#I know this will kill me‚ I've had dreams about the exact way. I don't care if that means I'm able to see you even for an instant

[longagoitwastuesday]

Oh my god Buckingham in insane (appreciative)

[robin374]

alastor x daughter reader angst If you do, you will be very happy. The reader does not know that he is his father and when he finds out, Alastora will be very angry. PLSSSS

ehem thanks <3

𝔊𝔢𝔱 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔪𝔢

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔢𝔯 : Alastor x Reader, platonic

𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔰: Hola. I got too carried away sorry if it's too long. BRUH I JUST FINISHED AND I PASSED THE WORD LIMIT, let me just do a part 2 LMAO

Back when you were alive, you were an orphan. You couldn't remeber who your parents were, but you were angry. You were angry at everything and everyone, if they didn't love you when you were born why didn't they kill you? Was it necessary to abandon you? You didn't want to meet them and start over again as a happy family like your friends at the orphanage dreamed. You wanted to meet them so you could make sure you never talked to them again. Then, when you died, you wandered around Hell. You didn't exactly have a house, you just strolled around the city, maybe even killing someone to let your rage out. For someone who had deer resemblace you were quite agressive, to be honest.

You had died young, in your 17th birth to be exact. You bumped into a group of drunk men, they were drunk enough to pick a fight against whoever crossed paths with them, and you happened to be there. You just didn't survive. You may had born crying knowing nothing about life, but you died with that youth rage and you blamed it on your unknown parents.

One day, you were sitting on the floor reading a book you stole time ago when someone stopped in front of you. You didn't lift your head, you just flicked your gaze to the black dressing shoes and red pants that the person was wearing. "What do you want." You didn't ask, you demanded. "I...I have been informed that you were alone and homeless. So, I've decided to give you a room at my hotel, The Hazbin Hotel!" It was a girl's voice, the Princess of Hell's voice. You recognized her from seeing her singing around the streets not long ago. "Why would I want to go there?" You asked closing the book and putting it inside your bag. "It's just a hotel with a porn star and a pathetic victorian snake. I would prefer to sleep next to a rat with rabies than that, so, thank you but no, thank you." You started to walk away from her, you didn't even want to see her face. You knew you just had been mean to Lucifer's daughter, but she didn't even seem like it. You scratched a spot near your antlers, since you became a demon you didn't manage to get used to them. Then, a shadow appeared out of nowhere and it transformed into a tall man, who smiled at you.

"Now, that's not the best way to talk to someone, sweetheart." He said, his voice was accompanied with a stereophonic effect, it sounded like the radio you used to have in your room when you were alive. "Do I know you?" You said as you straightened your back to look more challenging. He just laughed, which clearly offended you a bit. "You should."

How did he manage to smile for so long? You couldn't remeber the last time your lips drew a genuine smile on your face. You were always with a frown on your face, angry, furious. "You seem to be quite the rebel, aren't you?" He said and before he ruffled your hair you flinched away. "Don't touch me." You hissed. "Ooh the fawn is angry," he laughed causing you to frown even more. "Where is your mother? Did a hunter shoot her?" He smiled even more -if that was even possible- you clenched your teeth and your ears curved downwards, you were trying so hard to not to hit him right then and there, who did he think he was? "Okay, let's calm down. How about you come to my hotel, stay one night and then you decide if you want to stay or not?" The princess smiled, her smile was kinder. You scoffed, "if that means that you won't bother me anymore, alright." They started walking down the street with you, it was the first time you walked with someone by your side. You expected it to be a silent walk but you were wrong, the blonde girl talked you about how she planned to redeem a lot of demons when she got the proof that they were able to do it.

While you were walking up the hill that led to the hotel, your gaze fell on the radio tower coming out of one side. You didn't pay attention to the strange Zeppelin or the huge letters that spelled 'Hazbin Hotel' you just looked at the radio tower. You heard a radio static near you, you didn't pay attention to it though, thinking that it was the coming for the tower. Once you were inside, you were greeted with more people that you thought. Of course, the porn star Angel Dust was there and wasted no time in flirting with you not even knowing you gender. "Oh you're the quiet type? Let me see what that mouth does, pretty please." He pouted and you raised your brow. If that was what he wanted, he would get it. "Get the fuck away from me." You said, shoving him away. Then, you heard a deep chuckle and you turned to your side, you noticed a black cat with wings laughing at the white spider. He had a bottle in his hand. Charlie, made you greet everyone there, but her brows frowned in confused way the moment she didn't find someone called Nifty.

You were about to walk towards the bar when you hit something with your foot. You heard a high pitched voice laughing and telling you to hit her again. You stepped back from the small woman with a scared face and your ears curved downwards. "Hi! I'm Nifty, I clean." She quickly climbed up your body and stopped at your face, her big eye looking intensely at you, you swore she could read your mind. "You are very young to be dead, what happened to you? Oh! What's your name?" She shook you, she was surprinsingly strong considering her small body. "Tell me everything." She growled. "My name's Y/N." You said, and ignored again the radio static, had it been sounding this whole time?

After greeting everyone, you told Charlie that you wanted to rest and she showed you your room. You closed the door and let your body fall in the bed. Even though you didn't want to admit it, you had the feeling that this couldn't be as bad as you thought. It had an old-fashioned aura that made you feel at home, somehow. You hadn't felt like this for a long time, you were always running away from demons that wanted to kill you, harass you, make a deal with you... You were at peace here.

PART 2 HERE

I AM SO SORRY

[not-goldy]

Do you think Jikook's bond (whatever it is) is a goldmine to HYBE and they are trying to profit off it?

Thanks for such an intelligent question, having had one such mentally stimulating ask in a while.

Is Hybe overtly exploiting the chemistry that BTS has and that each pair has within the band, absolutely. I mean that bit should be so easy to wrap your head around.

Romance, bromance is one of the top selling genres of all time. The idea of BTS having a super strong fated bond between them is so commercially viable literal movies and songs have been written about them. 7 dates, bullet proof, and their recent Kdrama series etc to be exact.

And ships sell. I've said this since day one. The commercial viability of ships is just an offshoot of the commercial viability of bands as discussed above.

So yes, within that context, Hybe definitely would gravitate towards the two members with the most chemistry, who also happen to be two of the most liked members of the group, two of the most popular members and the most influential members of the group.

You don't go to war with your weakest soldiers.

Jikook is a very strong ship. We all know that.

They've had the most running in the group with some of the ships rising and falling over the years in terms of chemistry and popularity.

There's a lot to do with a pair like that. Reality shows, travel shows, documentaries, memoirs, tell all, cooking shows.

I watch a lot of reality TV and it's not hard to see how Jikook would fit right into that realm.

If BTS was love Island 🏝 Jikook would get their own spinoff after the season ended.

Fans love them, they get the most votes, the camera adores them and producers have so much they wanna do with them.

Am I making sense???

Going off with the Love Island analogy, just because Jikook are fan favorite, and the crew likes to follow them every where with a camera, and they are getting a spin off show of just the two of them don't necessarily mean their bond is fake that they are only existing for fan service or that the company is exploiting them.

There's just so much to do with them. They are fun entertaining adorable and a pleasure to work with.

So to answer your question I'll say yes and no.

Yes, they definitely a Goldmine for hybe in as far as content production goes.

No because they get to kill two birds with one stone. They can make money off of them, but also they create a safe space for Jikook to have that longevity to explore and nurture their relationship. They love being together. They love doing what they do. Hybe simply allows them to live their dreams and relationship much longer.

I've always said, if any queer pair in kpop were real you'd find them in a ship because ships would be their perfect cover for it. And we've seen jikook use this card very often to get out of trouble. Everything they do would be chalked down to fan service no matter how egregious they were. It can be invalidating and frustrating but In a way, it's also safe for them that way.

If I got paid to cozy up to my girlfriend, travel the world with her, eat as much as we can, hike, experience all and any culture- yall could call us anything you want I'm taking that offer🤣🤣🤣🤣

But we gotta give credit where credit is due because to me it's Jungkook that lay the foundation for all of this to be possible when he put of his first GCF with Jimin and later Jimin lay on top of him on a couch talking bout how they ought to do it again and how he would even model for him if filming is what he wanted to do.

I think they gave Hybe the idea of what it can do with them.

You can tell these things are things they both naturally want to do and have already done. During Run, they come up with a team name, they work well together, during rehearsals they stay behind and work on their routines tweaking it a bit, they come up with cooking shows to do, stay up all night doing nothing.

They are by themselves very creative and adventurous.

So like I said, I don't think this is hybe mining them but more so amplifying and giving them the production value to do what they already have been doing which they love, fans love and the company loves.

I'm sure if any other pair had this same organic pull towards eachother and wanted to be around eachother all the time too hybe would be just as curious and invested in them but as it turns out there isn't.

We are not stupid, we see them. And we see how some members act like they can't wait to get out of set when others keep it going even after they yell cut.

We see them all.

[themainreactor]

"You are the most persistent person that I've ever met in my life."

In which, Megumi's sure he could never rival your bravery. You had the audacity to ask if he'd go on a date with you almost the exact moment the two of you met. By some luck, he finally agreed after he got stuck with you and his classmates in a mall and now he's not sure what to do with himself. He better not have fallen for a random ditzy girl.

"What?"

"Can you take me out?"

"..."

"..."

"Like... Take you out... With a gun?" Megumi squinted at the girl, deciding to play stupid to spare his mental stability.

He has not yet been able to decide if he's being tricked or tested in the thirty seconds he's been around you and your antics.

You were just a random girl carrying a volleyball in one hand and a drink in another. He had bumped into you and apologized but now you were just standing here and flirting with him as if you had nowhere to be. Heck, maybe you didn't have anywhere to be.

You had the straightest face too so he really wasn't sure if you meant that you wanted him to kill you or not. He was feeling like he shouldn't indulge you but he was going to let you anyway.

"You’re funny, but the answers no. I meant take me out on a date." You chuckle, an unbothered smile gracing your face.

It was a nice smile but it threw Megumi off. He had always seen confessions with people all red-faced and shy so this wasn't what he was expecting. You didn't seem at all embarrassed by your request for a companion on a date.

"... You... I don't even know your name." Megumi hesitantly replied.

"Y/N L/N, that's my name."

A small tick mark formed right under his eye as if he was frustrated with your presence. In reality he was just about to have his brain seize up if you didn't stop doing whatever it was you were trying to do. You just seemed so unbothered by your confession to liking him, a stranger, that it was messing up his composure.

How the heck does one react to someone they just accidentally bumped into asking them for a date? Who even were you? He was in a damn subway station with you so what were you trying to get into?

