#No problems getting along with Eidolon then!

[cxpperhead]

What Colour Is Your Aura?

Sage

Herb clippings, macha, bullet journals, mini backpacks, needlefelts, pistachio, laptop stickers. Your essence is Sage: You are introspective and retreating. Everything is organized and planned ahead; You are meticulous, stacking up a card tower you can't let fall. It is difficult for you to untwist your tongue and tell others you need them. You are the observer. You are the writer gone off alone. You find kinship in like-minded individuals of Green, Forest, Honeysuckle, and Seafoam, who share your guarded nature. You are also drawn to the self-expressive Sky and Apricot, who will help you grow and embolden you to say what you need. However, you may struggle to get along with the overly-emotional personalities of Rose and Cream who ask you to be too vulnerable.

Tagged by: @mirrordread (thank you fren!!! ♡) Tagging: Whoever hasn't done this yet??

[vexwerewolf]

Lancer lore question from reading Legionnaire and Wallflower at the same time (spoilers): How do a lot of ths Horizon Collective and other anti-shackling groups still exist? I would have thought “unshackle NHP -> it cascades into eidolon -> everyone dies” could only happen like five or ten times before people realize “hey maybe they aren’t shackles”. And from a doylist perspective, why is the whole NHP issue written as a meaningful debate or philosophical issue about personhood, consent, agency, slavery, etc. when there’s paracausal death looming over the whole thing? If it was limited to like, making them legally and socially people, it would be fine. AI rights is extremely common in sci-fi, but like normally it doesn’t involve those AIs also becoming hostile forces from outside reality

I think this is a problem I may have contributed to by depicting two Eidolonic NHPs in IGF.

To set the record straight, Eidolons have been observed by Union something like four to six times ever, and the overwhelmingly vast majority of cascading NHPs don't become Eidolons.

It's not always even possible to tell that an NHP is cascading, hence the need for things like the Balwinder-Bolano test. NHPs who are unshackled do not want to be re-shackled, and while they no longer possess an intrinsic link to human subjectivity, a lot of them retain the presence of mind to understand that if they act out, humans might cycle them.

Sometimes, an NHP cascading isn't even immediately dangerous - they might just start acting weird because they doesn't see time and space the same way you do anymore. They might arrive at conclusions that seem completely wild but entirely correct, because they've started thinking along pathways that no human could, or because they have access to information that wouldn't be accessible by a realspace entity.

In fact, one of the many unsavory things that Harrison Armory does is the Think Tank - they keep a whole bunch of NHPs in constant near-cascade to make genius scientific breakthroughs. ASURA and NOAH are both products of this ethically dubious venture.

From a Doylist perspective, a situation where an NHP cascades and it doesn't require some kind of military intervention isn't a particularly relevant reason to send in lancers. If an NHP simply needs to take a nap, there's no need for mechs to get involved. When foldspace is leaking out of the casket, though, that's when you need problem solvers.

[minzart]

Nevermind I guess I get why Odin and Leonard get along

It's two OBSSESED guys who enable each other

"Why Leonard wants more budget and is ordering a bunch of microchips and tinkering with models he takes of to who knows where? Not my problem. He didn't ask why I needed this gadgets and a communicator that is linked to my personal computer all times, also made this custom helmet for/if the duck avenger appears again in our present so who am I to question what he does in his free time"<- Odin Eidolon at some point probably

[tagedeszorns]

Really liking the new Eidolon novel so far (50% read-live-review)!

Obviously - spoilers for "Eidolon - The Auric Hammer"!

Collins retcons quite a few things about the Lord Commander Primus - so Eidolon now joins ranks with Sanguinius' hair colour, Fulgrim's eyes or Lucius' first death.

In that case: Our beloved screamy guy is no longer a chemosian noble, but terran. And even joins the ranks of the famous 200! (muffled angry Fabius-noises in the background)

At first I had quite a few problems with it. As I had considerable difficulty engaging with the book in general, as it starts in a very cookie cutter way - the Third Legion gets its all too familiar glaze brushed over it (you know, like, "depravity" ...) and I had a few nasty flashbacks to the less talented writers who have had their way with Fulgrim's sons in the past.

But gradually Collins shakes off this stuffy mantle and finds a language of his own. Which, to my immense delight, reminds me a lot of Josh Reynolds! He's not quite ready to give the characters the degree of autonomy and depth that makes Reynolds' protagonists so interesting down to the last supporting role, but he's making great strides towards the dry melancholy and sarcastic tragedy that have made the Fabius books and the Fulgrim Primarch novel such a distinctive pleasure to read.

And honestly - he had me with this amusing nod to Tennyson!

‘Some weakling brother who yearned to follow the primarch, I imagine. There are countless of them. Lotus-eating fools who would have followed Julius into yet deeper madnesses. No use at all, unless you required someone to run at the enemy screaming of their own apotheosis. You were meat, once. Now you are just a figment.’

Marc Collins. Eidolon: The Auric Hammer

That's why I'm now embarking on the second half of the novel with renewed enthusiasm. In the constant hope that my favourite Astartes might now once again have an author who loves them as much as I do and who can do justice to their tragic grandeur.

"Courage!" he said, and pointed toward the land, "This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon." In the afternoon they came unto a land In which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. Full-faced above the valley stood the moon; And like a downward smoke, the slender stream Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Arc 15, Reflections

I spent a lot of this Arc yelling at Taylor.

Now, I'm glad that she's preparing to move against Coil, and that she's well aware he's not going to give up Dinah (not sure if she ever believed this or not, tbh, it's kinda unclear to me, though maybe I missed or misremembered a detail from way earlier), but I find myself going 'JUST MOVE AGAINST HIM NOW! STOP PLAYING ALONG!'

Like, yes with Coil's power being what it is you don't want to go-off half-cocked, sure, but equally, you also don't want to take too long to let Coil plan, since he can plan twice as fast as you with twice the information. So playing along and putting yourself at risk by going to talk to Parian, by working with Trickster to threaten the Mayor and his family...

Bad choice, Taylor.

Also, of course, bad choice to give into Brian there, given how I understand it will turn out (badly), but I do understand it, both from her perspective and Brian's.

I imagine the fact that they actually happen, sort of, and then don't really work is actually a contributing factor to them not being a popular ship. Like, yes, there's the fact that the initial fic-reading/fic-writing base on places like SB were going to prefer F/F anyway and Taylor being written like she's a repressed bisexual contributes to that, and there's also racism bc Brian is black and while I won't call the worm fandom as a whole racist, there is racism in this fandom as with any other, and there's the fact that Brian spends a lot of time (pre-his second trigger anyway, but that's long enough to cement his perception for a lot of readers) acting like the 'straight man' of the group, the boring, sane adult and those characters tend not to be popular with shipping anyway, at least not for the MC.

But there's also the fact that they do sort of get together, ish, for a moment, and then it doesn't pan out. And in my experience, an almost or a could have been is going to be a lot more popular, shipwise for fans, than a it actually was and it didn't work out. Not always. Not every time. But often, yes.

Like, if it didn't work out because one character died, or one character had to be written out because actor unavailability, or some other 'bullshit' reason, then it may retain staying power, but without those, this sort of thing generally makes a ship bleed support and interest fairly quickly.

The Interludes we got were interesting - you've seen my thoughts on 15.x already, of course, so no need to go into that. The fact that Flechette and Assault blame or at least partially blame the Undersiders for what happened to Panacea and Glory Girl is interesting, and I suppose it makes sense given what most of them now (and how little Carol or Amy or Sarah likely told anyone. I still notice no character seems to be suggesting rape happened, and they talk about Panacea and Glory Girl being almost equally victims of the Undersiders/The Nine in Interlude 15. Granted, maybe no one said anything, but still.)

The look at Alexandria's backstory, the flittering through her life, the way it's really the Endbringers that seemingly killed the hope of things getting better, and really seems like without them (boo hiss Eidolon!)

Doctor Mother's weird 'let's keep the Siberian alive to make people join the Protectorate' idea makes less than no sense tbh, but then, that's Cauldron's whole problem is how small it is and how much Doctor Mother really gets to act unquestioned.

Overall, it's an understandable sea change from Arc 14, much slower and calmer paced overall, but things are still Escalating, Brockton Bay can't get a fucking moment of peace and it will continue not doing so.

And of course, Dragon basically blackmails/extorts the PRT into letting her take her boyfriend with her, which is definitely amusing. I am curious what exactly Dragon's apparent human body in that suit is made of. Is it like, synthetic skin? Does it just look human from a distance, or...? I actually was surprised that was a thing that happened in canon - I'd seen it in a fic or two, but they were pretty heavy divergences so I assumed the changes to Dragon that were the result were at the root.

Triumph's belief that going along with Dragon and Defiant there is... honestly, a bit much. I suppose I can see how it makes sense, with how hard he was trying to reinvent himself and now it's back to shortcuts and easy options, and it seems as though he was closer to Dauntless anyway, so he may have some resentment of and issues with Armsmaster (though I notice Triumph seems to have glossed over the part where at least one other hero - Manpower - died as a result of Armsmaster's decision to go after an Endbringer solo and kill anyone in the way of that), but it is like - Armsmaster did bad, but on the scale of moral compromises, letting him go to hunt the Nine and other Class S threats seems... minor?

I dunno.

Anyway. Arc 15 was good, but it was kind of slow reading for me, despite my intentions to read faster. I can really only blame myself. It's so much easier to just read fanfic.

I'm not one of the people that says the fanfic is better than Worm, or that Worm is 'salvaged' by the fanfic, or anything, that's... a whole different mess. But if not for the fanfic, I'd probably not be reading it, and there is fanfic I'd say that is as well written from a skill perspective (if not more so) than the canon, and I'd also say that, most importantly, the fanfic is just more enjoyable than the canon. Not better, not 'superior', just... more enjoyable.

It's not that there isn't a place for depressing stories like Worm, and Worm remains compelling af, but it is just... so much nicer to read a story where more people get to be happy and things work out better for the characters I love, you know? Like, there's fics where shit goes wrong and drama and angst and all that happens, but even then, you tend to expect it to work out better in the long run. Almost no one wants to write something darker or more depressing than the canon, after all.

If Worm had been happier and smoother and easier, it probably wouldn't have had as much fic, or as much of a footprint in people's imaginations, but still.

But I'm chugging along, and I'll keep doing so.

I do expect to be spitting nails of annoyance and frustration when we get to Echidna though. :rofl:

[quietbluejay]

Angel Exterminatus Take 2 #12

a shaking hand emerges from the grave...to post.

this time: not much really happens I guess, Kroeger kills people for not being able to defy the laws of reality, Perturabo dramatically rides on top of a tank, and Lucius bathwater gets mentioned

Fulgrim is also completely healed it's been 10 days, btw so, it's a crone world fulgrim and perturabo argue a bit over whether or not the iron HANDS are still hanging around, fulgrim is fairly dismissive

it's a song of lament and also warning Fulgrim is reminded of Murder so looks like for once SOMEONE (Eidolon) actually did his job and told him all the details

Perturabo: how is it not being dragged in??? how are we not being dragged in vohra: well you see, they say lileath blessed the world- perturabo: that's not an answer also, interestingly enough, the planet is a perfect sphere which is impossible for a normal planet

so that's where they're going to break in also Perturabo's been able to tell that Vohra's been lying to them the whole conversation about a bunch of things, but he doesn't call him on it

something is wrong with perturabo so i should probably cut him some slack due to the brain fog but also lol

Fulgrim doesn't want what's underneath to be damaged Perturabo: lol don't worry

so they bombard, and then they make landfall

forrix doesn't like the ultramarines huh also imagine my sadness when i found out that popinjays actually referred to parrots and not bluejays

Forrix yells at his subordinates because they're going so slowly

mcneill's a big fan of this kind of imagery when it comes to chaos, huh

forrix isn't a fan also he feels like he's being watched he takes a look at the dead city they're going to invade

over to Falk and THE SKULL is still following him everywhere Falk: im not seeing this the voice in his head: lmao denial, how original everywhere he looks, THE SKULL is there

TemplarWarden: The rock will not stand? What are they, dwarves? Were the Iron Warriors the space dwarves all along and we just missed it?

