#Honestly at this point if we make more than 5 posts a day in less than 1 hour

[medicinemane]

At least even when I was a teenager and identified as communist, I was still never a soviet apologist

(And as I got older I came to dislike the USSR more and more and more, also seeing that soviet apologism kinda tended to fuck things up for western communists cause they'd be so busy running defense for people who didn't like or care about them, that actually getting policies passed to help western workers came second to being a tankie)

(Straight up, while I was volunteering in Quebec, one of the people I stayed with had this book by her uncle about being a Canadian communist, and he basically pinned soviet apologism as the whole reason he left the party cause they were more interested is doing PR for the kremlin than they were interested in like... unionizing in Canada)

Anyway, tankies suck, soviet apologism suck, and I'm glad to be able to say that even when I was a communist I didn't fall into that trap... like thank fuck for that, you know?

[loudclan-clangen]

So, here is the pitch:

AU where Siltsplash finds out they are pregnant around the same moon that Eklutna gives birth to the boys. (Rather than an AU where Owl doesn’t cheat because then we wouldn’t have Song, Dance, or Dash and that won’t do)

It makes the betrayal even worse because it’s even more pointless since they were going to give Owl an heir.

Anyway, meet Spindlekit

She will eventually go blind I imagine, but if Owlstar suggest she retire she tells him that he should retire for being old lmao.

Warrior name is open to suggestion

I love her and I’m so mad that she doesn’t exist now.

The fact that Song doesn’t have a little sister is a CRIME. This is what he was born to do.

Not only am I okay with it, I would love to see it!

You are so right, here's a flashback that was cut for time from Moon 28:

Erminepaw has had a crush on Songpaw since they were in the nursery together, he just never called attention to it. He honestly probably doesn't even register that it is a crush, he's doing that thing that kids do where they're like this is my best friend, of course I want to marry him that's how everyone feels about their best friend. Nothing out of the ordinary here! Just my best friend that I must be holding hands with at all times for best friend reasons!

Yes! This is Fox----, he has been causing problems since the literal day he was born. You've met both of his parents, but I would be a little bit surprised if you guessed them correctly. Parental drama is kinda part of his whole deal. He's one of the first 3rd generation cats born in Loudclan.

I have SO much advice, about the images, the recommended size is 1280 x 1920 pixels, that's always a little too short for my panels, so I try to aim for 1280 x 2000 - 3000. It still deteriorates them a little bit, but people can always click on them for better quality. Bigger text and variation in values also help for readability regardless of size. (value meaning how light or dark a color is. if you want something to stand out it's more important to change the value than it is to change the hue generally speaking.) As for grabbing attention, I would recommend making sure that the image you're trying to show is visible above the cut off for longer posts, posts with only text visible are a lot less likely to get interaction. That being said, the most important thing for the longevity of your blog is making sure that it's something you are doing for yourself. There's nothing wrong with liking when your posts get attention, but it's not likely to happen for a long while (I think moon 5 was the first time I got double digit likes which was three months after I started.) I appreciate all of the love that Loudclan gets now, but if I had started with that as the goal I never would have been able to reach the point of it happening. (I actually started posting Loudclan with the intention of proving to myself once and for all that posting art was not a viable endeavor for me, so... I'll consider that a successful failure!)

You CANNOT DO THIS to me anon- "the canadian city"- YOU MEAN JUNEAU? YOU MEAN THE CAPITAL OF ALASKA JUNEAU?!?! JUNEAU?!?! CANADIAN?!?! When I catch you anon- anon when I catch you-

Come here, anon. I just want to talk. I just want to have a word with you.

[igotanidea]

(7) Cheater: Dick Grayson x reader

part 1/ part 2 / part 3 / part 4/ part 5 / part 6

A/N: ladies and gentlemen I give you : THE FINALE! happy early b-day @pookieisme4life 🎁🎁 (I was about to wait till 24th but it turned out impossible I am so excited to post it!!!)

***

„Who the hell are you?”

Honestly, he could care less about the ID of the mystery person, nor he hoped for the actual answer, but the initial shock did just that.

They were driving towards some unknown destination that was allegedly the location of the place Y/N was taken to.

“Nice try, Nightwing. Keep dreaming” the person, who was already deemed as a woman, laughed, swirling abruptly yet skillfully.

“Seriously you can’t just expect me to address you in a hey, you way.”

“Valid point. For the sake of it, let’s settle on calling me Shadow.”

“Fine. Whatever. Now why are you helping me?”

“I did some bad things In my life. Maybe this is my way of making up for them.”

“Huh. Seeking redemption?”

“Pretty nice trope, isn’t it?” she laughed. It was actually pretty nice to be able to use humor even in dire situations. “I was always a sucker for the character who wants to do better in their life.”

“Yeah. At least you chose a better way to do so than my brother.”

“You mean Red Hood?”

“For someone I don’t know shit about, you seem awfully knowledgeable about my family ties.”

“Intel is everything, Nightwing. And yes, I know what your other brother, Red Robin, might say.”

“Who the hell are you?!” At this point Dick was really getting curious.

“A friend.” She responded, looking right at him, her eyes shining from behind the mask.

***

“Let me go!!”

“Easy princess. Behave or this might actually get worse for you.”

“LET ME GO!!” she struggled against the binding on her wrist and the sack put on her head.

“What did I tell you, you bitch!?” She was abruptly pulled out of the car and thrown onto the ground. “Do you have a death wish?!”

“Fuck you!”

“If I were you, I’d cooperate, you little slut. Otherwise we might have to scar that pretty face of yours more than it’s necessary.”

With a sharp movement the sack was torn off her head and she had to squint her eyes from the light that hit her eyes with excessive force, reinforced by the fact she had just spent god knows how much time in a dark car with eyes covered.

“Shit…” there was no possibility to hold back the hiss and a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Yes. Yes sunshine, you’re in deep shit.” The kidnapper kneeled to her level and caressed her cheek in a condescending gesture, obviously misreading her tears as a sign of fear and submission. “So pretty…”

“Piss off!” she acted instinctively, ending up with a slap on the cheek and stinging sensation that only added to her anger.

“Didn’t I tell you to behave?”

“I had a stinking sack on my head, maybe there was something wrong with my hearing at the time and – “ her head spun to the side as another slap, this time far harder landed on her cheek.

“Well you definitely heard me now. And if you didn’t I won’t hesitate to remind you again. Now get up, we’re taking you to the boss.”

Great.

She was in a freaking video game, when two brainless thugs captured her for a reason that was still a mystery to her and was now taking her to the den of a final boss on the level.

***

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

Should she even be surprised that said den had a design of a video game? Dark, cold, adjourned with different kinds of weapons scattered here and there, huge desk in the middle and three monitors that took up the entire wall?

Almost grotesque.

But hey, who was she to judge the taste of Gotham’s criminals, right?

She probably should have been terrified, praying to every higher power to be saved by Batman, Red Hood, Robin or – damn – even Poison Ivy in the worst case, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to that particular emotion. It was like her brain refused to anchor in reality and everything turned into a freaking dream she was sure to wake up from any second now.

Though maybe getting back to reality in which Dick was still with Sienna and she was brokenhearted wasn’t really a good alternative.

Right. Dick.

Did he even notice her gone? Or was he too busy patching things up with his girlfriend, already forgetting about Y/N? The girl he claimed to love?

A kick in the back of the knees that send her to the floor (again) made her realize that while getting lost in her thoughts she missed the obviously very important and very detailed speech of the villain who was describing his wicked plan to take over the world and –

“Ouch!”

“Stupid bitch.”

“It hurts!” she tried to squirm away from the kicking but it was immensely hard with her hands still bound.

“Hold the fire, boys. Easy. The lady is our guest after all and this is not how we treat guests, is it?” The goons chuckled darkly, because clearly guests were deserving of a far more cruel and brutal treatment. “Now, now, don’t be scared little one. We won’t hurt you. Much. At least not until you give us what we want.”

The owner of a deep, husky voice, who clearly was the host of the party finally decided to step forward and show his face.

Well.

Not exactly showing his face.

***

 “Could you at least tell me who we’re dealing with here?!” Dick muttered, keeping his voice low as he and Shadow pulled at the abandoned building on the outskirts of Gotham. “Do you even know?”

“Why? Does it matter?” Shadow joked “Would you use a different contingency plan for Riddler and another one for Two Face?”

“Could you please stop joking about it? This is my girlfriend we’re talking about!”

The emotions started to come to the surface, and Nightwing started becoming uncharacteristically scatter-brained.

“Idiot. Keep it down!” Shadow hissed, pulling him behind the corridor crease, miraculously avoiding the watchful gaze of the guardian. “Here’s what I get for putting myself at risk. Nightwing announcing his presence to the entire compound filled with criminals. Get yourself together. Or is it too hard for you?!”

Dick grimaced. He hated himself at the moment. For both losing his cool, especially in front of someone who could hold it against him and for missing on precious time since every second counted.

“Y/N. Think about Y/N.” he muttered to himself “She needs your help. Now more than ever.”

He took a few deep breaths, calming down the storm inside him to the point where he was actually in control and capable of turning the fear and concern into anger.

If anyone touched his Y/N….

“You back?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m back.” He opened his eyes, completely focused, eyes sharp, instincts on high alert. “Tell me who’s the fucker who dared to take her.”

“Black Mask.”

“Fucker.” The word left Dick’s lips without the involvement of his brain. That was how much he loved her. The golden boy, teasing, joking and playful nightwing turned into a machine, swearing and ready to freaking kill, almost Red Hood like.

“So? Ready to kick some asses?”

“After you.” The predatory smirk blooming on his face was a sign of incoming violence and spilling blood.

***

Her screams mixed with the ones coming from the corridor in a beautiful, gory cacophony of sounds. An ode painted with blood and pain. Maybe that was why for a longer moment no one in the room actually paid attention nor was willing to try and differentiate the sources of notes in the song.

