#FROM THE START THEY'RE DEAD AND WE KEEP THEM ALIVE BY READING AND YET BY DOING SO ALSO DOOM THEM

[sleepyorchidmonster]

Okay, but what if Riddle attempts to fight Malleus alone to buy Idia some time?

Like, we know Riddle is both reckless and confident in his power, also, if timed correctly, Off With Your Head can be make a difference in a fight, and even Leona was having trouble with it (granted it was normal not-overblotted Leona and this is Malleus we're talking about).

It can also play with the reveal that Riddle thinks everyone hates him, so he convinces himself that the least he could do is make sure Idia stays safe, both for the mission and Ortho (and maybe he's feeling guilty because last he checked Ortho required urgent repairs and it's his fault). Or maybe Riddle just feels like his lack of understanding of technomancy is not being helpful enough andhe is eager to actually do something right (he doesn't understand the situation and, as far as he can tell, everything went wrong after his dream).

And then Idia has to stop his doomed typing with a side of panicked ramblings to take a deep breath and tell the 17-year-old kid to "Calm Down. We're not dead yet, and I'm not letting you go on a suicide mission."

And before Riddle can make a counter-argument, Idia is already following up with some extra points:

1) "Yeah we're both housewardens and troublemaking SSRs. I'm also older so I'm supposed to be the responsible one here."

2) "Technomancy is my domain, so if I say you're doing okay, you're doing okay. It's natural for veteran players to carry the noobs when they're just starting out!"

3) "You're a powerful DPS, but you're also a glass canon. Meta dictates that good DPS units need great supports, and I'm trying to summon them with negative gacha pulls and a dream here!!!!"

4) "If we open the door to let you fight Malleus, then the door will have been opened anyway, and that guy can multitask like a PRO..."

5) "You know chess right? Great. We're currently in check, with the only thing between total anihilation being a Rook (A.K.A. my precious door) and the Queen (A.K.A. you). The lil' pawns may have metamorphosized into a murderous army, but there's still a whole board between us, so we have to hold on!!!"

6) "And before you get the chess analogy wrong, I am NOT keeping you around just because of your magical power. You're a TEENAGER not a weapon, for crying out loud. Did you really think I'd be that stupid?? Ortho is literally my brother and I'd rather DIE than treat him like a weapon!"

7) "Is it really that hard to understand that I don't actually hate you? Sure, you have zero E.Q. and is in my "Top 5 Most annoying Students in NRC", but I don't want you dead! Who would drag me to dormhead meetings then? Vil and Ortho need a buddy who's not afraid to break the doo- NOT NOW MALLEUS"

8) "I actually like being alive and don't want Trey and Cater to kill me, and neither that freaky cat friend of yours. Or Floyd, Kalim, Sebek, Silver, Vil..."

Idia: And that would be all! Thank you for coming to my TED Talk! Now, I know the Final Boss is right outside that door, but why don't you read a manga or two to pass the time? You've already helped me A LOT, so why don't you rest a bit?

Malleus, from the other side: You should listen to Shroud, Rosehearts. I will even refrain from tearing the door down while you read, rest assured!

Malleus: Also, who gave you the idea that everyone hates you? I just want to have a pleasant chat with them! Lillia taught me the importance of understanding the point of view of others! :)

Meanwhile the others are trying to use Meet Me in a Dream while driving a gigantic Blastcycle so they can speedrun the dream hopping and get back to Idia's dream so they can make sure Idia is okay (Ortho), complete the final stage of the plan (the others) and locate Riddle (Heartslabyul and Equestrian Club mostly, but everyone's at least worried that he's MIA). Also Silver is resting while Ace uses his UM and Deuce drives.

Leona got what he wanted (a better mean of transportation between dreams) but at what cost (two freshmen at the wheel, and they're not the competent robot kid).

[theogony]

every few days it's like. i'm living normally until suddenly rosencrantz and guildenstern hit me with their tragedy and i'm thinking about coins. anyway

[xoxoavenger]

The Attack

pairing: Tommy Shelby x Fem!Reader

summary: Tommy's known for going out of his way to get to Y/N. What happens when they're both attacked and he's not permitted to see her?

word count: 1311

warnings: canon tyical violence (this is based off a specific episode but it's also been in my drafts as an idea for over two years)

12 Days of Christmas main masterlist

"Can we please just go?" Y/N begged. Her glass of whiskey was long finished, and she knew Tommy couldn't do anything more in the office. After his fight with Polly, she knew he would want to leave anyway. So he nodded, helped her into her coat, and off they went into the rain.

"Just gotta get to the garage," Tommy said over the rain, holding her hand tightly. They made it in no time, walking quickly to the car. She was holding an umbrella over herself, but Tommy was soaked; he always asked her not to hold her own umbrella over him, because then she would get wet and he didn't want that. As they approached the car and Y/N took down her umbrella, a man jumped out, gun in his hand pointed at Tommy's face.

Tommy put his hands up and backed away as the man pressed closer, and Y/N took out her own gun hidden her coat, pointing it at the man and dropping the umbrella. She wasn't shaking; this wasn't the first time she's had to hold a gun against a man. She was married to Tommy Shelby after all. Before she could even fire a warning shot, she was hit over the head from behind, sending her to the ground. She tried to get up as she saw Tommy getting beat up by six men, the sound of bones cracking sickening to her.

"Tommy!" She called out, trying to stand. The pain in her head was excruciating, her vision blurring and turning dark around the edges. Before she could get her gun back up, she was kicked in the head and knocked out, and Tommy was thankful for it because as soon as they had taken him down he was covered in blood. His only thoughts as he practically went limp with pain was of Y/N - he hoped they didn't kick her head in enough to kill her.

~

When Tommy woke up, he felt like he couldn't feel his body. It was all pain, like all his nerve endings had been set on fire. When he tried to open his eyes, he knew they were swollen. His mind went instantly to Y/N - where was she? Was she alive? Or was she dead? Even through his pain, he was able to open his eyes and move to stand except-

He couldn't stand. And not just because of the pain.

"What the fuck," He muttered, looking at the handcuffs that were tying him to the bed. He was just coming to, but he couldn't think of a reason why he would be handcuffed. It's not as if he was going to be arrested. He didn't do anything this time, and even if he did, he wouldn't be arrested; he knew all the officers.

"She's okay." Polly was in the corner, reading a book. Tommy snapped his neck to see her. He was in a hospital room, a small empty one with a small bed and the chair Polly was on. She didn't seem too concerned, which confused him.

"Get me the fuck out of here." He yanked on the chains again. He needed to go see Y/N, to go find her and make sure she was okay and then take care of the fuckers who did this.

"So you can go try and kill people?" She was still looking at the book. His brain was fuzzy, so he didn't know how to get out of this. He wasn't even sure why he was handcuffed.

"I need to go check on her." He said, but the two of them both knew that he was going straight to kill the men that attacked her as soon as he made sure she was okay. "Why was I arrested?"

"You can't go yet." Is all Polly says, nose still in her book. This is when he realized that he wasn't arrested - Polly had kept him here on purpose.

"Let me go." He seethed, anger filling him. How dare she keep him here when his wife was hurt, when he had business to attend to.

"No." The fact that she still hadn't looked at him made him angry.

"Poll," He starts, taking deep breaths to not lose his temper. It's not working very well. "You need to let me out."

"I actually need to keep you in." She fires back. "I am not going to clean up the mess when you try to kill everyone in sight." She turns the page of her book and it makes Tommy lose his mind.

"Why are you keeping her from me?" He yells, pulling against the handcuffs so hard it causes the skin on his wrists to break. He barely feels the pain; he can't even feel his face anymore.

"I'm not keeping her from you." She finally looks up at him, face serious enough to scare the shit out of Tommy. He lets her speak, heart racing fast enough to scare some of his anger away. "I'm keeping you away from her. She still hasn't woke up yet. You can't stomp in there while the physicians are hard at work trying to get her up." She tells him, and suddenly, he has too many emotions. He's guilty, because she wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't put her there. He's angry at Polly for not letting him see her. He's scared that she won't wake back up, that the last time he saw her alive was the image of her head being kicked in.

It's all too much. He can't fit these emotions in his body. His chest is suddenly too tight, his head fuzzy. He needs to get the fuck out of this room.

He doesn't break out of the cuffs, no, that would be far too difficult. Instead, He breaks the wooden bedpost right off the frame, splinters flying, and then the post was falling from between his hands. He was still cuffed, but he had full range of motion now. He turned to Polly, who was staring wide eyed at him.

"Tell me where she is right now."

~

When Y/N opened her eyes, she wished she could go back to sleep. Her head was killing her, and her entire body was sore. She blinked a couple times, trying to make out the unfamiliar room she was in. She had just figured out that she was at the hospital when she heard shouting in the hallway.

"Mr. Shelby, I understand, but it's really much better if you just wait to,"

"Get the fuck out of my way or I will shank you with a piece of this wall that I will pull out with my bare hands." The sound of her husband's deep voice startled her. He sounded so angry, like he was going actually going to kill this man that didn't do anything wrong.