"... So... Would you take me on a date? Or would you rather I take you on one? Both seem like pretty good options." You joked, tilting your head to the side when Megumi avoids your gaze.

"... I-I don't get it, what... Why would you even want to date me? We just met." Megumi stuttered.

He was feeling an impending headache from all these direct questions and answers. In no way was Megumi hesitant about being rude and turning people down but there was something different about you and it was frustrating him. For some reason he didn't want to hurt your feelings even though there was no way he'd say yes.

At least you were pretty calm about your request, like you understood that it wasn't an appropriate question for the situation and you wouldn't be unhappy if he had said no.

"... Well... Huh, how do I explain this... I don't really have a good answer." You mumble quietly to yourself, tossing your volleyball up in the air before catching it again. "Hypothetically speaking, would me saying to you that I find you attractive not be a good enough response?"

"... Well... It's certainly a response." Megumi grumbled under his breath, looking away so that you wouldn't see his blush.

Megumi wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if he was sick because this was legitimately crazy. What type of courage did you have that you could just stand there without any shame as you told him that you thought he was good looking?

"... Not a good one I assume?" You asked.

"Not really." Megumi replied, just listening to that awkward silence between you and him.

"... So would you take me out on a date?"

Was this girl serious?

"I mean... I just met you."

"... Yep... So would you?"

"... Maybe... If we meet again."

"Well... That sounds like a plan." You playfully reply, finally blushing a bit before taking a sip of your drink.

Maybe wanting to see you blush was a bad idea. He wanted to see it just to make sure you were human but now it was making him blush. How annoying.

"You don't really seem disappointed." Megumi finally commented, trying not to make any type of expression as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Well I know it's a weird question to ask someone you just met and I can't force you to take me out on a date." You laugh, barely paying attention to the shuttle that just arrived.

"Why did you want to talk to me anyway?"

"I just thought you were a really romantic looking kind of person and I should talk to you. I figured you'd say no anyway."

"Sure." He huffed out, feeling warmth engulf his face again. He was no doubt flustered again, probably beet red and it made him feel more embarrassed.

"Well is it okay if you tell me your name?" You ask, not wanting to keep him up any further since he was probably one of the people getting on the shuttle.

Megumi briefly looked at you, he was so confused about what was happening and for some reason he didn't actually want to leave yet.

"It's Fushiguro." Megumi mumbled before following everyone else onto the train.

"No full name?" You inquired, teasing him just a bit even though you weren't sure you'd even see this guy again. All you know is that you liked this guy a lot and wanted to talk.

Megumi almost groaned at the question. You were definitely persistent when it came to what you wanted, that was something he could respect at least.

"Megumi... Megumi Fushiguro."

"That's a pretty name, alright I won't hold you up any longer. Bye handsome." You waved, watching as he turned around entirely and walked into the shuttle without waving back at you. You embarrassed him to no end.

You sighed before walking out of the subway station, waiting right up front of the stairs where your friend had asked up to meet with you.

You figured that Megumi Fushiguro thought you were crazy but you didn't mind one bit. If you ever did see him again, you'd definitely try to shoot your shot a second time since he seemed so down to earth and cool.

...

"Fushiguro right?"

"Yeah, that's my name." He tiredly sighed.

"Can I call you Megumi?"

Megumi looked at you, another tick mark forming on his forehead. Naturally he would say no but the way you asked with your gentle tone and kind smile was making him cave. Great, this was humiliating.

"Uh... Sure I guess."

"Well... This is kind of like a date, no?" You almost laughed, trying not to bother the frustrated looking boy anymore than you already had.

It had been about two weeks give or take since you first met each other at the subway station. Now he had accidentally bumped into you yet again, almost dropping his coffee before he turned around to apologize and he recognized you.

Then he actually dropped his coffee.

Thankfully you offered to buy him another one and even though he didn't want to give in to you, he agreed… Since he still wanted some coffee. So now you were just a happy girl walking with Fushiguro to wherever he was going. You had bought him a coffee and had gotten yourself a small box of cake to eat for later.

"Uh... This isn't a date." Megumi corrected, not wanting to think that you had gotten what you wanted.

"Are you sure? This seems like it would be a pretty nice romantic walk don't you think?"

"Yeah I'm sure." Megumi sighed, looking at literally anything and everything but you. Why would you say romantic? It had him almost choking on his coffee.

"... Well how about we're just hanging out then?" You smiled at him, getting just a bit closer as you walked next to him.

Megumi sipped his coffee a bit before looking at you, feeling conflicted about it. It's not like he liked you or anything, cause he definitely didn't that was for sure...

He didn't even want to hang out, he was an antisocial person and he shouldn't indulge you anymore.

I mean c'mon, he knew the whole love at first sight thing wasn't real and he still barely knew anything about you. Though love at first sight seemed like you, as if you were some delusional hopeless romantic.

He could afford to indulge you a bit more... Right?

Just a little bit more.

"Sure this can just be a hang out." He finally replied, gaining one of the most precious smiles from anyone he's ever seen.

"That's good, then maybe I can get you to date me after."

"That's not going to happen."

"Why not? We know each other a little bit better now I think."

"Yeah? I still barely know you." Megumi smiled a bit, trying not to be too open with her even though he found her... Almost fun to be around.

"Yep, you drink black coffee and I like cake-"

"Most people like cake-"

"And barely anyone likes black coffee, that's something unique about you."

"But liking cake isn't unique."

"Jeez, you're missing the point." You huffed, feeling frustrated until you heard a small chuckle come from him.

"Well I think that's fine because I'm making my own point," Megumi replied, fully unbothered by your frustrated expression. "we're still technically strangers. At best we'd be acquaintances."

"Can't you tell me a bit about yourself if that's what you think?"

"Absolutely not." Megumi mumbled before taking another drink out of his coffee.

"Well can I talk a little bit about myself?" You ask, yawning a bit.

"Knock yourself out-"

"Cool, I just switched schools and I play volleyball there. At my other school I just used to be one of those people in the suits, like those big fluffy animal mascots? Yep, that was me and then I recently got a job at this skating rink-"

You just kept rambling as you followed him and honestly, Megumi wasn't expecting you to just dive into a topic about yourself so quickly.

As annoying as hearing you talk about yourself first sounded to him, he found himself listening as if he was enamoured in your life story, though it was all over the place and you jumped from one topic to the next.

Then of course there had to be this annoying, frustrating, mind consuming, grating voice that made Megumi want to find some painkillers.

"Megumi!"

"Oh, who's that?" You asked, tilting your head to look back at the white haired man with the black blindfold. Why was he wearing a blindfold?

"... That's my teacher." Megumi groaned, turning around to face the man.

"Hey! Who's your friend?" Gojo smiled at you, gaining a small smile back and a bow of her head.

"This is L/N-"

"Don't call me that, you can just call me Y/N since I'm calling you Megumi." You interrupted, getting Gojo to raise an eyebrow.

"... Okay." Megumi blushed, turning his gaze to the concrete instead of you.

"It's nice to meet you sir." You greet Gojo as he gives you a thumbs up.

"Nice to meet you too little lady, my names Gojo."

"Right... What were we even talking about again?" You turned to Megumi, watching as he continued to sip on his cup of coffee

"Someone name Yoko."

"Oh right! Then there's Yoko, he hates me for the most part so I don't mess with him even though I have to see him for advanced math almost everyday and then there's my teacher named Mr. Touya-"

Gojo's smile brightened ever so slightly, watching as this girl just kept talking about random stuff that most people wouldn't really care about. He then looked at Megumi, watching as he payed attention to you and Gojo already knew something he probably shouldn't.

He grinned before playfully elbowing Megumi, Megumi just grunted and smacked his elbow away but that didn't stop him from listening to your crazy life story.

"So unfortunately we lost that competition but at the same time I didn't expect much from it when I don't know how to dance all that well anyway and then my mom helped with- Oh my gosh you wanna know something?!"

Gojo internally laughed at how cute you were and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop any noise from coming out. Megumi jumped, almost dropping his cup again from your sudden yelling. You scared him for no reason.

"What!? What happened to your mother!?" Megumi frantically asked.

"Huh?"

"...Huh!?" Megumi yelled, his eye twitched a bit. You were talking about your mom and then you suddenly asked if he wanted to know something in a panicked voice. So what the hell did you mean now by 'huh?'

"Huh what?"

"What happened to your mother?" He asked again, taking a breath and lowering his voice ever so slightly so it didn't seem like he was yelling at you. Gojo just started giggling, silently thanking himself for setting up this time that he'd meet up with Megumi since he got to meet you now.

"... Oh! Nothing happened to my mother but I just remembered that my dad is making plans to take me to Paris in like a three weeks since he's working there overseas!" You yelled in excitement, smiling at Megumi as if nothing was the matter.

Megumi is pretty sure he just short-circuited cause how are you able to jump from one conversation to another like that? He could say it was annoying but instead it made him want to know more even though it was drastically draining his social battery.

"Yep... So that's my life, what's yours?"

"... Um... You think just because you've shared your life with me you'll find out about mine?"

"... Well why not?!" You asked, shrugging your shoulders. I mean, you did just tell this boy everything interesting about you and your life in the span of ten minutes.

"It's because he's antisocial but don't worry, I'm sure he liked it-"

"Shut up." Megumi harshly glared at his teacher before sighing when he heard you laugh.

"I guess that's alright then, well I'll see you later then huh Megumi?"

"Yeah I guess-"

"Oh wait! Can I ask you again?"

"Ask me what?" Megumi plays dumb again, hoping you won't pursue this while Gojo's here.

"If you'll take me out."

"Oh! That'd be sweet but now that I think about it, he's getting some of his teeth removed in a few days so maybe not!" Gojo interrupted, teasing the situation even more whilst getting hit in the back by Megumi. He didn’t care since his infinity stopped the attack anyway

"I mean, no I'm not taking you out... At least not yet." Megumi mumbled the last part, Gojo looking at him before pouting while you just smiled.

"Alright then, I'll see you soon and hopefully I can get you to change your mind."

"Bye little lady!" Gojo waved with a bright smile, Megumi just nodding his head in your direction before continuing his walk.

And with that, you were off, waving goodbye at the two as you parted ways.

It was silent for a good twenty seconds and even though Megumi had hope that Gojo wouldn't talk about this, he knew not to believe in it fully.

"So who was that lovely girl?"

"She's L/N, I just met her like two weeks ago... Don't lie about me like that again with her-"

"Are you guys dating? Oh my gosh Is she your girlfriend? You two don’t take each other’s innocence ! You're too young for that!"

"What the hell!? No! We're just acquaintances damnit! Now drop it!"

...

