#I'm still thinking over how her story would conclude - I want her to be able to stand on her own as an individual

[sysig]

Sweet dreams, for a time (Patreon)

[herefortheships]

BJ is very kind and nice in the other movie he wasn't like that why?

I think he's mellowed out over the years for various reasons, but the first has got to be a result of having met Lydia. Not just saying it as a shipper, actually! Let me elaborate:

Over the years, his connection to the world of the living has been Lydia. He may not be able to visit the land of the living himself, but he can have glimpses of it through her. And he's also seen Lydia herself change through the years and interact with the world (and he's been slowly falling more in love with her as a result, too 🥹). I believe he had to at some point learn to deal with the fact that his place was in the afterlife, and he had to accept that his sole connection to the living world would be her. Seeing her struggles through life and basically experiencing her humanity/being alive through her might have given him sensibilities that he had lost before through his 600 years being dead, or that he may never have had.

Of course, these are my interpretations of the story, but I believe that at some point he decided he didn't want to escape the afterlife if that meant marrying anyone other than Lydia. Let's keep in mind he is capable of possessions and is being summoned by ghosts constantly through his business, which constantly puts him, albeit temporarily, in the world of the living to handle living people for his ghostly clients. So he could have tricked someone else into marrying him, is what I mean. But he never did. For him it has to be Lydia now or no one else.

Betelgeuse is no longer the same terribly feared, controversial figure he was in the first film. He is no longer working alone in the fringes of the Netherworld and looking into newly-dead people to take advantage of, but is now settled with his own office and is working cases--so many that he needs assistants and a call center now!

As many fans have concluded, and I agree, there is a good chance he was inspired by Lydia to grow as a bio-exorcist in the way that he did. Establishing himself as his own boss and getting his own office and employees must have taken him years and a lot of hard work, but he did it. Instead of desperately trying to free himself of the afterlife, he decided to make his existence there better. He could have come to terms with the fact that he was never getting out of there, so he decided to better himself and eventually receive Lydia as a better man than what he was when he met her in the first film, when she joined him in the afterlife (headcanon, ofc). I'm sure he had settled his mind in waiting for Lydia forever if he had to.

Alternatively, he could have also grown his business wanting to help with Lydia's career by providing hauntings and possessions for her to showcase in her show, unbeknownst to her. That's a head canon I love!

The point still stands that him knowing Lydia, and seeing her from afar, inspired him to change, whether he even was aware of that himself or not.

Lydia is his link to humanity.

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton say that Beetlejuice does not evolve, but I can see how his character has evolved, while keeping his horror-prankster, unhinged personality. He is still himself, but he has new perspectives that he's gained through the years thanks to his connection to Lydia (psychic connection or not, he is connected to her and he is forever changed by having met her and having checked on her for over 30 years; she became a part of him).

There's also that fact: he's waited for her for over 30 years now. Pining for a person you may never have for that long will take a toll on anyone, and Betelgeuse might not be immune to being heartsick for his love. He surely has his moments of longing and heartsickness and heartbreak every now and then.

[superjumpintomyheart]

Been thinking a little bit about Eight reuniting with Iso Padre in Inkopolis Square since we can see him in the cafe in splat3. I'm imagining Eight chatting and walking into the cafe with Pearl and Marina, stopping by for a snack before they head in for some turf wars or ranked battles and all of a sudden she stops mid sentence when she spots the isopod sitting at the counter. It's impossible to mistake him for someone else with his signature black suit, and how many other giant isopods inhabit the surface anyways?

Eight- just to be sure- still asks stunned, "Iso Padre?"

He turned around to see who had called him and when he sees the octoling standing there he grins widely, "Young squire, is that you?"

Before Pearl and Marina can even ask Eight about who this interesting person is, she's running across the cafe to give him a hug, laughing as his multiple limbs embrace her. It filled her with such joy to see him here on the surface, in the heart of Inkopolis Square where he always dreamed of being. After they had defeated Commander Tartar and effectively freed the deep sea metro patrons, she worried about where the friends she made along the way had ended up- if somehow they remained trapped underground with no way out. Thankfully, it appeared that wasn't the case, as even someone like Iso Padre who had been on the metro for a long time was able to make it to where he desired to go.

"You made it! I'm so, so happy you're here, how long have you been in Inkopolis?" Eight asked, still holding onto to her dear friend.

"For some time now, although not terribly long. Once the tests stopped being required in the metro I figured it was my chance to follow the light you were chasing as well. Then I made my way here before I even knew were I was going, like it was calling me." He hummed thoughtfully.

She nodded against his chest, finally pulling away to look at him with a smile. In many ways thats what it had felt like for her too, leaving the underground world of octarian life with nothing but the clothes on her back and a heavenly melody in her head, letting instinct guide her. It seemed things always worked out when they trusted what their hearts yearned for.

"I'm so glad," she could almost feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes, overwhelmed with happiness and relief. "It's wonderful here, isn't it? Everything you ever thought it would be?"

Iso Padre chuckled and nodded, "And so much more. I have to say thank you for what you accomplished, Eight. If you hadn't come along I wouldn't be sitting here now, I'm forever grateful for the light you shined on the metro."

"No, I really should be thanking you, Iso Padre. You helped me so much on my journey to get here, with my memcakes and all the support you gave me. I was so thankful to have a friend to rely on."

"Then we both can share thanks for each other," he concluded, patting the octoling on the shoulder.

Eight is suddenly reminded of her friends she came with when she hears Marina coo "awww" from a few feet behind her. As much as she wants to be embarrassed by it, she instead waves the idols over to join them, excitedly introducing them to Iso Padre, "This is Pearl and Marina, you might know them as Off The Hook, but they helped me a ton with escaping the metro too."

"Allow me to extend my thanks to you girls as well, for taking care of Eight both back then and now," he says, offering one hand to shake.

Pearl takes it first, commenting, "No prob, we owe it to you as well for helping her out too. This whole thing was kind of a team effort, huh?"

The group agrees and settles down in the cafe to catch up on life and share stories of the deepsea metro, spending a few hours just talking and enjoying each others presence. From then on, Eight reserves a day of the week to meet up with Iso Padre at the cafe, to stay in touch and update each other on their lives on the surface. Occasionally when she's just heading in for turf war, she makes sure to stop by for a moment just to say hi and he wishes her good luck, and reminds her that no matter how many losses she has at least it will never be as bad as pushing that 8-ball down a narrow pathway again.

[muddyorbsblr]

relinquish the crown: obsessions & fantasies

See the full 14 Days Collection here! Series Masterlist See my full list of works here!

Placement: before the main story; hours after 'intrusive thoughts', weeks before 'a glimpse, a touch, a tease'

Summary: The morning after you had Astrid removed from the palace, you had some rather concerning thoughts about Loki. And after he comforts you through the task of sorting through the traitor's belongings, you have some vivid dreams of him later that night.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: 18+ | smut (minors & pearl clutchers, don't even try me); mentions of Astrid; kinda public smutting (?); tension…a LOT of tension; themes of incest (he's adopted but still) [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: • horn dog era Y/N slowly entering the idiot in love era • entry for @sarahscribbles' Follower Celebration for 'rooftop' and 'pining' • final entry for my '14 Days of Valentines' event for 'first sex dream'

"Granddaughter, are you certain you wish to take on this particular task? You need not throw yourself into such a trying endeavor after she'd caused such distress in you."

The concern was evident in Queen Frigga's eyes as you faced her, so clearly perturbed at the thought of you taking on the planning of the festival for the Autumnal Equinox alone, just like Astrid had. Truly none of this would even be happening had you not ordered her removed from the palace last night due to her show of betrayal towards you.

It still sent chills down your spine trying to fathom that she'd despised you so much that she even considered plotting your demise. But what had you feeling as if you'd been dropped off in Jotunheim devoid of the appropriate gear to ward off the cold was how completely devastated you would have been if she'd been able to ensnare Loki into plotting with her.

How you found yourself thinking that a betrayal from him would utterly decimate your soul.

You quickly banished the spiraling thoughts from your head and addressed the Queen. "I'm certain, Grandmother. I would wish to go through her belongings and evaluate what she'd already accomplished and proceed from there. I see no reason why her efforts should go to waste simply because she'd chosen to betray me."

She gave you a single nod and sent you on your way, assigning two palace guards to stay with you through the process of sorting through the former lady in waiting's belongings. Once you were face to face with Astrid's bedchamber, feeling as if you were invading her privacy somehow, you found yourself overwhelmed with the premise of the situation.

Standing in the chamber of one who just yesterday morning you considered to be one of your dearest friends. A woman you'd known since you were mere children and she had such dreams of one day living in the palace…

"Like a princess," you'd whispered into the empty room, with only the cobblestone walls to hear you. "You wanted to be a princess since we were children. To live a royal's life. My life," you seethed, the words flowing from you as if Astrid had been right there in the room with you. You promptly stepped out the door and addressed the guards. "Bring over three crates, please. The state of the two need not be considered, only the final one. The one I'll send to her residence. And perhaps a torch. Aflame, of course."

While the guards were off to procure the items you requested, you began to sort through the disarray of the would-be traitor's belongings. Most had been fairly diminutive in significance, simple cosmetics, the smartphone she'd procured from Midgard, a handful of quills and inkwells…All things you'd decided to send back to her family's home.

It was only once you began sorting through the drawers and the chest of items she kept underneath the seat of her vanity that things begun to take a turn. First you'd found accessories that you were certain you'd lost in the last decades…even centuries. Small enough trinkets that you'd concluded that somehow it had gotten swept up in the daily cleanup of your chambers.

"Wretched wench…" You'd quickly made a small pile of the things you were certain belonged to you, taking note not to put them in any crate.

Then you'd begun to find the miniature portraits of you that one could procure from the mass production art dealers in the realm; portraits of everyone in your family could be purchased from them. And Astrid had numerous. Some of you alone, the rest portraits you'd had taken with the members of your family, particularly the ones created in recent years that included Loki.

What sent ice running through your veins was how your eyes had been scratched out in every single one of them, but notably much harsher in the ones where you'd been positioned next to the dark-haired prince. Running your fingers lightly through the gouges on each portrait, it was almost as if you could feel the anger coursing through her as she scratched away at your face on the parchment. Some notches even had what seemed to be dried blood at the edges, leading you to conclude these were done with her nails.

There was a stack of journals within the chest under the vanity seat that exposed more of Astrid's true character. One of which contained her notes for the Autumnal Equinox festival that had you questioning her calculations for the numbers that she determined to be spent on the merchants, the suppliers for the decorations, even the rent to give the children's school to hold a concert there seemed too low at first blush. You couldn't find any computations that could even lead to these numbers.

Turning the page further painted a clear picture of where here priorities were.

The next pages consisted of fabric swatches and sketches of numerous dress designs, all of them eerily fashioned after the dresses that you normally wore. Every fabric swatch making your stomach turn as you saw that they were set in the deep shade of emerald that Loki was known to wear.

At that moment the guards returned to the room with the crates you'd requested, and you made quick work to tear out the pages of Astrid's journal that contained the questionable computations for the festival for yourself, throwing the remainder of the book into one of the crates designated for rubbish.

It was her other journal that sickened you to your core. Page after page dissecting your movements, your speech patterns, the way you did your hair in the morning, all accompanied by long paragraphs on how she believed you were undeserving of the life you got to lead all because of who your parents were. "You should have been born a princess, then, you imbecile. Or marry a prince."

Another turn of the page laid out her intentions as clear as day. You could tell that the fixation and anger she had for you worsened at this point from how deep the grooves in the pages were as she wrote upon them.

It's not fair that she gets to have the life. The staff that she doesn't even use because she insists their efforts not be wasted on her. If that's the case then the space on Asgard shouldn't be wasted on her, either. And then to add the worst and most unflattering flourish to how she parades that her life is better than mine, she even has the gall to steal Loki from me. She doesn't even desire him! She just wishes to worsen my life further than she already has and monopolize his attention so he has no time left for anyone other than her. The selfish wretched bitch.

The next dozen or so pages held sketches of Loki in various stances and positions, insinuating just how ardently she'd been watching him over the last few years. The scrupulous attention to detail unsettling you to an extent that had you having trouble to keep on your feet. From the accuracy of where the lines on his face showed as he spoke or smiled, to the light behind his eyes that you knew only shone when he spoke with such passion. At the bottom of one of the pages, a sentiment that had you needing air.

