#(there will be a reference to her in addendum)

[pepperpixel]

SAID HE LIKES CRAZY GIRLS,

BUT HE HATES WHEN I ACT CRAZY,

IT TAKES TWO TO TOXIC!

FINALLY!!! Finished these pics of jinx I’ve been working on!!!!! HOLY SHIT, these took so long…. But finally… they’re done… pls enjoy this art of my beautiful princess w a disorder. Featuring alternate colors for the big pic and also a closeup! Cuz I rlly like how both the lines and coloring on her face turned out… like the pink gradients w her eye… her deer in headlights expression,, like uve just startled a raccoon digging thru ur trashcan and r two seconds away from getting mauled.. m proud of it!

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which Cullen has accidentally become invested in.

Supplemental material for Unwanted, from the perspective of Cullen. In this addendum, Cullen and Leliana discuss the banquet.

(Masterpost. Addendums. Words: 1,353. Rating: most audiences. Warnings: mentions of death and murder. Addendums may contain spoilers for Unwanted and are best read after finishing the story entirely.)

Chapters 25, Addendum

“Commander, there’s an urgent matter that requires your attention,” the soldier whispered to Cullen, not a minute after he’d retaken his seat at the banquet table. “The raven’s fled the rookery.”

Ah. The others had not been complacent in his absence, then. For if he was hearing Leliana’s summons, surely she knew.

“I’ll see to it right away,” Cullen said. Thank the Maker, really. He did not wish to spend another second in the presence of these pretentious plutocrats. “Excuse me,” he told them, rising from his seat. “There is something to which I must attend.”

Though they stared at him, bug-eyed, as he left—leave he did. The soldier led him through the rotunda door, into the blessed quiet of its embrace. Heaving a long-overdue sigh, Cullen told them:

“I’ll be in my office.”

The soldier nodded. “Sister Nightingale will join you shortly.”

But until then, a respite. Cullen utilised every second, escaping from the keep to his tower. Given he did not encounter Lady Trevelyan and Lady Erridge on the journey, he assumed they had already made it to their rooms. Good. At least she was safe.

And so was he—at last secure within the confines of his office, its thick stone walls between him and the banquet. How he preferred it.

In his moment of solitude, his mind recalled the information Lady Trevelyan had revealed. The horror of the Templar attack. The realisation that it was the cause of the Circle’s downfall. And the failed attempt to stop its destruction.

Too much, for anyone to bear. He would know.

But his peace was soon disturbed, as the door opened. The one who opened it did not knock; she did not need to. All doors opened for the Spymaster of the Inquisition.

“The Comtesse Bervard has never looked worse,” Leliana commented as she strut in, a sly smile on her face.

Cullen stared at her. Now was not the time.

“What happened?” she asked, sensing his disapproval (not that he was ever shy about giving it). “Apparently, Dorian’s cutlery suggested something had occurred between the Comtesse and Lady Trevelyan.”

Cullen sighed. “It’s… it regards the Ostwick delegation. I spoke to her about it some time ago, and she… she revealed that her fellow mages are not missing.”

“They’re dead?”

Leliana’s matter-of-factness in this question was not merely a symptom of her impassive nature—rather, it was a quiet ‘I told you so’. Cullen had always held out some small hope that the delegation still existed, in some form or another. Leliana had been… more realistic, about the idea.

Perhaps it was the guilt which drove his optimism—knowing that they had neglected to send their scouts until it was too late. Then again, it would have always been too late.

“Yes,” he admitted. “They were killed.”

Leliana’s eyebrow quirked. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Lady Trevelyan didn’t wish to speak of it any further.” Cullen shook his head. “It was not my place to say.”

Though he expected some rebuttal to this, Leliana understood. This was different, to political secrets and Chantry lies.

“What changed?” she asked. “Why does she wish to speak of it now?”

“You recall why the rebellion at Ostwick occurred?”

Even for her, a woman whose veins ran cold as ice, the thought of it seemed to cause at least some discomfort. “I do.”

“That was what the Comtesse brought up. It was a cruel, insensitive comment—intended to cause distress. I pity whatever township calls her its leader.” Snorting like an animal, Cullen paced his office. “Why does Josephine insist on inviting these people? ”

“Commander,” said Leliana, soft as she could. “Tell me more. There is more.”

Cullen nodded. “There is more. No doubt you’ve put the pieces together yourself. But since she first told me that the delegation were killed, I wondered if they, and the mages’ whose heads were sent to the First Enchanter... are one and the same.”

From the look on Leliana’s face, she had reached that very conclusion herself. “And that is why the Comtesse’s words wounded her so badly?”

“Naturally. The numbers match. Six sent to the Conclave, five sent to the First Enchanter.”

“The sixth being Lady Trevelyan.”

“She was the only survivor.”

And he could not let that be for nothing. She had trusted him with this. Her survival, for her own sake, had to be more than a matter of luck. It had to mean something.

Leliana paused. “Are you all right?”

Cullen did not know why she was asking. “I’m fine. Why?”

“It sounds... too familiar.”

Mages, Templars, Circles—the only survivor. Cullen shut his eyes, and shook his head. It was a thought his mind had, so far, protected him from. At least consciously. For he could not deny the quiet anger brewing beneath the surface, or the crawling sensation under his skin. Sick poetry played out, in the annals of time.

“I know,” he muttered. “I am trying to keep my focus elsewhere. I thought about telling her, at the time but—she was already too upset.”

“I think you made the right decision,” Leliana told him, adding gently: “if there is anything you need…”

“I know.”

But what he needed, right now, was a change of subject. Fortunately, she provided that: “Was her Ladyship able to tell you anything else?”

“Yes. A disparity, in the reports from Ostwick Circle. The Templars who killed the mages of the delegation were not their own.”

