#No but seriously. The books would have been SO MUCH more interesting if an accurate amount of kids were unregistered animagi

[bleeding-hart]

If you were in the HP universe, would you go through the whole ordeal of becoming an animagus?

I want to have an accurate reference of how many people would become animagi for writing cause I feel like it's underutilized and when people write stories with a lot of animagi, it's called out as unrealistic for canon, like that many people wouldn't end up being animagi. I really just don't believe that, I know I would absolutely do it, as would most if not all of my friends. Imo Harry's friends in canon were just dorks with no willpower to actually do literally the coolest thing in those books.

[ziploc849]

Another wall of text on my thoughts for episodes 70-78, I’m gonna make a seperate post for 79 and 80 having listened to them already cause there is just. So much.

I wrote all of these notes after listening to the original episode, not any further, so enjoy my thought process though the last quarter of this season!!!

Ep 70: More death discussions, oh joy!! These are the episodes that make me the most uncomfortable, the ones that talk about the nature of death more than just the fact that it exists. I am curious where these books are coming from, if it’s not just Leitner’s involvement that makes them fucked up. Also Not-Sasha’s laptop having “authentication errors” definitely sounds accurate, even the technology can tell she’s not really her.

Ep 71: Another example of a story with a focus on claustrophobia. Most of the ones we’ve heard by now are from people who are very clearly scared/panicked by the occurance, but Karolina was suuuper chill about it all. Even not being afraid of death, as she mentioned. It feels strange to not be at least a bit perturbed by the idea of your own death, especially in such an untimely way. That’s coming from me though, who absolutely has a fear of death in some capacity, so I’m probably projecting a bit

Ep 72: Basira you better still be alive and not murdered by darkness demons or some shit you’re too cool. Also kindly what the fuck is this episode. I know there’s been some episodes to do with large amounts of meat or body parts, the room in the man upstairs, the teeth in thrown away. A part of me wants to say this is just a story about a crazy fucking murderer, but I am far to familiar with this fucking series by this point to think it’s just that. So seriously what is the fucking deal with all the meat. The link to the Tom Hahn in Killing Floor is interesting though much like Jon I have no clue what it means.

Ep 73: There are officially too many cults and I cannot keep track of them. Once again phobia themes!!! Darkness!!! Plus the idea that a space was much smaller in reality than it seemed while going through it, which sounds at least similar to a lot of the endless/infinite stuff we’ve seen before. I’m a little worried about Basira now, since like Jon mentioned being involved and in the know with these things in the way they are seems to offer some level of safety, at least more than if they’re not part of an official organization. Iirc Natalie was the weird girl who kept unscrewing the lightbulbs in that one episode, and Rayner was mentioned in Fathers Love?? I think??

74: Totally unexpected change of events, something fucked is in the tunnels!!! Never would’ve guessed!!!! Snarkiness aside though, this episode is interesting. Michael being there was confusing at first, but I’d wager a guess the drawings mentioned are fractals, or something similar, and he seems to like things that go on forever and fold in on themselves. The idea of the thing in the tunnels somehow removing and replacing the floor is interesting, I don’t know if we’ve seen things like that happen in places that are not somehow extradimensional or unreal in some way (like the spaces Michael likes so much). The fact that the person is taking files is also concerning, I would hope Jon would check to see if anything important is missing, or what was taken in general. Clues n such. Also we’re finally getting more confirmation that Not-Sasha is up to some sketchy shit!!!! Catch on Jon please god!!

75: Michael Crew what the hell have you become. The mention from Jon about wondering if the books take power from the people reading them instead of the other way around makes sense, but what does that mean for people like crew? People who died because of something to do with the book and are just. Inexplicably back? I can’t remember if there are other examples of something like this or if it’s just that there’s been so many books and so much death that it blends together. Basira really came through bringing the tapes, and it’s a much more satisfying goodbye to her character than just “fuck it I’m done buh bye”

Ep 76: Melanie King my beloved!!! I love that she and Jon are able to, for lack of a better term, infordump together lol. Hearing them literally finish each others sentences in the end talking about the research King was doing gave me a special kind of happiness lol. I do hope she doesn’t get murdered by ghosts in India though. Also she doesn’t recognize Not-Sasha!!!!! She knows she isn’t actual Sasha!!!! And now Jon has a real and true inkling of what’s going on. C’mon Jon you remember Graham from Across the Street, put the pieces together please god.

Ep 77: we have answers on whatever is up with Not-Sasha!! The Not-Them, apparently just one weird creature. Gertrude mentions “The Stranger”, which idk what it means but I know Mary Keay mentioned “The End”. I really don’t know what this could be about, but the way they talk about them like creatures or something is curious. Jon putting pieces together at the end even I hadn’t realized!!! Distortion and Strange Music both had Sasha’s voice. God I already knew the voice actor for Jon is fucking incredible but the panic and horror in his voice as he puts the pieces together of what Not-Sasha is, and what it must’ve done to actual Sasha? Phenomenal. But also I REALLY want Jon to clue the others in on what’s going on. They might not believe him right away and it might take a lot of explanation but there is real logic and evidence in what’s going on, they’ll pick up on that I assume

Ep 78: God the grief in Jon’s voice is awful. VA is too good. But also listening to the statement, hearing such explicit confirmation that the people attacked by the Not-Them are dead, not simply missing or lost, was so hard to hear Jon read. Just realizing that was probably the first time he got proper confirmation of it as well. Also god DAMN it he needs to tell Tim and Martin what the fuck is going on they can HELP. And maybe then he can get help from his friends instead of going through Michael’s fucking doors to escape the now unbound(???) Not-Them. Fucking wild

[mrghostrat]

"He needed an internet connection so he could download an app to draw with, but the whole point of setting the thing up in London was because he knew Crowley understood all of this a whole lot better than he did."

Okayyyyy I just got violent flashbacks to the s2 finale this is evil 😭😭

But in all seriousness, I LOVED the new bnf au chapter, I mean the kiss??? I audibly gasped, it was soooo good

I was wondering if the witch and the witchfinder are a canon couple in the nice and accurate prophecies? Or are they just a very popular fanon ship? Or is it like good omens, where people saw the romantic subtext in the book and where it was made explicitly canon in the show?

I just think all options would be really interesting, given that Crowley and Aziraphale are both middle-aged queer people and the book came out thirty years ago. So they either would have had some representation back then, or they recognised themselves in the story and even though it wasn't canon, maybe those ideas would later explicitly be confirmed by Agnes Nutter nonetheless? Since all these options have really interesting implications for the way they both interacted with the source material, I'm really curious what your thoughts on the matter are.

Thank you so much for all the beautiful things you create for the fandom, both your fics and your art give me life and I'm so grateful for them ❤

omg you have no idea how excited i am about this question 😭 as i've written BNF, i've been quietly fleshing out more about their fictional fandom, and accidentally gotten reeeeally invested and am dying to talk about it 😭😭

i'm actually tempted to make some fanart of the witch & the witchfinder, using michael and david as facecasts to go full meta thphptftf. in b4 i write it as a fuckin book series for real

buttttt i'll put all my N&A thoughts under a cut so i dont ramble too long on your dashes 💛

The Nice and Accurate Prophecy: Agnes Nutter's book series (turned play, turned film, turned tv series); the fandom in my fic Big Name Feelings

the idea of using Agnes Nutter's "Nice and Accurate" book for the in-fic fandom was taken from @tawnyontumblr's fic New Messages (i just thought that would be a fun fanon consistency to follow), but all the details about the story and characters are me.

N&A takes inspiration from Good Omens (as a story, and as a fandom) but isn't intended to be a direct copy of it. the original paperback series is a few books long, and each adaptation of the books are considered good, accurate, canonical content. the tv show (a HBO series) is the most recent, highest quality, and most popular. The Witcher style, high fantasy quality.

agnes is loudly supportive of the lgbt community just like neil/david/michael are. but i imagine that for the series to be so "marketable" over the last 30 years, there isn't an explicit queer relationship between the witch & finder. there are canon queer side characters but the witch & finder are a little more nuanced.

the witch and the witchfinder aid each other through time, working together to defeat the evils in the story (like Aziraphale and Crowley from GO). there's tension between them, but boundless love, and plenty of flirtation, despite the running "we shouldn't, we're meant to be enemies" theme. they would canonically get together at some point in the story, probably towards the end after they've spent some time dancing around each other.

the thing that makes this vague is: the witch reincarnates through the story, almost doctor who style. they're a trans icon, much like how the GO fandom looks at Crowley and all his gender ambiguity.

when they finally tryst with the witchfinder, they're female. it's by pure happenstance that they're female presenting at that stage of the story, but still widely critiqued over the years. the thing that canonises the mlm relationship is that the witch is said to carry their consciousness through each reincarnation— they're not a new person like The Doctor is when he regenerates.

the start of the book series spends more time on "Crowley and Aziraphale's favourite male reincarnation", while the movie and tv show only briefly montages through some of the witch's faces. the mlm side of the fandom most definitely lost their minds over the brief few minutes of screentime that they got of the male witch, and has absolutely gifsetted it to death.

i've done it like this because so much of (every) fandom has always been seeking out representation and filling gaps where the original content lacks. there's something to be said about the solidarity of queer fans creating more queer content for themselves. except, in the case of N&A, they're getting to work from a source material that is genuinely queer supportive, unlike fandoms like SPN and BBC Sherlock that are fighting against the tide of queerbaiting and buried gays.

it also gives aziraphale and crowley a chance to band together in the next chapter when they talk to a dickhead at the party:

i haven't exactly decided what happens with the witchfinder, like if the story takes place over hundreds of years and he keeps reincarnating as the same lookin dude (like how jack whitehall plays both Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery and Newton Pulsifer) or if it's set over one lifetime and the witch just gets killed and regenerates a lot. i do like the idea of there being some "through the ages" shenanigans, and a canonical "modern day" setting like GO has.

but i gotta be careful bc i genuinely can't stop thinking about this fake story that's barely mentioned in my fan fic or i'll end up writing the damn thing myself

[jentledaisies]

NOW LOADING. . . YOU'RE ATTACKED BUT THEY THINK THEY'RE TRYING TO ESCAPE

[ gif by @lisanamjoon ]

✎ in which you're attacked by one of their enemies and in the process of defending yourself, they think you're trying to run away

Warning .ᐟ ⤷ Stockholm Syndrom, manipulative behavior, blood/injuries, weapons[knives, guns], murder(semi-graphic), profanity, yandere

✎ᝰ fully got this idea from @ninetailedfoxmanchi post here ! it’s for bts n when i read it i was like “wow, kinda wanna write a version of that for our girls” !!! they have wonderful reactions, pls check them out !

disclaimer: This is not in any way shape or form a representation of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosè, Lisa, or Blackpink as a whole. All reactions, actions, thoughts, words, and general emotions are fiction and created by me. The behavior shown in these reactions is toxic and unhealthy, but fantasized in a romantic way for simply that, fantasy. None of this should be taken seriously or sought after in real life, or performed. please do not romanticize this behavior/mindset in real life as it is unhealthy and toxic, and if you or anyone you know is in such an environment, should be taken out of immediately. Again, this blog is purely fiction, and all acts taken place in this blog should remain so. ↳ None of my characters, yandere or otherwise, will ever nor would ever perform, act, or consider sexual activities of any sort without consent. full stop. Any and all sexual acts are done with the full consent of all parties taking place. i will never, ever, ever write otherwise or even consider writing otherwise. some AUs for the yandere!blackpink reactions will be based on other folklore/mythology. (yandere!goddess , etc) these reactions will not be accurate to the true mythology/folklore but rather variations and adaptions made to assist the reaction/world of the reaction. ✎ᝰ

The apartment is quiet, save for the soft sound of flipping pages, coming from the book you're currently reading. Your lover had to head to work early today due to a significant issue brought up at last night's mission. She didn't tell you when she would be home, but she said she could either be home early or late. You were hoping for early because as much as you hated to admit it, her presence around you and with you is more than something you're used to, it's something you crave.

