve admittedly been neglecting. Buck has spent the last couple hours deep cleaning the bathrooms while Eddie tackled the kitchen and the truly impressive amount of laundry they’ve been letting build up.

“Why do we own so many damn socks?” Eddie grumbles. “And how many Henleys do you have, man?”

Buck frowns at that, a little shiver of unease running through him. His things have been slowly migrating over from the loft—not all of it, of course. That would be silly; he’s barely three months into a year-long lease, and it’s not like Eddie has actually told him he wants him to stay here permanently. So no, most of his stuff is still at the loft, but he’s been bringing the things he uses often, the clothes he feels most comfortable in. It’s just easier and cuts down on the trips he has to take back and forth, and hell, it’s not like a bunch of his possessions didn’t already sort of live at Eddie’s house. But maybe it’s too much? Eddie hates clutter, after all. Maybe he doesn’t actually want Buck’s things taking up so much space, maybe Buck’s doing that thing he does again where he takes up more room than he’s been offered, and Eddie’s trying to drop some hints that it’s time for Buck to start migrating things back to the loft maybe—

His head throbs, a little stab of pain radiating from his temple, and he reaches up absently to rub it in a gesture that he doesn’t even realize has been more and more frequent.

“I, uh, what’re you talking about, I own the normal amount of shirts, Eddie,” he says, trying to laugh it off even as anxiety spikes through him. “Is—do you want me to take some stuff back to the loft, or…?” He means it to sound casual, offhanded even, but he knows he’s missed the mark when Eddie’s arms tighten around him and he raises his head from Buck’s shoulder blade.

“What? No,” he protests immediately, tugging at Buck until he turns around. “Hey. No. I like it. I like having your stuff here. I mean—look, I know we haven’t made any concrete decisions, but you know we like you being here, right? Chris loves it. I love it. Hell, I think Chris would stop speaking to me if I let you start taking stuff back to the loft.”

Buck laughs, some of the tightness in his chest easing, the throbbing in his head receding as Eddie pulls him closer, slotting their bodies flush against each other. “I could…my building allows sub-letting with prior approval,” he says slowly, trailing one hand up Eddie’s arm to curl his hand around the back of his partner’s neck. “Not that I—it’s too soon, I know that, but just…it’s an option. For whenever we, uh, we want options.”

Eddie nods to himself, a faraway look entering his warm, brown eyes. After a moment, he chuckles lightly. “It’s weird, but it doesn’t feel like it’s too soon, does it?” he says quietly. “All the things you’re supposed to do…you know, getting to know each other, figuring out all the things you love about each other and the things that drive you nuts? We already did that.”

Buck’s heart thumps in his chest, and he has to bite down on the wide, hopeful grin that wants to split his face. “There’s things that drive you nuts about me?” he asks teasingly, instead of the question he really wants to.

Eddie laughs, and kisses him. “You suck at picking up wet towels.”

“Yeah, well, you leave the butter out on the counter.”

“I can’t find anything in the kitchen anymore.”

“You hog the blankets at night.”

“You turned Chris into a nonfiction junkie.”

“Hey, he’s already met his AR goal, like, twice as fast as everyone else in his class,” Buck laughed, tugging Eddie still closer to him, running his hand through the short hairs at the back of his partner’s neck.

“Yeah, but Pete the Cat is way easier to read at night than firsthand accounts of the first arctic expeditions!” Eddie leans in to nip at the underside of his jaw.

Slow. They are taking things slow on the physical front, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve been standing still.

Unfortunately, Chris will be home from school soon so they won’t be breaking any new territory today. Eddie pulls back after a moment, his face turning serious. “Maybe you could get the ball rolling on the sub-leasing paperwork? I’ve been thinking…we’re really pushing our luck sneaking you back out here in the mornings. Shannon and I have talked. I don’t want to hide things from Christopher. Especially things like this.”

Buck goes still, a thrill of excitement and apprehension running through him. “You wanna tell Chris?” he asks. “Cause I’m, I’m fine with waiting for a while. This is a huge change, I get that. I mean—most people don’t introduce new partners for months. Or, like, a year!”

Eddie smiles at him—the warm, fond smile that Buck secretly likes more than just about any other expression on Eddie’s handsome face. “I don’t think it counts if the kid already loves you. Besides…you belong here, Buck.”

Eddie doesn’t know—cannot know, has no way of knowing—how long Buck has been waiting for someone to say that to him and mean it. Truly mean it. Eddie says it so casually. As easily as if he’s rattling off inventory in the back of the ambulances or reciting a weather report. As though it’s a simple, unarguable fact and not something Buck has longed for and thought was out of reach for what feels like his entire damn life.

Buck isn’t ashamed to admit he’s been struggling with the absolute whiplash that is his life now. Sometimes he feels like he blacked out on the street after channeling the leyline and woke up in an entirely new reality; one where he has to relearn every rule and expectation. It’s harder than anything he’s ever had to do, but if it gives him this…if it gives him this, it is a reality he’ll gladly stay in forever.

“Okay,” he says softly. “Okay, then, let’s tell Chris.”

[yandere-fics]

♡ Selene Gets Her Sister Darling Pregnant While She's Drunk ♡

(Selene is a jerk in this again.)

You loved Selene, really more than you should love your sister and though no one wanted to be around her as the years progressed, unless you counted the women she slept with which you personally did not, even the followers of her leaving and starting a temple dedicated to her future mate, but you stuck around which made you feel as though you were somewhat entitled to see some form of change from Selene, just a little would be nice even which is why you had made the awful mistake of asking Selene if she could stop sleeping around that night and why you were defiled by her the prior night as she said if she was going to stop having sex then she needed something to fuck, angrily pushing you to the ground and cumming in you at least three times that night before shoving you away and going to her room to pass out. You really did love Selene but after that you were pretty much over it and so you picked yourself back up and plot your exit from her life.