“What?”

Cullen half-expected her to have already figured it out. It was almost a relief that she hadn’t. Lady Trevelyan needed this. She needed to be the one to clear their names.

“The claim of responsibility appears to have been forged, to frame the delegation’s Templars,” Cullen explained. “Lady Trevelyan told me that, in fact, a rogue band attacked them—and the Ostwick Templars died protecting the mages.”

“But if that is the case, then Ostwick rebelled…” Leliana’s discomfort repeated tenfold, as the sheer wretchedness of the tragedy settled upon her.

“I know. Lady Trevelyan believes it is her fault,” Cullen said, causing Leliana to turn from horror to confusion. “The First Enchanter would have known she was missing from the dead, and would have been able to confirm this with her phylactery. She believes he was concealing it until she returned, so that he could hear the truth.”

Leliana hummed. “Possible. But if he was waiting, he should have told someone. It was his own fear that condemned Ostwick, not Lady Trevelyan’s survival.”

“Exactly. Though I said I would tell the Grand Enchanter, first. She will know how to break the news.”

Leliana nodded. “She wants it known?”

“She wants to absolve the Templars who died trying to save them,” Cullen told her. “I asked if we could send an agent to where it happened, see if we can find any evidence, remains—anything.”

“Doable. Where did it happen?”

“Sudton. The scouts weren’t far off.”

But this news brought Leliana no sense of ease. “The scouts said the villagers in Sudton claimed not to have seen the delegation.”

She did not need to tell him. He knew. Maker, he knew. And the thought of it troubled him greatly. Perhaps the villagers were lying out of innocence, out of a desire to be kept hidden from the wrath of the Chantry, or the Inquisition, or whoever. Perhaps. And yet...

“I am… worried that those Templars didn’t find them by accident,” Cullen confessed.

Leliana’s voice turned deadly. “We will find out.”

With a curt nod, Cullen made a request: “Tell me what you find. But make sure it stays discreet, and do not inform Lady Trevelyan. She has asked to be left out of this.”

“Of course. How was she, when you parted?”

“Better, I think, for having told someone.” Even if the memory had been painful, the relief of extracting it from herself, like pulling an arrow buried deep in one’s flesh, may have been worth the agony. “But… she was still troubled, naturally.”

“Poor woman. It is a lot to bear.”

Too much for anyone. He would know.

[sergeantpixie]

"all your ribs are still your own" sounds interesting!

Thank you, dear anon!

Titled after Ribs by The Crane Wives, It is deanlena, and it's my little self-indulgent "Save Jessica Moore" fic!

Jess goes to NOLA to visit her cousin who's friends with Elena. She is attacked by a demon there and rescued by Elena. The demon reveals Sam's connection to the incident, and Elena clarifies a few things about the supernatural world. Elena and Dean kind of have a FWB thing going on, since NOLA is monster-central. Jess makes the decision to stay in NOLA and break up with Sam. After Sam's friend dies of demonic possession, he goes back to hunting. 5 years later they all meet again in the NOLA airport.

excerpt:

Elena stares into the skull's hollow eye sockets and Dean realizes uneasily that she is face-to-skull with an exact copy of her own cranium. A chill runs up his spine as he contemplates the horror of this moment. Beneath the skin, bone, and sinew of the beautiful woman in front of him sits the very same skull she holds in her hands. "What are you going to do with her?" he asks. "She could've been me," she answers. "I don't know where to find her family anymore, but I'm her family, too. So, I'll take her home. I'll bury her with my family."

ask me about my WIPs!

@randomestfandoms

[jeannie-youre-a-tragedy]

why is my mother trying to guilt trip me into "hanging out" with my ex before she gets srs.

[blackwaxidol]

I'm so pleased with how Ru'thûn's disguise is turning out. She looks great...

[hughmanbean]

Crimes Against Existence

The High Queen Phantom has expressed concerns about the state of law within the Mortal Realms.

Walker, sensing a chance to redeem himself in her eyes, volunteers to go out and report the state of the lands to the Queen. She seems pensive, but agrees. Under strict conditions that Walker must NOT detain nor arrest any mortals that would not have been taken into custody or otherwise punished by mortal authorities in the same situation.

She hands him an addendum to his book the Duke has written up for him to use as reference while he operates in the Mortal Realms.

He reluctantly agrees and makes his way to a mortal settlement with that he can sense has strong criminal influence.

He follows the trail to one of most crime-infested cities on Earth: Gotham. His guards clean out an old office, and he sits himself down into a desk.

He turns on the TV and tunes into a random channel. A man who seems like he'd fit with the Far Frozen is locked in combat with a skilled mortal in some sort of outfit. After a bit of research, Walker learns these are the rogues and vigilantes.

Well, this explained quite a few of the High Queen's problems. Though she doesn't know of them just yet.

Now, how do we rectify that?

[rallamajoop]

Translating the original RE8 trial scene storyboard

RE8’s bonus DLC concept art pack includes a couple of pages of an early storyboard for the trial scene, dating to back when Miranda was still going to be a foreign researcher rather than a village native, and Ada Wong was still part of the cast. Though the text is all in Japanese, I had a crack at translating it ‒ it makes for a fascinating comparison to the finished game.

Images and translations are under the cut below – but here’s the dot-point version of how this older storyboard compares to the finished one.

Instead of Miranda, the trial is overseen by a masked figure called only ‘shaman’ (祈祷師). Instead of lycans, the trial is attended by numerous villagers, all eager to see Ethan punished.

This may be the big one: the shaman claims an ‘Adam-sama’ has been angered by Ethan’s (unspecified) crimes. My best guess at this mysterious ‘Adam’ is that it might be a name for the megamycete. Whoever he is, all the 'Eve' connotations of Eva/Eveline (and even the Rose flasks) suddenly start to sound a whole lot more significant.