 Or maybe it was the fact that the goons’ cries were extremely high-pitched, almost reaching the same key as the yelling of a woman trapped in the torture machine, losing strength with every passing second.

“Oh no, no, no, no.” Black Mask laughed cruelly “you don’t get to pass out on me yet. Info first.” The iron grip on her wrist tightened even more, as if that was even possible, cutting into skin and muscle, amplifying the blood loss.

For the last whatever-time-passed she was kept on the edge of consciousness as if Black Mask was hoping that choking, hurting and injecting with some substance would cause her to lose inhibitions and finally blurt out the information he was so dead set on getting.

Who is Nightwing.

Who is Batman.

Any piece of information would turn out to be useful, but since the beginning of the questioning it became painfully clear that that stupid girl was either too weak or too strong to answer.

Too weak because it seemed that even the slightest amount of pain made her repeatedly pass out and too strong because on those intermittent periods where she actually was conscious and aware of the surroundings enough to talk was the one making her extremely stubborn and uncooperative.

And Black Mask was losing his patience.

Here he was, gracing that little scum with his presence instead of submitting her to the treatment of his lower men, with less than gracious methods and she had the audacity to be bratty.

A vicious circle in which he was using the moments to get information only to be refused, beating her again and ending up with a thoughtless body, achieving nothing, over and over again.  

He should have just stuck to using his rat, skillfully planted in Gotham.  

“Fuck!” he yelled seeing as once again she went limp on the chair only because he pulled her nail. “Stupid bitch!”

“Mmmmm…” Y/N muttered and for a moment the room was completely quiet save from her little whimpering.

And then –

“OUCH!”

“FUCK!”

“RETREAT!”

“The hell?” Black Mask walked to the door and looked through the peephole. “Fuck!” Seeing his guards and men being thrown in different directions, sounds of yelling and snapping bones alongside with blood streaming on the floor was not the best view before 7 p.m. and definitely not the best without his favorite drink. Under any other circumstances he would be giving zero fucks about the violence outside the safe door, but now – he had a plan to complete and no one, fucking no one would prevent him from succeeding.

The loud sound of a door’s guard crashing with the metal surface and pictorially sliding down with crushed skull caused Sionis to quickly recalibrate his plan.

Seemed like Red Hood was in the house. And not that Sionis was scared, but-

“Hold them back!” he yelled, grabbing the limp body of Y/N and rushing towards the safety exit, to the roof where his private jet was landed just in case of emergencies.

And this was clearly an emergency.

***

The door broke about 30 seconds after Black Mask rushed to the passage.

“You carry explosives with you everywhere?” Dick muttered, equally impressed and shocked.

“What? It comes in handy and -”

“AAAAH!” Both goons rushed at the two vigilantes before Shadow could finish a sentence, but their brave loud cries quickly turned to quiet, broken sobbing as they were laid down.

“Be a sweetheart and tell me where he went?” Nightwing leaned over the goon with an almost soft smile.

“mhm…” inert waving towards the passage was enough of an answer.

“Good boy. Thanks.”

***

“NO!!” she yelled as Black Mask was dragging her through the roof. Sudden realization of all the things that could go wrong making her much more valiant and strong. As long as she was still in Gotham and not exported to another city or – god forbid – country – could result in being deemed as another missing-without-trail- person.

That is – if someone was even looking for her in the first place.

Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes at the thought that she could be so easily forgotten.

And the terror she was holding back for so long, since the moment of being dragged into that black SUV, finally found a way out…

“NIGHTWING!!!”

***

“Y/N!!”

A dead man would hear that cry and even a dead man would rise from the dead at the sheer desperation beaming from the voice.

“Y/N!!! I’m coming!”

***

“You’re becoming a trouble!” Black Mask hissed, slapping her repeatedly, drawing another stream of blood this time from the broken lip.

“I – “

“I’m so done with you. Should have just killed you the second you turned out to be of zero significance to the cause. Now come here you little bitch-“

“No!!”

She blindly started to run away, only to trip (obviously) and ending up back in Sionis’ grip.

“NO!!”

He was too strong and she was too scared and stiff to fight anymore. Digging heels into the ground did no harm and was definitely no hindrance in being pulled towards the ledge of the 10-stories building.

“NO!!!!”

“Y/N!!”

Both the girl and Sionis froze for a moment as another male voice cut into the screaming match.

But it was too late.

***

“Go!” Shadow was probably the only one who didn’t lose cold blood.  “GO!”

***

She was falling.

And it was beautiful.

Knowing that she would finally be free of all the pain, of all the heartbreak, of the guilt coming with betraying another girl by sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend. Liberated from being stuck in the memories of the past when she was actually happy, before everything went to shit.

“I love you Dick…” she whispered, finally crashing to the ground.

***

“Who the hell are you?!”

“Oh, come on, not this again!” Shadow hissed, extremely dissatisfied with the fact that everyone she encountered was far more interested in getting to know her personality, rather than fearing her killer skills.

For Black Mask it took a record time of ten minutes before calling defeat and ending up bound and being taken by the GCPD.

***

“Y/N.”

She opened one eye and much to her surprise found out that she was not a celestial body looking at her bloodied pulp of a body on the pavement.

“I love you too…” the warm embrace around her was welcomed but in time started to become a little suffocating and her battered body refused to be squeezed.

“Dickie…”

“Shh… shh, I got you.” He whispered again, caressing her hair, kissing her forehead, doing everything to assure both her and himself that it was all over and that he got her, that she was safe and he would never let it happen again. Never.

“H-How? W-what happened-? I – I thought-“

“You thought so little of me, didn’t you?”

“Idiot.”

“Hey!”

“Fucking prick! I swear if it wasn’t for this – “ she swung her injured arm in the air “I’d slap the hell out of you!”

“I saved you!”

“I almost died and you’re making jokes!”

Oh. Right. Maybe, just maybe given the circumstances it was slightly inappropriate.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah. You better.” She pouted, but he knew better, wiping the unshed tears. “It’s over.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“What happened?”

“I’m an acrobat, remember? I jumped. And damn, I wish someone had that on video because it was really one of my best – Ouch! Ouch! Ok, ok! Stop it! Point taken!”

***

“How are we doing here?”

Once Sionis was seated in the back of a police car, hands were shaken and words of gratitude exchanged Shadow walked towards Dick and Y/n.

“I think she’ll live.” Dick teased with a smirk, predictably moving a safe distance away from his -- .

Right.

Maybe there was no happy ending after all with that messed up relationship thing hanging over their heads like a freaking axe.

“Can’t say the same about Nightwing though” Y/N pushed the thought away, settling on sending him a death stare for making fun of her again.

“Good. I’m glad.”

“I think you made up for whatever crime you were trying to redeem, Shadow. Thank you. I owe you. You saved my –“

“Girlfriend?” Shadow prompted, looking between Y/N and Dick, making them both blush in a bit of embarrassment.

“It’s complicated-“ they both said at the same time.

“Oh, trust me, it’s not complicated at all!” Shadow laughed

“What do you mean? You don’t know-“

“I know more than you think. Haven’t I proved that already?” Shadow turned around, making sure no one was watching and slowly took of her mask.

***

Fast forward. One week later.

Y/N was walking out of the hospital. It seemed like her arm was healing nicely and there were no complications, though her doctor was very stern while telling her she was supposed to rest and not get herself involved in any form of physical activity.

If he only knew that she was in a relationship with Gotham’s and Bludhaven vigilante.

“Y/N!”

Speaking of which, said vigilante was now honking at her from his Porsche.

“Showoff!”

“Get in loser, we’re going shopping!

She laughed and jumped inside the vehicle.

“You’re supposed to hold the doors open for me!”

“Mh. Missed you too, sunshine.” He leaned over the gearbox kissing her with a cheeky grin. “How’s the hand?”

“She’ll live.”

“Quoting me already, princess? Careful, I might think you consider me a superstar or something.”

“Idiot!”

“Ouch! You’re hurting me. But I’m willing to forgive you, giving the circumstances of late.”

He started the engine and took the way to the city.

“Yeah. Crazy, right?” her head fell onto the car’s headrest and she sighed heavily. “I mean – who would have thought…”

***

Flashback

“S-Sienna!?”

“Hey you two.”

“h-hey? What do you mean “hey”?! What is this?! Some sick joke?!”

In her stupor Y/N missed the fact that Dick was as shocked (if not more) as her. Hence it couldn’t have been any conspiracy against Y/N’s mental health.

“Whoa! Whoa! Relax!” Shadow Sienna raised her hands in surrender “Dick-“

“The hell?! How do you know? Damn it-!” he forgot about all the rules of safety and tore off his mask. Getting to the bottom of this shit was far more important.

“- I meant what I said. Really! About that redemption arc! Just – just listen to me!”

“Five minutes.”

“It was all a scheme-“

“Well let me tell you, your explanation is starting off the wrong foot” Dick groaned, pulling Y/N to his side to strengthen her mentally.

“I am Black Mask’s niece in the second line!” Sienna explained dramatically “wait-! Wait-! I have no loyalty to him! Not anymore!”

“One minute left.” Dick hissed

“It was all a plan. He had some vague idea about the ties between the one Dick Grayson and Batman and Y/N and wanted to use all of you against each other.”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Yes, fine! I was his spy for a moment, but then you two-. God! You love each other! And I just couldn’t- I couldn’t-“

Y/N wriggled out of Dick’s embrace and walked to Sienna, grabbing both her hands in her healthy one.

“Thank you.”

End of flashback

***

 “I really hope you took your golden visa with you, cause I am about to go crazy with this shopping spree.”

“Hey. No limits on Bruce’s cards. He won’t even notice the loss of a couple thousands and I got my girl back, so-“

“I think we should send-“

“I already took care of that.”

After all the trouble and drama they got their happy ending.