"Selene." You heard a grunt on the other side of the door after you knocked, she had clearly just barely woken up, meanwhile you'd been up for hours packing. You wanted to do this quick but you still somewhat felt you owed it to her to tell her to her face that you were leaving so you opened the door, she wouldn't meet your eye, at least somewhat guilty for what she did last night. "Selene I'm-" You were interrupting by her rolling over and making grabby hands for you to come cuddle with her with a loud grunt, she always wanted to cuddle with you when she was hungover, she said it made her oddly feel cured to smell you and since her nose was so fucked up the only way she could even smell you was if she was right next to you.

"Sis, I need youuuuu." She had a dumb smirk on her face and you saw she was hard already, gross, you were done with her really now.

"Selene, I'm moving out, I think we need boundaries after last night." You really just needed to not see her face for a few thousand years, she was the worst. Not even cuddling you after last night and passing out but then expecting you to do it again first thing in the morning, even if she was drunk last night, it was no excuse for last night.

"Sis, if this is about last night, surely you can forgive me for being cold when I was drunk, I wasn't thinking clearly, I thought you would prefer me to leave you alone after that for a bit, I did want to stay and hold you." She stood up, walking over to you to hold you, pausing to sniff the air around you aggressively before getting a wide smirk on her face and shoving her tongue in your mouth. "Dove, oh my precious dove, you're pregnant."

You had an argument prepared but the wind was knocked out of you when she said that, there was only one way you could have been pregnant and that was if you were her soulmate and while you still wanted to leave after the years of mistreatment, arguing against her wouldn't do anything since she had a right to her soulmate so you smiled and kissed her back. You'd have your moment to escape later, you were sure of it.

[helshollowhalls]

I have some thoughts. On Mysta's graduation. And the current state of Nijisanji in general.

At the end of the day, I am not surprised. I expected someone else to graduate first, hell I even expected Niji to keep more of an iron grip on their money makers aka Luxiem in order to milk them for more cash, but I digress.

Mysta is graduating and it only goes to show that their 'money first, talent... third? last?' approach comes back to bite them in the arse. This might be the potential wakeup call for everyone who has yet to realize that the entire English branch of Nijisanji is crumbling away in record time because of the absolutely abysmal talent management and treatment of the livers.

I refrained from speculating who would be the next ones to graduate after Nina - simply because I will leave that job to the anonymous leakers on the site/platform that shall not be named here. Apparently Shu and Vox were brought up as the potential next people to graduate (this is according to a recent Depressed Nousagi stream but he didn't show any screenshots so take that with a massive bucket of salt.) Mysta was allegedly also mentioned down the line, but he seemingly wasn't the first choice.

Honestly, if you think about it the entirety of Luxiem must be so done mentally. They didn't know what to expect when they signed up to become Nijisanji's first male English-speaking Vtuber group. They waltz onto the scene, explode in popularity all over the world out of nowhere basically and suddenly they're Niji EN's favorite child. The company is milking them for all they have because OH BOI do they rake in the cash - not to mention from a target audience that was completely ignored before in the EN corporate sphere - female viewers.

In a lot of things the boys weren't given any choice. Jazz On The Clock? The first ever second unit song in Niji EN ever and it was released even before their anniversary. With Luxiem being the fourth EN wave in total it felt a little counterintuitive - Wouldn't they start another potential wave of unit songs with LazuLight, their first wave? Well, now that Light Me Up is out and Pomu talked about the entire fiasco of LazuLight basically fighting management tooth and nail to be allowed a second unit song, I think most of us can guess how things are going at Anycolor. And in case you're not entirely convinced, just look at the amount of Luxiem merch Niji has put out compared to any other EN wave.

It's not just JotC, but their anniversary/irl Japan meetup stream as well. That stream was something that personally really rubbed me the wrong way because it felt very inauthentic. It felt like the five of them were just shoved into a room at the Niji HQ to play Smash and do some batsus while the executives and managers proceeded to lock the doors and breath down their necks for the entirety of the stream. The stream had a very different feel to it - Comparing it to other Luxiem collab streams or even other anniversary streams. Management didn't consider it necessary to order Obsydia or Ethyria to Japan and record their anniversary streams at the Niji HQ - Well, that would be because none of them make the company as much sweet sweet cash as Luxiem - Closest would maybe be Selen. And even she has been public about the management fuck-ups - I am talking about her outfit design contest here, of course.

But back to Luxiem. I don't follow them as closely as I used to in the beginning, infact I am only subscribed to Shu out of the five, so let's start from here.

The entire wave collectively tweeted very salty and sarcastic remarks about the official announcement of the EN 3D Live Concert being "postponed due to COVID" earlier this year. But out of all of them, it seemingly hit Shu the hardest. I noticed that he was streaming less and less, infact he still isn't streaming as much as he used to.

Ike... oh boi, where do I even begin. Judging from his spontaneous irl hangout with Vox recently and the amount of projects he has been involved in as a vocal mixer, not to mention his two recent songs of which one is an original, this man seems to be working 30 hours a day and is stressed to the max.

Mysta made his personal situation and his ongoing burnout/lack of goals to work towards very clear in his graduation announcement stream, so I won't go into detail.

Vox has also been streaming less frequently. During the course of his employment at Nijisanji he got diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD (I believe), started therapy and medication, had a panic attack during an ASMR stream, started new projects and also some personal issues in his private life to deal with.

I have to be honest about Luca - I don't really know anything about what is going on with him apart from the fact that he planned to move again and got a puppy.

In conclusion, I could see reasons for anyone of them graduating anytime soon. Management isn't treating them well - Management isn't treating anyone in EN well, it seems - and at some point that fact doesn't warrant staying with the company anymore. Plus, money isn't really an issue for any of them at this point I assume - Especially Vox and Mysta. Both of them have enough money to fulfill their potential aspirations as indies or under another agency or manager.