And the silence with her gone was deafening. You have never hated being alone so much before.

The book in your hands loses your interest as you take to just flipping the pages, eyes trailing over the extremely large penthouse. According to her, this was the very first house she had purchased in which she lived alone. Before then she had mainly lived with the other three inner circle members, whom she considered her true sisters. It's large, much too large for one person, or even two, but she was mature enough to admit she enjoyed showing off her wealth in her house. According to her, when you became her lover, you made this more than just her house, you made it your home.

But since then, the two of you had been looking at other places to move to, not because you disliked this apartment but because you both wished to move somewhere that you could begin to truly build your life together. After all, she had more than enough money.

The list had narrowed down to four properties, based on all of the things you said you liked and wanted, and then she turned the responsibility of picking the final home out to you, so she could know that you truly love the home the two of you would go to.

And as the book starts to reach the last of its pages your eyes are drawn to the folders on the coffee table with the location pictures, interior pictures, dimension sizing, building rating, site history, etc. All the information you needed to make the most informed decision possible without leaving your current home. Of course, sans the pricing and all. She stated up and down that she would simply buy the building (and possibly the land it's on) and leave it all signed to you in a contract, that way should anything ever happen to her she could still take care of you.

The last page flips and the cover joins the rest of the book. You frown at the now closed book for a second -you forgot to put a bookmark in your spot- before setting it on the table to grab the folders instead. Since you have the time to kill, you may as well start looking over these.

You're unsure how much time passes with you flipping through each folder and creating a pro/con list in your notebook but you do know that you've gone over all of them twice when the door to the apartment starts to turn, the distinct sound of the lock clicking open causing you to stand and turn eagerly.

"Hey! I'm glad you're back because I think I know which one I like..." Your voice trails away as an unfamiliar woman steps through the door, shutting it softly but not locking it.

"Sorry," The corner of her lips curve up. "I don't think it was me you were expecting."

You're immediately taken with a sense of uneasiness and dread, your girlfriend had never introduced you to any other member of her gang. Only the other inner circle members. In fact, she always swore that she'd never bring any other member into your home.

"W-Who are you?" Your voice is shaky as you figure out the answer to your question before she answers. Though the slight drop in her mouth lets you know that she notices.

"I'm a friend of-"

"That's a lie." You cut her off before she can say your lover's name, unsure of what you were doing in exposing her lie. You were one person who had never really been trained past basic self-defense against a possible enemy gang member. "I asked who you are."

She just smiles wickedly as she slips a small blade into her hand. "Jung Ji-Ho wishes to simply say hello. It's not you who he wants, but I suppose you will do."

With that, she lunges toward you, faster than you expected, and creates a large cut on your arm as you attempt to run away. Your notebook flies under the sofa and the pictures go everywhere as you make a mad dash to the front door, the woman fast behind you. She reaches out and yanks you back by your hair, a scream leaving you as you pull away, leaving strands of your hair in her hand. She goes to cut you again and you don't think as you grab the knife with one hand and hit her face with the other.

"Hit between the eyes," M/N had told you. "It'll stun them enough for you to get away. Don't worry, I'll be there to save you then."

She flinches away, dragging the blade painfully across your palm, which leaves a bloody imprint as you throw open the door and rush out, heading to the private elevator. And just to your luck it opens, and you run in, not to an empty elevator, but into the arms of your love.

She was here to save you now, but you look up into her eyes, and you're only met with burning anger and bitter betrayal.

[KIM JISOO]

[ gif by @venompinks ]

"And where do you think you're going, Darling?" Jisoo always looks cold but somehow she manages to look even more so as she stares at you, locking her hands onto your arms to hold you in place.

"Jisoo! You're here!" You shout in surprise, ready to tell your lover about the situation, but she misunderstands your rush to be fear of being caught.

She pushes you back with force, albeit gently, her hands locked tightly on your forearms. Her eyes bore into your own and you're frozen in place, forgetting everything as fear creeps up your spine. The elevator lets out a soft ding and the doors start to close behind her, snapping you from your stupor.

"We need to go!" You shout and lunge towards the buttons, stopping as she yanks you back, eyes steely and blank.

"Excuse me? We are not going anywhere but back into our home." She punctuates her words by tugging you closer.

"No, you don't understand-"

"I think I understand pretty well." Jisoo's voice is cold, devoid of any emotion although you can tell she's hurt. "What, you didn't think I'd come home on time? Were you wishing I stayed late? You thought you could just, slip away, and I wouldn't notice that my heart was gone?!"

You jump as she shouts the last words, hands reaching for her on instinct to calm her, and blood smears on her white t-shirt, the red handprint almost seeming like paint.

"I'm so sorry!" You blurt, your hands reaching forward in an instinctive attempt to wipe it off, but to no surprise, you end up smearing it more and reminding yourself of the situation. "Shit. Ok no, Jisoo please, we need to go now. Please."

Jisoo raises an eyebrow at your pleading, finally taking a moment to survey her surroundings once your blood smears on her shirt. The small, lines on the wall from where you stumbled through, the way the apartment door isn't even fully closed. The panic in your eyes and the injuries on your body.

Finally understanding she pushes you behind her gently, reaching for her brass knuckles as the door opens and the attacker steps out. Her glare sets deeper into her face, pushing the guilt of how she spoke to you away to focus on this scum that thought they could hurt her girl.

"Your name. Now." Jisoo simply demands, not in the mood to hear any excuses from the woman's mouth.

Clearly, the lady wasn't expecting the calm and almost bored demeanor that Jisoo had, given that she was standing so defensively and with her knives held tight. Your blood shines on the blades and catches your lover's eyes.

Jisoo glares so intensely at the woman that her knees start to shake, but it's not enough. She steps forward, scoffing as the attacker takes two steps back, and does it again. The dance continues until the attacker is up against a wall, holding out her knives as a pitiful defense. She can barely even blink before Jisoo punches her, breaking her nose immediately with her brass-enforced knuckles.

"What? You're not happy to see me?" Jisoo teases with a cruel pout, laughing slightly. "I thought that's what you wanted."

She doesn't wait for any response before she hits again, this time the woman's stomach. The screaming huff that leaves her makes you wince, but you don't move from the spot you're in, and try as you might you can't seem to tear your eyes away either.

"You know what? I don't need your name," Jisoo slams her fist into her face again, knocking her down. "I'll get it out of you later. Little bitch. Thought you could break in and hurt my girl? MY GIRL! Consider yourself very lucky I don't kill you here. Or don't, a faster death may be more merciful than what I have planned for you."

Jisoo slams her fist down again, but the woman is unresponsive, only her shallow breathing alerting the two of you to her undead state. Blood is splattered on your lover's hands and all over the unconscious woman's face. She huffs as she sits back, staring in amusement at the blood-covered woman, before remembering you.

"Darling," Her voice is a quiet sort of remorseful as she turns to face you, eyes saddening as you flinch. "I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."

"I-It's okay." You stutter, not even believing in yourself.

"No, it is not 'okay.' You are injured and bleeding and without even taking notice of your pain I inflicted more. Forgive me, please." This time Jisoo's voice wavers, shame filtering in.

You step forward, hesitant, and then move more surely until you can wrap your arms around her waist and bury your head in her neck. The tears come quickly after.

"I was so scared." You sob shocking Jisoo who has her hands in fists at her side. Scared that it's her you're speaking of. "When she came in I thought it was you but then she-"

You shake as you cry, Jisoo now wrapping her own arms around you, realizing the terror that must've stricken you at the intruder. She doesn't let you continue, holding you close by your waist and your head, placing kisses on the side.

"I'm here. I'm here and your safe, my darling." She soothes your hair, shuffling to move you both into the penthouse. Her neck strains as she hides the anger in her voice at the damage, knowing you were the one attacked during it. "I'll always protect you. I swear."

She pulls away once the two of your reach the staircase, helping you up while texting some members to pick up the woman in the hallway. She'd take care of the mess after she took care of your injuries.

You didn't want to sit on the expensive couch, your arm and hand still bleeding heavily so the two of you enter the en suite where she has you sit on the counter. Pulling out the emergency aid kit that Lisa left at all the members' houses she chuckles wryly.

"I never thought it'd be you being patched up with this. Or ever." Jisoo jokes wryly, regret lacing her voice as she finishes washing the wounds, wincing when you did.

The cuts aren't as deep as she thought, all the blood just making them seem to like it. Jisoo's eyebrows scrunch as she focuses on disinfecting the wounds, keeping your mind off of the pain as her lips part a little. Even when she's pouring rubbing alcohol over open wounds of yours, she remains beautiful.

Jisoo recalls how Lisa told her that cuts that are big enough to bleed but not too deep like yours don't need stitches. Just a wrap. The white gauze makes Jisoo feel sick.

The fact that you're bleeding under there makes Jisoo even sicker.

"No offense but, shouldn't we ask Lisa to do this?" The question makes Jisoo laugh.

"I've done this plenty of times too! Just because I never went to med school." She grumbles as she helps you down and onto the bed. "Wait here for a moment."

She pecks your cheek as she leaves the room to fetch some tea, slipping a bit of a sedative into it, just to make sure you rest well. Walking back into the room she finds you already fluffing the pillows and in your pajamas.

"That's not waiting." She 'tsks' as she hands you the cup, raising an eyebrow as you down it like a shot. "Try and get some rest, Darling."

"Aren't you staying?" With the way your face freezes in fear, Jisoo can't bring herself to tell you that she was in fact leaving, just for a little bit.

"I'm just going to clean up the apartment before I join you. Too much adrenaline." So instead she smiles sweetly while lying. She'd leave after you slept and be back before you awoke anyway.

"Ok. I love you." Your eyes start to shut and your voice slurs as she pecks your forehead.

"I love you too, Bunny."

----

Your eyes feel weighed down when you rouse from your slumber, the room pitch black except for the light streaming in as the door opens. Jisoo walks in and in your hazy vision, you can make out the way she shrugs off her jacket, throwing it into the trash. Her dark red shirt followed soon after.

As your eyes give in to the weight a nagging voice in the back of your head reminds you that she was wearing a white shirt when she left.

[KIM JENNIE]

[ gif by @lisanamjoon ]

"Well, hello my love." Jennie just stares at you in surprise, but her sweet smile still spreads across her face, even though her eyes don't reflect it. "Quite funny meeting you out here...when you are meant to be in there."

Jennie's grip is gentle on you, but firm as she holds your waist and one of your hands as though leading you in a dance.

"Although, why you didn't just say you wanted to go out," her voice is chilly despite the twinge of love hidden within. "I would've taken you anywhere you asked."

"Jennie!" You know the shock on your face probably makes the situation look worse given how her face falters.

"Y/N," She starts a deep sigh escaping her. "What are you doing? And, please, just tell me the truth."

You can tell exactly what Jennie thinks you were doing and your heart breaks at how hurt you know she must feel. How her smile is so so sweet, but her eyes are cold to hide how she really feels.

"It's not what you think." You wince when you say that, you don't even know why you said that. "No! I mean, it's not...that."

"It's not what?" Jennie's smile tightens. "Tell me what it is."

"It's...There's someone in the apartment!" You can't understand why it took so long to get the words out, but Jennie's reaction is immediate. Her smile falls and her eyes dart to the door that's closed only partly.

"I don't know who she is b-but she said she knew you. I figured that was a lie but she attacked me when I went to leave! Please, I would never do that to you. I promised." Your words start to jumble as you speak as fast as you can but she understands, she always understands you.

"Where are you hurt, my love." Jennie's voice becomes soft, her shoulders loosen and her eyes sweeten. Her eyes are drawn to your bloody arm and the cut on your hand. Quickly, she sheds her blouse, leaving her in just a tank top, so she can quickly wrap it around your arm.

"Do me a favor and go in the elevator. Close the doors and wait for a bit." She tells you quickly as the door starts to open. She pulls out her gun and checks the mag before placing a kiss on your head. "Go."