***

In another part of town a certain girl found a fruit and sweet basket on her doorstep. With a little, but meaningful card.

It seemed like she found her happy ending too.

One in which she was no longer used by anyone and treated as a villain.

With the view for a future of freedom.

@miraculous-panic @fullbelieverheart @xlatinaaxx @ietss @arfrona

@gracescor3 @jaysgirlx @fuzzym4m4 @peachmartini @xenop0p @madness1999sworld

@leovergurl

[undersprite]

2024 Comic Contest Results

Before we get started, I would like to extend a personal thank you to everyone who created an entry for the contest this year. Although we only got four entries this year, those four entries' dedication to telling stories that are novel and interesting for this community to enjoy is worthy of commendation in itself. For a while, I was scared we wouldn't even get enough entries to fill the podium; thanks to your efforts, this has not come to pass.

Since we have very few entries this time around, I'll be providing a link to each comic, with accompanying scores and excerpts from reviews. Now, catch the results under the cut:

Runner-Up: "The Undertale Game Comic" by FutureGamer25

(Average score: 15.5/50)

"As the submitter says, this was made in a day. I can’t be too hard on this out of principle..." - Soufon

"[...it] succeeded at making me laugh multiple times, thanks in no small part to how it deliberately wields nothing looking like it fits together." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"You know, honestly for being made in less than a day and being posted 5 minutes before the deadline, I gotta give you a lot of credit for that. I don’t even think I could have made that in a day [...]" - Mufeet

"The freaking car and the ending got me a good chuckle. I'll give you that. I congratulate you for tossing your coin." - Subna

3rd: "Frisk Visits the Store and Nothing Happens" by Trooper3

(Average score: 34/50)

"I thought Sans and ESPECIALLY Papyrus were super funny [...] I think we’ve finally reached a point where the skele-bros are just consistently characterized properly now, and I love to see it." - Mufeet

"The FunMart[TM] makes an earnest effort to capture the feeling of exploring an area in an actual Toby Fox game, and [...] captures at least a bit of that shine." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"I honestly like your idea, is funny and it works perfectly to show these OCs of yours in this format. I wish there was more content to see about them, I wish to know them [...]" - Subna

"As light as it is, I like having this kind of slice of life look into UT’s world, the comedy focus helping to make the comic feel more breezy than insubstantial." - Soufon

2nd: "Undertale: Pushing On" by Mouse

(Average score: 34.75/50)

"Of all the entries we got, this is the only one that really felt like it captured the essence of telling a story as if it were still part of a game—something I have sorely missed." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

"Great story and great teaching from it. Can add up greatly to UNDERTALE’s world and...tbh I’d LOVE to play a full game with Alvia." - Subna

"[...] I like having who [Gerson] is in UT be because of Alvia’s actions, like how the orange soul kid is framed as responsible for the bunny family in Snowdin’s success - having all the soul humans impact the underground like that helps all of them feel real to UT’s world[...]" -Soufon

"I was captivated from beginning to end, and god, the ending [...] it actually made me a bit teary-eyed." - Mufeet

1st: "Knock Knock" by StarlightShores and ToMoChao

(Average score: 47/50)

"I was not expecting something like this out of this contest. Knock Knock is a substantial storyline, not a peek into an adventure, or a silly reprieve." - Soufon

"Even if it’s pretty lengthy, it keeps you engaged, to know where this is all going, all the way to the end." - Subna

"Flowey and Sans pair-ups are so rare, but when done it is ALWAYS such a fun time. They both play off each other so well, and it is no exception in this comic, especially towards the end where they start to bond over dealing with the loss of someone important to them." - Mufeet

"You created a story going on a thousand panels where, while reading it, my attention never flagged [...] You created a webcomic the Undertale fanbase will, if there’s any justice left around here, be obsessed with for years to come. It’s art, I’m afraid." - CHAOS_FANTAZY

Our full score card for the event can be seen here. The full reviews will be available in the Discord server on request.

With regards to prizes: the judge whom was contributing to our prize pool has begun college for the year, and unfortunately they were unable to set aside the money they had originally promised for the cash prize. The illustration prize is still available; winners, please reach out to fmsdraws on Discord to claim your prize.

And that leaves me...with this blog.

I'd like to write up a proper postmortem for this experience, but that can come in another week or two. For now, please enjoy the comics and celebrate the victors!

[twistedminutia]

Which Housewarden Has the Most Practical Signature Spell?

This question was triggered by my thinking about the signature spells the housewardens have are… not always super useful under most circumstances. As this post will be covering all housewarden signature spells, there will be spoilers for Book 7 parts only available in JP.

Riddle Rosehearts. Signature spell: Off with your head. Creates a collar around the neck of the target(s) which prevents them from using magic.

It was Riddle’s signature spell that got me thinking about this in the first place, honestly. Mostly because his spell seems very practical on its face. He’s actually the housewarden who seems to use his signature spell the most, after Azul, which would make it very practical. Right?

Except his spell is only practical at all because of two specific circumstances. One, he is in a position of authority and able to deal out punishment to rule breakers, and two, he is in a location with a lot of magic users. In Twisted Wonderland, humans who use magic are much less common than humans who do not use magic. Outside of NRC, Riddle’s spell isn’t going to have much more use than a fancy collar about 90% of the time.

In summary, Riddle’s spell appears practical, but only because he’s in the perfect circumstances for it. If he was in different circumstances, it would be much less useful. 5/10

Leona Kingscholar. Signature spell: King’s Roar. Causes anything of Leona’s choosing within a certain radius to crumble into sand.

This is, again, a spell that is only practical under certain circumstances. It’s definitely a powerful spell, but you’re not exactly going to be whipping it out every single day, unless you’re a glassmaker (and even then, you need specific sand to make glass and we don’t know what kind of sand Leona makes).

That being said, it’s not like the spell has no practical uses. It’s an extremely powerful offensive spell and it means people would certainly be cautious about approaching Leona in a combat situation. He’s a prince as well, so we need to consider that he’s more likely to get targeted for political reasons. A powerful spell like his would be a deterrent and a means of protecting himself and defending others.

All in all, it’s another powerful spell, but it’s hardly one you’re going to get much use out of under normal circumstances. 4/10.

Azul Ashengrotto. Signature spell: It’s A Deal. By signing a scroll, Azul can take any power he chooses as part of a contract. If the terms are broken, the contracted party will have to obey Azul.

Okay, so this one’s a weird one. It’s been stated before in canon (I believe Jade and Floyd touch on this right around Azul’s overblot) that Azul does not HAVE to make a contract in order to take a power. He can just do it (he was using his signature spell when he overblotted, for example, without needing the contract). However, this is difficult to control (since he just sucks out ALL a target’s abilities instead of one) and it skirts along the lines of forbidden magic, so he uses the contracts.

Obviously, this limits practicality. To gain the power, he needs to get the target to agree to the contract and he needs to fulfill whatever his end of the bargain is. However, Azul is cunning and good at hiding his motivations to get what he truly wants. He can’t get people who don’t agree, but he can leverage people to get them to do so.

In general? This is the most practical spell we’ve seen so far. It’s got wide applicability (it seems to be implied in his backstory that he’s not limited to taking magic) and it’s something that can be used every day, even making it part of your job (which he does)! 9/10, subtracting a point for the inconvenience of the contracts.

Kalim Al-Asim. (What, were you expecting Jamil? Read the top again- it’s housewardens, not overblotters!) Signature Spell: Oasis Maker. Using only a small amount of magic, Kalim can create a downpour.

This is one of the spells that got me thinking about how practical some spells are, because this spell is discussed as impractical in story. Kalim states that the spell is mostly useless in a time of irrigation and running water. It’s good for some water fun, but not a super useful spell. In some ways, this could be seen as a reflection of Kalim himself, or maybe even how he sees himself: fun and flashy, but not really useful.

This makes it more interesting when, later in the chapter, Azul notes that the spell is incredibly useful in a different context! Go to a land without water and suddenly Kalim is a king. That’s why he’s wealthy in the first place- being able to create water made his family important. And it could be another commentary on Kalim- he’s really only fun and flashy in this setting, but he’s also more capable of being beneficial to those around him than he realizes.

So. Is Kalim’s spell practical? Well, yes and no. Azul’s right in that it’s more practical than Kalim was thinking, but that practicality is context specific. But being able to make clean water no matter what is useful in a lot of survival situations, and could help a lot of people, so… 4/10. Practical under the right circumstances.

Vil Schoenheit. Signature spell: Fairest One of All. Vil is able to curse any item with any condition he chooses.

So, uh. Does anyone else think this is like. Ridiculously overpowered? Might as well just give him the ‘do whatever you want all the time’ spell because that’s basically what this is. He has, in canon, paralyzed people with food, almost put someone into a cursed sleep with food, created acid, and paralyzed someone by getting them to touch lakewater. What. The. Hell. Are there limits on this spell? Is Vil perpetually one mental breakdown away from creating ‘you obey everything I say now’ water and dumping it over a crowd????

Okay. Rambling aside. This is a ridiculously practical spell. Clearly there are limits (I would imagine he can only affect so many people/things or hold it for so long before he can’t keep it up anymore) but it’s pretty damn strong. 10/10.

Idia Shroud. Signature Spell: Gate to the Underworld. Idia can open the gate to the Underworld in the S.T.Y.X. headquarters.

I feel bad but... It's not the world's most practical spell, is it? It's cool, and clearly necessary, don't get me wrong, but like. How often does this come up in day-to-day living? It might be practical for his job, I guess, but it doesn't seem to be useful in most circumstances.

I obviously can't rate this one very highly. Sorry, Idia. One point for its usefulness to his job. 1/10.

BOOK 7 SPOILERS

Malleus Draconia. Signature Spell: Fae Maleficence. Allows him to put people into ageless sleep while surrounding the area with a wall of briars and thorns.

