#It's a different sort of existence really. It's not a continuation of life but moving onto the next plane

[bonefall]

do the starclan angels get to taste the culinary evolutions their descendants cook up? do they ever watch their great grandkids salting something and think "damn that looks agreeable"

Sadly there are downsides to being dead. They can still eat and cook the prey in StarClan offerings, but they can't taste of the mortal plane any longer.

There is ONE exception. Sacrificial offerings can be tasted. Tasting these offerings as a spirit can sometimes have... unintended effects.

Nothing magical, but suddenly, it hits you again that the afterlife isn't the same as being alive. There's flavors you haven't experienced in years. Mass returns to your lips and paws. You realize that you aren't breathing, and for a twinge of a second, your chest surges with the warmth of a beating heart.

Angels who died young are usually alarmed and unsettled by eating such offerings, and won't partake more than once. To others it's a comfort. Many cry after their first experience, so perhaps, unknowingly for the living, it's why it's so common to make food sacrifices during droughts.

[plutoasteroids]

PAC How Will Your Future Spouse's Father (Your Father-In-Law) Feel About You.

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3

DISCLAIMER: This reading is solely for entertainment purposes only! I am not responsible for any decisions taken based on my readings.

This is a general reading so if nothing resonates don't take it to heart. Take what resonates and leave what doesn't!

ASK BOX is always open

TW: MENTION OF NEGLECT AND ABUS3. IF ITS A TRIGGER FOR YOU AND YOU CONTINUE TO READ ANYWAY PLEASE DON'T BLAME ME ITS YOUR CHOICE!

PILE 1

Your father-in-law would view you as something new and different, you may be the complete opposite of the general type of your FS normally goes for but in a good way because I feel your FS doesn't necessarily have the best track record when it comes to picking their partners. Your father-in-law will quickly approve of you it feels almost like they'll say to your FS 'you made a good choice'.

But at the very beginning they may feel a bit unsure about you specifically because of the way you carry yourself, you could be really shy and not talkative or super confident anyways they just won't be 100% sure about you more so because he doesn't have a clear grasp on your personality or even your intention.

Them being unsure will quickly change and the two of you may have a relationship based on understanding or similar values or opinions. You'll have some sort of mutual understanding that will bring you both closer, in the long run they'll for sure view you as their child maybe even as somewhat of a friend.

Your Father-in-law gives me scholar vibes if not heavy lawyer vibes, lawyer, professor, teacher maybe even a priest.

PILE 2

They will feel somewhat withdrawn from you. I don't think your future father-in-law is involved in your FS' life, as in they are around but they never took an active role, so they won't have much of an opinion on you. It seems like they might see you from a distance like maybe through social media.

But from what they know about you they feel like you're very passionate and enthusiastic about life in general because your life will be pretty well. They feel like you have your life together and they like that.

But there is some sadness here mainly relating to the fact that their child found their life partner and are moving on with life and they can't be a part of that. They might do some introspection to try change and get better, they may even try to slowly enter yours and your FS lives.

It feels like they may have been a dead-beat dad for some of you and for other just emotionally unavailable and maybe slightly abus!ve.

PILE 3

Your father-in-law it seems like they may be aware of your existence in their child's life, but they aren't aware of how significant you are but finding out about your significance in your FS life might be somewhat of a pleasant surprise to him.

He will have a positive opinion on you, feeling like you bring some balance and happiness to your future spouse, and it feels like he won't be too active in your life and that of your fs. Like not absent but giving you two space to be your own people and your own couple, but he'll be there when you need advice, or you need someone to talk to.

I think you may give him a fresh perspective on life, and he'll certainly appreciate your views and your opinions. He seems to eb more on the unconventional side.

Random information: He may pay for your wedding (if you want to get married) just because he wants to and it would make him happy to pitch in financially.

He may not be married to your FS' mother. Like he is married to your FS' stepmother, or their partner isn't the biological parent of your FS. I also get the vibe of it being maybe a same sex marriage.

[harmonictechnicality]

Steve wakes up around three or four in the morning almost every night. He’s always careful getting out of bed. Small movements, slow footsteps. Minimal bones cracking. Doesn’t want to wake Eddie. Not that he needs to be this careful because his boyfriend could sleep through several natural disasters (and if someone bothered to wake him in this scenario, he’d put an impotency curse on them or some equally fucked-up shit). 

But that’s one of the reasons why they work. Not because of the sad-dick curse thing. They just exist on different sides of the scale. The raging insomniac and the deepest sleeper known to mankind. It balances out in the weirdest possible way.

Still… he’s always careful. Can never be too careful.

Steve doesn’t really do much when he wakes up at this ungodly hour. He sort of walks around their duplex, drinks a glass of water, opens a window to breathe in that pre-sunrise air. It fills his lungs up differently than normal air. At least, it feels like it does.

Like less people are breathing it in. Like he can take up space without feeling selfish. The logic doesn’t really add up but whatever. Concepts like logic and science are overrated at four in the morning.

After another lap around the place, he slides back into the covers, drapes an arm over Eddie’s waist. His t-shirt is rumpled up to his chest, so Steve is met with linen-warm skin. His fingers curve into Eddie’s sides, pulling himself closer. 

Steve yawns, breathing out all of his pre-sunrise air. Inhales the scent of his boyfriend instead. Smiles like an idiot into the pillow because it’s totally a fair trade.

And Eddie… well, he doesn’t even budge - doesn’t even stir when Steve settles in next to him. He just continues to wheeze through his nose, mouth slightly open. Not quite a snore, but Steve will probably tease him about it in the morning regardless. 

This right here. This makes Steve’s shitty sleep cycle worth it.

The sun pokes through the window blinds. Eddie pokes Steve’s cheek. Too much poking going on for Steve who definitely didn’t get enough sleep, per usual.

“You got up last night.” Eddie mumbles, still lazily poking him. 

“How’d you know?”

“Bed felt different.”

Oh. The way Eddie says it. A crash of honesty. His voice sounds weathered, unused from sleeping. Barely awake. It sort of hits Steve’s heart like a crime he didn’t even know he was capable of committing. 

Honestly, he doesn’t get why last night would be any different. Steve gets up most nights, not just last night. But Eddie looks particularly wounded by this (new) realization, so Steve probably shouldn’t point that out right now. Maybe in the afternoon when Eddie is more alert. Less… offended.

“Well, I’m back now.” Steve grabs Eddie’s index finger, the one poking him, and places it over his own lips. Bites at it gently till Eddie pulls away in protest. He’s smiling as he swears. Lets out a string of half-hearted threats about how he’s gonna pour Steve’s hair supplies down the sink for such a vicious attack. 

It’s a little irresistible when Eddie gets like this. When he’s the pouty one instead of Steve. All he can think to do is reach out, curl his hand underneath Eddie’s chin and pull him in. Eddie moves so easily, gives up his one-sided fight long enough to kiss Steve. Hands running up his back, legs hooking around Steve’s thighs.

Drowsy, morning kisses are so good. So, so good. Their lips feel heavier, their motions feel thicker. Every touch is guided by pure need. Steve fucking needs this, to feel Eddie curving into him, arms framing his own, groaning every damn time they break away. It all makes Steve feel needed too. Needed by the guy who changed the trajectory of his life by asking Steve to ‘hang out or something’ two years ago. 

Or Something turned out to be absolutely everything.

“New rule.” Eddie huffs, drags his lips down Steve’s jaw. “For every hour you spend awake during the night, you owe me.”

Steve laughs. “I owe you, huh?”

“Mhmm. You owe me an extra hour of wallowing in bed together in the morning.”

“What about work?”

“The hours will have to rollover, I guess. Accrue interest.” Eddie lifts up from Steve’s neck, eyebrows raised. Clearly having too much fun with this. “We can hash out the details over coffee and burnt toast.”

Typically, Steve would play along, continue the little comedy routine that Eddie starts up. But he’s so damn tired from the lack of sleep and early fucking wake-up call. So instead, he tugs Eddie back down by his collar and whispers, “Whatever you say, baby.”

Because that’s what it boils down to. He’d do anything for Eddie to kiss him this deep, till their lips blister and their jaws ache. Steve would give every fragment of lovesick happiness in his heart, just to hear the way Eddie says his name all breathy and raw. 

He can’t say that out loud, dear god no. Eddie would mock his ass into next century. So Steve just hums into Eddie’s mouth, twists the collar of his shirt enough to permanently wrinkle it. They’re verging into that gray area between cable-approved makeout sessions and dry humping till the alarm goes off. If there wasn’t an alarm to worry about, Steve would already have Eddie’s boxers already his ankles and moaning his name the way he likes it best.

Whoever invented alarm clocks are the ultimate boner-killer.

Steve ducks his head into the crook of Eddie’s neck, lays a few quick kisses on top of his shoulder. Hopes that translates to, ‘I wanna suck you off till there’s nothing left, but I’m a boring fucking adult with a boring fucking job.’ 

The translation must be clear enough because Eddie rolls off of him and heads to the bathroom. Seems just as grumpy about it as Steve. Good. They can be cranky together.

When he comes back out, they get ready for their respective work shifts. Steve looks over, watches Eddie struggle with a tangled portion of his hair, before giving up.  Accepting defeat way faster than Steve ever would. “Uh, Eddie?” He tries his best to hide his snickering through the question.

“Yeah?”

“Why does it matter if I wake up sometimes?” Okay. Most times.

“You’re gone.” Eddie shrugs. “Simple as that.”

The reaction is too mellow for Eddie though. Shrugging and dismissiveness? Nah. He’s downplaying the shit out of whatever he’s feeling, and Steve’s not having it.

“What do you mean it’s simple?”

“It’s just… I don’t know. Doesn’t seem fair.” Eddie checks the clock, then sighs. “I want more time.”