Even here, the trial is dominated by Dimitrescu and Heisenberg fighting over who gets Ethan – or at least who gets his body, after his execution. Dimitrescu still wants his blood, while Heisenberg presumably wants him for soldat-material. Moreau briefly makes his own bid, but he just wants to eat Ethan.

Donna’s one act is to apparently stop time at a crucial moment to speak directly to Ethan without anyone else hearing – though this seems to be an illusion she creates while contacting him psychically. No sign of Angie, who probably isn’t part of the game yet.

Rather than escaping through Heisenberg’s gauntlet, Ethan is rescued by Ada Wong (disguised behind a plague mask). I’m guessing Heisenberg’s role as pseudo-ally hadn’t fully developed while Ada was still supposed to be involved.

Conflict between the lords seems to be framed more as conflict between separate houses/families. Heisenberg makes a reference to ‘us Heisenbergs’ (perhaps this is from the time when his mother, father and twin brother were also supposed to be characters?) and Moreau to his ‘Kuku-family’.

Though the name ‘Heisenberg’ does appear, he’s mostly called ‘Geek’, while Moreau is ‘Half-fish-man’ (半魚人), and Donna is simply 'Spirit' or 'Ghost' (心霊). Lady Dimitrescu is the only character who is actually called that (though it’s mostly abbreviated to just ‘lady’). I could not tell you why a Japanese dev team would decide that ‘geek’ was a good moniker for their heavy-metal-Frankenstein-wannabe, but here we are. (Note that most of the game files associated with Heisenberg are still labelled ‘geek[something]’, so clearly this was a moniker that stuck. Donna’s files are almost all called ‘ghost[something]’. Moreau and Dimitrescu mostly get shortened/mangled into 'moro' and 'domi'.)

Heisenberg and Dimitrescu actually come to blows over Ethan in this version, with Heisenberg launching his hammer at her and seemingly killing her, or at least blowing her away. But I think we can take it as read that even in this version, she'll show up okay and be back to torment Ethan later.

Oh, and did I mention this little addendum at the end which hints at Miranda doing some kind of surgery on Chris? WTF?

Standard disclaimer for all my Japanese translations: I’m nothing like fluent, and rely on online dictionaries for a lot of harder vocabulary. Corrections from anyone better qualified are welcome.

Okay, on to the actual translations! I'll include the full pages as we get to them, but I'll also break them down into smaller chunks so I can share and translate smaller chunks as we go through.

Page 1

[Ethan wakes up to find he can't move because his handcuffs are chained to the floor]

[Ghost-nobles and villagers buzzing in the church]

[Banging noise as shaman bangs his staff]

Shaman: "Everyone, quiet!"

[Church falls silent]

Shaman: "I have heard from each of the lords. This man's crime threatens the very foundations of our family! Lord Adam is furious! To allow this man to live will bring disaster upon the village! Only his death will appease Lord Adam's anger!"

[Cheering from the crowd]

Lady Dimitrescu: "In that case, after the execution, the Dimitrescu family shall receive the victim. My daughters haven't had nearly enough blood to drink of late."

Geek (Heisenberg): "Oi, wait a minute. From what I've heard, you witches have had it your own way long enough."

["Geek" burns Ethan's hand with a cigar]

Geek: "Us Heisenbergs will be taking this one, got it?"

[Ethan shrieks in pain]

Lady: "Didn't you have several victims sent to you just the other day?"

[Half-fish-man (半魚人) walks up to the Geek]

Half-fish-man (Moreau): "Oh, grant him to my Kuku-family, I.. I want to break him open and eat his insides!" (Note: I think Moreau's actually saying something even more colourful here, but I'm having trouble translating it)

[He approaches Ethan, parasites emerging from under his hood]

["Geek" halts him, brandishing his hammer]

Half-fish-man: [Groaning noise]

Lady: "I will not allow you two to do as you please!"

Geek: "Hm, how to settle this?"

Half-fish-man: "Oh, oh…!"

[Rising noise of cursing onlookers]

[Geek raises his iron hammer]

Page 2

[The moment he throws his hammer at Lady Dimitrescu, a halucination begins and time seems to stop. Direction and focus of camera fits the spirit]

Ghost (Donna, in a voice no-one else can hear): "….(You… have summoned him… receive your reward…)"

[Reality returns]

[The hammer pierces Lady D. and blows her away, part of the church collapses. Panic as villagers fall or die]

Geek: "Don't worry. Your corpse will become my plaything."

[A mysterious masked figure appears and fires three shots into Heisenberg, five into the shaman]

Masked figure: "Run!"

[Cuts the chain holding Ethan to the floor]

Geek: [getting up] "..what the…?"

Shaman (still full of arrows) yells to the villagers: "What are you doing! Don't let them escape! After him!"

Masked figure: "This way!"

[Still handcuffed, Ethan runs through passages before finally making it outdoors]

Page 3

Masked figure: [while reloading crossbow] "Your daughter is alive. Go get her back, okay?"

Ethan: "What are you…"

[Masked figure sees someone coming from behind] "No time, go!"

[Ethan screams as he's thrown over the railing]

[And here endeth the storyboard]

Page 3 Addendum

This brings us to the latter half of Page 3, which contains only a single column of panels. Remaining space features an extra half-page of Miranda in her original foreign-scientist incarnation, pictured with what I assume were some of her experiments. There's some text on these too ‒ hand-written rather than typed, which made it a right bastard to figure out. But I had a crack anyway, because even at a skim-read it had me going, "wait, does that say the monster is Chris?"

Yep, it does. The captions (as best I could make them out) read "Miranda's paranormal organism experiment" (奇生体の実験) and "After plastic surgery on Chris' face" (クリスの顔に整形後).