I will have you ruling the realm, my King. I only need rid Asgard of that brat they call Princess.

You threw the entire journal into a rubbish crate and stormed out of the room, the tears stinging at the back of your eyes as you struggled to breathe.

The feel of large hands holding your shoulders made your eyes snap open, a mixture of relief with a touch of apprehension overcoming your system as you met Loki's gaze, the concern swimming in his eyes as he looked over you. "Darling, what happened? What did you see?"

Words failed you as you kept your eyes trained on the crate with Astrid's diaries, watching it closely as if you feared it would turn into a monstrous creature and strike you down to please its mistress. You were only faintly aware of a gentle touch to your chin before you were trying with frustratingly muted words to stop the prince from walking over and seeing her twisted thoughts for himself. He saw the journal containing her plans for the festival first, fingers tracing the inside of the spine where the page for her computations were torn out, looking toward the desk and then back to you with a knowing smirk on his face. You managed to answer him with a weak shrug and a half-hearted smirk of your own, signaling to him to keep turning the page.

His mouth turned into a grim line as he saw the fabric swatches and the designs, eyes flickering between the sketches and the dress you were currently wearing before his upper lip curled into a sneer displaying his contempt toward the traitor. "I would disavow her efforts on the spot if she even dared," he muttered, his eyes once again roaming your own dress before traveling up your body to meet your gaze. "The color would look ravishing on you, though."

You once again found your heart stuttering in your chest as it did this morning when you awoke in his arms, the urge to close the distance between you two and pull him towards you for a kiss overwhelming you. It mattered not that there were others present. "Fairly certain it's against the realm's customs for two royals to share the same color," you teased with a scrunch of your nose, tamping down the stray thought that crossed your mind once the words escaped you.

Unless you claimed me as yours. Made me your wife.

He closed the book with a resounding snap, smirking as he watched the guards stand in attention from the sound, meanwhile you merely shook your head at him in amusement. "There's more, isn't there, Princess?" You could only nod mutely as you eyed the crate again, knowing that you couldn't stop him from opening the other journal and seeing the words that were written about him. About you. The vitriol with which she alluded to her accusations of something so immoral…

And yet something you strangely couldn't find yourself to outright denounce. Especially after the morning you'd had, warring with yourself over the extensively vivid images your mind had conjured of you and Loki together. The urges that threatened to overcome you if you lost your grip on rationality for even the briefest moment. The kind that would drive the very wedge between you and Loki that that traitor seemed to so desperately wish for.

You wouldn't grant her that satisfaction.

The sound of the journal falling back into the crate made you start, looking back towards it only to be met with the image of the prince walking towards you before pulling you into a tight embrace, a hand cradling the back of your head and the other rubbing up and down the length of your back, a traitorous shuddering breath escaping you whenever you felt his fingertips brush the bare skin of your upper back.

You decided that perhaps the best course of action was to move away from him, to put even a semblance of distance between you two so that you may extinguish these torrid thoughts that had begun to haunt you, especially when he was this close. "What are you doing here, Loki?"

His hold on you tightened the slightest bit, fingers weaving into your hair as he held your head to his chest. "I knew you would be here, attending to the removal of her belongings. I'm simply here for you."

You found yourself once again feeling faint with how closely he was holding you, his arm wrapping tenderly around your waist when you made a motion to move away from him. "I told you I can handle this. Truly you need not worry."

"And I am telling you that you need not handle this alone. You won't get rid of me so easily, little Princess." He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, an unsettling coil tightening in your stomach as you stewed in the knowledge that if he knew the unsavory thoughts floating through your mind since this morning, he would leave. Possibly to another realm. Putting as much distance between you two as he physically could. "I should have her head for how she spoke of you in those pages."

"Truly? For that?" You moved your head to look up at him, immediately regretting the decision when you saw how the light from the late morning sun accentuated the features of his face, the sight threatening to steal your breath away. "What of the way she spoke of you? She fixated over you.  Obsessed, even."

"That? 'Tis nothing," he said with the faintest hint of teasing in his tone, pressing a soft kiss between your brows. "But the hateful words she directed at you were unforgivable."

You're wrong, Loki, you thought to yourself. The thoughts I have now of you…those are unforgivable. Like how I'm thinking of how easily it would be to tilt my head upward and suddenly your lips would be on mine.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you need my help for in this, darling." Loki faced you where you sat on the rooftop, grasping the papers that held the dubious computations from Astrid as the wind blew around you both, the sight of his hair flowing about freely in the night air and lit by the faint light of the distant torches creating an image so beautiful it stunned you silent for a good few moments.

"I simply need to know that I'm not going mad, that my evaluation on her initial notes isn't driven out of spite or anger…that I'm not choosing to throw them away out of mere petulance. I need someone wiser than me and more intelligent than me to tell me that my actions were done objectively and without malice."

You felt your heart begin to sputter in your chest once more when he took a seat beside you on the chaise lounge, placing his arm around you to pull you close to him and making you mentally smack yourself across the face when you instinctively placed your head on his shoulder. You made a note not to breathe in too deeply for fear of losing yourself in the headiness of his signature clean and yet woodsy scent, a feat in itself as you fought to calm yourself from the way his fingertips traced up and down the length of your upper arm.

"Look at me, little Princess." The sound of papers crinkling on the seat faintly reached your ears before you felt his other hand lightly grasping your chin, turning your head to face him, the air around you growing exasperatingly thin as you saw just how close your faces were to one another. "Those numbers were so clearly pulled from thin air. They had no basis. To throw it all away now would not hinder you for even a moment. You have all the reason to abandon her work, and no one with half a brain would even believe for a moment that you did so with malice."

There was a borderline violent fluttering in your stomach when you felt him press a kiss to the bridge of your nose, his thumb softly stroking your cheek in a soothing gesture. "If you're certain," you breathed out, feeling as if there was this force that was now making the air around you both impossibly thick and bringing you closer together.

"I am, darling," he rasped, tilting his head and pressing his lips to the tip of your nose, the arm around you pulling your body closer to him while his other hand weaved his fingers through your hair. "Just as I am certain of this."

Nothing could have prepared you for the feel of his lips brushing against yours in a soft kiss, as if he were gauging your reaction. If you would pull away in disgust and berate him for moving in such an unwelcome manner…or if you were to react quite differently. Just as you were doing right this moment.

As you placed your hands on his shoulders, pulling him in for another, a strange calm washing over you as your lips moved in near perfect sync with each other's. As you both moaned into the kiss when your tongues met and slid against the other.

As he moved to tuck his arm under your knees and maneuver you so that you were laying down on your back atop the chaise, your chest heaving from catching your breath as he began to pepper kisses across the skin that was already exposed by your dress, down your neck to the top of your chest, and tracing your collarbone with his tongue. "We shouldn't be doing this, Princess."

"I know," you whimpered, arching into his kiss as he sucked a bruise onto the center of your chest, letting out a scandalous moan of his name into the Asgardian night sky. When you felt his fingers put the slightest bit of pressure behind your knee, you were all too quick to part your legs for him, desperately weaving your fingers through his hair to bring his face to yours so you could kiss him again.

"You know that what we're doing right now would have the entire kingdom frowning down upon us, little darling?"

Your mind was in a fog as you felt dextrous hands moving aside the fabric of your skirt that wrapped around you, the god letting out a groan into your mouth as his hands made contact with your bare legs. "I know," you gasped, moving your hands down and undoing the laces of his trousers, earning you a smirk that had your desire for him intensifying, a rush of wetness quickly pooling between your legs as he gently nudged your hands out of the way and pushed the fabric down his thighs. "I know and I want you regardless."

He captured your lips in another feverish kiss before asking as you felt the tip of his cock pressing against your entrance, "Are you absolutely sure? There's no going back once we cross this line. We would burn in their condemnation. In everyone's. Not just our family's."

Every nerve of your body came alive with each kiss, each touch, that all you could manage to do was arch to press your chest to his, urging him to inch his way inside of you. "Then we'll burn together. Please, Loki--"

A sharp moan slipped through your lips as he began to enter you, the sound piercing through the dead of the night. "Norns, you look exquisite like this, my darling Y/N." He slid deeper into you with every bit of praise that escaped his deliciously sinful lips. "Like a goddess. Like the personification of decadence. Of pleasure." He let out a broken sigh, sounding as if he was in pure rapture, when his hips became flush against yours, the entirety of his length sheathed inside of you. "Like you were made for me."

Words failed you as he reached a spot so deep inside of you that the stars you saw in the night sky seemed to triple, your thoughts spiraling into nothing but you and him, in this moment, as if there was nothing depraved in your coupling. You were simply two individuals who desired each other, no titles, no customs, no names to sully what you shared.

"As if you're mine," he finished with a grunt, the sound of your name in a broken moan making your heart swell. You reached out to grab a handful of his leather tunic, pulling him down towards you for a desperate kiss of tongues tangling and moans so resounding in the otherwise quiet of the night that you were sure you'd begun to rouse the attention of the still waking citizens of the realm if they stood close enough to the palace. "Mine."

"Yours," you cried out, completely beside yourself as he proceeded to suck a bruise into the base of your throat. "All yours."

It felt as if you were simultaneously being burned alive and subjected to the deathly touch of a frost giant all at once as you shot up from your bed, your chest heaving and your mind spinning from just how vivid your dream felt. Your mind played a cruel game with you, twisting your consulting with him on the roof and playing it moment by moment accurately up until the moment he laid his lips on yours and proceeding to turn it into a salacious fantasy of a tryst with him.

Every touch, every kiss, every forsaken inch felt so real. So real that you feared you'd actually done something while you slept. That perhaps you'd done what those people in Midgard did and…sleepwalked?

"Only I skipped sleep walking and jumped straight into sleep fucking," you grumbled into the empty of your room.

The sound of your door opening had you scrambling to your nightstand for your dagger, poised to attack who dared to breach your chambers at this implicative hour.

"Y/N?" You sighed in relief with a touch of exasperation at the sound of Loki's voice reaching your ears, placing your dagger back into your nightstand as your pulse hammered in your ears with every step he took towards your flustered form. It took all your strength not to lean in to his touch when he cupped your cheek and sighed in audible relief. "You're still awake," he teased with a wavering tone, as if he were putting in a conscious effort to retain a lightheartedness between you two.

"As are you," you murmured, giving him a half-hearted smirk. "What are you doing here, Loki?"

"I was so rudely plagued by a vividly horrifying dream that you were in danger," he breathed out, framing your face with both of his hands as he rested his forehead against yours. "I needed to see you. Ensure for myself that it was but a nightmare." You found yourself unable to breathe as he touched the tip of his nose to yours before pressing a soft kiss to it. "Now what are you still doing awake, little Princess?"

"Seems you're not the only one plagued by peculiar dreams," you huffed out, placing your hands around his wrists, as if you were trying to ground yourself in reality, removing yourself from the lurid dream you were pulled out of the best that you could. "Go back to sleep, Loki."

"I should say the same to you." You held still, allowing yourself the indulgence of losing yourself in the present moment as he pressed his lips to your forehead. "Goodnight, darling."

You scrunched your nose at him as he pulled away and stood from the edge of your bed. "Goodnight." You watched intently as he walked back towards your chamber door, giving in to admiring his form that was only currently clad in silken sleep pants set in his signature green, the fabric clinging to his backside as if in a tantalizing invitation for you to follow him.

It was only when you heard his chamber doors close across the hall from yours that you let out the breath you'd been holding, touching the spot on your forehead where his lips had just been, before pressing your lips to your fingertips, a deep shame overcoming you as you lost yourself in your imagination. Your mind returning to the dream, wanting nothing more in the present moment than to know the feel of the god's lips on yours.

"I'm fucked," you whispered into the quiet that had once again settled in your bedchamber. "I am so royally fucked."