More time? More time with Steve or more time in general? Either way, it doesn’t add up. They’re young - they have all the fucking time they could ever want. Also, they live together and have all the same friends. It’s not exactly a logical theory.

Then again, neither is Steve’s ‘pre-sunrise air supply’ theory. None of it makes sense. But at least they’re here. Wanting fresh air and each other. That’s enough logic for a lifetime.

“Hey.” Steve walks over and takes Eddie’s hand. He taps over his ring finger, the one that symbolizes something they can’t have. Not now, not in this society. Still. It means something. So he stares intently at it, rubs over the place where a ring might sit. Thinks that Eddie would pick out something bold. Something gaudy and perfectly him.

More time. Steve gets it, he does. He releases Eddie’s hand and nods. Smiles.

“I’ll steal us as much time as I can, Eddie Munson.”

[vaguely-concerned]

I have so many thoughts I (ironically) can't put into words yet about the use of heightened and ritualized poetic language and phrases in connection to magic in Nevarra (or possibly within the mourn watch?). they don't default to an ancient language for it like tevinter predictably seem to, and while they do have a whole scholarly language for the academic side of it -- when they're actually casting it and interacting with the dead, they speak in common but through poetry and metaphor in ways we haven't seen any other culture do. maybe the avvar, as the closest, just in a different literary tradition. they speak to the dead, but in a living language. ingellvar rook gets a bit defensive and even reproachful during emmrich's recruitment quest when the other companion makes some sort of comment to question it. 'it's watcher tradition! >:('

'Open your hearts to the final day, companion of all the ages'. even a rook who doesn't take the almost religious element of the role of watcher as seriously knows that one by heart no matter what you make them say during walking the graves. when myrna in so many words says that the necropolis is still rook's home, the way they agree with her is simply to quote 'A home in life, a berth in death...' and her smoothly finishing the thought with 'a house of many mansions'. there are several times with emmrich where rook answers something he says just by quoting from some watcher text they both clearly know well. (if you do this to weasel out of answering when he asks if you're afraid of dying, he is understandably peeved you're quoting watcher 101 stuff at him, and rook clearly knows exactly what they're doing.) this shared base of literature -- and more than that a kind of oral tradition, it sounds like? it's just What You Say when you do certain things, do you think half of this is even written down anywhere? this shared inheritance of language making for a feeling of belonging and continuity is beautiful and moving in a way but also. a bit cold and distant, all mind and no body connection. which I feel might be a running theme around the necropolis haha they mainly seem to have interest in bodies once life has vacated them, they don't give that much thought to what makes it feel good to be in one while you're here. we can only imagine the psychological effects of growing up a crypt baby in this particular cultural milieu.

you know what it reminds me of a little bit in places, actually? the way the qun uses language and set phrases to convey layers of meaning. the qunari are an oddly poetic bunch. and I think there's also something here about like... cultures whose religious side are more about philosophy and the language used than an idea of the divine as such. yeah nevarra is technically andrastian, at least on the surface, probably largely for reasons of 'ugh it would be SO inconvenient to have an exalted march called on us :/ some of us have real shit to get on with you know this body isn't going to mummify itself. sure tell orlais we'll join their dumb club or whatever'. but within and beneath that the syncretism with and survival of much older traditions are still so obviously (and double ironically!) alive. how much does your average watcher believe in god, and how much and how immediately do they believe in the grand necropolis, and in their duty to what has been, what is and what will come after them -- the quest for knowledge? memento mori ass culture to the point of absent-mindedly forgetting about everything else including god (affectionate). maybe the maker exists, but he's just not that relevant down here. he may take the souls, but we still tend the graves. render unto the chantry what's the chantry's, and unto the watcher what is theirs!!! really is the whole thing huh

[cypressmoons]

neuvillette thinks he is losing his mind.

he was perpetually alone, his figure an aquamarine blur that fades into the hustle and bustle of the city, his face only visible when he is perched upon the throne during a trial.

the chief justice didn’t think there is a need for the people of fontaine to know anything else to him besides his title and the law he has sworn to uphold. he isn’t even sure himself if there is anything else to know about him, really. the only time people have seen him outside the courtroom and not making a beeline to his residence was when he hosted a water-tasting party, to which people lauded his sharp perception of water’s different tastes but few words were uttered beyond that.

he didn’t think there is a need for personal connections, either. making any sort of acquaintance will only sway his judgement, taint his pristine reputation, and risk the absolute supremacy of law and justice. not a single soul in fontaine - no, in all of teyvat, has even heard of his first name. what is a name, if not something to make a personal connection with? just chief justice neuvillette will do, please.

he didn’t have much understanding of the concept of “the self”. he may as well be synonymous to the law itself, not merely a person chosen to uphold it, a “phase in his career”, as he says. what is the point of self awareness, when all is eventually doomed to be buried by their own sins?

the undisturbed water is most peaceful as a mirror, a tapestry of liquid silk that one finds their own reflections in. but one ripple will soon turn into more, and before he knows it, his figure blurs and fades into oblivion, justice and equity long buried beneath the surface. humans, to him, are like droplets of water that disturb that serene, almost surreal peace.

but with you, he feels the claws of want, desperation, desire, jealousy, and possessiveness scratching at his very core. he has never felt such strong emotions, let alone so many of them all at once, that he briefly considered the possibility that he has been disintegrated by the primordial sea water and reduced to a puddle.

because how could someone so selfless, so equitable, so unfalteringly composed be in love?

he does not try to understand humans. he didn’t find the necessity in it, but now he is dying to know more. he wants to memorize the way you talk, the way you move, the way you so effortlessly light up the entire room and the way you so perfectly fit against him. he’s mesmerized. he wants to know every last thing about your entire existence, the highs and lows and everything in between, he wants to engrave them into his mind lest the infinity of time washes it away.

the itchiness in his heart does not fade with every passing moment. if anything, they grow stronger, like an invisible string pulling him towards you and he finds his feet leading him to your door once more. gloved knuckles tapping at the wood, the hollow sound quickly replaced by the excited shuffle of your footsteps and before he knows it, you’ve appeared before him, basked in glorious sunlight and neuvillette feels as if all his sins have been washed away.

no, he doesn’t just want you in his life. he needs you like a fish needs water, like a bird needs the sky, like the people of fontaine need their impartial iudex.

from then on, his shadow blurs a little slower on the crowded streets, aquamarine accompanied by bright shades of pinks, purples, and yellows, the sparkling stone hanging on your necklace matching the tie pin on his cravat. but if it were up to him, he’d dress you in the finest shades of blue, just so the entire world knows you’re his, and he’s yours.

to you, he’s not monsieur neuvillette, chief justice and iudex of fontaine. though the trials continue as normal and verdicts continue to be delivered impartially, any sharp-eyed person would soon notice the sun shining brighter and rainy days shorter.

he has lived thousands of years sealed inside a bubble that no one dared breaking, in its crystalline confinement even as winter turned into spring, as pages of the calendar are flipped and flipped again. human emotions are nothing but a distraction, he told himself, the law did not need such distractions and biases.

perhaps he found human emotion superfluous because he hadn’t known you yet.

under the sheets after the night falls, when his fingers are intertwined with yours, when your skin is bathing in the ivory moonlight, his name tumbles past your lips in a soft whisper, and he catches it with his own. the name that not a single soul has uttered in millennia, now a living proof of his devotion to you.

if humans are ripples to the water's surface, then let you be an entire storm that turns his world upside down.

© cypressmoons 2023, do not copy, steal, repost, or translate.

masterlist

[graysturns]

𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕖 | 𝕞.𝕤.

3.7k+ words

note: this had me crying! please listen to will he by joji on repeat to feel what i felt okay? okay love u guys bye

warnings: toxic relationship, weed use, alcohol consumption, p in v (unprotected), oral (fem recieving).

lightly proofread

⠈⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄

“you need to fucking relax. you get so worked up over nothing and now you’re bitching and whining at me over something that has nothing to do with me!” matt yells in my direction while sifting through his hamper.

“do you really think that’s okay? some girl whispering in your ear like that? it’s obvious she had an ulterior motive. and that way she put her hand on your chest, you didn’t even try to stop her! and now you won’t tell me what she was say-“

“why can’t you drop this? it was loud and i couldn’t hear her so she leaned into me. what the fuck was i supposed to do?” he interrupts.

“i don’t know, maybe establish a boundary? you always do this. it’s like i don’t matter to you. behind closed doors it’s ‘i love you baby, i can’t live without you, you’re my whole life’, it’s like i’m dating two different people!” i mock him.

“you’re such a fucking simp when it’s the two of us but god forbid another person is around. you forget i exist!” i continue.

“you already know i don’t like pda. no one needs to know the personal details of our relationship. i’m sorry you feel that way but that’s just how i am. you’re always trying to change me.” he huffs before throwing a hoodie down on his bed.

“matt, i’m not trying to change you. i just need to know that you love me. it hurts me that you’re so indifferent towards me at times. i need to know you feel the same way i do.” i choke out, tears forming in my eyes.

suddenly, his phone buzzes. i barely see the instagram message notification before he quickly grabs it and shoves it back in his pocket.

he lowers his head before bringing a hand up to his mouth, starting to bite his nails.

“what was that?” i stare back at him.

“it was nothing.”

“so, why are you being fucking weird?”

“i’m not being weird.”

“fuck this.” i grab my bag from his chair and walk to the door of his bedroom.

“where are you going?”