Megumi didn't ask for this. Megumi didn't want to be here right now. Megumi would much rather be cooking with Maki than in a mall with you.

Nobara and Yuji had wanted to go to the mall to buy some clothes and other things so that's where they were going, Megumi unfortunately not having a choice as Gojo brought him along.

But somehow, he found himself meeting you once again and accidentally bumping into you... Yet again. He of course apologized but it seemed like it was no longer a coincidence that he kept bumping into you, it couldn't be.

The only unfortunate thing about this was the fact that he was with his classmates and annoying teacher and it made this so much more embarrassing when he knew what would happen.

Gojo had already ratted him out to Nobara and Yuji about you, claiming you were his girlfriend even though he had to yell over Gojo to correct him. If they saw you now with him, they would embarrass him to no end just like they did with the random woman that had asked him for directions.

"Hey Megumi! How are-"

"Don't be so loud." He mumbled, grabbing onto your forearm to move you to another part of the store as quickly as humanly possible.

"I wasn't being loud, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just don't wanna be here."

He wasn't trying to get caught in all of this because you were so bold and he was so reserved there was no way his dignity would survive, especially since you liked him so damn much.

"You're being kind of pushy y'know that? Are you taking me on that date now?" You replied giddily, happy to see him as you walked with him and left your area to follow Fushiguro.

"Don't ask me that question anymore, you're the most persistent person that I've ever met in my life."

"Aw c'mon, it's not like I'd be boring. I could be a great date-"

"Y'know what? Fine, I'll take you out on a date later just shush!" Megumi hissed and finally he let you go, sighing and turning around before his face froze up. Shoot, not Yuji. He always tattletaled when Megumi talked with any girl.

So Megumi quickly got on all fours to crawl under the clothing racks, not bothering to bring you with him and just opting to peek his head out to converse with you.

"Where are you going?" You quietly asked him, flabbergasted at the sight of this stoic boy bringing himself to such a desperate place that he was hiding from someone.

"I need you not to mention me at all okay, they don't need to be asking-"

"Who?"

"Nobody, they're just annoying people that brought me here today against my will."

"Then I guess I should thank them since I get to see your handsome face again don't you think? And you're going to take me on a date." You smile, not caring a bit when Megumi's face got all red again.

Hr groaned when he looked behind you. Yuji had found his way towards this scandalous situation.

Yukon wasn't expecting Megumi to be crawling under something like that and talking to a cute girl whilst they talk about dating. She called him handsome, how sweet.

"Um... Hey, what's your name?"

You turned around, facing the boy with pink hair and the same school uniform as Megumi had.

"Y/N L/N, what's your's?"

"Oh! I'm Yuji Itadori, I've heard a lot about you!" He greeted, giving you his hand to shake.

"Really? That's nice."

"Hey Kugisaki! Gojo Sensei! Guess who Fushiguro found?!" Itadori yelled, gaining the other two's along with literally everyone else in the stores attention.

Megumi embarrassingly crawled out of his hiding space, regretting even coming here because he didn't want any of this. Though now that he thinks about it, it seemed kind of impossible for you to feel flustered so it was more like he didn't want to be thrown under the bus in front of you.

"Who?" Nobara walked over, yawning as if she was fully uninterested in what he had to say.

"The girl that Megumi's into!"

Megumi cringed when Yuji had said it that way and took it upon himself to smack Yuji upside the head while you were preoccupied with everyone else.

"Oh really?! I'm Nobara Kugisaki, the best girl here besides you of course." She immediately smiled at you before placing her hand on her hip with some sass. Now she was fully interested in what was going on.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N!" You smiled, taking into account what Yuji had said. If you really were the girl that Megumi was interested in, then maybe he'd finally say yes this time.

"Well little lady, we were about to go eat together. You wanna come join us?"

"I'd like that, if it's okay with you Megumi." You nodded, Fushiguro sighing before he replied with a small 'sure'. Yuji and Nobara almost squealed at you calling him by his first name.

So you and everyone else finished buying whatever they had gotten from the store, Nobara immediately decided that she would get you some cute dresses and stuff while Yuji just talked to you.

You seemed interesting enough and you must have been a pretty impressive person to get Megumi's attention.

"Yeah that's how we found out that not only is Megumi dislexic but he has like twenty different varieties of gel for his hair. Not to mention all the romance novels he has-"

"I do not have romance novels in my dorm room." Megumi growled with a threatening glare pointed at her. She just laughed and continued talking even though Megumi having to correct her every ten seconds about what she was saying to you.

He shouldn't have cared, it shouldn't have mattered to him whether or not they tried to tease him and you. After all, It's not like he actually liked you... He couldn't like you... At least not really, he just met you like three weeks ago.

"Yeah Kugisaki, don't lie about stuff like that when they'd be so cute together. Just like Gojo would say, "Get off of him, you damn homewreckers!" Though the gel thing is completely true." Yuji teased, only adding fuel to the flame.

"I'm going to kill all of you." Megumi grumbled in-between his teeth. You just laughed, almost dying at how hilarious it was that they were teasing him.

"You shouldn't kill us." Gojo stated with a teasing expression. "especially when we're going to be the ones at your wedding-"

"Stop it!"

...

"So where would you take me?"

"I don't know... Probably like a cafe or something." Megumi replied, almost forgetting that he had actually said yes to you by some miracle.

Though he kind of realized that he had been lying to himself for a bit. It's not like he outwardly liked you like you did him.

But he was lying about not falling for you. At least he wanted to be around you and that was something since he almost never wanted to be around anyone.

"Well it's a good thing you gave me your phone number so now I can text you about it later." You smiled, looking up at the sunset colored sky.

"I guess."

Yuji, Nobara, and Gojo were trying their best to be inconspicuous about spying. Megumi and you had just walked out of the food court to talk outside and they couldn't help themselves since they were like annoying, eavesdropping children.

"What that boy Itadori said, was it true?"

"What did he say?"

"That you're into me?"

Megumi had to refrain from letting a scowl come onto his face. He was definitely going to smack the shit out of Yuji when they got back to campus.

Then again, he might as well tell the truth. Was he into you at the moment? Hypothetically speaking he shouldn't be since the two of you still didn't know each other that well but in reality, yes he was into you.

He blames you for it, it's your fault he's into you.

"Yeah." He finally responded, making you surprised. You didn't think he would actually say yes, you were just bringing it up to tease him.

"... Really? I'm into you too."

"I know that, you started off with that when we first met." Megumi chuckled, looking at you with a calm face.

He wasn't annoyed, stressed out or frustrated, he didn't look like he might strangle someone at that moment and it just made you more excited. He had a soft side that he was sharing with you for just a bit.

"Right."

"..."

"..."

"I can't actually believe you're going to be taking me on a date!" You smile, having quite the hard time holding your excitement in.

"Yeah, well I can't really believe it either. I can't even really believe that I like you so imagine how I feel."

Nobara sighed, getting bored as she watched the love birds stand in silence. It wasn't like this was annoying she just wasn't trying to wait this long to see some results.

"Shh!" Yuji whisper yelled, elbowing Nobara only to get elbowed back.

"Ow! Quit it!"

"Shut up! I don't-"

"They're gonna notice us." Gojo lifted up his blindfold while talking to the two, effectively getting Yuji and Nobara to be quiet.

"Welp, I gotta go anyway but it was nice to see you again, and meet your friends." You smiled at Megumi, getting a nod from him in return. The spying company had successfully evaded your attention.

"I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye- Oh wait!" You quickly turned around and surprised Megumi when you came close enough to him to kiss his cheek.

And then you were off, waving Megumi goodbye as if you didn't do anything at all. But Megumi knew what you did and he felt it, a light and yet tender kiss.

His face got all red again, he could feel it and his chest did the thing where it beats way too fast. He was gonna have heart failure soon If you didn't stop.

"Woah!"

Megumi turned around, looking at the voice only to glare at the three that were hiding in a bush. They weren't even quiet about it, they looked so obvious it was annoying.

"Did you see that? It was so cute!" Gojo gushes, eyeing the picture of the two that Yuji took.

"Hell yeah it was! The picture turned out great!"

"It did?! Let me see it! Oh my gosh that's so sweet! And they're going to have their first date together too?!" Nobara smirked.

"This is so great damnit and they have so much chemistry! I'll bet you ten hundred yen that they'll end up in the same bed in like a month-" Yuji started, already taking out some money to show off until he got cut off by a voice.

"I'm giving you all five seconds." Was all Megumi said as he stood in front of the bush and that was their cue to get their asses back into the mall before he called one of his shikigami to eat them.

[caq1e]

i've been trying to rationalize why clay terran's death hits me more than pretty much any other victim, even though the exact intricacies of his character are not the most plot relevant, and i think i finally got it. some of it's that he's the series' first new science freak in a while, yeah, but i think above that it's the emphasis on his ambition.

ace attorney does not like to kill real characters. it doesn't. referring to the main series for the rest of this post, we very rarely get to see a character for one section of one case before they die, with a few notable exceptions. as a result, because we don't get to know the characters very well, we as players are left to pick up the remnants based on the reactions of those still alive. ace attorney creates tragedy and emotional impact through the emotions of those who knew the victims. the victims' personas, therefore, are shaped by others' experiences with them: were they nice or mean, compassionate or abusive, nurturing or strict? while their relationships to others are crucial to their selves, they aren't everything about them.

clay is an astronaut. and unlike pretty much every victim in this series, that's not just his job, it's his life's purpose. the majority of clay's character is shaped through apollo's perception of him, sure, but what's also emphasized is his dream of being an astronaut. he wanted to be an astronaut since he was a child. he went to cosmos, became acquaintances and friends with the employees, surrounded himself with space. and he got the job. i know ace attorney ages can be taken with a grain of salt, but he was going to go into space at twenty-three, where the youngest astronaut in real life was twenty-five. any sizable gap in age below the norm tends to get lawyers deemed prodigies, excluding most themis students, so clay could probably be considered one as well. he was brilliant and remarkably hardworking and dedicated his entire life to reaching this goal, and he... didn't. he died with his dream ten steps in front of him.

when a character is an exception in one way, they tend to be in many, and they also tend to be defense attorneys, for some reason. the two victims with the most ambition at time of death, from my perspective, also have the most pre-death screen time: mia fey and dhurke sahdmadhi. their ambition may be on different scales, but they both died with tasks unfinished. mia had yet to reveal the corruption of redd white and the truth to dl-6, and dhurke had yet to restore stability to his country's legal system. they were both incredibly committed to fulfilling these goals and died while actively pursuing them.