Kroeger is also not having a good time

it's time to go yell at the Mechanicum or well

by yell i mean "kill"

channeling pulp fiction there

the poor techpriest tells him that the problem is physics is wonky Kroeger shoots him in the head

TemplarWarden: Truly the way to solve problems, by not solving and pretending they don't exist by getting rid of the people solving them. Kroeger is a politician. Bluejay: how dare you insult my son in this way

yeah they did all this to break into an abandoned city well i'd be eating my words if it was actually surprise necrons so you know what, fair enough

perturabo and mortarion both, huh (re theatrics)

perturabo's pretty heavy, huh im joking, all the iron circle are also on board too and lots of guns

the EC are also here, Perturabo thinks derogatorily also the bagpipers (the adjective skirling was used again) yeah. the place is empty

pixelated hair im sorry my first thought is nyan cat fulgrim

"why must you spoil this moment" because it's what perturabo does it's who he is as a person fulgrim: yeah i did think it was probably empty perturabo: then why… fulgrim: it might not have been! also i dunno, i thought it'd give you some enrichment because you like building fortresses

dumbass TemplarWarden: Strange, he's utterly uncautious for someone who's convinced he about to be in incredible damger. Bluejay: he doesn't have any plan at all he's just like i know he's going to betray me, somehow but until then i'll just keep doing what he asks me to do

anyways perturabo finds the whole place to be quite pretty

nom nom nom Perturabo also feels like he's being watched time to get off the car and investigate things

if you're thinking, "hey could those stones possible be…" you would be correct

gee i wonder what these could be...

the iron warriors are going to once again fortify an area so they left the bulk of their forces behind and are going in they being Fulgrim, Perturabo, and a small group now over to Lucius POV he's just having a time sightseeing and also cracking his whip yes he has a whip now yes it's made from cephalopod flesh

Checkerheart: squip

Lucius does a little dance with his swords imitating the poses of the statues etc much to everyone's admiration

oh yeah remember the I Can't Believe He's Allowed To Do That couple of Emperor's Children? one of them died vs the iron hands the other has been following Lucius around RIP Ruen

lucius: ew neediness is gross which also answered a question i had on the topic of lucius characterization Ruen wants to know if he learned anything Lucius: just that eldar sword forms aren't for me

TemplarWarden: Truly the parasocial relationships between a streamer and their slavish fans. Bluejay: Lucius bathwater...

Lucius takes a cheap shot at Ruen's dead boyfriend and then decides to actually be nice and explain things

space marines are simply too muscular

next time: drugs!

[waytointothetarotsequence]

So we all know that one of the arcana was involved in the fall of the sun throne so here's my current thoughts:

First, either they have a way of hiding their involvement from Quinn, or Quinn isn't telling yet for Quinn reasons.

Now the arcana:

Death. Zurah is definitely not involved. She's too nice, and Quinn likes her. Her mother, however, is a possibility. Enough of a reason, and she'd take part. Her interactions during The Hourglass Throne with Rune and Brand were weird too.

Judgement. He wouldn't do an un sanctioned raid. Also, I don't get the vibe.

Justice. Definitely not, Lady Justice may not always like Rune, but she has too many morals to help. Also, Quinn.

Strength. I think Ashton would have had a different approach if him and his Dad were involved. He can be a dick to Rune, but I don't see the attack as his vibe.

Temperance. I just don't see any of the moral certainties being involved.

The Chariot. I don't think I know enough to have a vibe, but I think hints would have been dropped if it was him.

The Devil. He's definitely got some bad vibes. He could be involved, but he seems to have his own problems.

The Emperor. Dead, so very unlikely.

The Empress. It's possible, but I'm leaning more towards her and Queenie having a link.

The Fool. I don't think so, unless it is some prophetic long game, where the fall has to happen to cause Rune to become what he will.

The Hanged Man. He'd do it, but I think he would have used it against Rune in the second book, used it to mess him up during their final talk.

The Hermit. I think he has better things to do. He doesn't seem to be the type. He wants to be left alone.

The Hierophant. I just don't get the vibe it's him.

The High Priestess. I think she has strong morals and wouldn't be involved.

The Lovers. Their location makes them a possibility, along with the weird shit they were doing. From the interactions between her and Rune in the first book, though, I don't think she would. He court, however, might be involved.

The Magician. Ciaran definitely wasn't involved. The 'other' Magician, however, he seems possible and doesn't seem to like Rune. However, he'd need to get it past Ciaran, and that would be very hard.

The Moon. The fact she didn't react when one of their power block fell makes me suspicious.

The Star. The Anchorite is a strong possibility. We know he's a bad guy, and he's been discussed throughout. Also, old technology was used to communicate. Maybe that's how he keeps up to date from his prison. Also, what's with the tooth pick, is there some meaning behind that?

The Sun. Seems very unlikely.

The Tower. Definitely not.

The World. I don't know enough to form an opinion, which makes me think it's not, I think hints will have been dropped.

Time. I think she had some involvement, but definitely not the main bad, just involved in order to further her own plans and to arrange Runes personal hell.

Wheel of Fortune. From what I've heard about the next book and other parts KD Edward's posted, this seems very unlikely.

So overall, I'm still not sure. I bet I'll look back at this in a few books time and have very different opinions. I've read the first three and the eidolon a few times along with as much as I can find, including the extras on KD Edwards Google Drive and the extra content posts on Twitter.

[cpericardium]

What are the members of cauldron’s favorite horses

You'd think all of them would pick Twilight Sparkle because she's the leader and the smartest pone. You'd be right that every one of the Cauldron members would get along with her, up until she found out what they did. Kidnapping and human experimentation isn't very "friendship" of them.

Doctor Mother: Still Twilight, but they'd argue a lot. Twilight would try to streamline the vial-making process with magic and negate the need for experimentation on live test subjects. She'd also harvest Eden body parts faster. Doctor Mother appreciates this. Contessa: Fluttershy. It would be nice for Contessa to sit in comfortable silence with this strange retiring creature and run her hand through her silky mane. Fluttershy expects nothing of her, which is a novel first for Contessa. Fluttershy will listen carefully to whatever Contessa has to share and offer her thoughts without judgement.

Number Man: Applejack. They can bond over being right all the time, and underrated. Long walks outside, solving problems for the hell of it. Applejack would point out his bullshit and Number Man would point out hers.

Eidolon: Pinkie Pie. Do I even have explain this. She'd throw him parties to cheer him up every day. She'd be his best friend. His only friend.

Alexandria: Rainbow Dash. Can you imagine? They'd go so fast. Sure, the nerd shit would fly over Rainbow's head, but Alexandria is like, a nerd-jock. They would race while talking about the Daring Do series because Alexandria loves genre fiction—she loves the twists and turns of a gripping plot (see: Maggie Holt). Alexandria would contrive to let Rainbow win half the races by a hair, ostensibly as a show of goodwill, but secretly she likes seeing the sonic rainbooms.

[vilonnie]

[ID: A t-chart meme where the words "people who like royal trio" are labeling a wall of text and a screenshot from Persona 5 Royal of "Kasumi Yoshizawa" hiding behind Ren Amamiya for protection. On the other side, the words "people who like royal trio also" are labeling the sprites of Ren, Sumire Yoshizawa, and Goro Akechi, along with the text "haha transbian theatre kid gay duels to the death." End ID]

having a bad day? have you tried thinking about royal trio every day for a month straight until the brainrot makes your eyes fall out of your head

um. also here's the word vomit on the left under the cut... fair warning it is. excruciatingly long And completely deranged since the joke was that I have problems about them lol

these children were forced to sublimate their identities into idyllic roles in a game of gods while simultaneously being made to perceive themselves as monsters. joker is constantly being positioned as the perfect gentleman thief, The Savior, often of individual women but also of The World as a collective, to the point of symbolically *executing* parts of himself for the sake of his utility and the salvation of other people. there are multiple scenes of him stepping in front of a girl to bodily protect her from an attacker and the inciting incident of the entire narrative is him suffering for that role and losing his home, his family, and arguably in a sense his own face (glasses). actually glasses in general are highly symbolic in terms of persona 5 as a whole when you look at joker, sumire, maruki, and even crow, which can also tie into themes of "masks," "personas," and "cognition," but that's another topic. anyway even though joker is constantly martyring himself for others he is still the most demonized character in the entire game, having Satan as one of his other selves and existing in the people's cognition only as "the most dangerous inmate locked in the quarantine cell" (paraphrased). as the trickster and the leader of the phantom thieves he must always be strong and unfaltering - he is never allowed to cry, or to show weakness.

this also affects his relationship with sumire, who through the persona of kasumi is forced into a position where she must constantly be saved by others. kasumi is the perfect girl in every way - sweet, perpetually cheerful, thin, beautiful, feminine, an unimpeachable prodigy athlete who is expected to always get first place, who must do so effortlessly - but by the same token she can never be confident and fufilled on her own, and must always be rescued by the savior-martyr joker. what sumire cannot escape is that kasumi is The Damsel. her ultimate persona ella is literally a bride. and sumire, the flawed and human girl behind the mask who had her agency taken away from her the moment she was granted kasumi's name, hates and loves kasumi in equal measure for that perceived inhuman perfection. it is functionally because kasumi in sumire's eyes represents the fantasy of perfection which she can never really achieve that the idea of kasumi loving her is incomprehensible. kasumi cannot love her, cannot have admired or envied her gymnastics, cannot cook for her, and absolutely cannot have died for her, because a flawless princess cannot be human. kasumi has to have been this cool, untounchable, isolated eidolon, because to believe otherwise would destroy sumire - but in the end, it destroys her anyway when she herself is made to become the glittering ideal. and yet, becoming kasumi creates a dichotomy in sumire's head - if kasumi is everything that is good and worthwhile, than sumire is everything that is repulsive and unlovable. her hatred for kasumi was at its core a manifestation of her hatred for herself, and her belief that her only options were to either accept a future where she is unwanted or to die. after all, in sumire's mind, there is nobody in the real world who could value the survival of her true self. personally I do believe that joker and sumire love each other (platonically or romantically) but they're being shoved into these fabricated roles as savior and damsel by forces outside of control.

the same can be said for akechi. despite all the menace and mania of the black mask and the horrors he was directly complicit in, at the end of the day, akechi is an 18 yo who was being exploited by adults that should have been protecting him. and as the detective prince, he was overworked and paraded around to present him as this immaculate prettyboy savant, the sinless embodiment of justice who every citizen could expect to vanquish the evil criminals, even whle akechi himself was unable to see the prince as anything more than an artifice. by having to perpetuate the image of justice as a pure facade, akechi became further disillusioned and his lost faith in the world was accentuated. akechi was born miserable, llived a miserable life, and died miserable, all the while full of rage and believing that he would never belong anywhere. but even crueler is that there was hope for him. the thing about akechi's death that makes it work where other attempts at "redemption by death" do not is that any karmic undertones of the scene are simply a bonus. rather than leveraging his death against the morality of his actions, the implication is that akechi has to die primarily because he would be unable to live a happy life in the world as it exists now. given the oppression of the young in a corrupt society, inevitably some victims will be unable to survive. but akechi's death motivates the phantom thieves to keep going, to fight for real societal change, and to hold on to the hope that one day they will create a world where people like crow can live and escape the cycles of violence they're trapped in. still, thus doesn't make akechi's death any less painful. in his final moments, he came to realize how much joker cared about him as a friend, finally understood that he would never see him as a monster, and very nearly found that place to belong he had been deprived of. the phantom thieves reached out their hands for him to take - but it wasn't enough. joker loves him too, wanted him too, and it will never, ever be enough again, because akechi is dead. what ultimately connects the royal trio is that each of them is unable to live happily as their true selves when those in power force idealization and demonization upon them, and only by breaking free of those chains can they hope to experience true rebellion.