“matthew, i can’t be with you. i need — no i deserve — someone who loves me the way i should be loved. it feels like i embarrass you. you think i haven’t seen the models you follow? you’re so weird about your phone these days and i don’t have the energy to ignore it anymore. i’m not enough for you, but there’s probably someone out there praying for someone like me, someone who would kiss the ground i walk on, and appreciate me for who i am. you’re not him, but i’m going to find him. have a good fucking life matt.”

he stands at the foot of the bed, arms limp and slack-jawed.

i raise my eyebrows at him, awaiting some sort of response, but he rolls his eyes before turning around, focusing on his laundry once again.

“leave then, ungrateful bitch!” he scoffs as i slam the door behind me.

-two months later-

my head is pounding from the loud music blaring all around me and the amount of shots I’ve taken, which i’ve now lost track of. i feel like shit but i need something, anything to keep my mind off matt.

a pair of hands grabs my waist as i’m dancing and leads me toward their groin. normally i’d turn around and berate the man who felt like he had the right to put his hands on me, but i really need some fucking attention.

i don’t even turn to look at him before i press my back against his chest and move my hips in circles.

i can feel him move my hair to the side and start to kiss up my neck.

gross.

i continue to move against him, focusing on the music playing loudly. i feel high and drunk at the same time and everything is so fuzzy. i feel like nothing matters anymore. i’m so numb.

i turn around and face the man. he’s tall and blonde, with blue eyes just like matt’s.

“do you wanna get out of here?” i blurt out without a second thought.

he smirks before taking my hand and leading me out the door.

matt’s pov

i lean out my window, one hand tightly gripping the sill while my other brings the joint back up to my lips, sucking the thin white smoke. i exhale through my nostrils, shutting my eyes tightly.

thirty minutes ago, a mutual friend of ours posted a snap story of her downing shots. there were multiple men all around her, watching her drown herself in liquor. she wore a tight little dress that showed off all my favorite parts of her. my blood boiled at the thought of them ravishing her with their eyes.

that particular friend group is notorious for bar-hopping, and leaving behind whoever isn’t paying attention. i can’t stand the thought of her being stranded there, unaware of her surroundings, vulnerable and an easy target for anyone waiting to take advantage of her.

i press my palms into my eyes, trying to push the thought of her away.

she isn’t my problem anymore.

a sharp sizzling noise brings my hands back down when i notice one strand of my hair is smoking, the joint still between my pointer and middle finger.

“fuck.” i press the joint into the small ashtray she made me, when we went on a date to the pottery studio.

“fuck!” i yell out the window, wanting to throw the small ceramic out onto the street, but i can’t.

i’m such an idiot. she’s the only thing i’ve ever cared about, and now she’s out there, probably fucking someone new. but there’s nothing i can do about it, she isn’t mine anymore.

i stand up and shut the window, grabbing a hoodie from the chair and throwing it on before heading out to my car.

the drive is short and quiet. i pull up to the outside of her apartment building and park underneath a tree, far enough away to remain unnoticed but close enough to watch.

about twenty minutes pass by, and my nails are bitten to nubs, when a silver car pulls into the spot right in front of her door. i watch as she stumbles out, dragging some tall, frat-boyish idiot out behind her. she sloppily waves goodbye at the car as it zooms away.

i feel my ears heat up as she stumbles in to her apartment, bringing him inside with her.

it takes everything in me not to bust in there and rip him off of her. my mind runs wild thinking of what he could be doing to her in there.

reader’s pov

we exit the car and i wave goodbye to the nice man who dropped us off. i fumble with my keys a little before going inside.

“welcome to my home!” i throw my hands up and giggle.

“wow, it’s very.. cute.” he stands with his hands in his pockets, looking around at the stuffed animals on my couch.

i grab his hand and lead him up the stairs to my bedroom. “i don’t normally do this, but i just need to fuck and you seem like the kinda guy whose down.. for that kinda thing.” i slur my words as we enter my bedroom.

“yeah i’m so down, i think you’re really hot.” he chuckles before eyeing me up and down.

i roll my eyes internally before slipping my dress off and kicking it aside.

“okay let’s do it!” i clasp my hands together and giggle softly.

he smirks before pushing me onto the bed. “what a little slut, giving it up for a guy you just met at the club, and you’re not even wearing underwear, i love it.” he bites his lip before getting down on his knees.

he places a kiss on my navel before harshly sucking on my clit, with no warning.

i yelp out in pain, and not the good kind.

i can’t stop thinking of matt, how good he is at this, how i miss his tongue on my skin.

he begins to lick my outer folds, before slamming a finger into my cervix.

“fuck!”

“what’s wrong?” he looks at me bewildered.

“i’m not even wet, dude? have you ever eaten pussy in your life?”

he nods quickly before traveling up to my breast, and massages it slowly before biting down harshly on my left nipple.

“ow! oh my god, what is happening to me right now?” i blurt out.

matt was always so gentle.

he has a sad look in his eyes, and i begin to feel sorry for him.

“no, look, i’m sorry. come here,” i gesture at him to get on the bed and hover over me.

“i have lube on the nightstand, it’s okay,” i reach over and grab it, pumping some on my hand before spreading it around my clit and folds.

he pulls his shirt and pants off, before pulling his cock out and teasing the head on me, still in his boxers.

i look down and see them bunched around his knees and get the biggest ick.

before he enters me, i stop him with a hand on his chest.

“i’m not on birth control, you need a condom.” i lie to his face.

i always let matt finish inside me.

he smirks at me again, “that’s okay, i can pull out.”

“okay, no. i’m sorry this isn’t working out.” i roll out from under him and open my bedroom door.

“i think you should go.” i lower my gaze.

“no i can do better! i promise!” he pleads.

“get the fuck out man! now! go! go! leave!”

he quickly grabs his things and pulls up his boxers before tripping.

oh my god. i’ve never been so disgusted in my life. i cover my face in embarrassment.

matt would never give me this much second-hand embarrassment.

he stands, knees shaking and running down the stairs with his clothes bunched up in his arms. the door slams and i let out a sigh.

i feel disgusting.

after crying on my bed for a good five minutes, i look in the mirror and see a splotchy, nude mess. there’s mascara on my cheeks and my hair is a birds nest atop my head.

i need a shower.

in the bathroom, i turn the shower on high heat and step underneath the running water.

i wash my hair and face, then proceed to scrub my skin raw everywhere he touched me. my skin is red and burning by the time i exit the shower but i can still feel his grimy hands on me.

with a plush towel, i pat myself down before wrapping my hair up and going back into my bedroom to blow dry my hair.

halfway through, i hear my phone ding from the nightstand, where i had hooked it up to charge. i slowly walk over and peek at the screen.

it’s matt.

matt’s pov

my knuckles turn white from the grip i’ve got on the steering wheel. the windows are down, allowing the cool air to come in, helping me control my breathing.

a door slams and i jerk my head in the direction of her apartment. i chuckle slightly at the scene before me.

the same man, is now outside, standing in his underwear with all his belongings bundled up under his arm. not even five minutes after he had gone inside. his cheeks burn a bright red as he drops everything to quickly get dressed.

that bad, huh?

i snap a picture quickly and try to keep myself from laughing out loud.

this may be her first time trying to get back out there, but i can’t imagine how difficult it’d be for her to allow a man back in her bed after she’s had me.

i roll my windows up so i can watch him without being noticed. he’s scrambling to do something on his phone, shaking and crying.

how pathetic.

i can’t imagine how she’s feeling, probably sad, angry, maybe even missing me.

i decide to wait another twenty minutes. in the meantime, the mystery man is sat up against the wall crying into his hands.

finally, a car comes and he practically jumps in. they drive away pretty quickly.

i pull my phone out and shoot her a quick text. i miss her so bad, and i think she may be upset enough to actually hear me out.

thirty seconds pass and her name is on my screen, vibrating.

i slowly slide the answer button before bringing it up to my ear.

“hey baby,” i breathe out.

“uh.. hey,” she whispers.

“can we talk?”

“yeah i think that would be good.. can you come over now?”

“i’m already outside, sweetheart” i chuckle before pulling my key from the ignition.

reader’s pov

my heart is beating out of my chest.

he’s outside.

how long has he been out there?

did he see him?

fuck.

fuck!

there’s a small knock at the door, i quickly grab my robe from the hook of my bedroom door and slide it on, then run down the stairs.

i open the door to see matt, with his hair all fluffy and stubble on his jaw.

“hi matty,” i let out meekly, opening the door wider to let him in.

he smiles and follows me inside, shutting the door before grabbing my wrist and pulling me into a tight hug.

i feel my body relax into his warm plush hoodie, letting go of all the stress built up inside me. i wrap my legs around his waist and he carries me to the couch, covered in all the stuffies he had bought me. he takes a seat, and leans his head on my shoulder, exhaling softly into my neck. i twist my body so i’m on my side, laying between his legs, my head in the spot where his neck and shoulder meet, his hold on me still firm.

“baby,” he rubs small circles on my thigh.

“hm?” i look up at him through my lashes.

“i’m sorry. for everything. i took you for granted, and i shouldn’t have. you mean the world to me.” he sighs.

“you did. you hurt me a lot matt.”

“that girl, she was flirting with me and she kept messaging me, but nothing ever happened, i ignored all her messages but she wouldn’t sto-“

“i don’t want to talk about her right now, please.” tears threaten to spill over.

“i know, i know, i’m sorry. i just really need you to know i was never unloyal. i was just in a rough spot and i took it out on you. i didn’t know how to handle my emotions.”

i nod softly.

“and i’m sorry for calling you those names. and cursing at you. i hate myself for disrespecting you. these last two months have been absolute hell for me. i can’t get you out of my head, sweetheart.”

i nod again.

“i’m sorry for not showing you off, you’re the most beautiful woman on this planet, and i hate the thought of anyone looking at what’s mine and-and trying to pick you apart to get to me. i like keeping you my secret, that way you’re safe from the world around us.”

i raise an eyebrow at him.