This only raises so many more questions. Is Chris actually working with Miranda, or has she captured him for experiments? Is she repairing Chris' face after some horrific accident? Is she altering some monster to make it look like Chris Redfield? Or ‒ in a far more entertaining possibility ‒ was this meant to be an in-game justification for why RE7's Chris looks nothing like he does in RE8?

I have no answers for you, but you can really feel how much this game changed in development just from these little glimpses of what might have been.

[monigote001]

SCP reference sheet

approaches and drawing ⬇️

SCP-231-4B, "Alex" Alice

Description:

SCP-231-4B is a female of Chilean-Canadian descent, approximately 1.87 meters tall, and estimated to be between 20 and 30 years of age. It was recovered years after escaping the Children of the Scarlet King cult, becoming the second instance of SCP-231 being found.

SCP-231-4B exhibits an anomaly that alters the behavior of other anomalous entities within a 50-meter radius, provoking either a passive or, in certain cases, an intensely hostile reaction. Its blood is mixed with a denser substance that facilitates superficial tissue regeneration and the temporary amputation of limbs. If the liquid is not properly extracted through medical intervention, it may result in tissue necrosis. SCP-231-4B can also alter its body’s morphology, though this process is slow and may cause permanent damage if forced.

Extended stays in a fixed location result in the degradation of the immediate environment, manifested as secretions of the anomalous liquid into surrounding structures and subsequent material decay. The subject displays deer-like features, including ears, antlers, and occasionally, deer-like legs due to its body modifications.

Notes:

The subject exhibits perforations on the left cheek, presumably caused by a mutation that the body was unable to regenerate.

The fingernails are significantly more durable than those of an average human.

Hair growth is continuous and appears to have no limit in length.

The subject has additional fangs.

Little note:

“Alex" Alice

any pronoun

Unknown age

SCP-231-4B

SCP-231-4B expresses a lot of energy and enthusiasm, accompanied by the ignorance of a being that lacks basic understanding of what it means to be human, both in emotional management and something as simple as a toaster. Her relationship with the Foundation is complicated, but since being given access to books, she has become more cooperative.

Addendums:

ADDENDUM: No, we will NOT give her a “Warrior Cats” book. Please stop trying to sneak it in her cell. - Dr. Samuel Gagnon

ADDENDUM: So it will be “Fifty Shades of Grey” then.- Director Alto Clef

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

“red flowers”: fae, vargas camp 2, and glorious masquerade

THERE’S SOMETHING IN VARGAS CAMP 2 THAT MADE ME DO A DOUBLE TAKE 👁️ �� 👁️

So in 2-2, the pixies of the forest are trying to put out the campfires. The boys then talk about how there was a miner's campfire a while back that caused a forest fire, which naturally spooked the local fairies. AND THEN VIL GOES AND DROPS THIS DOOZIE OF A LINE:

EXCUSE ME, VI L SIR??????? ?? ? ???? ? ? ?? ? ? ? Did you just say RED FLOWERS? Is that not similar to the CRIMSON FLOWERS/LOTUSES that ROLLO tried to use to establish a magicless Twisted Wonderland in Glorious Masquerade?!

ADDENDUM: I learned recently (very shortly after this post went live, actually!) that the “red flowers” may also be a reference to what the animals in the live action Jungle Book call fires. I’m not personally familiar with this film, so I’ll be running with the crimson lotus/Glorious Masquerade connection for the duration of this post!!

Looking at how the phrases are written in Japanese, they use the term 赤い花 ("akai no hana"/red flower) in Vargas Camp and 紅蓮の花 ("guren no hana"/crimson lotus flower) in Glorious Masquerade. Crimson is basically a specific kind of red, and lotus is just a certain type of flower. Even more damning is that fact that in 3-8 of Glorious Masquerade, Malleus EXPLICITLY describes the spreading crimson flowers as having "a brilliance like that of fire". You can see from images of the crimson lotus that they do, indeed, seem to glow like fire.

If you look at the real life timeline of these events releasing, it also coincidentally lines up!! Like, the original release of Vargas Camp 2 (for JP server) was in mid to late SEPTEMBER 2022. Then Glorious Masquerade would come out mid to late OCTOBER 2022. Vargas Camp 2 was literally the new story event that came out RIGHT BEFORE Glorious Masquerade... WAS THIS FORESHADOWING??????????????? And even more importantly than that... What does this mean for fae??????

One could call "red flowers" just a poetic way for the pixies to label something they don't understand. But what's confusing is that there are clearly also fire pixies living in the forest; we see several of them in Vargas Camp attacking the students. It's not as though the fairies are unfamiliar with fire itself, so why not just call the campfires 'fires'?? What if... (and stick with me here) the pixies named the campfires thus because it's potentially a reference to something far deadlier (than even the forest fire) that they experienced or heard of in their history? In the time period of ~400 years ago shown to us in book 7, we learn that human invaders drove fae out of their homes and began mining their land for resources. This, more specifically, impacts the Briar Country up north, who are fighting against humans that arm themselves with iron (something which appears to repulse the fae). These humans are also known to use deceptive tactics, such as distracting the messenger team of Lilia and co. while they launch an assault on Mallenoa's castle, where she and her unborn son are. So... what's to say they wouldn't resort to other underhanded means as well? Mean such as... utilizing a flower known to suck out the magic from living beings :))) like maybe the... crimson lotus, perhaps?

In Glorious Masquerade, we learn that the crimson lotus has been extinct for a long time now. They were destroyed by humans centuries ago because of how dangerous they were to mages. We don't have an exact number of years, but "centuries" is enough to land it in the rough ballpark of the human-fae war. Malleus himself, who is canonically 178 years old, didn't even recognize the flowers at first (as very few records of them exist in modern times); this could imply that the crimson flowers were around before he was born, which further supports that they were present during the war era.