"Mr. Shelby,"

"Tommy?" Y/N croaked out as she sat up, and Tommy was instantly in the room, his bruised face making her startle. "What happened to you face?"

"You're okay!" He disregarded what she said and came up to her, cupping her face and kissing her immediately. She smiled slightly, putting a hand on his own and moving it down to his wrist.

"What the fuck?" Y/N muttered as she pulled away, looking at the metal she had felt on his wrists. He looked as if he had forgotten all about them, wanting to go back to kissing. "What did you do?" She asked, trying to push him away slightly.

"I didn't do anything. My fucking aunt," He sighed, kissing Y/N once more. She didn't understand, but she figured if it had to do with Polly she would find out soon enough. She was just thankful Tommy was okay, that he was here with her.

"I love you." She whispers, and he just nods as he goes in for another kiss. 

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187  @one-sweet-gubler @theoraekenslover @jbrownta

[adamsrcnan]

OKAY OKAY here we goooo an annoyingly long-ish post about all my thoughts on The Sunshine Court

Spoilers Spoilers Spoilersss you've been warned

First things first it is so interesting to see Nora writing from not one but TWO new people's perspective. Jean's perspective is just devastating being inside his head is heartbreaking the constant fear and panic and how much of his energy is used on just pushing down every memory of what was done to him. His coping mechanisms are terrifying and i truly do hope by the end of book 2 he has a healthier way of dealing with it bc baby boy stop hurting yourself :( Every sentence was so painful to read. But also his resilience the entire time to get through it no matter what, god i fucking love him!!! He is a fighter.

Jeremy's perspective is sooooo refreshing. He is such a little sweetheart i could cry. The fact that he sends hand written letters and he's so caring and genuine but he can also be so stern. When he dropped that "i asked you a question" to Lucas fkehdjdfjdh OK SIR. I'M SAT. His relationship with the family butler is so endearing as well i need more background on that for sure! My only one criticism is that he didn't have enough pov chapters and i'm hoping we'll learn more in the second book of course because there's still so much about him and his (dysfunctional? toxic?) family dynamic that we don't know yet but also i'm greedy and i wanna know EVEYTHING about him !!!

Kevin and Jean are so just tragic it actually breaks my fucking heart like "you didn't have to slit my throat on the way out" JEAN??? and "promise me you won't try again. I can't lose you." KEVIN??? And the fact that Jean to this day is still keeping that promise. Also Jean's obvious but secret long term crush on Kevin the way it's subtly dropped every time Jean has to stamp down on his desire's and "temptations" GOD PLEASE I CAN'T STAND IT

SPEAKING OF!!! BISEXUAL JEAN ??? BI JEAN??? BI JEANNNN !!!!

Neil and Jean oh my God like where do i even start?? The guilt Jean feels at what happened to Neil in the Nest and him finally calling him by his name after Riko's death and telling him his game was good. And Neil seriously needs to give himself more credit for how much of a caring person he is because the way he indirectly told Jean that he thinks he is worth saving and didn't even hesitate before asking Stuart to send someone after That Guy after what Jean told him. Neil Josten the man that you are!!!

Jean's little sister Elodie what a beautiful name. Them being so close and him reading to her. The way he found out about her death jolted me differently. It was so awful and i'm so sorry Jean didn't get to see her grow up and meet her again.

Renee and Jean oh my god. Jean thinking she's beautiful (bitch me toooo) And the whole right person wrong time ugh i can't stand it. Him wearing her necklace all the time, enough that Jeremy always notices it. And unabashedly stealing her picture from the foxes lounge. Like he did not give a fuck. He said this one is mine. One good reason to stay alive being rainbows i'm gonna FKSJSKDHDH. Theirs would be such a soft love.

Speaking of soft loves Laila and Cat are EVERYTHINGGGG. God they are so cute with their little domestic life and their rich gay boy son who crashes on their couch with his cardboard cut out dog. That whole friendship dynamic is beautiful. Their fierce protectiveness and care over Jean as well and the patience they have with him even after the little kitchen incident. When Cat took Jean out for a drive on her motorcycle god that was such a heart warming moment and Jean helping them cook as well and becoming the girls' little sous chef it's so cute so endearing !!!

FINALLY FINALLY THE JEREJEAN DYNAMIC

PLEASE I'M GONNA SCREAM

Jeremy being the one who told Jean that Riko was dead i don't even know what to begin with THAT like hhhhhhh. The way they're both stupidly attracted to each other but won't/can't do anything about it. THE WHOLE "say yes Jeremy" SCENE WTF WAS THATTT I WAS GOING INSANEEEE. Both of them having to stop mid sentence when they catch the other looking FINE as hell. Jean being so obvious that even Lucas picks up on the way he looks at Jeremy. Jeremy being there to ground Jean in a Moment and helping him come down from it. Grabbing his face and telling him he's okay. Moving into the room with him to make him feel more comfortable !! The way Jean grabs Jeremy's chin (boiiiii). Jeremy constantly reminding Jean that he is NOT A RAVEN ANYMORE no matter how many times he has to say it. Jeremy saying he'll wait as long as it takes until Jean speaks to him. JEREMY GIVING HIM A HUG AND JEAN CLUTCHING DESPERATELY TO HIS SHIRT FUUCUFHDHSJHSSUHDH and then the "will you help me?" And the "Anything you need" AND THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE A CERAMICS CLASS TOGETHER?!?!?!!!! i can't i can't i can't i caaan'ttt

There's so much more to say but i'm gonna leave it at this for now because i need to go re-read it again and take my time with it this time round but i really could not have asked for anything better Nora truly outdid herself here !!! I'm forever grateful she blessed us with this after so long.

[roguegambitweek]

Romy Discord FanFic Rec List

In honor of Rogue/Gambit Week, some of the writers from the Romy Discord wanted to share some fics that we’ve written. 

With so much Romy love to share, we hope y’all find a new favorite or rediscover an old one. 

💚💖 Thanks for reading! 💖💚

Takes Two To Tango (or take down a Wild Sentinel) @aldreantreuperi by AldreanTreuPeri [ao3]

Rating: M | Universe: XtAS’97 | Words: 1,521 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot 

Summary: A battle is as much a dance as anything achieved on a dance floor…and having the proper partner can literally keep you alive… Episode 5 fix-it fic.

But Here We Are by AppleJ @applejacks1552 [ao3] 

Rating: M | Universe: Comics | Words: 32,978 | Chapters: 30 | Status: Complete 

Summary: They never thought this would be possible, but Rogue is uneXpectedly eXpecting. Yet nothing is ever THAT simple in the life of an X-Man. What secret will Gambit discover that complicates their happily-ever-after?

AppleJ says: Hmmmm ... why I wrote that fic in particular: First, because I wanted to make the fan theory that the twins (Maxime & Manon) were Romy kiddos real. Second, because I KNOW it will be a cold day in hell before Marvel ever gives Romy kids in the main 616 (like maybe long after I'm dead & they're out of storylines & they've already split/reunited them 5 times over?), so it seemed like fertile ground (pun intended). And third, because they say to write what you know & I wanted a pregnancy/birth story that reflected the reality that it isn't all sunshine & rainbows & certainty for many of us & that's okay too.

Mighty Thin Ice by Cajun_Hawk @cajunhawk [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: E | Universe: Comics | Words: 138,942 | Chapters: 11 | Status: WIP 

Summary: Rogue is working hard to get her powers under control while she and Gambit have decided to take their relationship to the next level, in hopes of having something normal very soon. 

The Legacy of Dark Cerebro by Chellerbelle @chellerbelles [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: T | Universe: Movies | Words: 45,064 | Chapters: 12 | Status: Complete 

Summary: What if X2 had ended differently? What if the X-Men hadn’t gotten to Professor Xavier in time and all the humans had died? Takes place 5 years after this alternate ending (exception of the prologue). 

Chelle says: After much indecision, I decided on The Legacy of Dark Cerebro. The opening scene had a special place in my heart, and New Sun vs Phoenix was on my fanfic bucket list for a long time. 🙂Also, this story seems a bit more “new reader” friendly than some of my other favourites, haha.

Risk and Reward by DayenuRose @dayenurose [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 47,518 | Chapters: 13 | Status: Complete

Summary: There’s an old adage that goes, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. As a thief, Remy LeBeau know full well that oftentimes the greatest risks come with the greatest rewards. When he starts to fall for the enigmatic Rogue, Remy must decide if the risks are worth the possible reward. 

Rose says: This was one of the first Romy fics I’ve written. It was a real entry into Romy fandom for me. Everyone was so welcoming and kind in the comments. And during the process of writing this, it helped me come to a better understand of Gambit, Rogue, and their relationship. 💜

LeBeau’s Eleven by Ilargikat @ilargikat [ao3]

Rating: G | Universe: Comics | Words: 14,182 | Chapters: 6 | Status: WIP

Summary: Planning a heist is not easy, especially when you need special skills to pull it off. The luck of being an X-Men is that the skills are within reach, maybe not people willing to commit a heist.

