#OTHER PEOPLE CAN SEE IT. WHAT IS UP WITH EVERYONE LATELY.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Part 2! A little shorter, but felt inspired to continue a little further!

___________________________________________

“This story is awful.”

Iris sipped her coffee, making a face at the overly sweet taste, flipping through the script in her hand. “This character makes no sense!”

Allison, Iris’s assistant, raised an eyebrow. “What a shock, you have a complaint about a script’s writing. So are you turning down this project as well? That would be the fifth in a row that we’ve turned down. People are starting to start rumors that you’re retiring.”

“I’m not saying no… not just yet. But this character…” Iris sighed. “I just don’t get it. She is a princess. The real princess… But she got replaced, and when she returns, somehow everyone favors the fake princess instead. Why didn’t she just stay firm to the truth? She was the one with the right to be there. Instead, she cowered away and attacked her replacement from the shadows.”

Allison took the script from her hands, looking at the scene that was underlined. “So, this girl grew up in the slums, and got brought back right? She feels out of place. And even worse, she has no confidence in her family. They have years of memories with someone else. That replacement… she can be gracious and calm. She’s been spoiled and loved by the royal family for years. And the favored are the confident. There is no one more timid than someone who is hoping to be loved.”

“Wants to be loved, huh… “ Iris murmured, thinking it over. “Why did they ask me to play this part?”

She was not speaking out of false confidence. She was a A list star. To be offered a side character part was not a typical event.

“Apparently the script writer insisted it had to be you.” Allison shrugged with a laugh. “He said you were born to play this part.”

“Is that so? Hmm… I’d like to meet him.”

“I’ll ask, but apparently he’s a hard person to meet.”

Iris took back the script, studying it once more. “Try. I want to meet the man who wrote this poor girl…and her terrible end.”

___________________________________________

“Wake up!”

A rude voice startled Iris awake, almost causing her to fall out of bed. Catching her balance, she sighed, trying to wake up. For a brief moment she wasn’t sure where she was. Iris rubbed her eyes, looking around, recognizing her surroundings as the rooms in the castle.

Back to my life as the replaced princess.  Her dreams of the other world were so detailed, so real, that Iris often found herself confused as to what was reality and what was the dream. It didn’t help that the time and events in her dreams often happened out of order, confusing her all the more when she woke up.

The dream me never did get to meet the script writer. She thought tiredly. I wish I had. It might have provided some answers.

Before she could focus on that too long, the voice spoke up once more.

“Are you getting up, Princess?” The tone was sarcastic, breaking Iris from her reverie. Looking over, Iris spotted the source: An angry looking maid, a blond woman in her young twenties, a scowl distorting her otherwise unremarkable features.

“I’m still considering it.” Iris muttered.

“Some of us don’t have time to waste, Your Highness. Breakfast started a half hour ago.” She smirked at the statement, as if Iris being late was amusing.

Ah. I’m being bullied. Smiling to herself, Iris sat up, making prolonged eye contact with the maid.

“Name?”

“Elise.” The woman gave an arrogant look. “I’m the lead maid of the living quarters.”

“Wow. I’m sure your parents are very proud.”

Elise gave her a strange look. “They are.”

“I see…” Iris smiled broadly and tapped her cheek. “Imagine how excited they will be to hear you’ve been imprisoned for disrespecting royalty! Maybe they can come visit you on your birthdays?”

A confused silence fell over the room. Finally, realization dawned on her face, and she protested loudly. “You WOULDN’T DARE! I’m the princess’ favorite maid!”

Iris stood up, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet.  Step by step she moved closer. A polite smile remained in place, but her eyes were cold and unsettling.

In her dreams, she was an actress. And not just any actress, one with a very specific reputation:

A woman known for her business acumen and ruthlessness in negotiation. No one ever expected to come out on top when talking contracts, but her acting prowess kept them coming back for the abuse. It was a well-known fact in her dreams:

Anyone who crossed her would regret it.

The maid Elise began to cower as Iris moved within arm’s reach. She technically was taller than then the undernourished princess, but for some reason, she felt small in the face of the aura of power and control that radiated from the young woman in front of her. Her sense of danger heightened, until she panicked, breaking out in apologies.

“I- I’m sorry. I'm sorry!”

Iris’ smile widened. “Sorry for what?”