Infact, apart from a couple of livers I can see anyone graduating next because of how Nijisanji handles things.

Some may argue that it all started going downhill when they kicked Yugo or when Zaion got terminated - Regardless of what you think, at the end of the day, the entire branch is seemingly falling apart right in front of us and Nijisanji's reputation is tanking, especially with the English-speaking fanbase, while Hololive idly sits by and watches the drama unfold.

The consequences of Mysta leaving and the message it sends about Nijisanji and how they treat their livers can't be understated.

[spectrechosts]

Desperado

I want to be done reuploading and all I have left is shorter stories I haven't touched in forever which means shit is getting CONDENSED into single posts so I can have all this done by Halloween.

This one is about an anxious pilot and her friend who definitely isn't a pirate. 3 chapters.

Selene sighed.

"Okay," She said, "Do you really want to know why this keeps happening? Because you're not going to like it."

Luna nodded, meekly.

"It's the hat."

"What?" She squeaked, half baffled half offended.

"Literally nobody doing reputable things in space does so wearing a cowboy hat. It's- I don't even know how to explain this to you in a way that shouldn't already be apparent."

"But I like my hat!"

"I know."

"You can't judge someone based on a hat!"

"I don't know what you want me to say. It's like one step removed from wearing an actual pirate hat in terms of accessories that say you are doing piracy."

"You cannot assume that from a hat."

"It's the hat and the fact that, to an outside observer, your tendency to avoid people because you're shy looks like you have a whole 'mysterious dark stranger in a tavern' vibe going on."

"But-"

"I told you you weren't gonna like it." Selene said, and finished her beer. "Now tell me what you got roped into so I can get you out of it."

"I-I think they're loading black market organs onto my ship."

"Jesus christ."

"I'm sorry."

"Luna, you can keep the hat. It makes you look cute. But, for the love of god, you have to get better at saying no to people."

~~~

"C-Can you please go faster? I have deadlines, and-"

The customs officer glared at Luna, and she withered. They carefully inspected every inch of her cargo hold, opening shipments, checking for hidden panels, scanning for traces of contraband.

"What's her deal?" Another customs officer asked Selene, who was watching the scene unfold.

"Oh, you know how it is." She shrugged. "Jumpy pilot gets singled out at a checkpoint for being suspicious, that makes them more jumpy the next time, and round and round it goes. She's been flagged down for inspection six times this month."

"Heh, poor kid."

"Poor me having to wait through all this. I could be on Mars by now if I didn't have a soft spot for doe-eyed idiots."

"Mm. Well, speaking of inspections, your ship's been randomly flagged for a search."

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"That seems to happen quite often when you're on shift."

"Hey, I just do what the system tells me." The officer said, putting his hands in the air. "Think of it as lucky that they show up on my watch, and not somebody less understanding."

"Fine." Selene huffed, and slipped him a credit chip.

"Well, looks like everything checked out clean. I'll get outta your hair."

Selene folded her arms and waited for Luna to finally be cleared to leave.

"I'm sorry!" She cried over comms as they took off again. "I just get so nervous!"

"It's okay, Luna. You're not doing anything wrong."

"I don't know why I get so worried about being searched. I'm not a pirate, I don't even know any pirates!"

Selene smiled.

She'd tell her eventually, if things between them got serious.

~~~

"S-So that's my cargo manifest, and as you can see everything is in order."

Luna was sweating bullets. She didn't know what it was about inspections, but just the idea that she might have accidentally messed something up and go to jail for it made her queasy.

"Ah, I don't need to read all that, girl. Just show me what you're hauling and we'll talk about what you're going to do with it, okay?"

The inspector clapped her on the back, and she squeaked. "Um. Okay?"

"Good girl."

This inspector was weird. She was very nice, but everything she said sounded scary somehow. It kind of reminded her of that one time Selene had gotten drunk while they were docked at Neptune and said some incredibly salacious things to her in a similar tone of voice before passing out at their table.

That… Wasn't a memory she needed right now. She was flustered enough.

"So um, this section is all iron ore, containers one through twenty-six."

"How wonderful. Next."

"Then these ones, twenty-seven through thirty-one, these are all, um, industrial air filters. It's- It's mostly all just stuff for the refinery." Luna explained.

"Okay, I think there's been a misunderstanding here." The inspector said, putting her arm around Luna's shoulder.

"O-Oh. I'm sorry?"

"It's okay, pretty girl. I was unclear. I want you to show me the good stuff, yeah?"

"The… Good stuff?" Pretty girl???

"The secret stuff, babygirl. The illegal stuff."

Luna went pale.

"Nonono, I-I don't have-" She babbled, and the inspector's face fell.

"Ohh, babygirl, I don't like being lied to." She said. Her sly smile was gone, her relaxed posture replaced with that of a predator looming over her prey.

"I'm- I'm not-" Luna said, backing away.

"Do you know what happens to people who lie to me?"

Luna backed into the side of a shipping container, and the inspector slammed an open palm next to her head. She flinched at the impact, tears welling in her eyes.

"They… Go to jail?"

The inspector's ominous appearance cracked, a smile showing through. "They- What?"

She giggled. She laughed at her and Luna's face burned and she didn't understand what was going on.

"You- You still think-" The inspector struggled to speak between fits of laughter. "Oh, oh I had heard Selene liked to play house with easy marks, but holy shit girl you're like, actually stupid."

That made Luna mad. Was she too trusting? Maybe. Was she bad at social situations? Sure. But she was not stupid, and she did not like being laughed at, and she definitely didn't like how this girl talked about Selene. She balled her hands into trembling fists.

"Whew, okay, let's do this from the top, with no subtlety so you can follow- ghlk!"

Luna punched the fake inspector in her stupid throat and tackled her to the ground, raining blows upon her arms as she attempted to guard her face.