Once. Now. Before. Always. by lovethelebeaux @lovethelebeaux [ao3]

Rating: M | Universe: Comics | Words: 10,179 | Chapters: 4 | Status: Complete

Summary: Four vignettes from four different time periods over the course of Rogue and Gambit’s relationship. 

Lovethelebeax says: Heehee I've only written like four things so this will be easier for me than most 😅 it's this one, my first in 20 years

The Tailor & The Seamstress by Ludi_Ling @ludi-ling [ao3] [ff.net]

Rating: M | Universe: X-Men |Words: 58,659 | Chapters: 13 | Status: Complete

Summary: Remy LeBeau is the creative lead at a waning fashion house in 1910 New York. Over the street is his employer’s rival, where a pretty and talented seamstress happens to work. Romance ensues, of course - in-between a friendly rivalry, that is. 

Ludi says: It was a tough call on which fic to choose, but I settled on this one because the last fic I write is always the one I'm most proud of, and this is the last one I completed! Last summer @narwhallove challenged me to write a Romy fic that played on my love of both them and of historical fashion. She threw some ideas at me, and I wrote nearly an entire chapter. Then, X-Men '97 starts, and I read back on what I wrote in July '23, and suddenly the rest of the story unfolds before me. I had a blast writing it! And I hope you have fun reading it too 😉

But I Can’t Trace Time by Sandmans_Raven @sandmansraven [ao3]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 8,998 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot 

Summary: After a battle with the time-traveling mutant-hunter known as Ahab, Rogue is sent into the future. To get back, she must rely on old friends and put a stop to Ahab’s plans. 

Toys by Spaceorphan @spaceorphan18 [ao3]

Rating: T | Universe: Comics | Words: 1,619 | Chapters: 1 | Status: Oneshot 

Summary: Romy catches Remy playing with toy action figures of the X-Men. Shenanigans. Set in the 616 verse, but some fun meta-y references to XM97.

[completeoveranalysis]

[7]

I- 

APPARENTLY THERE IS ANOTHER THING. Now Clow Reed has traded his life as a price to pay for Syaoran’s. 

WHICH IS ALL VERY WELL AND GOOD BUT MY GOD HE IS SKATING BY ON A TECHNICALITY THERE. More Cardcaptor Sakura spoilers in this post.

Like YES ok he isn’t alive but he didn’t ‘die’ in the traditional sense, and there are two half Clow Reeds walking around alive right this very moment, BUT apparently that is still enough of a price! HE, the original, the Full Clow Reed Experience, is still "current status: not alive", so that looks like it’s enough of a price. 

I suppose his magic itself is also listed as a very significant part of the exchange here too, which neatly ties back into Cardcaptor Sakura yet again. There it was Running Out and this would add another reason why that's the situation they're dealing with (beyond him being dead, which is apparently not enough); he had traded the rest of it away, for Tsubasa Syaoran, so there was none left to keep everything going. Or like, there's something about Eriol in that as well, I can't remember. Eriol inherited the REST of Clow's power, but not as much of it by far, on purpose, so I guess all the missing magic was traded away.

But EVEN SO it feels like an entire universe shift inside my mind here, where we are rewriting the entire reasoning behind Clow Reed’s death into the very fabric of Tsubasa as if it was that way all along. Like, goodness, when was Cardcaptor Sakura? When did that air for my country - the year 2000? That’s over twenty years of a fact living inside my brain before redesigning the entire truth behind it now in 2024. 

Though let’s be real part of that is my fault for reading this so slowly. But still.

I was about to move on but I just also want to go back to Yuuko and add that Yuuko is paving the way for Sakura on two fronts - or switching herself out for two different Sakuras. Her spot in Existence, in the Revived-From-The-Verge-Of-Death-and-In-Between-Reality Zone was given to Super Sakura, which was originally framed as if that was the end of Yuuko already. But now we find out that WHILE that space went to Super Sakura, Yuuko kind of still exists in the world of dreams - but now she’s formally trading her life away for our clone Sakura’s life, so she can continue living once again. 

Oh and the romance of it all. Yuuko and Clow Reed being a tragic couple who couldn’t have the life together that they had in mind, passing their spots in life on to another doomed couple who now CAN have a life together. Yuuko and Clow being hyper powerful beings, willingly trading places with broken clones who didn’t naturally exist in the first place, so that they can be together and fix everything else in their stead. 

Yuuko and Clow (mostly just Clow) breaking the universe, and then passing the torch onto the couple who will fix it instead. 

And add in how involved they were in the process too! Knowing that they would trade their lives away to help these two, and then doing everything they could to help them actually get here in the end. Clow giving up his entire life to go and raise Sakura as long as he could, and Yuuko watching over and helping Syaoran and Sakura on their journey as much as possible, let alone - OH. WAIT. Clow Reed in the Clow Kingdom raising Sakura and Syaoran, while Yuuko helps raise Watanuki, yet another accidental clone person who only came into being because of mistakes they made.

The symmetry of that is wonderful. 

And even like, the framing of Yuuko’s position as the audience understands it. At the start of the story it seems like Yuuko is mostly neutral, if sympathetic, and over time it seems like she’s working towards a greater goal of saving the universe and so it suits her to watch over them. But SURPRISE she and Clow have been deeply involved in raising and supporting these two (or three) from the very beginning of their lives, working heavily behind the scenes to make deals and push people in directions that would eventually spiral around and help them get here - so that Clow and Yuuko could trade their lives away to give Sakura and Syaoran both another chance at life. 

Like OH the secret parents who stepped up and guided these kids when they had no-one else. These kids who weren’t technically born and weren’t originally meant to exist, and Clow and Yuuko stepping in and becoming the parental figures who give up absolutely everything to make sure it turns out ok for them in the end. I just really enjoy that.

[acheronist]

ok its after 8pm time for my nightly gladman point skeleton posting power hour. welcome to speculation city

june 1845 - sept 1845, henry making idle notes about how the expedition's going because well. yes. of course

1846 - henry gets really into bullet journaling in the first winter wherein the ships are docked in devon harbor/beechey island. also it's cold as fuck and he's starting to realize it's gonna be cold as fuck for a long while yet, and after recently rekindling a relationship Of Some Kind with tom armitage, he starts getting nostalgic about partying in venezuela when he was 23 which is funny because on one hand we have very hard ground to heave on the morrow (gravedigging, hauling to the cairn, etc) but also omgggg do you remember stuart the shipcat he was the best. that party ruled does anyone else remember how fun that nye party was!!!

april 1847 - after months of teaching his good friend tom armitage his letters (finally), tom manages to get a parody flirty smutty version of barry cornwall's 'the sea' written down after henry had recited it aloud from memory and henry is so proud about how quickly tom's taken to writing after 40 something years of adamantly refusing to learn, that he keeps the page in his wallet

june 1847 - sir john dies and henry decides to take some asides about the funeral speech, presumably under the impression that they'd get home again at some point and he could decipher it and make it presentable later. officers do seem to be dropping quite quickly though and the inclination that things might not be working out excellently starts around here.

july thru dec 1847 - the terror camp in cape felix is established and henry overhears calls that camp is clear over and over and over enough times that he thinks its worth writing down while doing his silly spiral doodles to pass the time in the evenings

spring 1848 - the crews abandon the ships for real this time and the fear that he's not getting out of the arctic alive starts to feel more and more real each day, and in a vague attempt to keep himself from being lost and forgotten to history, he writes down a frantic account of his navy career in his cleanest neatest most legible handwriting possible. for future searchers to be able to read. also, messages get passed between erebus camp and terror camp and the men are inventing fake addresses for the letters between camps for...... whimsy? missing london society? i dont know

end of 1848 - the Unwellnesses and the Agonies are really settling in amongst the whole crew but hey. at least he still has the brain power for poems written backwards.

early 1849 - powering thru this dismal ass expedition's survival attempts based on absolutely nothing but the desperate nostalgia of being young and sexy and warm. thank goodness tom armitage is still here to help him remember specific details about the clubs in the caribbean. and we are simply too tired to continue the backwards code, but no one's pawing through his personals anyways, it hardly matters

mid to late 1849 - henry dies from [REDACTED] and tom armitage takes it upon himself to carry henry's wallet and pages forward south with the expedition because it would be impossible to carry his actual physical corpse with them because everyone else, himself included, are too weak and sick for such a thing. theyve been leaving their dead behind since they were at beechey, what makes henry's remains so special and different? the survivors keep heading south along the coastline of king william island

spring 1850 - the expedition, lead by aglooka, camp briefly nearby some inuit families. they stay in one place for quite a while, and tom armitage decides they're so fucking cooked and never getting off this island. he doesn't have the supplies or means to write anything to add to the wallet, so he does his best at identifying himself by getting dressed in his steward uniform, some things that were relevant to being a steward, henry's wallet, henry's shirt with the ink stains on the cuff, and walks off to the ocean shoreline until he drops dead and falls face down with the wallet underneath his chest to keep it safe from the arctic elements

1859 - mcclintock's search party stumbles across his skeleton on accident while looking for a cairn and go WHOAAAAA ITS A SKELETON and lift the steward tools + henry's wallet out from his ribs and take them back to england to be archived

1973 - the 1st battalion rcr goes back to doublecheck mcclintock's notes and go WHOAAAAA ITS A SKELETON and lay what remains of tom out on a plywood board from a hardware store and snap some pics. then they pack him up and mail his bones to the national museum of man & then the museum loses his bones

2018 - amc gives this storyline to a 26 year old from the opposite ship who had no prior history with henry for some reason and also demotes it to a sub-sub-plot. i dont know. smashing my head through a wall.