"Please don't get hurt." The lady steps out of the apartment, her hair a mess and eyes glaring. Your blood stains her hand and the knife that she grips tighter when she sees your lover.

You turn quickly, dashing into the metal box, and hit the button that closes the doors before crouching in the furthest corner and hiding your ears in your hands.

You can hear Jennie scream something, but her voice is muffled by both the doors and your hands, but the slam against said doors causes the box to rattle, and a small shriek to escape you. Another shout comes but it's not from Jennie, you assume it's the other woman. A gunshot finally rings, and this time you know it's from Jennie's gun, and another bang follows. Two more ring out in quick succession, and the other woman's wails ring in your ears.

You flinch back, trying to almost dig yourself into the mirror backing of the elevator as more screams ring out. you can almost make out the pleas in them from your hands over your ears, and you feel a chill creep up your back as a faint sound of a laugh comes through.

All too soon there is another very loud slam against the elevator doors, and more gunshots ring out until a trickle of red liquid drips through the cracks. Bile rises in your throat and you scoot as far as you can into the mirrored wall, slipping as the blood pool inches closer and closer.

Ding!

The doors open and you see Jennie kick something away, and with the large thump that follows you realize it was probably the body.

"My love," She sighs as she sees your curled-up body scorching away from the blood, her eyes soften into gentle flames and her lips pout. "I am so sorry. Oh, you're hurt and I didn't even notice-"

"Please just hug me." You cut her off as you stand up, eyes still trained on the devilish red liquid on the floor. She doesn't hesitate, stepping directly into the puddle to engulf your in her arms, causing you to look away.

With much ease, she picks up your legs to have them wrap around her waist and carries you simply down the hallway until she can enter the apartment, being met with the flipped-over table and papers everywhere...and your blood covering the handle of the door. Her heart sinks as she sees the damage and feels your soft breath on the crook of her neck from where your head is hidden. She steps over the scattered pictures to enter the guest bathroom, softly placing you on the counter with a kiss on your head.

She silently pulls out her aid kit, avoiding your eyes in shame as she pulls out a cloth to wipe the excess blood away. You don't flinch as the wet cloth turns red but the rubbing alcohol is different. You're clumsy but you very rarely have such large cuts, so the stinging sensation, while not new, is still quite painful for you. At the whimper that leaves your lips, Jennie pulls away as though being burned, hands resting at her sides as her fists clench.

"I'm sorry." Her lips thin as she forces herself to continue disinfecting. "I'm so sorry."

The trace of tears on her waterline shocks you but at the same time, you almost expect them. They hurt you more than the alcohol finding its way into your open wound though so your reach your unharmed hand up to brush them away.

"Stop saying you're sorry." You make her look at you, meeting her eyes gently. "You saved me. Just like you promised me."

"Always. I'll always save you. But you're hurt and I tried to make assumptions before I helped ease the pain."

"But you understood anyway. So stop saying you're sorry." She looks back down as you smile reassuringly and you figure it's time to move on from the topic. "I think I picked a house."

"What?" Jennie looks up, puzzled at the topic.

"From the four you brought me. I think I know which one I like the most." You smile at her before frowning. "Oh, but I had written it all down in my notebook, but I don't know where it went after I threw everything."

"That's fine! I can go find it!" Jennie turns to go look but you hook your arm around her waist.

"Can you finish wrapping my arm? I don't think I'll be able to tie it on my own, then we can look at them again together."

Jennie turns around with a sheepish smile, quickly finishing the wrap on your arm, and pressing a kiss to your hand after. She rushes out of the bathroom after ordering you to stay in there for a bit longer and when you do come out the living room looks like nothing happened. Jennie pulls you to the couch and has you sit on her lap while she opens your notebook and the pro/con lists.

Every now and then your eyes drift up to look at the shoes that still have blood covered on them, waiting for the gang's cleanup crew to come to grab them. Jennie steals your attention away with kisses when you do.

[PARK CHAEYOUNG / ROSÉ]

[ gif by @jaennie ]

Chaeyoung's face is much calmer than her eyes. In fact, if you didn't know her so well you wouldn't think anything was wrong.

"Well aren't you in a rush? Careful, Sweets, you might hurt yourself." She leans down as she says that, almost mockingly. It's not hard to guess how the dots connected for her, it'd be hard to see the scene as anything else. Especially so soon after you had told her that no matter what, you would never leave her.

"Rosie, help me. Please." You're shaking though, from the complete terror of the person who entered your home, so you can't seem to focus on anything but asking for help. For begging your hero to save you the way she always does.

Rosie raises an eyebrow, taking in everything in the hallway, calmly and violently. Her sweet love, so soft and kind was shaking in her arms, bleeding and crying. Oh, she would burn whoever did this to the ground.

"Where?" Rosie calmly pulls her gun out and changes the clip, having emptied it earlier at 'work'. "Where is the dead man walking?"

"S-She's inside still. I pushed her a bit hard." You flinch away from your girlfriend as you say that scared at how quickly she arms herself with two guns and brass knuckles.

Rosie places her gun behind her back again, instead reaching forward to place her hands on your face and meet her eyes with yours. "Sweetheart, breath. I am here and no one will touch you like that again. I can promise you that."

You meet her eyes with shaky panic, shivering as though it was snowing though the hallway was heated. "Do you promise?"

"I swear on my life, I will personally see to the destruction of anybody who dares harm you," Rosie answers you with unwavering confidence and the trembling in your body stops. Your shoulders are still tensed like a brick wall and with the way you flinch into her when the door to your apartment opens again, Rosie almost falls over.

She pulls you behind her and pulls her gun out, making the woman across the hall freeze. Rosé aims her gun at her, turning her body to face you when she sees that the attacker isn't going to make a move. She places a soft kiss on your forehead, brushing away a tear as she pulls away.

"I'll just be a moment, Sweets."

She turns around and before she can even blink shoots a shot into the attacker's right knee. You don't see, but a cruel smile crosses her face as she hears the scream tear itself from the woman's throat. For her, it's her favorite noise from her enemies, and that woman was currently enemy number 1.

She tucks her gun away as she steps closer to the woman collapsed on the ground, she wanted to make her suffer and a gun was much too...clean.

She stands over the woman who's struggling to save face, attempting a glare at Rosé but struggling to hold the scream behind her lips. Without any feeling, Rosé brings her heeled boot back and hits a strong kick to the woman's ribs. This time you can see the faint shake in your girlfriend's shoulders as she chuckles.

Rosé bends down from the waist to look the lady in her eyes, not wanting to kneel and get her clothes dirty.

"What? Can't look me in my eyes now?" Rosé pulls out her gun again, pressing it to the woman's left foot, putting pressure when she tries to pull her leg away. "Afraid of blood? But you weren't when you decided to harm my girl."

Another shot rings and despite her wishes blood splatters on Rosé's pants. With her arm pulled back she slams her gun into the attacker's head, creating a large gash and causing her to go sprawling.

"You got my pants dirty." She stands straight and then proceeds to kick the attacker again, this time on her knee. "Oh, did that hurt? Sorry."

With a roll of her eyes, she steps on the profusely bleeding left foot, putting most of her pressure on the wound for maximum pain. No longer having the will to scream the attacker just writhes on the floor in pain, like a dying fish.

"Sweetheart," Rosé's call catches your attention, dragging your terrified eyes from the bleeding woman. "What would you like me to do?"

"What?" Your voice is hoarse, and your eyes wide, not understanding.

"With her. What would you like me to do, since she attacked you? I'll do whatever you say." Your lover's eyes soften as she looks at you, as if gently telling you it's ok. Distracting you from how she stepped on the woman like a dart holding its target.

"Do what you do." You say before quickly adding on. "But not here! Please, do whatever it is you do with...that. But don't make me see it."

Rosé hesitates for a moment before nodding, turning quickly to bash her gun handle into the attacker's head again. This time knocking her out and stopping that god-awful writhing. She steps off of the woman, kicking the unconscious woman once before turning back to you. Gentle smile back on her face like she wasn't laughing at screams earlier.

"Come, Honey." She holds her hand out for you, lacing your fingers and basically holding you up when you collapsed into her arms to walk with her back into the apartment.

She sweeps your legs up to carry you up the stairs, laying you gently in the bed as she leaves the room, returning minutes later with tea and an aid kit.

"I'm sorry. For the pain, this is about to cause and for the pain, you endured without me here." Her voice is laced with shame, soft and hesitant, but her hands work deftly in wrapping your wounds. Although she winces much harder than you don when the alcohol stings the cuts.

"Just, please don't let me be hurt again. Please."

"Never." She responds quickly, hardly even letting you finish the request. She helps guide the tea to your mouth. "I put some pain meds mixed into the tea as it'll help you relax more. They have sedation effects so you'll fall asleep quickly. I'll be here when you wake up but I will be gone while you're asleep to deal with the trash."

You nod, finishing off the chamomile tea, and placing the cup down to reach for a hug. She holds you securely, feeling the effects the sedation has on your limbs as you start to drift off. "Just, promise me, you won't tell me what you do to her. I know no matter what, you'll always protect me. I don't want to know how. I don't need to."

Your eyes close but you can feel her nod against your shoulder, and place a kiss before tucking you in. The door closes behind her.

[LALISA MANOBAL / LISA]

[ gif by @lisanamjoon ]

"You said you loved me."

Lisa can only look at you, eyes filled with betrayal and hurt, so much so that she doesn't even notice your trembling and wounds.

Her voice is strained like it pains her to make the accusation. And for a moment you forget about the current situation. Because her eyes are burning, filled with pain and betrayal stings her eyes in the form of tears and all you know is this extremely strong woman is crying and it's because of you.

"I do," You pledge to her again but your voice is pleading as you speak frantically. "I do love you. I do. But-"

"No!" Lisa cries out as you go to continue, misunderstanding what you were about to say. She pushes you then, out of the elevator and into the wall behind you, gripping your arm hard. "You told me- swore to me- that you love me. That you'll stay with me. You can't just leave! Please."

Your heart hurts as her voice cracks and how the obsessed look in her eyes takes over. But her hands pushing against the cuts on your body hurt even more. You could fix the relationship in a second but all you could say right now was:

"You're hurting me."

Lisa looks down then, finally noticing your blood, which was coating her hands. She lets you go immediately and meets your eyes, shock, and confusion covering the betrayal in them for a moment.

"Why are you bleeding?" She asks calmly, but with a new sense of panic coming over her as she spots the cut on your arm and the even deeper gash on your palm. Luck is clearly on your side today because as soon as she asks that, the woman who attacked you steps out of the apartment.

Her eyes open wide at seeing your lover with you and she freezes, giving Lisa enough time to comprehend the scene in front of her. You don't blame her for needing a second longer than normal to react, just before she was thinking you tried to leave her. Her heart just broke in two and is now in the process of unbreaking from nothing.

But naturally, your sweet lover acts with ease, entering her mafia persona and standing in front of you. She's a tall person, but as she stands with her fists clenched and shoulders back and, you assume, a glare on her face, she looks ten times taller. You can see the muscle in her jaw jump from behind her defensive position.

"Who are you?" She asks the same thing you did, voice strained but calm. A chill, however, crawls down your spine at the detached cold tone you've never heard before. Not even on that day she rescued you, she had only sounded annoyed at your former captor, the man who sends his hello through the woman standing at the end of the hall.

"Miss Manobal, I'm here to-"

"I asked who you are." Lisa interrupts her, similar to what you had done, although you assume that the woman is telling a truth instead of a lie this time. "Actually, don't bother. I remember you from that day. What does Jung want this time? We're not interested in any deals and he's too incompetent to launch any successful attacks against us."

She looks mildly offended across the hall and Lisa lets out another cold laugh.

"Oh, is that what this is? An attempt at an attack? Of course, it is. A stupid plan really, you're not talented enough to get away with a single assassination." At the girl opening her mouth to argue Lisa lifts a finger and clicks her tongue. "No. I'm right. You wanna know how I know?"