“but that doesn’t mean i’m not going to do it. you’re worth so much more than you know to me. you deserve to be showered with love and adoration. you deserve everything, baby.”

i sit up slightly. “what does this mean, matt?”

he runs a hand through his fluffy hair before resting it on my hip. “it means i want to be with you, i can’t stand the thought of you being with anyone else. i’m ready to be the man you need me to be, if you’ll let me.” he looks at me with hopeful, bloodshot eyes.

i lean in and kiss him softly, resting my hand on his jaw.

he kisses me back with urgency before i pull away.

a tear slips down his face, breaking my heart into a million pieces.

“matty no,” i cry out and swipe it away, kissing him again.

“i love you. i need you back, please. if i need to get on my knees right here, i will.”

“please don’t get on your knees, you’re gonna make me cry.” i give him a small smile before curling up in his chest.

he wraps his arms around me and kisses my head. “can we go to bed, please?”

“of course,” i stand, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from his spot on the couch, leading him up the stairs.

he takes a seat on the edge of the bed, grabbing my hips and pressing his head against my abdomen, kissing me sweetly over my robe.

i bend down to his level and press my forehead against his, our noses touching.

“matt, i love you more than anything.” i whisper into his lips.

he grabs me and places me on his lap, so i’m straddling him, before he kisses me passionately.

“i missed this, so so much.” he sighs.

he lies back and kisses me with so much love, i feel my heart pounding through my chest.

i undo the tie at the front of the robe and start to pull it off my shoulders, leaving me bare.

“no, we don’t have to, i don’t want to make you feel pressured.” he grabs a hold of my elbow.

“no matt, i need this, please.” i plead at him with my eyes.

“you don’t have to ask me again, sweetheart,” he smiles before kissing my nose and flips us over, so i’m on my back.

he travels down to the valley of my breasts, leaving sweet, tender kisses along the way, then, a kiss on each of my hardened nipples. he takes the left one in his mouth and sucks softly while his free hand caresses the other, circling my nipple with his thumb.

he’s so gentle.

he focuses his mouth on the other for a minute, before traveling down to my glistening bundle of nerves.

“you’re so wet for me already, baby,” he gasps before running a finger up to my clit, collecting my arousal on his fingertip.

he pops it in his mouth, his eyes rolling back at the taste of me. i clench my legs together in desperation.

running his hand along the hem of his hoodie, he pulls it off, along with his sweatpants and boxers. his cock springs up, and i’m so happy to see him.

matt lies on his stomach, propped up by his elbows, before diving his face into my throbbing cunt.

he teases by moving his tongue in circles around the clit, then lays his tongue flat, making me shake uncontrollably under his touch.

oh, how i missed that tongue.

i squeeze his head with my thighs from the pleasure he’s giving me and he chuckles, his hot breath tickling my clit. he starts to place soft kitten licks on my sensitive spot before running a finger around the ‘u’ shape of my entrance, then slowly pushing it in.

i let out a loud moan. “matt! i need you please,”

“patience baby, i’m just getting started.” he starts to fuck my hole with his tongue, and i let out a scream.

“i can’t, i can’t wait!” i sit up and grab his hand, pulling him up towards me.

he smiles cheekily then positions himself at my entrance, teasing me up and down. i grab the back of his head and press our foreheads together, kissing him roughly.

“fuck me matt, i need you to fuck me.” i pull my knees up to my chest, opening my legs wide for him to enter.

first, he puts the tip in, and pulls it back out. then he thrusts forward, agonizingly slow.

his face contorts in pleasure, as if it were his first time.

then he picks up the pace, swinging his hips against me, groaning and praising my body.

i’m clawing at his back, desperate for his cock to go further inside me.

“matty please, deeper,” i whine.

“patience baby, patience.” he rolls his hips, causing me to let out a long string of curses.

i start to buck up my hips, wanting more.

“i said be patient baby. fuck,” he flips me around and pulls my hips up, so my face is buried in the pillows, before ramming into me from behind. i let out another scream, this time muffled by the pillows.

he grabs onto my hair and pulls my head back, slamming into me over and over again. i can feel the tip deep inside me, rearranging and disrupting whatever organs in its way.

the sounds of his groans and skin slapping make me feel fuzzy and light, i can feel my orgasm creeping up on me.

“matt, i’m gonna-“

“i know sweetheart, hold it for me, i’m almost there.” he bring his hand down to where we meet and rubs circles around my clit, causing me to clench around him.

my legs start to shake uncontrollably as i finish on his dick, and his thrusts slow down as he fills me up with cum.

matt came inside me. and it felt so good.

he pulls out and watches intently as it drips down my leg, then reaches over to the nightstand to grab a tissue. he wipes up my leg and around my pussy and throws the tissue at the waste bin in the corner, then falls beside me, pulling me into his arms.

he pulls the comforter out from underneath us and covers me, then reaches over to turn the lamp off. i snuggle into him, nuzzling my face into his neck.

“i’m so happy you’re back, i was dying without you.” i whisper into his neck.

“believe me, i know.” he kisses my head.

i close my eyes and start to drift off before he asks, “who was that guy that left here, crying?”

i widen my mouth in embarrassment. “fuck matt, you know about that?”

“yeah, i was uh, gathering up the courage to talk to you, and i saw him there. who was he?” he trails off.

“he was nobody. a disappointment, a distraction.”

“did you fuck him? before we uh, you know?” he asks with sad eyes.

i kiss him sweetly. “no baby, all he did was remind me how much i needed you.”

he sighs in satisfaction and pulls me closer. “i’m never letting you go again.”

⠈⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄

this is probably my favorite thing. i love it. hope you guys love it too 🤍

comment on this post to be added to my tag list! :)

tags??:

@imwetforyourmom @anonymouslyachrisgirl @junnniiieee07

[necrotic-nephilim]

any opinions on joker junior!tim/jason?

oh my GOD yes-

Joker Junior!Tim is one of my guilty pleasures. i'm *obsessed* with the concept, i think it's so horrifying in such an intriguing way. it's tricky to work into the main timeline, but that's sort of the fun of it, bc generally you have two routes: Joker Junior happened to Tim when he was Robin and he's since moved on and continued to be Robin then Red Robin. or it happened to him as Red Robin and is a current thing that the characters in the fic are dealing with. and both are good.

because there's endless potential of how to do it with JayTIm. does Jason save Tim, does Jason *know* in the first place, if it happens after Jason is back as Red Hood how does he react, etc. i've read it in fics and i love every version.

but i think i'm intrigued by the idea of Joker Junior happening before Jason comes back as Red Hood and he finds out about it and he's *pissed*. like infinitely more pissed than he would've been. but his anger isn't in protection of Tim, it's at Bruce for not learning, for letting this happen again. and for making a brainwashed child have to kill Joker because *again*, Bruce couldn't do it. the point isn't about if Joker is alive or dead. it's that *Bruce* didn't kill Joker and Jason's death didn't mean enough to Bruce to stop Joker before he did it again. because Joker Junior really is the proof Jason needs to shove in Bruce's face about child sidekicks and Robins and Joker. and since Jason didn't exist in the universe where Joker Junior happened, we never saw a real comparison of the two. but i think if they happened in the same universe, it makes what Joker does to Tim far more purposeful. because now he knows he can kill a Robin and *get away with it*. so he wants to push it. how do you top *killing Robin*? like, if that doesn't get to Batman *what does*? Joker Junior seems like the perfectly reasonable next progression. if a dead Robin doesn't break the Bat, then breaking Robin beyond recognition seems even bigger. and Joker trying to get Tim to kill Bruce as Joker Junior would likely be Joker just seeing if Bruce would let it happen. could Bruce bring himself to stop Tim? and of course Joker doesn't find out bc Tim kills him instead, but it's such a fun question.

and so, i think Jason would *know* his death in a way, caused this. Joker did that to Tim because he didn't get enough of a rise out of Bruce for killing Jason. if Bruce had *just* killed the Joker, none of this would've happened. another kid wouldn't be irrevocably fucked up.

as for Jason's opinions on Tim specifically, i think it's fun if Tim retires from vigilante work entirely after the incident. (with Steph taking over as Robin for a much longer and more significant period instead of just getting fridged) because Tim has very black and white morals so knowing he killed someone, even under the influence of Joker venom, he'd immediately put down the cape, suggest Steph to take up his mantle and quietly retire. he knows what he's capable of now, pushed to the edge and it scares him. i think it's fun if it scares him *because* he was lucid. if he was truly under the brainwashing control, he would've killed Bruce. but he didn't. he had a moment of clarity, and decided to kill the Joker. and he knows that was *him*, not Joker Junior. he made that decision and now, he lives with it.

which means Jason would be almost pissed off by Tim, at first. because they're reacting to their trauma *wildly* differently. Jason wants blood for blood, vengeance, war, and to make Gotham feel his wrath. but Tim just wants to. disappear. quietly vanish and live a quiet life, even refusing to run comms. Jason doesn't understand how TIm doesn't share the anger and passion Jason has for justice. he knows what Tim is capable of and so does Tim, so why doesn't Tim lean into it? why doesn't he take back control? bc this is letting the Joker win, to Jason. after all, Jason is the guy who took Joker's old name to prove a point. and now he's facing another person broken by Joker who just. is a normal guy. i'd love to write Jason forcibly dragging Tim back into the superhero life, trying to trigger the worst out of him and wanting to find kinship in Tim. because that's another part of it- this is someone else who might actually understand Jason's experiences and Jason just wants to not be alone. he wants someone else who gets what it feels like. so he makes Tim face the trauma Tim is running from and pushes and pushes until Tim snaps. i think it could be fun.

don't get me wrong, i love softer JJ!Tim in JayTim stuff just as much, where Jason is more protective and they bond and end up really close and taking care of each other because of it. but i'd love to lean into the fucked up nature of it. for Jason to want to rip Tim open and see just how much of the Joker is left inside of him. for Jason to be obsessed with the other Robin that Joker broke. for Jason to be even angrier at Bruce because of it all. there's endless potential and it will forever remain my guilty pleasure for JayTim.