2022 - doug stenton shows up and says hey ummmm should we be more concerned about the fact that the entire fucking skeleton went missing. let me do some research i guess

2024 - i show up and start connecting the dots while working on the facsimile project of the papers. henry's fate still unknown. tom's bones still missing in action. the actual papers hidden behind an unbearably steep paywall thats gonna take me a decade to afford. facsimile project kind of overshadowed by jfj cannibalism confirmation on the same day. i keep being crazed on my blog anyways.

ok yay

[heizuha-queen]

I'm Back

This is the first prompt for Heizuha Week, Case Closure! @heizuhaevents

It's been almost a year since she last saw him, heard his voice, and touched him. Nearly a year since he suddenly disappeared into thin air, out of nowhere. No warning, no messages, no letters, no calls. Just like that.

People presumed he was dead, but his family refused to hold a funeral without finding him first.

Yet there he was, right in front of her, grinning like nothing happened like she hadn't waited for him for almost a year. Like she didn't cry over him and worry for months.

She looked at him shocked. His head was bandaged and the blood could be seen through it, he was wearing a cast on his left arm, and his face was so badly bruised.

Oh, this idiot. He looked like he escaped death yet was still grinning, looking happy to see her.

All of her anger disappeared and she felt her tears falling down. She threw herself at him and hugged him hard ignoring his hiss of pain, and sobbed.

Heiji wrapped his right arm around her and said, "I'm back, Kazuha. I'm finally back. You don't know how much I've missed you."

Her sobbing became louder, and she was gasping for breath. All the emotions she felt from the past months poured out of her. All the pain, anxiety, and sadness.

Heiji's eyes saddened and he tightened his grip around her pulling her closer, ignoring the pain it caused his body.

After a few minutes, Kazuha pulled away from him, her crying quieting down. She looked at him with sad eyes but smiled at him. She was relieved to see that he was alive and right in front of her, but she had so many questions. What happened? Why did he disappear? Who did this to him? Why was he gone for so long?

As if reading her mind, he said, "I know you have many questions, and I promise I'll answer all of them. Let's go inside."

-.-

She placed a cup of tea on the table in front of him, then sat next to him on the couch. She was thankful her parents were traveling so she could have some privacy with Heiji.

Heiji.

She still couldn't believe that he was right there, next to her, alive. Injured, and looked like hell, but alive.

"Wha- I- What the fuck, Heiji?" Kazuha's brain was spinning, she didn't know where to start with her questions.

"Where should I start?" Heiji chuckled, also not knowing where to start with his answers.

"Why the hell did you disappear?" Kazuha asked, her eyes brimming with tears, frustration clear in her voice. She tried not to get angry, not to get mad, and to be thankful that he was there, but it was impossible.

Heiji's eyes softened as he looked at her pained expression, "I had a case to solve, and it wasn't an easy one. It was dangerous."

Kazuha looked at his injuries, "Well, no shit Sherlock." She said sarcastically, then continued, "Why didn't you call us? Ask your dad for help? Why didn't you at least let us know you're alive!"

"I couldn't, just contacting you would've put you in danger," Heiji said, then sighed, "The people I was dealing with Kazuha, they're not the typical criminals we deal with, they would kill you and my family in a heartbeat."

He grabbed the cup of tea and took a sip, welcoming the warmth. Kazuha just looked at him in silence, waiting for him to continue.

"I wanted to keep you safe, away from all the danger. I don't know what I would've done if I lost you, Aho." His voice trembled at the last sentence.

Kazuha's tears fell again, and she felt a lump in her throat, a painful tightness that made her want to scream. She yelled, "Well, what about us, Heiji?! We want you to be safe too! What do you think I would've done if I lost you?! The past months were HELL! Each day the pain became worse and worse! Why would you involve yourself in something so dangerous?! Why would you do that to the people you care about?!"

"BECAUSE!" He shouted his anger rising, then took a deep breath, "Because, I wanted to help someone I care about Kazuha. Kudo is my best friend, and this organization was after him. Do you think I'll just sit down and do nothing?! Of course not, Aho! I helped him take them down and I'll do it again if I have to."

Kazuha was about to scream at him and curse his stupid best friend, but seeing the way he winced in pain when leaned down to put back his cup of tea on the table, Kazuha's anger vanished.

Seeing him so vulnerable, so injured, in pain, reminded her that things could've been worse. He's alive. He's alive and was right here with her, and that's all that mattered. Life was too short for her to hold a grudge against him. But she promised herself to give this Kudo Shinichi an earful.

"Oh Heiji, I'm just so happy you're here now," Kazuha sobbed, her tears still not stopping.

Heiji grinned, and patted her on the head, "God, you're such a crybaby."

Kazuha lightly pushed his chest, causing him to groan in pain. He obviously exaggerated it, proven by his mischievous smirk before he pulled her closer to him.

She laid her head on his shoulders, something he missed a lot, "I'm happy I'm here too. Back with you, aho."

She snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and relaxing against him.

[alarici]

For Meronia ballet AU, maybe a back stage moment or something? As a prompt I mean (: Love Reading your stuff!!

content: injury, word count: approx 500

It's the middle of dress rehearsal. Near's demi-solo is almost finished. She's collapsed in some soloist man's arms, not a finger out of place, languishing in the scattered applause. Catching her breath for the coda. Mello watchers her from the wings, as she has for seven years and counting. She's still captivated, as is everyone else.

The final chord drifts out of the orchestra pit, and then the string section begins again--and Near is alive, again. Most of the coda is a petite allegro. Small jumps, precise, exhausting. Even if Near's perfect, this is one thing that has never been her specialty. Where Mello's athleticism lends to her explosive jumps, her dynamism; Near's technique is impeccable, but Mello can pick out every moment here Near could jump higher, could move faster, could do more, more, more. Yet it's undeniably good. And Mello is lost in the sight. Near's eternal gentle smile--a delicate interpretation of the role. It fits.

Still riding off of the high of them both being promoted to the corps de ballet--no longer under threat of being a probationary apprentice (dancing every night, dead on their feet, the treat of 'there's only room for one of you here' looming in the spring, than then a revelation: we want you both, don't ruin it), Mello isn't fixated in her anger. They're playing the same part--corps in one cast, soloist in the other. Maybe, for this ballet at least, their opposite interpretations can coexist, and Mello will practice her breathing exercises, and they will keep a tally of who prefers whose version of the part. The ballet mistress likes you. The critic liked me.

The worst is yet to come, someone pulls at her, a prickle in her spine.

Mello bites her lip as the end of the coda draws near. It's a nerve-wracking sequence to perform. Mello's dress rehearsal was earlier that day, and she'd scrapped by with a few, small, inexcusable errors in the exact same routine.

The fantasy of a moment of peace, a truce, an intermission of repose rips ugly four counts before the end of the sequence. Mello hears it and can't look away as Near crumples to the stage, barely catching herself with her arms out in front of her.

Mello's seen multiple bad landings. Jumping is always a gamble with god. A gamble they make hundreds of times every day. Near's misfortune finds her limping, instead of running of the stage, one more act, forty minutes, in the dress rehearsal left to go. In the opposite wing, she looks ready to run back for the mid-show bow.

Mello doesn't think. She runs. The vast area behind the stage narrows to the opposite stage door. Mello sees her, sitting standing on one leg in the corner. It looks bad.

She takes the razor out of its place in her character shoes, wrapped in cardboard and thin cloth, sitting against the knuckle of her big toe--a trinket for luck--and feels Near's ribbons tearing under the blade, Near panting, weak arms protesting at Mello's elbow. It's the only way Mello will know Near won't go and try to dance on a broken foot--you can't dance without your ribbons. It's over.

"You cut me," Near says. A grimace of pain, well hidden. A small prick of blood expands on her white tights from where the ribbons gave.

"You're not going back out there." Mello can't look at her, can only stare at her swollen foot, limp on the ground.

"Now, I'm not." Mello would appreciate some anger. Instead, all she sees is nothing. Grief? Leave it to Near to start caring now, of all times.