“Sorry for disrespecting you… Your Highness.”

“You aren’t sorry… not yet anyways.” She leaned forward, whispering a few words quietly in the maid’s ear. The woman turned pale, shaking with fear and shock, stammering non-stop apologies. Finally, Iris raised a hand, bringing her words to a halt.

“I’ll dress myself, Elise. Why don’t you let my father, brothers… and my lovely adopted sister… that I will be down to breakfast shortly.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Elise curtseyed, cold sweat dripping down her back. Quickly she turned and headed to the door, only stopping when Iris called out again.

“What will you say if my family asks why I am late?”

Their eyes met again, similar to when she had woken up, but with a completely different atmosphere.

Finally, the maid looked away first and broke the silence. “I will tell them it was due to my error, Your Highness.”

“Good girl.” Iris waved her hand dismissively. “Head along now.”

As if released by a slingshot, Elise ran out, nearly falling to the ground in her hurry to get away. Iris chuckled, putting aside the dress that was laid out for her and searching her wardrobe. The dress selected was clearly a ballgown, something overly fancy and completely unsuited for a breakfast, even a royal one. Wearing that would have made her seem awkward and out of place, a country bumpkin who coveted beautiful and shiny things.

After searching for a while, she found a simpler light blue gown with minimal trim and flared sleeves, clearly a more casual daytime dress. It was difficult to put on by herself, but fortunately, she had a lot of practice getting quickly in and out of intricate clothing…

In her dreams at least.

___________________________________________

Once she was fully dressed, she headed downstairs.

Again, she found herself surrounded by luxury. Intricate fixtures, beautiful paintings, even the door handles looked expensive. Iris sighed quietly, realizing that without her advantage she would have very much felt out of her depth.

I do miss modern amenities though. Even the most expensive toilet in a fantasy world like this can’t match a good reliable modern one.

Iris walked towards the dining room, remembering the path she took yesterday. As she passed by, she heard the servants in the corners whispering. Her hearing was excellent, she only picked up a few pieces, but she was able to understand what the sentiment was.”

“Who is…?”

“Came from… slums.”

‘Really? Doesn’t look…”

“Looks like the Queen.”

At the last sentence Iris turned for a moment, glancing at an enormous portrait of a young woman that was displayed in the sitting room adjacent to her destination. She looked a lot like Iris herself. She had similar red hair and gold rimmed irises in a delicate face. Iris stared silently for a few moments, a small pain in her heart for the woman who gave birth to her, but who she had never met.

I wonder how she would feel about this switch? Would she be excited to see me? Or more worried about how my arrival could hurt her raised daughter instead?

Not wanting to dwell on those depressing thoughts too long, she entered the dining room.

“You’re late.” Her father’s grim voice greeted her arrival. He radiated disapproval, with an intimidating atmosphere… to most people at least.

“Good morning!” Iris smiled at her father, unbothered. She sat down at the empty place setting, her posture upright and confident. “I apologize for my tardiness.” She locked eyes with her maid, Elise, who face paled. She stepped forward with a deep gesture.

“I’m so sorry, I woke up the princess late this morning!”

Anthony frowned. “Is this how you serve your new mistress?” The maid shook her head in response, looking even more distraught. The tense atmosphere thickened, before being shattered by a new speaker.

“Elise has always been my maid before this and served me perfectly! It must be some sort of misunderstanding.” Theodora frowned, before looking uneasily at Iris. “Maybe my sister is… just not used to being around servants?”

They were pretty words, and Iris had to appreciate the barbs hidden within them. Especially nice was the subtle implication that it was Iris who had behaved inappropriately.

Iris laughed quietly. “I fail to understand how me not being used to servants would cause the maid to not attempt to wake me up until 30 minutes after breakfast had started.” She paused, looking over the rich clothes of the other girl carefully. “A more likely answer is that she does not view me as a true princess… and why would that be?”

Theodora looked shocked, and her eyes filled with tears. “It’s my fault! If we hadn’t been switched…”

“How dare you blame Theodora!” Dominic slammed his fist down on the table, rattling the plates and cutlery. “She is an innocent…”

“She is an innocent victim, brother, I know.” Iris faced him calmly. “I’m very confused about why Theodora is taking this to heart. It’s not like she as a baby could have engineered the switch… although the person who switched us may have been her relative… who wanted their child to live a life of royalty while the real princess suffered or died…But obviously that is not her fault! So, please don’t blame yourself… Sister.”