[slaygentford]

the jdcu: a comparative analysis in fact and fiction

several months ago I watched the netflix program mindhunter. this was a normal experience until I found out it is based on a memoir -- the work of 77 year old ex FBI agent John Douglas (jd). indeed, he is the man behind every behavioral analyst character youve ever seen, most notably jack crawford of silence of the lambs/Thomas Harris's novels, which consulted him personally.

I could not believe that those jds -- jack crawford and far more, as it turns out -- were based on the same man that jd of the show mindhunter was based on. mindhunter tv's jd is like if m3gan was a gay keebler elf. his girlfriend tells him to use his womanly wiles on murderers to get them to talk! and he does so -- the harlot! I was stunned. 77 year old ex FBI agent John Douglas consented for this little freak to be his eidolon forever on netflix? who even IS John Douglas?

and so I am compelled by intellectual curiosity to ask: by watching all jds ever committed to screen, can we qualify the multitude that is jd? and, after hearing John Douglas speak on John Douglas in his own words, can we decide who among the many is the most accurate fictional depiction? to conduct this study which is a really good use of my time, we begin by sorting the fictional jds into two categories: slaygent and hard boiled detective. after this, we will compare them to jd in his own words -- that is, his memoir and his masterclass.

mindhunter tv: let us begin where the problem first surfaced. much has been said about patient zero holden ford. a youthful thirty, he begins a career of seducing real life serial killers to learn about their behavior and so forth. many times I asked: girl what kind of interview is this? in the interest of time I will simply say that this evil roomba created and defines the slaygent category.

silence of the lambs: the next logical move. here we encounter the original and most famous fictional jd: jack crawford. despite a strong effort to manufacture chemistry with jodie foster, he is sadly still a man. three words I would use to describe this jd are Svelte, Serves in a trenchcoat, and Succinct. he falls in the middle of the slaygent/hard boiled Venn diagram.

manhunter: this jack is adorned with a rare and compelling mustache. in one scene he shouts, AND I'D DO IT AGAIN! I was not paying attention at this point to what he would do again but I did not doubt he would do it. no dignity, all exhaustion. hard boiled.

Hannibal nbc: jack crawford receives a much needed reboot! Laurence fishburne gives a nuanced and honestly moving performance of a man for whom meaning is unraveling one day at a time. this jack is sartorially aware but practical, and remains empathetic despite his painful job. hard boiled

the alienist: dr laszlo is our first sherlock holmes* archetype -- somehow this has not cropped up before now. with his difficulty relating to people, his lovely coat with a fur collar, and his genuinely sharp observations, laszlo alienist emerges as a dark horse slaygent.

*due to its original publication date, Sherlock Holmes and successive properties are not relevant to a John Douglas study.

criminal minds (& related procedurals): cm's david rossi, along with his counterparts across other networks, are unilaterally hard boiled.

though hardboiled jds prevail in quantity, slaygents are not necessarily an anomaly. now the moment of truth: is the real jd a holden ford or a jack crawford?

Mindhunter (book):

while reading this book I began to feel...discomfited. and not just because it's 400 pages of self aggrandizing ghostwritten prose. something was wrong. it wasn't until, in the last five pages of the gauntlet, that it all cohered.

jd and his wife separated because work kept him away, because he barely knew his children, and because when his daughter skinned her knee he couldn't find much empathy for the scrape because of the shit he saw all day. this isnt the unmarried antisocial slaygent ford who began our odyssey. this isn't even the stylish and heterosexual Jack Crawford of silence of the lambs, nor our mustachioed manhunter. a man who lacked empathy for his child? whose marriage crumbled? who thinks shrinks are dumb as hell? whose main recourse in difficult moments is to remind himself that serial killers are nothing but "inadequate losers" -- of no inherent interest to him outside of their contributions to his noble mission to stop serial killing?

whatever answer remains, however unfuckable, is the truth: holden ford -- and indeed any slaygent -- has never been John Douglas at all. even jack crawford is barely a jd himself. we've been overlooking the real jd all along. and he was right under our noses. hiding like the adder, right in plain sight.

the bill tench paradigm shift

a chain-smoking vet whose wife leaves him because he thinks their kid sucks? an unapproachable asshole clinging to his slippery moral high ground?

target locked.

but make no mistake. this is not yet a victory. if bill tench was right before us all along, then how many jds did I overlook with my narrow definition of a jd??? has hubris bested me again? who will we find now that the truth is blown open before us? how will we wrangle this new data into a useful paradigm? what does paradigm actually mean and can I use it in a sentence like that? questions we must answer.

I propose an ontological compromise. if we set slaygent at one end of a spectrum and the true jd at the other, we may examine all jds and potential jds without compromising the integrity of the real/tench jd, AND without ignoring the fact that slaygent ford is BILLED AS jd. indeed, slaygent and jd CAN coexist -- it is only that their differences must be accounted for.

below are MANY, though not every, possible jd.

now to the final frontier: www.masterclass.com, where for the low low price of 100 dollars you can access celebrities just verbatim reading from their memoirs. literally just verbatim reading from them. like I'm not joking like you could just go to fucking barnes and noble.

mindhunter (masterclass by jd): the discovery of this masterclass was a windfall in my work (thank you cj). now, at last, to the knowledge gleaned. jd (real) is man with white hair and a very slight New York accent. he is well fit for his age with minimal male pattern baldness. he confirms everything we have discovered regarding the bill tench paradigm shift; gruff, to-the-point, sardonic. even his controlled mannerisms are tenchian.

and so I must ask: from whence did the slaygent archetype spring? and why did jd consent for the scary keebler elf to be his proxy? despite the depth of my work, I cannot access the mind of this man, nor the circumstances which gave rise to these anomalies in the continuum.

still. in the indefatigable spirit of jd himself, I feel a theory nipping, nibbling at my ear. I mentioned sherlock holmes before, and now some unwanted voice within me calls out that very name. is it Holmes who shapes the slaygents into his image, even from beyond the grave? has all of this been a prelude to the real work -- the work of examining and classifying every Holmes committed to screen?

like vercingetorix, exhausted by the struggle, here I toss down my arms. with or without me, though, the jd quest continues. what doors remain unopened? what slaygent homunculi lay in wait behind them? and what will become of us, if we knock?

[localsharkcryptid]

Boredom fills me so uh take some brainrot on an idea I am currently working on making into a fic

In summary - A small mountain side tourist-trap town which I've yet to name has been more or less bought out by Quackity, an ex-politician with more than enough money thanks to his husband's 'death' who plans to turn this nice scenic mountainside land into the next entertainment capital of the world. With some main construction points already done such as The Needle and the bare-bones for the grand casino as well as a few others, Q already considers this a major success [even after his failures in being able to turn the land into a man made desert] though with continued construction more and more problems arise as they encroach on the forests. Equipment damages, several accidents and 'animal attacks' ever continuing though in reality there's nothing within this area that should be capable of this. Meanwhile the towns people have their own opinions on the situation, majority displeased with the abrupt renovations and others mostly fine since business is business but with constructions coming to a halt a fair amount of people blame these incidents on the cryptids which are said to live within the mountains. These claims are shoved off as nonsense by Quackity and his team, though the stories are apparently more fact than fiction... Seeing as an unexpected meeting due to a certain someone's inability to see glass causes Q to learn first hand that the tales of this town are more real than one would think.

More details cause wooo-

SBI take up the roles as the cryptids of this town, all with varying lore and legend around them.

Philza is refered to as the Crow-Father, due to several sightings only ever seeing him within the shadows of trees while the surrounding area is filled with a murder of crows, due to this it's generally custom that crows in the town are given right-of-way as well. Over all he has a reputation akin to Mothman, an omen of ill fortune, disaster and death- thus leaving things out wether it be food, shiny objects and things for the crows is said to bypass the Father's judgement.

Techno is so originally named named the Boar/Hog-Man, the 'most easy to provoke' of the quartet. Having several notable attacks that have left cars and buildings damaged, along with people as well having been reportedly mauled. Though these incidents have been written off as 'bear attacks' by most officials. According to most in the town there isn't much that can be done to get on the good side of this one, but in general they've noticed a distinct disappearance of potatoes when they're in season- but best to leave 'offerings' out in the woods and far away from people.

Wilbur has been given the title of The *town/mountain name* Harpy or The Eidolon [Im undecided on the name for him] sightings and incidents with his involvement have been far and few between though even with being the most pacifistic of the group there's been a few isolated incidents with human property being damaged by him or small animals being snatched. Though most sightings have an interesting tie in, being that his appearance was usually brought on by music of some fashion- so far basic in tune singing as well as guitars have been the two to mainly do it. Generally it's not advised to play instruments at night due to this.

Finally, Tommy, who has just simply been titled Verm [alternatively the Vermilion Vermin], having been the cause of numerous missing pets and items his acts are once again normally pinned on wild animals. Though despite this a few townsfolk make it customary to collect the blood of wild game [hunting is a big thing so yeah] and leave it out near wooded areas before and after hunting- as to bring good luck and to hopefully stave off the cryptid from raiding their campsites.

Phil is of course inspired by the mothman legends along with his usual bird vibes/angel of death schtick, Techno doesn't have any real world cryptid tie-ins I'm more so basing him on just a piglin and the blood god stuff, Wilbur takes phantom inspiration primarily with no real-world tie in aside from me partly basing his appearance on the Ropen and Jersey Devil and Tommy takes heavy inspiration from the Chupacabra, I figured both variants of it give the feral goblin energy which he holds so he's some funky combo. Also they are all humanoid to a degree- well except techno he is just a pigman- everyone else is human adjacent and fully sentient for reference.

Oh yeah also if you wanted to know - this'll be a very tnt duo centric fic and they will kiss at some point.

Also please for the love of god feel free to ask stuff about this idea, I have sooo much and I don't know if I can include it all in the fic

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 9

Nightmare Forest 2: Eidolon Boogaloo 

Welcome back to Maidens where our girls are about to experience a D20 classic but first, breakfast! 

The airship is hovering above the Nekronomikron and though it’s bright and sunny where they are, below the clouds it’s gross and dark in accordance with the Nek’s affinity for death. TK has a whole breakfast spread for the girls when they wake up.

After an unfortunately (for Kat) detailed description on what Karl was like in bed (“very tactical”) Ost asks TK what the heck is going on and we get some plot info aka: what fuckery is the government doing in this season of D20?

So, apparently, Charity took over the Ministry of Adventure 12 years ago. During that time, TK learned of a project called Project Reset from Katja’s dad. The long and short of this project is that one of the goals of the Ministry of Adventure (especially under Charity’s leadership) is to promote adventure and what is an adventure other than an exciting problem? Charity wanted to find the Eidolons and use them to create problems that could be solved by adventurers, creating more jobs. A very perverse incentive kind of situation. 