A/N: I can't believe I actually did it. 14 days, 14 stories…and it's finally over. 😮‍💨😮‍💨 I've been writing for this even since the beginning of January and I'm so happy that I'm no longer on strict self-imposed deadlines and I can get back to…well, a few things, really. First I can start reading everyone's stories again 😮‍💨✌️

And then…I can officially say this…relinquish the crown is coming back! I'm so glad to say this because I'm going to start writing Season 1B, maybe some extra bits that take place in within Season 1A but doesn't actually further the plot, I can work on the what if…? episodes, and perhaps even an AU or two 😍😍

And finally…I'm gonna start working on requests again! I wasn't able to really do much planning when I was taking the requests in for the 1000 follower ones that were sent in, but now that everything's calming down some, I can resume planning. And also writing for the massive backlog from the 500 follower celebration 😅

'everything' taglist: @sailorholly @loopsisloops @unlucky-number-13 @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @sarahscribbles @kats72 @kikster606 @evelyn-kingsley @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @peaches1958 @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th @lovelysizzlingbluebird @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress

Loki taglist: @calumance @severuslovebot @moonlightreader649 @i-stand-with-loki @nixymarvelkins @cheekyscamp @lokisgoodgirl @purplegrrl27 @thedistractedagglomeration

[moiyume]

death is the only end for us — chapter i. the bird.

pairing: yandere!satoru gojo x fem!reader

sumary: The news about Suguru's disastrous death shakes [Y/N], Gojo convinces her to return home to bury him. However, [Y/N] is unable to see that Gojo's real intentions are darker than she imagines.

warnings: angst, description of blood and death body, threats, mentions of death, suicidal thoughts, spoilers from the main story.

word count: 2829.

more information about the history: here.

⠀⠀⠀⠀───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

SOMETIMES WE SEE A DEAD BIRD LYING ON THE GROUND. Sometimes the dead bird is you or someone you love. You believe that no one else is capable of deceiving you at this point of the championship, yet the words of the man in front of you sounded like the purest falsehood to your ears, but your heart and the part of you that knew him knew that those words were not lies. The dead bird lying on the ground beneath your feet was Suguru Geto, your best friend.

Last month you talked face to face and he told you about his plans for Christmas and New Year. You would meet during the January holidays or in February for the Brazilian carnival, you would like to show him the hustle and bustle of downtown Rio de Janeiro, take him to Sapucaí, to enjoy together as you used to do every year since you ran away. But your plans were thwarted by his death and you had nothing left, no one you could trust, the person who took care of you all those years was gone and took with him the hopes of one day returning home without people seeing you as a monster or a traitor.

You let go of Satoru's t-shirt and fall to the ground on your knees, your heart breaks into millions of pieces that you don't think you will be able to put back together again, tears flow incessantly but you don't make a single noise. You place your hand on your chest and lean forward until your face touches the rough pavement floor, you open your mouth to scream but there is no strength in you to do so, you feel only a bitter taste of defeat in your mouth.

You pour the sadness encased within you onto the pavement and still it doesn't seem enough. Gojo's arms surround you and lift you up, and wrap you in a tight embrace, the loss wasn't just yours but his too, for that reason you don't back down, you just cry against his chest like there's no tomorrow. You wonder if he cried when his best friend died, you wonder where he was when it happened, you wonder why he didn't save you and you can't help but think that if you were by his side things might have been different. Now there is only half of you in this horrible world and the other has most likely been turned to ashes.

You leave the comfort of that embrace and wipe your tears with the sleeve of your dress, you look from side to side not knowing exactly where to look, you are lost and confused, you want to go back in time and hear Suguru's voice again, with this thought wandering through your mind tears flood your eyes again, Gojo holds your face and makes you face his. He looks calm, but there's a storm about to rain down in his eyes, he's trying hard to calm you down, uselessly.

"I'm sorry." He wails from the bottom of his selfish heart and rubs his thumb over her wet cheek. "But you need to go home, he's waiting for you for... you know... the funeral..."

You raise your eyebrows wide-eyed. So it hasn't been long since it happened, you conclude. You pick up the portrait you accidentally dropped on the floor when making that scene and shrug, remorse crashing over you like a bucket of cold water, rattling your entire body with an icy chill. You feel a friendly hand hold your shoulder, but right now it felt as oppressive as the pain you felt in your chest.

"How long has it been?" you question, unable to accept Suguru's death, you glance at Satoru out of the corner of your eye and his face turns grim again. "Who did this to him?"

There weren't many people in the world who could get close enough to hurt Suguru Geto, two of them were here, you and Satoru, you wonder how many powerful wizards have emerged since your departure and condemn yourself for choosing to remain oblivious to the world you are a part of. You weren't dumb, you knew that Suguru could seem like a bad person to anyone who didn't know him and that his sour personality wasn't to everyone's liking, so you deduced that he would be an enemy; and his enemy was your enemy too.

"It was me." Satoru answered without hesitation making you freeze. "Two days ago."

A dry, snapping sound echoes through the street drawing the attention of the curious, you slap his face hard enough to leave a mark on his cheek and take his balance away, you have no idea where you got the courage to do it, but you did. Your hand is tingling, the guilt leaves your body and gives way to hatred that ignites in your soul like a spark that falls on a pile of straw and spreads dangerously, the cursed energy dormant inside you begins to overflow and makes the air thin, almost impossible to breathe, the people who passed by on the street start to feel sick and Satoru stares at you in despair. You could kill everyone right now, but your target wasn't innocent people, it was the giant snowman in front of you. You prepare to punch him with all my strength, however he holds your hand, a shockwave rushes down to the ground and the concrete above your feet cracks on impact, you hear the frightened people comment and turn away from the scene, but no you don't care. Your whole body is shaking from the anger.

"How dare you come here and tell me it was you who killed him?" you question him, the words came out so fast and with such anger, you don't care that you spat at him, you move your arms violently and pull the hand he was still holding. Finally, you face him with eyes full of hateful tears. "You came to kill me too?! Is that it? You're going to kill all the people you say you love?"

A deadly silence settles between you during the trip back to Japan. No matter how many times you remember the outcome of the conversation, the answers you heard were disturbing enough to keep you over twelve hours of flying completely silent. Everything is wrong, you don't know why you agreed to go back with Satoru with the possibility of being killed at any moment, maybe because you wanted to say goodbye to your best friend, however you realized that you've really only come this far because you lost all attachment you felt for your life the moment you learned that Geto died at Gojo's hands. You want to die with him.

You hate him for killing Geto. More so because he told you there was no choice. There was a choice and he made it, he killed him. You weren't able to look at him after your conversation, all the things he said after that went in one ear and out the other, you don't want to know how many innocent people died that night, and how many more could have died if he hadn't done what he did, you want to spend the holiday with my best friend, complain about his mediocre life and listen to him talk about his daughters and his new friends, about his achievements and about his dreams.

Suguru and you had a funny dream that you, the villains, would find a happy ending together. Him doing whatever he wanted to do with the non-wizards and you going back to the cosiness of your old home, with my family, consisting of your elder sister and your nephews. Sadly, only one of pits survived to fulfil this dream, you smile darkly at the thought. No, you are not fulfilling this dream, because you are still seen as a villain, and you will never be able to see your family again, because the only person who fought for your innocence was killed by the man who never believed in you.

You were sent to the place where the burial would be through a teleportation spell, no one knows you're back after all, the spell leaves you so bewildered that you're surprised the moment you realise what this place is; the hill where Suguru and you killed the first special grade curse together. It's an important place for both of you - for you - there are traces of the cursed energy of both of you everywhere, some fight marks remain on the trees and grass, the flowers that usually grow in the valley are buried by the thick layer of snow, but it's a pleasant sight nonetheless. The bare, dry, twisted tree at the top of the hill on the other hand is a morbid sight, it looks like it died recently too. So does it.

You approach the tree and finger the phrase carved into the aiaigasa-shaped wooden trunk "Sugu + [Y/N] friends forever". A weak involuntary smile is present on your tired countenance, you were not in love with each other, but at some points in your life you regret choosing Gojo as your partner at the time, you were genuinely happy, even though your relationship had a disastrous end. And you think he knows that you regret choosing him. Maybe he regrets choosing you too, you would never judge him if he told you.

Watching the tree you are able to see the ghosts of his past. The young Suguru and young [Y/N] lying on the grass dirty with blood and dirt, they are looking at the sky and then at each other and start laughing, the young [Y/N] turns sideways and rests her face on her hand to face her best friend, you two are talking about some teenage bullshit, he wanted to be a hero and you wanted to be an ordinary person. It breaks your heart to know that neither of you got what you wanted; he became a curse user and you became a mercenary.

You leave your daydreams when you hear twigs cracking under someone's feet. You spin under your heels and frown as you see Satoru with a body covered by a sheet in his arms, you had a switchblade hidden in the sleeve of your jacket, ready to shove into the intruder's neck, but to your chagrin the intruder was only the gravedigger. You admit it was hard for you to see him holding the corpse of your best friend, you can't go to the morgue because in theory you are still an escapee so you can't see the state the body is in before we come here, you feel a lurch in your stomach as the smell of blood and decay reaches your nose. Gojo places the body on the grass and looks at you with the shovel already over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go dig. In the meantime you can say goodbye, I just don't recommend taking the sheet off, the sight won't be very pleasant." He warns and the message sends shivers down your spine, you look away from the body and feel like crying again, Satoru places his hand on your shoulder but quickly removes it after your threatening look. "Sorry."

You kneel beside the corpse and even with the warnings remove the sheet, you kept in mind that if you couldn't face him you could never get over the loss, the image of his perfect face would forever be in your memory and make you cry more than necessary, if there is an exact amount of tears to be shed.

You feel the bile rise up in your throat as you see his partially destroyed body, there is an arm missing, it seems to have been torn off violently by a powerful force, his face is also destroyed on the right side, you wonder how Satoru had the courage to leave him like that and come to the conclusion that maybe it wasn't him who really killed Geto. You shake your head in fear thinking too much, there was no plausible reason for him to lie about Suguru's death, and you doubt he would cover up for his best friend's killer, because to him no one is above Suguru. You wonder how Nanako and Mimiko, his daughters, are doing, do they know their father is dead? Did Satoru tell them?

You hold Geto's hand and it is cold and stiff, his whole body is, you open it and lean it against your face, he used to hold your face whenever you wanted to cry. You shed tears on it and hold back the sobs, you are afraid of what your life will be like from now on, what your life will be like without him, you will never get a call from him again, you will never be able to see him smile, the more you think about it the more tears fall.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." You beg for his forgiveness and grab the corpse hoping he will wake up from his eternal sleep and hold you, but nothing happens, you let out a strangled scream and swing the corpse without stopping. "I can't stand being alone anymore... please... please... don't leave me..."

Satoru finished digging the grave and waited patiently under the tree until you stopped crying and kept quiet, you don't know if out of respect, pity or a mixture of the two, but you were thankful that he didn't address you or make any unfortunate comments. Before handing Suguru to him, you give a kiss on his forehead, Satoru was extremely annoyed, you whisper a few words in the deceased's ear and then the wounds on his body disappeared and the missing arm grew back, from bones to flesh, for an instant you could swear he was alive, for even the colour of his skin was back to how it was before. You would never let Suguru be buried looking that horrible and believe me he knew that only you could do that.

Then you linked your hands together in front of your chest with your eyes closed and let the cursed energy inside you flow into the frozen grass to the heavens. The snow disappeared and the sky opened up, spring descended and the sun appeared on the horizon announcing the arrival of dawn, the flowers on the hill blossomed, and the birds sang again, the once dead tree came back to life, the flowers and fruits were born even brighter than they used to be. The hill filled with life once more, as if winter had never come.

"Like in the world?!" Satoru exclaimed stunned, and you stood up slowly with the body in your arms, you stared at each other in silence for a minute before you handed it to him. "Looks like Suguru was right when he said you could fix anything, even death." He laughs in a sinister way.

"!!!"

You say nothing but your expression said it all; you feared that your secrets would be discovered by this person, the truth about your true nature was something that no one in this world should know, it doesn't seem that Satoru knows anything but the chance that Suguru might have let something slip in his last moments makes you distressed. You remain silent as Satoru buries him and walks down the hill to pick some flowers to leave over the grave. You return to the tree and now there is only a rectangular mark in the earth, there is no plaque saying Suguru Geto lies buried here; no, there is only a tree, a handful of flowers and two idiots here.

"He wanted you to be buried here because he said you could bring life back to this place." Gojo reaches out to pick up a rose petal that danced in the air, before crumpling it and releasing it for the wind to carry again. "I guess he was right."

"Not entirely." You interrupt him without intending to, in fact you could make the sky open up and flowers bloom in the middle of winter, but just that, you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear and look away. "I can't resurrect anyone, before you want to nail me as Christ, that's temporary, an imaginary space. It's not real."