[kingofanemptyworld]

Rin, identity issues, and the complications of being an isolated, alienated teenager

It feels sort of weird to say but I generally don’t head canon characters as having particular sexualities. Whatever people go for in fics is usually fine with me - gay, lesbian, bi, pan, something more general like queer. As long as it makes sense for the story they’ve built and the character they’ve shaped to fit it, I’m good. Unless you’re ignoring a canon LGBTQ+ sexuality, in which case, yeah, I’ll take issue with that.

But anyway. Rin.

I’ve got my personal ship for him (BonRin my beloved), but regardless of the pairing I see him as bisexual. He’s so open with his infatuation with Shiemi, and okay, sure, fandom likes to ignore the love interest in shounen for the most part because we’ve got gay ships to peddle. But I don’t see the point in that unless it really reads like it’s a front, or a result of a character suppressing themselves for one reason or another. And with Rin, I think it’s pretty clear his affection for Shiemi is sincere. You technically have the in-universe evidence of the demon that brought out his true desires to back that up, but even without it, Rin likes her. It’s complicated because of Yukio and Shiemi’s own inexperience with romance, and yet I never once doubt he really likes her.

That being said… he’s very appreciative of the guys in his life, too. (Peddling my gay ship here) Bon in particular, considering he’s often admiring how cool he thinks Bon is, that his haircut suits him whether it’s the blonde rooster look or the undercut. If you don’t want to see it as romantic interest, that’s your prerogative, but to me Rin comes across as seeing cool and cute as different traits he finds attractive (in Bon and Shiemi respectively).

I also think his bisexuality would fit neatly into his narrative struggles to “pass” throughout the early parts of the series. Rin has grown up as the neighborhood problem child, ostracized for being violent, and eventually he decides he’s fine with just his brother and his father — and the rest of the monastery, presumably — for company. (Except that’s absolutely not true and clearly he’s starved for friendship and support.) People looked at him and saw a monster, even before his demonic heritage made an appearance; why would he bother giving them even more ammunition when it comes to reasons to hate him? So no matter when he figured out his attraction to guys, he’s not going to lean into it, because he also likes girls, right? (Ignoring for a moment that bisexuality is a lot more nuanced than that.)

Rin likes girls, Rin is human — that’s what’s going to get people to like him, or at the very least tolerate him. That he likes guys, that he’s half demon, he can shove that shit down and pretend it doesn’t exist. Lock up any stray thoughts and keep the sword sheathed around anyone who doesn’t already know.

(Excuse me for being amused by Rin wielding his humanity and supposed heterosexuality as a sword and shield.)

The problem, of course, is that he can’t keep up the facade forever. The narrative won’t let him. Rin has to embrace his demonic side, because it’s the only way to move forward and to continue to help his loved ones. And once he’s moved past the issue of his friends being upset over the deception, when they understand he’s still Rin despite what he’d hidden from them, Rin is finally allowed to be himself. He uses his flames, he lets his tail move freely in the open around the Cram School kids. Rin still doesn’t like this side of himself — it’s inextricably tied to every moment of pain and isolation he’s dealt with his entire life, including the death of Father Fujimoto (and, y’know, his mom). But he is moving forward, he’s trying to adapt.

And isn’t that some great fucking subtext for his bisexuality, too?

[grunckle]

Some disjointed thoughts on the Void Sea and the subconcious

I really just wanted to write something quickly on this, it’s not so much a theory as it is just a small analysis on the general mood of the ending, with a little contextualizing with in game dialogue.

So the subconscious is such a mysterious yet integral part to understanding the more spiritual/alien parts of Rain World. This isn’t a world in which the eldritch and unknowable lurk in the far reaches of space, but rather appear through our own minds and subconscious.

Echos appear in dream like sequences, where all other life except scavengers (in vanilla) fall asleep.

Karma flowers allow us to contact imagined worlds, other selves, dreams, and memories.

Eating a neuron of an iterator allows us to perceive voidspawn.

Our karma is raised through the mark of communication, which is linked to the brain in some way judging by Five Pebbles’s slideshow.

And, beyond that, plenty of cerebral/brainy imagery and concepts are present.

“Cabinet beasts” (the organ-like worms found in Memory Crypts) are likely some sort or mutated brain tissue, I talk about it more in this post.

Void worms also have a neural texture that covers their skin.

There’s the cut brain tree, which made it back in the game (though pretty unceremoniously) in Downpour.

And then of course there’s iterators, massive brains that are the last long-standing remnant of the benefactors’ civilization, and serve as the main driving forces of the game’s side plot.

I bring all this up just to show how cerebral and subconscious elements are pretty prevalent throughout the game, and it provides some context to my thoughts on the Void Sea.

That being said, I think the Void Sea acts as a collective unconscious, a place where the many worlds and selves of the subconscious coalesce into one, dream-like existence.

Echos appear in dream-like sequences, but are still experienced by nearby scavs. They even have different personalities and reactions to it, some being curious, while others are afraid.

Continuing on this, benefactors experienced the same dreams we do in Subterranean, shown through white pearl dialogue.

“Oh, interesting. This is a diary entry of a pre-Iterator era laborer during the construction of the subterranean transit system south of here. In it they describe restless nights filled with disturbing dreams, where millions glowing stars move menacingly in the distance”

These go towards the idea of the Void Sea and other void related phenomena existing as a sort of collective unconsciousness, experienced through hazy dreams and hallucinogenic plants by many.

But then there’s the “egg” sequence, where you swim in unison with others just like yourself. I think these are the “selves of other planes” mentioned by Moon in the Karma Flower dialogue, and I think that same dialogue is indicative on what the nature of the Void is. It’s detaching yourself from your carnal body and coming in contact with your own subconscious, and possibly the subconscious of others. Think of it like a big mind soup.

Anyway this really resonated with me because I distinctly remember the feeling I had the first time I went through Depths. As the caves around me started melting, it felt like I was descending deeper and deeper into a dream I couldn’t wake up from. That packed with the genuine horror of seeing the worms, and the dreamy ending, it really left a lasting impression.

Halfway through writing this, I realized it’s a bit longer than I was initially expecting, but I hope I managed to convey the general vibe I got.

[margle]

thinking about the parallels between cricket's arc with dee and the waitress's arc with charlie. and how they mimic the interesting ways iasip both follows and breaks sitcom traditions.

s16 demonstrates these parallels and differences with the bowling episode vs the gang gets cursed. the waitress and cricket are both now narratively removed from the people who catapulted them into the gang's radius of destructive behaviour.

the difference lies in how the characters have changed: cricket has only gotten more cartoonish and more entrenched into the sitcom formula of flanderisation. whereas the waitress has gotten more unpredictable. a crucial part of her characterisation is how she is a changing character: she has periods where she is doing well or really badly. but in the most recent season she seems to break away from the sitcom formula even more. her will-they-wont-they and stalker/victim arc with charlie kinda fizzled out in s12/13 when charlie actually banged the waitress. in sitcom tradition, this arc would have kept going until the show ended (like it was sort of meant to in s12).

but since then, her character has had a more vague purpose with the gang (in the same way cricket is no longer tied to any specific character). in s15, her plot's were nearly all related to dee instead of charlie: she became dee's foil. (she has had plots with dee in the past obviously but her wider arcs were usually surrounding charlie). in s16 this switch seemed to be finalised. in the gang goes bowling, charlie attempts to distract the waitress but neither character is fully into it. he is distracted and uninterested. it seems like the show is satirising the sitcom never-ending will-they-wont-they tradition. instead of sparking a new cycle of obsession from charlie, he runs off to play games.

cricket was tied with mac in s16. but his relationship with mac seemed purely to move the plot forward. he is still a sitcom-y character that is governed by the show's non-serialised format. he turns up for comedic value or an episode's plot. he doesn't seem to exist outside of the gang (a cricket's tale satirises his lack of a story beyond the gang) and never changes aside from getting more flanderised.

in comparison, there are many ways the waitress ignores sitcom traditions in the show: her appearance and wants changing between seasons, clearly always having a life away from the gang, proving she can move on from two separate long-running tropey romantic arcs (unrequited love with dennis and will-they-wont-they with charlie) instead of having them continue until the show ends, even breaking the long-running joke of no-one ever standing up for dee.

although they are both trapped in cycles, the waitress seems to be the opposite of the gang's and cricket's stagnancy.

[baenyth]

We need more Danganronpa characters as evil groups, but not the Ultimate Despair or its remnants. Too abstract. Too bland. Fuck despair. Fuck Junko. I'm either killing her off or she doesn't exist. Danganronpa villain groups completely distanced from the Ultimate Despair:

Makoto Naegi is the charismatic head of a dictatorship. Perhaps he believes this is what's best for the world. Or he just wants a throne to sit on. This is an alternative timeline, maybe he's evil here. Either way, he managed to rope in his 14 other classmates into joining him in his empire. Byakuya uses the Togami Corporation to clench Makoto's rule and fund projects wherever he can. He's also a consultant, alongside Yasuhiro Hagakure. Kyoko Kirigiri is the head of the espionage department, with Chihiro as the second-in-command and head of data management. Kiyotaka manages the police force, acting as judge, jury, and executioner. Mondo, Sakura, Aoi, and Mukuro all work in Makoto's army. Sayaka, Leon, Hifumi, and Toko work in the entertainment (or in other words, propaganda,) division. Genocider is allowed to kill any pretty boys the espionage department lets her. Celestia rules over her own chunk of land as gothic lolita queen and is arguably the loosest link, but ultimately still abides by Makoto's laws.

