#Because that almost goes into spoiler territory

[morimess]

They won't stop pinging around my thoughts, so here are some headcanons for PH so I can keep writing tonight:

-All of the spirits have secondary powers that are separate, but related to, what they represent. The most "useful" of these is Neri- who can tell when someone is lying v telling the truth. Leaf can tell when someone is arrogant and power-hungry v a natural-born leader. Ciela can tell when someone is fearful. These powers are supposed to help them sus out bad people, or help someone become better- unfortunately, it just means they all hate Linebeck for one reason or another.

-The treasure that Linebeck stole from Jolene was the Regal Ring.

-Linebeck II had already been born by the time of PH- and is probably about 2 years old. Whether or not the Captain knows about him is debatable.

-Oshus is ABSOLUTELY the person that directed Linebeck to the Temple before the game starts.

-The earthquake at the beginning of the game- the one that causes the bridge to collapse- also caused the spike trap to go off in the Temple and trap Linebeck.

-Linebeck is native to The Ocean King's Seas.

-Termina, Lorule, and the Ocean King's Seas are all the same alternate reality. The event of the timeline splitting is a big enough deal to be felt across realities. That is the reason they're all so different, but still have reference to things like the Triforce.

-Linebeck absolutely helped find New Hyrule, Link visits him at his shop whenever he can.

-Oshus can shapeshift into many different sea creatures- he prefers the form of a whale because he thinks of them as noble and mighty. But when his power is limited, he can only really transform into a gull- this is how he ends up at Molida and the Ghost Ship. (He likes to say the form is an albatross, but everyone knows it's just a gull)

-When Oshus teleported the crew back to The Great Sea, he also left some directions on how to find the nearest mainland.

-Jolene and her sister were also sent to The Great Sea after the events of PH. They helped found the fishing village in ST.

-Jolene's crew was an all female crew- a lot of them left, a lot of them died trying to figure out about the Ghost Ship, some of them where able to settle down outside of piracy.

-The reason Jolene starts coming after you when she does is because her sister told her about Linebeck traveling around with a kid. (Most people visit Banan Island before you get the Spirit of Courage- if you complete the Wayfarer's side mission, you learn that the mermaid was staring at Linebeck before he caught on. I think she was trying to tell if it really was her sister's former lover, before sending a letter that basically said "You would NOT believe who I just saw")

I'll add more if I think of more, but I'll leave you with one more for shits and giggles.

-Homebrewed alcoholic milk is called "mooshine"

[sweet-as-an-angel]

I just got this idea and I trust your writing the most, I was wondering if you could write ,unless you already wrote this, where the reader steals König or ghost masks or anyone else and their reaction (nsfw or sfw is fine), thank you have a great day :))

König & Ghost's Reaction to their S/O Stealing their Mask

Warnings: Implications of Smut, Dominant Ghost, Dominant König, Territorial Military Men <3, Minor Spoilers of Ghost's Past, Mention of a Size Kink, Profanity, No Pronouns used for Reader except 'You.

König

Since he's absolutely massive, the ends of his sniper veil literally reach the bottom of your ribcage.

So when König sees you wear it for the first time, he's absolutely F L O O R E D

We don't call him Size Kink König for no reason.

Goes absolutely feral when he sees you draped in his veil.

Can barely keep his hands off you.

"Maus," he husks, fingers twitching as he reaches for you slowly, cautiously, offering you the chance to go with him willingly.

"You don't know what you're doing to me."

Even without the veil, his eyes are dark, a blackness settling over them that, somewhere in your mind, your intuition, has you seeing red.

Regardless of how innocent your intent when acquiring the mask, none of that matters now.

All that does is the growing bulge in König's pants, the shortness of his breath, and his shadow settling over you as he advances on your path.

"You'll be needing that mask more than I will after I'm done with you."

And when you dare to ask "Why ?" now entrapped – eclipsed – by his frame, he just smiles, thin and sharp. Cruel.

He takes you in his arms, pulling you to him, your face almost crushed into his chest.

He laughs. A low rumble – the promise of a natural disaster.

His nose is to yours covered by the veil, a condescending gesture of his prowess and your submission. The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

"Because everyone will get a free show to the fallout of an evening you’ve roped yourself into."

As if to prove his point, his hands are at your wrists before you even notice the pressure he's applying there, binding you, pulling you ever closer to him. And in that second, you know you're not leaving your little stunt – the night – unscathed.

Ghost

Hoo boy.

Okay, it's no secret to anyone who knows Ghost – really knows him – that he's suffered a lot of hardship throughout his life, hencewhy he is the way he is.

Which others may construe as cold, heartless – even soulless.

But that's only because Simon has lost so much.

So when he comes home to find you in one of his masks, smiling up at him (he can tell by the way your eyes crinkle), he's immediately whipped.

And I mean W H I P P E D.

To see the one person he can truly call his own wearing his gear is something he didn't know he needed until now.

Sure, he's seen you in his shirts, but this felt different. More intimate.

Your face was where his usually was, his spectral imprint practically morphed with the contours of your face.

Though it needn't be mentioned, he has a hard time... containing himself.

"Fuuuck me, Darlin'," he rasps, on you like a sickness as he sits on top of you, pinning you to the sofa by your waist.

"Y'look better in that than I do."

And you smile. Something intentional hidden within.

"Hmm... I doubt that." You can feel Simon's body heat rocketing beneath his clothes.

"You know I can't resist you when you wear it."

And that's all it takes to send him over the edge.

You hear his breath shake as he rolls into you ever so slightly, still restraining his whole weight to keep you intact. Something began to prod your abdomen.

"Oh, you're in for it now," he tells you. There is not a single hint of fallacy to his claim or his expression – one of barely stoic restraint.

"You won't be able to do much of anything by the time I'm through with you."

Reblog for more content like this! It helps creators like myself tremendously and it is greatly appreciated :-)

Masterlist Masterlist [Continued] Masterpost Modern Warfare AI Masterlist

AO3 Wattpad

[belovedivies]

Hi its my first time I request

Can you do Raphael from killer Peter manhwa

Like when he get jealous or how did he fell in love

Im sorry if my english was bad

raphael relationship headcanons

cw: minor spoiler, yandere content

LOVE?

Raphael doesn’t “fall in love”. If he takes a liking to someone, they are automatically his property. No questions asked.

With you, however, who neither end up as another dead body in line for cremation nor a slave to his ever-expanding collection… it almost seems like Raphael goes easy on you.

That being said, he’s far from an ideal guy to be around. Your ears will most likely blast from hearing him shout at his underlings every few minutes of the day.

Your presence does help to ease the tension a bit though, and it won’t take as long for Raphael to direct his attention towards you and just forget about his useless lower-ranks.

Royalty treatment to the max, but only when you behave. This man has the most influential organization on Earth in the palm of his hand—you won’t want for anything else when he’s around.

Between the constant chase for Peter’s head and the killers' recruitment to rebuild Glory Club from the ground up, Raphael burns his money on you. Want that special edition of your favorite book but it’s unfortunately sold out? He’ll get it printed as many times as you want, all with your name on the leather cover in goldwork embroidery.

Just thank him after. Give him a bright smile and a kiss on the cheek; Raphael prefers his toy sweet and obedient.

JEALOUS?

Raphael gets jealous, that’s for sure. It’s just something that comes naturally for a love-deprived child.

His servants know better than to stare; longer than five seconds and it’s an instant death. This man will whisper sweet nothings into your ear while his subordinate lies there on the floor, dying in the pool of their own blood.

He likes to think that his possessiveness isn’t that bad. Can you really blame Raphael for going barbaric when one of the Apostles flirts with you during a meeting, right in front of his face?

And the motherfucker even has the audacity to look so smug about it.

With a territorial growl, Raphael pulls you into his lap right after; his hands around your hips feeling like the grip of an anaconda.

“Last warning, Philip.” Before he eventually joins the pile of unnamed bodies down the pit, that is.

Rumors soon go in cycle within Glory about the nature of your relationship with this unpredictable man.

For a plaything, Raphael does favor you a lot. No one can actually tell how long this will go on, or what tragedy shall befall your pitiful existence once the fun is up and he stabs you in the back, literally.

But for now, you’re still untouchable because you’re his. And no men or God shall lay a hand on you unless they wish to suffer a fate worse than death.

♡dividers credit: @xurengu0♡ ♡masterlist♡ a/n: lmao this was a really unexpected ask (no complaints tho) (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖) fyi im not taking any requests yet, but i cooked this one up fast for u. hope u enjoy reading, my lovely yuri ◕‿↼

[karlachismylife]

Saw this and immediately thought of you! I hope your hiatus goes well!

Thank you so much, love! This cuteness was helping me keep it together during my hiatus and as you can see I survived, all thanks to you! Honestly the "thought of you" part just makes me tear up. Being the Hyena CEO of COD fandom is one of my biggest accomplishments (and also the most pleasant one cuz I get cute hyenas in my askbox).

So now that I'm out of my hiatus, let me tell you that these two? SoapGaz all the way.

CW: basically a short spinoff of the Queen of the Clan, can be seen as both canon and non-canon to the main story, so fem!chubby!reader and this is already established poly 141 x reader (ooh spoilers), a little bit of animal (well, shapeshifter) genitalia touching (non-sexual no matter how hard Soap- okay I'm out)

It's already at dusk that you're suddenly tasked with a simple thing everyone just kinda forgot about: there are new camera traps that need to be installed in the further part of the sanctuary, in the middle of the hyena territory, and since your reputation of a hyena whisperer has been firmly established, no one even thinks of other candidates for the late job.

You'd be quite grumpy about it if you didn't know you'll have the sweetest company to keep you safe and entertained.

Once you load the equipment into your backpack and receive written instructions - at least they didn't make you remember all the complicated measurements you'll have to make before setting up the traps - you roll your scooter out onto the dirt road and set off into the quickly darkening night. Fresh wind smells a little bit like sun-warmed dust and grass as it hits your face on the moderate speed, crickets and night birds weaving their song of nature cooling off after sunset, sounds loud enough to fill your head through the revving of weak engine and air swishing in your ears.

Not wearing a helmet is one of the least reckless things you've been up to just last month, and you can't lie, you feel a little bit power-drunk and allmighty after what you've gone through. Certain fellas do nothing to put you back on earth, shamelessly encouraging your power trip.

After all, the more confident the queen, the stronger the clan.