This one's a harder spell to categorize, because we know what the spell has done so far, but we don't know it that's all it can do. I may be wrong on this, because I've only read the portions of the chapter that have come out in English, but it's not confirmed that this is the only thing his spell can do- like it's never been stated 'Malleus' spell puts people to sleep always.' It could be that this is the extent of his spell, but it could also be more like Vil's spell. If we'd only read Book 5 and he hadn't explained it, we could have assumed that Vil's spell could only be used on food. But it's actually much broader. I'm saying this because I don't want to rule out that Malleus' spell might be even more powerful or flexible than shown.

That being said, I can only judge on what I have. And what I have now is the ageless sleep bit. It's certainly not the most practical spell ever, though it could have its uses. As a defensive spell, it seems pretty good. You could trap an army with it, or create a protective barrier for your people until danger has passed. Still, I don't think this is a spell Malleus could use every day.

It's primarily for defensive purposes, so same as Leona's. 4/10.

[attentionneedyqueen]

Rating R/syscringe comments about me!

My original post and The reddit post <3

Tw : Ableism

User 1 :

Uhm 💀

[RATING: 1/10. Boring, but straight to the point.]

User 2 (top 5% commenter) :

so it's gotten to the point they're just loud and proud about it, yet they're still getting away with this? real classy, if it's not bait i'll be really annoyed.

[RATING: 8/10 No, dear redditor, it is not bait. I am being #deadass, /Srs, if you will. A little trueposting on main. Imoblogging. Favorite out of the bunch as it makes us plurals sound like some evil movement]

User 3 :

They’re right in that there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting validation, attention, and to be more interesting! But there are unhealthy ways of going about getting there.

→ User 4 (replying to 3) :

We need to normalize requesting attention. Normalize saying “hey, I’m lonely and/or bored and want someone to talk to.” Normalize saying “Hey, I feel like I’m being ignored.”

[RATING: -0.0010/10 PLZZZ ADD SOME PIZZAZ PLZZZ. Well at least User 3's kinda based.]

User 5 :

ew

[RATING: 0/10 because one less letter and no emoji unlike the first one. I like to think I'm fair ]

User 6 :

At least they have the guts to accept that DID faking is typically done for attention. I’d prefer this attitude over a “NOO!!1!!1! EVERY SYSTEM IS VALID AND U CANT FAKECLAIM CUZ UR JUST A SILLY JELLY SINGLET WITH NO MEDICAL LITERACY OR COMPASSION FOR MY OBVIOUS SUFFERINGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGRRR>>:(((“

-> User 3 (Replying to 6) :

Right? I would prefer this over “gusss I HATE having DID why did our Martha Washington factive do our homework by candlelight with all the lights off”

[RATING: 3/10 NOOOOO USER 3!!!! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BASEDDDDDD!!!!]

User 7 :

Jesus fucking Christ man. On Christmas eve?????

[RATING: 8/10 Christmas came 341 days early :3]

User 8 :

Fuck them, so tired of this fucking bullshit they do and in a way it's fucking worst when they are fucking open about fucking faking a fucking horrible mental illness, fuck them 😤

[RATING: -5/10 ohmygoooodddddd cheer UP! People with a disorder just have a disorder ! Not the fucking bubonic plague cursed apon them from Bhaal. Fucking "horrible mental illness" is like sooo varied from person to person.]

User 9 (1% commenter) :

Finally they admit to being attention seekers

[RATING: 100000/10 LOUD AND PROUD BROTHER!!!!]

CONCLUSION :

Well, that was fun! Honestly I hope more people do stuff like this. Being posted on that subreddit can be a super fun experience (but only if you make it be/want it to be)! At least for someone like me LOL.

I also find it amusing that they make us sound like a bigger problem than we actually are. It'd be adorable if it wasn't just a smidge concerning.

Anyways! PLZZZZ TAG ME IF YOU RATE COMMENTS FROM THIS SUBREDDIT ON YOUR PLURAL POSTS!!!!!!!!!! PRETTY PLZZZZ!!!!

[eyeballmarshmallowtea]

BBC Sherlock

Hi, I'm Sophie. This post will be a rant. You have been warned.

BBC Sherlock last aired in 2017, with Series 4 Episode 3, The Final Problem. I am still waiting for Series 5. I first discovered this show when my amazing English teacher showed us A Study In Pink before the christmas holidays. I went home, watched the next epsiode, and promptly forgot that Sherlock existed. Until a couple of days before the summer holidays, when we were shown The Hounds of Baskerville. We only got to watch half the episode, and me and a friend finished it and watched half of the Great Game in Science and French class. (It was the end of the year, there was practically no work). And then I left for music tour. We spent 30+ hours on a coach over 5 days. 28 hours of that (I checked) was spent on BBC iPlayer. That's the whole of Sherlock twice. I finished it and then rewatched with a friend, and from then I became obsessed. I got a group together of 4 people, old and new fans, and we chat about Sherlock the entire time and it is amazing. My parents used to watch it so I convinced them that my sister was old enough to watch A Study In Pink. (She was only allowed to watch that one, she is now on Series 4. I regret nothing). My dad found the DVDs in the free book pickup at our local station, so I watched the original pilot episode and it was amazing. I also read and write fanfiction, which leads me onto the next point. And it is a long point.

Johnlock.

Although the series ended 7 years ago, I still hold out hope. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson belong together and always have, and before I finished the show I truly believed it would become canon. I was heartbroken and I genuinely felt let down. As so many of fans were at the time of the show's release, I am an LGBTQ+ teenager, and representation in my favourite show would be more than just a stupid headcannon coming true, it would have meant the world to me and so many others. This show has made me laugh and cry but sometimes I think about what could have happened and I wonder what could have been different.

However, regardless of this, I truly believe that this show is an incredible feat of acting, writing, filming, production and it will come back. Even yesterday (I say yesterday, it's 00:16 currently), the producer said there might be a movie or a new series. There is always hope, and Sherlock will return, because it has to. The 'ending' cannot be the ending, because it is not the ending. It is the temporary ending, and the true one will be here someday, even if it takes another 7 years.

And even if not, then there will be more adaptions, and someday someone will tell the true story of Sherlock.

And whether you ship Johnlock, or are a fan of Sherlock, this show is incredible. And honestly, if there is another series, I don't even care what it is about as long as it just happens.

In conclusion, this show has genuinely been life changing. It has changed my perception of things, given me friendships, made me less bored, given me something to do and something to talk about, and I am endlessly grateful for the show.

So when it does return, I will be waiting for it, and when the first announcement comes, I know my reaction will be pure joy, and probably make me look very stupid in public.

I'm now crying. I need to sleep.

Thank you for reading

-Sophie

[panlight]

hi!! i’m so sorry to keep sending you asks (if you get sick of it please just let me know and i’ll shut up i promise!! 💕💕)

so this is re: the cullens being in high school, as per the ask you answered a couple days ago! i also always thought it was super weird, and i’ve been thinking for a while now that a MUCH better cover story would for them all (even carlisle and esme) to be grad school housemates (i say this as someone who has now spent two years in grad school and is about to be there for another five at least lmaoooo)

here’s why i think it would work:

1. the age weirdness wouldn’t be as obvious bc people of all ages go to grad school (i started when i was 22 and had classmates in their 40s)

2. related to age, the visible/physical age also wouldn’t matter as much since some of my classmates (me included 😭😭) looked like we could still pass as high schoolers while others gave off huge “kids and a mortgage vibes” even if they were just like a year older

3. the whole looking “off” and tired thing is just like. the grad school Look™️. the shadows under the eyes and general gaunt-ish appearance honestly wouldn’t stand out that much and if somebody said something about them looking “off” or whatever, they could just be like “late night studying” and the other person would be like “lmao so true bestie”

4. if they pretended they were all renting space in the same big house (and carlisle and esme just acted a little less parental), the whole “dating each other” thing wouldn’t be that weird at all. i feel like it’s not that uncommon for couples who get along to rent different floors or sections of a house, and if they didn’t pretend to be one big weird family situation and instead just acted like they all met each other at school, i don’t think people would even bat an eye

5. people go to grad school forever. like. for so long (i vaguely knew of someone who was in the eighth or ninth year of her phd). esp if they picked something like a big state school where the “kids” could go to undergrad first, they could realistically do four years of undergrad, maybe a two or three year masters, and then a phd of indeterminate length (usually at least five). that would allow them to stay in the same place for at least 11 years

and this is not an official point, but i will note that for carlisle to still do his whole doctor thing, i think it would be perfectly reasonable for him to have already “graduated” or whatever, but continue to stay with his “friends” for financial reasons, or just bc the living situation worked for everyone

anyway, i’m so sorry this was so long, and honestly i bet someone has already said this somewhere before, but it just struck me when reading the “why tf are the cullens in high school” post that grad school would be such a great cover story for them

haha anyway thanks for putting up with my ramblings and thank you for all the lovely work you do on the blog!! 🥰🥰

I've definitely seen "just put them in college!" before (and I have made that argument myself) but I don't know if I've seen the grad school cover story specifically before!

It would allow Esme and/or Carlisle to be the 'peers' of their children rather than some sort of guardian or parental figures. They could, as you said, all be renting a house together and Esme could be studying architecture or getting a PhD in art history or whatever while the kids study who knows what. Maybe there's a medical school as well and Carlisle can go back (it still makes zero sense that Edward and Rosalie go "to keep him current' like how is that supposed to work? They come home and just recite from perfect vampire memory everything that happened in calls? Wouldn't Carlisle be keeping current by like, idk, actually being a doctor, reading journals, going to conferences, and continuing education?).

A group of friends renting a house together as a bunch of couples makes way more sense than two parents barely visibly older than their foster/adopted kids who all date each other.

And, honestly, it's probably a better use of their time to get actual advanced degrees rather than stopping at undergrad? I know because of secrecy how they use their knowledge and skills is somewhat fraught but like, publish papers under a false name or let someone else take the credit or something and you can still contribute to the world of academia.