As Lisa toys with the woman across the hall, a sense of dread fills you like never before. The woman is frozen, in fear or curiosity you don't know, you're not too sure for yourself either. All you know is Lisa has her gun in her hidden hand and a devious smile on her face. You can tell she's angry from the tone of her voice, yet it still sounds cool and calm. Lisa has her prey in the palm of her hand, and if the prey is you or the lady, you can't tell.

"I can tell because," Lisa is close to her now, but instead of attacking she finishes her story. "That meeting, the one you were at, was set up for an alliance, to give the Jungs access to our assassination teams. He knows he can't give a good attack, so he came running to us for help. Of course, nobody in that idiotic gang can come up with a good plan, although I'll give you props for this seemingly ok one. Now, Y/N, turn around and cover your ears."

Lisa points her gun directly at the woman's forehead before twisting her head to look at you. At the blatant fear paralyzing your body, she softens her tone, eyes sinking back into the pools of love that they used to be, betrayal fading away. "Baby, please. Trust me."

You stay looking for a moment longer at her, and how the woman's eyes flit back and forth between the two of you before widening at the realization of who you are. You turn then, missing the desperate turn she makes in an attempt to salvage any possibility of staying alive that she had.

Had Lisa captured her for just attacking a plaything, she would stay alive to be interrogated, and she would find a chance to escape. But she had seen that look before, the one Lisa had given you, on other very powerful mafia leaders. You were the reason she would die today because Lisa would never let anyone hurt you.

You turn around, eyes shut closed tightly and hands clamping down over your ears. The bang of the gun is still loud like you don't even have your hands over your ears, and you flinch, shoulders curling in. The second bang takes you further by surprise and a gasp leaves your lips, but then the shots continue. You lose count after ten. But somewhere around there your gasps turn into small screams. A much louder scream leaves you when arms are wrapped around you, or it may be because you know exactly whose arms they are, and it can't be the lady who broke into your home.

You flinch forward, attempting to get away from the arms but Lisa walks in front of you so that she can instead hold you against her, your most touching her collarbone so she feels your shaking breaths.

"Please don't." You plead with her without recognizing, the words spilling like blood from the wounds on the woman behind you. "Please don't hurt me. I'll be so good, I promise."

"Shh hey," Lisa shushes you quickly, pulling back slightly to look you over, her eyes only showing love and concern now that she understood. "You are good, you've always been good. I'm so sorry I scared you, baby. I never wanted that to happen. Let's just go inside, your cuts must be hurting."

You nod and go to turn around but she pulls you back. Murming a soft 'Close your eyes' she picks you up bridal style. After some steps and shifting, the front door to the apartment closes behind the both of you. You risk opening your eyes and are met with the bloody footprints your lover leaves.

You close your eyes again.

jentledaisies © 2024 no translations, reposting or modifications are allowed. do not claim as your own. viewer discretion advised, your media consumption is your responsibility

[midoribobatea]

Lato's Birthday 2023 - Lato's card

Part 1 & Part 2

(Not 100% accurate translation ,So sorry in advance for any mistranslation and any missgramer)

Under The Moonlight - part 1:

*Notice before reading the Butler Story: This story contains some spoilers for Main story - EP 3

We recommend reading this after reading the main story EP 3.

If you wish to avoid spoilers, please return using the button on the top left.

.........

- A few days before Lato's birthday -

With Lato's birthday coming up soon...I was thinking about what present to buy for him.

So... I thought I'd talk to Flure and Miyaji about it, and when I called out to them...

For some reason, we all ended up gathering in the wine cellar in the basement floor of the mansion.

Miyaji: I'm sorry, master. I made you come all the way to a place like this.

Choices:

<Why here?>

Flure: Umm...well... because Lato has good hearing...

Flure: We were worried that our conversation might be overheard if we were somewhere else..so we ended up here.

Miyaji: Sounds,voices are usually hardly echo in the wine cellar...so there's no need to worry about Lato hearing us.

Choices:

<I see>

Miyaji: Then...about the birthday present for Lato.

Miyaji: Actually, me and Flure too have been talking about it for a while now.

Miyaji: But we can't seem to decide... If it's alright, I'd like to think it over together with you master...

Choices:

<Thank you>

<Of course, Please>

Miyaji: Great. if the three of us discuss it together I'm sure we'll come up with a good idea.

Choices:

<Right>

Flure: Hmm, a present... I guess it would be safe to give Lato something he likes.

Miyaji: Speaking of things that Lato likes...

Choices:

<Like parsley>

Flure: That's right. parsley is Lato's favorite food.

Flure: But... it doesn't really feel like a birthday present...

Miyaji: In that case... how about a handmade picture book or an original song...?

Miyaji: Lato also likes reading picture books and listening to music.

Choices:

<I see, That sounds good>

Flure: That's right... That feels more like a birthday present.

Flure: Alright! Let's give Lato one of those two...!

Lato: What are you doing in a place like this?

Choices:

<!?>

Flure: L-Lato?! Why are you?

Lato: When I returned to our room, Flure and Professor Miyaji were not there, so I came to look for you.

Flure: S-so that's what happened...

Lato: Hello, master.

Choices:

<H-hello Lato>

Lato: By the way.... What were you three talking about?

Choices:

<Well...>

Miyaji: That's...

Flure: Umm... well...

Lato: Hm?

Flure: M-master...!

Flure: Master asked what wines we would recommend...so we were just showing a few.

Flure: Isn't that right, master?

Choices:

<Y-Yeah>

Lato: Hmm... Then show me too.

Flure: Wha...?!

Lato: Master... What kind of wine are you interested in?

Lato: I don't know much about alcohol, but I'd be interested in the wine you choose.

Choices:

<U-umm...>

Lato: .......

Lato: Haha... just kidding.

Lato: after all it was just a lie that you were looking for wine, right?

Choices:

<Huh...?>

Miyaji: So after all.. you noticed.

Lato: Yes.

Lato: You were actually talking about my birthday present, didn't you?

Flure: D-did you hear that?

Lato: Yes. When I returned to our room, I faintly heard master's voice.

Lato: I followed the voice..and ended up here at the wine cellar.

Miyaji: So that's what happened... By the way, from which part did you hear us?

Lato: Since the parsley talking part.

Miyaji: Almost everything... As expected of Lato.

Flure: Seriously...you really do have good ears.

Lato: Haha... I am especially sensitive to master's voice.

Choices:

<I-Is that so...>

Lato: I felt like it would be better to pretend I didn't hear in this situation...

Lato: But there was something I really wanted for my birthday, so I ended up calling out to you.

Miyaji: Something you want? What is it?

Lato: A parsley cake.

Choices:

<P-Parsley cake?>

Lato: Yes, this is the cake that appeared in a picture book I read a long time ago.

Choices:

<(There's a picture book like that...)>

Lato: It looked like a very interesting dish, so it made a lasting impression on me.

Flure: Umm... Is there really such a picture book?

Miyaji: Come to think of it... I think I made a picture book like that for Lato a long time ago...

Flure: Huh? Professor Miyaji did...?

Lato: Yes. It was a handmade picture book that professor Miyaji made for me.

Choices:

<So you can make picture books, Miyaji>

Miyaji: Well, even if I call it a picture book... I didn't really make anything that impressive or anything like that.

Miyaji: I wondered at that time if there was something I can make that could interest Lato even just a little...

Miyaji: I made this a long time ago when I was still researching.

Miyaji: I do remember the picture book depicted a sponge cake mixed with parsley...

Miyaji: I think it was a cake served with parsley cream...

Lato: It was also topped with finely chopped parsley.

Flure: T-that's sounds...

Choices:

<Like a parsley cake..>

Miyaji: Hmm..

Miyaji: It's a special day for you, Lato. Then, If that's what you want, I'd like to make it come true.

Lato: And if I can ask one more thing...

Lato: If you don't mind, I'd like to make that cake together with you...master.

Choices:

<With me?>

Lato: We can't?

Choices:

<It's not that, but..>

<No, I was just a little surprised>

Miyaji: Master, I'm not sure if it's even appropriate for a butler to ask you to do something like this, but...

Miyaji: Could you please help bake this cake with Lato?

Choices:

<Let's bake it together Lato!>

<Sure!>

Lato: Thank you master.

Flure: Good for you, Lato.

Lato: Haha..Once it's ready, I'll let Flure try it too.

Flure: Huh? Y-yeah...Thanks..

Flure: Ah, but…Do you know how to bake a cake?

Lato: No, I have no idea.

Flure: Y-you wanted to make it without even know how to bake?

Miyaji: Don't worry about that, I'll find out how to make it before the day comes.

Miyaji: Master, you can rest assured too.

Choices:

<If Miyaji says so>

<Thank you Miyaji>

Lato: Haha..I'm looking forward to it, master.

Choices:

<Yeah>

- A few days later -

Then, on Lato's birthday in the afternoon...

Miyaji gave us a note written with the recipe... After gathering all the ingredients for the cake, me and Lato went to the kitchen.

Meanwhile Miyaji and Flure prepared for the party in the basement butlers room.

Lato: Speaking of which, this recipe note we received from Professor Miyaji...

Lato: Apparently he asked Lono to help him with it.

Choices:

<So Lono also helped out>

Lato: Yes. Both Lono and Professor Miyaji did it for me...they are very kind.

Choices:

<Okay, Shall we start baking?>

Lato: Yes, let's bake it.

Then we started cooking while looking at the recipe notes.

During the baking process...Lato broke some plates and spilled some ingredients...

It wasn't a smooth process,but...

I followed along as best as I could too... Somehow, Lato and I were able to make the cake according to the recipe.

- After a while -

Lato: Master, the cake dough is ready.

Choices:

<Next, we need to apply the cream>

Lato: Understood.

We spread fresh cream mixed with parsley on the baked dough.

Finally, We sprinkled chopped parsley on the top and the special cake is complete.

Lato: Haha... It looks just like in the picture book.

Lato: Thanks to master's help... I have finally completed my long-awaited parsley cake.

Lato: I could never have made such a wonderful cake by myself.

Lato: Thank you for granting my wish, master.

Choices:

<Today is Lato's birthday after all>

< I'm glad it made you happy>

Lato: Haha... I feel like eating it right now.

Lato: But Professor Miyaji and Flure are preparing the party, so... I'll just have to be patient.

Choices:

<Right>

Lato: Now... before we bring the cake...

Lato: After I change into the costume Flure has prepared. Let's return to the butler's room in the basement...

Under The Moonlight - part 2:

- After a while -

Lato: Sorry to keep you waiting.

Lato: What do you think about this costume?

Choices:

<It suits you>

<So cool>

Lato: Hehe.. Thank you.

Lato: It's a costume that Flure made for me. It's very beautiful, I really love it.

Lato: Now that I'm all dressed… let’s bring the cake.

[Devil's Palace basement hallway]

Knock Knock…

Lato: Is it okay to come in now?

Miyaji: Yes. It's okay now.

Lato: It looks like we can come in. Shall we go?

Choices:

<Yeah>

Clunk...

Miyaji: Welcome to the birthday party venue. Lato and master.

Miyaji: We've just finished preparing it.

Flure: Oh! You've changed into your costume, Lato.

Lato: That's right. How is it?

Flure: Didn't I already told you though when you first tried it on?

Lato: I would like to hear it again.

Flure: Wasn't it enough? It suits you very well.

Lato: Haha... I was complimented by master too just before.

Lato: Thank you Flure, for this beautiful costume.

Flure: You're welcome hehe.

Flure: I'm glad you liked it.

Miyaji: Haha..So Lato, did you enjoy making the cake?

Lato: Yes. It was fun to cook with master.

Lato: Take a look. We made a parsley cake that looks just like the one in the picture book.

Flure: I kind of imagined what it would look like but... W-woah What a strong color.

Flure: This... is not matcha, it's parsley, right?