~

Luna was released from the security office after a few hours. The cameras corroborated that the now very bruised woman in the other holding cell had been posing as a customs officer to gain access to her ship.

Selene was waiting for her when she got out, and swept her into her arms.

"I'm sorry," She said, "This is my fault, I-I haven't been honest with you."

"You're a pirate." Luna grumbled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Do you know her?"

"…Yeah. She's my ex."

"Then is what she said true?" Luna sniffled. "Are you just, playing house with me? Because I'm gullible?"

"No!"

"If-If I find out you're lying to me, I'll never forgive you."

"No, Luna, I was going to tell you everything, I swear."

"Okay." Luna said. "I believe you." She wiped her tears away with her sleeve. "So… That's the kind of girl you're into?"

"Not for a long time now. Too much trouble."

"What kind of girl are you into then?"

"…Okay," Selene said, blushing a little. "There is one other thing I need to tell you, while I'm spilling my secrets-"

[thylionheart]

I have a theory… that Hecate MIGHT be on the side of Chronos. Or at least on the side of the next turn-over of power. For fighting against the Titans, there is an odd quantity of titans in the crossroads crew, namely Selene (I know if we’re going to have a witch season with Hecate, we HAVE to also have the moon herself. And gameplay-wise, mechanically, she needed to be distinct from Artemis). (And Hecate isn’t a titan in the myths, so this is an oddly intentional change to her character!)* But Selene says something after like the third or fourth bottle of nectar gifted to her, something along the lines of, “Ah, this custom of gift-giving, maybe there is something worth saving from the Olympians.”

I’m sorry WAT 👀 I know we’re supposed to be focusing on the health of the Underworld, but Olympus is actively burning, what did you mean by that, ma’am???

And we still don’t know- I’m pretty sure?- HOW Chronos was re-materialized. He would have needed help from a chthonic god/being for sure, right? My theories on the Egyptian connection and Hecate equating to Isis and Chronos to Osiris aside…., Hecate laments that she couldn’t have stopped Chronos taking Melinoë’s family. She says SHE was the one tasked with protecting the underworld. If Chronos broke through and Hecate was the door… I’d at least like to go over the security footage again. Hecate carries so much guilt over what happened to Mel’s family, and SO insistent that I’m NOT your mother, and I wonder if there is a weightier reason behind it. She’s so triggered when Hades passes on his gratitude to her, like pls don’t. I don’t deserve your thanks, I failed you.

I don’t think the majority of the Crossroads crew would be in on it. Moros is obviously genuinely worried for his sisters after Chronos kidnaps them. Nemesis maybe, but I wonder if she would be so willing to go along with this plan if she truly believes Chronos deserves divine retribution for what he has done. And she never holds back from sharing her honest thoughts. But on my post about everything coming out of Odysseus’s mouth being a lie, someone mentioned that he could be in a lying-as-default mode in order to protect someone’s secret. 👀 And people have mentioned how fucked over by the gods Odysseus was in life. Is it a little odd he is so ready to lend his strengths to them now? He’s not like Heracles, he doesn’t HAVE TO be here, what does he gain from all this?

Of course, Chronos, like any villain, is always saying, why are you fighting me? I’m bringing a golden age. You think the world was better under the rule of the gods? And…. If it wasn’t for the baby eating thing…. I’d hear him out.

*I was wrong abt this lol

[mosneakers]

The moonlight guides Selene and Lou through their tumultuous history, delicately weaving through the painful thorns of their past. Selene's eyes glisten, and Lou's apologies foam from his mouth as he confesses his constant thoughts of her since that fateful ordeal. The hope in his voice is palpable, he pleads to her forgive him. The moon provides Selene a gust of wind to throw caution to, and before Lou can even finish his sentiment, Selene wonders to herself, "what if I just kissed him right now?"

Selene: [Breaks from kiss, breathless]

Lou: Selene...... I never stopped thinking about you. Selene: I thought I lost you forever...

Lou: No! I'm here now. [Picks her up off her feet] Forever. My Fated Mate...

Further along the same woodland path where Lou and Selene rediscover their connection, Wolfegang and Janie meander the trail for hours, their conversation weaving effortlessly between conversation and flirtatious laughter. As the influence of the moon intensifies, the two of them lose pieces of their armor: a helmet, a wig, and finally, their inhibitions.

Janie finds herself charmed by Wolfegang's quick wit and extensive vocabulary; Ironically, enthralled by her intellect and radiant smile, Wolfegang must restrain the urge to reveal the overwhelming notion of "FATED MATE," the only thought loudly ringing through his mind.

And the sunrise creeps in, threatening to steal away their precious time together, Wolfegang seizes the moment to invite Janie to his library, cementing her realization that she's found the man of her dreams.

About a half an hour later ~

Hazy and disoriented, Brick awakens near a pile of passed out wildfang members, surrounded by trash and empty bottles scattered about.

Brick: [Begins transforming back to "normal" form] ...The FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK happened last night?

Rebel: You got a taste of your full potential, bro... Brick: Oh, it's you. Rebel: My Beta was off getting all cozy and fate-forging with his fated mate, so we had room for one more last night. The pack agreed to let you party with us. Must not remember any of it. You had a lot to drink!

With unintentionally synchronized movements, Rebel and Brick plopped onto the ground simultaneously, sending a flurry of crisp autumn leaves swirling into the air. Brick: Yeah well... It ain't happenin' again. Everyone had someone to leave the party with but me. This don't usually happen. This fated mates shit is screwin' with my head. Rebel: ...Who said you didn't leave with someone? Brick: Bro, what?! Rebel: [Laughter] Chill, I'm fucking with you. Who cares about all that right now? You're still new to this wolf thing. Focus on honing your skills, serving your pack, having your fun! You helped Lou and Wolfegang find their fated mates last night; that's what earns respect around here.