A long silence fell over the room as the three men processed her words. Iris wanted to roll her eyes but kept her expression blank. Did they really never consider that it could be someone related to her who did the switch? Do they think they just grabbed a random baby somewhere? She turned her attention to the food. It was multiple tiny plates of intricate food, all things she had never eaten before… while awake. There was multiple odd appearing cutlery, and for a moment, she felt a slight panic deep within her.

 I don’t belong here.

She banished the thought immediately. She was the real princess. Where did she belong, if not here? Drawing on her dream knowledge, she started on the outside, and worked her way carefully through the food. She progressed quietly and smoothly, only glancing up once she felt less hungry… Only to see a hate filled glare on Theodora’s face.

Shocked, Iris glanced down, and when she looked back the look was gone, so quickly that she wondered if she imagined it. But it was real, she knew it deep down. Was it what I said? She glanced down at her hands and smiled. Or the fact that despite them preparing an overly complicated breakfast, I‘ve had no issues? One of the scenes she had acted out in had involved the real princess being humiliated during a meal with her poor table manners. Another improvement in her favor.

One at a time, Iris. Just one small change at a time.

___________________________________________

After breakfast Iris excused herself quickly, not wanting to stay in the tense environment of her smiling “sister” and her father and older brother who were so quick to defend her. Anthony followed her closely, and she found herself smiling up at him. He was the most different from the story she knew. He seemed to care, at least.

“Did you have a good night’s sleep?” He asked as they turned towards the gardens.

Filled with dreams of another world. “Well enough.” She paused. “If not longer than hoped for.”

Anthony winced. “I talk with the head servants. There should be no confusion in how you are to be treated.”

“Don’t waste breath on useless explanations. Words mean little against action. And unfortunately, there’s already confusion, brother. It’s coming from the King and Crown Prince.” She smiled calmly, as if the words didn’t mean anything to her. “Why should the servants see me as something their king doesn’t.”

“Iris… he…”

“Doesn’t look at me like a father who regained his daughter. More like a possible enemy who could threaten his family.” In a way, he’s correct. If he views Theodora as his family, my arrival does make her situation and status complicated.

���…”

Anthony didn’t seem to know how to respond. Ignoring his silent dismay, Iris let out a small cry of delight, swooping down to gently touch a few flowers along the path. The fragile purple petals felt like satin under her fingers. She cupped a few, smiling brightly.

“They are so lovely.” In her joy she accidentally released a small amount of power, leading to the small buds around to bloom beautifully in a few seconds. The rest of the flowers seemed to lean towards her, as if she was their personal sun. In moments a few bright colors became an overwhelming blush of purple, pinks and green.

“Iris?” Anthony spoke up uncertainly.

“Yes, these here are Irises! So lovely and brave of them to bloom so nicely despite the cold.” The castle gardens were much more temperate than the outer city, likely the result of the royal magicians, but it was still not warm enough yet for the flowers to bloom fully. She regretted the accidental release of power, which had attracted them to open up too soon. They would not last long. Silently she stretched out her hands and fed them more power, which would let them last until the weather warmed up some.

“No… Iris… do you have magic?”

She froze at her brother’s question. “… Would it mean much if I said ‘no’?”

“Not much, no.” Anthony laughed. “How long have you had magic? It’s amazing, really… most royalty need guidance to discover it, and usually don’t until adulthood!”

“…”   A long silence fell between them. The smile slowly faded from Anthony’s face, to be replaced by a look of uncertainty.

Iris stared at the flowers, her face cold. “I suppose many royalty haven’t faced starvation.” She stood up, brushing her hands off, the movements stiff. “The old woman who took me in died shortly after I turned ten. She had run a small shop, but after she was gone, some men came and grabbed it. I was too small to hold onto anything valuable… They tried to grab me too. I would have sold for some gold, after all.”

“Iris…”

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to think of the horrible night, but unable to stop. Her heart started beating faster with remembered fear. “I stabbed one of their men in the thigh when he tried to grab me. Almost castrated the bastard. Scared them enough for me to get away. But I was too young. I was desperate, alone with no skills to survive. It was spring, and I discovered I had a knack for selling flowers.”