Lato: Yes, there was a lot of slicing, chopping and mixing involved.

Flure: W-Wow...

Miyaji: Did any of you two got injured anywhere?

Lato: Yes. We are alright thanks to master's support.

Miyaji: Then that's good.

Miyaji: Thank you, master. For all of your help and doing it for Lato.

Choices:

<It was fun cooking with Lato>

Miyaji: Haha..If that's the case I'm glad.

Miyaji: Now then, Lato. I would like you to receive this present from us.

Miyaji said as he placed a lot of dishes on the table.

Lato: this is...

Choices:

<Since when did you prepare it?>

Miyaji: Actually, I was cooking in the kitchen early this morning.

Miyaji: After hearing that Lato is going to make a cake with master.

Miyaji: I wanted to prepare something too for Lato.

Miyaji: I used parsley while preparing the dishes so that Lato could eat it.

Miyaji: By the way, this fried chicken has parsley mixed into the batter...while this is a potage that uses plenty of parsley...

Miyaji: I was able to make it thanks to Lono's help in tasting it, so I'm sure it's delicious.

Choices:

<Amazing!>

Lato: Professor Miyaji, Thank you.

Flure: Well then, it's my turn next.

Flure: Here. This present is from me.

Lato: Oh. this is quite a beautiful box.

Lato: Thank you, Flure. I'll treasure this box.

Flure: ...No, the box is just a container. The gift is what's inside the box.

Flure: Try opening it quickly.

Lato: Inside it? Alright...

When Lato opened the box, he found beautiful forks and spoons inside.

Lato: This is…?

Flure: It's a cutlery set.

Flure: Use it to eat a variety of dishes other than just parsley.

Flure: If you keep being picky about what you like and dislike, you'll end up damaging your health.

Lato: Flure..You were worried about my health...

Lato: Hehe... Thank you so much, I'll treasure it.

Flure: Yeah...

Miyaji: Now that we have given you the presents...

Miyaji: Shall we start the birthday party?

Lato: Yes. So, first of all...

Lato: ..should I start with this cake using the cutlery that Flure gave me.?

Flure: Are you going to start with the cake first?!

Lato: Yes, is it a problem?

Flure: Well..it's Lato's birthday after all... I guess it's best to let him eat what he likes.

Lato: Well, I'll try it.

Lato: Hm.... *munch munch*.

Choices:

<Is it delicious?>

Lato: Yes, it tastes like parsley and it's very delicious.

Choices:

<I'm glad>

Then Lato cut a small piece from the cake... and picked it with the fork, and held it out in front of me.

Choices:

<Huh?>

Lato: Here master try it too.

Flure: Wait-- Lato! What do you think you're doing to master?

Lato: It was so delicious... I really wanted master to try it too...

Lato: Now.... Open your mouth, master.

Miyaji: La..Lato...I understand how you feel, but if you suddenly do something like that, it will cause a problem for the master too.

Lato: Oh... Is there something wrong?

Lato: Professor Miyaji once told us that "the more good things we share, the happier everyone will be."

Miyaji: That's, well... I did said that sometime long ago...

Lato: That's why... I want to share the deliciousness of the cake with the master too.

Lato: Master... Is it bad...?

Choices:

<I-If it's only just one bite...>

Lato: Thank you. Then, Here you go..

Although I was a little hesitant, I took a bite of the piece of cake that Lato offered me.

Lato: Hehe... Master, is it delicious?

Choices:

<M..Mm-hmm>

<I-it's delicious>

Lato: That's good.

Maybe it was because I was nervous... but to be honest, I couldn't really tell the taste of the cake...

But seeing the happy look on Lato's face... made me feel happy too.

- Tonight -

After Lato's birthday party was over... I was relaxing in my room.

While peeking outside the window for a moment, I noticed the beautiful full moon in the sky.

Knock Knock…

Choices:

<Come in>

Clunk...

Lato: Greetings, master

Choices:

<Lato, did something happened?>

Lato: I'd like to have a little chat with you, master.

Lato: If you'd like... would you like to go for a walk outside with me?

Choices:

<Outside?>

My eyes instinctively turn through the window to the moon rising outside.

Lato: It's alright, master. Now I no longer feel pain when I see the full moon.

Choices:

<Are you really okay…?>

Lato: It's really okay. I'm not forcing myself.

Lato: Would you like to come with me?

Choices:

<Okay>

Lato: Haha..Thank you, master.

Step... step...

Lato and I walkd together under the moonlight.

Lato looked at the full moon rising in the sky... rather than looking distressed, he was smiling with joy.

Lato: Being able to take a walk like this with master on a full moon night...

Lato: I couldn't even imagine it just a short time ago.

Choices:

<I'm happy too>

Lato: Haha...

Lato: ......It really feels like a dream.

Lato: Until recently, full moon nights were nothing but painful for me.

Lato: I was suddenly overcome by an inexplicable anxiety and fear, and I lost my composure, breaking things in the room.

Lato: There were times when I harmed Professor Miyaji and others.

Lato: This has always...always...

Lato: This has always happened for over 200 years.

Lato: But everything changed...ever since I met you master.

Lato: The full moon that was once such a painful experience

Lato: Is now just feels so beautiful.

Lato: This is all thanks to meeting you, master.

Choices:

<Lato...>

Then Lato stopped and looked straight in my eyes.

Then he smiled and removed the gloves he was wearing...

Lato: Master... can I hold your hand for just a little while...?

Choices:

<What?>

I was a little confused, but... I reached out my hand towards Lato's outstretched hand.

His cold hand gently held mine.

Lato: Warm…

Lato: I can feel master's life force.

Choices:

<U-umm>

Then Lato pulled my hand towards him and pressed the back of my hand against his cheek.

Choices:

<Lato...!?>

Lato: Shhh. quiet.

Lato: You don't want the other butlers to notice us, right?

Choices:

<S-sorry...>

<B-but...>

Lato: Haha...

Lato: Right now...I am very happy.

Lato: Being next to master.... being able to see master's smile....

Lato: I feel happy to be alive, more than I've ever felt before.

Lato: This...is what called love, right?

Choices:

<T-That...>

<.........>

Lato: Just being able to feel master's warmth like this... makes me feel at ease.

Lato: You, master... have become an indispensable part of my life.

Choices:

<Lato...>

Lato: That's why, master.

Lato: Please don't ever disappear from me...

Lato: Can you promise me that?...

Choices:

<Of course...>

<I'm not going anywhere>

Lato: Haha, thank you.

Lato: Then, me too... I promise not to leave your side.

Lato: We will always be together...forever.

Choices:

<Yes...>

Lato: You are the first person I have ever felt such love and desire to cherish.

Lato: I'm not much interested in my own life but if...

Lato: Next year's birthday too... Two years from now, and ten years from now...

Lato: I could spend those times forever together with you like this, master...

Lato: Looking forward to that... I want to live.

Saying this, he gently squeezed my hand again.

Hearing those words... I squeezed his hand tightly back.

Choices:

<We will celebrate every year>

Lato: Master...

Lato: Yes... that's a promise...

Lato: Because I believe in master...

I felt Lato's cold hands gradually warming up.

Through the warmth of his hands, I could really feel Lato's life force.

- End -

[lunarheiress]

I have a lot of thoughts about dungeon Meshi since I finally got around to watching the new episodes that came out and put a lot of the discussion into a new perspective. (Also full disclosure I have not read the books though I wish to acquire them for that purpose at some point.)(also also I have to work so I’ll probably break this up into a few posts because time is short atm)

So, the recent fight between Toshiro and Laios. It’s got a lot going on, and people seem to really be trying to assign blame when both of them are at fault (one a bit more than the other in my opinion but I’ll get to that):

1. First of all, there’s the clash of culture a lot of people have been discussing where more open communication style is not mixing well with a subtler communication style. This can’t be ignored, as these modes form the basis of (or at least highly influence) how they learned to communicate in the first place.

2. Second, there’s the inherent character lack of communication skill. Laios obviously is and benefits from being direct, and struggles otherwise. Also i can’t quite remember what part gave me this impression but I felt that Toshiro struggles with expressing his thoughts more than just because of a cultural difference. Perhaps it’s a combination of factors but it really just seems like he’s on the opposite end of the ‘ways to be bad at communication’ spectrum from Laios.

3. Third. The situation they’re in is awful and Toshiro has not eaten or slept in days as Laios accurately points out. Toshiro is also (rightfully) shocked due to the black magic revelation. (Rightfully meaning within the in universe context of the stigma around black/ancient magic) The man has received some of the most frightening/worst case scenario ever imagined news and all while he’s running on whatever’s left after fumes. He’s stressed, unwell, not taking proper care of himself, and completely unable to pull himself together, especially compared to how well Laios comes across (all things considered)!!!

(As a very long side note, I also have some thoughts on the ancient magic. I don’t feel like we as the audience really know enough about ancient magic to pass judgment as harshly as characters in the story. The evil evil bad bad blah blah reputation the magic has might have come from biased sources, or the characters could be completely correct regarding the danger. I will say however, that I think the type of magic Marcille used seems to have nothing to do with Falin transforming into a dragon. The only things she didn’t know was that the dragon ‘soul’/physical body would remain in some way and that the mad mage had dominion over whatever it is that’s remained. This also raises some interesting questions about what the dragon was exactly. They say that only human souls remain tethered, so, is the dragon soul originally human? Did the mad mage create certain monsters and power them with human servants? Did he originally transform a person’s body into the dragon, but couldn’t this time fully because Falin’s bones didn’t belong to the dungeon? Or does the body of the dragon belonging to him give him control over Falin until she consumes enough outside food to replenish herself? So many questions)

4. We as an audience know how hard a time Laios has been having. He’s also been behaving like a lunatic and putting himself at risk in ways that definitely indicate he’s not being completely rational at times. However, Laios also seems (on the surface) incredibly unaffected by what’s going on from an outside point of view. Despite his direct nature Laios is shockingly good at compartmentalizing, as well as refocusing his attention and efforts. This is in no way a bad thing? His ability to remain composed and focused is astounding. The problem is that Laios is likely coming across as cavalier, or at the very least not taking things seriously enough. It’s actually the opposite, he’s taking this situation very seriously, so much at times he’s not being completely rational which can easily come across as carelessness if you don’t know Laios well enough.

So, to sum up this first part? The argument is kind of born from two people who are both uniquely bad at communication in a way that clashes severely. They have also built a relationship they both view very differently. (Some recent decisions on both their parts are not helping either tbh). This argument was going to happen eventually, it just happened to break at the worst time possible, turning what might have just been an uncomfortable conversation into a full blown fist fight. But there’s also so much going on around them and in the fight that I still want to talk about so badly aaaaa part 2 later I guess!

[meadowmusing]

my thoughts before the PJO finale

overall? A good fun show but with some definite stumbling. Faithful in a "remake" sense, but as much as a "port" would be. Still a genuinely good time with a likeable cast, gorgeous visuals, and an engaging (mostly) interesting plot.

Beware spoilers for ep1-7!

My biggest gripes

Pacing. the first episode was horribly paced. Somehow both rushed, not well condensed, and yet also failed to effectively deliver tension in important scenes it was needed in. Scenes like the minotaur felt dragged out and lacked the urgency it deserved, and the fight/victory fell kind of flat. Pacing got better in later episodes thankfully.

Sally Jackson. Yeah I know, not a hot take. She's a more realistic depiction of a mother in that kind of situation but I didn't find her likeable outside of her first scene talking about the name Perseus. She's not necessarily a "Bad Character" per se, but she is not the Sally Jackson from the books. Frankly, I didn't find book Sally all that important, but seeing this version has definitely wised me up to importance of her kindness and patience. Sure she might have seemed like a "doormat" at the beginning, but the more u learnt about her, the more her inner strength and self sacrificial love for Percy was apparent. TV Sally just doesn't have that, it doesn't feel like she has that much affection for Percy, she seems more distant and less loving. TV Sally has far too many scenes of her raising her voice at Percy and being frustrated with him, it makes it seem more like she was randomly stuck with this child and while she loves him, she knows deep down she would have been happier without him. Again, understandable but not book Sally. I feel they've sort of played up Percy's fierce love for his mum (or maybe it just feels more so because its more present in his spoken lines), but it doesn't feel as justified. If anything, id believe a more messy wrought relationship between the two. Its not a bad thing she's not the exact same as her book counterpart, but I do think it was a bad decision when they went so hard on Percy being ride or die for her, when most of her longer scenes are her being just frustrated with Percy being a child.