[glitterphilosophy]

Reasons why I would not have survived in 2014

Okay, so listen. I know all of us girls, me included, wish more than anything that we were teens during the 2013-15 girlblogger era. I'm 18, so in 2014 I was literally 7, and I never got the opportunity to be a Tumblr girl then, so I'm living my 2014 dream now! However, although i think I'm made for the 2014 life- living and breathing Tumblr, spending my days reading magazines and wearing cute pjs, pink everything and Victorias Secret, being my best most girly princess self- there are some things nowadays that I could so not live without! This post is to remind all the Tumblr girls how lucky we are to be here in 2025 (the new 2015) xx

1. Disney Plus- Disney Plus was only released in 2019! My favourite thing to do in the evenings is sit with a face mask and watch an old Disney movie. True Tumblr girls are obsessed with Disney, they were really missing out in 2014!

2. The bow trend- There are so many options for girly girls nowadays, I love that everything is covered in bows!

3. Stanley cups- Yall can hate all you want- I love my reusable water bottle. Mine isn't a Stanley, its another brand thats leakproof, with a metal straw and lid (and its way cuter imo), its baby pink and keeps my water cold for hours, I love it! I take it everywhere with me, it makes me feel so put together and like such a girly girl.

4. Skincare options- Tell me why abrasive sugar scrubs were normalised for the FACE in 2014? Everytime I watch old videos I am traumatized by their skincare routines, I honestly wonder what those girls look like now 😭 Even though I find the packaging kind of ugly, Byoma has done wonders for my skin, something I struggled with for so long! I couldn't live without clean skincare and my gua sha, honestly.

5. Clean girl makeup- 2010s makeup had its moment, and its beautiful, but matte makeup doesn't suit me at ALL. Some makeup I see thats insanely dewy or with loads of blush I don't love, but overall I much prefer a less heavy look with more cream products- those block brows were not doing me ANY favors.

6. Charlotte Tilbury- Kind of following on from the last point, there is something so VS angel about Charlotte Tilbury makeup. The packaging, the products, I'm OBSESSED. I love keeping my skin looking like skin, while still being cute!

7. Vogue Beauty Secrets- I don't know when these started, but the oldest ones I've watched are from like 2019. Theres nothing better than watching Vogue Beauty Secrets while getting ready in the morning!

8. Music- Don't get me started! Although I adore music from 2014 and before, 2016-19 was really where its at for me. I couldn't live without Thank U, Next, and some of my fav Taylor Swift songs only came out last year! Sometimes I just need to blast Brat to get through my day, and thats ok!

9. Ugg dupes- You can get them ANYWHERE, in so many styles too! I love my platform fluffy uggs and my ultra mini black ones as much as my regular real uggs, I would never have been able to afford so many options in 2014!

10. Heatless curls- My HOLY GRAIL. Was this a thing in 2014? I honestly don't know! I would not cope without my heatless curls set, not using heat on my hair has made it so healthy, and I look put together from the minute I get out of bed with basically no effort!

💐

[thesummerstorms]

okay, i will be the first to admit that I STRUGGLE with keeping comic timelines straight.

But Dick is here in Batman #436 saying that it's been two years since he left.

If I remember everything correctly.

Post-Crisis version of Jason hit in #408 and apparently trained for 6 months at least before he was allowed out as Robin.

Jason meets Dick in #416 at which point it's said that Bruce and Dick haven't spoken in 18 months.

Jason has one at least a few missions as Robin at that point, enough to get noticed by the news... I am again a bad judge of time, but lets say he's been doing the job at least a month for the news to make its way back to Dick via newspaper?

So it's maybe fair to say that he might have joined Bruce ~11 months? after Dick left??? Maybe a little earlier depending on how long you think it took for the new to make it to Dick.

Jason died in #428. I cannot judge how much in-universe time is supposed to have passed.

Then here in #436 Dick says it's been "two years", which we can read probably as "two years and some months" rather than "exactly two years".

Comic Time =/= Real World time, of course... but exactly how long does this mean Jason's tenure as Robin was supposed to be??? Because this feels like it could be measured in months as easily as years?

Like if we go with~11 months? after Dick left being his starting point (11 months of Bruce alone + 6 months of training + 1 month for the newspaper to get word to Dick= the 18 months Dick mentions)

Jason's been dead for at least several issues when Dick says it's been two years in this issue? again, taking the two years as rounding for anywhere from "exactly two years" to "two years five moths" (since Dick doesn't say "two and a half years")

This is definitely set at least a little after the show down in the cave in New Titans 55. Dick went back to the Titans for a while after that issue. He's in Kory's apartment with her worrying over him going to Gotham to see Bruce and in a therapy session thinking about his relationship with Bruce in New Titans #57. He tells the therapist that he can't "keep" avoiding the issue with Bruce, so it's definitely been more than a few days. We see him pull up to the manor in that same issue. He's talking to Alfred in New Titans #58, which is said to be set after Batman #437.

I'm gonna guess Jason's been dead a few weeks to maybe a little more than a month based on that?

So let's say two years really means "two years, 5 months ish" at most, subtract a month for Jason to be dead bringing it to 2y4m, so 28 months. And if Jason started as Robin around 11 months after Dick left, that would mean he had something like 17 months on the job? Or rather, 1 year, 5 months, slightly more than a year and a half.

Again, that's with the most generous windows I can think of for time passing, allowing for rounding and casual timekeeping. You could say that if we want to take Dick exactly at his word, only 6 months have passed since #416 and #436, which if we still think Jason was Robin for about a month before Dick met him would mean that Jason was only Robin for less than a year.

And I don't even want to do the math for how soon that makes Tim take Jason's place, honestly. Tim becomes Robin over the course of #440-#442. Out of universe, it's been slightly less than a year, but in universe??? 😕

(And before anyone brings it up- I don't think whatever the timeline for Tim in universe can necessarily be used to divine characterization for Bruce or Dick because it is very much a Doylist, editorial-driven decision. It isn't necessarily fair to treat it just as a character decision when the sales and marketing side probably played a heavy role.)

But yeah... this may be a waste of time given how many times the timeline has been reset since this point. I have no idea how much of this even is still standing or still counts. AND! It's also a timeline that is somewhat warped by Infinite Crisis.

But it's personally weird to me because I always got the impression from fandom that Jason was Robin a lot longer than he was.

[clownmoontoon]

WAAUAUGHHGH HELLO FRIENDS ITS UPDATE TIME!!!!!

if you have or havent kept up w my talky posts lately heres a general rundown of all the things + an update! A LOT'S BEEN GOIN ON ALDKJASD

this is the promised more detailed break down of events, so feel free to scroll down to the end to get the TLDR!! <3

i realized thru therapy n talkin to friends/my sisters that my mother is an Abusive Gaslighting Narcissist (thank u therapist i love this title sm) and a whole lotta things in my life started making sense (like why i felt worthless/like a burden! my mom was actively trying to make me feel this way lol!!)

SO i reconnected w my sisters who i hadnt spoken to in ages bc i thought they hated me (guess why lol) and started keeping them updated win all the happenings that were happening! we agreed to keep our reconnection a secret from our mom for now, as it became clear she had tried to keep the three of us apart so she could guilt us separately for money and we wouldnt ask any questions if stories told to one didnt make sense with the other (none of them made sense LOL)

tho i tried to keep it on the dl it was hard to hide the fact that i was now aware abuse was happening, even if i didnt say anything i had p much decided to stop grovelling/begging for love/begging for respect bc i realized my mom was never gonna give me any of that no matter how much money i gave her ( in retrospect it sounds obvious when i put it like that but when youve been living it your whole life its quite a shock! :,o) ) so the lack of grovelling/paying for love started to make my mom quite angry and she started to escalate her abuse bc at this point none of us were giving her any money and she was aware i had money and was refusing to give it (i told her i had to save for one of my kitten's spay surgery, which was true, and the idea that i would use my money for anything other than giving to her made her veeerry angry) suddenly there wasnt enough money for food, not enough money for gas to drive me to work ( a less than 5 min drive vs a nearly 45 minute walk with no sidewalk along a busy road aa), etc u get the idea all the while my mom kept trying to guilt me for more money while always seeming to suddenly have the money when i kindly held my ground and refused to give anything (she kept buying her blonde hair dye, kept getting her car washed, buying JUST enough food for when she was in the house etc) in the end walking all that way was good bc the 5 min car ride was a lot more stressful and i was able to stop and get food on the way during this time i had talked w friends and my sisters about moving out, I REALLY WANTED TO, but no one could house me and my four cats and honestly i dont fault any of them for that, taking on a whole other person is a lot, much less someone w four cats no matter how well behaved they are ^^;

as my mom got angrier she made it clear how much of a burden i was now that i was saving my money, telling me the sooner i move out the better, threatening to call police if i dont leave etc (all very clear bluffs in hopes that id pay up out of fear, she refuses to admit she relies on me to take care of the house and her dogs) until one day i was taking notes on a class on my laptop and she walked in front of me and slammed my laptop shut and started ranting about why should i get to use the water or electricity etc essentially telling me i wouldnt be allowed to shower, take classes or do work until i started giving her all my money

also for those who dont know i wasnt living with her bc im a huge bum that loves mooching off my mom lmao we had an agreement, and she emphatically told me that i didnt need to pay to live there so long as i was working on my career and took care of my cats -> all things i continued to do despite it all lmao shes just very good at making me feel worthless enough that i give her all my money, i have no savings bc of this and didnt even realize why asdkl;jasd