What's more, if we look at Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (ie the second live action Maleficent movie), we see a VERY strong parallel to the crimson lotus flower. In the film, we are introduced to the Tomb Bloom, a flower that just so happens to also be red and glows a little like fire.

UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE, NO? 🤡

Tomb Blooms are said to grow on the graves of fairies, and, when mixed with iron, creates "red dust". This red dust is considered deadly to fairies upon contact--and in the film, a fairy-hating queen lures a bunch of fae into a wedding venue to eliminate them en masse with the stuff. The crimson lotus flowers of TWST, meanwhile, are deadly on their own, draining the magic out of any magical being they touch (and permanently depriving them of magic once all the magic has been taken out of someone). For fae, who rely on magic for basically everything (travel, cooking etc.), it would be a miserable existence symbolically synonymous with death.

(Side note: in hindsight, this somewhat explains why Malleus is part of the Glorious Masquerade SSR trio. If the crimson lotus flowers were, in actuality, inspired by the Tomb Blooms (something which was weaponized against Maleficent and her kind), then it just makes so much sense for the antagonist of the event, Rollo, to utilize similar plants against Malleus, who is twisted from the Mistress of Evil herself.)

OKAY, now knowing all of that, here's what I propose as a possible timeline of events if we consider all of what I just said: ~400 years ago, crimson lotuses were plentiful. When the human-fae conflict escalated, the human side decided to play dirty to eliminate those pesky fae--because even the great Draconias would be susceptible to the magic-leeching properties of the flower. However, they discovered, upon repeated experimentation, that the flower could also harm their own mages, so they had to reformulate. Maybe this was when they learned that they could combine iron with the powdered lotus (increased surface area, and therefore also increased potency) to create something even more deadly to fae (like in Maleficent 2). Alternatively, this could contribute for the reasoning for the iron armor they wear in battle; iron repulses fae, but it could also protect them from the crimson lotus flowers due to how much of the skin it covers. For example, the Dawn Knight is said to wear a helmet that completely cover the face, and many Silver Owl NPCs do the same. There is little skin visible, unlike the armor of the Briar Country fae. But anyway, the point is that, some way or another, the humans abused the crimson lotus during this time. Once the war concluded (or in the period of reconstruction that followed), fae and humans came to an agreement to destroy all the lotuses as a part of their peace treaty/negotiations, agreeing that it was mutually beneficial to all magical creatures and mages. Humans were mainly responsible for this extinction, as there was a larger population of them that were magicless and could therefore handle the flowers without consequences. Because of the war engulfing an entire continent, fae in other parts of Twisted Wonderland would have heard about the events, fae migrated out of Briar Country to get away from the conflict, OR the conflict itself was a Twisted Wonderland-wide issue, not just contained within Briar Country. Any one of these could explain why eventually pixies on Sage's Island, in the Silent Woods (where the boys went camping), would know of the calamity caused by the crimson lotuses of the past. When they come across wild campfires, the pixies may be frightened by them due to their resemblance to the crimson lotuses and the trauma associated with war because it's human outsiders that are invading their home and propagating these 'fires'... the same situation as the human-fae war. There was the literal manmade forest fire that was far more recent, yes--but again, this doesn't fully explain why the pixies, who should be familiar with fire, would call it a "red flower" instead of just 'fire'. The association with "red flowers" being dangerous may be a result of what they recall from the war--that crimson flower which sapped away their strength and robbed them of their magic. Then, in modern day, we have Rollo somehow stumbling across seeds and breeding crimson lotuses of his own in secret for his own nefarious purposes. History (mayhaps???) repeating itself??????? ?? ? ????? ??? ??

DKJNsfhbvoqef32ygtr69r137fbofasib IDK, MAYBE I'M JUST TALKING OUT OF MY ASS AND EXTRAPOLATING TOO MUCH FROM LITTLE DETAILS 🤡 I just think it's kind of a fun theory, even if the whole timeline ends up being thrown out the window in the next main story update... Don't mind me, I'm still on my "Rollo will come save us all in a cruel and ironic twist of fate" copium--

[cyanide-cafe]

Rio Crane [Urbanshade Personnel]

SHE/THEY/HE [in order of preference]

71 Y/O, 28 in physical and mental growth

TLDR: makes clones if she's cut in half, spends her time researching everything. Extremely curious, friendly, and gets along with the beasts of the blacksite. See below the cut for Way Too Much Information, and her entire document!

Codename: "Endless," was a researcher for Urbanshade whom willingly participated in the IUTEOAK [Immortal Under the Edge of a Knife] program, simply referred to as the IUK program for further reference. The IUK program was an experiment to allow immortality in certain high-hazard Urbanshade personnel, started by Crane themselves in an attempt to rid themselves of chronic and terminal illness.

Crane's experiments were successful, resulting in symbiosis between Human, White Spotted Bamboo Shark, Flatworm, Nudibranch, and Portuguese Man ' o ' War DNA. These experiments resulted in loss of certain organs which her body no longer needed for general life, including her liver, gallbladder, pancreas, thyroid, kidneys, and lungs. It is noted that despite her Flatworm DNA, she still has a cardiovascular system, unlike modern flatworms.

The resulted immortality has a strange catch, as Crane's body rapidly deteriorates over a span of 3 years, generally dying at the end of the 3rd: however, if Crane were to cut off her head or her legs from her torso: and said half of her body or head is healthy: another instance of Crane would be able to separate from the aged body, re-starting the 3 year biological timer. It seems that Crane's immortality has a few catches like this, as if her brain is destroyed, a clone will die, reducing to an amorphous gel-like consistency that is extremely toxic within several days.