Gabe. ok more of a hot take I guess but I seriously disagree with his re-characterization. I don't mean to downplay anyone's experiences with toxic or abusive partners, but Gabe is far too bland and inoffensive. At worst, he's kind of annoying and maybe lazy. But he is nothing like the human sht stain that was book Gabe. Book Gabe deserved petrification and a lot worse, TV Gabe does not. The guy deserves a break up, not murder. Me and my friend actually laughed at him, because he didn't give "beats his wife and emotionally abuses her and her child", he gave "dead beat crypto boyfriend". Maybe it was the casting as well, the actor was funny and just seemed more goofy than actively horrid. "what makes u think he hasn't hit sally?" have u met TV Sally?? are u kidding me? she would have that man arrested.

Hades. I don't actually dislike making Hades friendly and more sassy. Sure its not book accurate, but you could argue its a little more mythologically accurate (maybe). My real problem is that he lacks PRESCENCE. Yes he can be nicer ect in this, but he is still the GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD. He should still be able to command a room! His words, even if they're not malicious or intimidating, should hold a certain kind of weight. I don't blame the actor here, I think he does well with what he's given but pretty much everyone else dropped the ball here. If they had supported him, we could have had a friendly Hades that was still a fitting lord of the underworld. Writers, directors, lighting, sound, ect let him down.

Persassy. Percy was great in the beginning but I felt like he started to lose that as the show went on, to give more of his lines/sassy moments to the other members of the trio. Which wasn't a terrible idea, I just think they did it too much, especially with the Ares scenes. Percy is meant to have an epic beef with Ares so much it transcends magic amnesia, but I could not believe that with the current lack of sass. Even the upcoming battle doesn't feel as weighty or deserved as it should. Again, don't hate the idea of sharing the sass around, just don't think it should come at the cost of Percy being toned down so much.

Getting into the underworld / mattress scene WHAT WAS THAT. I can accept that Percy knows more about Greek mythology because of his mom and i feel generally from just current cultural zeitgeist, but WHY THE HELL WOULD HE KNOW WHO CRUSTY IS?? and why was it so quick? there was no quick desperate clever thinking, it was like bro had read the scene from the book and then SPEED RAN IT. Also the Charon scene was far more interesting imo and I don't like that they cut it in favour for Crusty, without even doing that scene well. God that was so poorly executed.

Anyway thanks for reading my rant. Its long so it may seem like I didn't like the series but im being truthful when I say I did. I pretty much liked the rest of it, even some of the changes. I thinks a good show and adaption with some flaws, thats all. Im excited to finish up the season and im so pumped for season 2 and hopefully the rest of the series :D

[rassicas]

(I don’t feel like rewriting it cause it mostly gets across what I’m trying to say but the first paragraph is just a rant stemming from liking splatfest law as an idea, preferring a more malleable understanding of cannon, and how even good non contradictory things the NOA translators do are often discredited for not being simply 100% accurate [cause it’s often more interesting when it’s not imo] so sorry in advance)

I get being the jp translation lore purist and translator is like your entire brand but I feel like some of the “misconceptions” are just popular headcannons or not bothering to check the NOA translation against the JP one for every line. (Revising this it’s literally only splatfest law this gripe applies to I was just feeling ranty) I get really hammering on the “no there aren’t any more mammals” one because that is an important contradiction but when they don’t directly contradict (like splatfest law [again this entire paragraph is just the product of me thinking splatfest law is a fun idea and specifically disliking it being framed as a “misconception”]) it feels kinda weird to treat taking the translation you have at face value as a “misconception.” (Specifically when it doesn’t contradict established cannon or alter characterization in a major way [this has actually just become a mini rant about how treating any information exclusive to translations as non cannon on the simple basis that the JP translation is the only true cannon is something that I personally am conflicted on {wow the mentally ill genderfuck homestuck prefers a mailable and more flexible idea of what is “cannon” who would have known}]) <=(writing these parentheses sets made be realize I’m kinda just spinning a word salad over one specific gripe)

I also cannot view the Frye thread yet so perhaps there’s more of a thesis to it than Frye not being confirmed to be a vampire squid like them being some other species of squid but it seems like a stretch to include that as a “misconception.” Is your underlying argument is that no cephalings inherent traits from specific aquatic ancestors? Is this just to say the art books and interviews have nothing that directly confirm it? (All of that to say what was the reasoning for including it on the misconceptions list?)

Looking back at the list now those two specific ones are the only ones I’d like to know the reasoning for including (this was not well thought through before I started typing it) all of the other ones I definitely get including and have solid sources to back them up and are good to put out there as definitely not backed up by cannon. The list is over all very swaggy and a great resource I’d just like to hear expanded thoughts and reasoning behind these two being it.

The reason for the "splatfest law" inclusion is how often i'd see it brought up among fans, taken seriously, and incorporated into genuine theories about the future of splatoon's plot (i saw this in theories about splatoon 3's plot, and now i see it with side order).

if it's just a localization funny moment then the odds of it potentially having bearing on the plot/worldbuilding of a game made by japanese developers is next to zero. for people like me who put highest importance on the JP side and want to seriously speculate on and understand splatoon's canon, people want to know what is and isn't just a product of localization! funny thing, i was also a hardcore homestuck fan but i am Like this (obsessive over the established Lore) and have always been. i think its my brand of autism LOL Different pieces of media are going to have different standards to how they treat their canon. individuals will have their own standards to how much they want to adhere to that canon and how they define it. splatoon is looser in some places but parts of it less so once it becomes plot relevant. "splatfest law" is objectively funny and if you believe it based on how you perceive what is splatoon's canon i cannot and will not stop you. i personally choose to believe its not actually part of their legal system and something people will say in-universe as a joke. as for the frye thread you should read it before jumping to conclusions about what point i was making with it. I'll go and post it after this. What happened was that right after frye was revealed in the nintendo direct, someone made a thread speculating that frye was a vampire squid, with points of evidence being that she has fangs (all inklings have fangs and weve seen different shapes of them) and long ears (we've seen normal inklings with different shapes of ears), and then the rest of the "evidence" being based on stuff that was intended to be based on her connection to eels or indian culture. this thread blew up and soon after people were stating, with certainty, that frye was 100% intended to be a vampire squid. it is one thing to headcanon something, but its another thing to tout it as fact, which is what was happening.

[yuri-is-online]

Hello! Welcome back from finals hell. I don’t remember if I have sent an ask in yet, but did you have any thoughts about the recent Book 7 update? Especially since translations are already floating around the internet. The deeper look into the Octavinelle trio’s thought processes and perception of the world was interesting.

And then there was Jade’s dream. That depiction of Floyd and Azul was cursed. I was not ready for that.

- 🦐

Took me forever to get to thiiiiiiiis hello Shrimpy anon it has been a good bit hasn't it. The Book 7 update was nice! Shoujo crying eyes Azul and biblically accurate Floyd were not on my bingo card but really what else did we expect from Jade. I thought we'd get sentient mushrooms but this was just that much better lol

It wasn't what I was expecting but it makes a lot of sense. I really like the touch of all three of them facing their inner darkness themselves and the FAITH they have in each other to not need help. It can come off as callous sure, but being there for someone often means understanding when what they need from you is your faith and not your presence. There's also the fact that these three aren't human, they don't live in a place with the same sort of rules as the surface so expecting them to think like a human won't really work. If they started thinking like humans and went back to the deep ocean there's a chance they could wind up seriously hurt, it's just not as nice of a place.

Honestly what I really liked about this chapter was more of the light shed on what's going on outside of the dream world. Malleus is having a real negative effect on the environment... I wonder if that's why the mirror chamber looked the way it did in the beginning? Does Malleus's magic break down the school because he starts draining magic from the land? Or is the simple explanation that it was broken down by the Chimera the reason... lots to think about.

If Malleus's ob means that my curry would have been destroyed I will never forgive him ٩(๑`^´๑)۶

[darlingofdots]

Hello as someone who did half of a thesis on trans romance novels before realising academia wasn't entirely compatible with my health, I am still VERY excited by romance academia and romance academics. Would you like to talk more about your PhD?

Academia is barely compatible with life, I feel you xD

Basically I'm very interested in interrogating and dismantling the standard hero/heroine language because I don't think that it serves us anymore. The genre has evolved so much that it feels really reductive to say 'this is the hero because it's a man' and vice versa, and that's even before you start considering queer and same sex romance novels. I do believe that the protagonists of a romance novel have different narrative roles! They're just not rooted in gender, or at least not just. For example, it used to be that heroines were always young women who were sexually naive and heroes were older, sexually experienced and aggressive men, and that is demonstrably not true anymore. I'm investigating the functions of the romance protagonists in the romance narrative with the goal of proposing a different classification, so we can finally talk about different relationship constellations within romances with accurate language and understand the actual roles they play better. Figuring out how stories work is one of my favourite things to do both as a writer and an academic, because I love finding the patterns and traditions inherent in storytelling--what does this building block do and where does it come from? Why does it look like that? What happens if you take it away?

Romance scholarship is super fun because there's so much material to discuss and not that many people who are discussing it, but it's also difficult because a lot of the discussion has been trying to defend the genre and scholarship thereof against stereotypes and misogynist dismissals from other fields, so there's not as much foundational material as you often hope. There are so many exciting things happening in the community though! I recently attended the 2023 conference by the International Association for the Scholarship of Popular Romance and had an absolute blast both because the presentations were fascinating and because everybody there was just so bloody lovely. It was so wonderful to be in a room full of people very seriously discussing possessiveness in sports romance or the folkloric themes in KJ Charles novels and never have to justify your interests or preferences.

Popular romance is such a staggeringly wide field and yet so many people have absolutely no idea about how the genre works. Mainstream media and scholarship are so outrightly dismissive of it that the majority of people, even voracious readers!, have such a skewed idea of it that they refuse to interrogate because the image of the white, straight, cis bodice ripper is so ingrained in their head and it never occurs to them that that might be an incomplete picture. It's especially egregious to hear this stuff repeated by fanfiction readers because the line that separates shippy fanfic from romance novels is so thin it's practically imaginary. If somebody only read Game of Thrones and then went on a rant that all fantasy books are horrible and stupid and anyone who reads them must be intellectually inferior, they'd rightfully be called a dick, but people say these things about romance novels all the damn time. Get off your high horse! Acknowledge that women are people and things enjoyed by women have merit! Broaden your horizons! Ask a romance reader for some recommendations and maybe you'll even end up enjoying yourself!

[isfjmel-phleg]

TSG season is upon us, so I've been rereading a few things. Today I finished The Making of May by Gwyneth Rees. Maybe not Great Literature, but a lot more readable than its cover (which is more suitable for a younger reading level) would suggest.

It's not straightforwardly a retelling of The Secret Garden, but it is in conversation with that story and the heroine references it multiple times. I was trying to figure out why this worked for me, while Ann of Sunflower Lane's constant references to Anne of Green Gables came to grate on my nerves. And I think it's because instead of piggybacking on a classic and trying to fully parallel it, The Making of May *interacts* with The Secret Garden but isn't trying to replicate it on every level.