ANYWAY one night she got angry enough that i genuinely felt scared, i had mentioned before that in my teens and early 20s i thought my mom was going to kill me and hadnt felt that way in some years til that night the look in her eyes was so ... dark? like immediately i felt "oh shes going to hurt me" she didnt, she just walked past me and didnt say anything but the look was there. i called both of my sisters the next day and told them that if anything happened to me to not believe our mom if she said it was an accident or that i did smth to myself etc and that 100% she did it and did it on purpose that was enough for my oldest sister who said suddenly during the call "what if i just come get you??" my oldest sister lives in virginia and i lived in ga which is a roughly 8 hour drive so i didnt think she'd really do that, and i reminded her i have 4 cats to which she responded "FUCK MY LANDLORD" LMAO she has a big house and told me theres plenty of room and tho the landlord said no more cats (she already has two and theyre registered as therapy animals) they hardly ever visit and always call first so we can do a quick hide or take the kitties for a ride or smth when they come

SOOOO SHE DROVE DOWN ON SUNDAY, STAYED IN A HOTEL, CAME MONDAY MORNING WHILE OUR MOM WAS AT WORK, HELPED PACK UP ALL MY STUFF INCLUDING MY KITTIES AND WE MADE OUR GREAT ESCAPE!!! \QUQ/

im mostly settled in my sister's house now and things are going great!! everyday im realizing just How Bad my mom's house was and it boggles my mind!!! ive never Not lived in an abusive home and finally being out is like!!! WHAT!!! it may sound small but just being able to wash my clothes and have food whenever im hungry is such a BIG DEAL to me and its just a given here and im rolling around like WHAT IS THIS LMAO ALSO MY CATS HAVE MADE THEMSELVES AT HOME AND ARE SO HAPPY AND COMFY AND THEY PLAY EVERYDAY AND ARE REALLY ENJOYING THE STAIRS BC THEYVE NEVER EXPERIENCED STAIRS BEFORE LMAO AND EVERYONE HERE LOVES TO PET AND CUDDLE THEM!!! \QUQ/ IM SO HAPPY!!! <3<3

TLDR: MY SISTER MOVED ME INTO HER BIG HOUSE IN VA W ALL 4 OF MY CATS AND THINGS ARE GOING GREAT \QUQ/

[fumifooms]

Marchil crumbs part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6 - part 7 - part 8

Count of times canon reminds us that Chilchuck is very attracted to blondes: 3rd For context: this is the canon explanation for everyone's shapeshifters

I can’t get over Chilchuck seeing Marcille like she has anime sparkles around her hair. How long have you stared at it. It’s like with the handsome Senshi where everyone is like "no this looks legit and absolutely like the real one" but her hair is shinier/prettier in the shapeshifter than in the actual her

It drives me crazy that Marcille styles her hair every day for herself but little does she know she’s giving Chilchuck the show of his life, daily arranging his favorite thing aka blonde hair into different unique ornate hairstyles. Not that he cares about the details but ohh my god.

It makes sense that Chil would be the first one to notice her hair being all loose and messy then. He’s bothered by seeing her like this and wants her to tie it up again, and is even more unsetled and shocked when she says she doesn’t want to anymore. Though he also recovers from the shock quicker than Laios and takes charge of the situation. HE NOTICED. HE CARESSSS. IT BUGS HIM

^ That is what you call a character arc, of becoming attached to her hair lmfaoo(more like to Marcille and her habits). Or lying. "Man I sure wish she'd shave her hair I'd be less distracted on the job. Her golden majestic hair is so blinding with how shiny and sparkly it is ugh" /j

He chose to do a portrait teehee <3

Chilchuck defending her honor even under mind control that makes them honest zombies

Marcille out there defending his VIRTUE. It’s not just that he didn’t commit infidelity, he HAS A PURE HEART!! Honestly, assigned virtuous by a bicorn would so be the type of novel shenanigan that Marcille would hella romanticize. Which we do see her do lmao but <3

They're so funny together in the golden kingdom chapters. First of all, sitting in front of each other at the table? Nice. Second, them being on the same wavelength all throughout lmao.

Them. Sharing the same numerous braincells, nodding together and making good use of it to make good decisions for the party. Valuing their noses

Also can we apreciate that they like, can talk together. Communicate and debate. Even under tougher situations or more sensitive topics. Shit this would have been a good place to put the pages when Marcille was dungeon lord... But they're lined up for part 4 and part 3 is already full with pics... You guys have no idea how much Tetris I'm doing for these marchil crumbs posts

I wanna do a full compilation of every time he laughs at her but in the meantime have this small imperfect collection as well as this reddit comp. I swear she's the person/thing that makes him laugh and smile the most. Besides alcohol maybe

The gang and Chilchuck both knowing her well and not at all lol. Gotta love Chilchuck's confidence about knowing her favorite meal, and him remembering the bare minimum that even Laios hasn't lol

Marcille infesting his life to the point that, quote, "her delusions" are even part of his adventurer’s bible life timeline. The only picture in fact, in the streamlined canon reference to Chilchuck's life. "Hey is Marcille imagining herself as an halfling and Chil's wife with a mini Chilchuck baby Chilchuck's canon family appearances" canon: well no but actually yes /j

Chil at her bedside <3

Looking out for each other comp Yes thank you Chil captain obvious (he's trying his best and doesn't want to die let's not be mean c'mon). But like you know with that whole scene of the mad sorcerer attacking, for Chil it must have been the most terrifying thing ever. Ancient magic?? By an elf, targeting them with murderous intent?? With only an elf with also ancient magic to keep them safe attack by attack in the nick of time?? His biggest nightmare. I'm also reminded of when Chil talks with Leed about how "our magician held under the mad sorcerer's attack" all fond and 'I am so relieved I can trust her with my life' and Leed is like "That silly looking elf?!" and Chil was like "Yeah she's silly. At least she's strong tho." I'm getting carried away but yes this scene was relationship-defining in some ways

But they keep each other in check too

She was trying to make conversation and sharing her interests aw Chil come on

They're sooo domestic. "Chil are we there yet" "Marcille I swear to god if you ask me that one more time-". Also second time through the manga that Marcille squishes Chil against the ground/wall.

Get squeezed idiot

Part 4 is here!

[fernandopiastri28]

quand c'est? - part 3~ ln4 x op81

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

Yeah, yeah, he’s an idiot and should just accept defeat. He shouldn’t push himself so far. It’s nothing he hasn’t heard before, so the attempt is mute. Oscar knows he won’t listen to him, he should just give up while he’s ahead.

warnings: major illness, cancer, sickness, major angst wc: 2267

Lando ends up back in bed, a pair of Oscar’s boxer’s awkwardly sagging around his ass and a plain black quadrant shirt on. He’s been loaded up with pain medication and he can still taste the powder of the tablets lingering on his tongue. Oscar’s off in the gym doing a workout with Kim and had only left after much insistence from Lando.

He’d tried to check his phone, catch up on anything via social media he’d missed or answer some messages from family and friends, but it felt as if just looking at his phone screen was burning his corneas and brain, so he settled for staring up at the ceiling.

He thought about Oscar for a bit, but thinking about his boyfriend for too long resulted in him being half chubbed up against his thigh at seven in the morning. He could’ve done something about that, maybe it would’ve helped reduce stress from his body, but he was too tightly strung to do anything to himself- he genuinely thinks it would’ve killed him if he put his body through something as strenuous as wanking.

And that’s genuinely fucking embarrasing, so he tries to sleep away the shame.

Lando’s woken up by a heavy mass crawling on top of him. “Morning,” He grumbles as Oscar drapes himself half onto Lando.

“Morning,” His voice is less thick with sleep, but he’s clearly tired and panting, “You feeling better?”

“Mhm,” He shifts to wrap his arms around Oscar. His shirt is slightly saturated with sweat, as is his hair, but it’s nothing he hasn’t gotten used to. It’s part of being and/or dating an athlete. “Somewhat,” He adds- he feels far from ‘better’ or ‘good’, but it’s more manageable.

“Feel up for anything?”

Lando quirks his eyebrow, very forward, “Early morning sex?” It’s uncommon for them to have sex in the middle of a race weekend due to the imminent aches that Lando has to suffer post penetration, but honestly, it couldn’t be worse than his head right now, and if it makes Oscar happy- he’s down.

Oscar’s cheeks go splodgy red, “Tha-that’s not what I meant,” Lando isn’t sure why he gets so flustered and awkward about it. They hooked up for the first time in silverstone 2023, and that was over a year ago. Since then, they have been many cases of slow and languid sex before the race weekend and last night rushed fucks at the end of it.

“Okay? Then what did you mean?” His fingers drift through Oscar’s fluffy swoop, already dried and not showing a trace of being sweaty. Lucky bastard.

“Uh, a shower maybe?” They basically just had a shower, Lando doesn’t see the point. Maybe Oscar is testing his abilities to see if he can withstand a shower this time around. “Or get up and ready for the day if you just want to skip to that- we have some media stuff around midday, so I was thinking we could just wander around Orchard road until then,”

Lando thinks about it for a bit. He likes orchard road, pretty much each building is an architect's dream and an engineer's nightmare. Plus, there are quite a few luxury shops, so he could go get some new clothes and shit- but, it’s always so busy whenever he’s been in the past. Busy means being recognised, being recognised means having to take photos and autographs, interacting with fans means being peppy and.. and being normal Lando.

He can’t be normal Lando today, his body can’t even fake it.

“Not Orchard road,” He shakes his head, mumbling into Oscar’s arm as his nose juts against it. “I can’t do- can't deal today,” And of course Oscar is sickeningly understanding.

“All good, Lans,” God, he loves when he calls him that. It just sounds so good with his accent. “I’ll let Jon know, yeah?”

“Why?” Lando feels dopey, his mind clogged up with drugs.

“He’s your trainer, he needs to know if you’re unwell,”

“Yeah- okay,” His eyes blankly focus on his nails, where they’ve grown out too long like Oscar’s always are. They gently scrape down Oscar’s back, faint red lines appearing in its wake.

They stay like that for a few minutes, Lando unmoving and silent. “What’s going on in your mind?” Oscar’s got his eyes on Lando’s unfocused ones. “You look so out of it,” His thumb slides across Lando’s cheek, and he struggles to bring his mouth to answer.