However, her experiment was deemed to be non-replicable: not because it is impossible to replicate, but the cost, dangers, and work put into making a single immortal being is too high to create several of these instances. Not only is the experiment hard to replicate, the side effects are varying in usefulness or straight up danger, and Crane herself seems to have certain anomalous features that Urbanshade has been unable to reproduce, most notably, the fact that her memories and senses are able to be transmitted between clones at will. This being said, Crane is anomalous, and should be highly monitored to prevent classified information leaking to unauthorized personnel.

It is noted that Crane has an especially high pain tolerance, as she only feels 1/5th of the pain a normal individual would: likely due to the 5 given clones of her that exist at any time: a clone in the Blacksite, a clone at another Urbanshade site, a clone in an undisclosed location, a backup clone in the Blacksite, and finally, her conscious clone. It seems that her consciousness flickers between these clones, and clones that are not inhabited are in a hibernation-like state.

Crane is capable of deadly stings with her "hair" and "tail fibers", more officially her tentacles and cnidosacs: that cause extreme allergic reactions in some individuals, and circulatory shock [and death] in others. It is noted that these stings are ONLY felt if personnel touch the tips of her hair or cnidosacs, and as such, are avoidable.

Her diet consists of animals in the Cnidaria family, certain jellyfish, and a vegetable/fish high diet. It is noted that while she does enjoy meats, she seems to prefer them on the.. fresher side.

Crane is not a dangerous encounter, rather a normally quiet, almost EXR-P-like employee. She doesn't speak much to Expendables, preferring to speak with or research the various dangerous monsters inside of the Blacksite instead. Crane's presence often indicates that a monster is nearby, however, and it should be kept in mind that if you see her, it's likely there's a much more dangerous threat arounds.

ADDENDUM: Crane was not originally a Blacksite employee, rather originating from a separate site entirely that preformed experiments on cadavers and willing individuals only. As such, it seems that Crane is disgusted with the Blacksite entirely. It is under debate whether or not Crane should be demoted or not after the Crystal [Z-1] has been recovered, as she is capable of spreading classified information throughout Urbanshade, or even to the public.

ADDENDUM 2: It seems that Crane's presence may also indicate The Saboteur [z-13] as well, and she can even be found [rarely] alongside him with his shop, asking questions he refuses to answer.

[askoverlordvox]

Eventually…

Jenn makes it back to her apartment, Jeffie following close alongside her. After she had ensured everything was locked, she took a hot shower, changed, and finally sat down to review her employment contract.

She read through it twice and signed her name, the contract disappearing back to Vox.

Jenn grabbed the book she had abandoned before everything and read while Jeffie slept next to her on the couch.

@helluvahotelfan

Vox pauses what he's doing as the employment contract appears in front of him. He sits back in his chair, mulling over whether to file it or amend it. On the one hand, just because other things had changed didn't mean Jenn necessarily wanted a change to her job. She enjoyed working with the R&D teams. She could probably head up one of her own at this point.

His gaze went to the screen bank in front of him, at all the video feeds and logs he'd been reviewing, and all the ones he still had to check.

Setting aside the signed copy, Vox drafted a new contract to function as an addendum. The original would still be valid, of course. However, he thought she might sign this one- or at least get a chuckle out of it.

VoxTek™ Dating Agreement

I, @helluvahotelfan , invoke the infernal powers of Hell to complete the following agreement between myself and the Overlord, Vox. Hereafter, "the girlfriend" will refer to Jenn, "the boyfriend" will refer to Vox, and "the contract" will refer to this agreement, signed and sealed by a kiss.

Payment: to complete this contract, the girlfriend and the boyfriend pledge loyalty to each other and trust in each other. For as long as both parties agree, the terms and conditions of this contract are considered valid. Additionally, neither party can cause physical harm to the other while this contract is in effect without explicit and enthusiastic consent.

Terms: the boyfriend and the girlfriend agree to a mutually supportive relationship. Each party is responsible for vocalizing their needs and wants, to be fulfilled by the other to the best of their ability. Expected activities include but are not limited to: hand holding, kissing, hugging, cuddling, hanging out, watching TV or movies, listening to music, going out to eat, going dancing, and sharing meals. Surprises are authorized but only within reasonable levels of consent.

Conditions: This contract remains in effect provided both the girlfriend and the boyfriend wish to continue adhering to the terms. At any time, either party may request breaking the contract. The request must be accepted by the boyfriend.

Ground Rules: Date Nights are Thursday nights. This section to be amended as necessary.

Options: the girlfriend may, at any time, request to move into the boyfriend's condo. The girlfriend may, at any time, request a direct promotion to personal assistant to the boyfriend, in the hopes they can stop each other from becoming workaholics. Both parties may, at any time, request acts of affection to be fulfilled by the other when appropriate.

Hours: 24/7/365. April 29th will hereafter be reserved as a day to vent all lingering annoyance via pillow fight.

Signed and confirmed via kiss with the boyfriend,

Vox chuckles, nodding and throwing the contract at the nearest screen, where it digitized itself and hurried to Jenn, popping out of her phone in the same cool blue envelope as the first one.

He grabs his coffee cup and takes a sip. "I'm fuckin' hilarious."