The Danganronpa V3 cast has been corrupted into animalistic monsters, think Steven Universe. Gonta's body has been converted into a flying hive for all manner of bugs, all sorts of flyers coming from his eyesockets and mouth carrying centipedes, spiders, and other flightless bugs so they all can feed and bring food back to the husk that was once a gentleman. Kirumi now resembles a marble statue with a blindfold over her eyes and a clock on her backside, where her four arms and four legs move in orderly, yet seemingly random fashions. If you come across her, you have to play a game of following her increasingly complex commands, often akin to a game of Simon Says, or risk searing throbbing pain. Kiibo is one of the more threatening ones. With his body inorganic and unable to be distorted like the others, his mind was merely warped into malware that can possess anything with a computer inside it. This includes cell phones, calculators, thermostats, cars with built-in GPSes and cameras, etc. His body, the source of the malware, is still unknown. A two-faced gorgon obsessed with creating rudimentary-yet-effective deathtraps. A gorgeous and colorful false angel. A blob of goo that somehow knows how to use various machinery. Perhaps the three survivors are akin to the Crystal Gems here, survivors in a different sense here, the ones fighting their former friends for the sake of everyone else.

Ruruka Ando as the queen of what is essentially candyland, with Sonosuke Izayoi as her knight in sweet, delicious, and surprisingly durable armor. All citizens in her expanding country are given free sweets to devour, and those who don't are punished for their insolence.

Finally, the cast of Super Danganronpa 2 are a team of mercenaries. Evil goons for hire, as that's what they've been typecast as at this point. Maybe life has just been really harsh on them and NezumiVA was right. Or maybe this is similar to canon, where they got puppeted into evil and were eventually freed, only to annihilate their reputation by continuing to pose as villains, effectively pigeonholing themselves into evil from society's eyes. As for what they could do: Kazuichi could build a robotic army or just machines for the lower mooks to ride on. Sonia, Fuyuhiko, and Twogami could all rule conquered provinces in the empire. Nekomaru could command minions while Akane and Peko act as elite troops. Ibuki could too, considering the lethality of her music, or she could act in espionage alongside Mahiru and Hiyoko, considering her hearing skills. Gundham could add various animals to the armada. Teruteru can produce food for the army. Mikan is literally a medic. Izuru Kamakura lives on, and is the Ultimate Ultimate. Possibly even more, considering the timeline. Nagito Komaeda is the equivalent of one of those really small cylinders of play-doh that are wider than they are tall. I can't imagine Chiaki being in the group, however. Either way, I can imagine this quirky miniboss squad having various unique interactions with our heroes, whoever they may be. I'd imagine Nekomaru would befriend the heroes in an odd way, being supportive of their strength and a fair fighter despite being on the villain's side, while Teruteru would repulse our heroes for being a sexual harasser, for example.

Also @goshdangronpa I want you to look at this, girlie. Read it all. Soak it up.

[atanxdoesstuff]

"Whenever I die... my memories are uploaded into a new body. But are they really 'mine'?"

aand my WIP is done! done-ish. idk what to add anymore; rendering is a social construct

ramblings + timelapse under the cut!

awright, so this piece was originally part of a comic-thing that i sketched out in my sketchbook. but it was just something i slapped on figuring i'd rework the composition later. well, i couldn't. it was too crowded. so this is severely reduced from the original plan.

the gist of it is that: obv the top left connor is connor-51. the side connor is actually connor-52. 51 died in "the hostage", but he did still manage to save emma! (i blame dbh youtube poop for making me think connor and daniel could shoot each other. so even tho thats not canon, let's just pretend that happened here lol)

now when you move files on your device, you aren't actually moving them. what you're doing is essentially copying the file into a new location and erasing the original. and based on this premise, i have inflicted an existential crisis on 52! :D it's sort of similar to soma, and their brain scans. is 52 the same person as 51? is it a continued existence or did 51 as a person die on that terrace, with 52 just simulating continued existence?

the game has conflicting stances there: on one hand, connor often says shit like "my predecessor was destroyed", implying that he thinks he's a different person. on the other, he also says shit like "i'll be back" and "this isn't over". and additionally, if hank has chosen to force quit life but connor still turns deviant, connor gets wrecked by 60 and to win, "transfers" himself into 60's unharmed body. and this is framed like an actual transfer.

i feel like if the data is "moved", it's not the same person anymore. to ensure the data transfer doesn't essentially kill the person and resurrect them as a clone of themselves, I think you'd need to physically disconnect, move and reconnect the memory storage device. if we're basing android physiology on currently existing tech, at least. but that's just my headcanon i use to inflict existential dread.

and here's the timelapse! :))

as you can see I've struggled a lot with this work :P i think i got to a point where this looks pretty fine to me (i still really like how i drew 52 here), although it could deffo be better.

i really want to also draw markus more. i've never even made a proper illustration for him but honestly i tried to digitally paint the grenade launcher scene bc its so pretty and i failed miserably. painting in digital is so hard?? idk i should research some stuff on how to do that because i really want to paint that scene still.

also north. north with the grenade launcher :O fuck i want north with the grenade launcher.

[calypsolemon]

I wanna hear about your favorite au you've made, I'm curious!

ack that's really hard to say any particular one is my favorite, though I have ones that I like over others.

Obviously, I've had transcendent au for the longest and probably have the most fondness and nostalgia for it. In short (and it should be said VERY short as this is a long and complicated au), it's an au where the ninja attempt to defy the destiny that has beaten them down for so long, but in the course of doing so they rise to meet it, destroying the world and becoming the gods of a new world in the process. I cannot call this au purely mine alone as it was a collaborative effort between members of my lego server. It's also probably the most messy, containing a lot of immature and underdeveloped thoughts on ninjago as a series, as well as just my emotional state at the time which was "angry abuse victim who just moved out of their childhood home." Over time my thoughts on the events of the au have evolved drastically and thusly the meaning of it has too, which isn't a bad thing. But it does mean its not really as streamlined or coherent as something I'd create now that I'm a bit older.

Oldman Lloyd au is also one of my favorites, and it sort of exists as a response to aspects of transcendent au I find myself now disagreeing with. Essentially, its just my imaging of what Lloyd's life will look like in the far future, where he has been doing the green ninja/ master lloyd/ conduit thing for enough ages that it has all become routine. This one is nowhere near as developed, existing mostly as a set of loosely connected vignettes in my mind. Still, what drives me to it is just the idea of following Lloyd thousands of years into the future, and seeing that he still has a life filled with meaning and friends he cares about even if they aren't the same set of friends he started with, something that I think the fandom is often hesitant to dwell upon.

Splinter-hearted, my adaptation of the classic fairytale "The Snow Queen," was at one time a ninjago au, which you might know if you've been around long enough. It was pretty straightforward, just a version of the Snow Queen where the characters were replaced with ninjago characters, having Nya as Gerda, Kai as Kay and Zane as the titular Snow Queen. However it isn't anymore as I quickly realized the characters were just too different from their ninjago counterparts, and the story wasn't benefiting much from continuing to keep them connected to ninjago. Still, I feel grateful to that early version for giving me the spark that would eventually lead to a more original story.

Finally, and most recently, I've been obsessed with my siren Jay/ With Your Voice au. Since it's the most recent it's not as developed, but I think I've seen very few au's of its nature in the fandom, so I've latched onto it. Essentially, it is an au about Nya struggling to cope with the loss of Jay (who is dead in this version of things), and her spiral into obsessive and self-destructive behavior as she chases a dangerous mythological creature that takes on Jay's likeness (the siren). It's kind of my first attempts at something of a horror story in one of my au's! I'm really excited to keep hashing it out in my mind.

This might just sound like I copped out because I listed so many au's in one post but tbh I actually have come up with many MANY au's for ninjago over the years. Most of them simply haven't been posted about on this blog because they just weren't focused on that long by me, weren't that interesting in the long run, didn't have much going on that would make good art pieces, etc. I still find many of them precious to me but I think these four are the ones I'm holding closest to my heart at this moment. Thank you for asking!

[drzootsuit]

Been watching through Samurai Champloo recently and man this shit slaps.

What if there were two warriors of equal skill but differing principles who were color coded red and blue and who constantly came into conflict because of their differing temperaments and views, with one being a cold stoic and the other a hot-blooded wildman... and then both of them, in time around each other and with the audience, reveal themselves to be more, with the stoic revealing himself to be deeper and more emotionally vulnerable than he wishes to be, and the wildman revealing himself to be detached in his own ways, both reflecting the emotional landscape of what it means to be a dedicated warrior and how such a life weighs on the soul. I also really like the structure of the stories. Most episodes deal with some kind of injustice, be it xenophobia, human trafficking, abuse of government power, lack of divorce, or what have you, which I feel like is meant to make a particular point about the ways modern societies are constructed. The show is intentionally anachronistic in small places, and while one could see it as being stylistic, I view it as a way of saying "here is the past. Historical period Edo japan. Here is all of the injustice, both personal and governmental, that this era labored under in a burden of hypocrisy where the continuing modernization of the formal systems and life sits in relief to antiquated forms of violence and control. How does that differ from our modern world?" A world where, at the end of things, violence is still the root of all social control. Where injustice of the sort we picture romantic knights and samurai as fighting still exists. Every story the show has, of whores and bureaucrats and artists and criminals and tourists and blowhards and stoics and wildmen... all of those people still exist today. The same stories play out. You could move Jin and Mugen to the modern world, put them in some Pulp Fiction suits, and they wouldn't need a single adjustment to their personalities to work. The incredible hip-hop soundtrack that underscores the show makes this point too, I think. It takes a highly modern sound and says "this is the sound of this story. this is not a disconnected period drama where this injustice is a maudlin thing to click our tongues at as advanced space people. this is the sound of our modern streets, and the sound of the Samurai. Your world and theirs are the same." Anyway I think Jin and Mugen should fight until they're half dead and then kiss passionately with tongue and then refuse to ever acknowledge it if asked.