-

It'll take Near five year to thank her for it. When they learn that the artistic director would have been happy to see Near ruin herself, her shattered sesamoid, that very night.

[cheesenames]

AO3 Wrapped: Writer's Edition

I was tagged by the lovely @batrachised and I will learn from her example by just skipping questions I find boring

Words written this year: 27,893

Works written this year: 8 (a nice even split of 4 for each of the fandoms I write in)

Work Most Proud of: It almost feels like cheating to use a collaborative work, but I'm really pleased with Bioethically Speaking, Mr. Sheev. I feel like I've already said this a zillion times, but figuring out how to tell a story and show characters' personalities within the limits of the format (email chains) was a challenge I enjoyed + I think it turned out well

Work with Most Hits: Conveniently also Bioethically Speaking

Fav title: "may they never forsake you" came from a poem that's been bouncing around my head for more than a year, so I'm glad I finally found a place to use it

Pairing You Wrote the Most For: I barely write romance at all, but this year I've got an in-progress fic where Anidala just keep getting married again and again and again, so they win by default

What Work was the Quickest To Write: I'm pretty sure Set her up for ever took less than 30 minutes

What Work Took You Longest To Write: Two of the three multi-chapter fics I started this year remain unfinished, so probably those. I was so sure I was going to finish one of them before Halloween...........

How Many WIPS do you have for next year: Besides the two fics from question 8, I've got 3 stories I've started drafting and no guarantee that I'll finish any of them. I would also really like to try writing a story not in English next year, though I've got no ideas connected to that goal yet

Longest Work of the Year: boring, next

Shortest Work of the Year: boring, next

Fav character to Write: Anyone I can make fun of a little bit. Lately the main targets of that have been Mr. Bennet (???) and Anakin Skywalker

Which work of yours have you re-read the most: Probably that dream within a dream because I have to remember what I've written so I can continue it lol

Total Kudos this Year: boring, next

Total Hits This Year: boring, next

Total Bookmarks This Year: comedically skewed by a single fic, next

Total Subscriptions This Year: I'm actually not skipping this one because I don't understand why 58 people subscribed to a bunch of one-shots. I'm not complaining, it's very flattering, I just feel a little bad that they're not going to get any more

What Do You Listen To While Writing: silence <3

Fav line or passage: Uhhhhhhhhhhh. I have various lines that amused me (to everyone's detriment, I do think I'm funny) but I feel like my favorite is from a fic that generally underwhelmed me? It was one of those situations where I couldn't get the idea out of my head without writing it, but I knew going in that I would probably not be able to write it in a way that satisfied me. But we try anyway, and maybe next year I'll revisit the concept to try it again. Anyway, here's Obi-Wan and Sabé being mean to each other post-RotS:

“I fought him off, I got her off the planet, I held her hand while she—” Obi-Wan took a deep breath, realizing how dangerously close he’d come to spilling another secret. “While she died. And all that time, you were safe on Naboo, not even knowing she was in danger.” “Fought him off? He’s alive, and you’re alive, and she’s dead, and you expect me to laud you for your supposed heroics?” “It was more than you did!” “And whose fault was it,” Sabé spat, “that she was ever in danger in the first place? Who brought that viper into her life, who trained it to act docile so she’d never expect the attack? We both know what he’s done, and you’re still lamenting him?” “I know what this is,” Obi-Wan said nastily. “It’s the jealousy again. She made one decision without you, and you never forgave her, and you can’t stand that I proved myself more loyal to her—to both of them.”

No-pressure tagging @animazi , @midnight-melancholiaaa , @twicesonnet , @wlwanakin plus anyone else who sees this and wants to do it (because I surely would have tagged you if I’d made the connection between your tumblr and ao3 usernames)

[666writingcafe]

The Home Theater

Satan

"I don't remember the House of Lamentation having one of these," MC notes as they take in their surroundings. "Whose idea was it to put one here?"

"It was mine," I answer. "Barbatos helped me set everything up. All the equipment, the acoustics...it's all top-notch."

"By human world standards, or Devildom ones?" I've forgotten how observant they are. MC seems to enjoy taking in all sorts of information, even if it seems insignificant to other people. That's one of the things I like about them.

"According to the employee at DevTech--I mean, Best Buy--we have the top-of-the-line equipment, and the quality is comparable to some of ours." I hate that I keep swapping human world names with Devildom ones. I personally feel like I'm better than that.

"Have you guys used it yet?"

"Funny that you mention that, because we just started a zombie movie marathon last weekend."

"Was that your idea as well?" I nod my head.

"The idea of zombies has interested me for a while now. While there are diseases and curses that can induce a zombie-like state in demons, it's usually a temporary problem that can be solved with medicine. That doesn't seem to be the case with humans."

"Are you solely basing that on our movies?"

"Of course not. I've also read books."

"Fiction or non-fiction?" Oh, I'm about to blow their mind.

"Both, actually."

While the human world seems to focus on the fantastical elements of zombies, the Devildom has meticulously recorded all zombie outbreaks that have occurred throughout the centuries. You see, sometimes a human zombie accidentally stumbles in the Devildom, and we have to deal with that situation properly in order to prevent chaos.

While we've certainly dealt with the stereotypical zombies--the ones that are slow-moving, crave brains, and are more or less dead--those aren't the only ones that we've come across. Some are capable of sprinting, others aren't too keen on brains, and there's even those that appear perfectly fine on the outside but have some kind of parasite in their brain that's making them carry out orders with no thought whatsoever.

Although, sometimes the parasite doesn't have a physical form and is instead created as a result of rather intense brainwashing.

"I see," MC states once I've completed my mini lecture. "Somehow, that's never come up in any of my classes."

"That's because you've only taken general knowledge ones. RAD offers majors, and with those comes specific classes for particular areas of study. Although, in order to declare a major, you have to prove that you have a solid understanding of the fundamentals first, since you might get pulled to teach a class or two."

"Has that ever happened to you guys?"

"Lucifer and I are the only ones out of our bunch that have declared a major. Belphie's been offered, but he doesn't want to deal with the responsibility of teaching, so he just takes whatever interests him. The others simply haven't proven themselves yet. Levi struggles with attendance, and Beel has difficulty concentrating. As for Mammon and Asmo, I think they're content with where they're at right now, so they're not going to push themselves too hard."

"What do you and Lucifer major in?"

"He does potions and curses. I focus on history and literature. Somehow, despite my sin, I tend to be a more patient teacher than him. At least, that's what I've heard from other students."

"That's really interesting." MC appears deep in thought. "Do you think I could major in something?"

Honestly, I don't know how to answer that question, mainly because we've never had beings outside the Devildom attend RAD before Diavolo implemented the exchange program. It wouldn't surprise me if he did allow MC and the others to declare a major eventually, but I don't know how long that would take. Would MC be alive by then? Or be in a good physical and mental state to take in additional knowledge, let alone teach an entire classroom? Personally, I think they have the best chance out of the initial exchange students of eventually declaring a major, but that isn't for me to determine.

"That would be something to ask Diavolo. I don't think I'm qualified to answer that question." MC nods their head.

"So, changing the subject...wanna watch a movie together?"

"Like, right now?"

"Yeah!" I sigh.

"As much as I would like to, I doubt the others would be happy if I kept you all to myself before they've even had the chance to say hi to you. I will have to take your offer some other time."

"Sounds good. I'll try to find a good movie for us to watch together in the meantime."

"You bring the movie, and I'll whip up something nice for us to eat." MC snorts in amusement. "Do you not think I'm capable of cooking, MC?"

"It's not that at all. Just reacting to an idea I had, that's all."

"What kind of thought?" Interesting. My question has made them tense up all of a sudden. Usually they only get that way if someone catches them doing something that they think they're not supposed to do. Like fiddling with strange objects.

Or having dirty thoughts.

I keep coming across the phrase "Netflix and chill" in the media I've been consuming, and it appears to be referring to hooking up with someone as a movie's playing in the background. Is MC wanting to do that with me?

Are they afraid I'd find the idea silly? Because I don't. I mean, if it was something that I was invested in, then I'd want to pay attention to whatever was playing, but I'm more than capable of choosing something that I can tune out as I focus on something else.

Especially if that something else happens to be MC.

I lean in closer to them to whisper,

"You know, I went ahead and assembled a collection of movies I thought you'd like." I plant a kiss right below MC's ear, making them shiver slightly. "I really enjoyed picking them out, actually." I begin moving down their neck. "It was fun thinking about what might appeal to you. There are so many genres that are worth exploring."

[hypermoyashi]

Okay! I finally got the time to start reading Trigun again, so this'll be my thoughts on chapters 17-20, plus Day In / Day Out and the Pilot, which are included in the Trigun volume of the deluxe edition. Warnings for spoilers!