Brick: Psh. Old ass Montgomery don't care about that. He doesn't see when I do nothing good, just when I mess up. Rebel: Try growing up with him. Brick: Nah dude, I would have laid his ass out by now. He's gonna get so pissy when he finds out about last night. [Frustrated grumbles] UGH FUCK DUDE I'm so done with his ass and his stupid lectures.

Rebel: Come join the wildfangs. Lou—that's my baby boy, but honestly, with him being all starry eyed and in love, it's only a matter of time before he loses his rank as beta now that he found his fated mate. It's cutthroat, but true. I need someone tougher. Brick: Ha, I don't wanna be no damn beta. 'Specially yours. Rebel: I bet you rank lower over there with the old man. Brick: [Long, contemplative sigh]... You know what? Fuck it, fine. Let's go.

[Heavy rock music plays from seemingly nowhere]

Rebel: Welcome to the Wildfangs, Bro...

[whumpninja]

more vampires

Featuring: the hot n’ evil vampire ladies are back, sad wet cat whumpee is also back, more creepy pet names, creepy comfort, casual talk of death, dehumanization, vampire duel, throat cutting (not permanent), regeneration

deadly nightshade

"It isn't fair!" Lucy complained. "I'm a vampiress, not a scullery maid!"

She kicked defiantly at the pile of logs she'd just finished stacking, sending them scattering over the floor of the cave. Folding her arms, she glared at Morgana. "I thought that's what we kept him around for, anyway. To do the chores so that I don't have to."

"We keep him around for his blood," Morgana replied in an even tone. "The fact that he makes a useful servant is only an additional benefit."

Her hand crept into Will's hair, stroking him exactly the way she would her beloved Clover. There was no magic binding him to the stone table this time, but regardless he didn't dare move. He lay half-curled on the hard slab of rock, his head in Morgana's lap, trying not to tremble as she carded her fingers through his curls.

Pouting, Lucy bent to stack up the firewood a second time. She was doing a terrible job of it; Will had a feeling it was on purpose in the hopes that someone else would pick up the slack. "He's done nothing all day but sit on his arse," she huffed. "Maybe Selene's right about him."

Will glanced fearfully over to where Selene stood at the other end of the cave, rearranging the contents of the crooked shelf they'd managed to put up. Morgana clicked her tongue, pulling his attention back to her. "Don't you worry about Selene, my sweet little William," she murmured. "Just rest."

Right, I'm supposed to be William. A year with the vampires and he still hadn't stopped thinking of himself as Will. Morgana liked him to be William; she had told him at the beginning that just Will was far too common a name for a vampire's pet. But she hadn't used that word exactly. She'd called him something else- a familiar? That didn't sound right either. But Will didn't have the strength of mind to puzzle it out. The last meal had been hellish. They'd drained nearly every last drop of blood he had. He was still recovering from it, and the blood loss combined with the aftereffects of their magic had addled his brain. He couldn't focus.

And it wasn't just his strength of mind. Will had never been very strong, but it had been four days since the vampires' feast, and he was still as weak as a kitten. The wood Lucy was grudgingly piling up had been one of his tasks that morning. He'd run out of strength in the middle of it, dropping the wood and scattering the pieces everywhere. He had cowered on the floor, trembling, sure that Morgana would be angry and tell Selene to punish him. Selene always handled his punishments, and they were always cruel. She would drag him from the cave and beat him, or tie him to a tree and throw her daggers at him, or hold his head underwater in the river until he was half-drowned, or whatever terrible thing she thought of to do to him this time.

But he had been even more afraid when Morgana had pulled him- gently- up and guided him to the stone table, making him lie down. For a heartstopping moment he had thought that she would drink from him, again, and he had barely started to heal from the last time, he was hardly strong enough to stand, she couldn't take any more, he had nothing left.

She hadn't bitten him. All she had done was sit on the edge of the table and pull his head into her lap. And that was where he had been ever since, lying perfectly still while Morgana stroked his hair and murmured soft silly things to him.

And she'd told the others to finish his chores. Lilah was out hunting, and Annabel was too old for much housework, so it had fallen to Lucy and Selene. The older of the two had set to the work without a word. Lucy was being much more vocal about it.

"Lilah ought to be back here helping us instead of traipsing through the woods without a care," she sulked. "If they've caught her and burned her for a witch I won't be a bit sorry."

Annabel snorted from her rocking chair. "If it's Lilah they catch, they'll lock her up as a lunatic."

"Besides, not much burning nowadays," Selene said. "It's all hanging."

"Hanging isn't much fun," Annabel replied with a sigh. "No pageantry, no theater- just a rope, a drop, and you're dead. I miss the days when we could scream curses at the crowds from the midst of the flames. Now that was some real entertainment."

Will shuddered. He had heard them talk about such things before, of course. But he had never quite gotten used to it. The way the vampires spoke so casually about death, knowing they would simply resurrect...it was unnerving. Will lived a few drops from dying every day of his life. The vampires' flippant talk of the subject hurt to hear. He knew that one day they would kill him- his body would wear out at last, or Selene would take a punishment too far, or Morgana would grow tired of him.

It was the way things worked. The vampires were undead. Will was closer to dying every day.

Morgana's hands slid from his hair down to his cheek, and despite himself Will lifted his head slightly to press into her touch. It was so rare for her to caress him like this- usually it only happened while she was drinking from him, a gentle hand laced with magic to still his pained writhing. He hated the vampires' magic. He hated the feel of it- it felt like silk, sliding over his body and holding him down, forcing him to lie still while they drank his life away. He hated the way it infiltrated his mind, whispering lies to him and making him believe things that weren't true.