May hasn't even read TSG; her fascination with the story comes from a VHS she owns (this book was published in 2006, when VCRs were not as uncommon as they are now) of what is very obviously the 1975 BBC miniseries. She identifies a lot with Mary, although she acknowledges significant differences in their backgrounds. They are both orphans, but May points out that Mary has grown up unloved while she herself has been raised by her much-older half-brother and -sister, who are a bit in over their heads as parental substitutes but genuinely care about May and are trying their best. Note that May highlights Mary's emotional neglect rather than traditional grief; her understanding of the story comes from an adaptation that closely follows the original text, and she's even actively opposed to watching a "more modern" version (implied to be the 1993 film) that she doesn't feel is an authentic rendering of her comfort character.

Because that's how May sees Mary of the 1975 miniseries--a friend who understands her life circumstances in a way that others around her don't seem to. She rewatches the tape as often as she can, usually when she's in a low mood, and the story informs how she sees the world. It's a kind of escapism for her. She does this to a lesser extent with other films she finds interesting too, but TSG 1975 is her favorite.

Like Mary, she is given the opportunity to restore a walled garden, which she insists on calling a secret garden. But this isn't accurate; everyone on the estate knows about the garden and knows she's working in it. She is joined in this by the son of the estate's owner, and her first thought is that this is just like Mary's working with male friends. But that's where the overt comparisons stop. Alex is very different from Dickon or Colin, and his arc, while broadly similar to Colin's in that he must heal a broken relationship with his father and realize his extent of his own abilities, is significantly different. He and May investigate mysterious goings-on in the house--a locked room and a housekeeper disappearing there with a tray--which initially has a very TSG feel, but the mystery's solution is no gothic secret but a perfectly normal, mundane thing. May even expects the forbidding housekeeper to resemble Mrs. Danvers after having seen Rebecca; this isn't very grounded in reality either. Even the actual central secret of the novel has nothing to do with locked gardens or hidden rooms; it's the fact that May's brother fudged his resumé to get a gardening job on the estate.

Like Mary, May restores a garden, makes friends, plays an instrumental role in repairing a father-son relationship, and experiences physical and emotional growth. But unlike Mary, her arc involves having to learn to distinguish fiction from reality and grow past projecting onto a fictional character to cope. It's not that her engagement with TSG is an inherently bad thing, but the extent to which her relationship with it has gone is maladaptive. She has come to take the story so seriously that she can't see it as a story anymore; when she tries to show the miniseries to Alex and he finds it laughably low-budget and dated (harsh! but not inaccurate), she is as offended by his criticism as if he had spoken against her. Because the story is such a personal thing to her--and I really can't blame her, I feel the same way whenever someone is dismissive of something I care about--that her identity is bound up in it to an unhealthy extent. She needs the balance that comes with engaging with the real world and real people and getting out of her own head, and her adventures at the estate help her do just that. In some ways, the themes veer more into Northanger Abbey than The Secret Garden!

May by the end hasn't abandoned her love of the miniseries, but now instead of fixating on Mary as she is at the beginning of the story, she can see Mary's completed arc and understand the story as finished, not as perpetually ongoing in her own world. May is finally given a copy of The Secret Garden to read, but she isn't sure if she's ready to read it yet, or even if she needs to--she's about to embark on new adventures of her own, adventures that will be completely separate from Mary's.

So ultimately the book is less about recreating The Secret Garden in another setting and more about how the heroine relates to an adaptation of the story--not even the actual book, an adaptation, a constructed interpretation of the book. Which is a surprisingly fresh take and, honestly, more interesting in some ways than a straightforward adaptation because of its meta perspective. It's a story about someone's response to someone's response of a story. And in that regard, it has a lot in common with Noel Streatfeild's The Painted Garden, which concerns the filming of an adaptation of The Secret Garden in late 1940s Hollywood and features broad parallels to the original story while commenting on how the change of medium and the vision of the adapters alters the narrative and characters.

There's probably an essay to be had on the concept of how these two books interact not only with each other but with The Secret Garden and film/TV adaptations of it, both real and fictional, but for now this is long enough and I'm not writing it.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Incorrect quotes

Thanks to both @the-stray-storyteller here and @gottestod-writes here!

Rules: generate incorrect quotes for your OCs here!

Carmen: Things will get better!

The Squad:

Carmen: Okay, maybe they won’t.

Carmen: But they will be terrible in new and interesting ways!

Jedi: You've been given a new job to do, but I'm worried it might make you angry.

Carmen: Just say it quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

Jedi: You have to teach Rose how to drive.

Carmen: ...put the band-aid back on.

Noelle: *watching the squad's shenanigans with concern* Do you feel like this has gotten out of hand?

Carmen: I don't know. Feels normal enough for a group that's on 911's blocked callers list.

Carmen: I’ve come to a point in my life where I need a stronger word than fuck.

Robbie, throwing a pokeball at Ash: Ash, I choose you!

Ash, not looking up from her book and catching it: You need an Ultra ball to catch this Legendary Pokémon.

Lexi: What do you call disobeying the law?

The Squad: A hobby.

Lexi: *crosses arms*

The Squad: That we do not engage in.

Maddie: We need to distract these guys.

Akash: Leave it to me.

Akash: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss.

Robbie & Lexi: *immediately begin arguing*

Gwen: What's wrong with you?

Noelle: Off the top of my head, I'd say low self-esteem, a lack of paternal affection, and a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression.

Jedi: Remember what I told you.

Carmen: Don’t be a cunt.

Robbie: “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy” I would. Pussy.

Robbie: “I’m not gonna sink to their level” I will. Coward.

Robbie: “I’m the bigger person” I’m 150cm tall give me the gun bitch.

Maddie: Okay. Hypothetically speaking, how mad would you be if I burned a hot pocket so badly it could probably fall off a ten-story building and be completely fine?

Ash: Maddie, what did you do?

Maddie: Take a guess.

Carmen: What makes a bigger memory than a passionate kiss?

Carmen: A stab wound.

Jedi: So, you’ve finally arrived-

Jedi: Here to save prince-

Jedi: I’ve been waiting for this day-

Jedi: Stop skipping my dialogue-

Jedi: Seriously, stop-

Jedi: MOTHER FU-

Rose: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Kelsey: ...

Kelsey: What a stupid fucking quote.

Kelsey: I'm killing way more than two people, idiot.

Kelsey: Guys, there’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly.

Carmen, on the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.

Carmen: You can take away my rights, but can you take away my lefts?

These are too accurate omg

Also why does this generator love using Carmen so much

✨ OPEN TAG✨

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Could it be possible that stars true form are similar to biblical accurate angels?

(This won't leave my head when you mentioned eyes at the back of Cephs head.)

Something incomprehensible to humans.

On a side note how well-learned is Asha about her world? Since her mom was a sailor I wondered what stories she would have told Asha about her time as a merchant. Does Asha have any cousins and how well is her relationship with her uncle?

Can she identify what a penguin is?Or animals not native to her home? If she were to travel to another kingdom for a possible vacation where would be her first choice?

What are her other interests other than astronomy,crocheting,science,inventing,sketching and surviving?

What are her current skill sets? Can she pick a lock? Because I don't believe Sabino would not teach her how to get out of a cage or such if she were to ever be kidnapped. Her paranoia must come from somewhere?

Sorry if these were all to much.

I enjoy and am very invested in your Asha,her story and your world building.

(Sorry Ceph but I just prefer Asha and world building more than you. PS.Cloaks and shawls are better capes)

Thank you! ❤️ I’m glad you like my Asha and my story/worldbuilding 🥹

((

Ceph: *starts choking*

Asha: are you okay?

Ceph; no! There’s so much audacity in this comment that I’m literally dying! You’re killing me north towards me- YOU ARE KILLING A STAR!

Magnifico: *elsewhere in a room full of confused advisors* why do I feel like I am being challenged?

Ceph: there’s absolutely no way you expect me or any other star to honestly answer that question after your little ‘shawl’ comment- no seriously! That’s just not right! This is crazy! And that’s something coming from me!

Asha: finally someone with good taste!

Ceph: and this is why none of you will know my birth name. Ever. ))

During her earlier years in her apprenticeship Asha ended up shadowing a lot of ministers when magnifico had basically turned his attention to the other apprentices. She spent a lot of time studying about other countries and their histories- Arendelle and Corona to name a few, and tends to socialize with their diplomats to learn more about their technology/science (so she can strengthen her argument on the science’s legitimacy!) so overall I think it’s a bit safe to say that Asha knows a lot more about the world beyond Rosa’s than your average Rosa’s native born (most don’t really plan to leave Rosa’s ya know? So they’ve never been too bothered about learning about distant countries in depth)

Sakina has told her a lot about her times sailing and the crazy adventure she did. She had a lot of dangerous run ins with supernatural creatures like Davy Jones and sirens. And also met Calypso (POTC Calypso) she got collections of picture books from her time abroad to show Asha the world beyond Rosa’s. So She can identify a lot of animals non-native to Rosas

Asha also has a few little cousins and her relationship with her uncle is very good (they built her sailboat together) and he always brings her gifts whenever he comes around, but he hasn’t been too big on visiting Rosas since Tomas passed. If she were to travel to another country I think she’d definitely want to visit Corona- so she can nerd out over Lord Demanatus’s work. In a perfect world she’d also love to visit Atlantis (maybe even moreso than Corona!) (She’s not too big on Arendelle and Scotland for their magic and bears and magical bears tbh 😬)

Asha: there’s more to life than survival? (Jk) she loves diplomacy and history. She does still love art here too but she draws less frequently due to being overworked. if her life had gone better she’d still be huge on musical theatre. She also likes wrestling/grappling too- the main branches of self defense her grandfather taught her that would be advantageous against bigger people due to her smaller size! Asha is also a firm believer in stress baking (don’t tell Sabino)

As for her current skill set Asha can definitely pick a lock (she’s so good at fixing them that there’s no way she doesn’t know how to break a few) and there’s also no way Sabino would teach some noble boy how to pick the lock but not his own granddaughter. Asha is also quite well trained for her circumstances unless magic comes in. Then she’s kinda toast.

[skye-huntress]

The Witch from Mercury Season 2 Reaction

Episode 13: “Envoys from the Earth”

Looks like we’re starting off with back-to-back duels. We did hear from Shaddiq back in episode 10 that the challenges against Suletta were piling up

No. 5 is very animated compared to No. 4. I wonder how many people have wondered if there was something wrong with him

Felsi, Renee and Sabina are now all reps in the duelling committee? I can understand Lauda having other responsibilities from the shot of him in one of the trailers, but why is Shaddiq absent?

“I’d say he is a different person.” She has no idea how accurate that statement is

So Nika is still around but she seems distracted

So Suletta is obligated to accept a duelling challenge once every two weeks but since Shaddiq made extensions on those challenges while Aerial was being rebuilt they were all pushed back. By the sounds of it, the Committee made the exception so they could force Suletta into back-to-back duels hoping to wear her down. It sounds like their MO, they’ve been trying every dirty trick in the book to trip up Suletta since she bested Guel the first time.

Unfortunately for them, the rebuilt Aerial is even more of a powerhouse than she was before, although I still prefer the original look. Plus Suletta has already beaten two of the top duellers and single-handedly wiped out half of the top team in school in what was mostly a 6v1 fight. Really, they’re just helping her to rack up the wins faster

Oh, great, Suletta mentioned the b word. Can we not talk about the b word? I’m anxious enough already

Seems most of the normal people in Earth House aren’t coping too well with what happened and the subsequent gag order. I hesitate to comment on whether the gag order is for the best or not, since there is a lot about the situation we do not know yet, but I can sympathise with Earth House who for the most part live in ignorance. Just for example, how would Chuchu feel if she knew it was Earthians, not Spacians, who nearly murdered her and all her friends?

Suletta seems normal. You wouldn’t know that she’s experienced real combat for the first time, much less killed

Naturally, suspicion is falling on Jeturk Heavy Machinery for colluding with anti-Spacian terrorists. I wonder if the late Vim Jeturk had planned for this or if he really didn’t think this through. Well, he’s dead now so we’ll probably never know.