"It looks pretty real to me." He retorts dismissively as he pats the tree trunk, you roll your eyes.

"It'll let it be at some point. It's not real."

"Like the people you killed?" you feel a shiver run down your spine as you see Satoru's shadow approach you, you turn towards him abruptly and stumble, you take a few steps backwards in order to increase the distance between you but he continues to approach. "It's time to pay for what you've done."

⠀⠀⠀⠀───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

━ to be continued; ﹢ ⌑ ﹒

[araneitela]

🌿 Author portrait. Get to know the author behind the blog! repost, do not reblog.

Basics.

Name/nickname: Manon/Sae (see Lauri, I told you I share it by default) Age: I'll turn 35 only days after summer begins (... in the northern hemisphere that is) Pronouns: She/her Years of writing: I've always written little tidbits throughout life, and most of it in school notebooks. It's not something that I did consistently, but it started roughly around early high school, which is when I was twelve years old. Granted, I also did always, always keep a diary when I was young (one of those with a lock and key and all, I loved I dearly— it was also an extra way of how I was taught about privacy, and how all of us were entitled to it), which held not just writings about my day, but drawings, and thoughts of when I was as young as 5/6. I mourn having lost all of these really, but you can't take many things with you when you move abroad. As for when I started writing on Tumblr? Since 2012, and I started in the Vampire Diaries fandom.

Reflection.

Why did you pick up writing? It was a natural thing to do, because I'd always had this craving to write about things that I didn't know about and wanted to hypothesize on, so I'd write little stories of what life 'might be like one day', for example. But more specifically, I often finished watching films or shows, or concluded a book series, and simply wanted more of it and its characters. I wanted more chapters. And so I dabbled in writing little extensions of scenes that always get cut off too soon, or I'd write things that I knew would surely have occurred in between things, or simply hypothetical situations that made sense within canon. But it always drove me insane how this wouldn't be 'canon', which I think is why I always kept at it, as if I thought that maybe if I did good enough of a job, I could read it as if it was part of the canon itself (though of course I'm not the author so it was unattainable, but I could dream when young!) But maybe that's why I always seem to come back to wanting to be 'canon strict' within my writing. It's to try and do the most justice to peoples' creations in some way? I don't know. I just know authors make me feral, and it's like I want to pay my respect to them for having done that for me.

Do you have any writing routines? I've been thinking about this for a while, because my routines have always kind of changed over the years. But one thing I realized I always do, is that I like to find the instrumental (more often than not) that I'll be writing to, and reread the thread in question until I don't just see the the muse in my head, but hear them, hear their breath, how they sigh, or the way that they're smiling or laughing. If I can't hear any of those fundamental things, then it's difficult to get into writing them. And when that's happened, I kind of... I don't know, automatically envision my muse's current reaction, and condemn them when they show me a glimpse of a reply that's two, or three replies down the line that usually emotionally destroys me.

What's your favorite part about writing? I saw Lottie mention this in her reply, and I kind of want to jump on the bandwagon: being able to get into the headspace of someone who's so vastly different from myself. I've always been intrigued by what I don't know and don't understand, so it's only logical that I ultimately gravitate to those who're so different from myself. I like figuring things out, I like problem-solving, I love research. So while sometimes there may be overlapping commonalities between my muses and myself, it's always relegated to being no more than specific elements.

Three things you like about your writing.

One. This isn't about my writing directly, but it is what ultimately fuels a lot behind it as it's an intricate part of my muse portrayals, so I think that it stills counts: how much my brain will cook and cook on lore and references, without going 'outside' of the realms of what canon gives me. It's the intense need to dissect and understand. And I like to think that it ultimately adds a semblance of realism to my portrayals and thus, hopefully, my writing when I do my best to integrate all of it into, well, the thing that, well, 'presents them to the masses'.

Two. This is a tough and mostly weird one, but I want to mention this because I think being able to do so is a big one in terms of 'self-positivity', I suppose. The fact that I'm able to actually... like my own writing, is something that I like about it. It takes a long time, and I've been out of commission so much in the last 3 years that I don't like a lot of what I write. But when I get back into it, a few replies down the time, I can write something that I'll actually be happy with, or I'll look back at random replies I wrote a month ago, a year ago, and sometimes I go 'you know what, I like this', and I wasn't able to do that when I'd started. But I can do it now, my writing has gotten to a point where sometimes I actually can say that I like it. It's not consistent by any means, and not lately, but I know that I can and will get there.

Three. I like to think that my writing changes a bit voice-wise to fit specific characters, not overly much so, but enough so that I don't tend to struggle or get intimidated by voices. I either take to a certain voice immediately (Tony Stark, Guizhong, Jace Herondale, etc.) or it can take me numerous weeks (Yelan/Kafka, Dorian Pavus, Ezio Auditore), but they all inevitably seem to settle according to my writing partners. So while outward dialogue is always the thing that I struggle with the very most and longest, I think that when it settles, it might be one of my stronger suits.

A question for the next person.

Write a question for the next person to answer. Once you've answered it, leave a new question for someone else to answer.

What do you find the most difficult to write (eg dialogue)? I've always answered one of two things for this in the past, one being dialogue but I'm kind of getting over that nowadays. The other mostly stems from the fact that I have difficulty getting sentences to flow properly, it's the transition of one sentence to another. It's that no matter how much I may speak English out loud conversationally nowadays, it's this mental discrepancy I have between it and my native tongue when it comes to creative writing because I write so differently from how I speak. It's really the thing that'll motivate me to rewrite an entire paragraph sometimes, and also why one reply can take so excessively long. I'll reread and it sounds like one sentence is so far removed from the one that came before it, that I shake my head and redo it. It's quite honestly the bane of my existence. Flow, flow, flow.

New question: When life throws you lemons, and gets you down, does writing become something that you're drawn to as to get you through it, or do you feel like it does the opposite?

Tagged by: @daybreakrising (muah, Lauri! And thank you Aven for making this lil thing) Tagging: @spiderwarden @delusionaid @aventvrina @astrxlfinale and whoever else who wants to do it; feel free to steal it from me and tag me.

[bloodymarymorstan]

Ok so I just watched the latest episode of What If where Captain Carter (Peggy if she was Captain America) fights the Hydra Stomper (Steve if he was the Winter Soldier) because I KNEW they were once again gonna do the thing where they give all of Steve and Bucky's interactions to Peggy and Steve and say that this time they are romantic even though they definitely weren't when it was 2 very straight bros (lol) so. Let's get into it (spoilers for s2e5 of What If, obviously):

When Peggy finds out Steve is alive she goes to Nick Fury and he tells her there have been rumors of this for decades; Peggy's angry he and Natasha didn't tell her - this is interesting because in TWS Peggy was part of the organization that was hiding rumors about Bucky from Steve. Peggy is objecting to something she was part of in the actual MCU

Natasha says "the Steve Rogers that you loved died in 1953" - a similar sentiment to what people were saying to Steve about Bucky but more overtly romantic. They throw the word "love" around in the episode quite a few times, like they need to make it extra clear

Bucky (who's old and working for SHIELD) finds out Steve is alive and his reaction is pretty tame, like he's surprised and I guess happy but he doesn't really seem to care that much which is just ridiculous (especially bc in this timeline Steve and Bucky kept working together for several years after the war) - Bucky is also stated to have had a wife and kids and has clearly moved on from Steve in the way Peggy did in the original movies

The Hydra Stomper (Steve) is going to kill Bucky, Bucky stands in front of him to talk him down. He doesn't want to kill Steve which is obviously good and in character. The thing he says to try to get Steve to snap out of it is "let's get a drink" which cracked me up because is that the no homo version of "end of the line" for these writers?? Anyway, Steve does lower his gun but then he raises it again (we don't see if he would have actually killed Bucky because Peggy intervenes at this point)

There's a romantic scene where Peggy and Steve bond over their shared traumas which... shared life experience, anyone? (What If I threw myself off a cliff?) - it does turn out that Steve is secretly still brainwashed at this point and is trying to lure Peggy in so idk how seriously I should take this scene

In terms of dialogue, the final fight scene between Peggy and Steve is very similar to the one with Steve and Bucky in TWS. Eventually, Peggy drops her shield and tells Steve that she doesn't want to fight him, and is going to let him kill her. The line she says that gets him to stop is "I want to be with you. Even if this is the end. I want you." She also says "I can't lose you again." This is basically EXACTLY what "I'm with you til the end of the line means", but a bit less ambiguous (and also less poetic, the original line is obviously much better)

Steve doesn't kill Peggy, he flies off (but he also doesn't save her life like Bucky does for Steve in TWS so. Inferior)

At the end, Peggy is planning to go find Steve, even though nobody thinks she'll be able to save him (again, basically the exact same as TWS)

My concluding thoughts:

It's hard to say what Marvel's exact goal is with the phenomenon of giving so many of Steve and Bucky's interactions to Steve and Peggy in EU content, but it's definitely gotten pretty ridiculous and out of hand. There is an instinct to accuse them of homophobia and wanting to rewrite Steve and Bucky's story to make it straight/less significant, but I also wonder if the bigger factor is that the writers know that Steve and Peggy's canon ending makes no sense considering how underdeveloped their relationship was, and they want to trick viewers into thinking they had a better written romance by giving them more meaningful moments in What If (and also Rogers The Musical but that's for another post). That being said, if the best way to write a better romance you can think of is to use the exact same plotline the supposedly straight protagonist had with his male best friend (but that people have been interpreting as a romance for years and years) then maybe you should be reflecting on why that is. Ultimately though it's just lazy writing (have some originality!) and will never erase the fact that the real movies were gay as hell. I'll definitely be taking this as further proof that TWS was a romance all along.

[bardock1991]

My thoughts about the Penny Revival Theory... & Why i don't see it happening.

Before i begin, I'd like to make one thing clear. This is not a personal attack on anyone who likes these theories & wishes them to be true, nor is this me telling any of them or some of you for that matter that you're wrong for thinking this way. I just wish to express my OWN thoughts in the matter & why they don't sit well with ME personally & why I don't see it happening in the canon story.

I'm begging you guys to keep the discussions in both the comments & reblogs civil, I'm not here to pick any fights. Moreover, do NOT go & attack people who follow this theory, i do NOT want them getting harassed for this. If i see any of you do that, I'm going to block you.

Also, a quick trigger warning: there's gonna be a few mentions about death in this post, including suicide. I tried my best to make sure there's not too many mentions of it, but i wanna make it clear since i know how sensitive that topic can be for people. Okay? Here we go!

So! RWBY Volume 9! My personal favorite RWBY volume to date & one of my favorite seasons of anime in recent memory. I'm serious, we're talking top 3 material here. With an amazing new world to explore, gorgeous animation, tons of great characterization (for the most part), incredible pay offs for stuff that was being set up for years at this point, all concluding in a (albeit a bit rushed) very satisfying conclusion that really resonated with me personally. Now with almost one week away from the finale, i can safely say that this volume is my personal favorite RWBY volume... So now i think it's time to discuss something that I've been neglecting to talk about since the Volume began... Heck, since V8 ENDED!... & That matter... Is Penny!

As a huge Nuts N'Dolts shipper myself (although I'll admit i haven't truly appreciate the shit until somewhere around mid to late 2021 to early 2022), it's safe to say that i really love Penny. She's a really adorable character with a pretty interesting arc about choice & how she's not a thing others can just use. I don't think it was executed the best though, since if you wanna be technical, Penny DID made her own choices in the story. Like her choice to actually be honest with Ruby in V2, going with the heroes instead of Ironwood in the end of V7 & holding up Amity in V8 despite the risks just to name a few. So the whole idea of her only really having a choice when she committed assisted you know what (it wasn't a choice, it was an ultimatum) doesn't really hit as hard as the story wanted it to hit... THAT + the fact that the one who was there with her in the end wasn't Ruby... But Jaune... Yeah, I'm still not over that... But despite all of that, i still love this character & is tragic to see her go the way she did... Yet... Unlike most NND fans... I kinda want Penny to stay dead...