More than anything he hated how powerless it made him feel. They could force him to do anything they wanted him to do, and they could even make him believe he was happy to do it. Lucy liked to do that- she put him under illusions when she fed on him, and Will hated it. She would get in his mind and pull out memories and make him relive them. He'd believe that he was back on the farm, lying in the hayloft and looking up through the cracks in the roof at the stars- and then it would end and there'd be a corpse-gray face and red eyes and sharp fangs, and she'd laugh. Lucy always laughed at him. "Silly little human," she'd titter, and Will felt so small when she did it. She teased him endlessly, or said cruel things as if he couldn't even hear. Or, worse, as if she knew he could hear every word.

Morgana at least seemed fond of him, even if it was in the same way she was fond of Clover. Will was just another pet to her. Part of him- the part he tried his best to hide from them- hated it.

But part of him didn't mind so much. Especially in moments like this.

Will's eyes had started to slip closed without him realizing it. Morgana laughed above him- her laugh was rich and silvery, not high and teasing like Lucy's. "Poor lamb. Are you tired, sweet one?"

Will knew she didn't really want an answer. She just liked to talk to him. He shifted his head to the side, and she put her hands in his hair again. Will's eyes fluttered as she stroked his curls.

"I still think we should kill it," Selene said, and Will froze.

Morgana's hand never faltered, as if she'd been expecting this conversation. "Not yet."

"Why?" Selene sounded frustrated. "It's useless now! It's hardly worth the effort to keep it alive! Look at it! It's so worn out that it's sleeping in your lap!"

Morgana made a little humming sound. "Because I said no. That should be enough."

There was a noise like metal on fabric. When Morgana spoke again, her voice was as silken as ever, but wrapped around steel. "Put that away, Selene. You can't possibly hope to overpower me."

"You've gotten soft." Selene's accusing tone rang loud around the cave walls, and Will cringed. "You actually care about a human. You're attached to it."

"And what if I am?" Will didn't dare look up, but he could imagine the elegant lift of Morgana's eyebrow. "What if I like having a human about the place?"

"This place is a cave in the middle of the woods!" Selene shot back. "And why did we have to flee here? Because you stopped to catch a human!"

"Is Selene going to stab Morgana?" Lilah's voice. Apparently she was back.

"No," said Morgana, falsely pleasant. "She is going to put those daggers down before I bespell her into a spider and crush her." Will smelled the acid tang of Morgana's magic alarmingly close to his head. One of her hands still rested in his hair- but the other hand held a spell, snapping with energy, ready to hurl at Selene.

"And Morgana is going to stand up and accept my challenge for leadership of this coven," Selene growled back, "or forfeit it here and now."

Morgana stood up. Will's head slipped from her lap to crack painfully against the stone. He yelped, sitting up and putting a hand to the sharp pain that bloomed in his skull.

No one took any notice. Lucy and Lilah had gone very still where they stood, their eyes wide and almost afraid. Will had never seen any of the vampires look afraid.

Annabel stood up from her chair, waving away the rats. She seemed suddenly to have lost the dozy haze that always lay over her, her spine straight and her face focused and sharp. "Selene, do you challenge Morgana for the leadership of this coven?" she asked, her voice ringing against the stone walls.

Selene spat on the floor. "Provoc."

"Morgana, do you accept this challenge?"

Morgana pushed her silk sleeves up. "Greva."

Will didn't understand the words, but he could read the tone behind them.

"To the blood," Annabel said, and stepped back. Lilah and Lucy pressed themselves against the walls, too. Annabel raised a hand and brought it up in a quick twisting motion. "Sange."

Selene uttered an inhuman shriek and leapt at Morgana, daggers drawn. Morgana stood still until the very last moment, then smoothly stepped aside. Selene fell, caught herself, and twisted around to aim a savage slash at Morgana's legs. Morgana dodged, her finger tracing a spell in the air.

Will gasped as lightning shot from Morgana's hand. I didn't know she could do that!

Selene just managed to duck the bolt, growling through bared fangs. Morgana smirked, gesturing for her to try again.

"Weak!" Selene snarled, charging Morgana again. Morgana spun a shield of violet magic, and Selene's daggers slammed into it with a crackling sound. "Playing with your- ngh- pet instead of leading the- agh- coven!"

Morgana smiled grimly and turned on her heel, taking Selene with her. "Pathetic," she retorted. "Jealous of a little human."

Will sat on the table, his legs drawn up to his chest to hide how much he was trembling. He knew without being told that this fight wasn't only deciding leadership of the coven. It was a fight for his life. If Selene won, she would kill him.

Please, Morgana. Please win.

Selene let out another war cry and flung herself at Morgana, slashing and stabbing with both daggers at once. Morgana waited for her to get close and stepped to the side. In a move so quick Will barely saw it happen, she grabbed hold of Selene's arm and bashed it into the cave wall, then pushed herself on top of the other vampire. Selene went down hard, and Morgana trapped her other arm in a hold, twisting it savagely back and up. Selene shouted in anger and pain, her eyes flashing.

Morgana laughed her scornful laugh. "Down, girl," she teased.

Selene thrashed, snarling. But Morgana had her pinned, and she knew it.

"It's to blood, Morgana," Annabel reminded her from the side of the room.

"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something." Morgana plucked Selene's fallen dagger from the floor. She pulled Selene's head back by the hair and set the knife to her throat-

Will looked away. But he still heard the sound of the knife slicing into skin and blood hitting the floor. Selene herself died silently, without so much as a gasp.

"Congratulations, Morgana," said Annabel.

Will turned back to the vampires. Morgana unceremoniously kicked Selene's still body aside and ran her fingers through the blood. Will hated the sight of vampire blood- it was all dark and thick and unnatural-looking. And so were Morgana's eyes as she licked the blood from her fingers.

"Well, that settles that, then," Morgana said. "I win."

Selene's body jerked once, twice, and then she sat up, the gash in her throat pulling itself back together. Will had to stifle his own scream. He'd never seen one of them resurrect before, though he knew they could. He watched as Selene dragged in a huge gulp of air, her eyes almost glowing red. There was a dark scar across her throat now.