It's as if the wind picked up your thoughts, filled with the same four someones as always, and carried it over into the breathing with full chest savannah - because you're not even halfway to your end point and there's already loud whooping, two familiar voices, cutting through the air closer and closer to the road. Luckily for all of you, they make sure to get even louder and run a few dozens meters through the tall grass framing the curb, before two large silouettes jump out on the road to escort you in leisurely pace.

There's something so satisfying in the realization that you actually managed to indentify them just by their voices - Gaz's melodic, always slightly purring whooping somehow still distinct even when there are Soap's excited, hasty whoops, almost tripping over themselves and getting grabled with the inexplainable accent he carries into his hyena form too. Their big forms traverse the road effortlessly, even Soap's bulky body taking on that predatory elegance to match Gaz in his dark, determined trotting - they make some loops around you and your scooter, tails raised in excitement, and and shut up only after you turn the engine off at your stop, propping the machine on its stand.

Soap nearly jumps you, balancing poorly on one hind leg and trying to paw at you with both front ones, screeching and whining with his widest smile and tongue lolling out. You chuckle and boop his wide nose, ready to bend down for some kisses, but Gaz, ever the polite one, nudges your hip with his dark muzzle and raises his leg too.

Right. They really wanted you to get in onto the whole greeting ritual - sitting you down for a gentle talk and reassuring it that it's not weird, if it's them. They're not animals, they're just... animal-shaped. Your arguement about palming crotches as a greeting being weird with humans to was kinda just thrown away. After all, they're your clan, they're yours, why would anything be weird between you?

So you oblige, crouching with a sigh and running some quick bellyrubs down their patiently waiting bodies, until you reach two proudly erect hyena members. It's just a ritual, it'll help them with watever scent-hierarchy-service thing they've got going on, you have to remind yourself, as you briefly skim over their genitals and pull your hands away, wiping them off on the boys' fur and slapping Soap's fluffy butt for trying to grind into your palm.

"You try that again and I'm never touching you again, Stinky, you hear me?" You even make a point out of returning the old nickname, and watch with satisfaction as Soap's fluffy ears lower miserably and he dips down to the ground, the embodiment of guilt.

Not for long, though - after he gets a kiss on the nose from you, Gaz jumps Soap and bites his scruff, starting a scuffle. Their commanding officers seem to be busy, so Sergeants have a lot of energy to spare - you know that better than anyone.

Yesterday bitemarks on your thighs still sting as you unload your backpack and pull all the equipment out. Leaning your butt against the scooter, you put on the little headlamp and start reading through your instructions, laughing and fighting off both Soap and Gaz that stopped playfighting just to rummage and sniff through your things.

"Shush! Mum's reading, it's important," you throw at them, earning two sets of outraged huffs - no need to understand hyena language to hear the "you're not our mum" hidden between grumpy sneezes. It works, though, both hyenas plop their asses next to you, Gaz leaning against your hip to get some chin scratches and Soap playing with the strap of your backpack, throwing it around, tugging and chewing on the buckle in the middle. "Okay, it shouldn't be long. Hey, can you help me?"

They both jump up immediately, Soap puffing his chest out and fluffing up his mane just to show how helpful he is, Gaz just standing patiently, only reaching his neck to try and sneak a peek into the paper you're holding.

"I'll be doing some measurements, and you guys please dig a little holes where I say, okay? Not deep, just... well, to fit that thing, see?" You nod at one of the camera traps and after they both inspect it with thorough sniffs and shy nibbles and grumble in understanding, you get that laser tape measure - much easier to use alone and in the night.

Finding one of the spots you need to measure from, you crouch, set the laser and look down at the number on the screen. Too close. With a grunt, you scoot a little further and press the button again. Aha, there!

"Okay, so can you now make a hole right where the laser dot is? Guys?" Confused by the lack of movement from your usually very eager to help and serve hyenas, you look up.

Only to see them both staring at the little dot of your tape measure with tails on high alert and legs in a wide stance, prime for pouncing.

For fuck's sake, you forgot they're basically overgrown spotted cats.

Series masterlist | Main masterlist

[shima-draws]

Okay so a few things about the ending to the DLC. Spoilers below obviously

-Really REALLY disappointed they didn’t go with the whole toxic possession arc thing with Kieran and the new mythical (Pecharunt?) TO BE FAIR that was more of a fan theory than anything but it was one that made a lot of sense and had a lot of evidence to back it up. I guess I got too attached to the idea and was inevitably let down when the game didn’t go in that direction. Still it would have made more sense to give that extra edge as to why Kieran’s treating everyone so awfully,, and having him finally break free of that control during the final fight VS Terapagos would have been SO sick. Either that or before we even get to Terapagos Carmine calls Kieran out and that’s when he finally fucking explodes and rages and vents about his inferiority complex—and THAT is what summons Pecharunt, those negative feelings that it probably feeds off of or smth idk. Then we’d get a split second of Kieran finally being back in control and begging for help. And then Carmine realizing her brother has been under the influence of this Pokemon the entire time and. Okay I’m getting off track into AU territory now lmao sorry moving on

-Switching back to the Terapagos fight, I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t too long of a fight to be drawn out, but it was just long enough that it didn’t feel anticlimactic (also the MUSIC? STELLAR. Pun intended). ALSO ARGHFHH the five stages of grief Kieran goes through in that fight to finally accepting that he’s been going about this the wrong way and has been an awful friend and the way the LIGHT COMES BACK INTO HIS EYES I ALMOST CRIED. This is 10000x more emotional and powerful if you choose to bring Ogerpon with you and fight with her bc that really just. Hammers in the fact that despite all the bad blood and bitterness, Kieran still chooses to fight alongside you and the Pokemon he coveted so much…AND he even processes things enough to fully let go of all his hatred and anger and allows you to catch Terapagos because he KNOWS you’ll take good care of it and after all this time he still trusts you even though he’d probably hate to admit it. #GOOD WRITING

-Something really scary I realized. Kieran brought a Master Ball with him to catch Terapagos. 1. Where did homie even get that. 2. The fact that he was READY and didn’t even give Terapagos a chance to react, that he was essentially catching it against its will (which probably led to its power going out of control), that he was enforcing his own twisted desires and beliefs onto it and not considering its feelings (sound familiar? Looks at Ogerpon). BOY. 3. We’ve only ever seen ONE other person use Master Balls in SV. The AI Professor. I don’t know if this is significant in any way but if the Pecharunt theory WAS true that would make them so so similar and that’s eerie to me. Two characters controlled by something greater than them that they can’t fight…can you imagine how INSANE the dynamics would be listen to me

-Another thing I was kinda disappointed about was Briar? I guess I was just picking up on the vibes that she was actually a villain and would try to steal Terapagos from the player, but I probably gave Nintendo too much credit on that one lol. I do like that she’s not inherently evil, she’s just too absorbed and obsessed with her research to really pay attention to what’s going on around her. BUT. They should have pushed that WAY further. Either commit and do the full villain arc where she snatches Terapagos from Kieran right after he catches it to use it for her own purposes, or pressure him into Terastallizing it so much that it makes him uncomfortable. I want to see Lusamine levels of unhinged obsession. What she had was just a little bit too excited about Area Zero, not a full blown unhealthy and dangerous thing that puts everyone around her in danger.

-Following up on that. Drayton. I kept expecting him to also go villain arc IDK LOL I guess I want everyone to be gay do crime in this DLC 😂 But I seriously kept thinking he was just using the player to knock Kieran off his throne so he could take it right back from us. But no he actually genuinely cared about Kieran and kept pressuring us to beat the Elite Four so WE could knock some sense into him since Drayton wasn’t strong enough to do it himself. Which is a very sweet sentiment, I think :’) But am I the only one who was like bro calm down right after the fight where he was getting up in Kieran’s face and calling him ex-champion…..either he’s way too honest and doesn’t realize he was being cruel OR he was doing it on purpose to be a silly goober (but everyone else was like DUDE. LOW blow.)

-I still have questions. HELLO. HELLO. The notes in Area Zero mentioned the professor meeting a child with a white(?) book? Is that the Scarlet/Violet book? We still don’t know how the whole time travel paradox happened and why Heath talked about meeting Paradox Pokemon DECADES before the professor even brought them to Area Zero through the time machine? What is with the weird ass crystal tree sitting in the middle of a lake in the depths? Is there any significance to the Crystal Pool in Kitakami being connected to terastallizing and Area Zero? I’M JUST. AGHHH. I’m fairly certain we’re getting more content, maybe an epilogue to the DLCs but I’m going CRAZY I NEED TO KNOW NOWWW

-Also isn’t Area Zero like. Top secret hush hush. Why did Geeta let Briar publish a whole ass book about the HIDDEN SECRET of Area Zero that was miles under a closed off SECRET lab. I thought they were denying Briar access to Area Zero for YEARS, probably because they didn’t want her blabbing to the public. Idk. Maybe my memory is fuzzy on that one. Just feels very contradictory fhhdd

-The small little subtleties of Kieran regaining his regular personality as we went down….I ADORED that. His little smiles and him unable to contain his childish excitement and Carmine smiling at him with a knowing look bc after all this time her brother is FINALLY acting more like himself. And Kieran trying to brush it off like “wh-whatever” like he’s some sort of edgy teenager pretending he doesn’t care. GAHHHH it was so cute I wanted to cry 😭

ALL IN ALL it didn’t QUITE meet my expectations but it was still really good, especially considering this was all DLC content. Nothing will ever EVER top the main story of SV but the entirety of TTM and TID came pretty darn close. Kieran my sweet baby boy my blorbo I’m so glad you got your redemption arc and that you finally came to terms with your perception of strength and how it affects others. Baller DLC Nintendo do it again 👏

[cochineal-leviat]

Sweet Dreams, Stardust

Okay, so I have a lot of feelings about In Stars and Time. But let me say first, wow, this game irreversibly changed my brain network. For anyone who is considering buying this game, please do. I don't think I've had a story touch my heart and mind like this for a long time. And that goes without mentioning the stunning visuals and entertaining battle system. (Be careful, though, because this game handles heavy topics regarding mental health)

If you're still hung up on buying it but are curious, there is a free demo on Steam if you like to try.

Thank you, @insertdisc5, for this gem of a game. I will be turning it around in my head like a microwaveable gourmet meal for months to come.

Technically the illustration has no spoilers (unless you count Siffrin having a good nap as a spoiler). But I will be going into heavy spoiler territory under the keep reading since I need to get my thoughts on this game off my chest.

And a monochrome version because you know me, I can't help myself. Even in black and white art pieces, I will put in some colour.