Man I have so many thoughts on these chapters. I have to say I'm not a huuuuuge fan of the pilot--this appears to be where Vash's sexual harassment habit from the '98 came from, plus it did feel kind of odd for him to stand back and do nothing as someone took revenge on another when he's much more active in asking people not to kill in the main series. It sort of feels like he wasn't done yet as a character, and Nightow tweaked his characterization after the pilot. Some fun gags, though! And the Day In / Day Out bonus chapter was just cute, with Vash playing chess and losing with old men and playing with children. He's so sweet!

As for the actual chapters, we got the Legato chapters, and the Dominique chapters! Man, Dominique seemed like such a cool character, but we didn't get any real information about her. I guess that was standard since we didn't get much on the previous Gung-ho Guns that appeared, either, but she seemed neat! Mad respect for people who develop her in fic.

More under the cut! (Mind the warnings!)

We also got the first chapters of Wolfwood and Vash interacting! Honestly, the kids trying to steal from Wolfwood, Vash chiding them, and Wolfwood just giving them each a third of his remaining money but still keeping a little for himself... Wolfwood is such a sweet person. And Vash's smile! Wolfwood's comment on it! Honestly their relationship in canon is just so fucking sweet, though my brain is very Vashwood oriented now. (Though, fun fact that I experienced the '98 and Tristamp before Trimax, and Trimax was what got me really shipping Vashwood. So I didn't explicitly ship it until Trimax.)

And then. Man. We got the first on-screen interaction of Knives and Vash. I'm actually gonna save that for the end of the post, but. Actually made me feel kind of bad for Legato, after showing such devotion and loyalty to Knives only to get maimed by him almost as soon as Knives was awake again. It really shows that no matter what Legato does, he will never hold the same place in Knives's heart that Vash does because he's human, and yet, Legato will continuously chose Knives anyway, because at least he is better than Legato's previous circumstances.

I also loved Meryl and Milly. They tried so hard to get Vash to rest, to not go and confront Knives after he was injured in his fight against Dominique, but he went anyway, because of course he would. Them keeping his jacket and then hanging in the desert as a mock grave because they're not sure if he's dead or alive... Man. My fucking heart. They didn't get to spend a lot of time with him, but he was still important to the two of them.

Wolfwood was revealed as one of the Gung-ho Guns as well... The series doesn't play coy with letting you know Wolfwood is a traitor, and the fact that Vash travels with him later despite Wolfwood being at the Jeneora Rock with the rest of the Gung-ho Guns... I'm not even sure if they were visible to Vash, but there's nothing I picked up on to indicate he couldn't see them. So it's possible and probable Vash was just aware from the beginning of who Wolfwood was, what he was sent for, and Wolfwood was aware he probably knew, and just... Neither of them acknowledged it, which is very in line with the two of them.

And now. My thoughts on Vash and Knives.

Warnings for explicit discussions of abusive relationships and the dynamics involved.

Also a disclaimer that if you don't read them as abusive, that is perfectly fine. My reading is colored by my personal experience, so due to the inherently upsetting nature of denying abuse, I just ask that no one respond with their own contradictory headcanons on why I'm wrong on my reading--you're free to talk about your own readings in your own posts and spaces, but please be respectful of my own personal reading here!

In such a short interaction, there are so many shitty things that Knives does. So I'm going to break them down below:

Belittling/Infantilizing Vash: Knives specifically does this when he comments on Vash's scars, how they've grown since their last encounter. He views them as a mark of ignorance, how Vash refuses to learn from his mistakes, instead of seeing them how Vash sees them--a result of his choice to be kind. He can't view them as marks of Vash's choices, because then he can't frame this as him needing to "save" Vash from himself.

Attempts to isolate Vash from everyone who is not Knives: Specifically, he does that when he's pushing Vash to turn his gun on humans, asking why he's pointing his gun at Knives instead of them, turning his angel arm on humanity, sending the Gung-ho Guns after Vash, and purposefully creating chaos and destruction around him to ostracize him from society--Knives wants Vash to hate humanity as much as he does, but we also don't really see Knives connecting with other Plants on a personal level or encouraging Vash to do so, either. So effectively, by trying to drive Vash away from humanity, it means he's trying to severe every connection Vash has that isn't him. Painting him as a disaster and getting humanity to try and hate him (successfully, for the most part), and then trying to get Vash to hate humanity in return (unsuccessfully), is all a tactic to try and convince Vash that Knives is his only option, that they're the only ones who can understand one another and co-exist. This also extends to him sending Wolfwood after him--someone for Vash to bond with, only for him to be revealed a traitor (or for Vash to know he's a traitor all along). It didn't have the intended effect at all since Knives's understanding of Vash is shallow and self-centered, since Wolfwood is exactly the kind of kind human forced into violent circumstances that Vash would grow fond of. I don't think Knives banked on what comes later with the two of them, either. There are additional examples of this later in canon, but I'm sticking to what I've noticed so far.

Violating Vash's bodily autonomy: Conjuring the angel arm despite the fact that Vash is screaming and crying through it, using Vash's body for his own purposes against Vash's will. Yeah, this one doesn't really need any further explaining.

Blaming Vash for things that were objectively Knives's fault: Case in point, July. If I remember correctly, July was 100% a result of Knives forcing the angel arm to go out of control, but he cites it as an example of why Vash is just as much of a "humanoid disaster" as he is when Vash tries to call him out for his actions against humanity and the genuine harm he is doing. Knives was deflecting and disregarding Vash in an attempt to drag him down to his level and avoid taking responsibility for his own actions. It's also a manipulation tactic to "muddy the waters" and attack Vash's self-esteem, by trying to equate their actions as just as bad as one another when they are not.

These are the main ones I noticed! It's all kind of subtle, but real-life abuse often is, as well (except when it's not). But these are all tactics that Tristamp Knives also uses, he's just a little more blatant about it--with saying that Vash only needs him, labeling Vash a criminal, putting a bounty on his head, and blaming him for Knives's criminal acts in the public eye, using him to try and get at the core, etc. So honestly, I think Tristamp Knives reads as pretty faithful to Trimax Knives in my opinion, and it's neat to see that the creators drew on the same details that were there in the manga and expanded on them, although in slightly different contexts.

I do really appreciate this aspect being present in the manga, too. It's very often that I find depictions of abuse in fiction don't jiive with me personally, or that I can't read them, but the way Trigun handles it really resonated with me. But! I will talk about that more as I go through the rest of the series!

Thanks for reading this far!

[cherrythepuppet]

Corpse Puppet [Part 8]

Aw @sketchquill I'm happy to know your not fed up with me<3

"darling, where are you?" The Corpse asked as he looked around the bright yet dark dead town  "if you ask me, your partner is kind of jumpy" home said

"their not my partner, their my spouse" The corpse told home before going back to search "Darling! where have you gone?" The Corpse asked as home popped out of their eye

"l'll keep an eye out for them!" Home exclaimed With the two searching home had saw (Y/n) run into a barrel "There they go, there they go!" Home yelled as (Y/n) saw the Corpse and ran off

"Their- their getting away! Quick, quick, after them!" Home yelled as the corpse put his eye back in (Y/n) was out of breath and they hid inside a coffin as the Corpse walked past then still calling out for them suddenly a spider came down on a web

"Married, huh? l'm a widow" they said and (Y/n) smacked them away "Oh, how rude they went that way!" the spider yelled

(Y/n) ran off again and saw someone "Please! There's been a mistake! l'm not dead!" They yelled but the man's head fell off "WHAT THE-" "darling?" The Corpse called out and (Y/n) ran off

"Dear!" The corpse yelled as (Y/n) reached a stone wall "Dead end..." they mumbled but then they heard the corpse off in the distance and they thought 'F!ck it' and decided to climb it

As they got to the top they held onto a metal bar and they accidentally grabbed the corpse's leg "You Could have used the stairs, silly" He chuckled as he helped (Y/n) up

"lsn't the view beautiful? lt takes my breath away! Well, it would if l had any" He said with a laugh "Look, l am terribly sorry about what's happened to you and l'd like to help but l really need to get home" (Y/n) told him

"This is your home now" the corpse said "But l don't even know your name" (Y/n) mumbled "Well, that's a great way to start a marriage" home muttered "Shut up!" The corpse yelled quietly at home then turned to (Y/n) and smiled

"lt's Wally" he told them as something in (Y/n)'s mind clicked, (Y/n) remembered a man named Wally but they thought it was a coincidence "What is your name?" Wally asked "Oh right I never told you that...I'm (Y/n)" They said which made Wally stare at them in surprise and shock for a moment

 But just like (Y/n) he figured it was a coincidence "Oh, l almost forgot! l have something for you" he said as he grabbed a brightly colored (F/c) box

 "lt's a wedding present" he said as (Y/n) held it "Thank you?" (Y/n) mumbled and as they was about to open the box it jumped out of their arms

A bunch of bones came out of the box and turned into...a cat? And the cat handed (Y/n) a purple collar with a small bell, as (Y/n) was reading the collar they smiled widely