HEAR ME OUT!!! Now yes, Penny has indeed came back from the dead once, that is true... So most people think why couldn't that happen again & moreover, in the words of some people said it themselves on Tumblr put it "Why would the writers give such an unsatisfying & cruel fate if they weren't gonna do something with it? Like bring her back?" (Sidenote, if any of you attack these people, I'm gonna be VERY pissed because like i said earlier, I'm NOT here to start pointless flame wars & fights!)... But for both a LOGICAL standpoint, as well as a STORY & CHARACTER standpoint... Not only would this not make a lot of sense, but it'd also be rather... Disrespectful... Let me explain.

Why the Penny Revival theory wouldn't work from a LOGICAL standpoint

Option 1: Ascension/Ever After Loopholes.

So for those unaware, Penny died in V3 by being cut in half by Pyrrha, albeit because of Emerald's Semblance messing with their heads. But in V7, we learned that she was able to not ONLY come back to life, but also come back with her memories & experiences from her LAST life intact... Why?... Because her CORE wasn't all that damaged in Beacon. (Actually, IDT it was damaged at all cause Penny's core is essentially her heart & she wasn't cut in half from the chest, it was from the waist.) Keep this factor in mind cause it's gonna be the main factor as to why this theory cannot become a reality from a logical standpoint.

Now let's go to the end of Volume 8, where the heroes manage to save Penny... Until they didn't. They were able to save her from the virus by tricking Ambrosius into making her into a human without ACTUALLY asking him to do it. There's a great video explaining this in greater detail that was made by the amazing Murder of Birds, which I'll link over here: https://youtu.be/ovd_jcdvbL0

Anyways, Cinder catches everyone off guard, the writers take a dump on Ruby, Penny gets capped off & Solitas goes to shit!... Where does V9 take place? The Ever After, which we NOW know is the center of the entire RWBYverse. Think of the Ever After (more specifically, the TREE of Ever After) as the Tree of Yggdrassill in Norse Mythology.

In Ever After, when a person dies, they're essentially sent into The Tutorial Realm of Kingdom Hearts. But instead of picking your weapons & stats, you pick who you wanna become in the next life. In simpler terms, death in ever after works like reincarnation. You die & get the choice of either come back as yourself (which doesn't happen very often) or the choice of being erased from existence & be replaced by someone else who just so happen to look like your previous self... Oh & there's some bullshit about how "the heart always remembers", but that makes no fucking sense, so i don't count that.

So a lot of fans, especially as the Volume was reaching its conclusion where we learn more & more about Ever After began thinking "Oh, then that must mean Penny will come back"... So a few things why this doesn't really work... & It starts with easily the biggest counterpoint... Did Penny die in the Ever After?... No, she didn't... She died in The World of Void... Which is NOT the same thing! Meaning that Penny wouldn't be able to come back as either herself or as a "reincarnation" that replaces her very existence. That's not possible unless she specifically died in Ever After, which wasn't the case. So that's already off the table... & Those who said "Oh, when Little dies, they'll be reborn as Penny & they'll finally give Ruby hope again"...

2 problems with this... 1: Replacing a character that was introduced specifically for this season... & Then replace them with someone who just died on the season before this one... For arguably no reason other than fanservice... Do i need to explain the problem here?! Do i need to explain why this wouldn't have been a good writing decision?!... Not to mention how little sense it'd actually make sense Little doesn't know Penny, so WHY would they ascend as her?!

2: & This is more personal for ME specifically, but i really... REALLY do not like having someone's character arc be arbitrarily resolved because of someone else as a way to "cure them" or "help them"... In this context, it'd be Penny being the "cure" that Ruby needs to regain her hope again... Again, i ask you... Do i need to explain why this wouldn't have been a good thing?!

If that actually happened, Ruby wouldn't learn anything in the end! She wouldn't learn that being herself was good enough, she'd instead learn that in reality, there IS no consequence! People can die & come back if the world suddenly decides it had enough of you moping around all depressed, which is not only bad writing, but also VERY insulting to those who were/are in a similar position as Ruby did in V9!... That is not the lesson you wanna teach to your main character when she's in that state of depression, let alone your AUDIENCE!

While i will be the first to admit that they fucked over the way Ruby ascended in the first place by essentially mimicking you know what & then make such a jarring tone shift in the very next chapter (Jesus Christ, that was awful), the end result was beautiful! It wasn't perfect & it happened a bit too quickly for my taste, but it was STILL beautiful! Ruby eventually realizing that she doesn't HAVE to be someone else & moreover, she doesn't HAVE to be perfect... Just being herself is good enough & even if she doesn't know who she is deep down, she won't be able to find that out unless she CHOOSES to he herself, which was the POINT of Volume 9's finale from Ruby's PoV... Bringing Penny back in this instance would completely go against this message, cause Ruby wouldn't be able to fully appreciate herself as a person.

Option 2: Pietro creates a THIRD Body for Penny, just like he did for Penny 2.0.

Ok, now with THAT out of the way, let's talk about the SECOND possibility for Penny coming back... Pietro either MAKES a Penny 3.0 or has already MADE one by the time RWBYJ returned to Remnant... Remember when i said that the only reason Penny was able to come back in the first place was because her core/heart was intact, thus allowing Pietro to actually MAKE a second body for Penny while still letting her keep her memories?... Yeah, that's not possible here anymore. Why?... Because not only did Penny die in The World of Void... She died as a HUMAN!... Meaning that her core... Her HEART... Is gone for GOOD!

Nobody managed to retrieved Penny's body from the world of void before the portals closed, (nor did we ever see it in Ever After, which was a MASSIVE missopportunity if you ask me. Along with the fact that we never see the reactions of the others learning how Penny ACTUALLY died which... WHY didn't we get that in V9?...) So it wouldn't have been possible for Pietro or anyone for that matter to take her heart back, even IF Penny died as a robot again.

Moreover, Atlas is gone! Their TECHNOLOGY & MATERIALS are gone! Sure, Amity & some stuff from Argus are still around as we saw in the final shot of V9, but most of it is gone... Pietro wouldn't be able to create a THIRD Penny Robot with the resources he has. But even then, let's say that he did. Let's say that Pietro WAS able to create a THIRD Penny Robot... There's still a huge problem here, it WOULDN'T be the same Penny. Why?... Because the CORE would be different, the HEART would be different.

Pietro wouldn't be able to create a THIRD Penny Robot so he can add her core in there BECAUSE HER ORIGINAL CORE IS GONE! Pietro & the others managed to RETRIEVE the core after the events of V3, but that wasn't the case for V8. The Penny we grew to know & love is GONE! She will NEVER be able to come back in a way that doesn't make sense & doesn't feel like a total asspull, it's NOT gonna happen. If we ever get a THIRD Penny (& that's a REALLY BIG if), it's gonna be a completely different Penny instead of the one WE know, a completely different Penny from the one RUBY knows... & Loves... Let me ask you people... Would you WANT that? Would you want this "Penny 3.0" to essentially replace the Penny we grew to know & love?... Do you guys ACTUALLY want that?!... Personally, i DON'T!

If it were up to me between keeping her dead & essentially replacing her either through ascension or through a third model that's completely unrecognizable, I'd go with the FIRST option!

So yeah, those are the reason why Penny coming back wouldn't work from a LOGICAL standpoint, so now it's time for the one that's gonna be VERY controversial... Why Penny coming back wouldn't work from a STORY & CHARACTER standpoint...

Why the Penny Revival theory wouldn't work from a STORY & CHARACTER standpoint

Okay, this is where i have to put up some flame shields, cause this is the point of the discussion where I'm gonna make A LOT of people mad at me... Okay, here we go...

Reason 1: It'd undo Penny's sacrifice, which would be a very disrespectful thing to do.

Now even though the whole "only choice Penny had was how she chose her death" thing is actually bullshit because it wasn't a choice, nor was it her only one... It'd still feel very disrespectful for the heroes to just... UNDO the sacrifice she made to make sure Cinder doesn't get any stronger.

Think about this from Penny's perspective. You decide to ask one of your few remaining allies to essentially help you commit assisted you know what so you can make sure your inherited magical power doesn't fall into the wrong hands... Then a while later, those same allies undo your efforts by bringing you back to life...

That would feel like a slap to the face if you ask me. Regardless of intentions, they would essentially undo the hard work i did to make sure THEY got to live... I'd feel REALLY insulted if that happened to me & I'm pretty sure Penny would feel that way too. So right off the bat, there's a problem.

Not to mention, how did this entire story start again? How did this entire SERIES started again?... Let me think for a moment... Oh yeah, it's because a spiteful, self-righteous woman tried to play god & get her fallen fiancee back despite being told by LITERAL GOD that this was wrong & then pay the price for it by becoming immortal until she truly understands the meaning of life... (spoilers, she'll never do so willingly because it's Salem. She's the f-ing worst)

So why the FUCK would you want the heroes to do the exact damn thing?! Why the hell would you want them to essentially do the same thing the main villain did?! The same thing that put these kids in this mess in the first place?!... Why the hell would you want that?! It just makes no sense to me.

That's like if Byleth from Fire Emblem tried to bring back Jeralt by doing the exact same fucked up experiments Rhea did in the attempt to resurrect Sothis, all the while Byleth has complete understanding of the consequences her actions will have because she literally experienced the consequences of Rhea's actions when she did that to Byleth herself!...

Do you see where I'm going with here? By trying to play god in bringing Penny back, Ruby & co. would essentially be proving Salem & in a way, the Gods right in saying that mankind at its core is worthless & beyond salvation.

& Before i move on to my next point, let me bring up a scenario for you guys. Imagine if you were Ruby, imagine if you - as Ruby Rose - met up with Dr. Pietro Polendina in Vácuo & he tells you that he may (keyword: MAY!...) have found a way to bring Penny back... But in turn, it'd cost him his life. In Volume 7, we learn that Penny's soul isn't actually artificial, but actually a fragment of Pietro's soul... His life force.

While what I'm about to say isn't confirmed as of the writing of this essay, i wouldn't be surprised if this whole "taking away my soul & putting it on something else" thing Pietro did took a huge toll in his lifespan... IE: it might've made his life span much shorter & maybe even age faster. In that same scene, he also says that if Penny dies again, he doesn't know if he will have enough life force to bring her back a second time.

So with ALL of that in mind, would YOU - Ruby Rose - accept Pietro's offer? Better yet, would you let him actually DO IT?!... Personally, i wouldn't... I'm sorry, but I'm not the kind of person who could bring himself to bring someone back to life by either killing someone else or letting said someone else die. Especially if the person I'm trying to bring back is the daughter of the person I'm killing in exchange!

Imagine how devastated Penny would feel if that happened?! Imagine how she would feel of her own father died in order to bring her back to life again... Do you think she'd be able to live with that reality?! Do you think she'd be able to forgive herself for that?! Let alone forgive Ruby for either telling Pietro to do that or worse, letting him do that & not stop him?! Do you think Penny would want that?! Do you want this poor innocent girl to come back at the cost of her father's life?!...

How could Ruby ask that of Pietro, how could you ask that of him? How could I ask that of him?! What kind of person do you have to be in order to ask someone's parent to essentially sacrifice the remaining years of their life in order to bring THEIR child back?! Not YOUR child, THEIRS!... Do i need to go any further on how cruel & messed up this scenario would be?!...

I can't fucking believe some people actually say this unironically, but they freaking do! Like- guys!... You can't bring somebody back to life by having their parent literally exchange their life for them! You can't just DO that! That's like if i was asking the Mom of my best friend who just died to sacrifice her life to bring back my friend... How the hell am I supposed to ask that of somebody?!

Reason 2: Sometimes, people just die.

Okay, THIS is where I'm gonna sound very controversial. Cause what I'm about to say will make people very upset... So for those who somehow are still reading this, but don't feel like finishing it... Out... Now!...

This is the most overused talking point I've heard when i hear people talking about Penny's death in Volume 8. How it was needlessly cruel, unfair & unsatisfying, as well as asking themselves why the writers would do this if they didn't plan on bringing her back in the future?... Here's the problem with this line of thinking... Sometimes, bad things just happen...

There are times where bad things happen out of our control, there are times when even after being prepared for the worst, we still lose & most of all, there are times where people just... Die... & There's nothing we can really do about it... The point I'm trying to make here is this: People don't often die in order to make a big sacrifice for the greater good or to save their loved ones... People don't often die to achieve a greater purpose in life or to motivate someone else... Sometimes... People just die... & That's what happened to Penny...