the contrast between these two and clay is the individualism factor. dhurke wanted to see his revolution through, but he wanted a better future regardless of whether he was its leader or not. mia's connection was due to her familial involvement, but she also just wanted to uncover the truth behind redd white's obscurations and reduce corruption in the legal system. these goals are personal, but they aren't limited to them. they are goals that these two aspire to achieve, but they themselves don't need to be the ones to achieve them; in fact, they aren't. phoenix apprehends white, exposes manfred von karma, and discovers misty fey's disappearance for mia, while nahyuta and apollo work to reform khura'in's courts for dhurke. clay wanted to go to space. while a less noble goal than those i'm comparing him to, it's also more intrinsic to himself. he was supposed to be the one in space. there's no one to take over his dream because it's his alone. when he dies, that's it. it'll never be done. while his compassion definitely implies that he would be proud as long as sol starbuck touched the stars again, that isn't his dream. it's not the same as him doing it himself.

another similarity between mia and dhurke is that they are also the victims with the most post-death screen time. mia is channeled constantly through the first trilogy, to the point where she's almost as constant as any living character. dhurke lives for days, concealing his death while being channeled and not revealing the secret until almost the end of 6-5. as a result, these two get front row seats to their goals being fulfilled by their successors. mia's there to help phoenix take down white in 1-2, is certainly made aware of the results in 1-4, and even reunites with diego and re-defeats dahlia in 3-5. dhurke assists apollo leading up to the final court case, and his presence sticks with apollo as he develops his defense office.

clay does not get post-death screen time. he's only mentioned, like any other victim, after his death, and the large bulk of it is regarding the minutes before he's killed. not only is his dream unable to be fulfilled, but he wouldn't get the chance to see anything come of it, if that was even possible. he's not aura, staring out of a prison cell as part of her life's work flies off without her input. he's dead. no seeing the future, no willing on a successor to continue for him, no closure. dead and gone.

i'm not going to go crazy in depth right now, but, considering all major victims, the final truth of clay's death is done pretty poorly. as the successor to investigations, a duology that deals with international affairs in incredible detail, dual destinies is notably lacking. the organization behind the phantom isn't explored in the slightest; what was the point in making them a part of something bigger in the first place? there's no inciting event, no motive, not even a name, and from my point of view it just makes dual destinies feel unfinished, like there were plans that couldn't be made reality. there aren't any hints towards what the organization is doing, no legs to theorize on besides real life events, and it's not portrayed in a way that leaves it as a clever mystery. some international organization wants to sabotage the rocket launches for an unknown reason, so people die. that's all. clay dies due to reasons completely unknown to players, which is just so unsatisfying. not only does he not get closure, but we don't either. it makes me desperate for any new information to justify his death, to make his murder mean something, just like others who are integral to plot. this isn't entirely the point i was trying to make, but i think it's significant enough to mention. or maybe i just wanted to talk about it. not too sure.

clay terran suffers the awful fate of too much ambition and too little closure. this alone made his death have the greatest lasting impact on me. i'm not sure how it is for others, but the sadness of those left behind didn't usually trigger a large emotional reaction in me. however, the way clay's extraordinary dedication, implied intelligence, and nigh inevitable success were ripped from him right at the very end, with no possibility of a successor due to his own personal stake in the goal, made his death hit me through the heart like no other ace attorney victim. and also, just a little bit, because he's a new science freak.

[brigdh]

Okay. My thoughts on the Our Flag Means Death finale. Obviously I'm not very happy with the ending, though I'm also not as upset as some people are. I would say I'm discontent. Unsatisfied. Too aware of how it could have been improved, and a bit bitter that we didn't get a better version, but I also don't hate what we did get.

I know a lot of meta has attributed the problems to a shorter season, and absolutely I would have loved to get 10 episodes instead. I would have loved 22 episodes! Why don't we do that anymore? But I don't think the 8 episode length was the ultimate problem. A) The showrunner and writers knew they had only 8 episodes, so they needed to choose a story that fit into that length, but even more importantly, B) my problem is not that they had too much story for too little time, but actually that they had plenty of time and chose to fill it with too little story.

As I've sat with it over the last few days and thought more about the season's arc, it feels to me like we got eight episodes of filler. Filler episodes can be great! Filler episodes can have some of the funniest lines, the greatest scenes, the most intriguing ideas. But filler episodes do not progress character arcs or major themes, and that's exactly the problem this season had.

The only characters who got arcs this season are Izzy, and to a lesser and more rushed extent, Lucius. Which sure is a choice.

Ed and Stede and their relationship did not meaningfully change from S1. (Okay, yes, they had sex, they said I Love You – but these are external changes, not internal. They don't represent character growth. Stede realized he loved Ed and was telling everyone back in 1x10. Ed clearly would have slept with him in S1 if they'd had a little more time.) Ed and Stede in 2x08 are not different from who they are in 2x01. If Ed had asked Stede to be innkeepers in 2x01, does anyone think Stede wouldn't have immediately agreed? One of the big moments in 2x08 is Ed reading a letter that Stede wrote in 2x01! Stede's exact words from the very beginning of the season! What better way to underline that none of the subsequent seven episodes had important growth or changes?

Another one of 2x08's big shippy moments is Ed and Stede running to each other across a beach – deliberately paralleling the dream Stede had in 2x01. What are we supposed to take from this parallel? My original thought was that we're supposed to see how different the real version is from the dream, but there's honestly not many differences. Neither one has a beard, now? The dream mocked how Stede knew they needed to have a conversation about their relationship that he wanted to avoid, but they don't have a conversation in the "real" version either. They exchange about two sentences (which includes Ed's I Love You, yes, which is a big deal but still isn't a conversation) and then they charge right back into the fight, without discussing anything like Ed abruptly dumping Stede to go be a fisherman, Stede killing Ned Low when Ed asked him not to, their differences of opinion on being pirates, if having sex was a mistake or if that's only a thing Ed said because he was panicking, etc etc. They have just as many issues to address as they did in the dream, but just like the dream they act like everything is magically okay without talking about it!

So I think we're meant to take the beach-run parallels as "here's what Stede's been wanting, and after waiting for so long he finally gets it". Which is fine, a very sweet take-away for a finale. But it underlines what I'm saying is the problem of the season: Stede has just been waiting for eight episodes for his dream to come true. Not changing. Not growing. Not doing anything to bring the dream about, other than trying to get himself and Ed into the same physical location. Just... waiting.

This is an extra surprising development, because the show was really good at giving Ed and Stede character arcs in S1! Ed and Stede in 1x10 are significantly different than they were in their first introductions. Also, just to preempt some criticism, by 'progressing' I do not mean 'wrap up literally every loose end and make a firm final ending' – S1's finale is an excellent example of both moving the characters forward and leaving a ton of room for future stories. I wasn't expecting for 2x08 to show us a Stede and Ed who were perfectly on the same page and would never again have a problem. I was expecting them to be somewhat different than they were in 2x01, and I just don't see that.

Instead of arcs, we got little pieces of single-episode growth here and there that never added up to an overall whole. The season brought up a ton of potential arcs for Ed – violence, piracy, guilt, suicide, daddy issues, self-loathing, apologies, redemption, his tendency to idealize escaping into a different life – but didn't do anything with any of these options. Stede had nothing resembling a season arc at all.

Stede works to improve as a captain! Stede kills someone and has regrets! Stede confronts Ed's dark side! <- All potential arcs, but none of which lasted for more than an episode or had consequences. We don't even know what the ending means for Stede: does he want to be an innkeeper because he failed as a pirate in 2x07? Because piracy was always just a displaced search for love, and now that he has love, he doesn't need piracy? What does the crew of the Revenge leaving mean to him? Stede's understanding of their new arrangement literally happens off-screen and we're left to fumble at guesses for its significance to him as an individual.

Ed and Stede's last big conversation in the season is their break-up fight in 2x07, which is a shocking way to send off your main couple in a rom-com. Yes, there's the I Love You on the beach (again: two sentences) and the brief 'let's try to be innkeepers' conversation at the very end, but that's it for them in 2x08, except for their inclusion in some brief large group conversations about their fighting skills and the plan for escaping the British. How can you end your rom-com with the main couple exchanging only a paragraph's worth of dialogue in the finale? None of the stuff was brought up in the fishing fight in 2x07 is ever addressed at all!

Again, I don't think this is solely a matter of time crunch. Instead of using the eight episodes to progress the two main characters, we got a bunch of filler episodes that used the time in amusing side tangents instead of forward progress. I don't think that's the inevitable result of having to work with eight episodes.

Look, I can come up with a better Ed/Stede relationship arc without needing more episodes, and despite only thinking about this for a couple days and not having an entire writing room to work with:

(Note: this only addresses the Ed/Stede relationship. It doesn't fix Stede completely lacking an independent character arc and Ed having about ten thousand of them, none of which went anywhere.)

In 2x05 to 2x07, I would make Ed's motivations in their relationship very clearly that he's pushing Stede away so he doesn't get hurt again. Basically play up Ed's comment about "I was all in" in 2x04, and make him determined not to get 'all in' this time around. This aligns the "let's take it slow" conversation in 2x05, the "sex was a mistake" in 2x06, and Ed running away to be a fisherman in 2x07 into a single arc. He wants Stede, but he's afraid of what that wanting will do to him. He's trying to find a way to have a relationship without making himself vulnerable. He keeps pushing off commitment and openness.

Then, in 2x08, I'd make it more explicit that Ed thinks/fears Stede is dead when he sees the pirate ships burning. I think it's subtext in the episode as-is, but give him a line or two to make it really clear. Ed and Stede still see each other on the beach, have their dramatic run to each other, and Ed says, "I love you". Now this moment is Ed acknowledging his love, exactly what he's been avoiding for the last three episodes.

Near the end of the episode, Ed and Stede have a conversation where Ed says something like, "I didn't want to get hurt again, I was afraid of the risk of falling in love and you leaving again, but thinking you were dead made me realize that never loving you would be worse" (but better written, ha, this is a tumblr post that's already too long). (Also possibly you could tie in Izzy's death here to underline both Ed and Stede not wanting to lose another person they care about, if we must have that plot point for some reason.) We actually get to see Ed asking Stede to come be innkeepers with him, paralleling asking him to run away to China (and paralleling NOT asking Stede to a fisherman), Stede voices some of his worries (paralleling him keeping them inside in 1x09, but also giving him a chance to explain what piracy and love mean to him and why he'd give up one for the other), but ultimately they agree that they at least want to try.

This both puts them into a much clearer place for a happy ending, has clear growth from S1 and the beginning of this season, but also leaves open a ton of room for S3, because welp, it turns out trying to have a relationship entails all sorts of problems! Especially with these two. It also would make me feel like they'd at least addressed some of the issues between them.