And a very tiny Loop

Initially, I was going to do a piece with a theatre stage and the cast (Siffrin, Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, Bonnie and the head house maiden) taking a bow and finally leaving the spectacle to a life not controlled by a script and Wish Craft. But it was more fitting to put my feelings into creating a peaceful scene. Like, oof, I needed this very badly. I used sepia to make the painting warmer and added some more details like headcanons. The stars/colours might be remnants of Siffrin's transformation. Or maybe they were always there, but he never paid attention to it. Who knows.

I'm going to keep this brief. Otherwise, this post will take way too long.

I adore Siff's character. It's perfect for a game and narrative such as this. I saw a post not long ago on Tumblr going into depth about how their role as the rogue and not the hero works so well, so I won't linger on it for long. But how they would rather listen and fade into the background perfectly aligns with the player's experience of being the silent observer. (And the nodding off that changes into zoning out. It took me way too long to realise that small but essential narrative change) Oh, and the portrait change! It flew over my head until I was staring at the game menu. I was so confident Siffrin had a mischievous grin and not a frown. I always feel slightly surprised when the party asks for Siff's opinion or mentions that they have been too quiet. I felt Siffrin's excitement like my own when he got excited at finding clues to end the nightmare they were in. So I knew it would end up falling on their face because they were too excited. I just had this bad gut feeling the whole time during Act 4.

And oh boy, speaking off acts. I thought it would have been the standard 3. Boy, I was wrong. Whenever I felt I was nearing the end, I was thrown back at the start with more mysteries than answers. It made exploring the game intriguing since there is almost no information about it online (at the time of writing this post). There is the Discord, but I didn't know about it until I finished it.

This game has a lot of secrets, and I had a lot of fun uncovering them. The looping mechanic works so well in discovering little details and further leads. (even though my stubborn arse kept trying to do everything in the least amount of loops as possible. I thought the ending would be different if I exceeded a 100. My final number is 59. I am still not sure if I should be mad about it not being a rounded number like 60 or that I went over the 50 threshold)

However, it is a good thing that only some mysteries were solved. Like, what's up with colours in this world? Everyone sees in black and white, and the idea of shades and colours is only spoken of in scientific studies. They do exist and are not a part of the disaster that happened to Siffrin and their land. But there is definitely something mysterious about it. I adore how the dialogue reflects this, as the characters do not speak of shades or colours. Isabeau expresses surprise to see a streak of red colouring the sky in Act 6. It makes you think about how colour is perceived and how you describe it. (The lore inside this game is immaculate. I eat this shit up)

We never find out the name of the country north of Vanguard or what it was like. We can only infer that the beaches had black sand, with shells that shine like stars, high-reaching mountains, forests and plains. Which is vague and yet intriguing enough to make you wonder. It connected me to Siff and King because I also wanted to know. I was desperate to know. I needed to know. But in the end, we never will know because that is not the story's point. Siffrin even says in the game, that King should let go because he is hurting everyone and everything, including himself, in his desperation to preserve Vanguard. This is all the more ironic when Siff accidentally does the same with his family and the loops. I might gush more about what the country might be like and their technology in another post. This game makes me want to theorise. This is the first time I've wanted to write and post theories. ISAT fucked me up good.

Which, by the way, was genius. Siffrin and King are mirrors of each other. Siff does not have King's disastrous ambition, but their love/obsession will be the downfall of both of them. They have more than being each other's countrymen in common, and I imagine Siff despises that.

I love the fact King's question to Siffrin before the showdown was/could never be answered. Usually, in a game such as this, you must figure out how to solve everything, especially for the big bad. But that was never the goal. King is a delusional monster who will not stop before achieving his dream. He will raze everything to the ground and hurt many people because he must succeed. It is what he desires. Nay, the universe wills it. What a witless excuse that can easily be made into someone's truth. Especially to somebody who is driven mad with grief.

How King's character's done is so excellent. Because, at first, I wasn't scared of him at all. He was just the big bad, and I felt nothing much but the glory of victory when Siffrin outsmarted him by looping and making sure Mirabelle learned the shield spell that would protect the party from freezing in time. But each time you fight him, you get more frustrated until Siff figures that talking to him might be fruitful. It does, but unfortunately, you and Siffrin leave yourself emotionally and mentally vulnerable. King stops being a one-dimensional villain and changes into an actual person. Someone you can sympathise with and possibly mend peace with without fighting. You and Siffrin opened his heart for a kindred spirit and got hurt.

King stopped being a monster and became human. And while monsters are wretched, humans have intent behind their cruelty. I felt so betrayed, so angry, but most of all - terrified. I felt it when Siffrin spiralled when fighting King again after their actions caused such a catastrophic turn of events for Bonnie. Every time after that, the fight with King felt tense and nerve-wracking in a dreadful way. Because even victory could not soothe the dread I felt. (The track 'It's finally over" will forever haunt me. I already feel anxious whenever it cycles to that when I listen to the playlist)

He was not, however, the final villain, even though everything that happened was King's fault. You were always your greatest enemy (or Siffrin in this case, since you are supposed to be Siffrin). I never could have guessed that the whole reason why Siffrin could not escape the loops was because Siff accidentally wished to never let go of their friends. This reminds me of Modaka Magica, where (spoilers for the OG anime) Homura goes back in time so much that the universe ties itself around Modoka, making her a waiting egg whose wish and magic will be massive when she becomes a magical girl. The one thing Homura was trying to prevent.

(Siffrin and Homura are identical in that sense. Shy characters who are loyal to a fault but are rendered into something cold, bitter and cutting by their traumatic experiences. Only Siff has people who care about them and would do anything to save him, too, whereas Homura never lets go, making the world a worse place to live in. Yes, I did go into doomed Yuri. That anime lived in my mind rent-free in my mind for years)

The Head House-maiden not being the villain was also a great touch. I am used to the apparent antagonist turning out not to be the big bad and the trusted, friendly character ending up being the evil one. Twist villains no longer work when everyone expects them to be villains.

That was my biggest theory as I played. The second biggest being that Loop is someone who enjoys Siffrin's suffering. I am so glad that was also not the case. They are apathetic but not cruel. Never intentionally, anyway. They were like the player, urging Siffrin to go deeper into the mystery to solve it. Ultimately, I chose and made cold and cruel decisions simply because I wanted to see what would happen. So yeah, I warmed up to this cosmic star thing as the game went on and even started trusting them. Act 5 really is a punch in the gut. I am so sorry, Loop. Thank you for coming through in the end.

Oh man, this is so long, and I haven't even gone into the main cast. I will leave that for another post. They are such great characters, as are the people of Dormant and the House. (Don't think I don't see the wordplay in this game. Very clever)

Going into this game completely blind was the best experience I could have had. I felt anxious, happy and scared so severely that my neurons were rearranged. I don't know if there are more endings (aside from the obvious action of attacking Odile in the True(?) ending of the game), but I am taking a break from it to make art and write for this game before I dive back into despair-o-land.

Anywho, thank you for coming this far and reading my ramblings. Have a fantastic day or evening further! o(*'▽`*)ブ

[retiredkat]

DEN OF GEEK article

The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon Season 3 Needs to Decide on Daryl and Carol’s Relationship

Will they or won't they? Daryl Dixon season 3 really needs to make a decision about Caryl once and for all...

By Jeanette WhiteNovember 6, 2024

This Walking Dead article has spoilers for Daryl Dixon.

The desire to see a romantic relationship between Carol and Daryl isn’t anything new, but it has ramped up. Across The Walking Dead and Daryl Dixon spinoff, fans have witnessed friendship bracelets, “I love yous,” and plenty of face-caressing reunions between the two. Carol crossed an ocean to find Daryl in France, and he assured her that he never stopped trying to get home to her. Cute, right? Well, that all depends on who you’re talking to. According to David Zabel, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol showrunner, there’s nothing romantic about it.

When asked about the nature of Carol and Daryl’s relationship in an interview with Collider, Zabel said, “I don’t think it’s romantic,” seemingly attributing the duo’s chemistry to whatever magic exists between Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus behind the camera. This, of course, isn’t the first time Zabel’s spoken against romance. When talking to SFX magazine, he said turning Daryl and Carol into a couple would be a “mistake.”

For “Caryl” shippers, it’s disheartening news. More importantly, it makes The Book of Carol’s romance hints feel a bit like gaslighting. For the series to succeed, it needs to decide what’s going on between Carol and Daryl because, right now, it’s sending mixed messages.

Daryl Dixon’s First Season Made Season 2 Messy

AMC originally conceived Daryl Dixon as a Daryl and Carol spinoff before overseas shooting made Melissa McBride’s inclusion “logistically untenable” for her. While a new direction was necessary, season 1 goes a step further by ignoring Daryl’s past almost entirely. Unlike The Ones Who Live, which delves into Rick and Michonne’s feelings about being separated from each other and their family, Daryl Dixon’s first season establishes Daryl’s bond with Laurent and Isabelle in France. Daryl doesn’t do much lamenting about the gang back home. In fact, he barely mentions them. When Laurent asks about the people Daryl left behind, he responds, “There’s Judith. There’s RJ. There’s a lady named Carol.” We all know Daryl’s tight-lipped, but “a lady named Carol” feels like a pretty big brush-off for someone he said “I love you” to just two months prior.

Watching Daryl choose between the people he just met in France and returning to his found family in the US is painful. The Daryl we know wouldn’t hesitate to return home. Yet, the big choice season 1 desperately pushes for doesn’t matter anyway. Once Daryl and Carol reunite, The Book of Carol kills off Isabelle, making Daryl’s “choice” a whole lot easier. Maybe the series didn’t want to steer into soap opera territory, but it sends a bizarre message nonetheless: Why can’t two women occupy space in Daryl’s life at the same time? The write-off feels like an all too convenient way of pushing Carol and Daryl back into the spotlight, but then, what was the point of season 1? Watching Daryl play reluctant guardian once again didn’t do much in terms of character development. Judith and RJ still exist, after all.

The Book of Carol Sends Mixed Messages

The Book of Carol includes plenty of Caryl moments that aren’t just fantasies of hopeful shippers. The fact that Daryl never returns Isabelle’s “I love you” after telling Carol that he loved her in TWD’s finale practically begs audiences to question his feelings for Carol. Strangers compare them to an “old married couple” and hint at the spark between them. When you toss in the playful banter, the hugging, and all those looks, you get something that feels a lot like romantic foreshadowing. If Zabel is so against romance, why bother including these moments at all? Yes, straight men and women friendships lack representation in entertainment, but the solution to that isn’t depicting a relationship wobbling on the edge of romance. That’s not authentic, either. In fact, it’s harmful.