Despite everyone's best efforts, she died... Despite everything Penny went through to get as far as she did, she died... Despite all the love, care & affection the people around her showed her & proving to the world that her life did indeed had meaning... She died... & There was nothing the heroes could do about it. Jaune wouldn't have been able to heal Penny in time before she either bled out or before Cinder finished the job herself, there's no Senzu Bean equivalent in RWBY for Penny to take for her to suddenly heal all of her fatal wounds, there's no legitimate healing spells in RWBY as far as we know... & Most important of all, there was nothing the heroes could do to stop Cinder.

Now before some of you say "Oh, but Emerald knew & could've told them!" & To that i say YES, you're right... Except not really... Thing is, Emerald didn't know Cinder would do what she did. She didn't know she'd ally with Watts & Neo, create this very elaborate scheme in order to kill everyone in The World of Void. There was no way in hell Emerald could ever find out about that, nobody could. Heck, they didn't even know who was holding the missing Lamp at the time! Making the heroes counter Cinder's plan even MORE unlikely.

Now is this death unfair?... Yes!... Is it very cruel? Yes!... Is it rather unsatisfying?... Very!... But that's the whole point! It's supposed to be a very cruel twist of fate, it's supposed to be this horrible, tragic ending to a character who deserved better & ya'know why? Because that's what death actually feels like to people!

Many people (myself included) don't see death as this great ending to a story or a final goodbye or anything like that. It's usually seen as this cruel, unfair & very painful thing people go through. Whether it be through an accident, a murder, an illness or just old age... Dealing with the death of loved ones suck! It's not supposed to be seen as something that could have benefits to the world or something that could/should be undone.

& That's essentially what happened to Penny. I don't know about you guys, but i am just so tired of people saying that she had to have died for a cause, there has to be a reason the writers killed her off the way they did & that it must be the story telling us that she'll come back somehow... Here's the problem with all of these takes... There IS no reason for her death, there IS no big cause for her death... She just died... That's it...

Like i said a few moments ago... Sometimes, bad things just happen that are out of our control & there's nothing we can do about it. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything, that's not how the world works. Penny's death is no different... Neither is Pyrrha's, neither is Summer's supposed death... That was the whole point of Volume 9. It wasn't about doing the impossible or undoing the past, it was about accepting what happened & trying to find a new reason to live, as well as accepting that the person you are now is good enough.

Does the world suck sometimes? Yes. Does the people in it ruin your reason to live sometimes? Yes. Can reality be the cruelest, sadistic & unforgiving asshole you've ever met in your life sometimes?... Absolutely!... All of what i just said is true, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. Sometimes, life is one merciless & unforgiving bitch!... But ya'know what's also true?... Ya'know what's also reality?... You have a choice to make... You get to choose how you will properly deal with that reality.

You can either choose the path Salem, Cinder, Neo, Watts, Ironwood, Adam & all of the RWBY villains/antagonists took, where you're so spiteful & resentful towards the world that you wanna give the same pain you just went through back at the world. Because in your mind, it's justified. Why shouldn't the world suffer the same pain you've suffered. It's not fair for you to go through literal hell while everyone else is all happy & cheerful, living their lives without a care in the world... That doesn't sound fair to you, does it?...

If you make this choice, you're essentially letting your pain & suffering do the talking for you. You're letting it control your life & make all of the decisions for you... You could do that... But you can also choose to take a different path, one that's more benevolent & hopeful... The path that people like Ruby, like Summer, like Yang & the rest of the team good guys have chosen to take.

A path where instead of using your pain & suffering to make the world worse, you use it to make it better. You use your own painful experiences to help others, to make sure they don't go through the same pain you did. It might seem like it's too much for you to handle & sometimes, it might even feel like a waste of time. Hell! You might even get to a point where you ask yourself "Where's my help? Where's my source of comfort? Why can't someone pick me up for once?" But if you stick to your guts & if you don't lose sight of yourself, you'll eventually realize 2 things.

1: The person you are now is good enough. It's not perfect, this person makes many mistakes & has maybe done some terrible things in the past... But the good that person did can't be denied & maybe... Just maybe, that person you are right now is good enough, even if you don't realize it right away.

2: Your actions, no matter how small they may seem, CAN leave a positive impact on others. Eventually, you come to realize that despite your many failures in life, the good you did accomplish cannot be understated. Whether it be on a single person or maybe even a whole group of people, they're only where they are now because of you.

You were the one who gave them the drive to keep living despite the hardships the world can bring at them, you were the one who showed them that their lives actually mean something! & You should take pride in that, no matter how small it may seem to you.

So yes, the world can be very cruel... But it can also be very beautiful... & You can choose whether or not you embrace its cruelty, or show the people how beautiful the world can be... That's the entire point of not only Ruby's arc in volume 9, not only the entire point of Volume 9 as a whole... But the point of RWBY as a whole. It's a story about how the world can affect different people, a story where its cruelty can either make people very spiteful & resentful or make them empathetic & kind. Because that's how things are in our world too... & I'm really happy to see RWBY both understanding this theme... & Embracing it.

3: "If Penny's death is meant to be unfair & cruel... Then what was the point of it"?

& You might ask me "What, did Penny just die for nothing then?"... Well... Yes & no... While it is very cruel & unsatisfying - which again, was the point - i wouldn't say she died for "nothing." If Penny didn't do what she did, Winter would've died against Ironwood (remember, she was at death's door when Penny gave her the Winter Maiden Magic. Ironwood was this close to finishing her off.), Weiss would've died against Cinder, Jaune probably would've died against Cinder as well & worse of all, the Winter Maiden Magic would go to someone else random. Why is this a problem?... Oh, nothing much... It's nothing too serious, except for the part that all of the escapees are getting killed off in the desert & there was nobody powerful enough to complete subdue & protect them at the time! Are we seriously forgetting about that?!

It doesn't matter if it was either Penny or Winter, if neither of them went through that portal, i can guarantee you that everyone on the other side of that portal would've died by the Vacuan Grimm. (You can mostly thank Weiss [The Writers] for not being more specific about the exit of the portals, but i already wrote & sang that song many times in the past, so i don't wanna get too sidetracked here.) I can guarantee you that the only reason Ren, Nora, Oscar, Emerald, Klein, Willow, Whitley, the Happy Huntresses & everyone else who made it there didn't all fucking die in that desert is because of Winter coming when she did as a Maiden, which wouldn't have happened if Penny didn't do what she did.

So uh... Yeah, Penny making sure the Winter Maiden Powers went to someone she could trust was kind of a big deal. You can't call that "dying for nothing", because despite losing the 2 relics, Penny's death essentially gave the survivors of Solitas a chance to even make it through Vácuo alive & by extension, having an entire unified armada ready to go as we see in the final shot of V9. (Most of that is thanks to Ruby & her message, but i still need to give Penny some credit for this since i doubt there were enough people to properly lead this unified armada). Once again, sharing a great video from Murder of Birds that puts things into perspective better than i ever could: https://youtu.be/k3i8kS5i4qw

Final thoughts

So overall, i think these Penny Revival theories aren't really worth making it a reality. I think it'd be best to just let Penny rest in peace & let Ruby & co. carry on her memory & will, even if her actually death is very cruel & painful. By bringing Penny back, you don't just undo her sacrifice, but also go against the core themes of the show, in more ways than one... So as much as it pains me to say this both as a Penny fan & as a huge Nuts N'Dolts shipper... I think it'd be best for Penny NOT to come back for a second time.

I once again ask everyone to keep things civil in both the comments, as well as in the reblogs & to NOT attack anyone who follow these theories. I do not want that & if i see anybody do that, I'm going to block you... & I really don't wanna do that, especially since my block list is getting kinda full with these annoying as hell pornbots (hate those jerks.)

But that's it for me. This has been Remnant Bardock & until our next meeting, have a wonderful day, my friends!

@asm5129, @iamafanofcartoons, @tumblingxelian, @frisk863, thoughts?

[justtelling-shinobuisthebest]

Well, just a little rant of this precious little baby♡

Manga spolers

Her difference

I'm not making rules here, but she is one of the most well-written characters of the show. Literally.

Yeah, I know, I don't need argue in the comments. She doesn't have the most tragic backstory in kny. It's a fact, buut. But, her backstory is great because of how good Gotouge plays with it. In series we have a trop:

Happy family - All dead - Demon slayer Corps.

Wihtin hashiras we have 3 of them, which got through this and now have to be all alone(no family, I mean) Giyu, Muichiro and Shinobu. (There is only they 'cause, Tengen, Obanai never had a loving family, Sanemi by a start of main plot has Genya, Gyomei, Rengoku and Mitsuri have a completely different types of stories) And among this 3, Shinobu is the only one who choosed revenge.

Yup, she didn't completely forget or burry this trauma. No, on the contrary, she developed this trauma into something more. Suicidal thoughts and actions.

That's one the reasons why she's my favorite. Because, they don't say it out loud , but you can guess, her death was a suicide. I know, she didn't do it by her own, but still she prepared and led to it.

Her writing

A little girl, lost in this world, developed into the greatest hashira,boiling of rage and grief.

I adore character with facade. Honestly. So, from the very start her smile had something off to me. And when I got to the climax of her story, I knew she isn't just favorite kny character, she is my everything. The way how step by by step we get into the world of demons-hatered and self-insecurity.

While with demon-hatered everuthing clear. I want to turn your attention to the main problem of her character. Insecurity.

It's crazy how in her first fight with spider-sister she asserts that her shortness is her advantage, but deep down she always wonders why she is like that, what would happened if she might grow taller. I love the fact that this is her last moments. I mean, there already was noone to help her in this situation, and it could end here but...

Do you even relise that the reason why Shinobu stood up was not her own will, but a belief that Kanae believes in her. It's crazy, that earlier moment

Led to the most beautiful and meaningful come back.

Do we still have time? Can I continue?

Her rage. Yup, it's continuation of her writing.

It 's kinda pisses me off that mostly we completely forget this even exists

Like, there's the second reason why I even started this rant. Do I need to say more? Her anger leeding us to a fight with Douma, where she manages to turn the tables, and victory over Muzan, her helping Tamayo.

I adore the way how author from one trop gets completely different emotions. But we have to get to the last point.

Her smile

I know, it may look strange that I need whole paragraph just to say that I love it, but can you blame me?

JUST LOOK AT HER

Being so cute, loveable and gorgeous need to be a crime. Because, I would be able to kill for her.

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

And, just thoughts that didn't knew where to put...

1. The fact, that in Kanae's chiring up monologe, Shinobu thinks of Kanao, making her the last person she ever thought of.

2. I don't know from where people gor that Shinobu still hates Tamayo, because it literally was written in manga, that she respects her.

3. Just want you to recall her last words "Burn in Hell" , that personifies her inner world and anger towards Douma

4. Love how Shinobu and Kanao's relationships changes through chapter. Like, in the last moment Kanao shouts "Master!", and at the end she talks of her using "Sister"

5. I can't even go a day without concluding that her fanbase, at least at Tumblr is one the reason why I still see hope and joyment in this world. Want to thank every Shinobu-lover in the internet, you may be a the reason why I still breath.

Loving Shinobu. Day 3

Don't stay up late. Good night.❤️

[tornrose24]

So I recently watched a play version of Jekyll and Hyde in my town. It was good, but it had some very senstive topics and themes that I'm not going to fully cover in case it triggers anyone. Here were some interesting notes about this version of the tale:

-Everyone–even the guys–were dressed in skirts. I was told that the director wanted an androgynous look.

-Four people were playing Hyde (including two girls) but none of them were the same actor that played Jekyll. Which works if you want to keep the well known twist a secret, but not so much if you already know about it.

-Hyde has a love intrest named Elizabeth, who works at a hotel and comes from a middle/low income family (which makes for some intresting commenary since she's likely not restricted by the same standards noblewoman had to be). She genuinely loves him despite the stuff he does (even though it WAS very concerning), and he actually likes her back, even though I was convinced he'd kill her a few times.

-Also, she happens to be the older sister that Hyde is said to have attacked at the start of the story... but I think he just bumps into said sister? (Also, Hyde is played by a woman during this point. For those curious, there's only one point where he's played by a woman when with Elizabeth.)

-However, he still does some bad stuff in the play that I'm not going to discuss since that might trigger some people.

-A dark, yet amusing way to end act one–a woman talks about how she sees Hyde kill someone. She could have called for help sooner but "The bad side in me wanted to watch."