"Oh, you're back," Morgana observed. She tossed the dagger over her shoulder. Selene caught it, her face still angry, but more subdued.

Morgana flounced back over to the table, swishing her skirts as she sat down beside Will. "Did I frighten you, darling? I'm terribly sorry." She pulled his head against her shoulder. "Selene, I will allow that once. Challenge me again, and I'll tear your beating heart from your chest and impale it on the nearest rowan tree, do you understand?"

Selene nodded, her hand splayed across the new scar. There seemed almost to be a new...respect in her face.

Morgana made a little hum, flicking her dark hair back over her shoulder. Her fingers stroked Will's cheek. "She is right, you know, lamb," she said softly, and Will stiffened. "Oh, not about killing you. I wouldn't do that for a long while yet. You're much too sweet."

Gently, she took his chin in her hand and turned his head, making him look her in the eyes. They were still pale blue at that moment, but Will knew they would begin to turn red as she got hungry. "You haven't really been earning your keep, little one," she told him. "A bit of blood here and there, a few chores. You've got to be a little more useful for us if you want us to keep you." She laughed at the look on his face, patting his head as she stood. "Oh, don't you worry any more about it, sweet lamb. I'm sure I can find something for you to do."

The scheming look in her eyes was dreadful to see. Will found himself trembling a long time after she let him alone, too afraid for the shivering to stop.

[markantonys]

My Mom Reacts To: wheel of time season 2 episodes 1-4 (season 1)

episode 1

"if i had to carry water all that way for a bath, i'd get a smaller bathtub" you know what? that is a very fair point. just get a smaller tub, moiraine!

mom, #1 Lan Stan: so, he doesn't have any powers, right? except cunning and strength and loyalty of course me: of course

mom: so liandrin wants nynaeve to become red because she........doesn't want her to have a warder? me doing a great aes sedai truth-telling: nynaeve is really powerful so liandrin wants to recruit her for her own team

my dad predicted moiraine was scamming bayle domon and loved it when it was revealed that she was. as always, not too much commentary from him because he remains silent and seems to not be paying attention for most of the time, only to randomly come out with a completely correct prediction or read on a scene.

"i don't think it's true that neat and tidy things can't be worthwhile 🙄" clearly my mom subscribes more to the Egwene School Of Thought than to the Alanna School Of Thought

lan to moiraine after she is Mean to him: make dinner yourself mom: GOOD FOR YOU

when lan brings her the plate later and puts it on top of the maps: "what if he gets greasy food all over her maps?"

"ugh i hate dark scenes where i can't see anything" [scary fade appears] "okay maybe it's good that i can't see"

episode 2

my mom got all confused about rand's dream of him killing his friends and wondered at first if it was real, please pray for her when tel'aran'rhiod is introduced later

"HE'S BALD??????" all of us when we first saw s2 rand's new look djkfgjh

"they must like him here if he gets free food" my boy, beloved wherever he goes :')

she wasn't particularly fond of mat last season, but he's gotten quite a few laughs so far this season! (notably the moment when we ALL fell in love with New Mat, when he was miming liandrin locking the door)

she gave an annoyed TUH! at elayne dissing egwene's room, but didn't comment further, possibly because i'd just told her 20 seconds earlier that elayne was my favorite character and she didn't want to offend me jdkfgh

she was like "wait, is she blue or green???" during a scene where alanna was wearing a slightly-darker-than-normal green outfit, so i think it was definitely a good call by the show to dress aes sedai in their ajah colors always. hard to keep track otherwise!

after moiraine had her hand on her knife when verin revealed she knew about the dragon: "what was she gonna do?? just stab her right in front of all the others??? that's ridiculous!" djkfjg points were made! poor moiraine just kinda panicked and lost all her braincells for a moment there.

my mom was a randgwene shipper last season so i thought she was gonna be pissed about rand hooking up with a strange new woman whilst egwene mourns his death, but she has not said a single word about that situation yet! i did once catch her reading lanfear's wiki article which she'd gotten onto after reading lan's because "i just want to know what happens to him and i'm not going to read all those books" so maybe she retained some info from lanfear's article that made her suspect something fishy with selene?

she recognized min from s1 right away and hastened to add her to her handwritten character list, when other characters needed a couple scenes to get that honor, and i remember she laughed a lot at min's lines last season and she did again today. guys, if my mom becomes a min stan, i may never recover lmao (i'm mostly kidding, show!min has done nothing wrong and is cool. MOSTLY kidding.)

re: the list, i told her she wasn't allowed to google and print out a list of characters because she would see spoilers, only to accidentally spoil her myself last season by instinctively writing liandrin's name down in the "bad guys" column and making her ask "wait, so she's ACTUALLY a villain, not just mean??", rip (but i played it off as "oh she's just unfriendly to moiraine so that's why i put her there" so we shall see whether or not she ends up being surprised by the black ajah reveal)

when min was saying how she sees glimpses of the pattern, my mom made a connection to perrin seeing the past earlier, which i thought was very interesting! (since we hadn't yet learned that what he saw was actually a sending from the wolves.) min's viewings and wolfbrothers are the two major magical powers that have nothing to do with the one power, and it always minorly bugged me that they don't Fit In to the rest of the magic system (despite my apparently-hypocritical mocking of people who get hung up on lore rules etc haha), so i just thought it was neat to think of them in conjunction with each other.

mom, shocked and dismayed: MAT'S GOING TO KILL RAND???????? me: [vibrating with glee over The Great Cauthor Stabbening]

when nynaeve is taken to the arches: "so is she getting a promotion?"