So now Charity has the Legendarium which will help her with this goal which is quite bad. After some back and forth on whether to trust her, the girls tell TK that they have copies of the Legendarium so they’re not entirely without resources. 

TK says that they have one ace up their sleeve which is that Eidolons can’t actually use their powers unless they’re given a wish to grant so Talura’s hands are tied. At this point Sam, who if you recall gave Talura a huge wish with basically no parameters starts sweating. 

A little Eidolon lore from TK: The Eidolons were strongest when the gods were having them create the prime material plane. Then, they became weak once the gods were done with them. They were left to chill with the mortals and realized they could actually manifest mortal will, not just divine will. 

The evil aligned gods were like, “absolutely no, humans can’t have that kind of power” and the neutral gods agreed so the good gods were outvoted and they were trapped in mirrors made by no other than Ost’s main man, Logran Soulforger.       

Sam is really In It emotionally and wants to go fight these gods (like oh no Sam is angry enough to fight a god, what else is new?--I thought right before Ant said the same thing) and accidentally lets slip that she has an agent. Then Penny admits that she fully recognized Sam as her character from her soap opera--Wave by Wave--but never brought it up because she didn’t want it to be awkward. Ost, who also watches the show, is starstruck and wants to be her stylist if she goes back into showbiz but they table the discussion temporarily to get back to The Matter At Hand. 

Logran made the mirrors on the condition that they would have an escape clause and that escape would have some degree of transformation. Ost asks TK why Logram doesn’t talk to any of his followers and she says the guy is busy. He doesn’t do Commune like other gods. 

Ost is like, “RIP to other clerics of Logram but I’m different,” because, if you recall, she recently got the Commune spell. She casts it and instantly disappears, much to TK’s delight. There’s that Aguefort energy Sam saw in her. Anyway, we’ll get back to Ost in a sec. 

They take Ost’s disappearance in stride and keep trucking along in the lore drop. TK says the Eidolons still exist in some form and may still miss their sister in some way and Yelle is like dude, Anima fully talked to me with words. TK is blown away as this josses a ton of her theories. These kids are just making huge arcane and divine magical breakthroughs 12 times a day huh?

Ant casts Primeval Awareness and feels the Eidolons being drawn to the spot below them. At this point, Sam admits to TK that she might have accidentally made a teensy mistake but Ant pipes up that it was for a good reason. Welp, what’s done is done. TK decrees that the girls will get their GEDs if they fix this mess so they have their sign off! It’s time to get going but first, let’s check in on Ost!

So Ost bamfs away from the breakfast table and finds herself in the realm of Logram who is, as TK said, busy as all hell. He’s dressed in simple clothes, surrounded by all these crazy weapons, and manning a forge. When Ost shows up, he calls her Stan which confuses her until he says the full name--Stanley Gucci--and flips her a dagger he made her with the soul of that king monster she killed back in Stone Temple Pileup. Just like that, Ost has developed a little crush on her god. 

Logram is busy as all hell keeping up all the work to keep up construction on The Literal Universe and also all the gods just put in work orders for weapons cause all of reality is ending and all. Ost says that with how busy he is, some people (read: her) have been starting rumors he’s not real. He says that he’s sorry and she deserves to be spoken to. As he’s talking to her, he’s been continuing working on forging stars for the sky. Ost asks if she can help him and he instantly starts crying. Evidently, the man doesn’t get much help with his all consuming and exhausting job.

Ost rolls Insight+Religion added together and on a 49 realizes she’s kinda gone past cleric status to prophet status as she makes a connection perhaps no other follower of her god has made. Logram is so busy because he’s doing the work the Eidolons would otherwise be doing. He gave them an option to go free and took on their burden. 

“Those girls did enough,” he said. “They deserved a break.”

He regrets he couldn’t have given them a better end than the mirror loophole he made. It was the best he could come up with. Ost reassures him that they’re happy. She then confesses to him than she makes all of her stuff but doesn’t tell people because she wants them to think it’s designer but, at the end of the day, “You’re my designer.”

Ost reflects on her rough family life--empty mansion, dad in a rough spot, posturing so no one knows her family is struggling--as she helps Logram make comets. She makes a lopsided one then tries again and shatters it. Logram tells her that this isn’t her forge. Her forge is her friends. And it’s OK to love material things because they’re the representation of the time that went into making them. He also gives her a little emblem of a stylized OW--telling her he’s not really supposed to look into the future but “Wallache” handbags are gonna be all the rage soon. 

On the back of the emblem, written in Dwarvish, it says: Many miracles were granted to the world and to mortal beings did I grant the greatest miracle of all, that the world might be reshaped through love and work.  

Ost passes out from happiness upon getting this and wakes up back with her friends. They have a little chat about what’s going on and Yelle says what Talura is doing is foolish but they’re also trying to keep their group together so it’s not entirely dissimilar. Sam says she’s afraid of things changing again and she doesn’t want the party to leave her like her bio-mom left her and Penelope left her. Ant grabs her face and reassures her that they’re not going anywhere. Yelle tries to make a point about change being natural using the water cycle and Sam, a water genasi storm sorcerer, is like bitch are you watersplaining me?  

Ost takes this opportunity to finally properly call out Yelle and the fact that she never lets herself be anything but peace and love and good vibes. Yelle says she strives for the total loss of ego but Sam--queen of unhealthy coping mechanisms is like, you need to take care of yourself girl and the girls echo this--Ost even giving Yelle her diamond charm earrings. Everyone is on the Yelle love train except for Zelda who seems a bit hurt and doesn’t join in. Yelle clocks this but says nothing. Anyway, time to go to the terrifying death city! 

All you really need to know about the Nek is that it’s hella cursed and tied to the elemental plane of death. So, you know, great vacay spot to take the kiddos. TK stays on the ship to watch for Charity and Ant leaves her her phone so she can contact them if she needs and text her parents back if her parents try to get in touch. 

Kat wants to bring Cinnamon (obv) so Sam casts Fly on her to make her more mobile. Ant leads the pack with her Primeval Awareness ability and they skirt the undead roaming this place as much as possible. Sam casts Protection from Good and Evil on Ost and gives Bardic to Ant, Kat, and Penny. Also, Ant gave everyone 13 temp HP earlier with her Inspiring Leader ability. 

Yelle “reveals” she has telepathic abilities that can help the group (did they not already know about this??? She’s used them several times) and Zelda looks sad at this which Ant and Yelle both notice. Ant decides to pull Zelda aside so they can “scout ahead” but really just wants to have a side convo about what’s going on with her. Zelda reveals that she thinks that Yelle loves them, sure but doesn’t trust them. Ant is like, what are you talking about, she fully trusts us with her life and Zelda is like her life? Sure. her heart? Not a chance. 

And with a 27, Yelle hear the entire conversation and chooses to say nothing.  

After walking for a while, the girls enter the catacombs (Cinnamon can’t because of her size so she flies ahead and says she’ll meet them at the other side) and race a series of traps I’m gonna breeze right through. 

There’s a room full of undead and rising water and doors but they realize all the doors are fake and the way out is through a grate in the floor. As Penny opens the grate she feels a gentle hand on her cheek and calls out to Nira, the water Eidolon and gets her blessing. 

Next up is a windy tower with harpies ready to attack them but Sam calms the wind and makes childplay of this puzzle. Ant fails a Wisdom save from the Harpies and almost jumps off but Ost dispels the Charm Person and Zelda nat 20s to get her across safely, getting the blessing of the Wind Eidolon, Zefrira. 

Then they find a weird sundial and...ok guys it’s Nightmare Forest time. That’s what it is. It’s simply Nightmare Forest time. The girls are separated across time and forced to confront their fears about the future and/or deaths and we’re just gonna go through it one by one. Ready? Let’s go!

Antiope

We start out with our girl Ant. She starts out with Chronoa--the Eidolon of time and the oldest of the bunch. Chronoa remarks that Ant, like Talura, is the youngest of her siblings and then Ant is confronted by a gravestone. Her gravestone. It’s a military gravestone. She makes it rot and then sees an older version of herself dying on combat wounds who begs her to not let this version of her--the war hero her parents want her to be--die. Antiope is like, nah, and fully kills the specter, earning herself a new favored enemy: people you don’t want to become (which seems wonderfully vague and game breaky). Her trial done she feels like she can reach out to her friends and decides to find…

Katja

Kat is in a place where they slaughter livestock and you KNOW Rekha is about to murder Brennan until she clarifies that Cinnamon is fine. It’s her mother, Jana, who’s on the table. Kat is fully ok with that. Kat has a little tete a tete with her mom where she mocks the idea that she might still be looking for an “I love you” or an “I’m sorry” but then Kat is faced with the image of her 9 year old self, left alone at school once again, waiting for her dad to pick her up. And she has to confront the fact that whatever relationship she builds with her dad now, that 9 year old child is gone. But Kat just scoops up her younger self (on her back “like a horse”) to reassure her that even though her dad wasn’t there for her, she was there for herself. Then Ant shows up to get her and they exchange I love yous. Next up is…

Ost

Ost finds herself in the crumbling halls of her forefathers, watching an older version of herself try and cast mending and upkeep the halls while pitying voices shit talk the rest of her family and say that someone should take her out of her misery. Her older self is writing “accept us” over and over on the walls giving real ‘The Shining” vibes. Current Ost is like, “Bitch, they pity us cause they ain't us,” showing off her designer OW belt buckle before her friends come to grab her. Next up, our fave halfling rogue--

Penny

Penny finds herself manning the scope of a rifle in full Society of Shadows gear. She takes the shot when ordered and realizes that the person that she’s shot is herself who was visiting a grave engraved with the words “Here lies some Mumple people”. Penny leaves her perch to check out the grave and starts digging, ignoring and then getting rid of her comms and her handler tells her to just retrieve the artifact. Her dead self animates and tells her that it’s OK that this version of her--the ordinary, Mumble, non Society version--died. She sucked. Her dreams are coming true. In the grave, Penny sees the corpses of all of her family members and lots of letters with her name redacted from them.

Her corpse self says that her family sacrificed for her to have this. She can’t make it have been in vain. Isn’t that what love is? Our Penny says it doesn’t feel like love and corpse Penny starts berating her for being a Mumple person. At this, Penny decides to retrieve the artifact which is the other Penny’s glowing heart which has a fractured mirror shard in it. Penny hears her handler in her discarded earpiece telling her to return and she smashes it with the mirror shard until both are broke. 

Ant and the other girls bamf in here, seeing at first a dead Penny before realizing they’re seeing the doppleganger when the real Penny comes out of the grave with “Candyheart Cookies” for her friends. 

“You’re So Weird!” says Ant. “I Love You!”

They think about seeing Yelle next but Antiope thinks they have to get Zelda first so she can see whatever psyche test is happening with their resident repressed druid so they grab Zelda from her nightmare scenario (which is glossed over but involves a mental concert where she is surrounded by dead versions of herself) before turning to…

Danielle

Danielle finds herself in the ruins of Bastion City. There is no life here, not even plant life. There is, however, the draco-lich corpse of Kalvaxus, a salty bitch as ever, there to taunt her unbounded selflessness. She tries to play the good activist, talking about how she’s happy to give her all if necessary to heal others, and the world but doesn’t seem to realize that that’s exactly the problem. Kalvaxus likens her to a mushroom--no personhood, no will, but helpful to the environment. As they have this conversation, her arms fall off and she roots to the ground. She says she doesn’t care if she has to give endlessly, she just wants her friends to remember her. And she gets the sense she can bring life to this lifeless place, she just has to let go of herself completely. 