"Otto?" They asked "Otto!" They exclaimed as the Cat jumped onto their lap "l knew you'd be happy to see him" Wally said as he smiled at how happy (Y/n) was

(Y/n) was the happiest they're ever been and it was clear their cat meant a lot to them "Oh, what a cutie" Wally mumbled "You should have seen him with fur!" (Y/n) exclaimed then they went quiet

"Mother never approved of Otto jumping up like this But then again she never approved of anything" They mumbled "Do you think she would have approved of me?" Wally asked as he tilted his head a bit

"You're lucky you'll never have to meet her-" (Y/n) paused as they had an idea "Well, actually...now that you mention it l think you should! In fact, since we're, you know...married" They told him

"you should definitely meet her! And my Father too! We should go and see them right now!" (Y/n) exclaimed  "What a fantastic idea! Where are they buried?" Wally asked

(Y/n) scratched the back of their neck "What? What is it?" Wally asked with a concerned look "They're not from around here" (Y/n) said

"Where are they then?" Wally asked as (Y/n) Pointed up signaling that they were still alive "Oh, they're still alive!" Wally said as he realized what they meant "l'm afraid so..." (Y/n) mumbled 

"Well, that is a problem..." Wally muttered Otto looked at wally then began meowing "What's that, Otto?" Wally asked as he listened to the kitty meow meow and (Y/n) stared at him confused on how he understood a cat

"Oh, no, we couldn't possibly!" Wally exclaimed as the cat continues to meow "Oh, well, if you put it like that..." He mumbled

"What?" (Y/n) asked as they were still confused on what was happening "Frank Frankly" Wally said....

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters from Watson backlog special: Holmes' birthday

So Sherlock Holmes' birthday is often interpreted as January 6th, but why? Well, there have been a BUNCH of different scholars considering every aspect of the Sherlock Holmes stories over the years, and the common motivation among them is being considered a "Holmes Scholar" instead of a mere fan.

The evidence, as it has been presented over the years, has only one source that uh, has any connection to the actual text: The works of William Stuart Baring-Gould, best known for his only partially definitive Sherlock Holmes chronology. (AKA: The dead guy I have ongoing beef with and whose work in dating the Holmes stories I have been reviewing sporadically for the past year.) However, Baring-Gould is not automatically wrong, so let's follow his chain of logic, such as it is.

The final Holmes novel, Valley of Fear (1914-1915) starts on January 7th with Holmes being a bit tetchy

No boring Doylist explanation for Holmes' bad moods need apply.

No Watsonian explanation that Holmes is not always a good-natured roommate or considerate friend need apply either. No, Holmes, known for having no sleep schedule, no tolerance for his own failure, and no moderation in terms of taking mood altering substances more unusual than alcohol, must be hungover

Why would Holmes be hungover? He must have been up late celebrating.

What could he have been celebrating by drinking alone? His birthday! Therefore yesterday (January 6th) is his birthday! Case closed!

This conclusion is, kindly, a stretch, but in this fandom we love having answers almost as much as we love being the one to provide the answer. We must have rituals to keep a fandom alive over a hundred years, and celebrating Holmes' birthday on Jan 6 is as good as any other. I merely want to point out alternatives to the dates and timelines established by Baring-Gould like any good peer reviewer. Alternative speculation under the cut.

So... why, on his birthday, would Holmes have been celebrating by drinking alone, instead of drinking with Watson? Or going to the opera (alone or with Watson?) There is no indication at the beginning of Valley of Fear that it takes place when Holmes and Watson are living separately. They're having breakfast together. Or rather, Watson has long since finished breakfast, and Holmes has yet to start, which lends better support to the hangover theory than his momentary brusqueness, but not by a lot since the man is known to forget to eat. Reading it over without Baring Gould's conclusions in mind, I think very few fans would find this scene out of the ordinary for 221 Baker street, but since I'm willing to play along with Gould: what if the event that Holmes is celebrating privately isn't one that Watson would wholeheartedly accompany him for? What events occur on Jan 6th that Watson, the average victorian man, would not be a part of? Epiphany. No, that's literally the name of the holiday, part of the christmas season. It's cited as the date of the Wise Men's arrival to bring Jesus presents (er. presents but also you know, expensive dire omens regarding his eventual death, if you've never been forced to sing all the verses of "We Three Kings of Orient Are," which becomes grimmer as you go on.) It's the last of the 12 days of christmas and the "Twelfth Night" referenced in that one shakespeare comedy. It's not commonly celebrated in the modern (united states) conception of christianity, whether devoutly practicing or cultural. It was a great reason for the Victorians to party, however. ... which doesn't exclude Watson. Unless we imagine Watson as having been invited to an epiphany party and Holmes, either uninvited or uninterested in a party atmosphere, staying home, which is possible.

But this doesn't result in a revelation about Holmes' identity, so in the spirt of going out on a supported but not definiitive limb, I propose that Holmes is Catholic. (Not, most likely, practicing in any major way at this point in his life. There's belief and practice, and then there's culture, and if your only idea of growing up Catholic is John Mulaney skits about god not hearing you if you don't sing loud enough... well, it's far more complicated than that if you're a Victorian.) - Catholic celebration of the Epiphany has historically taken on a more somber tone than Protestant or Anglican celebration. (See: we've all had fun here during Advent and Christmas but you're obligated to remember that Jesus is gonna die. By mid spring. By the way, Ash Wednesday and Lent are coming up so if you got candy, eat it, you'll be giving it up in a month.) - Holmes' general slight out-of-step-ness with the general Victorian shared expectations and culture could be partially explained by being raised in a different iteration of Christianity. - And his reticence regarding his family history could be explained by growing up experiencing social rejection due to the anti-catholic sentiments that were absolutely all over England in the 1850's to 90's (and well the hell into more modern times too) - Anti-catholocism isn't something he could dodge by simply not actually practicing the religion he was raised in either. - Holmes' references to a french side of the family could indicate that he has, at the very least, catholic close-ish relatives, as that was the most common religion in france. - Enough scholarship has been written on "is Holmes secretly Irish?" given his surname and Doyle's background as an Irishman that I think we should spend at least a minute considering that these points could also be taken to mean that Holmes is Catholic.

People (Anglican descended Puritans, for example) were complaining about the secularized parts of christmas by the 1700's, (Meaning: any celebration that was not prayer inside the church) and the Victorian celebration of Christmas is the direct ancestor of the US and England's current Culturally Christian but not necessarily religious practice related celebrations, so I don't see Holmes having any difficulty fitting in with buying a goose, having a nice dinner, or listening to carols. But there's a chance that if he wanted to celebrate Epiphany with any family traditions, regardless of how far they were removed from actual religious practice, he might not invite Watson.

And if Watson knows, he has, loyally, not written a word.

[fountainpenguin]

"It's great to feel invincible; it's great to feel alive! My appetite's insatiable; there's nowhere it can hide..." (x)

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New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 13 - “Blaze (Jellie, Tango)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

Also, thanks Tango for signing this drawing at TwitchCon!

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Dog's Life Session 2 begins today! Jellie gives her perspective on SnifferMyFeet hanging out around the ConVex penthouse. We don't talk about what's in Scar and Cub's closet. Don't worry about it.

Where Jellie leaves off, Tango picks up! It's time to prep for Session 2. We never did find out what's up with Impulse, but his code looks glitch-free, so let's play!

... Etho sure is dragging his feet though, isn't he?

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Jellie

Species: Cat

(Flawless at it)

🤍  🤍  🤍

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Jellie is, in her own way, the goddess of crumbs and ants and squinted eyes. It's surprising just how many crumbs get left behind in this world, where things do not despawn the way they do in her other home. She has visited there many a time, though Scar has grown more firm in asking her to stay on this side of the portal. She does not always understand his reasons, but he is gentle with his body language until he is tense, and they sing their multilingual songs as best they can.

Jellie is she who sits on high atop the kitchen cabinets. It is there she's perched the first time Scar brings his new friend home. He has a peculiar air about him (though defining the reason why would be difficult, for she is but a cat). Perhaps it is the tight way he moves his body: wary and defensive. Perhaps it is the way he keeps one hand in his pocket, tugging at the collar of his pretty white sweater with the other.

Perhaps it's the way he so vividly looks like Grian in the tousled, blond-brown undersides of his hair… and in the gentle curves of his cheeks. He is neither sharp nor aggressive. There's something familiar in those dark, dark eyes. His spiny wings are blue like Scar's, though positioned much lower at his back.

When this figure turns his head, Jellie keeps very still in her place high above. Yet he notices her. Somehow. Perhaps in the faint curl of her tail. When he tilts back, white sparkles ripple from his neck. They twist away in the air. There is no point in batting at them- even those that stray within reach. They're ethereal. They will disappear soon enough, absorbed into the code of the game. At least, that's how Scar puts it in his whispered nighttime stories. Thus, Jellie twitches her whiskers in reply.