[anulithots]

Attempting to analyze Cheng Xiaoshi’s arc over the course of season one. 

(I watched too much arcane analysis, which tends to combine plot and character analysis - I tend to focus on underlying character essence - and here I attempt to use a similar thinking in relation to Link Click season one. THIS IS NOT FINISHED but I won't be on tumblr after today. Once I finish, I'll post it here). 

We’ll continue slightly out of order. Writers craft their stories in iterations and long nights, so I’d assume direct arcs string themselves in differing episodes and aren’t the most linear process in existence. It’s a mess. I know. Hopefully, I can consolidate it all at the end! 

(I’m writing this in a fancy font on google docs first and now this sounds like an academic paper. … I’m sorry.) 

The noodle ladies - 

Wu Xia and Lin Zhen act as direct parallels to Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi. One might think Lin Zhen - with her quiet, mellow nature and her upkeep of the shop itself - represents Lu Guang. Wu Xia - louder, impulsive, and stubborn - parallels Cheng Xiaoshi. The show itself supports this. Cheng Xiaoshi acts as Wu Xia and Lin Zhen poses as this mysterious secret-keeper. 

Until the last dive. 

Cheng Xiaoshi - idealistic, sentimental, moral, if not ethical, to a fault - possesses Lin Zhen. 

Wu Xia - carried into the depths of her obsession with their dream - represents Lu Guang with this viewpoint. 

Now, the ‘second half’ of this episode (most episodes of season one have this sort of structure… we’ll get to that later), might lie in the Bridon/Yingdu arc, which reframes this episode as a call-back, a thematic flashback, if you will. However, if the ‘second half’ appears in a later season, then it’ll act as foreshadowing. I’m leaning towards the second option simply because of the weight that implication has - we’re getting to that, I promise - but it could be a call-back; it could lie partially in both the future and the past; this is Link Click! They surprise us. 

I say all this to convey that hindsight will let me write a more thorough answer, but for now, we have this:

With Lin Zhen representing Lu Guang, we as the viewers receive some indications of Lu Guang’s inner workings… which we get so few of. I’d like Lu Guang’s backstory now please.

Lu Guang, both in the future and in the past, gets carried away with the obsession of keeping Cheng Xiaoshi alive, eventually driving both Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang apart. 

They’ll get back together and get married though. (Please director Li, I beg you.) 

The Earthquake Arc - 

This arc explores Cheng Xiaoshi’s trust. His trust towards Lu Guang, towards his parents, and to himself. 

With Lu Guang, the trust cemented in episode two - where the Wu Xia and Lin Zhen recovering their relationship paralleled how Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi could also recover their relationship, should anything happen to it - showcases itself further. Cheng Xiaoshi trusts Lu Guang with this dive, even though something seems off about changing the past. Throughout this arc he asks Lu Guang specifics about the mission and if it’s really okay to change the past. Lu Guang gives vague answers. Cheng Xiaoshi trusts him. ‘You’re always right.’ 

Moving on to episode four, the focus of ‘trust’ shifts to Cheng Xiaoshi’s trust towards his parents - previously established in episode one. He trusts his parents to return, to alleviate him of his pain and because of this, he won’t accept their possible death. 

After Cheng Xiaoshi realizes the truth, the incoming earthquake, he loses trust in Lu Guang, and his ‘trust’ in his parents to return fluctuates. In episode five, the theme shifts to Cheng Xiaoshi’s trust in himself. As he says to Emma on the bridge, Cheng Xiaoshi wishes to give others a perfect past. He has power. He has the ability to help others. He feels so much, so easily, for the plight of others, and this belief that he can help them and give them the past he couldn’t have, this allows him to hope for his own life, to live vicariously through others and avoid  descending into apathetic depression (See post episode five. *pain intensifies*). 

It all relies on his trust in his own abilities - to notice issues and other’s feelings, to change the past or alleviate it as soon as possible, so he doesn’t have to feel their pain. 

After the earthquake, he loses trust in his parents to return. (notice how he doesn’t ask about them afterwards, focusing only on others and their relations… especially with their parents)

And he loses trust in himself, his ability to counteract the pains of time. Lu Guang lies. His parents died. He can’t change the past. 

Doudou - 

After Cheng Xiaoshi returns from the earthquake dive, Lu Guang comforts him - in his typical Lu Guang way, wisdom, wow /aff - with the phrase, ‘fool, you can’t change the past. Because of us, the future will surely change.’ (Going off of memory, so my apologies for any inaccuracies.) 

Cheng Xiaoshi only listens to ‘you can’t change the past.’ 

Cheng Xiaoshi brings this belief with him and drowns in his pessimistic misery. He doesn’t talk to Lu Guang (the autism). He discourages Doudou’s dad from finding his son. He refuses to accept the mission, even though he still cares and looks up information about Doudou. He doesn’t think anything good will come of it though. 

When Qiao Ling tells him the story of her regret and her escapism (her character is a whole playground to analyze as well…), Cheng Xiaoshi agrees… since Qiao Ling is asking, since this whole trio deals with regret in their own way, since Lu Guang got him boba tea (Possibly other reasons as well). 

Cheng Xiaoshi reunites Doudou with his father, which rekindles some trust Cheng Xiaoshi had in his abilities, allows him to listen to the ‘because of us, the future will surely change’ portion of Lu Guang’s words. 

(Until he misconstrues it in episode nine… but we’re not there yet.)

Yes, Cheng Xiaoshi cannot change the past, but he can use the past to change the future. That’s where his abilities lie. It’s a new sort of hope. 

(I am now starting to realize just how hyperfixated I am on this show) 

Xu Shanshan - 

This will be brief. Promise. 

Here this mission showcases how much Cheng Xiaoshi hopes in his abilities, while also not fully regaining trust in Lu Guang. Lu Guang will not take Emma’s case, and Lu Guang led him astray in the earthquake arc, so Cheng Xiaoshi can take his words with a grain of salt. 

Emma - 

Here we go. 

Emma represents both Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. Cheng Xiaoshi more obviously -  she misses her parents; time breaks her bonds; she misses her past, and in the ninth and eleventh episodes, she also desires to change the past. She also encapsulates Lu Guang with the idea of ambition and obsession driving her and her parents/loved ones apart. (This might not show itself as obviously until later seasons). 

Another quick thing to mention - these episodes with Xu Shanshan and Emma show how Lu Guagn always protects Cheng Xiaoshi from the consequences of his actions. Many people on tumblr - very wondrous people  - mention how this can stem from past timelines, how, in previous timelines, Cheng Xiaoshi could’ve cost his own doom. This is tragic. I’m including it in my fanfiction. 

(This is where I'm at as of now). Thanks for reading!

[creetch]

Evidence that points towards Sunday potentially joining the Stellaron Hunters

Since this theory has been tormenting my mind for a few weeks now, I've decided to compile all of the information we have so far that could maybe point towards Sunday joining the Stellaron Hunters.

Now that we know he can't return to Penacony, he can't return to Robin, and he has to keep on moving towards his goal, the likelihood of him being picked up by the Stellaron Hunters is stronger than ever.

He has a complicated past and has been left adrift and alone without a path to follow or a future for himself. He's alone and he still aims for an impossible goal - in my opinion, he is a prime candidate to join this faction now that his plan on Penacony has fallen apart with no possibility of ever coming true.

He continues to strive for a seemingly unachievable perfect paradise for all, a place where the weak can be protected and kept happy for all of their lives like birds in safe cages. He still strives for this, the only difference now is that be knows that this is no longer possible to create on Penacony.

This is made clear in the description of his new light cone 'After the Charmony fall'

'He carries the past, turns his back on his homeland, and continues towards a paradise that does not yet exist'

His old life has burned to cinders behind him in his wake. He can never return to how things were before. That life before this has ended, and he has no choice but to leave it and walk another path.

The Family won't even mention Sunday by name anymore and have attempted to delete all of the memories of what happened in 2.2 from the minds of those living inside the dreamscape.

Even Robin avoids mentioning him by name which is upsetting as she's likely been told to do so, instead calling him 'the former head of the Oak family'.

There has already been an attempt by the family to bury Sunday. He could not be more cut off from his past now and there is no future for him on Penacony.

He has no choice but to leave and spread his wings. Whatever path he may take now it doesn't change the fact that he has to either join a faction or travel alone, and I personally severely doubt he'd travel alone. For his plan to work, which he still aims for, he needs more than just himself, and he needs the help of someone who can promise ridiculous things.

First off, I really want to quickly detour into some of the misconceptions I've seen recently surrounding Stellaron Hunters, one of these being that people seem to believe the Scripts are some sort of demon contracts that cannot be broken, leaving those who follow them devoid of their own free will, even when with everything we know this is so very far from the truth. Elio's scripts are a guide and are not a forceful contract that his Hunters are totally bound to and it doesn't make much sense to assume that they are with all of the information we know about them.

The comparisons I've seen between Elio's script and Gopher Wood's grooming baffled me. They can't be compared, in my opinion. They are entirely different.

One of the reasons why many people believe Sunday will deny the invitation to the Stellaron Hunters (as I believe the invitation has already been sent, which I'll go on to talk about) is because Elio's script contains Sunday and Robin's eternal separation.

I've seen some people believing this is something Elio himself has decided will happen, however that isn't how this works.