-Down below has some spoilers and sensitive topics–

-So there's a scene where a women's corpse (which is just a dummy for the sake of the play) is shown off to a class and there's some MAJOR misogyny during the examination of the body. In one of the few times he's being decent, Jekyll does call this out and corrects some things in regards to the woman's death (that I'm not going to get into because–again–some of it might trigger some readers).

-When the woman's corpse is to be dissected, apparantly Hyde snuck it out of the class.... and replaced it with a pig corpse according to the tale.

–when the reveal of the two being one and the same happens.... interestingly, it's one of the female Hydes that takes the potion and transforms into Jekyll, who, as I said before, is played by a man. Interesting interpretation there when I think about it.... like if you were going for a full on LGBTQ version of Jekyll and Hyde, that would actually be a great idea.

-Interesting thing about this play is that it's almost like how Once upon a Time tackled the story–Hyde may be really awful, but he's still able to have some standards. On the other hand, Jekyll isn't as decent as he believes himself to be–he has an obsession of maintaining a perfect image that he's willing to frame Hyde for some things he didn't do AND manages to kill someone himself.

-And actually, Jekyll is going to kill Elizabeth when she finds out the truth, but.... I think the implication was that Hyde took over long enough to kill Jekyll-and thus, himself-before that could happen.

–Then the whole thing concludes with Hyde commenting about how he dreamt that he was a gentleman respected by all, and when he woke up he was glad he wasn't that guy.

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 168.1

Now that we know that the people who picked the doll and Kanitarou up are friendly and just happened to see them, that means that the person who was chasing them in the last chapter was someone else. Probably the guy from Chapter 167.1. And probably gonna track the doll to where she's currently hiding out.

Two things. One: we can see a bit of a scar on the mechanic's nose that matches the one on Kai's. The mechanic being amiable with the doll while maintaining a wariness towards her is also a very Kai thing to do. He's very observant. I think at this point he's older than he usually appears once resurrected, and judging from the apparent ages that we saw on their wanted signs, I'm guessing they were freshly resurrected a few years ago.

Second thing: Kai's probably referring to the Beholder/Satoru when he talks about someone who wanted to become human, and not Fushi. Because Fushi's never described themselves as human or discussed their desire to be human after the Takunaha arc. Satoru, on the other hand, was very upfront about wanting to be human, and Kai was there when Messar insinuated that the Beholder wished he was mortal.

I really like that Kai and Eko have both become mechanics. Or Eko has become a mechanic and Kai is her assistant, it's a bit unclear. It's so nice seeing Eko having something that she's passionate about, and that her dream of being able to communicate her thoughts to others has been fulfilled without her having to sacrifice an important part of her identity. And Kai is a blacksmith, so he knows a bit about working with metal and maybe that translates over to engineering somehow? I don't know.

A few notes about this part of the chapter: first, the script that hasn't been translated (because Ooima made it up) says the same thing that appeared in Chapter 166.2 before the doll's flashback.

The only difference is that the percentage that's been restored is marginally higher.

In the original Japanese, the text for the dialogue is in a specific font that's only been used for the person with the blindfold. I've included the raws for comparison.

And finally, the pill is the same one that was around their neck.

Based on the evidence, we can conclude that the doll's "self-identification system" is for her memories, we'll get a flashback every time a bit more of that system is restored, and the pill was an essential part of the process of making her human. We'll probably get the full story when the system reaches one hundred percent, but at the rate we're going it's gonna be a while.

Kai says earlier in the chapter that the mud only responds to human brainwaves specifically and on the final page we see the doll controlling it. df;dfa;dafslkadfs;dasflkj NICE.

How the doll has brain waves and no brain is a bit of a mystery, but the point is that they're implying that it's human already and just stuck in a different form. Which :\ is part of the mystery I guess, clearly the doll has a past involving efforts to become human that it can't remember. I don't love the idea of its backstory being "well, it's not a normal doll, it's a special doll that was secretly human all along." I'm hoping we get something else, because I think the doll being a piece of technology who's human anyways is more in line with what the manga's had to say about humanity so far. Like, maybe experimenting to make it human failed, or the experiment was just to make a program that thinks it's human, because thinking you're human = actually being human. I would imagine that learning that would really fuck the doll up, because in that case everything it's been trying to do in the name of proving that it's human was just more proof that it's not. And that's what I would do if I were Ooima because she loves to think of the worst possible thing that would happen to a character and then do that (compliment).

Still, no matter what the doll's backstory turns out to be, I'll be into it as long as it adds more layers to her character and to the story. Which it will because this is Ooima we're talking about :)

[gaydennisreynolds]

So I *just* listened to That story about Glenn and it was about how even though at a party in Venice, she and her friend were in the shower with him and Rob (if it was Charlie, she would've remembered the name lbr) and it didn't feel awkward but later when they went out just once, he took her to see Saw since he thought she'd like horror movies as a scream queen herself and didn't/couldn't kiss her at the end of the night when he walked her home and it was all somehow extremely more awkward.

lol brave soldier thank you for listening to the whole segment so the rest of us didn't have to. the rest of the context actually makes this story more sensical - they probably had a hotel/rented house with a bigger shower, which is how they were able to pull off the whole thing logistically (have you ever showered with someone? let alone 3 other people? i was very hung up on how they made it work)

anyways, i got this message last night (so a few days behind #showergate) and i almost didn't answer it because i don't want to start more drama but. anon, i respectfully disagree with you. i'm not saying you're wrong/bad/stupid, or #comingatyou, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions and mine is this: i don't think what that lady did was so bad. sunny is a very well known tv show to certain demographics, but is not like a household name by any stretch of the imagination. i'm sure she didn't think too many people would recognize his name. and if i took a shower with two celebrities that would probably be a story i would go around telling, in the right contexts! it's cool/interesting! and she didn't describe their encounter in graphic detail or anything, either. i don't think she really exposed anything, to be honest--all we know that we didn't know a few days ago is that 1) rob and glenn were in venice in 2004 2) there was a double date that concluded in a shower 3) the lady didn't enjoy her date with glenn and they didn't see each other further. is that really a huge violation of privacy? i think this is just kind of the thing that comes with the territory of being famous.

glenn and rob probably aren't even going to find out that she said anything or hear the podcast. we're pretty much the only weirdos online who care if two actors did something vaguely, allegedly fruity 18 years ago. and making jokes about it doesn't equal shipping, either -- it's just straight up funny because it's so weird (who takes a 4way nonsexual shower?!), and since we don't have too much else to talk about while we wait for more podcast eps/filming to start, it makes sense we all took it and ran. i think there was a lot of pre-emptive reactionary backlash to people supposedly shipping glob or the potential for harrassment to happen to rob+glenn over this when that just....didn't happen, and wasn't going to. the fandom is simply too small, our impact isn't big enough. confused by the way the whole thing played out if i'm being real. however i'm still glad it happened because: glenn and rob took a weird 4-way nonsexual shower, and that's funny as fuck to me.

[inavagrant-a]

@snowtombedstar said:

✎ = speaking in a different language . -maybe he'll be surprised to learn that she knows inazuman.

Of course it was only natural that the lands of Sumeru were going to get so much attention given what it just recently had gone through. It happened like that in every nation after a major event. It isn't so much that he failed to see it coming more so that he has to deal with it. The questions, the press, most of said press hailing from that insufferable place of Fontaine, wanting the next best story in their dumb newspapers. He's heard they have a field day with the traveler. How, you may wonder, is it that he has to deal with it? Well, the main reason Sumeru was so in shambles was because of him after all, what he had done, what he almost accomplished with the help of those accursed sages and that stupid doctor. Is he going to say any of that? No, of course not, even if he wanted to he knows Lesser Lord Kusanali would prefer that be kept under wraps for now and it is in Tetsuya's best benefit to do so as well... at least for now. When Kusanali had told him that she needed him to attend this little conference in front of the Akademiya in her place he did not hesitate to immediately bring up Alhaitham, since he is the current acting grand sage, but she immediately shot that down with him being as busy as she is with Akademiya matters and making sure its foundation doesn't fall apart. Kusanali didn't outright say this is happening because of him, but he could see it as clear as day when she told him he was going to be attending in her place, that she too had many matters to attend to.

There's a word for that, what was it again? Accountability... he can't say he fancies it so much when it's something he himself has to apply.

But, he is a class act, an award winning actor and he shows it as much as he paces out into the open with a fake smile that only those most familiar with him would be able to tell it isn't genuine.

"Hello there!" He waves at the journalists who in turn look at him along with a couple of travelers that, he assumes, were curious about what was going on. Why... there's some faces in the little crowd that he recognizes. "Well met my dear journalists."

"Who are you?" One is so bold to ask. "We were expecting the Lesser Lord or the current acting grand sage at least." The gentleman raves, seemingly disappointed with who it was that greeted them.

(How annoying), Tetsuya thinks, still keeping his façade intact and not allowing it to crack. "Yes, well given certain straining circumstances I'm positive all of you are renowned enough to understand why they couldn't precisely be here personally. They are quite busy picking up," my mess, "on a lot of slack." He explains, feeling rather ridiculous being surrounded by a bunch of people writing away at their little notepads, it reminds him so much of Scaramouche, like he's standing right here again and it's getting under his skin, an itch he does not appreciate, but he keeps up with his appearances, all smiles, and a pleasant air for those who've traveled so far and wide to come witness Sumeru in its new age without the Akasha terminal.

“Yet, permit myself to display my manners in a display of my good grace and introduce myself nonetheless.” he speaks up again, not allowing them to stew too long on what he's just told them, a tactic he used and learned well, honing it over the years. "My name is Tetsuya," he relinquishes his name, "I am Lesser Lord Kusanali's trusted friend." As he suspected this garnered him quite the attention. "And I stand before you all, on this most auspicious of days to answer all your questions to the best of my ability." He tips his hat, concluding his introduction and thus commencing this conference he so begrudgingly has to suck up to. It seems like saying that he was Lesser Lord Kusanali's friend made him more interesting to them, how predictable, his smile glazed over by a sense of cockiness. They are so easy to read.

The questions they fling at him are bigger softballs than he initially anticipated them to be, or perhaps his skin is too thick to feel intimidated by such questions. Most revolved over the incident of the false God and the sages, wanting to know the details behind how they were taken down, Kusanali's decision to put the Akasha to rest, and what awaits for Sumeru. Tetsuya answered every single one in strides, he's done this multiple times before after all, but not as himself but as another form of himself, though he is dead now, no reason for him to dwell on it. He allows the conference to go on for a few moments longer before making it come to a close. He uses the fact that they are crowding the entrance to the Akademiya as an excuse. His smile remains the same, but his mood is all the more sour, but he supposes it was only fair that he dealt with this even if it bothers him to admit such a thing even to himself. He waves the journalists as he watches them walk down towards the city. In the crowd of adventures there was a face he recognized earlier which at this time it takes Tetsuya a moment to spot if only because it seems that she's preoccupied with a child. The sight makes Tetsuya curious so he approaches them both, raising an eyebrow as a certain language he's all too familiar with catches his attention. It is Inazuman. It sounds like she's providing the child with directions towards Sumeru's café, where apparently his big brother and sister are awaiting for him.

Tetsuya doesn't say a word, instead stands at a fair enough distance and allows the two to continue conversing, a conversation that seems to flow fairly well enough.

"Arigatou!" The child beams at Tem before he is well on his way, catching sight of Tetsuya and smiling at him as he passes him by, a smile Tetsuya returns in kind. "Slightly rough, but not too bad." He speaks out to her. Truth be told she did fairly better than most who've tried to pick up his motherland's language, well enough to where the conversation flowed without so much of a hiccup. He didn't think her to know the language, at least from their first encounter how was he to guess such a thing. Tetsuya is slightly shy of five hundred years old, so to say he is critical of how others speak Inazuman would be an understatement, he knows the language a little too well for most perhaps. Tetsuya wasn't much for small talk, in fact he's not a big fan of it so pleasantries isn't something he humors too much, it's such a bore after all. It is a rather odd thought to see natives from his motherland here, it reminds him that his mother lifted the lockdown he had a huge role in making sure got implemented... it reminds him of all the work he has yet to do. "It seems like Sumeru is so popular now a days." It's more crowded than usual which is most unfortunate, her reasons for being here are none of his concern. "I never know who I'm going to run into lately." She seems to be in good health, all things considered anyway.