His tongue rests heavily in his mouth, and it feels like his brain might throb out of his ears. He hadn’t noticed that he was coming off the painkillers because it had been so sudden, and he’d been trying so hard to just focus on Oscar.

“Empty,” His voice is hardly there, much like how it sounds after a party that consists of a lot of screaming.

Oscar licks his lips, pressing a chaste kiss to Lando’s lips. “Don’t feel up for talking?” His face is bare centimetres from Lando’s, and his features are all fuzzy being so close up.

He shakes, I’m not up for anything. It’s too many words for now, so he stays silent. It’s weird, only minutes ago he’d be considering the aspect of having sex, now he can hardly blink on command.

Maybe this is what it’s like being properly sick, and he’s just always gotten lucky with only having brushes with bad colds.

Oscar rolls off him after a little bit, and Lando’s eyes shut again. He doesn’t notice how much time passes- seconds, minutes, hours. It feels like it’s only been a 10 minute power nap when he’s awoken by Oscar again who tells him it's ten am and they actually need to get a move on.

He’s in a very typical Oscar outfit- black castore shorts and a team supplied papaya polo shirt. He has an 81 cap in his hand, his other hand on his hip. “Lando,”

“Oscar,” Lando slurs as he tugs the blanket further over his head.

“Lando, if you’re not up for the race today- just tell me,” He sighs, a frustrated one. “I’ll tell Jon, the team just needs to know now so they can get Pato race ready,”

He doesn’t get a reply, “Lando, wake up, mate,” He’s getting increasingly more irritated, and so is Lando. “Lando, wake up, Lando- fucking hell. Lando!” His voice is about as loud as the Oscar Octaves go, and Lando genuinely wants to smack him across the face.

Lando groans, a weird strangled noise of pure affront, “Shut the fuuuck up, Oscar,” He pushes the covers down and just stares at Oscar. “Fucking hell,”

Brown eyes meet green eyes- very unfocused green eyes. Green eyes that have no emotion behind them. They’re open, they’re there, but it doesn’t look like Lando is actually seeing anything.

“Jon’s looking for you,” God damnit Jon, does the man have anything better to do with his life?

Well. He is employed to pretty much hound Lando like a dog, so he is actually doing his job.

That makes one of them.

“And you need to get dressed, we’re just gonna head straight to the motorhome and shoot some stuff, alright?” Oscar sits on the edge of the bed and Lando’s lip juts out slightly. It would be unnoticed by anyone else, but Oscar knows each and every quirk of Lando’s. “C’mere,” He opens his arms.

Lando shuffles to prop himself up, not able to quite sit up. He makes a slight scoot forward before letting out a harsh breath. He’s not sure how much he’s going to be able to do today at this rate.

Oscar meets him halfway and embraces him. “You can’t race like this,” He hums, “You’re burning up- you could hurt yourself,” Lando allows himself to fully zone out, the words going in one ear and out the other.

Yeah, yeah, he’s an idiot and should just accept defeat. He shouldn’t push himself so far. It’s nothing he hasn’t heard before, so the attempt is mute. Oscar knows he won’t listen to him, he should just give up while he’s ahead.

“I’m.. gunna get dressed,” The words fall out of his mouth awkwardly, like they haven’t had time to fully form before they’re said.

Oscar moves back, standing up too. “Great,” He knows there’s no use in trying, so it’s better to just cheer Lando on where he can- make him feel somewhat better.

Oscar goes to the front door to put on and lace up his shoes while Lando debates what he wants to wear. Despite the uncontrollable sweating the night before, he’s feeling on the edge of a shiver, so after a long debate, he settles for a random pair of black jeans and an orange hoodie, the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

He shuffles into the bathroom, staring at his appearance for what feels like a concerning amount of time. It feels compulsive, in a way, like he physically cannot control his eyes to look elsewhere. He goes into autopilot as he reaches for his toothbrush, squirting toothpaste onto what he hopes are the bristles.

He turns the sink on, waving the toothbrush around in a hope to get it wet enough. He could’ve just settled for a dry brush, like he’s caught the younger boy doing a few times, but the thought makes his body physically cringe. According to Oscar, it’s better for your teeth, to Lando, it’s psychotic behaviour.

Lando gets impatient after a minute of brushing and spits out the toothpaste from his mouth into the sink, wiping his lips clean with a towel after. By this point, his eyes are working again and he can see. His headache has also weaned off somewhat, so that’s exciting.

He emerges from the bathroom, trying to remember what he needs to pack for the day. Phone, paddock pass, hat, journal, camera. Phone, paddock pass, hat, journal, camera. Phone, paddock pass, hat, journal, camera.

He can’t find his pass. Fuck. Where the fuck is it.

He grabs his pillow, tossing it to the ground with the thought his pass would be under it. It’s not a crazy thought, it’s happened once or twice before. He looks under the bed, which is a difficult task as it hurts to move usually, so squatting down and tilting his head towards the ground feels hellish. It’s not on the desk, not yesterday’s bag or jacket.

It’s just- gone.

“Lando, Lando,” Oscar repeats, walking up behind him. A hand loosely wraps around Lando’s bicep and he jerks at the feeling. “What’s wrong? Have you misplaced something?”

“Yeah, my- my pass,” His eyebrows knit together, a look of frustration and anxiety painting his features.

“I have it, I saw it on the ground this morning and grabbed it because I knew you’d forget it,” The aussie calms him, handing it to him as proof. Lando presses his fingers into the card tightly, squeezing it as if he’s worried it might fly off.

“Thanks,” He smiles, relief flushing his system. “I love you,” He looks over his shoulder, pecking Oscar on the lips. “Sorry- for being mad earlier,” Deep breaths and sighs break up some of his words, but Oscar can understand him all the same.

“It’s all good- you’re not well. I understand why you’re just a bit out of it,” Oscar holds Lando’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Just get your shoes on and we can head off,” Lando’s nostrils flare in effort as he steps towards the door, bending down to get his shoes on.

Oscar looks hesitant to ask if he needs help, his mouth opening and closing a bit like a fish, “I’m okay, I’m good to go,” Lando stands up, steading himself with a hand on the wall, out of sight of Oscar.

Oscar pauses in front of him, and for a few seconds they just stare at each other, then Oscar slides his hand up Lando's cheek and kisses him softly. Lando melts into it, moaning embarrassingly easily and quickly. God, he hadn't realised just how much he needed this until now.

They physically have to pull off each other after a few minutes, Oscar’s face flushed pink and Lando’s chest heaving through desperate shallow pants. “You’re so hot,” Lando bites his own bottom lip, grinning hard.

“Don’t-” Oscar warns, “Don’t do that face or we’re not gonna leave for another hour,”

Lando wants that insanely bad, but he genuinely thinks his legs would buckle and break underneath him if he tried, so he’s the one who opens the door and leads them outside of the room.

They go down the elevator, down to the ground floor where they’re practically attacked by fans. Their hands get separated, Oscar being pulled into a different direction by a pack of young boys while Lando’s swarmed by a group of teenage girls.

Lando’s sure he’s taken about 30 photos and signed about 20 shirts by the time they’re able to get properly outside and into the car. Oscar takes his hand back, squeezing it harder, “Sorry about that, I know you wanted to avoid the fans today,” He murmurs, doing his best to comfort his unresponsive boyfriend.

Lando’s tongue drags over his teeth, recognising the gap in between his two front teeth, the slight difference of lengths between each tooth, the ridges in them. He moves to sucking on the inside of his bottom lip, pinching it with his teeth. The pain is distracting from another uprising headache.

He won’t say anything to Oscar this time, he’ll just tough it out.

[ashes-in-a-jar]

In my head, you’re a Magnus Archives blog. I mean, I know you obviously listen to other things, but In my mind it’s things like Welcome to Nightvale, Malevolent, Hello from the Hallowoods, The Sheridan Tapes, things like that, horror and supernatural.

So I had to do a double-take when I saw a Dungeons and Daddies post from you, I really didn’t know you listened to it. Then I see you reblog a Fawx and Stallion post, and now I’m just wondering how many podcasts you’ve listened to that I’ve also listened to.

Hahaha yes this blog has been mainly for tma stuff for years now, I still feel like I'm new to the fandom but honestly I've been here through a lot of it since the beginning of season 5

Buuuuut in the past few months I've stopped going into the tma tag regularly and been feeling a little detached from it, at least as opposed to before. My listen to tmagp has been way less interactive and I hardly reblog content anymore (which is something I like doing but because of various bad experiences on the internet recently I have yet to recover from I feel safer posting my own original posts rather than reblogging)

And that freed up a space in my mind to realize I've actually been listening to a lot of podcasts besides tma and it's honestly a shame not to talk about them more with others

I do listen to a lot of horror fantasy supernatural and science fiction podcasts! I also love a lot of dnd and ttrpg podcasts, I also love everything dropout and wish I could get into critical role but it's so big I don't think I'll manage it

I put under the cut a (quite long) list of the podcasts I have listened to and/or have notifications turned on

Anyone following me, you're welcome to send me an ask about one of them if you like them as well or want to hear about them!

I also put a list of podcasts on my to listen to list. Feel free to drop a recommendation for which them to listen to first!