Right now I feel like S3 will have to spend at least the first few episodes running through exactly the same "don't talk – break up – get back together dramatically" arc that Stede and Ed have already done twice but have never discussed and never learned from. I liked it, but I don't need to see it yet again. That will – ironically – feel like yet more wasted time, more episodes that are just churning through beats without moving the characters forward. I wanted them to have new, different fights in S3, but now I don't even feel like they've made enough progress to have a fresh set of problems.

[happenssweet]

i think people who blame patrick for tashi's knee injury completely miss what's so important about her getting it.

the point isn't that she was distracted, or that she was upset. because that didn't matter. not in terms of what happened.

what's so jarring about that moment, the reason people gasp when they first see it, is not just the fact that she's injured herself. it's the way it's so unexpected.

after that fight, i think a lot of people may have anticipated her playing poorly, even losing her match. or maybe the exact opposite, a different type of ferocity in her playing. no one i've ever talked to or watched the movie with expected that.

and that's because it's a borderline perfect portrayal of sports injuries. yes, extenuating circumstances can contribute to being more reckless. but what's horrifying about injuries like a torn acl or meniscus isn't just that they happen.

it's that they happen out of nowhere. an athlete can be at their prime, playing the most perfect game of their career, but if they have one misstep, if they plant their foot wrong once, if they lock their knee involuntarily, hell, if they just focus too hard on their target, everything can fall to pieces in a second.

in my opinion, the point of her injury and that scene specifically is not that patrick caused it. i don't think he did. it's that when it happens, directly after that fight, you can almost tell exactly what's going to happen next. because we just saw a battle of pride. and now the one thing tashi is proudest of, the one thing she could hold over patrick in a way that could actually break through his facade, is gone.

now, a lot of athletes can recover from a knee injury with a surgery and proper physical therapy. especially when they're as young as tashi was. she probably knew that. but when patrick comes back after everything, she's not operating on reason. she hasn't been for hours.

to me, the fight didn't precipitate the injury. only the breakup. tashi is incredibly skilled, we know this because it's pointed out at every possible moment. at that level, a college match could be played practically on muscle memory. it's the shock of the suddenness, of the immediate tragedy, that pushes fear into her mind. and it was in those moments of terror that tashi probably decided it was easier to blame patrick than to come to terms with the fact that it was a freak accident that destroyed her future.

we don't get to see much of tashi's process of acceptance, and i think that's because, in part, it's something that is so incredibly difficult to even wrap your head around from an outside perspective, much less write, direct, or act. in a single moment, this girl, this college freshman, has had her life, or at least what she dreamed it would be, pulled out from under her, with no hope of recovering it.

it's on that court, on that exam table, that fear becomes something that begins to rule tashi. we don't see that in her before that day. but after, it's always present, lurking just beneath the surface of the attitude she needs to keep up to feel like herself. we see it at the applebee's. we see it in both hotel lobbies. we see it after she tells art she'll leave him. and we see it in the patrick's car.

because of one single misstep, fear is underwritten in each and every thing she does and says. it's the same fear that forces patrick away, and it's the same fear that lets him keep coming back.

and it's so evident because we see fear in art and patrick before that day. they each have different motivators, but there are clear moments when we can see them feeling it. it's not until something in her knee pops and devastates her career that fear seeps into her decision making as well.

i have personal experience with an extremely talented athlete sustaining a serious knee injury. when tashi jokes about art thinking she'd kill herself after it happened, they both laugh (albeit awkwardly), and the scene moves on. but it's not something you can joke about until long after. because, yes, when something so unexpected, something so abruptly sickening happens, one of the first concerns is how that athlete comes to terms with what's happened. with the randomness of it.

again, we only see a small part of how she deals with it in the aftermath. outwardly, sarcasm. in private, in her own mind, it's something significantly more desperate. and then, as we watch the way fear begins to guide her actions, we can begin to grasp how that moment rewired her.

there are many reasons she may have for cheating with patrick. one, i believe, is that he was her life pre-injury. he stopped being a part of it the moment it happened, so when he shows back up, it's an escape. she doesn't need to listen about her fiancé's stats, or how the girl she beat at the junior open is dominating women's tennis. because that first night back with patrick, she probably got to be that girl again. the one who dominated on and off the court, confidence unshakeable.

so no, i don't think the fight between tashi and patrick in her dorm affected her physical performance on the court that day. because if there's a highly influential external factor, it undermines the potency of the way she immediately tries to deflect by finding one, as well as the way it guides each and every one of her actions after. it's easy to blame patrick because she tries to at first, even if she does slowly come to terms with the chance of it all. we're told the match was her's before it even started. over and over again we are told so explicitly that there was nothing and no one that could shake tashi duncan.

and there isn't. not until she shakes herself.

[remigoesinsane]

OKAY... WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MORELLA.

So, i feel like Morella isn't getting nearly enough time spent talking about her, which is fair, because we really haven't seen much focus on her recently. HOWEVER. I did just realize that I am now able to share a theory that I've had. Warning: it's... a lot.

So first off, I want to address a theory that directly contradicts mine. This is, of course, the theory of "everyone in Nevermore died in America" theory. I want to clarify: I'm not directly shooting it down. I am, however, saying that it's only a theory, and as of yet has no way of knowing for sure if it's fact or fiction. Therefore, this theory will completely disregard that one.

Now, my theory specifically has to do with Morella's death. The first thing we managed to figure out about her was that she must have died sometime after the 1950s, seeing as that was when the lobster clasp, which is what she has, was invented.

However, she can't be too close to modern times, or she would question why everything is so old-fashioned. Also, her outfits don't exactly scream "21st century", so it's pretty safe to say she's from the 1900s. It's been estimated (thank you panda) that the approximate time frame should be late 1950s to early 1970s.

Now, her spectre. She has a benevolent spectre type, and describes her emotions when manifesting as "wanting to protect her friends, no matter what" (not an exact quote btw). It's pretty widely accepted that she died to save someone else. Also, I must point out: red hair? freckles? (ginger, ginger, Weasley, Weasley- nah I'm kidding lmao iykyk) and shepherd's pie? doesn't that kinda scream Irish? not to mention the resemblance of the pajamas:

I'm a massive riordan fan, and rereading Magnus Chase got me thinking: what if (like Mallory Keen) Morella died during bloody Friday?

Some background (yes I did research): Bloody Friday occured on July 21st, 1972, where bombs went off in Ireland, killing 9 people and injuring about 130 others. It was in response to Bloody Sunday, also known as the Bogside Massacre. As you can see, the dates fit the time frame perfectly.

Red and Flynn never actually confirmed where Morella was from. They once said in the discord that England was a possibility, but not to count it as canon. As of yet, we have no confirmation of where Morella is from, so it's perfectly possible for her to be Irish. Line up all the evidence, and you get this theory: Morella likely died either on Bloody Sunday or Bloody Friday. She's always had a strong instinct to protect her friends, even if it meant her death, which in this case, it would have.

I find this theory to be VERY interesting, especially because as far as I've seen, I was the first to mention it (at least in the discord, and I've never seen anyone make this connection on a webtoon comment.) If I'm right... I'll scream.

Obligatory thanks for making it to the end. DAMN was this was long. Maybe even longer than my crack dream... but that's a story for another time.

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Heya! First off, this AU is great. I like how each character is implemented. Also, that Hug post made me feel very happy. Anyway, the thing I want to talk about in question. Okay, so I had a dream about this AU. It was not just about it, but it's one of the two parts I actually remember. I kid you not, the segment is a character called 'Postal Dude' walking around the dead City thing. I'm pretty actually happy on how it looked in the dream, looking weirdly live-action clay-esc, Tim Burtin like? Anyway, here is the exact way things happen, I wish I was making this up. Postal Dudes walking down the street, looks at a corpse and says 'Oh look, there's Jerry! I used to love what's happenin. Oh yeah, gotta get that petition signed. Good thing I'm a People person.' Pomni happened to be walking down the street, don't know what she was doing, but she was the only one there. So, he walks in her way. PD: 'Hi there, would you like to sign my petition?' P: 'Why would I do that, that sounds stupid? Buzz off.' PD: "Look, just sign the stupid petition, I've got stuff to do." P: 'YOU don't get to tell me what to do, dipshit! You wanna start a fight?!' PD: "Shut up, moron. Sign this petition or I'm gonna follow you home and kill your dog.' *Pomni then pulled out the sword she has and attacked. Some sort of weird anime scene type happened, where literally nothing interesting occurred except for Postal Dude saying: "You gonna sign this, or will it be your surviving family members?" Followed by Pomni jumping at him like that one Mugman book scene in the Cuphead show. There was a seperate like 3 second part of the dream where Postal Dude and Jax were tackling each other, but meh. I feel like memorizing all of PD's lines may have been overkill for my brain. Anyway, see ya. -The Dream guy

That is so WILD bro HELP 😭😭😭 That sounds like a pretty awesome dream HAHHAHA

[darkpoisonouslove]

HotD S02E06

This show is exhausting, the fandom - even more so. I didn't even want to write this but I hate not finishing stuff I've already started and abandoning my "reviews" halfway through the season just didn't sit right with me. Also, I guess I do want to bitch even if I would be infinitely happier if I didn't have to. There is good news, though, and that's the fact that I did like this episode more than the last one! These thoughts might not be in order because I cannot be bothered to open the episode again and look through it:

Daemon is so funny for real. He has NOT caught on to the fact that Alys is playing him. I think this might be more misogyny from him, though. Look at it - he is blaming Simon, who is allegedly in charge of all of Harrenhal and he is absolutely not clocking Alys despite the fact that she literally gave him a potion to drink. He cannot perceive that there might be some kind of other power different from being a lord/king.

I do not know why Alys is helping him tbh. I guess she sees how pathetic his state and that of the entire team Black is and she figures that if she doesn't help, the war will be over soon. So if her motive is prolonging the war to ensure both sides take as many hits as possible, then she probably wants to end the Targaryens/dragons. It's really funny how they are making team Black the underdogs, however. What, with Daemon alienating all of the Riverlands houses and the loss of Rhaenys and their largest dragon, they are presented at a severe disadvantage. In the book, though, team Black has more dragons and more houses that support them... and they still fucking lose. Guess we know why the writers are "adapting" the situation to make them look like they will come out on top from a worse initial position but it's really funny because who fucking fumbled the Riverlands, guys? It was Daemon! He had one job and the only reason he might come back from his mistake is because Alys probably wants to see all Targaryens dead. What a funny way to present your "heroes".