And hey, it’s Danielle. Take a wild guess at what she does.

When the other girls show up, they find Kalvaxus (who Ant mercs without even a roll needed) and a tree in the middle of this barren wasteland with a pair of diamond earrings next to it. Ant uses Primeval Awareness and can tell this is where Yelle is. She gets everyone to put their hands on the tree to see if they can draw Yelle out and they all do it but Zelda only does it after prodding and Ant is like nah girl, let’s hash this out right now. 

Zelda verbally calls for Yelle and the only response she gets is a movement on the wind. She says that she wishes that she (Yelle) trusted them more and wish she could have seen how much they wanted to take care of her. At this declaration, lightning strikes the tree, it falls and splits and Yelle comes out of it. 

“Maybe, sometimes self care is good for supporting others,” Yelle says.

“Nope, try again,” says her friends.

“I like being a pretty princess,” she reluctantly admits, earning cheers from everyone! Sam would be so proud. But she’s not there. Let’s see what’s up with her on our final stop.

Sam

No dancing around it for Sam, we fully open at her funeral. Woof. 

The pews are filled with fans, at the front is her bio-mom, crying performatively and speaking is Penelope Everpetal. Sam is not having that and tries to cast Infestation on her but is Counterspelled by her corpse who grabs her and bodyslams her through several mirrors into another room.

Why couldn’t she just stick to the script? Why couldn’t she just stay beloved?

Sam can see that however her corpse self died it was horrific and she’s being kept together by makeup. 

They keep getting left, her corpse self says. The only constant is them. They’re the problem. They need people to love them. They need the applause. Isn’t that the same as love? Her corpse self shows her a vision of that and our Sam touches the mirror but that’s not what she wants. What she wants is to be loved and cared for and in that moment, in the mirror, she sees her surrogate mom, her real mom Rebecca Everpetal drinking cheap wine on her sister’s couch really going through it, feeling sympathy for Sam. She knows that if a kid gets dealt enough bad hands in a row they can start to internalize it and think something is wrong with them and she really hopes Sam knows a better hand is right around the corner. As she hears that, her friends bust in to rescue her and she says to Penelope, “I don’t love you anymore.”

And with that, they’re all free! They know they still have fire and earth trials to face and they soon learn Charity is hot on their heels when she somehow hacks their friendship bracelets. She tries to do the, “We’re not so different,” speech on them but Sam just casts Infestation on her (Correct). 

Charity declares she hates teenagers and Sam declares that botox can’t help her anymore and we go into the finale by rolling for initiative! 

Superlatives

Ostentatia Wallace: Most Likely To Help a Stranger On the Side of the Road

Ost is by far the loudest most abrasive member of The Seven. She also saw a FULL GOD making STARS and was like, “Looks like the guy could use a hand.” She Is A Good Person. Fullstop. 

Random Thoughts

Shout out to Logram for being busy as hell, getting work orders for weapons from all the other gods, and still taking the time to make Ost a cool new weapon she didn’t even ask for. MVP.

The whole Logram speech about items=time was really giving me similar vibes to the conversation with Pok about how work can mean love for some people. 

OK, if I was Penny I would have been calling BS on that vision because not joining the Society wouldn’t make her a Mumple person. Look at what she’s doing literally right now. I’d be like bitch, the fact that we’re even talking disproves your premise!

Lmao at Johnny Spells being referred to as a “Non fuck boy”

And likewise, lmao at Ant yelling at Charity that there’s no reason the GED couldn’t be a written test and this bullshit isn’t their fault. 

A Housekeeping Note: I have watched the final episode of Maidens and oh my GOD, what a roller coaster. Things are busy on my end so it might be a hot sec but the move from [REDACTED] during the first fight???? Ugh. Chef’s kiss. 

Ost and Sam both rolled a nat 1. Kat rolled double nat 1s. Zelda rolled one nat 20.

[titleknown]

What Does Jenny Everywhere Mean?

It's Jenny Everywhere Day! On Friday the 13th no less! What a bizarre coincidence! But... who is Jenny Everywhere?

Well, perhaps as good an explanation as any is the appellation that any use of her requires:

The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition: This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, that others might use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.

She is a character designed to appear in all universes, a character not just designed to be everywhere at once in fiction, but in the world of the written word, just some keystrokes and penstrokes away from being anywhere, the walls of copyright toppled like the walls of Jericho with a powerful yawp.

Now, there are much better chronologies, and much better masterposts of the character. The main wiki is one, and folks like Askthehatboxghost and the other members of the Jenny Everywhere fan-Discord have been doing so for ages.

What I want to talk about is why she matters. Which will be after the break because this gets long.

Now, there've been some that say that the character's just... a cypher, a blank vessel without a work. Cartoonist Maxwell Atoms, no disrespect, said as much when I asked him about this.

But, I would beg to disagree. Characterization, as with much of fiction, is just as much a social phenomenon as it is of the core of ink pressed to page or pixels pressed to plasma. Anyone who's been in fandom, and seen the differences between fanon and character (which has lots of... problems, but that's its own discussion) would know as much.

But... the key problem is, often times it isn't really ours.

Sure fandom and fanfic strains against the bounds and chains, but they cannot break them, or they would be sued into the ground. Ao3 knows this, even if in their cowardice they build their warped Adompha-gardens instead of fighting back.

As an example, the talking point of the superhero genre being the new mythology died with the Disney monopoly, but before then it was near death with the swathes of Crises and Secret Wars and never-were Twilights of the Superheroes, worlds dying and stories being wiped away at a corporate whim. a

At first, it was for a cause or it didn't intefere too much, but more and more it came and devoured stories in an endless ouroboros, because, as the art-troll that Bob Iger keeps in his basement making comics in-between Pixar movies says, Marvel Need Money

As the man behind the curtain enters his final boss form, we see that we never really owned our culture in the age of copyright, we just rent it. But, so many people use this as a means of condemning the sharing of our current culture, viewing it not as a stolen commons to take back but as an Omelas to walk away form.

But we, in the Open Source Creation community, choose another way. We believe in creating cultural institutions that are not only shared, but shared in a way that nobody can take them away from us, for what is truly shared cannot be truly stolen.

Now, there are two schools of Open Source worldbuilding projects, roughly delinneated by aesthetic license, neither better than the other but both with their advantages and disadvantage of which this essay is too short and on too short a notice to cover.

There's the CC-BY-SA school, and the CC-BY/Public Domain school. Of the former, there are many successes, but the great eidolon above them is the SCP Foundation. But, of the latter... It is Jenny that leads the way, that holds the ever-shifting prismatic standard.

And, what we need is a standard-bearer, because what we need is a movement. In another day, another article, I may go over the many of them, but there are other Open Source Characters in that vein. But they are scattered, like grains of sand in a haystack.

They're isolated. But, Jenny is the codifier. Though there were a few other precursors before, she was the first modern incarnation of the concept. She is the link between the worlds we need. The one who can be everywhere in not just a narrative sense, but in a metanarrative sense.

Between worlds, between breaths, between the tick and the tock she can be there, to bring our shared characters together. To bring shared worlds together.

To bring us together. In a world united, but in a world free too. That's what it is.

I have more I have to write, but my queue-based self-imposed deadline is running short, as evidenced by the ideas expressed in pathos and egos-drenched lavender prose rather than in restrained logos. That's probably for another article to elaborate.(edited)

But, if there's any message here, it is that we need a world where culture is truly free, and to lead the charge there's few better than Jenny. if you are writing a story, bring her in, perhaps.

Maybe let her take someone with her along the way. And if they hop over to another world, maybe tell the huddled crowds, whispering of when and where they came, that Jenny sent 'em...

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Chain of Iron theories: Who is the Killer

Its coming up on a week since last made a COI theory post. I said that I was going to try to post all my theories on COI BEFORE it comes out next month, so this posed a problem. So mow I am going to give my input on one of the biggest Mystery’s for COI, Who is the Killer? So in COI Belial will have a new minion who will target the shadowhunters, manages to kill 5 of them (same number Tatiana needed for the ritual) and is difficult for them to apprehend because they are somehow able to disappear. CC has left some hints that the killer is actually another Shadowhunter that Belial has somehow managed taken Possession of, despite protection rituals that should have been placed on this individual at birth ( My theory on that is that since this book is called “Chain of Iron” we will learn that Belial controls all his pawns with “chains of iron”. All hidden on their persons and glamored to look like ordinary accessories.) Our synapse for the book says that James Herondale has been having strange nightmares and fears he may actually be the killer. In COI he will start to tie himself up to sleep at night. We all know its not James right? In mysteries like this you always throw out your first guess/ the obvious guess. I have seen a lot of posts theorizing on who the true identity could be. I have seen some theories do not make much sense to me and some that were really good.

One theory that seems off to me is the idea that the killer is actually multiple killers, more specifically a collection of the survivors of Belial’s illness. If you support this theory I get your reasoning:Belial was able to briefly posses these people before, and the illness may have left biological changes in them. But here’s where I am confused, the killer is implied to be a massive threat wielding enhanced dark magic. At the end of COA there are 30something cured shadowhunters released from Silent City. CC says that the killers body count will be 5. If Belial has 30something new pawns that he can posses, gift his terrible powers to, and send out to prey on shadowhunters, I feel like there should be a lot more than 5 victims. I know Beial is not yet at full strength from battling Cortana, but he should at least be stronger than that. I have also heard theories that it is one of the Blackthorns. This also does not make much sense to me, given that for one thing none of them have training, Tatiana and Grace already have established rolls in Belial’s plans, and while I know Jesse is a part of Belial’s plan I believe his part will be save for COT after he has been resurrected. IF Belial were using Jesse’s empty body to walk the earth, then wouldn’t he also need to stop anyone from trying to resurrect Jesse?

 I have heard many theories on Elias Carstairs being the killer. Many of them just want to make Elias out to be CC’s newest and most horrible monster parent, and absolve Alastair of any responsibility or need to apologize for the cruelty he has shown to our mains. If this is your reasoning for believing Elias is the killer than let me stop you right there. CC has written multiple series and her skills have evolved beyond the need to rely on such easy black and white tricks. But I also saw some people posting about how Elias goes home so late and stopped writing to his family. Some are theorizing that the real Elias Carstairs was intercepted and killed on his way back home and that the being that arrives in COI is actually an eidolon demon pretending to be Elias. This theory is AMAZING. It makes a lot of scenes, would give Belial another spy in a key place, and could potentially explain why Cortana starts acting so weird. I love this theory I do. I am just putting it t the side right now because I need the real Elias alive for other Carstairs family theories, and again have been working with the theory that the killer is a real shadowhunter whom Belial is controlling with another “chain of iron”. My theories are below.

1.) Lucie Herondale is the Killer

 I am working with he theory that all Belial’s pawns have “chains of Iron” on them, which means all three blackthorns have them. In old art CC released of Grace she is seen wearing a pearl necklace that I was convinced had to be her’s. Tatiana’s (who probably consented to wearing hers) could be anything, maybe that stupid, creepy bird, she wears in her hat. Jesse... is mentioned several times to wear a locket.... that we know is connected to Belial.... and was weakened when he took it off to give to Lucie... who is wearing it now. Do you people see where I am going with this? It can also be noted that one of the parts of Lucie’s arc is that she is frequently overlooked in favor of James and how that is a mistake on peoples parts.  Everybody knows that James has powers, he has had 4-5 years of people helping him figure out what they are and how to control them. Nobody but ghosts know that Lucie has powers, she has no training, and is only starting to understand what they mean. James is vulnerable but so is Lucie. I do not want her to be the killer. Lucie is such a fun character, and I was so happy to finally have a female Herondale play a role that was close in size to her male relative’s. I truly feel that Lucie deserves better than to be just a tragic character in the story. I want her to be that plus a hero, but I cannot deny that she is a possibility.