Firefly often defies the script, she even talks about it throughout the 2.X patches in Penacony, however the script always ends up coming true regardless of this. Even Blade tells her this, he says she has a bad habit of defying what the script asks her to do.

I believe It's not that Elio has decided that this is their fate, but rather fate itself has decided this is Robin and Sunday's fate, and I believe Sunday will try to defy this fate and go in opposition of destiny.

Whether this separation is the result of the siblings treading on different paths, or it is the price Robin had to pay for Sunday's freedom, the script may still say this for the same reason that our eventually fight against Nanook is inevitable - it is going to happen no matter what.

That's not to say Sunday can't try to defy it, though.

That also does not mean that every single future path leads to a definite eternal separation, what I'm saying is that either this IS definite, it is set in stone and will happen regardless of wether Sunday joins the Hunters or not and no matter which path Elio goes down - OR it is a changeable future, likely from Sunday accepting the invitation to join the Stellaron Hunters, so that he can actively walk backwards from this fate that awaits them both otherwise.

Elio's script is a possible future he foresaw, one that he wants to lead his Hunters down as it leads to the most desired future for us.

Elio has already expressed that we should reach the end of the story in our own way and Kafka even tells us at the very beginning of the game to not make a choice that we may regret.

So, Elio's scripts are not binding contracts that force the Hunters to follow a predetermined path, but rather they are guides that lead to a desired future.

Sunday has been clear that he intends to still find another place to create his perfect paradise where the weak are protected, and who better to provide him a solution to his problem than Elio - the guy who's been making seemingly impossible promises for a long time now. It's kind of his whole thing.

I'm going to start off with the most obvious example that I feel is less of a hint and more of a slap in the face. I've been thinking about this readable ever since it became a major point of attention after it was first discovered. To me it's pretty cut and dry about what it is; it is a poem from Elio to Sunday, predicting his fall from grace before it has even happened - which is proof of Elio's ability to foresee the future - and at the end an invitation to join them in order to still make his dream come true.

Death of the Crow is a readable that can be found in Dreamflux Reef immediately after accessing it at the beginning of the 2.2 quest. It is a poem written in the style of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

The first interesting piece of information before even reading the contents is its description:

Obviously, what stands out most for me is the line

'Or perhaps, some kind of mysterious invitation'.

This poem goes through Sunday's life and then it delves into Sunday's future.

The second stanza at the beginning of the poem refers to Sunday and the Charmony dove, a story he draws back to often in 2.2 as it had a major effect on him and his current view point, particularly in the way that Gopher Wood framed that situation to Sunday when he was a child. It is a huge basis for the majority of the beliefs he holds to this day.

Gopher Wood praised Sunday's apprehension and fear, whilst he patronized Robin and called her ideas 'idealistic' and 'romantic'. He identified Sunday as the more fearful and anxious of the two and he decided he would be the focus of his grooming.

As far as Gopher Wood was concerned, Sunday and Robin are twins of the order, but only one would follow this path to the very end. He took Sunday's desire to protect the weak and ensure that no matter what they stay alive and weaponized it against him creating a situation in which Sunday was willing to sacrifice himself in order to maintain a beautiful and safe dream that everyone would live in apart from himself. His story parallels Jesus, and the plot of 2.2 is especially obvious about that.

The poem goes on to discuss other aspects of Sunday's life that lead him to this point that we've currently reached in the story, and then goes beyond this to talk about things that, at the time of being able to find this readable, have not happened yet.

The only person really who could have sent this poem to Sunday is Elio. He can see into the future, as well as this he is heavily involved in the script of Penacony in a way that he hasn't been on any other planet thus far. His input in Penacony is immense especially when this is compared to his other scripts.

I think what's most important about this poem is:

That you can find this prior to when Sunday 'ascends the stage' and 'stole the authority'

The last verse

The name of the sender.

Going through the list let's draw attention to each one and pick the information apart.

'You ascended the stage, you stole the authority, you strived for divinity You raised the dim curtain, your self-directed farce skillfully honed. Your heart overflew with pureness, while the shadows of the puppets cast grim shadows in their play. Your soul embraced compassion, daring to forge a scale that will never sway. "Behold," you proclaimed, "the utopia of absolute bliss," Yet the dream shattered, "Nevermore."'

This is a clear prediction of future events that the sender of the poem should not know of, as they have not yet happened. I can presume this was likely written and then sent to Sunday by this 'mysterious author' to prove that the future sight that they will later claim to have upon their meeting is, in fact, real, and that he can promise him whatever it is that Sunday would possibly want.

'Your old dreams are as dead soil, barren of hope and bereft, Yet how can a noble soul wither and fade, left adrift? I shall await your arrival, with open arms and boundless hope, Here lie the truest dreams, where infinite possibilities lope. Here, all your ambitions shall be fulfilled and set aflame, The past forever transformed, and nevermore'

To me, this section is the invitation. This isn't about Sunday's past or where their plan in Penacony will lead them - this is an invitation.

Particularly the lines 'yet how can a noble soul wither and fade, left adrift?' it's clear Elio holds Sunday in high regard and would think it a pity if he were to wander aimlessly from here on forward, and 'I shall await your arrival, with open arms and boundless hope' sounds so very incredibly Elio.

'Yours, Most Sincerely Cecil Simmes'

This one is interesting to me, however I haven't played the game that this name references.

Spoiler warnings for Ghost Trick for this section. I'll leave the information pertaining to the plot of Ghost Trick between two blue bars so you can skip past this section if it's a game you plan on playing.

I first became aware of this piece of evidence via the thread by @/hxg_diluc who I believe was one of the first people to post about the Stellaron Hunter Sunday theory waaaaay back when you could first find this readable.

GHOST TRICK SPOILERS

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

Ghost Trick is a game with an MC called Sissel (who I hear has the same spelling as the sender of Death of the Crow in the Chinese version, according to the aforementioned thread), who is a black cat with yellow eyes and a red scarf.

This character changes the fate of others by reversing time, much like Elio changing the fate of others via the scripts. With all we know about Elio this feels like a really deliberate reference.

Elio is pretty commonly known as being shown as a black cat, you see him as such in Kafka's splash art, in SAM's light cone, and in the art during the Jepella rebellion.

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

To continue on from Ghost Trick, SAM's boss theme is called Nevermore, which is repeated often in the poem The Raven and Death of the Crow.

The description of the disk is 'Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!', which is a direct reference to Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven and Elio's version of the same poem reworked to refer to Sunday's life and future.

The next section is about Sunday's new light cone, the description of which I've already spoken about earlier when talking about how he still aims for that paradise even though he was defeated in Penacony.

This light cone contains a similar gramophone to Kafka's. This is something that as far as I'm aware is unique to these two light cones.

This light cone was voiced! The lines it was voiced with really caught my attention when paired with the lore drop about Finality we were given recently.

'May all wishes come true,

The end is also the beginning'

The second line intrugued me most.

On its own, it just brings forth the idea that Sunday is going to be treading a new path in life, which is - like, yeah we already know that lol he kind of doesn't have a choice about that, but with the context of everything to do with the path of Finality that was released this patch, the same patch that this light cone was dropped, it can be read in a new light.

The line itself sounds very in tune with the path of Finality, in fact it sounds like something Elegy could have said herself when we're asking about Finality.

'Finality isn't the end of everything. All things will originate from there and move on to the next Finality.'

I just think that's worth some attention now that this patch confirmed that the Stellaron Hunters travel on the path of Finality.

We also get to see into Firefly's notebook! (which is super cute and tells us about all the gifts she bought for everyone) but what I noticed was that Elio asked for the 'Odes of Harmony' which is a readable that can be found in Dewlight Pavilion.

Sunday has been compared to the Odes of Harmony by Gallagher, so my mind immediately went here.

This very well may mean nothing, this one is another piece of info where I could be stretching, but again I feel like this is worth pointing out because it's there along with all the other stuff. It's one of many things that when you put them together I feel it just piles higher and higher.

There's also this...

Sparkle talking about a chicken with black cat sunglasses. Which, standalone it's silly, but...

That's such a specific thing to say. A chicken that's wearing black cat sunglasses? Come on lol

We know that this relates to Sunday, because she also mentions a peacock (Aventurine) and a swan (Black Swan). The animals she talks about are meant to represent characters from the story and aren't random animals that have popped into her mind.

Since she calls Sunday chicken wing boy the chicken in question is most definitely Sunday - but giving it a white suit and black cat sunglasses? That's just so extremely specific. Especially when we know Elio is portrayed as a black cat throughout the story.

We know Sparkle has inside information because she was able to take a peek at a script, so knowing that, then what the hell did she mean by this?

There's also this image of all of the Stellaron Hunters after the Jepella rebellion and in the corner there are some crows in the air.

Sunday is portrayed as a crow in the Harmony Trailblazer splash art, but even going beyond that Sunday has crow and raven imagery surrounding him anyways. That is what Sunday is represented by.

So this could be some foreshadowing.

I also think if this is true and Sunday is recruited, he won't be our only recruited Stellaron Hunter in the story. It makes sense to me, why would Elio stop recruiting Hunters? Why should he when he sees someone of promise who could join their faction?

I'm unsure how many there could be, but I definitely see it as a possibility that two, or three, or even more Stellaron Hunters could be recruited during the duration of the game. Furthermore, I think that's a good thing. I think if that's true it's a big positive.

I feel like it would be a great addition to the story. It could even open up the oppertunity for characters to join the Astral Express too. Characters joining groups, leaving groups, changing paths - it would be a really interesting route for the game to go down.

The Stellaron Hunters have almost entirely been released as playable now apart from Elio himself, so recruiting some more as the story continues will keep them fresh and potentially throw in some really interesting interactions and character development. Plus, they are extremely marketable characters.