Zenelli seems to be out for blood, though I’m not sure how much the Group actually care about Delling’s wellbeing and Jeturk’s death. I think this is more about the Group’s egos. Maybe it’s more of a “how dare those Earthian insects attack us” type of deal.

“I would never lie to you, father,” says adoptive son who is constantly going behind his father’s back to pursue his own ambitions.

Shaddiq says he plans to bring his father into his own plan but I have my doubts that will happen. Both of them are pretty stubborn and I suspect they’ll never see eye-to-eye.

So Suletta does have doubts about if she did the right thing, although like I’ve said, in the moment there wasn’t exactly a lot of room for error or hesitation. Still, it’s clear she is asking the wrong person. The amount of trust she places in her mother even on a murky issue like this leaves me uneasy.

I still do not know if Sohpie wants to fight Suletta or f*** her. … It’s probably both.

She can’t even take a normal ID photo. I’m not surprised, I just find it very appropriate

I like how Sophie is so familiar with Suletta right off the bat but put no thought into any kind of cover story for it.

Suletta is just so pure she just goes along with the whole sister thing. I’m now kind of curious to see where this will go. Certainly it’d be a far more interesting love triangle than the one with No. 5

Speaking of, did Suletta actually agree to spend a day with No. 5? I seriously doubt it, considering how confused and conflicted she seemed. It seems like he just sprung it on her hoping that her in her confusion she’d default into just going with him

Whatever the case, I absolutely love that Sophie swooped in and stole his date from him

Girl who squashed a terrorist still gets jumpy around petty school bullies. Yeah, try figuring that one out.

We’re getting a battle royale? If Suletta and Aerial compete, it’s going to be a metaphorical massacre. (If Sophie competes, it will be a literal one)

Nika, did you really think threatening a couple of terrorists was a good idea? Seriously thought she was about to get offed here.

I got to say, I didn’t expect those two to be exposed so soon. You’d think if they’d take such a risk they’d be a little more careful, or at least Norea would

Girl who cowers from petty school bullies faces off against girls she just saw attempt to murder her friend with steely determination

The duelling system is really dumb and these two obviously have every reason not to play along with any dumb rules or laws. Really, they’re just humouring Suletta’s challenge which is deeply troubling.

We really haven’t gotten enough Miorine this episode.

This is the tricky thing about Prospera, just like with her recent talks with Suletta, nothing she said to Miorine is actually wrong. Miorine and her father probably would have died if Suletta had any reservations about harming or killing others. A moment’s hesitation would have made all the difference in that situation, and that would have been something Suletta may have never recovered from

Quiet Zero, Delling’s secret project that Prospera is somehow in on. And she wants to put Miorine in charge, as if she doesn’t have enough on her plate with school, a company, a hospitalised father and a groom possibly conditioned to commit violence. And any project aimed at ending all war is usually the type to result in some apocalyptic tragedy.

[nobodysdaydreams]

11, 17, 20, 21, 33, and/or 74 for the WIP Ask Game!! Whichever you're most comfortable answering :)

I hope you are doing well, and no pressure in getting this answered!!! (Also remember to drink water!)

Thank you so much Sophie! I have drank water, but I appreciate the reminder. 🥰

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

Well, well, well. If it isn't another mutual fishing for compliments when you know how much I love your Sticky OCD fic (/j /lh). Seriously though, it is amazing. But, in the interest of giving recommendations, I'm going to tag and recommend three fics by authors that I didn't mention in my response to Katie's ask about favorite authors so I can spread the love around a bit. I don't know if I have a set "top three" but one good SQ centered fic I like is @kneeslapworthy's "someone only you could want". Criminally underrated, great interactions between SQ and a redeemed but struggling Nathaniel that I wish the show could have given us. Another fic I really like is @mvshortcut's "Lifeline" , another fic that I think deserves more attention. It blends book and show elements in a really great way, which I love to do in my own writing, and it gives us a Constance and Curtain sort-of-team-up that would have been great to see in the show. The fic also does a lot of really cool stuff with Constance's powers and provides some great mental visuals of what Curtain is going through. Speaking of psychics, @acollectionofcuriousreblogs's "The Psychic File", which, no, I have not finished, but what I've read so far is really good. It expands on an AU plotline of the book that I'm not as familiar with because I haven't read ROA, so I've really enjoyed it and there's some great OCs in there as well.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

What I'm doing right now. Procrastinating on writing fic by doing stuff on tumblr, even though I was already procrastinating on irl responsibilities by writing fic in the first place. Honestly, the problem is less writer's block and more "I have a point in the plot I'm excited to write about, but I gotta write other stuff first" and that's where I'm at right now in my fic writing process. It's not that this stuff isn't interesting and that you as the reader won't enjoy it, it's just not the part I want to write right now. But I've been getting some more motivation and I will get to it. Eventually.

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Words and expressions? Oh yes. I include stuff like "I mean," "Um," and "Well," waaayyyy too often, and I need to stop. And for some reason, whenever I needed Garrison to exit a scene in the first half of SOS, the only thing I could come up with was having her go back to her apartment to go to bed. I'm shocked no one has left a playfully passive-aggressive comment calling me out on that yet. I think I did that at least three or four times. I guess it is rather in character, the poor woman just wants somewhere to cry in peace. I've also gotten a bit braver on expanding my neurodivergent head canons and writing them into my fic. I say "braver" because even though I'm neurodivergent, no one person can be neurodivergent in every way (at least...I don't think so. Some disorders in the DSM directly contradict each other so I'd be fascinated if someone can claim literally everything and so would a good many medical professionals), and I want to make sure I'm doing it accurately and well. I mostly stick to writing (or hinting at, or allowing for) neurodivergencies that either I have, or irl friends and family members of mine have, which works really well in MBS, because the disorders the characters are hinted at having are the ones I'm the most familiar with, and it allows me to "write what I know" so to speak.

As for common themes, I'm a sucker for redemption stories (if that wasn't clear between my Martina Redemption fic, my redeemed Nathaniel Benedict was once a semi-good person fic, the one where Curtain has some regrets, the one where the Benedict siblings believe they're monsters who don't deserve love). I just love the idea that no matter who you are, or what you think you've done, or what you have done, destroying yourself or trying to erase yourself because you think what you've done is too terrible and the world would be better without you, is wrong, because you, today, can chose to be better and do better, and you shouldn't deprive the world of that goodness because someone out there might really need it, and it's never too late in the game to decide to start putting that goodness back out into the world. I'm sorry that I overdo it, but I just love that theme. It gives me so much hope not just for myself, but for humanity, and it reminds me to be kind to and forgiving and understanding of others and patient with myself (though I'm still working on the "myself" part). I also just wanna say that since writing these fics, especially SOS, I've gotten a lot of messages that say things like: "as someone who has done really bad things and is ashamed of who I once was and is trying to make up for what I did and become a better person, this was a message I needed to hear so thank you for writing this". And I want you all to know that that means so much to me, because me too guys, me too 💕 you're definitely not alone in that. It's a message I think we all need to hear sometimes. (Although I will add that based on your ask game responses, some of you all are pretty young, and as someone in their 20s who has made her fair share of mistakes, I will say that you guys are way too young to be thinking you're beyond hope at this point. I don't care what test you got caught cheating on, I don't care if your entire school hates you because of something you said without thinking, and I don't care what personal friend group drama you were involved in. You are still a loved and wonderful kind person, and you still have plenty of opportunities to be a good person going forward).

21. Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

I would love too! I’m not sure how that normally happens, but you all have great ideas and if you ever were like “can you write this part for me?” or “I don’t know how to get from this point of the story to this point, do you have ideas or can you come up with something?” I would try my best to help and would love to write a story with you (time permitting). DMs are always open!

33. Do you want to be published some day?

Technically, I’m already published. It’s nonfiction I’ve written for my job, and I don’t make money off it, but it has my name on it (my real name so sadly I can’t share it with you sorry). As for my fiction, yes, I would like to be published someday, though right now it’s more of an impossible dream. Unfortunately, while I seem to be able to generate a surplus of ideas based off of books and television shows, (especially when I get hyper fixated on it) I have quite a bit of trouble applying what I've come up with to a 100% original idea. I would like to someday, I'm just not sure how. It would certainly help me out financially to have writing I could make any amount of money on, but again, I'm not sure how, and for right now, I'm content enjoying the hobby.

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

For fic, I’d say you could tell pretty easily based on themes and tropes. I love redemption fics, I love neurodivergent head canons, I love found families. Really, any fic that goes to really really dark angsty places, but ultimately has a happy (or hopeful) ending. I tend to gravitate towards that "no situation is too hopeless, no one is beyond redemption" theme. I know I just talked about it, and yes, it's overdone in my writing, I know, but you guys seem to enjoy it, and if it's not broke, why bother fixing it?

Thank you again for the asks and please have a lovely evening! 🥰🥰🥰

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Blaise and ginny ship and harmony

It took a while for that monstrosity of harm*ny to arrive but here we are.

I, obviously, don't ship these.

Let's start with the short one:

BlaiseXGinny

Why don’t you ship it?

Why would I want my homegirl with a bloody racist (quite ironic considering that he is black, you'd think he would be more sensitive to the topic). Like, the way he talks about her being a bloodtraitor? Ugh.

Also, he is close enough to Pansy that she knows his taste in girls, this already tells me everything I need to know about him.

What would have made you like it?

Nothing. But if he hadn't talked about her like that, I would have maybe felt a bit sorry for him, seeing that he quite obviously has a bit of a crush and Ginny couldn't care less about him.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I think I might read a one-shot about Blaise's unrequited crush because I love that Ginny is so fucking good-looking that not even the Slytherins can deny it.

Harm*ny

Why don’t you ship it?

Where do I start?

No, like seriously, there would be too much to say.

The difference between this and other no-sense ships is that here we have seven books of material on why it makes no sense.

The second you go beyond the extremely superficial and heteronormative Harry is a boy that likes girls and Hermione is a girl that likes boys and they care about each other, it's just a pile of shit. It doesn't need an accurate analysis.

We could talk about how disturbing it is that Hermione is scared of Harry when he is angry, or how they don't even share the same system of values. Of how ridiculous it is to pair up an orphan whose greatest desire is family with someone who for years finds ways to not spend time with her perfectly loving and normal family. We could talk about the heavily incestuous vibes. Or about their absolute inability to communicate.

We could talk about how addressing them as siblings and not friends is making this dynamic a favour because otherwise, it would have some very dysfunctional aspects. Harry's lack of interest in Hermione's emotional sphere unless it directly affects him is completely normal from the perspective of Harry being Hermione's younger brother but otherwise... You can't even fault Harry's upbringing considering that he is twelve when he observes and judges Ginny's relationships with her brothers and the way they take care of her.

We could talk about Hermione's patronizing way of talking to him.

Or do you prefer Harry's inability to take care of her when she cries for weeks (which is honestly bad in a purely platonic friendship too after seven bloody years)?

Or we could go back and count all the times they don't fight simply because Harry doesn't care enough to disagree with her.

It's bad from a personalities point of view, it makes no sense for the themes of the story and it would have been a structural disaster.

But seeing that I could go on to write for a week about all the things that don't work in this hypothetical ship, I'm just going to say what is the worst crime, above all others, that this ship commits:

It's so fucking boring.

It gives off middle-aged depressed couple that should really get a divorce because they haven't touched each other in 25 years.

What would have made you like it?

Honestly? Nothing. The people who claim to ship it don't even like it. Half of the fanfictions for this ship is just re-writes of the books in which they make Harry view Hermione the way he views Ginny and turn Hermione into Ginny. The other half of the fanfictions does the same thing but they are not settled during the time frame of the books.

I swear, you can just say you ship hinny, I know the ship name sucks a bit, but they are not gonna arrest you. Just admit it.

Also, for me simply the fact that Hermione is Harry's helper is an issue. It's already an inevitably unbalanced dynamic. Just because it's a common trope, it doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Hermione or Harry (depending on the perspective you wanna take) is not a death eater or disturbingly older than the other.