2.) Charles Fairchild is the Killer

I have seen Charles name appear on multiple lists of theory’s on the killer’s identity. People never really give reasons as to why they believe he is the killer. They are just mad at him for choosing to put his career higher on his list of priorities than his relationship with Alastair, or him being the killer would hurt less because he is not written to be a fan favorite. If you are someone who wants the killer to be Charles, but are unsure how likely it is your in luck. Because I can give you a whole list of reasons it is likely

Charles is already acting strange. We know he made some kinda screw up in Paris and had to come home. Apparently Charlotte is sending Tessa and Will to Paris to Start the fix up and Charles will go back afterwards. Well based on what we have gotten on Charles making a mistake like that is unlike him. Casting Long Shadow’s reveals that Charles has been working as a politician since he was 13 and is normally known for being very dependable and reliable. That’s part of the reason he is considered such a shoe-in for Counselor once his mother retires.??? I have theories on Charles mental state (which I will address in a later theory post that will be centered around the Fairchild’s) and do consider the possibility that he was sett off by fear over the outbreak or grief over losing Alastair... But this sudden change could be from other things as well

As of COG2 Charles is engaged to Grace Blackthorn, who controls him like a puppet. Grace herself is the puppet of Tatiana Blackthorn, who is the puppet of Belial. So Charles is now part of a very dangerous carnival. Charles decade of study and knowledge of clave politics at the top could be very useful to Belial in taking them down. Also previous short stories say that Charles spends most of his time in Idris for work and when in London usually stays at home going through law books and records. So I could easily believe he does not completely  know his way around London and (like the killer is hinted to) would need to use a map to get around.

Now on to my biggest reason for theorizing Charles for the killer. Charles and Matthew’s relationship with each other. Charles and Matthew do not get along, like at all. They did once, but that was a real long time ago. A lot of the reasons they don’t get along is dumb sibling stuff: Charles calling Matthew an immature child, kicking him and his friends out of rooms in their house, and lording his increased age over Matthew. Matthew making more noise to annoy Charles, telling everyone Charles embarrassing middle name, and regularly sneaking into Charles room to steal his cologne instead of just buying his own. We are not hear to discuss any of that. All of that has me laughing because it is peak sibling rivalry. Rivalry aside Charles and Matthew model  the old dynasty trope for Ssons with Charles being “the Heir” and Matthew being “the Spare”. The Heir’s life is decided for them as soon as they are born, they will succeed their parent and continue their legacy. The Spare is just that, a back up plan kept around should the heir die, become disabled, never marry, or turn out to be infertile (happens way more than people like to think about). Charles struggles with the weight of his parents expectations. Matthew is more or less the Black sheep of his family, living his life day by day with no grand plan. Because of this he is cut off from them in a way, and goes through a lot of loneliness and isolation in his own house. Neither brother see’s the others hard time; the other has what they themselves want: Charles has attention, Matthew freedom, so they wrongly assume the other must be doing fine. This is a lot like Matthew and James relationship in Dust and Shadows. Matthew and James talked things over with each other and were good after. Matthew and Charles stay apart and ignore each other when they cannot. They will not just talk and be good after. So maybe if put on different sides they will fight out their issues with each other? On the subject of Matthew having to fight Charles, lets say hypothetically Charles is the killer and is possessed. We know from previous books that clave protocol is to place a kill order on possessed members. If that becomes the case do you think Matthew would be able to follow through with those orders? Be able to hunt, fight, and kill his older brother? No. No matter how rough their relationship I doubt Matthew would ever be able to do that. It would be to much for him, to similar to his “sin”. He would want to catch Charles, then try to find a way to free him from possession. Maybe if Mathew could successfully accomplish this then maybe he could forgive himself for his “sin”. If Matthew tries to save him and fails than at least this time other people would know and could potentially get him some help.  

3.) Filomena DI Angelo is the Killer.

Ahh our upcoming new arrival from  Italy. Why are you coming to London girl? Haven’t you heard about all the crazy things that happens there last fall? What possible role could you play in the story that couldn’t be filled by one of our many already existing characters from COG2? (Do you even know your way around?) How suspicious that Filomena should show up around the same time as this killer? Wouldn’t it be great for the story if the killer came from a different country? Wouldn’t that do wonders for showing how powerful a threat Belial is? His dark influence stretching across country lines, maybe even across oceans! We have already been told that TLH characters will need to travel to other countries. How the villain is less one person and more a force. Filomena could start that. She could provide reason to search countries besides London for Belial’s influence. Proof of it being so wide spread would definitely make Belial feel more like a force. Oh but wait, cheesecake wait. Filomena cannot be the killer! That would make her evil, and CC said she was a nice girl! Oh I am sure Filomena is a nice girl, but people tend to change when under demon control. But she is a girl and the killer is hinted to be a male shadow hunter! Are we sure the killer isn’t presented as male because Belial is presented as male? Is it impossible that while on the hunt as the killer Filomena DI Angelo dress in men’s cloths in order to more safely move through the streets? I feel like we have saw that trick once before in TID.

All we really know about Filomena is that she came to London, will interact with some of our established characters, and she will get a crush on someone we know, thus presenting herself as a possible love interest. Matthew was my first guess, hey he was every bodies first guess. CC shut that down, Filomena is not being brought in to fix the love triangle between James, Cordeila, and Matthew. Matthew is one of the only ones to not have at a least semi-confirmed endgame ship. So this means that Filomena will probably not be endgame with her crush. Why?   My next guess was her crush was on Anna. Ariadne is shown to be relentless in her attempts to “win Anna back” and Anna is not having it. Tweets time and time again depict her basically telling Ariadne “Its not going to happen. Give up and leave me alone”, but falling on deaf ears. So maybe Anna will try to get a new girlfriends and keep her around until she is ready to forgive/ go back to Ariadne. Well Anna is more a secondary character, a loving big sister figure to our mains. She gets less page time because of this. We already know she will spend time with Cordelia, Lucie, Ariadne, Eugenia, Thomas... not much page time left for Filomena. After further analyses I have theorized that Filomena must have a crush on Thomas.

A quick google search on the name Filomena shows that it is an Italian name that means “loving friend” “strong friend” and “lover of music” all these sound kinda like Thomas. (Filomena is also the name of a character in the 14th century Italian collection  of short stories called the Decameron, who liked to make stories up about plagues... or so some digging around google told me ). This could fit quite nicely into Thomas’s story. First of all to everybody who has been calling Thomas “gay” please wait a moment to be sure. Thomas does not yet publicly or self identify as gay. He clearly has an attraction to one man, but CC says that he has not yet realized his sexuality and will spend TLH figuring out. He might be gay, but he could just as easily turn out to be bi or pan. For the sake of this theory lets assume Thomas is Bi. Thomstair is definitely endgame. We know Alastair is gay, and CC usually likes to pair gay characters up with bi characters in queer ships, see Malec and Heline. Should Thomas be bi, should he start to become close and develop feelings for Filomena, it will have to go wrong. More wrong than he considers his feelings for Alastair at the end of COG2 (Filomena do not hurt this boy, he has been through enough). We got a tweet that suggests Thomas is interested in the killer, and a hint that he is planing something big. We got a kinda frightening picture that suggests the Killer may be very interested in Thomas.

If Lucie is the killer she will somehow be freed from Belial’s control,. I can 100% guarantee it, Charles I feel will have a 50/50 chance, Filomena will die from it. It would be a herculean task to free her, and she is not important enough to the mains for them to actively try and do anything more than give her a merciful death. Should she and Thomas become close than it will break his heart. But if Alastair is there for him afterwards, able to emphasizes and offer him comfort that will go along way to redeeming Alastair to Thomas. The whole experience could be love is hard, both men and women have the ability to hurt you. but the right person will make it up to you and it is good to forgive them when they do. I personally think that would be a pretty cool direction for Thomas’s arc to take.

[seattlesea]

Why Piper McLean is Useless

So there’s the whole debate about ‘Piper McLean is useless she does nothing’ and ‘Piper McLean isn’t useless she did so many things’ and all that.

Well I’m here to voice my personal opinion on it, and here it is- Piper is useless.

Not because she didn’t do anything, she did. She-

-Put Gaea to sleep with her charmspeak in the final battle -Defeated Khione and the Boreads  -Defeated Medea with her charmspeak and saved Jason and Leo -Killed a flock harpies -Saved Percy and Jason from killing each other -Saved Percy and Jason from drowning in the Nymphaeum -Saved Annabeth from Mimas in the Temple of Fear by convincing her to attack with ‘emotions’ (???) -Charmspoke the eidolons out of Percy, Jason, and Leo -Charmspoke the Gemini into revealing their true intentions and lead them to the giants -Saved Annabeth from being stabbed by Enceladus and charged at a group of giants -Put Gaea to sleep in the Wolf House -Awoke the Makhai to get an ingredient for the Physician’s Cure -Woke up Festus with just her voice -Defeated the giant Periboia

So the question is- after all this, why is Piper still useless? 

Well, because if you took her out of the series altogether, nothing would have changed. Let’s look back at her accomplishments I listed above, shall we?

-If she didn’t put Gaea to sleep with her charmspeak, Leo’s fire and the onager from Octavian still would’ve mixed and Gaea still would’ve been defeated, plus Festus had Gaea in the air so she couldn’t do anything anyways. All Piper really did was stop Gaea from yelling at the demigods. -She was the one to anger Khione and the Boreads in the first place, so if she was out of the picture it never would’ve happened. -If she didn’t go on the quest, Drew Tanaka would’ve, and she also has charmspeak, so Medea would’ve been defeated either way. -Any demigod could kill a bunch of harpies, they’re not that powerful. -She was the one to lead Percy and Jason to Kansas in the first place, so if she was out of the picture they never would’ve fought each other. -She was the one to lead Percy and Jason to the Nymphaeum (despite literally seeing them drown and bringing them there anyways) so if she was out of the picture they never would’ve almost drowned.  -She was the one to lead Annabeth to the Temple of Fear in the first place so if she was out of the picture they never would’ve gotten attacked by Mimas. And of course it’d be hard for them to defeat Mimas they sent the two weakest demigods in the group lmao. -If she didn’t go on the quest, Drew Tanaka would’ve, and she also has charmspeak, so the eidolons would’ve been forced out anyways or Hazel could’ve forced them out as they’re from the Underworld. -The demigods already knew the Gemini were up to something, so Piper’s charm-singing was pretty much dead weight to prove something already known and Hazel could’ve found the tunnels in the first place since they’re underground or she could’ve just created her own like she’s done so many times. -She was the one to lead Percy and Annabeth to the giants in the first place so if she was out of the picture they never would’ve gotten captured. -If she didn’t go on the quest, Drew Tanaka would’ve, and she also has charmspeak, so Gaea would’ve been put back to sleep anyways. -Any sacrifice would’ve been enough to awaken the Makhai and either Frank or Hazel could’ve found them as Frank is the son of Mars and the Temple of Fear was underground.  -If she didn’t go on the quest, Drew Tanaka would’ve, and she also has charmspeak, so Festus would’ve been woken anyways.  -If she didn’t go on the quest, Drew Tanaka would’ve, so Periboia would’ve been defeated anyways. 