The best will they/won’t they relationships work because, at some point, the “will they” becomes “they want to, they just haven’t.” This is where Carol and Daryl drip with slow burn potential. Taking the romance route suggests feeling realizations are underway. However, following Zabel’s path of friendship, ironically, makes things a lot more complicated if the spinoff keeps dolling out interactions like this.

Right now, season 3 plans for Carol and Daryl aren’t clear. Perhaps Zabel thinks people will keep tuning in if their relationship stays the same, but there’s too much history between them for that. Romance or not, Daryl Dixon would be wise to choose a side because playing is alienating shippers and non-shippers alike.

[hurthermore]

Hello! I found your page a few days ago, and last night, I completely binged on your Misconduct fic (I regret it sm cuz now I read it all T-T). And can I just say, wow, I think this has been my official favorite fanfic if all time. I can relate so hard to MC, and I've had similar abuse, and the way you write her is so authentic. Sometimes when fic writers portray abuse, it just doesn't ring true for me, but jeez yoir portrayal is SO fucking accurate. Anyway. Fangirling aside... I have a few questions for you!

1. Do you think part of the reason Alastor was so interested in MC is because she carries herself like his mother/has similar qualities to her?

2. Are we gonna see some of Alastor's childhood in this fic? I'm interested to hear about it since he hinted at it during the picnic.

3. (I know this question is annoying so ahndbfbfb feel free to ignore it, but do you have an estimate for when the next part is coming out? I only ask bc in a previous ask you said you like to plan things out haha)

4. Oh and! What do you think Alastor would do if during intimacy he notices MC dissociating/crying? What do you think he'd say if she voiced her thoughts about not being good enough?

Okok andjfnfn I don't wanna overwhelm you with questions so I'll stop here. But again, the way you manage to capture the abuse and the calmness Alastor brings is just- *chefs kiss* ilysm <3

Ahh tysm!!! I'm so glad you read misconduct and enjoy it so much!!<3 This kindddd of goes into spoiler territory SO.

Spoilers ahead!!

Onto your questions:

I thought I established it in chapter 10, but it will be become more obvious in chapter 11 that the reason Alastor is attracted to reader is not only because she is just insanely attractive, but because she has the same glint in her eyes that he does when he murders people; she has the ability to kill. Reader is neither elegant nor cute nor whatever, reader is your or your self insert, so whatever YOUR reader is, thats what reader is. (Does that make sense lmao??)

Honestly I wasn't planning on having Alastor's childhood in it because it would serve no purpose to the plot and I feel a lot of people would get bored if I did that. I might make him have some flashbacks of his mother, only snippets, but nothing in depth.

Honestly, I'm almost finished with this next assignment! LUCKILY ahaha. I've begun on Chapter 11, I just gotta focus on it, with the discord server and my assignment, i've been a bit too busy to focus on it. But I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by... Sunday??? Fingers crossed!!!

Ooof. He would stop immediately. If you seem uncomfortable or distressed whilst you're meant to be making love, he will stop. This will be established later, but Alastor can only kind of... get hard if you're turned on?? So yeah. He'd comfort you, asking you whats wrong, what he can do to help; he hates to see you cry, it breaks his heart! But hearing you say you don't feel good enough? He will be baffled; he's not good enough for you, if anything. So to hear you be so worried about that? He will remind you how you're a goddess in his eyes.

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE B

Hamlet Propaganda:

Have you seen the man. Is he clinically insane or just putting on an antic disposition. Is the ghost real

Kim Dokja Propaganda:

I haven't read orv but he's fucking gotta be from what I've osmosised

He tries to remove his emotions out of the narrative soooo much, literally the most repressed guy ever. Okay so for context orv is about how this guy, Kim Dokja, has been the only reader of an obscure post-apocalyptic webnovel for years and the novel suddenly becomes reality. And at first you'll probably get the weird impression that his behavior is pretty strange for, you know, a literal apocalypse happening in his world - like yes, he is concerned with survival but he doesn't seem all that scared and he kinda treats it like a video game where he has to grind to make himself stronger and he also treats his companions like a party in an rpg. Then there's also the way he approaches the protagonist of the webnovel, from the start he just kind of describes him as a ruthless psychopath and jerk that is unfortunately a pretty useful ally. And also there's the fact that he carefully omits any mention of his past and when somebody asks if he's worried about his family when the apocalypse starts he just kinda... brushes it off? Anyway so yeah, this bastard is definitely traumatized, although I don't know how much of spoiler territory that would be, considering the fact that literally when he first reveals his trauma he's also unreliable about it. And turns out he does indeed, care A LOT about this world and the people around him. Because well, he kinda didn't care to mention that this webnovel that has become reality was like... literally his whole world before it literally became his whole world. Like, it was the only thing keeping him going for 10+ years and the protagonist that he likes to call a stupid jerk was his comfort character who he pretended to be when he felt like he couldn't handle something in his life by being himself. The protagonist is also canonically the person he loves the most according to a prophecy and he literally can't fathom the thought of him dying, even the timeline versions of him that directly oppose him. And I haven't even mentioned the Fourth Wall yet but I feel like this propaganda is a little long already

misreading the intentions of his companion (yoo joonghyuk) so many time.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTANDDD DOKJA IS SUCH A UNRELIABLE NARRATORRRRRR GOD I COULD WRITE AN ESSAY BUT I KNOW YOU LOVE DOKJA TOO BUT OMG HE'S JUST SO AAAAAAAAAAAH

Rest of Propaganda under cut!

he is the worst like actually. he starts the story talking about how normal and average he is. he is not. he is constantly mischaracterizing his friends and he's so good at lying to the readers that you don't even realize it at first. almost every single time he cries we have to be told by other characters because he never says it himself. there is literally a scene where his narration says "i wasn't crying" and then the in-universe entity that narrates the actions of people (orv is really weird and meta) says that he was, in fact, crying. honestly genuinely anything he says about himself (or doesn't say) cannot be trusted. he is just so frustrating. he drives me mad. i love him dearly. but he drives me so mad.

Dictionary definition of unreliable narrator. Does not tell the reader anything and then things happen and he's like oh yeah btw there was also this and this earlier but i just didn't feel like mentioning it. There's even a thing called the "Fourth Wall" that is able to see through kdj's bs so occasionally you get gems like,

Kim Dokja: I didn't cry

The Fourth Wall: [Kim Dokja was crying]

Imagine being so unreliable as a narrator you need a more powerful narrator to call out the actual narrator.

^ same submission, just spacing it out

This goes into spoiler territory, but; Kim Dokja is in possession of a skill called the Fourth Wall, which on the surface seems like it appears because he read the book that reverse-isekai’d into his own. However, as the story goes on it becomes clear that it’s pretty much a souped up version of his pre-existing dissociation. You cannot trust him to be honest about his feelings, his past traumas or his feelings about his past traumas, not to mention his tendency to just outright omit information that only gets revealed later on either when it becomes relevant or when an outsider POV reveals what’s actually happening.

Exhibit A: he says (in 1st person POV) that he’s not crying. The Fourth Wall immediately contradicts this (as it is literally words of the novel) by saying (in 3rd person POV) ‘Kim Dokja was crying’.

Exhibit B: Fails to mention entire actions when it shows him emotionally honest even in the slightest; we had to read from another character entirely when Kim Dokja was being physically affectionate with his companion. It’s so bad that there’s this entire paragraph about Kim Dokja describing himself hiding his eyes in his hands in jerky, weirdly specific detail and just AVOIDING EVERY WORD THAT MIGHT SHOW HE’S CRYING. The brilliance of ORV is that when you re-read the entire thing you get hints that ‘yes, this WAS hinted at the entire time’ but you have to dig it out of Kim Dokja’s repressed, depressed self-hating internal dialogue with your own two hands.

^ same submission, spacing it out (i really should've done this earlier.)

i am a simple man (not a man). i see a tumblr text post with the words “unreliable narrator in it”. i read nothing else. i reblog & tag #kim dokja okay but in all seriousness i’m just going with the musty basic example: so there’s this moment where he sacrifices himself to save this guy. as he lays on the ground bleeding out, he says “hey, you don’t like me, right? you should kill me to get some money” the guy says “no kim dokja i cant do that (going through the five stages of grief except there’s only one and it’s anger)” the constellations (twitch viewers irl) are like omg he (the guy) doesn’t want to kill his companion (kim dokja) and shower him (the guy) with money kim dokja: oh, he’s not killing me for the money. smart!

as i quote a brilliant youtube video (all of omniscient reader’s viewpoint in 6 minutes) “yoo joonghyuk sees kim dokja as a c_____”

yoo joonghyuk: companion

kim dokja: cunt

^ same submission, once again. spacing it out.

Hides his true feelings, tells the readers what he thinks is convenient for the plot and that his own personal feelings don’t matter or are not so significant. Has unreliable thoughts abt his companion and is a liar. And is also an omniscient reader.

Kim Dokja always perceived his companions in this like nonchalant way like “oh yeah we get along but really we’re just fighting to survive (apocalypse setting) it doesn’t run that deep” when they all do genuinely care for him and he does in turn. He just, doesn’t think of it as an equal relationship? Dokja’ll sacrifice a lot for them but will get seriously flabbergasted if they do the same thing, so fricking problematic. Not to mention Yoo Joonghyuk, his “Life and Death Companion” (read: husband). Kim Dokja always seems to think that Joonghyuk has it out for him, which is kinda true, but he is literally blind to the fact that he’s attached to him. Like, it’s so obvious??? Also they have hella sexual tension but that’s another thing entirely

se get some many pov changes where kdj in his pov just assumed things based on what he knew the characters would do. however because of his interference the characters have changed and he wouldn’t know that if it hit him in the face

He's an unreliable narrator because he lies to himself and thus the audience. He literally rewrote his own childhood core memory. If someone says, "this guy is my friend!" He will go through so many hoola hoops in his mind just to rationalize it. Because he fundamentally believe that no one could love him and even if they did they couldn't know him and he's just gonna hurt them. He cries sometimes in canon but a lot of those times it's not even mentioned as crying he's that unreliable of a narrator. No joke, one time this guys he has a gay thing with called him his "companion" to someone who had just killed him (long story) and this bitch thought "oh wow he's doing it for the coins (another long story) he's so smart i wish I'd thought to that. He's terrible. He literally has an exchange with something called the Fourth Wall (an even longer story) where it said "you're crying" and he said "no I'm not" but he was crying. He makes me insane because the reader is supposed to project onto him. He made me see how much of an unreliable narrator I WAS. ORV is just like that tho.