Love how they also made Alys say that Rhaenyra should get the crown because she's never wanted it. I guess that conversation in 1x02 where Rhaenys warned her it would all lead to war because the men of the realm won't accept her as queen and Rhaenyra's response boiled down to "Fuck them! I will have my crown!" was just some kind of dream we mass hallucinated then. Istg this writing is a fucking joke. I don't think the writers are aware that adapting something doesn't mean "do the exact opposite of the main theme of the source material", which they are doing by insisting Rhaenyra has some kind of divine right to the throne. Read. The. Fucking. Book!

The way they're "adapting" Aemond is killing me so I don't even want to talk about it. I just have to say that the Aemond from 1x09 would never do what he's doing right now. I could be repeating myself but the fact that he regretted accidentally killing the boy that slashed out his eye and mutilated him but burned his own brother in cold blood (and was essentially torturing him in this episode) over one minute of Aegon reverting to bullying him like he did during their childhood is nonsensical af. Not to mention that he already had the chance to be king. Aegon literally begged him to let him run away so that he could be free and Aemond would be king and he didn't do it because he respected his mother's wishes. I do not buy that he would change that much over the course of 2 months.

Having Aemond insult the one other disabled character and call him a toad (and torture the other disabler character besides himself aka his brother) was not great. Trying to marry Alicent off after everything that's happened to her? I think the fuck not (at least he didn't insist on that)!

I was thinking that it would be much more suspenseful if Rhaenyra's first attempt at finding more dragon riders was unsuccessful because imagine how much harder it would be to continue with more attempts - both because of her conscience and because all the other candidates would probably not want to risk their lives on what appears to be a doomed cause. In fact, I was so wrapped up in that scene, I didn't even realize that since it was Seasmoke that they were trying to match with a rider, it obviously wouldn't be successful since Addam was to be Seasmoke's new rider. Then they did the horrible death in dragon fire and I thought we were on the same page only for them to take the easy way out and make Seasmoke hunt down the one person that he would accept as a rider. What a cop-out! Make Rhaenyra make the hard choices! Without dragon riders more people on her side would die! She should have pushed through with the plan until she found a rider! Not this convenient way to absolve her of responsibility for risking more people's lives!

Please, tell me there will be more development with Rhaena and the wild dragon. Why would you tell us there's a wild dragon if nothing will be done about it? Frankly, I am more invested in the potential of this situation than half the other subplots on the show.

I have to say I am... concerned as to what's going on with Otto. First, Aemond wants to get him back as Hand, which is a red flag already. With Otto there the chaos and blunders would be minimized, which is definitely not what they would be aiming for at this point. Then Alicent says that Otto hasn't answered her letters. I'm really starting to think that he's dead. Either that or he's in the middle of some shenanigans. I hope it's the latter.

"Oh, was it the Red Keep or was it their mother?" Yeah, that's right! Their mother. Their single. Fucking. Parent! Since Viserys couldn't be fucking bothered with any of his children from Alicent. Do keep telling us how she is at fault for how they turned out and not the constant neglect and obvious preference for their sister that they suffered from their father. I'm sure that sitting there with your eye slashed out while your father refuses to do anything for you and your sister demands that you be tortured further wouldn't have been life-altering for Aemond if it weren't for Alicent's failure as a mother. I get that Alicent would feel responsible with the way that things are going but I do not trust this show (and especially not the fans) to not frame it like it's the truth. Just fucking give us Daeron already (probably won't happen this season). At least her scene by Aegon's bedside was good!

Speaking of Aegon, I do want to see how things will develop with him from now on! He managed to save himself from Aemond for now but Larys' monologue is really getting my hopes up (silly me) that we will see an evolution of Aegon where he will truly start using his mind now and grow smarter and more cunning. I shouldn't hope but that would be amazing!

I find it curious that Daemon has managed to make some emotional progress by being there for Viserys (in the visions) when Viserys is dead in reality. Rhaenyra is the one who's still alive and needs him but he's loudly proclaimed his intentions to take the throne for himself and betray her and there hasn't been any indication that he's changed his mind about that. So basically, he's only able to "be there" for Viserys because Viserys isn't an obstacle to him anymore, doesn't hold any power that could allow him to take away what Daemon most desires while Rhaenyra is still very much a symbol of Daemon "being robbed of what he deserves". It don't count if it won't hurt, Daemon! Maybe try making nice with the relative that's still alive!

I have seen people say that it's stupid for the small folk to say Rhaenyra cares about them when she's the one implementing the sea blockade and that's true to an extent but I think the bigger reason for the riot was that they were convinced there was food but the Greens were hoarding it. I can kind of understand that but imagine that you're starving so much that you're grateful to the person that implemented a food blockade in the first place for sending you food and then... you start throwing the food you were so desperate for at the royals instead of... idk fucking eating it. Even if Rhaenyra sent an excess, you'd still fucking need to eat tomorrow. Also, isn't it funny how the book describes Alicent and Helaena both as beloved by the small folk while the show makes them the target of the riot? I am sure that was a completely innocent, unbiased change on the writers' part.

I understand Rhaenyra's frustration with everyone talking like Daemon will come to save her. As if he can get anything done. I do think that maybe Jace didn't mean it in that way but was trying to reinforce the idea that she should stay protected and let others fight instead of her because without her everything is lost. Finally, a complex situation that makes their relationship more interesting! Can't wait to see what might happen if the thing with Mysaria continues, though I do have my doubts about that. Rhaenyra has really been feeling the effects of losing Rhaenys' support and Mysaria is the only one that's shown faith in her. It could be treated like a weak moment for Rhaenyra where she was seeking reassurance. I'm hearing that a lot of people thought that scene was blasphemy and I'm glad that at least we, here on tumblr, are fucking normal about it aka we're celebrating it. Frankly, both Rhaenyra and Mysaria deserve better than Daemon so I hope they keep making out and more.

[kachimera]

🌻 >:3c

Ok ok so, I've had this thought for a while on the tv tropes page for Magus and how it said that he got away w his shit way too easily. And while yea one can partially agree (if you're from 600 ad Guardia lmao), most ppl don't realize how his time as the prophet must've been the Torment Nexus.

After decades of plotting his revenge (and having it conveniently sabotaged) he gets thrown back into the exact period where his life went to shit. He's still extremely focused on his goal and so he decides to fight lavos as he appears in this time period, but that means letting the ocean palace be built and put Zeal at risk, instead of using his skill and knowledge to stop the Queen's madness.

And not only that, he ends up making things worse for the few ppl that were kind to him in his past life (and himself, lol) by imprisoning the Gurus, and placing extra pressure on the already exhausted Schala (as in, now that the gurus are gone she's the only one that can run the mammon machine, etc)

But none of this matters since he's gonna kill the damm tick (and as a bonus, Zeal and his sister will be alright) right?

Except he fails. Not only gets KO'd by Lavos and has to see history repeat itself, but it drains him of his magic, the power he's despised and embraced ( long story methinks he has a very complicated relationship w his own magic), and then he has to see Schala, his dear sister who's he's been a jerk with, save him at her own expense. He had his single "second chance" to make things right and he lost it forever.

All im saying is that there is a reason Magus tries to pick a fight with the chrono gang while he's weakened, when he knows they can defeat him at full strength :)

(And this is also why the route of sparing him w Glenn makes me chew on wires. Tfw u see your enemy you've sworn to kill at his absolute lowest bc of his own revenge spiral and decide to spare him bc what's the point :) )

*And i could go on about the dream devourer ending and chrono cross (including the new extra ending). Ah yes fates worse than death and self inflicted amnesia haha

[whataboutsimple]

So you once said you prefer Gabriel being Jesse's father figure and Ivor as Petra's.

But I don't think I've ever seen Ivor and Petra with this relationship before

So I was wondering if you have any headcanons or concepts about it?

Oh god it took me a while to get to this. Too long even.

Anyway, yep! I actually have some, because c'mon. It's not me, if I don't have hcs for some strange thing only I could've think of.

First things first lemme tell you, why exactly I see them having a father-daugther relationship!

Of course I've seen lots of concepts about Jesse being Ivor's child, even in those AU with New Order as kids, but I never really understood why? Like father, like son, isn't it? Jesse is nothing like Ivor and Ivor is nothing like Jesse, so it's very hard for me to get the reasoning behind that.

Sure I'm not rooting for the concept of kids being an exact copy of their parents, but there should be at least some similarities, right?

Let's take apart characters of Gabriel, Jesse, Ivor and Petra to understand things a bit better.

Gabriel is the "dad" friend of Original Order Of The Stone, he's kind, patient, peacemaker and mostly important: connects all members of the group. I've already talked about it in my small study of his character, but if we look closely, he's the only member who no one has personal beef with, well, expect for Ivor, and even he behaves differently to Gabriel, than to other his friends.

Now Jesse, who are they? It really depends on which options the player chooses, but usually they're kind and sympathetic, also a peacemaker and the one who holds their friends together. Jesse had a better relationship with Petra in S1Ep1-4 than Axel or Olivia, they also kept Lukas around. He, just like Gabriel, keeps the group together.

Now Petra. Clearly and outsider, not used to work on team, hotheaded, sometimes arrogant. Doesn't she reminds you of Ivor? She's also fangirling over Jack just like Ivor was fangirling over Old Builders, and both of them were denying it. They also both can't express their feelings the right way.

So what I'm talking about is the fact, that Gabriel and Jesse, as well as Ivor and Petra, have some similarities over which they can bond. Ivor would be more of a chaotic good dad, meanwhile Gabriel is pure good.

Just see an example of Gabriel's and Jesse's interactions:

Gabriel, making dinner: So early from school?

Jesse, throwing their back pack on the chair: Miss Applegate got sick, they let us go earlier.

Gabriel: Poor woman, hope she's going to be okay. How's the day?

Jesse: Actually it's fine! I've got three A's and one B.

Gabriel: That's great, keep it up! How about your friends?

Jesse: Oh, me and Olivia got paries up for science project and Axel was whining all day about how he got paired up with Aiden. They gonna destroy each other!

Gabriel, laughing: Sure they are. Go to your room and change, I've baked apple pie today. Don't forget to take Reuben from backyard!

And now let's see the same situations, but with Ivor and Petra:

Ivor, cleaning the dishes: Ahh, it's early. You run away from school or what?

Petra: Yeah, dream old man. They let us go earlier cause teach got sick.

Ivor: Sssure, whatever. Lemme guess: you got all F's?

Petra slamming her backpack in the table: Dreeeeam! Two B's, ha!

Ivor: Oh wow, surprised you know at least something.

Petra: Yeah, thanks god I got my brains from mom. Otherwise I would have none from you.

Ivor, rolling his eyes: Get lost. The chicken will be ready in twenty minutes.