there was some line during the moiraine-lan divorce that got a big offended gasp from our #1 Lan Stan, but i forget which one it was (it wasn't "we were never equals" it was an earlier one)

my dad just laughed when they first showed suroth and her redonkulus getup jkjfg the correct reaction to the pomp and ceremony of seanchan high blood

episode 3

when the aes sedai were saying nynaeve was ready to take the test my mom was like "NO SHE ISN'T!!!!" and was pressed about them rushing her into it

during the bandit attack in the test: "boy, i wouldn't want to live in this world!"

when nynaeve left the tower my mom was like "is this what happens in the books?!" and i couldn't reveal yet that it was still part of the test so i just instinctively said "you'll see" which is my response to everything, and she was like "no i won't, i'm not reading all these books" lmao

my dad during the version of mashiara playing during the lanaeve reunion: why is "somewhere over the rainbow" playing

sheriam: she wasn't ready mom: THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!!!!!!!!!

she was genuinely very upset for a moment because she thought nynaeve was dead, but i think she then guessed pretty quickly that It Ain't Over Yet

scene transition from nynaeve being left in the arches over to the seanchan: "we're going from bad to worse!"

i was dithering over uno's impending death because i didn't want to spoil them but i thought my mom might want a trigger warning, and thankfully my dad went "that horn looks like it's in a dangerous spot" when they first made uno kneel, so i was all clear to say "yeah this is about to get gory" lmao

my dad wondered if suroth was the dark one which fascinated me! i think everyday negroes had the same thought, iirc. i guess it IS the logical conclusion when you know that ishy is the dark one's right-hand man and in this scene we see him being suroth's right-hand man!

my mom thought elayne might be evil or a spy! how could she! i guess she isn't accustomed to wheel of time strangers just being friendly without an ulterior motive djkfg i didn't outright say her theory was wrong because i'm not about to be a booksplainer, but i'm sure i was so visibly baffled at the idea of elayne being evil that i shot down the theory nonetheless haha

when liandrin goes to visit mat again: "how does she have time for all this? she has her sick son, she has mat, and she has whatever else she does at the tower"

when liandrin blames mat for nynaeve's death: "this lady is CRAZY!!"

mat's "is that an 'i'm here to murder you' stare or a 'light i never realized how handsome you are' stare" line was a big hit! love to see my boy getting some appreciation in this house

...............which he promptly squandered when he a) initially left his cell without freeing min too, and b) did not go comfort egwene. but i pointed out that liandrin's been psychologically tormenting him for months into thinking his friends are better off without him, because i couldn't bear to see them judge my boy!

"it's like we're in 18th century france!" was the first thing out of my mom's mouth when they went to the cairhienin party, i'm sure the costume designers would be thrilled!

mom: how did this lady from the poor district get them into a fancy party? and how could she afford these clothes? 🤨 me: 🤷👀

when logain pours out the wine: "AFTER ALL RAND'S HARD WORK TO GET IT!!"

why did my dad laugh when the inn was on fire jdkfg maybe he just likes to see rand have a bad time

mom: jeez, maybe rand shouldn't stay in other people's houses anymore me: i'm sure rand's thinking the same thing

mom at the end of the test: it's so sad that they keep getting glimpses of the nice lives they could've had 😔

episode 4

mom 2 seconds before the camera reveals who the visitor is: is her little sister moiraine? [camera shows moiraine] mom: I GUESSED SOMETHING FOR ONCE

"it's pretty rude to show up to someone's house and then say 'i don't have time to hang out with you'!"

selene: the fire wasn't your fault rand mom: well it kinda was actually

there was some moment where my dad referred to "sneezing and burning down an inn, or whatever he did" and it killed me, i wish i could remember the context bc it was even funnier in context

"i speak with the amyrlin every time i open my mouth" was also a hit! as was perrin asking if he would turn into a wolf and elyas saying "don't be stupid"

mom when moiraine waltzes into the foregate dressed to the nines: i thought she wanted to keep a low profile

just earlier that day we'd been bemoaning the lack of pockets in women's clothing, as one does, so my mom was like "[delighted] now THAT'S a pocket!" when moiraine fit a whole-ass knife into the pocket of her fancy dress. WOT costumers understand the importance of giving girls pockets! lanfear's outfits have a lot too

my dad said "she seems like a bad guy" about selene during the mountaintop scene, he been knew! but he ended up falling asleep and missing the reveal that he was right

meanwhile, mom: "i'm just waiting for a monster to crawl up that cliff and get them"

when alanna & co go through lan's bags to get the poem: "aww, i thought they were his friends! 😔"

mom: too bad moiraine won't just ask her sister about rand, she talked to him at the party! anvaere: so if you want to know where that redheaded boy is, you'll have to ask me very nicely over tea mom: [just as smug as anvaere]

when ishy shows up at min's room: "how is he EVERYWHERE????"

she didn't seem TOO surprised when liandrin attacked the girls, and she clocked that liandrin was working for ishy after this scene with min (or rather, she asked me if that was the case and i said "you'll see")

she let out the fondest chuckle when rand was like "[choking back tears] i'm going to leave now, thank you" he is BABY YOUR HONOR!!!

as the Lanfear Reveal started my mom said "i just knew she was evil" so that must be why she was so silent on the relationship and so un-judgmental of rand, she must've clocked selene's Bad Vibes from the start! or else she retained something from reading lanfear's wiki article a while back lmao

even so, she went "OH MY GOSH!!!!" and clapped her hands over her mouth in shock when moiraine slit lanfear's throat, which i think is one of her biggest reactions to anything in either season so far! the initial stabbing, zero reaction, but the followup throat-slitting, freakout.

the "i'm a monster too" line + Undead Lanfear Moment has her CONVINCED that forsaken are some kind of creatures or zombies, i'm trying to explain they're just humans who are really powerful and evil haha

at the final shot of lanfear: "i'm going to have nightmares! i'll have to go read my murder mystery to calm down before bed." duality of woman