[genericpuff]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question but are Minthe and Hades together together or in a situationship.

Also is Hades flirting with Persephone or is it just him being playful and Persephone returning the banter

They're not in an official relationship (*yet) but they have depended on each other as sort of fallback plans as the both of them don't consider themselves good enough for anyone else. Hades has a lot of baggage from past relationships that are still haunting him and so he's afraid to pursue 'true love' again because of the hurt it's caused him in the past; Minthe also has a lot of baggage that's led to her having very low self-esteem and a lack of self-respect. The both of them have very defeatist "this is my lot in life" attitudes that they think is working for them and that's led to them having a relationship that's almost very co-dependent in how they prefer to be miserable together than to try and pursue happiness anywhere else at the risk of having their hearts broken again.

I'm not gonna go into it too much more than that because it would be getting into huge spoiler territory, but the dynamic of their relationship is something I'm really excited to explore, and I'm hoping I can depict their relationship with more raw emotional depth and justice than what was done in LO.

Also, right now Hades is low key flirting with Persephone as he's definitely catching feelings and is still not sure what he even wants to pursue with Minthe at this point; Persephone however is more just having fun with him as someone who she finds captivating, there aren't a lot of people in her life who she can have that kind of back-and-forth with (**yet). They're both in different places right now, but that's the fun - we're gonna get to see their feelings for each other shift and respond to one another as the story goes on ;)

[the-only-teruteru-fan]

In “Defense” Of (Liking) Teruteru (and why I’ve got a gripe with the anime)

!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “DANGANRONPA 2” AND “THE END OF HOPE’S PEAK ACADEMY” !!

As the blog name suggests, I love Teruteru. I’m his number one fan. I don’t support a single thing he does, but I think he’s a lot more than the flanderized “horny goblin” he’s made out to be.

To get something out of the way: though I do find myself getting attached to the stupid, simpy-horny-freaks that anime has to offer (as abhorrent as Mineta is, my love for him is unparalleled), I don’t support their actions or behavior. However, I’ll admit that I do find myself laughing at their jokes / moments. I think this trope works fine because the butt of the joke is almost always the pervert in question. As well as this, I would like these characters a lot less if any of the other characters seemed genuinely upset or traumatized by their behavior- but no, especially in Teruteru’s case, the general attitude is just that of annoyance. They think he’s a nuisance, but they don’t see him as an actual threat, and he has enough personality that the cast is still believably upset when he’s executed.

I also think the character in question being physically small is important. It makes it very visually clear that the “goblin” in question is powerless and nothing to actually be taken seriously (in this fictional scenario- IRL, let’s be real, a pervert’s a pervert).

But as far as why I like Teruteru himself: though it started just because I find it funny to “collect” horny little goblin characters, I like much more of him than that.

First of all, though many others don’t, I like his voice and design! I think he looks visually appealing from a character standpoint, even if he doesn’t completely fit in with the other characters (this is especially agregious in the anime, largely because I think they made him a bit bigger than he was in the game? Not weight-wise, more like they used photoshop, grabbed the corner, and scaled him up)

His pre-execution moments are genuinely heartbreaking / compelling, as is his motive. Though there are many instances of desperation and self-sacrifice as far as muddies in Danganropa, as of the first and second games we rarely get something as heart-wrenching as Teruteru’s. He’s helping take care of his sickly mother, and enrolls at Hope’s Peak in hopes of being able to save the family diner. He’s desperate to convince himself that everything is okay, and that his mother is alive and well- and kills to see her again / protect the rest of the group (he at least CLAIMS to have committed the murder in an attempt to protect the rest of the gang. He did genuinely care about them, to some degree.)

Teruteru also has an endearing sort of cockiness to him- what with his insistence at being called a chef and his indignance at anyone insulting his cooking (or implying it to be anything less than perfect).

Though this is more headcanon territory, I also think we see at least slight implications that he could actually be a little insecure:

-hiding his accent

-constant advances on others (potentially to appear more confident? Avoid judgement? Uncertain)

-insisting on being called a “chef” instead of a “cook”

-frequent hair combing

These are just headcanons, but needless to say he’s got more to him than his trope.

He’s endearingly cocky, he cares about his family, he doesn’t take any of the rejection he gets personally (even if he maybe should take it to heart and…yunno…stop), he’s good at what he does-

And because of this, I don’t like how he’s characterized in the anime. To clarify- I still enjoy watching the Despair Arc of the anime, because even if I dislike the handling of certain characters it’s very very enjoyable to see them animated and interacting. Same goes for Teruteru-

But….uh….

Remember how I said that a big part of why he works is his obvious inability to actually do anything? And his…general lack of actual actions to back up his flirtatious remarks? He’s a creep, but a creep with standards of some sort.

That goes out the window in the anime, where he has literal drugs with him to get people going. Though some people seem to overlook the fact that aside from the one he gave to Akane (something she wasn’t upset by, anyways, although Akane is dumb [love you Akane]), the other substances were used without his permission or without listening to him. This doesn’t defend him HAVING these things, don’t get me wrong- but still. We see him actually threaten Hiyoko, actually have items that could endanger other students- and we don’t even get to see his more likable traits? And to me, this doesn’t seem like something he’d do in the game.

In the game, his primary traits are- of course- “horny” and “cook”. But he’s also cocky, frightened, “charming” (heavy quotes), and very caring to those close to him- whereas in the anime, it’s just “horny” and “cook”. I don’t know. :/

In the anime he’s portrayed as an actual threat. As well as this, in the game we never see him get angry until his trial where he’s accused of murder. Even if he’s a creep in any other instance, he never seems to think he’s entitled to anything? And he’s generally chipper, too. Despite his creepy personality, he’s surprisingly endearing / likable. In the game he comes across as mischievous, and in the anime he comes across as threatening- and maybe that’s a bias on my end? But still. If the same thing happened in the GAME- somebody using something he had without his permission- I feel like he’d get indignant and maybe a bit snarky, not as furious and genuinely dangerous as he seems in the anime.

TLDR: There are plenty of reasons to like Teruteru! The anime does not give us any of those. I think the “The End of Hope’s Peak Academy” anime kind of butchered (no pun intended) his character. Or at least heavily flanderized it (as it did with most of the Despairs).

Sorry this is a bit messy! This is entirely my opinion, and is more of a proofread braindump than a well structured essay~

[scientistservant]

I have never heard of the Dark Crystal until I saw your posts. What is it about, and what do you like about it?

Oh ho?

Sit down, anon, and let me tell you the tale of... The Dark Crystal.

*theme music plays*

In a world called Thra, there exists a powerful gem called the Crystal of Truth. It is in tune to all of Thra, including the planet's most civilized race, the Gelfling.

A thousand years ago, new beings came to Thra: the Skeksis. The Skeksis, wise, hedonistic and benevolent, were tasked with protecting the Crystal of Truth by Thra's avatar/mother-nature of sorts, Mother Aughra. Because of their wisdom the Skeksis also ruled over the Gelfling and their seven Clans, while Aughra journeyed the stars and space.

But one day, the Crystal cracked, causing the Crystal to become corrupted, and a miasma, the Darkening, to spread throughout Thra. In an attempt to fix the Crystal, the Skeksis discovered Essence - the soul or life-force of every creature on Thra. Instead of taking life from the Crystal, they decided to take life from something else - the Gelfling. Because the Gelfling are the closest creatures to Thra, their Essence is pure, more potent.

The Skeksis became obsessed with Essence, and obsessed with draining Gelfling, killing them and drinking their Essence to obtain eternal life and youthfulness. All Skeksis, but the Emperor especially, were terrified of death. For when Skeksis die they do not return to Thra.

And so, a genocide occurred, and all Gelfling perished.

All but one. For there was a prophecy, told of a young Gelfling named Jen, who is destined to heal the Crystal and bring the Skeksis reign to an end!

What I love about The Dark Crystal is its world-building and characters. Its cast isn't just black and white in morality, it's more than that. The protagonists can make mistakes, and so can the antagonists. The Skeksis were good once upon a time, they once cared about the Gelfling, but their greed and fear of death overtook them. Thra is beautiful with many different settings and wildlife, even the Castle of the Crystal is gorgeous with it's fantastical and alien gothic architecture.

I'm mainly talking about the prequel series, Age of Resistance, here. It was made almost 40 years after the original 1982 film, but unlike many modern sequels and prequels it's not a cash grab at all; it was made with love and respect to the original, expanding on the world of Thra. Not saying the original film was bad, it's a wonderful piece of media! I just think it's lacking a bit in world-building and context, and Age of Resistance helps immensely.

As for characters, I'll be talking about the Skeksis, Gelfling, and Mother Aughra. There are other characters and creatures too, but I don't want to venture into spoiler territory!

The Skeksis

As I said above, the Skeksis are not from Thra. They are reptile-like alien vultures with a very hedonistic lifestyle. They adore food, various forms of entertainment, the most lavish of robes, and being praised for their wisdom and status as Lords of the Crystal.

Each Skeksis has a title and role they must uphold. For example, the Ornamentalist makes his fellow Lords' robes and decor for the Castle, while the Scroll-Keeper is in charge of the Castle library and keeps records of tomes and scrolls going back a thousand years of Skeksis rule.

All the Skeksis are important and unique, but the most popular and well-known by far is the Chamberlain. He has a "whimper" as a tic and speaks in slight broken English, yet is the craftiest, manipulative, and cunning of the Skeksis. A very Starscream/Littlefinger-type character, he's fantastic to watch. (He's one of my favourite characters, but not my top favourite, that honour goes to the Scroll-Keeper.)

The Gelfling

The Gelfling are small, elf-like humanoids that vary in looks, culture and skill between their seven different species/Clans. There is the Stonewood, Vapran, Drenchen, Spriton, Dousan, Sifan, and Grottan. Unfortunately, many Gelfling tend to be xenophobic and untrustworthy towards other Clans, though some do manage to become friends despite their differences. Most Gelfling are also illiterate, but there are a very small few that can read and write.

Gelfling are the closest beings to Thra, and have the special ability to Dreamfast with one another - a rather intimate gesture that allows them to share their memories and thoughts by touching hands.

They also differ between genders; female Gelfling have wings, while male Gelfling do not.

Because of their small noses and large eyes and ears, some of the fandom tend to call Gelfling "fairy mice", even giving them whiskers and tails!