[b4nanaa]

UGHHHHHHHH

'If I only Had a Leg' is a memoir written by Greg Marshall detailing his experience with a theater group called Up With Kids, an organization that allowed him to channel his creative outlet in acting and singing.

Quick summary of the story

He is Up With Kids

His last role was the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz

Afterwards he was able to meet one of the last living munchkins, Margaret Pellegrini

He later quits the program when he is offered the role of Quasimodo

Tries for Scarecrow again later on in highschool but gets rejected

"Children are sad creatures, so full of hope and light and judgment. So sure of their place in the world. My first thoughts, as I waited for Mom to pick me up, were ones of anger: Who was this haughty witch to tell me what I could do? If she was so special, why was she volunteering at a junior high instead of choreographing on Broadway? Of course, such thoughts denigrated the whole enterprise—the school, the play, my meager acting ability. Part of me wanted to tell her how believable I could be as Scarecrow. When I fell, the audience would gasp, and when I got up again they would cheer. It wouldn’t have mattered. In the choreographer’s gentle rejection lay a deeper truth: I would never be a professional actor. The fantasy was over. Later, I’d call this my munchkin moment: the moment I realized I was window dressing along the Yellow Brick Road, not the one skipping down it. I was one of the little people some other, more charismatic teenager would pledge not to forget. That night, I took down the glittery star that had hung on my door for years and fondled Margaret’s autograph in my replica Oz script as if she were a real celebrity. She’d signed it “Munchkin Love.”

What happens does suck. The fact that he was rejected because of his disability hindering his performance (dance wise) slightly kept him from getting Scarecrow, because he is able to do so much more outside of that and can get over it.

But also, I can't really blame the lady. It's just how things are, especially in the entertainment industry.

Trying to get into it is tough as it is, having a disability is likely to only slim those chances

As harsh as it is to hear, it does hinder your performance and it makes sense why you wouldn't get your part for it

I do think people should be more open minded and give people a chance, and work around it

But at the end of the day the entertainment industry is tough and it's a lot harder on people with disabilities because they either don't want to work around it or your efforts just aren't enough

What you can control is how much effort you put into things and making the best of what you have, like Margaret did as one of the last living Munchkins

In the end, Greg concludes with accepting that his struggles were enough even if he never got to be what he wanted

When I first read it, I felt bad because it does suck that Greg isn't getting the role just because of his disability. To an extent it does feel unfair, since it ignores his other skills and doesn't give him the chance to prove that he can still perform with or without his leg being an issue. But I also don't find the choreographer’s call completely wrong. For me, it feels natural and just kinda how the world is, especially the entertainment industry

Naturally, having a disability that affects your physical performance will serve as a disadvantage and lower your chances of getting a role you want. While I do agree that more places should accommodate for disabilities and learn to work around them, the reality is the entertainment industry is a tough, competitive field that seeks the best and is unlikely to work around you. I'm not able to relate to Greg or speak on his behalf or anyone on disability since I don't have one myself. I struggled a lot with trying to find what to say, but reading this passage only made me think about the entertainment industry. I think his experience captures it pretty well, especially when it comes to those with disabilities.

Because regardless how hard Greg tries to deny his disability when it comes to his acting and keeping it from the audience, it's always going to be apart of him and affect how people perceives him. It even shapes how he views himself and others in Up with Kids. In comparison to their disabilities, Greg is capable of performing more than them. As a result, he comes so deluded that he is in denial of his disability sometimes and thinks he different than everyone else. Whereas they're here because something is 'wrong' with them, he is here because he is a rising actor. But just because he has it better compared to others, doesn't mean his cerebral palsy is no longer a disability. It still is and always will be, and it's going to affect how he performs and how he is seen.

He gets angry at being offered the role of Quasimodo because he views it as a role given purely due to his disability, I was able to understand where he is coming from. Through out the memoir, he does his best to hide his limp from the audience and only uses it to enhance his performance. But to be casted as Quasimodo comes off as a casting due to them both having a limp in their leg, like how Margaret and the dwarves got casted as the Munchkins because they were short.

So I do understand why he was upset and didn't want to do it, but a lot of it seems to stem from him being unable to accept his disability as a part of himself. And when it comes to the entertainment industry and getting roles, chances are you will be casted based on appearances too and if you want to become big as an actor, you do need to accept that. It was in that moment of rejection from the choreographer that he realizes this harsh reality, but despite that, is later on able to warrant a new perspective. At the end of the memoir, he reflects back on his short acting career and believes he might've had a shot if not for his leg. Not only that, but he also comes to understand that it's better to have tried if not at all. In his words when reflecting back on his view of Margaret Pellegrini, "If the opposite of being typecast for having a disability is not being cast at all, being a Hollywood Midget didn’t sound so bad." I wonder how things might've turned out if he had stayed and taken the role of Quasimodo. Would things have been any different? Would he still be acting? Or would he have came to the same conclusion as he did when he was rejected from the role of the Scarecrow? In the end, it doesn't matter if he was able to achieve his dream or not as reflected by Greg in the end of his memoir. While embracing yourself is key to success, which he was unable to do when he was younger, sticking it out and surviving is enough as well. For example, look at Margaret. She might've never made it big and had only a small role, and seemed to be used only for her small stature, but that never held her back. Even long after the movie where most of her fellow actors are dead, she still has a big of enough presence for the world to still care about her because of how she makes the best of things. In the end, all you can control is how much effort you put into things and how you make of things, and that in it of itself should be an accomplishment.

[romanellapire]

Ruthless Vows

by rebbeca ross

rating 8/10

My review is going to be split into two parts. First I'll talk about the cons and I’ll end with the pros.

my first gripe with this book in particular is the book is way longer than necessary. It could have easily been cut down by around 50 pages and still would have had the same effect Rebecca Ross was going for. Second is how in some places she is overly descriptive. When describing certain locations and scenes, she tended to include physical and visual details that I personally don't think were needed. Continuing with the theme of repetitiveness, there was lots of repetition, whether it was how Roman felt about Iris or how different things were described as I stated above. Don’t get me wrong, I adore their relationship and I wish someone loved me in the same way Roman loves Iris, but the way his adoration for her is described is overly repetitive and doesn’t leave much to the imagination. My last issue with this book is the ending. The way this book ends feels a little anticlimactic. There's a lot that happens near the end, however, the way Dacre dies and the events after his death feel a little watered down. I didn't feel the strong sense of joy I was expecting too. i'm glad it ended happily (more or less) though so that does take away half my distaste for the ending.

Onto the pros. the way the story ends in respect to Iris and Roman was heartwarming. I'm glad it ended the way it did because if he hadn’t been injured, or he had gotten away unscathed I dont think ending would have been as good. It makes me beyond happy that Roman and Iris are able to grow old together and that Keegan and Marisol also both survive. I'm still (and will continue to be) obsessed with the romance between Roman and Iris. I'm so severely, unequivocally, insanely jealous of their relationship. It's everything I want in life, and the way Rebecca Ross wrote it allowed me to live vicariously through the two characters. I will say, though I do have a few issues with the writing (see cons.) As a whole it was extremely well written and for the most part gave way to the imagination and allowed me to interpret most things as I saw them appear in my head. along with being well written, the plot was amazing as well. I mean this in a good way meaning the way she wrote gave you a sense of dread. how she wrote the characters made me feel as if they were human so the stakes were very high in my eyes.

To conclude my review, over all this book was amazing. Though I don't like it as much as the first, I still adored this book. the series as a whole has quickly skyrocketed to be in my comfy series (ironic i know) and I wholeheartedly believe it deserves the hype it’s receiving.

[damnsam]

Where it all began.

I have great news! After months of struggling and not knowing what to do, I finally found a job that I like!

There's so many things that happened but I'd like to just tell the story of how I was hired on my new work.

It all started when I was really deep into applying for jobs, doing interviews, doing case studies. When one day, I thought, you know what, I keep seeing job posting ads on social media, I might as well actually look for them.

Now, this part, I'm not entirely sure anymore but I do know that I definitely took a screenshot of the job post.

I found the job post probably on Facebook or Twitter and one day, I just started to look into the jobs I took a screenshot of. One of it being the one I am at now. I looked into the ad and it said work from home so I applied even though I'm not totally convinced as to what the job will be and also because I don't really have enough experience for it but I went to the website and applied.

A few days later, I missed a call from them, texted them back, they called me and I did an initial interview. After the interview, I concluded it was not a work from home setup and that the office is actually an hour away from where I'll be living in the city. I was debating on whether or not to just outright say no to the interviewer but I decided to just give it a shot anyways. They asked me what my expected salary is and I gave them a low amount because at that point, I was really desperate for work. I even gave the option and said that if this was work from home, I'm expecting this amount and if not, I'll expect this higher amount. When I tell you the I heard the shock the interviewer had over the phone, it really was something. They were like, "Oh, that's alright! Let's make it this higher amount instead. Let's worry then when it becomes lower than this amount." I was shocked to my core. The amount she mentioned was not even something I was expecting. It was not an amount I was even looking for during my job search. I was shocked to my core! I agreed and stayed interested in the interview process. They then told me that I have to finish an assignment just to gauge how I work and said that it was it can be done in an hour or so but they'll give me until the next morning. I was like, "Okay, I'll do it!"

The call ended and I told my mom about it. I told her about the office location being far and I even asked her, "If I do this assignment, I'm going to be staying up late until morning." She just told me to give it a shot and I did. It took me hours until I finished. I submitted it and hoped for the best. A few hours later though, I realized that I could've done a better job at the last question but there was really nothing I can do about it anymore so I just hope that they think I did a great job.

A few days later, I got an email inviting me to a virtual job interview and I was so nervous but I went anyway. Definitely think I aced the interview. Although the interviewers were foreigners, I think I was able to understand them and give my best. Few days later, I got another invite, but this time it's in person. Now, this is where I was debating whether or not to continue.

During this time, I was still in the province and had 0 in my bank account. So this means that I have to borrow money and put a lot of effort into this interview. I talked with my family and eventually decided to continue this path. I was able to reach the office and met new people. I was definitely shocked because I was not expecting the interviewer to go to the lobby and pick me up there. That was just something I've never experience from the locals here. So, 100% a great start! They even opened the door for me, pull up a chair, offered me drinks. As much as I wanted to say I wanted water, of course I declined and thanked them instead because I feel like it's a bit rude if I had said that I would like some. In my head, I know it'll be more effort for them, take more time away from the interview, and that someone actually have to get me water so, yeah, I declined.

During the interview, I was able to meet one from the virtual interview in person. So happy that they seem like a good person. I mean, all of them even. I just felt the vibe. It was uplifting, inspiring, full of joy, motivating, all of it! I think I did a great job during the interview. Even though at times I was not sure if I heard them right because of their accents but I made it work. I did my best in making eye contact with everyone, answered all of their questions, asked them a bunch of questions too, and made sure to include everyone during the interview and learn more about them, which in fact, the one from the virtual interview was able to share their story that now even their boss knew about. It was insane! I just made sure to end the interview in a happy note because for me, I mostly only remember the end vibe of a meeting. They also dropped me off by the door and I think that was just really nice. Also, they asked me about my travel and was shocked at how long it took me to get there but I just made sure that when I get hired, I will be living somewhere closer. Oh, and also, while on the way to the door outside, I'm not very good at it but I made small talk and I think it went well.

I stayed with my sister in the city for a few days while waiting for their response. I was even applying for other jobs still and thank God, I they contacted me and I when I tell you, when I opened the email, MY JAW DROPPED! I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to act. I just didn't know anymore. I felt like I was in a dream. Like, it was really not something I thought would ever happened to me at this stage in my life.

I saw the salary they offered and from that, I knew. I knew that I was going to accept. I don't care about anything else at the time but when I looked at the salary I was in for the job 100%!

There was a lot of back and forth with the HR and I was so happy!

But wait, there's more!

After I accepted the job, they emailed again saying they're offering a free hotel accommodation for our training! I was still. I didn't move. Just jaw open and on the floor. I made sure it was free though and they confirmed that it was and I was like this is it! This is how I'm supposed to live!

More stories about my first month in coming up but for now, this is where I'll end. I'm just really happy right now and I didn't even knew that I could be someone worthy of this. The KonMari Method really did change my life but that's another story.

If you stuck around to read this, thank you and I wish you happiness, peace, and good luck on this journey we call life.