[roseofcards90]

I definitely agree that a lot of that diss track at the end is Kotoko also projecting her insecurities onto the other prisoners, not only calling them out rather shallowly, but also just the fact that her voice breaks right at the end??? The way in which she ends with Es, who is supposed to be her foil and the one she calls an “unloved warden” it’s like damn Kotoko you couldn’t be more apparent with the way you were probably treated back then huh 😭

I wanted to try and analyze the diss track more tbh LMAO but I don’t think we have enough information to really draw some good comparisons between Kotoko and the other prisoners for that. I can totally see some similarities for a few of them, but for others it’s a bit more unclear (Yuno is one of them like you mentioned). But these are the ones that come to my mind for Kotoko’s similarities with everyone else:

Haruka - hatred of childhood self because they were too weak (I just realized this but the fact that Haruka’s t1 song is called Weakness omg)

Yuno - ??? (I have no idea for this one tbh 😭 my best guess would be that they’re both hiding behind a mask, so their true selves are obscured a lot of the times)

Futa - ideals and handing out their own form of justice

Mu - putting yourself above everyone else in order to protect yourself, thinking that you were in the right and that you have done nothing wrong

Shidou - ??? (This one I’m speculating that family might be their similarity considering Kotoko’s symbolism with wolves and them being pack animals but I’m not completely sure. Another one could possibly be failing to save someone close to you if Kotoko did have someone close to her back then who she lost)

Mahiru - love and forgiveness

Kazui - lies and deceit, massive self-hatred (sorry Kazui 💀)

Amane - how the cycle of cruelty affects you and how Kotoko is a mirror of what Amane could be when she's older

Mikoto - protection through action(?) is the best way I can describe it, like with how they both use their own physical strength to protect either themselves or others

Es - foil in the narrative and holding up one’s duty

It’s very obvious though I feel like in Yonah, just with the way Kotoko switches up so easily with Es, it really makes you wonder if she never had that kind of emotional stability with an adult. Always changing, never predictable with what they’re gonna do or how they’re gonna react, so you have to watch them closely, just like how Kotoko does for everyone else in the prison.

When Kotoko thinks Es is being weak, she calls them out. When they are in clear distress, she wants to hug them, comfort them no matter what and reassure them that she will continue to act as their fang and do the “dirty work”. It’s like you said, she probably hated her childhood self for being weak, but she still wanted the comfort, she still wanted the protection she never got. So she gives it to Es because she probably sees a lot of her childhood self in them.

I didn't notice that similarity before with Mahiru not wanting to admit that she's not okay, so she crumbles underneath the pressure of trying to be continuously happy, just like how Kotoko is crumbling underneath the weight of justice. Interesting!!!

Also her having a difficult time trying to relax so she spends her free time mediating is an interesting detail from this interrogation:

And in Harrow, her movements are quick like a flinch but she seems like she's on edge a lot of the times too:

Constantly looking over her shoulder as if someone is there watching her:

Idk it's just all very interesting! I know people are looking forward to Undercover callbacks in the Deep Cover mv but tbh I just want Kotoko lore man 😭 I NEED MORE LORE

Kotoko lives to protect the weak. In her mind she serves the weak but the weak also serve her. They are her reason to live. Saving them makes her feel good about herself. She exists to save the weak and the weak exist to giving her a propose.

mahiru lives to love her boyfriend/be a good wife. She exists for him and their relationship by extension him exists to give her a reason to exist.

idk if this makes sense

but its like the idea of how they have formed their identities off of loving/saving other people but end up hurting those people because What they wanted was a propose and to fulfil their desire to the point they hurt and disregarded the party they were trying to protect/love. Kotoko wanted to punish the “evil” and mahiru wanted to be this ideal wife

Its not about what the boy friend needs in the relationship (not cake) it’s about mahiru loving him.

its not about what the weaklings want its about kotoko protecting them.

[klerothesnowman]

"Bad Representation" Still Represents Something

This one's very quick, almost too quick to the nuance the topic deserves, but I got this energy while writing a thing about Dragon Age and I want to say it anyway. It's also pretty outdated discourse. It's also about amputee representation, and I am not an amputee so I'm not really the voice who should be heard about this.

A few years ago Wizards of the Coast reprinted the Curse of Strahd book with a handful of changes. Some of these changes are absolutely for the better, like making the people based on the Romani not literally have the ability to curse you with their evil eye or not referring them to a literal racial slur. But one change that was a little bit controversial to me was to remove "Harmful language" from one character in particular.

Ezmerelda d'Avenir (a later book decided that she prefers to be called Ez, so that's what I'll call her from here on) is one of the characters that can act as an ally to the players in the book. In the original copy of the book her "Secret" was that her right leg is a prosthetic from the knee down, and that she was putting effort into making sure it remained hidden. Now, the prosthetic is shown openly, it's not a secret and it's not hidden.

The idea is that Ez hiding away her prosthetic was ableist, it implied that having a prosthetic leg was something to be ashamed of. A disabled youtuber refuted that point, and argued that Ez hiding the prosthetic doesn't mean she's ashamed or that it's ableist. But I've got a different take.

Ez can be ashamed of her prosthetic. She lost it in a hunt, it's a symbol of failure. She can feel that she lost "a part of herself". She can feel that it's a weakness. What should have been errata'd in was further clarity that she's wrong. It can be a flaw in her character, a representation of a trauma, a symbol of a perfectionist attitude that is toxic to her, it can be so many other things.

Because people who reacted that way to losing a limb exist, these are people in the middle of their path of self acceptance, who have internalized some shitty things about themselves. Representation can be more than showing a positive image of something, it can also be showing the negative struggles someone is going through and reach out and say "Hey. People understand what you're going through. Here's a better way"

I understand that having positive, out and proud representations is important to normalizing things and helping people feel accepted, but I feel like literally erasing people struggling and aren't proud is like slamming people with a double decker combo of shame. Like "You're ashamed of this massive change you've gone through? You should be ashamed of yourself for that."

As an addendum point, when I voiced this in discussion at the time someone said that "That's not a level of nuance you're afforded when you only have one disabled character" which is like... fair. I guess? But at that point you should probably be having more disabled characters rather than trying to have a singular character to be your "Perfect Disability Rep", because these things are never that simple. People are complicated, everyone reacts to things differently, and that's okay.