Mother Aughra

Mother Aughra is Thra, and Thra is Mother Aughra. She is as old as the planet itself, and perhaps as old as the Crystal of Truth, too. She is connected to the Crystal, able to tell when it is healthy and when it is not.

She and the Skeksis used to be friends, admiring their wisdom and beauty, yet that all ended when she discovered what they had done to the Crystal of Truth.

Aughra is sassy and somewhat grumpy, yet she loves and cares for all the creatures of Thra, especially the Gelfling, who see her as a mother-figure. She has the ability to remove her one eye and use it to spy on others or to see things up close, even from far away.

If you enjoy the fantasy genre, puppets, practical effects, and alien worlds, I highly, highly recommend The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance! There are also graphic novels, and YA novels by J.M Lee.

The world of Thra must never die!

[angie-starz]

The chonozawa timline in my Au is a decade long affair:

In Canon Aizawa is 31(30 at the beginner of the series) and Chrono doesn't have a Canonical age so I put him as the same age a Chisaki, 28 (27 during the SH raid); so that gives them a 3 year age gap.

The Neolithic age

First meeting: Hari 18 & Shouta 21

Aizawa is just beginning his hero career, still very scarred by the death of his friend and his relationship with Mic on the rocks(⚠️apologies in advance, this will be the death of erasermic⚠️) they decide to take a break and not see eachother for a while. He gets offered to go on a mission in Esuha yakuza territory, he agrees, he goes, he settles in a hotel, they get started on the case. (I will not talk too much on the case no spoilers for the fic). Essentially, Aizawa is approached by Kurono who offers to help him with the case since he doesn't know jackshit about the yakuza, Aizawa asks why he'd help and Kurono tells him he's just a local keeping a look out for his people since no outsiders will. They obviously dislike eachother at first, both of them tolerating the other to achieve their goals with Aizawa planning to arrest him after all this is over. Aizawa eventually pieces together Kurono is yakuza after a series of misadventures and investigation, they started as reluctant allies and ended as unlikely friends going their separate ways.

Interlude I...

Aizawa goes back to Tokyo, to mic after the mission and they try again but Aizawa keeps thinking about the time he spent in Esuha and just can't shake off the feeling of wanting to go back. Months pass and eventually mic breaks it off with him himself because he realises things really won't work. Meanwhile back in Esuha, Kurono Is getting reprimanded by the old boss for his reckless actions through the investigation but he insists he only did it to protect the SH. He talks to kai about it to which he ensures hari he did the right thing by preventing the police from coming snooping in their territory(Yes. Tragic one-sided chronohaul)

Meeting again: Hari 19 & Shouta 22

It's been a year, and Aizawa is still pondering why he doesn't feel a thing for the breakup but longs to go back to esuha. He's watching the news one day and finds that investigations are being held for the figure who was held responsible for threatening the authorities in The first meeting this gives him the push/excuse to finally go back to esuha to check on Kurono. When gets there he finds kurono, he's staying in an abandoned building across the city and he's freaking out because he's practically endangered the SH and now he's realising that the boss was right. Aizawa snaps him out of it and tells him that he's here to help, kurono doesn't believe him and ask why he would even try to and Aizawa replies that he's just an outsider looking out for the locals. The rest of it is spent with them on kind of on the run, aizawa offers his car amd pays a motel for Kurono until his name is cleared even if he did actually have ALOT to do with the accusations. They spend alot of time bonding and opening up, surprisingly by the times all the ruckus has died down another year has passed, Hari is 20 and Shouta is 23

The middle ages

Frequent interactions: Hari is 21-24 and Shouta is 24-27 during this period

After everything that happened, they're seeing eachother alot more often, exchanged numbers And Aizawa has an apartment in Esuha that Kurono break in to stays at whenever he's not busy with SH work. Through the years they're essentially dancing around eachother, they could be dating but they never put a label on what they are. Aizawa is willing to make them official but Kurono hold off from it because he feels guilty because he feels he's betraying Chisaki. It's almost like he's cheating but can it really count as infidelity if him and kai are not even really together? He leaves the apartment early every morning before Aizawa can wake up but he always comes back even when Aizawa is all the way in Tokyo. This is also around the time Aizawa takes in Shinsou, so just throw that in there.

The ice age

Ghosting: Hari is 25-27 and Shouta is 28-30

Eri gets dumped on the doorstep of the DH at the age of 3 in December right before she tirns 4 and everything in the compound falls into chaos. Kurono gets sidetracked with everything going on, helping chisaki in the lab to figure out what her quirk is, reassuring him that she isn't a replacement for him in the old man's eye. He's doesn't visit Aizawa as often, practically at all but they are still texting. Until he changes his number and goes radio silence for 2-3 years. Aizawa on his end is confused because he got no explanation and not even a goodbye. He goes around Esuha, to places they'd frequent together but there's no trace of him at all. He doesn't believe Kurono would skip town, he's too loyal to his organisation to do so. Kurono now has fully embraced chronostasis alongside overhaul continuing the experiments for the quirk eraser drug. They go on about their lives but still ruminate about eachother deeply. That is until the raid. When Aizawa finds out that its based on the SH, he tries to reach out to Kurono again but still nothing. The first time they meet again is when he's captured by chronostasis underground.

The extinction or revival age

Where we left off: Hari is 27-28 and Shouta is 30-31

They have a one-sided conversation with Aizawa not being able to move. Kurono is pissed that he's here, he shouldn't be here, they were never meant to see each other again. Kurono grapples with his loyalty to the SH and what he wants but will never admit. He Considers killing Aizawa to put an end to this entire affair but as he raises his dagger and prepares to plunge it into his back, he stops and just can't. With the dagger in hovering above, he sighs and tells Aizawa that he'll let him go but to never expect to see him again as he prepares to take the last of the drug and research and run. But then Suneater bursts through the door, stabs Chronostasis's hand with the swordfish and he has reinforcements with him. The rest of the raid goes on as is. Kurono is taken to a Villains hospital for his hand and Aizawa after a while goes to see him.

From here, anything goes. That's why call it death or revival because it can go either way depending on how I'm feeling. They could work thing out for the better or they could stay just accept that the stage of questioning is permanent.

-

I'm always anxious to post any long writing/character pair analysis because I just feel that I'm not smart enough to analyse them and or they just make sense in my head that when I try to form words or explain them it doesn't make sense so it really tried to get the idea of them here!

[rex101111]

Saw Godzilla Minus One on Netflix and I wanna talk a bit about this version of Goji because its so, so good. Watch this movie if you haven't yet, honestly a very good Kaiju movie was an actually pretty alright human subplot (and i always call them subplots because we all know what we're here for, yeah?) Okay two sentence summation of central point before I get into spoilers: The reason I really like this version of Goji is that he feels uniquely, viscerally, and unmatchedly mean. Past versions have been some flavor of villainous to various degrees, but this bastard feels especially malicious, and it's fantastic.

(spoilers under the cut, watch the movie guys seriously)

This is the first movie since the first, and Shin, to feel like a straight up horror movie. And this version of Goji feels like a combo of a Kaiju and Michael Myers. He's not overly anthropomorphized like he is in the the Monsterverse movies, much as I like those, he just feels like he's just conscious enough of the world around him to know when something is in his way, and when someone pissed him off.

Goji's main characteristic in this movie being his short temper is just great, he constantly feels like he's just two seconds away from ripping someone in half, it lends a lot of tension to every scene he has. His destruction of Ginza feels almost casual, like he's just very annoyed that his territory has all this clutter in it, but you keep fidgeting in your seat waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to do something stupid and fight back...and every time that happens we get to see what happens when the King of The Monsters gets angry.

His Atomic Breath, especially the first time we see it, is just...perfect. That slow, slow build up of power, steadily going faster and faster as it starts from his tail and goes up, like a rail gun charging up, before all the tension snaps and everything in front of him just gets vaporized. Seriously every time Godzilla gets damaged it doesn't feel like a moment of victory for the humans, it just feels like that moment where a big guy gets actually hurt and everyone else makes a hasty retreat because they don't want to be in range for whatever his response is gonna be. Minus One Godzilla is a menacing, angry, violent, uncompromising monster that always shows up when he can do the most damage, whenever the characters are feeling unsafe or afraid there he is, ready to make things worse. Other people have pointed out that he's basically a walking, snarling metaphor for PTSD, in that he never really goes away, and that half assed measures of fighting it will only make it worse. And it affects everyone around him, and whenever he feels pain, that pain gets paid back with interest. And just one more scene I wanna gush about before I'm done. When I started this movie I heard that it basically a bit of a riff on the 54 original, so I expected it to be a while before we saw Goji properly. But no, not even ten minutes into the movie and there he is, not yet the building sized mountain of radiation and anger, but still mean and extremely short tempered. He gets shot at by weapons that don't even scratch him but the sheer audacity of these little shits to even try is enough for him to just slaughter the whole lot, picking them up and throwing them like rag dolls are just crushing them. This isn't an animal, this is a monster with a short temper and no restraint. But that's not what I wanna talk about, I wanna talk about a moment just before everything goes to shit. Shikishima, our resident POV human, has snuck aboard his plane to try and shot Goji with his 20mm. It's nearly pitch darkness, with only a few lights from a nearby hanger, Goji is right there, inches away from the gun...and then he turns around. Slowly, and for just a moment...he stares right at Shikishima...and growls. Just a growl, a low, slow, nearly calm growl, the first and only time in this movie Goji gives someone a warning. Like I said, Goji isn't like he is in the Monsterverse movies, he feels more like an inhuman monster...except for his eyes.

I mentioned Shin earlier, and this is a good comparison, remember that Goji's eyes? Wide open, unblinking eyes. Barely aware of the world around it except for how much pain it's in. Minus One Goji? His eyes are crystal clear, even after his mutation. Deep set, cold, focused. When he looks at Shikishima, it actually looks like he's glaring at him, directly, acknowledging his presence in a way he doesn't afford anyone else all film. Shikishima flinches away and cowers, of course, but Godzilla keeps glaring at him, never breaking eye contact. Its the closest thing Godzilla has to dialog, and its an implicit, dead cold, perfectly serious "I dare you to shot me, go on. Try it. Try."

I really like this design for Goji in general, just all hard edges spikes and cracking scales and just so very mean its great, but his eyes man. Even full sized there's just so much hate in those eyes. Fantastic.

[jaydenix]

W.I.T.C.H Fucking Sucked, change my mind

Oh look, another Winx Club fan who hates W.I.T.C.H, as if the world hasn't seen enough of those

But seriously, I saw absolutely nothing in this show that was really worthwhile. It's very boring and I enjoyed almost none of it. Honestly surprised I was able to finish all 52 episodes but I was very glad to be done in any case.