Ah, says she (in her own words and way). You are one of they who feast on the minds of the living, but never the flesh. You are among those who cross the line between what is material and what is of another realm.

He's like Grian in his face… and like Scar in his wings. Perhaps this is their kitten. Jellie does not know much about the lives of play-creatures like Scar, but she understands kittens. She's had a few herself.

"Jellie!" cries the kitten. His hands fly up, including the one he'd kept hidden throughout his first moments of roaming the penthouse. Jellie does not descend, for she is observing in this moment of time.

Her aloof silence, however, does not deter the curious arrival. He makes to hop on the counter. It's just a bit too high. Failing that, he tries again from the crafting table, which sits a smidgen lower. This time he makes it. His leg thuds against wood. Jellie blinks, but does not hiss or fold back her ears. Let him come. He is curious, for he is but a kitten and new to this world. He smells cold, like a dead creature. There is lifeless quiet in his eyes, but he is determined to make the most of what he has. Scar, who is fixing the pillows on the couch, turns around as the kitten stretches his arms towards the high cabinets.

"Ooh- Sniff, watch out-"

Sniff, Jellie decides, is a lovely name for a kitten. She repeats it in her own form, with a tail ripple and a mew. Sniff bodies right up against the cabinets. His wings flap, but he is young and grounded. He reaches high… straining, even. His eyes spark with the glow of life. His breathing comes in huffs. "Aw, c'mon, Jellie… I want to pet you. Nice job with the walls, Scar… This whole place is a playground for felinekind, isn't it? Look at all this stuff."

"Oh, let her stay there and observe," Scar cautions as Jellie slips into a crouch. "She's a little shy, so you can't expect-"

Jellie oozes over the edge of the counter, plopping downwards like treats from her dispenser. Sniff catches her in one arm. He lets out a pleased little babbling noise, then nuzzles his cheek against her neck.

"… huh."

"Oh, you're soft," Sniff remarks, but Jellie twists away before he can pet for long. She lands on the countertop in her dainty way, then trots around the edge until she stands in front of Scar. He scritches behind her neck, then migrates his palm between her ears. Sniff descends, walking over, and that's enough interaction for now. Jellie sidles off down the hall. "Your place smells like gingerbread," Sniff says after that.

"Oh, that… Just one of the wonderful things about living where we do. C'mon; pick a movie!"

There are no birds down underground, but there are plenty of mice. Jellie paws at the door to Cub's room until he lets her in. His slippers are fuzzy… but not made of mouse. And anyway, skinned prey would be an insulting gift. One quick check confirms no rodents hidden in the plants and machinery, so she mews again until he lets her back out. Scar will not let her leave the penthouse, so Jellie waits for him to use his litterbowl before making her request. The door's only been closed for a moment when she takes up position on the lowest platform of her cat tree, mewing at the balcony door. She bops it with her hand.

Sniff, who is watching from the couch, tips his head and blinks like he might understand. "You want to go out?"

Yes!

He walks over. "This is a pretty door," he says, examining the craftsmanship…

… for a little too long.

Outside. Now. She is the goddess of crumbs and ants and squinted eyes, and those things exist in abundance on the other side of this hole-freckled door.

"All right… Let me see."

Yes…

[Cnt'd on AO3 - Links at top]

[lheautontimoroumenos]

more thoughts on jackie,shauna .

oooh now you're asking for trouble anon. this is kinda wide so i'll swing wide (this starts and end with codependency though) and go with no plan. if you want something specific pls send another ask.

so. jackie. shauna. or rather jackieshauna. no space between them right? (that's probably the only thing that makes me accept this as the ship name instead of shaunackie).

(i have to put a read more because this is long as fuck believe me)

we know shauna and jackie have been friends for years, probably since they got into school.

we didn't get to see much about jackie's parents when she was still a kid but jackie doesn't seem to hold her mom or her dad in her heart. and yet when she's gone it seems all they can talk about is her.

they're a mirror of shauna's reaction in that they can't seem to let go. even if they probably didn't tell her they loved her, or said it but didn't show it in a way that jackie could receive it (or maybe jackie's mom was too worried about her valium problems), they have to fill the void. they have to believe she'll come back and everything will be the same. that's why her room is left untouched, that's why they make her gifts that she wouldn't even have liked when they celebrate her birthday every year with a picture from when she was 17.

and shauna can't bear to go see them, she suffers every year at jackie's birthday, first because of the guilt she still has regarding jackie's death, and then because she has to go to the taylor's house. they show her just what she's been doing this whole time.

in 101, shauna masturbates while looking at her daughter's boyfriend's picture because she's stuck in the past. in her world jackie's still alive, and in a way callie is jackie to her. because she's a part of jeff and jeff was a part of jackie (which is why shauna went after him). and in this scene, callie's boyfriend is jeff in shauna's head, even unconsciously (interesting to note that callie ends up dumping him and makes you think about what could have been).

and at the end of the episode, where her control kind of slipped because of the "journalist" looking into her past, she immediately went to read her journals. and not the end of it, when jackie's gone, but the very beginning, right after the crash. and not any part either, but the part where she shares and doubts jackie's hopeful sentiment. they have to find us right? they're gonna go get us? why haven't they found us?

so she's right back in it, really she never left. when nat dies, young nat tells her she never even left the plane, lottie says they brought "it" back with them, but there was no "it", "it" was just us. they brought themselves back, teenage them that was still happy and fine (none of them were fine).

so shauna's back in new jersey, she brought her teenage self back, and with her, teenage jackie. jackie's still here with her all the time, in her journals and her hallucinations and in jackie's parents house. because they're a single being, a unit. they're inseparable, a bit of jackie is part of shauna, she ate her, jackie kept shauna alive and now shauna's keeping jackie alive.

and if she's teenage shauna then she's fine, right? she doesn’t have a single problem. but she also feels guilty all the time. if jackie's alive and shauna's married to jeff then she's just betraying her again and again. and callie is the walking talking manifestation of that. she's both the proof that jackie's alive and dead. that she's still there all the time but gone forever. exhibit: callie in jackie's uniform. (and she falls back in her pattern of lying and hiding things in her affair with adam, that starts because of jeff in shauna's mind, the same way she slept with jeff because of jackie).

and honestly? she can make people believe she's fine as long as jackie stays in her. as long as jackie's hers really. but as soon as she's torn away from her insides, jackie becomes dangerous, she hurts and she tears something away from shauna, she takes her away from herself. when she's dating jeff she alienates shauna from herself. when she's put in front of jackie at her birthday she drops her filter, she says she doesn't even like callie (but she can't help loving her), when callie wears jackie's uniform at the party shauna's forced to open up and in spite of her efforts the façade falls.

if jackie isn't hers and hers only then shauna's falling apart. codependency at its finest and at its worst.

and it's not like jackie exempt of that either, we just get less time to see it. but shauna throws it all in her face when they fight in 110, she made her play soccer so they'd stay together, she tells her what to wear so that shauna will stay hers in a way, she assumes shauna's going to rutgers with her and that they'll be best friends forever and that nothing will ever go wrong because her life is perfect (not touching on heteronormativity here but it sure is present imo). she feels left out as soon as shauna starts hanging out with tai in the wilderness, she doesn't want anything to do with the thing that's taking shauna away from her and into the group's good graces (her butchering skills).

that's, I think, the fundamental difference in the way they deal with their codependency. shauna runs toward what's breaking it because she thinks that looking at it up close will either make it disappear or will spontaneously provide a solution to her problem (exhibit: fucking jeff, going to jackie's room at the taylor's, opening up to callie at the party). she grasps blindly at the last of what she thought was a constant in her life, she tries to keep the control and often ends up making things worse (though if holding on fails, shauna's solution is to kill and destroy so she can keep this control).

whereas jackie runs away from it. she keeps an order about things and the relationship but if it looks like it's about to blow then she's gone (exhibit: leaving the cabin after the fight, going buddy buddy with mari at the lake when she feels shauna pulling away from her, not investing herself in any "useful" activity at the camp). where shauna tries hard as she can to hold on to what is slipping away, jackie just lets it go.

they're like deers that get too close to each other and get their antlers tangled (i think there's a poem about this that i'll try to find) and caught in each other and trying to pull away just ends up killing them. it's not that they got too close for comfort, it's that they got so close, getting away from each other even for an inch or a second would kill them. they couldn't live without each other.

but they also got so close they couldn't see each other as a whole. they have to take each other at face value because it's all they can see at this point. jackie died because she couldn't live without the image she made of shauna in her head, the image of an even younger shauna that followed jackie around without a care in the world because this jackie was hers, and hers only.

and shauna is still alive, only because she carries with her an image of a teenage jackie that both forgave her (which allows her to keep carrying jackie with her) and holds her accountable (being cruel though honest justifies shauna's outburst during the fight, if jackie was mean to her then she kind of deserved it right?) which in turn absolves shauna.

they couldn't keep living together the way they were so they had to tear themselves away from each other.

yet even physically apart, there is no way to think one without feeling the other.