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 60

Very soon after regenerating, the Second Doctor had pulled a large earring out of a trunk in the TARDIS, which he described as very fashionable once and remembered that at one point he used to wear it. (Novel: The Power of the Daleks)

Borusa once wrote a history book titled Rassilon the God. (Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)

Like all other Time Lords upon initiation into the Academy, it has been confirmed that Susan once gazed into the Untempered Schism. (Audio: E is for...)

Many years after Nyssa left the Fifth Doctor to stay on Terminus, she had an adventure with the Fourth Doctor. This meant the Doctor had met Nyssa before Traken. (Novel: Asylum)

The First Doctor trained to be a ninja on Quinnis. (Novel: The Devil Goblins from Neptune)

The Ninth Doctor once got stranded when the TARDIS burped and jumped ahead 20 years in the future. From 20 years in the past, he communicated with a 12 year old girl named Sally Sparrow, knowing all about where to leave messages for her because she wrote about it in her homework, and that homework had been given to him by a spy in the future. Sally Sparrow successfully returned the TARDIS to the Doctor and grew up to be that very same spy who gave the Doctor the homework in the first place. (Short story: What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow) This story was later adapted into Blink.

Amendment 9 of the Fourth Constitutional Addendum is a Gallifreyan law also known as the "Stupidity Clause." K-9 brought it up while trying to think of a way to get Romana II found innocent during her trial. (Audio: Mindbomb)

On one of their first trips off Gallifrey, the First Doctor and Susan went to Garazone, where Susan bought him a model of the Nightjar after hearing stories about it. The Doctor put it up in the TARDIS. (Audio: Pursuit of the Nightjar)

This Nightjar model is still in the TARDIS by his Eleventh incarnation. (Audio: All of Time and Space)

Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and Doris once saved Susan from drowning. (Short story: The Gift)

Soul catching refers to the Gallifreyan rite in which a Time Lord transfers their mind to another's shortly before their death, after which their mind will join the Matrix. The Third Doctor used it on Waro once, and the Eighth Doctor once used it to communicate with the Beast. (Novel: The Devil Goblins from Neptune; The Taint)

The Thirteenth Doctor once identified Halogi-Kari as a Harbinger, a rare and powerful race. He was a Wolf of Fenric and had transported Ace to Iceworld on Svartos when she was young. (Novel: At Childhood's End)

The Fifth Doctor once went temporarily blind when he plugged himself into a defense net and got overwhelmed. (Audio: The Children of Seth)

The Eighth Doctor tried to warn the Seventh Doctor of the circumstances of his upcoming regeneration, but the Seventh Doctor decided that he would proceed as he would have anyway (as foreknowledge is dangerous to the Web of Time.) (Novel: The Eight Doctors) This means that the Seventh Doctor knew he was about to die and regenerate in the beginning of the TV Movie.

Near the end of his life, the Seventh Doctor grew depressed and lonely, and he knew he should go to Gallifrey and give himself to the Chief Hospitaller and his team of psycho-techs. Gallifrey had access to neurosurgery, therapy, and drugs, and the last resort was forced regeneration with the hope that the next body would not have the same melancholia. (Novel: The Eight Doctors)

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[docgold13]

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Elseworlds Addendum - Green Lantern / Sojourner Mullein

Sojourner “Jo” Mullein had served with the United Sates military and later became a police officer, yet she chose to leave both fields due to the corruption and injustices she was forced to contend with.  Her stubborn will and strong sense of morals attracted the attention of a Green Lantern power ring and the young woman was offered a place among the Lantern’s Corps.  

Jo accepted the ring and was bestowed all of the powers of a Green Lantern.  Following completion of her training, Jo was assigned to a space sector so far from the Green Lantern home-world of Oa that it has not yet even been provided a numerical designation (instead it is simply referred to as a ‘far sector’). She has continued to fight for justice in this far sector whilst occasionally returning to earth as well as other space sectors so to aid her Lantern colleagues.

The heroine first appeared in the pages of Far Sector #1 (2020).

[nrcsfavoriteshrimps]

[Shiyuu is startled at first by the sudden breakdown, but he steels himself and pulls her in for a hug. He rubs her back as she sobs into his shoulder.]

“Let it out. I’m here for you.”

[He takes a small pack of tissues out of his pocket, placing it on his lap for later. He’s holding back tears himself, blinking rapidly to try and clear them.]

— 🎪 —

Shiyuu understood Yuna’s struggles, at least to some extent.

It’s hard to miss your home when you don’t even remember most of it.

Shiyuu was never in control of his life. Other people told him what to do, and he had no choice but to go with it.

Do this. Think that. Say this. Say that. Like this. Hate that.

It’s difficult. He’s only a kid, after all. He felt hopeless.

However…he doesn’t want Yuna to feel the same way.

— 🎪 —

“There’s this thing my sibling used to say whenever I was crying…I don’t remember how it goes exactly, but…”

[Shiyuu puts his forehead against Yuna’s.]

“With this spell declared, let the pain be shared…”

“It’s…kind of childish, I’ll admit. But they said that whatever pain I was going through, that they would carry it with me. So, l-like I’ve been saying…I want to help however I can.”

“Yuna?” [Shiyuu knocks on the music room’s door, tapping his foot anxiously.] “Buddy?”

(Shiyuu’s here to check on Yuna, after hearing her singing.)

-Shiyuu Oboete, @nrcsfavoriteshrimps

The piano music halts, suddenly and jarringly. It seems Yuna was startled by the sudden knocking and ceased her playing.

Amusingly, though, her head does not pop up past the large instrument, and it's almost as if there's no one there. A routine she's gotten into, if she were being honest.

"E-eh?! I... Didn't realize anyone was still here... Hope I didn't disturb you..."