So like, let's talk about the main cast, the W.I.T.C.H in W.I.T.C.H if you will, and so if you will, let's talk about Will and co. (I am such poetry): Honestly the main five don't feel compelling at all, I take almost no interest in any of them as individuals. All it seems this show is focussed on is showing what they do as Guardians for the most part. Like, we never really see any emotional development with them, how being a Guardian affects their life or the pressure of trying to keep their identities hidden or prevent the bad guys from winning. We don't see of any of that and this just makes them such uninteresting characters. To be honest, they barely even have different personalities. I don't think I can point to a single thing that makes Irma much different from Hay Lin for instance, like they just all feel the same with only minor differences. Cornelia is the one exception as the blonde brat type similar to Stella (Winx) and Sasha (Amphibia), and she's probably my favourite just because of that, but that's not good grounds for a favourite character, it's just winning by default because of low competition.

The episodes also feel very intentionally separated and on their own. I get it's an episodical show but sometimes the characters can be so sporadic it feels like every episode was written by a different person with no synchronisation, characters feel so weirdly different from episode to episode sometimes, and the show regularly has arguments will happen for the dumbest reasons and I just argghh I hate it. This show sucks.

A few other characters that exist: -Blunk is like moderately funny at times -Caleb is... okay I guess he exists -Phobos is an alright villain but he just kinda sits around and waits and doesn't do anything, doesn't really come off as very threatening but there's not too much to hate about him per se -Nerissa is definitely a pretty threatening villain and learning about her backstory and plans and stuff was one of the more fun parts of the show for sure -Most of the characters in the rebellion don't feel very interesting tbh

Also the amount of times this show does stuff like very obviously in public view despite the fact it's still a secret just feels really weird, they've done so much that so many would've spotted them by now it made no sense.

Oh also the opening song is pretty banger I'll give the show that. "WE ARE, WE ARE, WE ARE W.I.T.C.H" it goes so hard

OKAY SPOILER TERRITORY NOW SKIP TO THE END IF YOU DON'T WANNA BE SPOILT:

Now it's time to talk about probably my biggest issue with this show, and that is Elyon, I hate everything about her. In the first half of season 1 we barely see her at all, which is insane because what happens next with her is easily the most important thing to happen at that point in the show. She goes onto join Phobos and it's discovered that she is actually his sister, which I think was pretty obvious throughout most of the first half of season 1. In any case, HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS NEEDED MORE TIME LIKE WHAT THE FUCK. Elyon's departure felt so one-sided and rushed on two major fronts. The first was her grievances over being left out by W.I.T.C.H. This one is annoying because we only see a few instances of this happening, when Elyon was clearly way more important than that in the grand scheme of things, she should've been obviously left out way more and become more frustrated without answers. We see a little bit of this but not enough, like there should've been a lot more moments of W.I.T.C.H (and especially Cornelia) having to cover up why they didn't show up for things or had to leave and she knows they're lying but doesn't know the full story, it's a common trope but it would work. Additionally, being distrustful of her parents, when they appear IN THE SAME EPISODE SHE FUCKS OFF TO MERIDIAN, like we're just expected to accept that? Not like see what they've done to raise her slowly but surely and eventually decide to take matters into her own hands especially when her friends are unreliable but no she instead runs away with the creepy librarian who has gaslit her into distrusting anyone else??? Fuck off, this whole plot of Elyon in the first half of S1 is just so poorly planned, it needed WAY more attention that the show could have afforded if it chose to focus on what was actually important but of course not. And it only gets worse from here.

Elyon after this becomes so obnoxious in the way she speaks and acts. She talks like she's in some fucking play of sorts with this grandiose way of speech and it's so frustrating, and also she acts so annoyingly loyal to the sleazy guy who apparently is her brother with basically no hesitation. I probably wouldn't mind this as much if her departure felt actually justified and fleshed out but of course that's not the world we live in. God I hate Elyon so much.

Otherwise I will say I did not see Caleb being Nerissa's son at all. Nerissa being a former Guardian and trying to recruit her old friends is pretty cool. Also when she kidnaps Matt and transforms him into that guy was a bold move, I like when villains get personal like this it makes them feel very threatening, Nerissa is definitely makes season 2 better for sure, though that doesn't mean it's that good.

The ending of the show was kinda strange with them bringing back Phobos thinking that would go swimmingly and then he gets eaten by his green monster friend and then everything happens it was a very odd ending that I felt extremely neutral on. Like it's just kinda there, what you see is what you get. But I was glad about one thing that this show was over, I didn't want to watch it anymore lol, I didn't really feel excited that the characters overcame something because it just didn't feel like there was anything to care about, I wish this show didn't suck so bad.

END OF SPOILERS

So yeah, this show is not that good, it has some okay moments but most of the show is boring, uneventful, and poorly written. I do know about the comics and I haven't actually read them I've only watched the show, maybe those are better and I know only a small amount of them got adapted for TV. But from what the show gives me, it's not great

I give season 1 like a 4/10 and season 2 like a 5/10 so 4.5/10 is my personal rating for W.I.T.C.H.

I've been very negative about this show but to be totally honest I didn't want to be, I was genuinely excited going in knowing it was similar to Winx Club, hoping to remind me of what made me like that show so much in the first place, but I was quickly hit with the reality this show was just not great, though since then I rewatched Winx Club S1 and I can say I definitely don't like it as much as I did before, Winx S1 had always been my favourite season but pending my rewatch of the others I think there's a good chance that could change. It seems since I last was into Winx I've learnt how media analysis works, I can take that. Anyway, that's my opinion of W.I.T.C.H.

P.S: Pls don't hate me this is just my opinion if you like this show and I know plenty of people do it's totally okay we can all like what we like and dislike what we dislike and I just happen to not like W.I.T.C.H very much OKAY? Have a good day.

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Do y'all want spoilers for the time travel fic I haven't updated in two years?

Of course you do!

So here's how the entire thing will go if I can ever hammer it into chapters.

(Cut to spare people's dashes. Also, thanks again to @micchikureshima for letting me use our discord convo to rant this out.)

Meng Yao manages to get a meeting with Yu-furen (with Jinzu and Yinzu on duty, of course). It's the first time he's ever seen her from within the same room (he only saw her once in the original timeline and it was from all the way across the marketplace during a festival) and he is desperately hiding how nervous he is.

She gives him a suspicious once-over, which has him sweating bullets that he might be recognized as a Jin Guangshan bastard, so he is infinitely glad when she instead identifies him as "that shadow chasing behind Nie-gongzi at the last conference in Qinghe."

Yes. Absolutely. He will definitely take that over being identified as anything else.

He tells her that he does pretty much whatever his sect leader needs him to do, which includes going out into the field as a scout because Nie-zongzhu doesn't trust the Wen in the slightest.

Considering word is already out about the attack on the Cloud Recesses, she agrees, then asks why, exactly, he has come to Lotus Pier instead of reporting back to the Unclean Realms.

He's already made up a lie about his mother having spent time as a maid in the Palace of the Scorching Sun before taking him and fleeing for their lives when one of Wen Ruohan's bad temper spells resulted in her being the only survivor of her servant cohort. He was young, true, but old enough to have seen the kind of man Wen Ruohan was turning into.

Then he tells her his observations and theory that since the attack on the Cloud Recesses failed to produce the kind of bloodshed the Wen Sect wanted for their threat, it's very likely that, as their closest neighbors, either Lotus Pier or the Unclean Realms will be next. And he has already seen (and killed) some scouts from the Wen sect sniffing around the outer edges of Yunmeng Jiang's territory on the way to the Pier.

Yu-furen, absolutely stone-faced, thanks him for the information and orders him to leave.

He goes far enough that no one will notice him, then pulls out some cloaking talismans that don't exist in the cultivation world yet because they were cribbed from the Yiling Laozu's notes back in his previous run of this life. Unlike the usual silence or stealth talismans, which can only bubble a staid location, these can be pressed to clothing to make a moving bubble. It's how he was able to kill the scouts.

He uses one to spy on the Jiang and find out whether or not Yu-furen will take his words to heart.

(He doesn't go spy on her directly because he knows she'll have to talk about it with her husband because he's the sect leader, and he got more than his fill of warring couples when he had to put up with both his father and Jin-furen.)

The security patrols are stepped up within the next week, more frequent, with two or three guards apiece instead of just one. Not enough that it would look suspicious to the Wen, but enough that he can tell his information got through.

He's especially relieved when he watches Yu-furen personally send her daughter and son off to visit relatives in Meishan Yu, ostensibly because she wants them to know more about that side of their heritage.

As head disciple, Wei Wuxian has to stay behind this time, which doesn't help his nerves.

For the umpteenth time, he can't help but wonder what in the world Jiang Fengmian was thinking almost two years ago, cheerfully putting a fourteen-year-old in charge of all their combat necessities, especially one who even now still seems to be goofing off. The Nie sect had been backed into an unfortunate position when it came to Nie Mingjue, a problem the Jiang sect didn't have, and even his own promotion from assistant to military aide had come after the war had started, when he was an adult.

Whatever, he's not going to think about it any more.

He's got work to do.

Meng Yao spends his time focusing on laying traps in the most likely spots for the Wen to infiltrate, taking out more scouts, and other such sabotage, while quietly sending reports to Mingjue.

For almost a month, it looks like his plan is going to work and the Jiang will be prepared if the Wen try anything.

-----

Then he's woken up in the middle of the night by screaming, and sees the orange glow over the trees from his window.

Fuck.

He quickly dresses, grabs his hidden weapons and talismans and sword, and makes a beeline for Lotus Pier. He slaps on a cloaking talisman as he breaks the treeline, and is stuck just staring for a moment at how many buildings are on fire.

How did this happen?!

No time to wonder about it. He shakes himself out of the stupor and immediately starts looking for survivors, waiting until the soldiers and cultivators aren't paying attention to grab them into his stealth bubble and drag them to a safe spot.

He's not a hero. He doesn't want to be doing this. But he can't imagine having to go back and look his sect leader and young master in the eyes and admit that he watched the Pier burn and did nothing.

It's not lost on him at all that most of the ones he's finding still alive are children and very young teenagers, left to die on their own while the adults were more thoroughly finished off.

He finds Jinzu (dead) and Yinzu (barely breathing) and drags the latter out, having to soothe her protests by promising to look for their lady.