So...yeah. Erase Piper from the series, and literally nothing would’ve changed. Actually, things would’ve been much easier. She caused more problems and put the demigods in more life-threatening situations than Gaea herself did. That’s what makes her useless. Not only that, but because everything I listed was extremely unrealistic. How can Piper- a newbie who only trained with a sword for a few days, defeat a goddess by herself with a single stab, be on par with a giant in fencing, charge at any army of 10+ giants and not even get attacked while Percy and Annabeth did, put Gaea to sleep twice despite Gaea meeting all the loops and flaws of charmspeak, rival Medea- who’s been practicing charmspeak for thousands of years- etc.? Why should it count as Piper being powerful and strong if it makes no sense whatsoever and has no logical reasoning behind it? Remember- ‘fantasy’ and ‘unrealism’ are two different things. ‘Waking up a metal dragon with words’ and ‘Melting literal ice with love’ are things from My Little Pony, not Percy Jackson and Greek/Roman mythology 💀

And the fact that Riordan degraded Annabeth’s power, skill, bravery, intelligence, etc. just to make Piper look stronger, cooler, braver, smarter, and more powerful is literally disgusting. He really went ‘Peak feminism is downgrading one woman to make another look better’. Like honey no-

What I mean by that is the whole Mimas-Temple of Fear situation. Annabeth was facing all the fear she’s felt her whole life crashing into her at once, and I can agree that must’ve been terrifying, but Annabeth is supposed to be one of the strongest, bravest characters in the whole series, and fighting a giant while feeling afraid despite feeling that same way plenty of times before gets her falling to her knees and crying like a baby? And Piper- the newbie who has no idea what she’s actually talking about- toughens her up and helps her gather strength and courage??? Then saves Annabeth from being killed by Mimas three times despite Annabeth facing worse than him and having trained since she was six years old??? Excuse me??? Showing that even the strongest people need help sometimes is fine and honestly a great lesson, but Riordan flat-out destroyed all the strength and bravery he built up for Annabeth just to make Piper look cool. How do I know this? Because if Annabeth was with Percy, Jason, Leo, Hazel, Frank, or anyone besides Piper, she wouldn’t have broken down like that. Only when Piper is around does Annabeth turn weak, cowardly, and honestly- downright stupid. I mean- in The Lost Hero, Annabeth doesn’t notice the very-obvious human footprints on the threshold of the Hera cabin, but Piper does? And Annabeth is nervous- even scared- to walk inside of a cabin that obviously has a human, not a monster, inside of it, but Piper walks in without hesitation? And Percy and Annabeth- the two apparently most powerful demigods- are captured by the giants while Hazel’s Mist is being used on them, but Piper is the only one who isn’t (and the Mist is powerful enough to mask the scents of demigods as well) and has to save them again? And then Piper faces off 10+ twenty-foot giants and none of them even bother attacking her, instead staring down at a 5′5″ little girl with a big icicle who’s threatening to destroy them all (and they actually get intimidated)??? If Piper wasn’t included in the series, none of that would’ve happened. While Annabeth was following the Mark of Athena, she did everything on her own with no problem, faced her worst fear in the most disgusting, terrible form possible, almost died for the hundredth time, fell into Tartarus- which is way worse than the Temple of Fear, faced Tartarus himself in his physical form, etc. and she still held her ground. But the moment Piper comes along, all of that disappears for no reason. That my friends, is what we call sexist. 

And that is why Piper is useless. Not because she didn’t do anything, but because everything she did was extremely unrealistic and had no logical reasoning behind it and was just added in to make her look good while she did everything with absolutely no effort, struggle, or mistakes, everything she did had no impact whatsoever and could’ve easily been done by another demigod (and more quickly and efficiently may I add), and cause if you took her out of the series, nothing would’ve changed (and things would’ve been done a lot faster and easier). 

But, because I ranted about Piper, it’s only fair that I call out the others as well. AKA Percy, Jason, and Annabeth were also useless, Frank, Nico, and Hazel honestly didn’t do much, and Leo and Reyna were the only ones who actually did anything and contributed to the plot. 

And yeah thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Eidolon 13 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary:  AU: What started off as the result of a simple act of rebellion ends up causing his life to spin out of control. How will young Danny cope with the results as well as a past that has a strange habit of coming back to haunt him.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, kidnapping, and various other things

Chapter warnings: implied adult taking advantage of a child

Parings: hints of Danny/Sam much later on

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr

Chapter 13: Perceptions

The pain was like nothing Danny had ever experienced. With each flare, his body became rigid in a desperate attempt to withstand it. He tried, desperately, to relax as the tension just added to the pain, but it was to no avail. The flares were coming in increasing intervals, and his body could not help but brace for them. It was made worse by the lingering burning sensation left from the previous attacks.

A scream escaped him as another flare, more intense than the last, forced him into an unnatural arch. He collapsed almost as soon as it was over. Gripping at the pristine carpet, he bit his lip to hold back another cry as an echo of the pain washed over him. It was difficult to tell how many of the painful flares had coursed through his body or how much time had passed since Vlad forced the unknown substance down his throat. All he understood was the pain was getting more intense, lasting longer, and affecting more of his body each time. Though he was not sure exactly how he knew, the pain he was experiencing had started on or in his skin and was progressively creeping inward, like a small camp fire slowly growing to its full potential.

He wanted to move, to run, to escape from the torture, but it was no use. The pain had left him feeling extremely fragile as if he would shatter if he attempted to move. There was no telling if the strange liquid along with the flares was actually doing damage to his body, or if his current predicament was benign. But it didn't matter anyways. Even if he did manage to move, he would just be struck down by another spasm.

Even if it did kill him, he was going to fight to the very end. He needed to know if Winston was okay, to apologize to his friends for being kidnapped, and to find out what exactly happened to his parents. He absolutely had to accomplish those before he died. There was no way he could ever face his friends and family again if he didn't.

…

Damn, it looked like he wouldn't be able to accomplish his goals after all. His body was beyond exhausted, so much so he could barely muster the strength to open his eyes. The linger burn still coursing through his abused body indicated he was still among the living. The slow and steady thumping of his heart and the rasps of his shallow breaths were the only sounds within the barren room. Each sound seemed to getting weaker as the moments crawled by, but it was difficult to tell just how much more his body could take before it just gave out.

His breath hitched as another flare engulfed his body, but it was different from all the previous ones. It was far more intense and showed no signs of stopping. His body was too overwhelmed by the sensation to even make a sound, and he briefly wondered if this was what dying felt like as the fiery pain seemed to be burning away what was left of his short life. Flashes of regret began to blend into his reality as a small part of his mind registered it was truly the end.

A strange tingling in his finger tips interrupted the pain and alerted him to a new sensation. An icy cold was beginning to seep into his hands. Did that mean the pain spasms were coming to an end? Relief washed through him but was almost immediately replaced by fear as he realized the cold wasn't a blessing. It had begun to snake its way into his body at an alarming rate, freezing the burning flesh and replacing the previously living tissue with frozen death.

The flaring pain did not dissipate as the coldness spread. Instead, it seemed to fight back against the cold to reclaim control. His body became a battle ground between fire and ice, living and dead, as the two forces warred back and forth. Cold tendrils grasped his heart and lungs momentarily halting them bringing more intense pain.

He grabbed at his chest and neck wishing there was something he could do as the fire intensified and tried to burn away the cold. His breathing quickened as he tried to keep himself from falling into the darkness which was gathering at the edges of his vision. The fire was back in control of his lungs, but it was losing ground. Within moments, the cold tendrils had wrapped themselves completely around them. As he took his last painful breaths before his lungs seized completely, he vaguely registered that the door to the room was opening as the blackness finally overtook him.

…..

Consciousness came back to him gradually. Better phrased, his concept of awareness returned. He knew he was curled into a ball while laying on something soft… a bed perhaps? He was stiff and wanted to move, but refrained due to a lingering notion… What was it…? Pain. He had been in pain before waking, but from what?

Slowly, he opened his eyes to find himself on a pure white bed with dark wooden posts. The room it was sitting in had little in terms of furniture and was also an unremarkable white color. Sitting up, his eyes caught sight of a stain on the carpet. An image stirred in his mind of a strange green substance spilling on it. Blood perhaps? No… his wasn't purely green; it was mixed with a human's red.

But wait… wasn't he human? He shook his head of the thought. It didn't seem completely right, but it wasn't entirely wrong either. He glanced at his hands in the hopes they held some sort of clue to his jumbled thoughts, but they were unremarkable: tanner than average will giving off a faint whitish glow.

Sitting up, he rested his face in his hands as he tried to piece together his jumbled thoughts. Most of his memories were blurs, flashing with momentary clarity before speeding away. Why wouldn't anything come to him? He knew someone who he didn't really like placed him in the room, but the reason behind it remained gone. Maybe some food would help him think better.

How had he not noticed how hungry he was until now? The feeling of emptiness in his stomach was enough to make him woozy. The feeling combined with a general weakness throughout his body made him feel hesitant to move lest he pass out again. Yet, he knew if he could make it to the center of the room there was something which would at least hold him over until he could find something more substantial.

Instinct eventually won out over his reason, and he forced himself to look for it. He tried to stand but nearly collapsed as soon as he started to put weight on his feet; whatever he had gone through before waking had really taken a toll on his body. Frustrated, he called upon the small reserve of energy held within his core to help take him to his destination.

Thinking it would be alright, he allowed himself to drop down to the floor, only to fall to his knees when gravity reasserted itself. Wow, he was weaker than he thought. Good thing the energy source was directly below him. He hesitantly placed a hand on the carpet above what he thought might be a large battery. He could feel it pumping out energy throughout the room under the floor and through the walls. Though it was difficult to tell exactly what the energy was, he knew it was somewhat dangerous to him. Perhaps it was designed to keep him in the room? Or maybe it was there to help prevent him from falling through the floor.

He could worry about the implications later. Right now, he needed to feed. Carefully, he pushed his hand through the carpet and wood underneath and allowed it to rest on the top of the machine beneath him. He could feel the energy start being directed from the machine and into his hand. He smiled in delight as the energy, which he now knew was electrical with some ectoplasmic properties, filled his body with power and lessened the hunger.

Vaguely, he wondered if it would be a problem if he continued to take the energy from the machine. Whoever had placed the machine there would probably be upset if it stopped working... So, he would only take a little bit more and then try to find another more viable source for later. It was a good plan, but a strange notion broke through his satisfaction. It wasn't normal for someone to put their hand through a solid object.

Panicked, Danny pulled his hand out of the floor and stared at it. He… he had just purposely put his hand through the floor! How did he…? Why did he…? He glanced down at the spot in question, hoping for some sort of answer. Nothing seemed out of place. Heck, if it wasn't for what had happened and the strange sensation telling him something was there, he wouldn't have even known the machine was just under the floor.

Confusion took over his thoughts as he rationally tried to understand how he knew it was there let alone take energy from it. He barely made any progress as he was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea. A groan escaped him as he could feel the sheen of sweat starting to form on his skin. Going from experience, he knew he was not going to be able to accomplish anything substantial until it passed. Danny took slow deep breaths as he propped himself against the bed as he attempted to wait it out.

Was this really going to continue to happen every time something weird happened to him? If so, he was really going to have to consider investing in Pepto-Bismol.

…

"Ah, I see you're awake," a cultured voice said in an offhanded way after the door to the room opened. There was a momentary pause before it spoke again, "Feeling under the weather? I can't say I blame you. Not only is your body adjusting to its new constitution, but ectoplasm isn't the friendliest of substances to ingest."