Petra: Ah, also, I got paired up for science project with Maya, so she'll come over today! Axel is paired up with Aiden.. I bet 20$ they're going to kill each other till tomorrow.

Ivor: Tomorrow? Pfff, wait for the news till the dinner!

See the difference? Both families are happy, but one is calm and the other is chaotic.

Also there is no way I won't remind you, that both Ivor and Petra loves to call things different names.. Petra with her "Miss Butter" and Ivor with his whole collection of different armour, where each has a name.

Like father like daughter.

Let me speak another detail! Since Ivor got visibly better at expressing his feelings in S2, I bet you he also helped Petra to get through her "I don't want to loose my friends but I want freedom" stage. He too was friendless at some point, so he knows how it feels like no one else does. The feeling of betrayal and discomfort.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Not hcs or concepts, but at least I got my thoughts out.

[pluppsauthor]

OC Questionnaire

I'm hoping in on this open tag from @melpomene-grey.

For this one, I let the wheel decide my fate today. And today it said... Karve, from Frequency: Wounded Reflection! (I'll be honest, I don't think I've mentioned him before, except when listing every(ish) character from Wounded Reflection)

What would you want the last thing you ever saw to be?

Hmm, that's a bit of a morbid question. Perhaps something beautiful, or comforting. I guess it would depend on how I died. If I died of old age, for instance, I would want to see the faces of those I love. But if it were sudden, say, on a mission to fight a strong ghast or an unforeseen accident, then maybe I'd like to see the world in a different way in those last moments. Perhaps, on the ground, I saw the way bugs moved, or staring up I saw the stars. Something like that.

What's your dream superpower?

*Chuckle* Well, my Frequency has allowed me to do normally unimaginable things. I can move through shadows, enter unseen worlds, and influence the lightlessness around me to some extent. Is that not already a power to be considered "super"? But, to indulge the question. The only thing I think about, that I lack, is perhaps a way of divining knowledge in some exact manner. There are a great deal of questions I constantly grasp for the answers to, having closure on them would bring me great peace.

What do you wish you didn't regret?

I wish I didn't have any regret or remorse for killing my father. He was an awful man, and I knew he had tried to kill me in that moment to. But despite having no good memories of him, and having no fondness for him, he is still my father. Some part of my heart still holds... love? Empathy? Forgiveness? Kindness? I'm not sure. But I wish that remorse didn't exist.

- - - - -

I should explore more of the Hunters in posts like these. Of course, I know their characters well enough as is, but I rarely talk about them. Karve isn't my favourite character, but I love writing him. He might be my favourite character to write dialogue for.

Anyway, onto tags! No pressure, @illarian-rambling, @tildeathiwillwrite, @the-letterbox-archives, @the-golden-comet, @kaylinalexanderbooks, and open tag for anyone who wants to hop in! :)

Your questions are:

What memory could you never forget and why? If you had to choose between forgetting everyone or being forgotten, which would you choose? Does your name have any meaning, self-given or otherwise?

[losrtphu]

LUNA SEA B-PASS 1996 21 Q&A [TRANS]

PART 2

original scan

link to part 1

What's a dream that you've had recently?

RYUICHI: I had a dream where i was put on fire. i was on the rooftop of a building and i was talking to the sky and a random guy came and burned off my left arm.

SUGIZO: I don't remember.. i have a lot of dreams though.

INORAN: When we we're recording i was asleep dreaming about arranging songs.

J: I'm still dreaming now. I'm a boy who's always dreaming (laughs)

SHINYA: I always dream when i go to sleep so i don't know (laughs)

How would you describe what God is?

RYUICHI: Someone who knows everything

SUGIZO: God is the creator of everything, and all knowing. but his form might be all humans as well.

INORAN: ...I wonder where he could be

J: God's real form...i feel like it would be something inside all of us not a figure like Christ or Buddha

SHINYA: Something that is really important/precious. i have a really strong sense of faith so I've never missed hatsumoude (first shrine visit of the year).

What is something that lasts forever?

RYUICHI: I still haven't found it.

SUGIZO: The idea of space. but there might not be anything that lasts forever, but on my level of thinking i would say space

INORAN:hmm... i would definitely say love

J: That is something that I've always been searching for

SHINYA: Something that is endless would have to mean that it's something that you have to pursue but i guess that would also make it impossible to reach.

How do you spend most of your nights and from what hours?

RYUICHI: The time that i do spend in my house is very short. around 12pm i take a bath, have dinner, watch a video on cars. yea i probably do those the most.

SUGIZO: I am always up until the sun comes.

INORAN: I turn the TV because there's always something always going on , but by 4am I'll definitely have NO energy

J: Around after 12pm I'm usually drinking and rolling on my sofa listening to music.

SHINYA: I space out while thinking about a bunch of stuff, while watching TV.

Favorite 3 CDs that you've been listening to during this recording period（TN: genuinely thought i was going insane because only shinya names CDs, everyone else just names the artist for some reason???)

RYUICHI: I haven't had any to listen to recently. I've kind of stopped listening to CDs.

SUGIZO: what I've been listening to is "ICE" and "DREAM DOLPHIN", but "TRICKY" has been my favorite since last year

INORAN: There's quite a lot so i cant pick what's my top 3, but i would probably say john Coltrane's album

J: Smashing pumpkins, Silverchair and John Osborne (TN: I'm guessing he means Ozzy Osborne)

SHINYA: none. when recording i only listen to our music, if i were to say which, style, mother and Eden.

Whats the first thing or person that comes to your mind when i say "quiet/still" ?

RYUICHI: I know a woman who is the exact meaning of the word silent, if i were to say an object..maybe a clock and i would also say that the waves of the sea feel still.

SUGIZO: The moon. the thought of death. I feel that if something is quiet/still it is like death, and not in a negative way but in a beautiful way

INORAN: I don't know...i think stillness coexists with movement

J: Me... why are you laughing??(laughs)

SHINYA: I think i would say God. i feel like he has a very still/quiet image.

Name a moment in the past when you've been the most angry

RYUICHI: I get pissed off when I'm denied to live the way i want to.

SUGIZO: Betrayal in human relationships, there's so many people that i would kill if i met them again. 　

INORAN: I get angry often so i honestly don't know (laughs)

J: Around high-school because i had to suddenly decided my own future

SHINYA: At the Budokan live a typhoon blew away the set, i genuinely went insane. (TN:pretty sure this was also their first Budokan live)

Name something that you want right now

RYUICHI: I know perfect things don't exist, but i want an honest love

SUGIZO: Sometime for my mind to go blank.

INORAN: Endless time.

J: Myself, time to be alone as myself.

SHINYA: A medicine that that makes me able to be awake all the time, sleeping is just a waste of time.

Name a book/s that you read often

RYUICHI: I think i have a lot of car books, the books are western so they have a different feel.

SUGIZO: Phillip k.dick books.

INORAN: I don't read books.

J: A book called それから(TN: no Eng title but I'd translate this as "after that/and then") which is a collection of stories by Akemi Edo

SHINYA: The books that i have, have lately been collections of short poems, its more like "Oh i have nothing to do so I'll just read"

A person who has your ideal lifestyle

RYUICHI: No one, I guess that would mean that person is myself.

SUGIZO: Jim Morrison, or Mike Tyson. I think after he came out of prison his performance has been amazing.

INORAN: The life that I'm living right now is the most ideal.

J: Someone who doesn't give up no matter what life throws at them.

SHINYA: Someone who enjoys life, as in, no matter what they do they have fun, i think that's wonderful.

What makes you want to hug someone?

RYUICHI: I really love casual gestures. gestures that come out without knowing.

SUGIZO: When I love that person so much I can't help it.

INORAN: When i want to hug them.

J: There's lots of different cases so...i guess when i want to hug them (laughs)

SHINYA: After a performance. i can't explain it well but after I've used everything up/got everything out of my system i start to feel like i need to hug someone. (TN: proof -> 1:40 https://youtu.be/VAQ20Qoqgm0?si=QWOcF5rK2Md42-CF&t=101)

What do you think is a sin?

RYUICHI: I don't think anything outweighs the sin of lying to yourself.

SUGIZO: Betrayal, and also suicide.

INORAN: Betrayal.

J: Lying.

SHINYA: It's not something you can count, because living as a human at the core is a sin, if we can all live while being conscious of our actions i think the world would be a better place.

What have you lost recently?

RYUICHI: I think when you stop lying to yourself you have to make sacrifices....so there would also be a time where you have to lose friends or partners.

SUGIZO: Time (laughs)

INORAN: There are probably a lot of things I've lost, in order to gain something you need to lose something.

J: Nothing.

SHINYA: Even if i had lost something i don't really care, if I've gained something I've probably lost something in the process (laughs)

[molsno]

I feel like it's foolish of me to fantasize about getting this job that a recruiter brought to me today.

it feels too perfect. my passion project for the past 5 years has given me the exact skillset they're looking for, after all.

the pay is unbelievable, beyond anything I've ever dreamed about. literally double what I was getting paid before, at minimum. on top of that, it comes with full benefits and unlimited vacation time. sure, it would require me to stay in this area, but would that really be so bad? how could I not fantasize about a job like this?

but part of me knows that no matter how qualified I am for it, they'll still find a way to turn me down. I don't have the privilege to deserve a life like that. even if they checked out my passion project and realized just how talented I am, I have a feeling that my hopes will be dashed. one interview is all it takes for an employer to realize I'm not what they're looking for.

can they see it in my features, I wonder? do I look a little too clocky for their liking? can they hear it in my voice? I genuinely can't tell, but there has to be something. there's no other explanation I can think of for why every time I get an interview, even when I think it went really well, I get ghosted, or if I'm lucky, I receive an email weeks later telling me the position has already been filled. I know it's not my skills that are the issue.

it's funny. people seem to think that people like me have "male privilege". that I'm a "tech bro" whose "male socialization" puts me ahead of the rest of the community. I wonder what they would think if they knew that my last and only job was a predatory contracting firm that forced me to move across the country with less than a month's notice under threat of legal action, and that I knew exactly what I was getting into when I signed a contract with them because it was either that or nothing. the best I could get as a tranny was the absolute bottom of the barrel in the industry I decided to dedicate my life to.

sometimes I think about how much easier it all would have been if I was a man. my accomplishments would be taken seriously, my appearance wouldn't be judged, my personality would be viewed as "eccentric" instead of "incompetent". I could be making even more than what this job offers me. wouldn't that just be wonderful?

sometimes I think back to when I was first considered the possibility that I might be trans, the sleepless nights where I was paralyzed with terror over how I would be treated. I was always told I had a future, but there I was, considering ripping it all away. I couldn't imagine why on earth I would give up my "male privilege", and yet I wanted to anyway.

the more and more I thought about it, in fact, the more I came to realize that holding onto it was a guarantee that I would have no future. I had already decided that I would kill myself when I turned 30, for no particular reason at all. maybe I could regain some economic opportunities if I detransitioned, but there is no belief I'm more certain about than the fact that if I did, I would end my life sooner than I originally planned to.

in other words, to me, the only privilege that would come with being male is that I would no longer have to live under capitalism.

so, maybe it's unrealistic to believe I could still attain such success. but I'm a trans woman. that's all I've ever been, and that's all I ever will be. and because of that, I have to believe that I have a future. transitioning was not an act of destruction. it was, is, and will always be an act of creation, the synthesis of life itself.

even if it's foolish to dream, I'll do it anyway. because that's what it means to be alive.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I feel much better now! Women prevail -Danny Words: 1,905 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'House Song' -by Searows

LIV: Wasting Away to Be Useful All the Time Ain't Paying Off, Methinks

The dream changes, now Nico and Ara are on the fire escape of her parent's apartment.