He drags out an injured and half delirious Wei Wuxian, who somehow finds the energy to mumble a thousand questions about the talisman on his clothing.

Then he goes back in to look for Yu-furen.

Of course, she's in the middle of the mess, Wen Chao and his annoying girlfriend gloating over the bodies of her and Jiang Fengmian-

-then Meng Yao sees her hand twitch and oh, hold up.

Yu-furen, stunningly, is alive, though she's not gonna be for much longer if he can't get her out, which is looking increasingly difficult with more and more guards joining the -gag- lovebirds and Wen Zhuliu.

Then a charred flag waving in the wind gives him an idea. He sticks a stealth talisman to it and charges the hell out of it to act as a distraction for what he's about to do, then turns around and uses another burst of qi a knife directly at Wen Chao's throat.

The asshole has the unbearably frustrating timing to move right then, but he still hits a target, the knife zinging right past his face to bury into Wang Lingjiao's, killing her before she even hits the ground.

Wen Chao, naturally, completely loses his shit and starts screaming orders as he drops to his knees to cradle her body, and Meng Yao runs like hell towards Yu-furen, leaving behind the cloaked lure flag to make people think the assassin's in the spot he's already abandoned.

He barely manages to get his stealth bubble over Yu-furen before anyone can notice, but they realize she's gone as he's dragging her into the forest.

Ha, let 'em search all they want, he thinks triumphantly, but the adrenaline euphoria wears off as he reaches the rest of the sect members he managed to rescue.

Roughly two dozen kids and teenagers, a badly injured Yinzu and Wei Wuxian, who are trying to tend their injuries as best as they can, and now a nearly-dead Yu-furen.

His time-melded body is somewhere in his twenties, and he's the most capable adult standing here. Damn, he really didn't think this through.

But that's usually how it goes when he gives into impulse, isn't it? Like with-

No, he is absolutely fucking not going to think about the Jin captain from his last life. He is going to think of a way to get himself and this sorry little squad of Jiangs somewhere safe.

Of course, Meishan Yu comes to mind. Getting around the Wen now patrolling the forest won't be easy, but he still has plenty of stealth talismans. The real problem will be managing to get there with any speed, considering all the injured.

"How conscious are you?" he asks Wei Wuxian and Yinzu. Their answers aren't exactly encouraging, but will have to be good enough.

Some of the kids are starting to look at him warily, so he introduces himself as a member of the Nie sect, who'd been sent to warn the grown-ups this attack was coming and had… partially succeeded.

He gives Wei Wuxian some of the stealth talismans and they split the group to make it harder for the Wen to catch them, Wei Wuxian leading one and he and Yinzu leading the other, carrying Yu-furen on a makeshift stretcher between them.

When they reach the front gates of the Yu Sect compound, the guards on the walls recognize Yu-furen and guards come to hustle the Jiang group in.

He, on the other hand, is made to stay outside the gate,

It's not like he really expected any different, being from an unallied sect, but the blunt snub still stings a bit.

He sits down to wait for Wei Wuxian's group to show up, exhaustion creeping up on him as the hours pass. He's almost asleep when someone clears their throat from the wall above.

It's Jiang Yanli, who carefully lowers down a basket on a rope laden with food. For rescuing her mother and the kids, she says before disappearing from the wall.

Grateful and hungry, he tries to keep himself from just wolfing it all down in seconds, with the wistful thought that he should have tried to get to know her better in that life before.

Night falls, he sleeps at the gate, and morning arrives with Wei Wuxian's group still not having shown up.

This can't possibly be good.

-----

Almost on reflex, he makes his way towards Yiling, stopping only to take an extremely quick bath and get -most of- the blood off his clothing in a river.

As he gets closer and closer to the town, the rumor mill gets more and more animated. Most of it is expressly about the sacking of Lotus Pier, but there's one that makes his stomach churn.

A bunch of little Jiang sect kids were tortured, possibly killed, just the day before, and the Wen are forcing some local laborers to haul all the sect corpses from the Pier to the Burial Mounds.

He hears nothing about Wei Wuxian himself, which is… well, he knows better than to hope he just got away clean. The man destroyed his reputation and got himself killed once to shield former enemies, there's no way he would have up and abandoned his shidis and shimeis to save his own skin.

Which means Wei Wuxian must be on the way to the Burial Mounds as well, alive or dead.

And Meng Yao now has a very, very difficult decision to make.

So, pros and cons here.

On one hand, they have a lot more of the Lan sect available to fight this time, and because this whole mess has started two years early and without the Indoctrination Camp (yet… he really hopes it doesn't get to the point that happens again), many of the sects the Wen had absorbed are still independent and could be lured to the Sunshot side.

On the other hand, that's a lot of people available to potentially get killed, and corpses would do a lot more damage with a lot less… casualties, he'll say, even though that's not the right word for whatever goes on with a corpse army.

And then, there's also the possibility that Wei Wuxian is simply dead, or that he can't master the resentful energy necessary to form the corpse army while still having a core.

Though if he could, there would be an entire army already waiting for him because Wen Chao had been stupid enough to dump so many semi-fresh bodies there as an act of spite.

It's not his business.

It is his business, because he'd been impulsive and gotten involved at the Pier.

Fuck, he has the worst headache forming.

Looking down, he realizes he has wandered close to the "border" that the Yiling Laozu had once made by positioning hundreds of corpses around the Burial Mounds. There aren't any bodies about right at the moment, but he can feel the resentful energy trying to find fissures in his qi flow, recognizing him as a potential tasty snack.

He takes a deep breath and focuses on keeping it out, and the pain in his head lessens enough to let him think clearly.

He decides he'll send word to Jiang Cheng -because Yu-furen is in no condition to lead and probably won't be any time soon- about the body dump and the possibility that there might still be survivors, and let him decide what to do with that.

They might end up getting a corpse army anyway.

He still knows how to make the butterfly messengers. It will invite some questioning if too many people see it, since that's a technique he shouldn't know, but he has to make sure the message arrives.

And after one more night of restless, uncomfortable sleep driven by nightmares of the war as it had unfolded last time he'd gone through it, he turns towards the Heijan front.

Towards home.

After days of travel on foot to keep from being noticed and a few unfortunate fights when he failed at that, he barely makes it three steps into the military camp before almost being knocked off his feet by a fierce hug.

"You're back, you're back- you look like hell."

He snorts. "Hello to you, too," he says to Huaisang dryly. But inside, his heart is suddenly full to bursting at the knowledge that his young master must have been keeping a very sharp eye on things to have already known he was coming.

Had been keeping an eye out for him specifically.

Meng Yao knows he should go report to his sect leader first and foremost, but Huaisang drags him off towards the hospital and kitchen tents, dead set on getting him stuffed with food and checked over.

"I'm surprised your brother let you out here," Meng Yao admits as the medic tuts over the condition of his qi from all the stunts he'd had to pull at Lotus Pier.

After all, Nie Mingjue had been adamant about keeping Huaisang as far from the battlefield as possible in their past life, burying him in paperwork in either the Unclean Realms or the Cloud Recesses.

"I'm really only allowed these places," Huaisang says, giving him a conspiratorial grin. "After all, in a kitchen or infirmary, I'm never really disarmed, right?"

Very true. Huaisang had taken to hidden weapons training much more readily than he'd ever taken to the idea of a saber,

and even Mingjue had eventually been forced to admit he was quite good at improvising. Their sect leader still tried to drag him out with a practice saber occasionally, but wasn't nearly as vehement about it as he'd been in Meng Yao's memories.

After he's finally released from the infirmary, he makes his report, and then… he's tired. Too little sleep, too much stress, and even if his core was much stronger than it had been in his past life, he'd pushed it past most of its limits.

"You're staying with me," Huaisang announces. "Until they can get you set up somewhere else. Maybe even then."

He's too fried to argue, but once he's collapsed on a cot, Huaisang clinging to him like a barnacle, he finds he wouldn't have wanted to argue anyway. This feels right, similar to how the Unclean Realms had started to feel like home.

He would like- he could see himself getting very comfortable with this.

But there's still a war going on, and he can't rely on the mere hope that Wei Wuxian is alive and able to figure out resentful energy channeling.

So, with great misgivings, he slips out early in the morning, before Huaisang's awake, to go present his plan about installing a spy in the Wen sect to Mingjue.

He doesn't want to leave again, not so soon after arriving. Mingjue looks downcast about it, and he knows Huaisang is going to be upset.

But there's no one better suited to the task. He already survived Wen Ruohan once when the man had been at the peak of his volatile madness, he's the only one who knows how to predict the unpredictable. It has to be him.

Changing out of his sect clothing back into the dull travel robes, he slips out of the camp like a ghost and begins making his way toward Qishan.

-----

The next time he sees Nie Mingjue, it's in the throne room of the Palace of the Scorching Sun. Wen Chao is dead, Wen Xu is in the pits of the palace, essentially being kept on life support after he barely survived a fight with Mingjue, and the corpse army is tearing its way across the jianghu, bolstered by the rest of the Sunshot forces including an undecimated Lan sect and all the rogues who've rallied to Jiang Cheng.

Unlike the first time this happened, Nie Mingjue is in on the plan, the both of them having agreed to Lan Xichen being their go-between (maybe they could end up friends after all... he could at least hope).

Unlike the first time this happened, the 'killings' of the Nie cultivators are carefully staged.

Unlike the first time this happened, Wen Ruohan catches his movement out of the corner of his eye.

The force of hitting the wall shocks him to the point he doesn't even feel the pain that should have come with so many bones fracturing at once.

But even if he didn't deal the killing blow this time, it's fine. He made a good enough distraction for Nie Mingjue to get his chains around the tyrant's throat.

The last thing he remembers before he loses consciousness is his sect leader desperately calling his name as he drops Wen Ruohan's corpse like a discarded rag and rushes towards him.

-----

He wakes up to the victory banquet having come and gone without him ever meeting his father, and he is relieved

He wakes to the realization that he has already changed an entire war so much that manipulating the political aftermath to an ending that benefits everyone but his father should be easy, and the spiteful little ember he has always carried in his chest finally quiets into smoke.

He wakes to Nie Huaisang clutching his hand, having fallen asleep in a chair beside his bed -"The brat only ever left you if I personally dragged him out,"- Nie Mingjue tells him with an annoyed eyeroll that is immediately disregarded for a fond, proud smile as he ruffles his brother's hair.

And Meng Yao thinks, for the first time in two lifetimes, that he is completely satisfied with the results of all his hard work. (THE FUCKIN END)