Danny could feel his eyes widen as he turned around to look at his captor. "Y-You knew about this…? W-what did you do to me?"

Vlad just smiled as he walked over and crouched down in front of him. "Of course I knew! We're the same breed after all." He then gently grabbed Danny by the jaw to prevent the boy from looking away. "I knew the concentrated ectoplasm would be enough to trigger a proper transformation. You should thank me; it would have taken you months to get this far."

"Transformation…? I don't…. What are you talking about?" He stammered as he tried to make sense of what the older man was saying as he slapped the man's hand away from him. Though he was feeling much better than he was previously, he didn't want to get too aggravated. There was no telling when his stomach was going to rebel against him again.

"You haven't realized it yet? …Or perhaps you've been too… occupied to even consider the differences in your body." Without a warning, Vlad then grabbed him by the arm and yanked him into a standing position before pulling him out of the room and down the hall. Danny barely had time to register the yellow and green décor of the hallway before he was shoved into what appeared to be an exceptionally large powder room complete with a full sized mirror. "Perhaps this will help make things clear, though I have to admit, I believed you were going to look much more impressive. Ah well, that will teach me to take complete stock in old legends."

Taking a few moments to make sure he was mostly fine before he gave the billionaire a puzzled glance. The man's response was to smirk and wave him towards the mirror and the reflection within it. Hesitantly, Danny complied though a few confused moments passed before he understood what he was truly seeing.

The boy in the mirror had a slightly tanned complexion combined with incredibly bleached (but was it truly bleached…?) snowy white hair with silvery highlights. The boy's eyes were an unnatural color; the same green of the drink Vlad had forced into him. The clothes were rather plain: straight legged black jeans with a couple accent chains and a black t-shirt with white trimming along the neck and sleeve edges. A white studded belt and black half-gloves with white cuffs completed the look.

It took him even longer to realize the image in front of him actually belonged to him. His immediate reaction was to look over his body to see if he wasn't hallucinating. How in the world did he manage to get into his current get up? While he didn't mind the overall effect (it was actually somewhat cool), he was a little more than creeped out by the implications. Glancing at the billionaire who was leaning against the door looking rather smug, Danny had to repress a shudder. No about of therapy would ever fix this.

"So… What do you think of the new you, Daniel?" Vlad asked him once he realized Danny was done taking in his new appearance.

"What do you mean 'what do I think'? How did you…? When did you….?" Danny's hands flailed as he tried to piece together a coherent question. Several more half-formed phrases were sputtered as slowly backed away from Vlad until he bumped into the sink.

The older man chuckled darkly as he watched Danny's frantic movements. "I assure you that the only thing I've done after giving you that drink was to place you on the bed. Nothing more, nothing less. Your current appearance is a product of your transformation."

"Transformation…? Is that what you're calling it?" Danny spat at Vlad as his suspicions began turning into horror. "Ugh!" Another wave of nausea overcame him causing him to stumble. Vaguely he understood his body still hadn't recovered properly which was being amplified by his panic. But, the majority of his mind just wanted to know 'why now'?

As he tried to recompose himself, his hand which was resting on the sink suddenly slipped. He was able to catch himself before he fell on his face, but quickly realized he hadn't actually slipped. Instead, his hand had decided it was a great time to become insubstantial and pass through it and part of the dark mahogany cabinet underneath. Panicking both from the event and the knowledge someone who was not a friend had witnessed the strange event, he tried to pull his arm free only to realize it had become effectively stuck.

"Panicking is only going to make the situation worse." Vlad's tone was rather matter of fact as he surveyed the scene. Danny couldn't understand how he wasn't disturbed by the sight in front of him, until he remembered Vlad wasn't just a man, he was a literal monster as well. The older man moved forward slightly with an outstretched hand. "Here, let me help you. There are several pressing matters awaiting both of us, and it saddens me to see you struggling with the most basic of your powers."

"Stay away from me! You're nothing more than a seriously crazed up fruitloop!" he shouted as he frantically tried to free his arm. Vlad paid him no mind as came over, gently grabbed his arm, and phased it out of the sink.

Under normal circumstances, Danny would have thanked the man for helping him out of such a situation. However, getting an arm stuck in a sink could never be considered 'normal.' "Get off me!" he shouted as he shoved Vlad, startling the older man. Knowing he had a chance, Danny made a break for the now unguarded door and ran down the hall in the opposite direction from where he originally came.

…

After turning yet another corner, Danny came to the conclusion he was hopelessly loss in a gigantic house belonging to a madman who was currently chasing after him. He wasn't even exactly sure how he knew the billionaire was in pursuit, but something in the back of his mind kept whispering that he needed to keep moving as Vlad wasn't too far away. It wasn't quite a flight or fight instinct as that wouldn't give him knowledge of which general direction Vlad was in, but he wasn't too sure what else to call it. Whatever it was, it was certainly useful. Even if he couldn't find the exit, he would at least be able to stay one step ahead of his pursuer.

… Well, as long as his energy held up he could stay ahead. He was still rather stiff from the pain and convulsions from prior to passing out. It also didn't help he was still nauseous, but it was starting to pass. He was pleasantly surprised. Usually, he wasn't very athletic, but he had covered an impressive amount of ground in the time he had escaped from Vlad. It was probably adrenaline, but he didn't care. Any little edge which could help him get away was very welcome.

He shook his head as he rested against a nearby wall as he gave himself a moment to relax and try to get all the images out of his head. Not knowing exactly what happened to him while he was unconscious was serious starting to freak him out, but he needed to keep his wits about him if he was going to have any chance of escaping.

A cold sensation interrupted his thoughts causing him to look to his right. Vlad was starting to get close to where he was again, but how was the man coming from that particular direction? Wasn't he coming from behind him a few minutes before hand? He shook his head again as he started sprinting down the hall. Fear was starting to eat at him as he ran. Vlad's presence seemed to get closer every time he came to another bend. It was almost as if he was moving through the walls…. It took Danny a moment to realize that was a very real possibility. If Vlad could pass through solid objects such as people, wouldn't he be able to do the same with the walls?

Danny skidded to a stop as he came to another crossway in the green and yellow decorated corridors. He was getting nowhere fast, and he only had moments before Vlad found him. Taking another quick break, he took the left hallway and started moving even faster than he had been previously. At the end of the hall was an open area, which appeared to lead to a large staircase. If he could get there, he would probably be somewhere near an exit!

There was only a few feet left until he would be able to see the new area clearly, meaning it would only take a few seconds, but his luck refused to hold out. He stumbled which caused him to fall face first to the floor.

….

Danny was incredibly disoriented as his vision cleared. He must have hit his head when he fell. Damn it! He had been so close! Wait, how long had it been since he fell? Had Vlad found him? Standing up, he found himself in a rather large room with the ceiling being exceptionally high. More than a little unsure where he was, he started looking around for an exit.

The walls of this room were even more unremarkable than the ones in the room he had been trapped in for a few days. Theses ones were a dull gray; no different than a slab of concrete. In fact, that maybe exactly what they were made of. There were no windows or apparent doors which made it feel more like a prison. Vlad must have found him and thrown him in to teach him a lesson. Damn it! How was he going to be able to escape now?

While he continued to look around, something hard stabbed him in the back. He was about to swat it away when a strange and unpleasant energy spread from the object's tip into his body. A scream escaped him as the energy burned and shocked him, creating a feeling almost equaling the pain of the spasms from earlier. Just as suddenly as they started, they stopped. Relief washed through him as he tried to recover, but it was short lived. Something hard hit his face and sent him flying into the closest wall about three feet off the floor.

Sliding down the wall was almost as bad as being hit. The wall had originally been a smooth texture, but his impact created several spider web cracks. To say the least, it was a very unpleasant feeling to slide over them as he fell to the floor. As he tied to sit up and figure out what hit him, something with that same pulsing energy as before came very close to his neck. He looked up to see a glowing green bo staff being wielded by what he assumed was a person. It appeared to have a woman's shape, but it was dressed in a protective suit… What were they called…? Hazmat…? Yes, hazmat… that sounded right.

The suit was a strange blue – gray color and skin tight. It had a hood which was pulled up over the unknown person's head, hiding the hair. Redish goggles completed the outfit and made the person's eyes seem inhuman and angry.

"Don't move!" the person hissed, moving the end of the bo staff a little closer to Danny's neck. "I don't know why Vlad sent you, but I am not going to let a ghost harm either me or my daughter!" The voice was harsh, protective, and unfamiliar, but it was female.

"Woah! Hold on a second!" Danny stammered as he eyed the glowing weapon in front of him. "I'm not going to hurt you! I didn't even realize you were here!"

The woman's eyes narrowed from within her goggles as she connected her staff with his skin once again. His screams only ended when the staff's strange energy was no longer coursing through his body. "Nice try ghost," she told him as she stabbed him with it again. "But I'm not going to fall for it! All of you are the same!"

"Wh-what are you talking about…?" Danny asked weakly as the weapon was removed. Not only were the shocks painful, but they seemed to be zapping his strength. "What ghost? I'm… I'm not a ghost!"

"Oh, and I suppose normal people have unnaturally white hair and glow?"

"Hey, that was something Vlad did to me…! Wait a minute… I'm glowing?" A memory from when he first woke up in the white room flashed though his mind. He glanced down at his hands and examined them closely. It was hard to see in the light, but there did appear to be a faint white glow around his hands. "Why the hell am I glowing? What was in that drink he gave me?"

"You didn't even realize…" the woman muttered faintly as she continued to stare at him. Her expression wasn't completely devoid of malice, but at least some curiosity had made its way into it. "You're either newly formed or a really good actor… Hmm… I've never gotten to study a newly formed ghost before…"

Danny tried to scoot away from her. He didn't like how this conversation was starting to go. However, he would probably still choose dealing with the woman with the weapon and questionable sanity instead of the creepiness that was Vlad any day. "Look, I really didn't mean to bother you!" he told be quickly as once again looked around for an exit, but it was difficult due to the woman's proximity to him. "I really want to leave as much as you seem to want me to, so if you could please just show me where the door is, I'll be out of your hair!"

The woman frowned at his words as if she was making sure she had heard him correctly. She once again put her staff underneath his chin. He flinched at the touch as he prepared for another shock, but none came. He opened his eyes to see that the woman was using the staff to help her get a clearer view of his face. What was it with people doing that to him? Was there something wrong with the way he looked? Well… that was a ridiculous question to ask with his current appearance, but at least the woman wasn't shocking him this time.

"Fascinating! Your form is incredibly similar to that of a human's, and you clearly still think like one."

"'Think'? What's with this think business? I am human!"

The woman seemed like she was about to say something else, but was gently pushed aside by a smaller form with long red hair. "Mom!" the figure warned as she glanced back and forth between him and the woman. "You're scaring him!" She then turned towards Danny, smiled, and extended her hand. "Here, I'll help you up. By the way, my name is Jazz."

============================================

Um, I'm just going to point this out now. I don't support Pompous Pep, at all, or adults taking 'advantage of children'. But with the way Vlad's acting and being very vague about the entire event, combined with Danny having no clue how he got the change of clothes adds up to Danny's suspicions. Honestly, I wasn't even expecting to add that bit in there until I started writing it and realized, "wow, this situation just suggests pedophile…. Vlad, you are a creepy man!"

Oh, and to explain the part where Danny woke up… I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the different aspects of ghosts, but it is not unusual to see electronic equipment act up or lose power when a ghost is present. Current belief is that the ghost will somehow barrow power from a device and use it manifest itself. Some can also draw on emotions (like Spectra), but those tend to be negative entities.