-------------

Podcasts I'm caught up on (the lists are long so it's alphabetical without "the")

Ongoing podcasts

The Amelia project

Ask your father

A voice from darkness

Black box

Brimstone valley mall

Camlann

The cellar letters

Death by dying

Derelict

Eeler's choice

Ethics town

Fawx and stallion

Hello from the Hallowoods

The hundred handed

Levian

Lost terminal

The Magnus protocol

Malevolent

Midnight burger

The mistholme museum of mystery morbidity and mortality

Neon inkwell

New years day

Not quite dead

Old gods of Appalachia

The penumbra podcast

The program

Red valley

The Sheridan Tapes

The silt verses

The sound museum

Super suits

Tell no tales

Tiny terrors

Traveling light

Unseen

The vesta clinic

Victoriocity

The white vault

Completed podcasts

Absolutely no adventures

Archive 81

Borrasca

The bright sessions

Camp here and there

Descendants

Give me away

I am in eskew

Monstrous agonies

Parkdale haunt

The Magnus archives

Re: dracula

The secret of st kilda

Spirit box radio

Steal the stars

Time:bombs

We know none

Wolf 359

Wooden overcoats

Ttrpgs

The adventure zone

Campaign skyjacks

Chapter and multiverse

Dark dice

Dice shame

Dimension 20 (not a podcast but I listen to it like one)

Dungeons and daddies

Not another d&d podcast

Rusty Quill gaming

Worlds beyond number

Podcast on my listen next list:

The Alexandria archives

Alice isn't dead

Ars paradoxica

Believer

The Black tapes

Blackwood

The box

The bridge

Carrier

Counterbalance

The cryptid keeper

Darkest night

The darkroom

The dark tome

The deca tapes

The deep vault

Dreamboy (this one is nsfw so it makes me nervous lol)

Duggan Hill

The earth collective

Either

The far meridian

The fountain road files

The glass canon

Jar of rebuke

Kings fall am (I started but heard not great things about it)

Knifepoint horror

Kollok 1991

Less is morgue

The leviathan chronicles

Liberty

Limetown

The lost cat

Mabel

Maeltopia

Marscorp

Mirrors

Mockery manor

Next stop

The no sleep podcast

The orphans

The Orpheus protocol

Out of place

Paired

Palimpsest

The phone booth

Point mystic

Pseudopod

Rabbits

The right left game

Shadows at the door

Spines

Stellar firma

The storage papers

Stories from among the stars

Super ordinary

Superstition

Tanis

Tides

Unwell

Vast horizon

Victoria's lift

Video palace

Welcome to night Vale (I listen to this one very sporadically lol)

We're alive

Within the wires

Woe begone (I started but got stuck on episode 20ish but want to continue)

Wrong station

Ttrpgs

BomBARDded

Critical role (it's sooo long tho)

Dames and dragons

Dragon friends

Join the party

The lucky die

Queens of adventure

Realms of pearl and glory

Rude tales of magic

Skyjacks courier call

Three black halflings

[septimaseverina]

All right, since this is the last post of 2024, so let me say about my life from this past year. Like a toast. Cheers! 🍾🥂🥳

.

My 2024 has begun with wonky, dizzy, fuzzy not from being drunk (I've quitted drinking for 3 years 😌), but from journeying out of city to attend count down party and backing home at 3PM. I couldn't function until 3rd January...

The point is I've truly begun 2024 on 3rd January, continued studying Qabalah for Wiccan, but actually because of digging and diving deep into the world of Tarots and Astrology, in order to achieve more insightful and holistic approaches, and my career; Tarot reader and strifeful Astrologer in my country. Althought I must read 3 books altogether and later 5 books at the same time, my career has been being prosper until now.

First half 2024 was quite busy but eventually happy for me. People want to buy my maternal ancestors' house at the northern part of Thailand, immediaetly not long after New Year's day, my mum and I must quickly fly a half country. Above from benefits, I get a chance to reconcile with my uncles and aunts those who used to quarrel with me for years. Also, the family gathering is joyful one after my grandma passing away.

Another mesmerising journey is on May, it's been 12 years, since the last time I traveled to the beaches, yes! The beach! 😎🏖🏝🏖☀️🌟 Ocean feelings and seafoods! 🌊🦞🦪

On July, I should've known that it was the worst month from this year. Nevertheless, I'm gonna make it quick and simple; Neil Gaiman reveals his true colour (it hurts like brojen heart. NGL), such disgusting....and then my aunt (mum's younger sister) is dead.

Shock, I was. I love her so much as if she is my mum, but I'm still happy for her. Since, she had always wished not to live after we parted when I graduated from the University, so it's her intention. She doesn't commit suicide, she was just died in her sleep.

That makes a bit last half 2024 sad.

But, the big regret here is: I must sorry to my dear friends here for being on hiatus more than 2023. Yet, most of them are actual necessary, like on late july.

Next year, I'm gonna try to be more sociable! 🥰🥰🥰

Annnnnnnnnnnd now allow me to raise the glass to these 3 friends I've make here!

🥂🍾🎂🌹🌺🌻🌹🌻🌺🌹🌻🌺🌹🌻🌺🌹🌿🍀

💝💖💗💓💕💟❣❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🤍💫🌸🌟

@sigelfire

Thank you so much for being here for me all along, all the way, and almost all the time! Not just only Diego Luna's fandom. Even though we haven't long conversation and talked much like before I spent less time here. I'm truly and really utmost sorry for all and everything I've ever done, which they might upset and disturbe you - even make you angry. Please forgive me 🙏 I love you so muuuuuuuchhhhhhhh 😊😚🥰🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

@aaronsaxon

You are the first, who approaching and befriending with me on Diego Luna's fandom. I'm really happy that we making acquaitance, honestly. Though, you've been busy since last year, but you still keep in touch and usually stopping by to greet and update each other! I'm so glad 🥰🥰🥰 I really like you, to be honest 😊🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

@letthefairyinyoufly

Maybe we've only befriended just 3 months, but I feel like a year, and I'm delighted to get to know you that you and me have much stuffs and fandoms in mutual! 🧡 Especially with Rings of Power, Haladriel, House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, Period Dramas, and many TV series! I'm exceedingly appriciated our new friendship and some how kindred spirits in it! Hope we will continue being friends for years to come! 😊🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[vonpharma]

w[h]ip wednesdaaaay

sorry for the hiatus! i finally just bit the bullet and set an alarm on my phone so i won't forget to post lol. here's a small preview from day 5 of sicktember~

Hoisting his unconscious sister out of the office stairwell was not exactly how Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth pictured his day going.

In his time alive he’d seen quite a few strange things go down in that stairwell. It was practically a second home to him, after all—twelve flights up, twelve flights down, it made nearly everyone cringe when he’d tell them how much of his day was spent hiking to and from his high-rise office. He probably could’ve benefitted from relocating, but it was honestly very convenient, getting all his cardio in before even his morning cup of tea. 

Yes, he’d seen a lot of things going on in that stairwell. Highly dramatic personal phone calls. Potentially shady dealings involving discontinued snacks from the vending machine. Overworked interns sneaking away for naps. Larry, once. 

One thing Miles had never seen upon these stairs, though, was Franziska. 

When they were children, it was a tradition, of sorts. They’d arrive in front of the foggy elevator doors—it didn’t matter where they were—and Miles would instinctively clench his fists, making the best attempts to muster all his courage. Back then, he was small, and he felt even smaller standing poised before the massive shape of them, his murky reflection refusing to crystallize in tandem with his nerve. Franziska, ever the little empath, would grab his hand tight in hers and drag him to the stairs. After tapping her foot performatively for a few seconds and complaining of how long the elevator took to arrive, we might as well use them with the foolishly slow descent of that foolishly inferior contraption.

Of course, children grow up. Miles never had a childhood to grow out of, but Franziska always did the most to sprint leaps and bounds ahead of him. At some point in their adolescence, she had stopped taking the stairs with him. There were no hard feelings, of course—but she had places to be and was more often than not in stilettos and pencil skirts. I’ll meet you at the top, she’d always say, and then grimace at him with her face all red when he (always, effortlessly, without breaking a sweat) arrived at their destination first.

The red on her face is a different shade, this time. A far less fortunate one, it would seem. Despite everything, Franziska is there in the stairwell with him once more. Only this time, she is not dragging him lovingly up the incline, but holding white-knuckle onto the railing as she makes her best attempt to climb, knees wobbling with the effort, drenched in sweat. Miles can see her forearms through the now-transparent sheen of her blouse, and despite how she’s perspiring, the poor girl is shaking like a leaf.

He stops there, at the top of the grouping of stairs that she’s making her best attempt to scale. Rigid, brow furrowed in concern, mouth firm. 

“Franziska?” says Miles. “Are you… quite alright?”

Her head, previously dipped toward the floor—watching her feet, nervous that they might fail her—snaps up to face him. The way she bears her teeth is somewhere halfway between a warning and a plea for help, pained and angry all the same. For a moment his blood runs cold as he remembers the last time he’d seen that look—blood coagulating on his car upholstery, a horrible scream echoing in his ears, tear-tracks refusing to dry on his cheeks. 

Curiously, her whip is unholstered, coiled in her free hand. As if she were announcing to the world that her guard is up, don’t come near. Despite the acid-drenched sheen of her glassy eyes, she maintains her hesitation in cracking it at Miles—instead just pointing, with the leather shaking haphazardly in her hand.

“You… don’t you—don’t you dare—!”

It’s all Miles can do not to visibly cringe when he hears her voice. A truly miserable-sounding affair, like bogie wheels struggling on miscut gravel. Come to think of it, Franziska had sounded a little croaky yesterday morning when she joined him for tea, and she had taken a little more honey than usual. But she didn’t seem ill otherwise, certainly not to this extent…

Miles isn’t really sure what to do, so he just kind of stands there awkwardly, lordly above her all the same. She manages to get herself up one single step before her knees buckle entirely, and Miles is already shuffling down to meet her, his body seemingly moving all on its own. 

Franziska’s a small fire in his arms as he catches her. Every square inch of her skin is scorching hot, singing Miles’ grip even through layers upon layers of perfectly pressed ruffles. In sleep, still, the tremors take her, and she’s breathing heavy and hard through her mouth. As he’s arranging her to something resembling bridal style in his arms, he thanks his lucky stars that his sister is such a small thing, hopes she will forgive him even for thinking so. Like this, especially, she looks so much smaller than usual.