"I'll go back to a witch trial," the girl leans her head on both arms and groans. "Iris messages aren't working! How am I supposed to tell them to hold on until August first?!"

"I already told Clovis I'm on my way."

"Like that's gonna fix it..." Ara stands upright, staring at the urban scenery with a troubled expression. "I never noticed how pretty this place was at sunrise..."

Nico doesn't seem as enchanted. "How is your crew holding up?"

"Jason got hurt but he's coming around," Ara lies, not wanting to worry Nico. "We caught Nike and she's helping us figure out a way to, you know, safely euthanize Leo. How's yours?"

"Steady and in great condition," Nico replies, and he's probably lying too, for the exact same reason. "How are you?"

The girl stares at her fingers, squeezing the railing and drinking in these seconds at home. "I'm trying not to think much, obviously, because... how do I even process all of it?"

"That you're soulmate's fated to die?" Nico snorts with a tone of sarcasm. "But it's so easy..."

"Not a soulmate," she mutters grumpily.

"I think it's sort of impossible," Nico pauses and glares at her. "Don't take that as a challenge."

She smiles a bit. "I don't know what to do. Do I hype myself up to get over Leo, or tell him we'll be together forever? What did Helen do that I shouldn't?" Ara squints and rubs her brow. "It's so unclear if she loved Paris or not..."

Nico shrugs, fidgeting with his ring. "Even if you figure it out, it won't make things easier. The two armies under your command are about to kill each other and you have a bunch of mentally ill gods giving out crazy orders, then there's the curse. How do you choose which one to tackle first? You just deal with them as they come."

"It's not working," Ara scowls. "Had it coming, though. All of this feels right."

Nico raises a brow. "What do you mean?"

Ara thinks of her next words carefully. "I just accepted that this is the weight I'll carry forever. At least I've gotten stronger."

Nico frowns. "You've also aged, though."

"I was going to, anyway. The only thing that I've been unable to outgrow is feelings. Leo chose his path and I must be okay with it... I love him, so I either go along or get in his way and make it worse—and since I can't offer a better alternative..." Ara sighs heavily, giving in. "I suppose I'll follow Eros's advice."

Nico's expression sombers. "So Leo will die?"

"The difference is that maybe this time it might not be permanent, and he might save another soul if he succeeds," Ara faces her friend. "Nike told us about the Physician's Cure—"

"Oh, my dad hates that," Nico pipes in.

"You know what that is?"

"The cure for death? Yeah," the boy scratches his nose casually. "One of Apollo's sons created it, but my dad forbade him from doing it again... so good luck getting it."

"Thanks," Ara says sarcastically. "You always make me feel so much better about the bad stuff in my life."

"We're talking about the last resource of last resources," he raises a brow. "You might as well go to my father and ask for Leo back."

"If I only wanted him to come back, I would drag him out of the Underworld Orpheus-style minus the looking," she rolls her eyes. "But big dumb-dumb made an oath to go back to Ogygia and get Calypso—so not only does he need to die, he has to be blasted out so he can go back to her island or he'll die regardless of the antidote he gets from the gods."

Nico frowns. "Your boyfriend is the stupidest man alive."

"He's a genius that likes to overcomplicate things, but yeah, love made him stupid," Ara mumbles, looking more sad than angry. "And I'm just like him."

"Minus the genius part."

"Whatever, man."

Nico gives her a look when she doesn't react to his teasing, and he makes an attempt to cheer her up. "Listen, sometimes the fates do things that feel unjust, but in the long run, they're for the better. Leo's choice was hard to make no doubt, he would rather cut his leg than leave you, and still, he's willing to risk his life not just for you but also for Calypso and the rest of the world... that's brave."

"I don't want him to come back to me if it means it's always going to hurt him," Ara confesses worryingly. "I'd be happier looking at him from afar."

"No, you wouldn't," Nico replies in a strange voice. "You really wouldn't."

"I mean it." Her voice trembles. "I haven't been the best version of myself since I decided to become a child of Olympus... Leo is good in a way I can no longer be, and that's why he's dying. Because he's kind and selfless, and I won't give him up because I'm stubborn and selfish, so they're taking him away by force."

She looks away for a moment. Nico squeezes her shoulder tighter than he's ever touched her in the last three years. "Ara, listen... all the bad stuff I've said to you, they aren't true. You can't be perfect, that's it."

"Exactly. I should've stayed away," she presses. "Life kept telling me that romance was off-limits, that I wouldn't be able to handle it, and yet I took Leo as soon as I had the chance, and he says he doesn't mind dying but—"

"You've experienced this too many times, just in this lifetime," Nico finishes knowingly. "His reassurance feels empty, I get it."

"He could've been loved and cared for on Calypso's island, and he didn't stay because of me," she says bitterly. "I should've been the one to jump into Tartarus. But now I've got people under my care, so I can't let myself die now..."

"I don't think this is about wrong choices or bad timing," her friend retorts. "I doubt you were more deserving of the curse in your past lives than you are now—hell, I even doubt Helen was deserving of the shit show everyone made around her."

Ara rubs her forehead and groans. "I know, I know... maybe this isn't my mess to clean... but I'm right in the middle of it, so not doing anything stresses me out all the same."

"Yeah well, you've never been good at staying out of things, we know that."

"None of us is."

"That's why we get curses all the time," he shrugs. "See? Things tend to happen when it comes to demigods."

Ara shakes her head. "Sometimes I think my stupid father should've suffocated me with a pillow when he had the chance."

Nico laughs. "Same."

"I feel like I should've gone with them."

"It's FOMO," Annabeth replies, lying on Ara's bed with a cherry facemask on.

"They're searching for that poison to help Leo—"

Nike's hollering cuts through her speech. "AN A- IS A FAILING GRADE—"

"These are literally Frank's relatives," Percy reasons, his back against the wall and a peel-off mask covering his face. "You would've made them nervous. Most people think that children of Olympus attract bad luck."

"And they're right," Ara's hanging upside down with her legs propped up next to Percy, a green tea facemask on her face.

It's spa day. Once Ara realized she could buy all kinds of beauty products in New York—as long as she had the budget—she became obsessed. The first time Percy agreed to join her many years ago, he claimed to be humoring his little sister, but he loves to lie around and eat snacks while Ara puts fresh-scented stuff on his face.

Ara agreed to have a spa day today solely because her brother and Annabeth had recently come out of Tartarus, so if there was someone who deserved to use her stash of fancy facemasks, it was them. She also knows they're doing this to help her clear her mind after her dream last night, and she'd missed being pampered by her older siblings anyway.

"There is a sea serpent watching us," Percy says out of nowhere, vaguely pointing ahead. "Been there for the past ten minutes."

Ara lifts herself on her elbows. "And why aren't we doing anything about it?"

Percy shrugs. "It's trying to figure out if we're food, Festus confuses it."

"Nice," Ara lies back down. "Good headmast."

"So Leo is trying to rebuild your dragon inside the ship? How does that even work?" Annabeth asks, rummaging in a bag of chips.

A flash goes out and then Leo's voice responds. "It doesn't—yet. You guys having a fun time?"

The three teenagers look back at the door completely unbothered. "Did you get my good side?" Percy asks.

"You know, water boy, blackfacing isn't cool anymore—it never was."

"Call me water boy again and I'm freeing Nike inside your cabin," the older boy threatens. "And this is a peel-off mask, it saves me so much money on acne products I don't even care if it looks stupid."

"You want one?" Ara lifts a thin package.

"No, I came to tell y'all Piper and Frank are back," Leo's too amused by the sight that he can't move past it. "I'm sorry, what exactly is happening in here?"

"Spa day," Annabeth explains. "Never had one of those?"

Leo snorts. "Hephaestus isn't the cleanest guy around..."

"She means with Ara," Percy shows him a shit-eating grin, though it looks creepy with the peel-off still on his face. "Haven't been invited to one yet?"

Leo's smile disappears. "I didn't know it was a thing."

"I didn't think it'd be up your alley," Ara pulls her legs down and sits upright. "The only Cabin Nine campers that ever humored me were Beckendorf and Nyssa, but I had to bribe them first."

"I wanna have a spa day," Leo pouts, looking at the Polaroid he just took. "I feel discriminated."

Ara gets up and moves to her vanity, pulling off her mask. "You're invited to the next one."

"Piper and Frank are back then—that means they got the poison?" Annabeth fans her face while Percy takes off his mask.

"Yup, so we should hold a meeting," Leo approaches Ara and kisses her hair, leaving the Polaroid on her nightstand. "You don't need skincare, there's a reason why I call you Doll."

Ara chuckles. "My skincare is the reason you think I don't need it."

"Holy 'Dite, I can't do this!" Percy moans, falling back on the bed with the mask still on. "Birdy, help me..."

The girl laughs and glances at Leo before going to her brother. "We'll meet you on deck in five, alright?"

Leo looks at the trio with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, but he manages to show a smile when he nods, although he stays consciously away from Ara so she can't feel his emotions. "Good luck putting your face back on, Nemo!"

"You're not allowed to call me that!"

Leo exits the cabin grinning, but as he walks out, his expression turns into a frown. He can't put a finger on what is bothering him, but it feels as if he were watching Ara's life slowly slip back into its old place, erasing him from the plot.

He has this dark thought that maybe those six months with him at camp were only an intermission, and now Leo is waiting for the fates to pluck him out and toss him away as they did with Michael Yew. "Well, that was a fun season! Send the next cute boy in!" 

Each day he inches closer to his certain death, and Ara's future does nothing but shine brighter.

Next Chapter –>

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