 I started having the dreams that night, and good thing too. “When it got cold, I couldn’t find enough flowers to sell… until I awakened my power.”

She was lost in her memories, when suddenly she was crushed by an overwhelming hug. Her fight or flight response activated and she tried to swing her arms, only to freeze at the sound of her brother’s tearful voice.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Iris. You never should have gotten lost, never should have suffered. I should have found you earlier.”

Iris reached out uncertainly, and patted his back. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. And either way, I’m here, right?”

Anthony’s voice was muffled, his taller frame hanging down as he buried his head on her shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I need to. Trust me.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.” Thinking of the ending of her story, Iris added. “You’ve got some time, anyways, until I get married off somewhere.”

“Who is marrying you off!” Anthony raised his head, his eyes angry. “That’s too risky, what if he doesn’t treat you well?! You’ve already suffered so much…. No! Better to marry you close… preferably to someone scared of royalty so you can run home if he makes you angry.”

Hearing his description of his ideal for her husband, Iris couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Okay, brother. I’ll marry someone close by who you can bully, so I’ll never suffer again.”

“You’re making fun of me.” Anthony accused her.

“Yes.”

They both laughed at that, Anthony reached out and rubbed her head affectionately, messing up her hair. As Iris frowned and tried to fix it, he shook his head. “Well we’ve got plenty of time. It’s not like there’s a long list of candidates worthy of marrying a princess…”

“Your Highnesses!” A robed young man entered the garden. “What a coincidence!”

Iris recognized him quickly. “Mage Vicente” She smiled in greeting.

“You look much better rested.” He commented in return.

Anthony looked a bit uneasy, stepping in between the two of them. “What brings you here?”

“I sensed some unusual magic in the garden, so I came to investigate.”

“Well, nothing unusual is happening here, so you should probably keep looking.”

Mage Vicente looked at them both, and gave an amused smile. “Of course. Sorry to disturb you.” He made brief eye contact with Iris again, who felt a distinct familiarity in his gaze. But where would I know him from?

Anthony kept his protective posture, not relaxing until the mage had excused himself and walked away. “Don’t tell anyone of your powers just yet, Iris.”

“Why not?” She hadn’t really planned to. In the story she knew, her father had used her for her powers before abandoning her. She hadn’t meant to display them here, but she supposed she had felt comfortable and safe around Anthony. She was curious as to why he thought she shouldn’t, though.

“We don’t know who meant you harm eighteen years ago. What if they are still around, and mean to finish the job?” He shook his head. “I know father and Dominic don’t want to investigate the switch, as it could lead to public speculation about Theodora, but…” he paused. “I can’t let whoever hurt you try again. I'm looking into it, Iris. I'll find out who did this, and I will protect you in the future.”

“I…” Iris choked on her words, feeling tears fill her eyes. She had been mentally prepared to be alone on this battlefield. To fight an unknown enemy with no one, not even her family on her side. But things were different than she expected. She had an ally, a friend.

A brother.

Unable to articulate her thoughts, she settled for simply hugging him again. He seemed happy with that though, rubbing her head and messing up her hair once more.

“Let’s head back.”

You are a poor girl selling flowers. Today is your birthday but no one knows. When you return home you find the prince of the kingdom waiting for you with a birthday cake. "Are you sure this is the one?" He whispers to his advisor.

[livelaughlou]

I wish you would write a fic where buck and tommy meet when they both choose to hide behind the couch at chimney's surprise birthday party ❤️

I LOVE this so much. The timeline's kind of iffy, maybe consider this a total canon divergence? lol. I hope you like it.

"You're late!" Maddie hisses at him when he slides in the door, rushing up with Jee in her arms.

"I'm sorry!" he says. "There was an accident and I got stuck in it. You sent me across the city for a birthday cake!"

She rolls her eyes. "It's not my fault the bakery screwed up the first one."

He supposes she's got him there. Begging off to skip the basketball game that Eddie, Chimney, and Bobby had all gone to so he could help with the party was a blessing actually, because he hates basketball anyway.

She sighs. "Sorry, I snapped. He should be home with Eddie and Bobby any moment now, so come on, let's get everyone gathered in the living room."

He follows her into the living room, looking around to see all the guests there, Ravi, Lucy, Hen and Karen, other people from the station that were free tonight. And then his eyes land on the hottest person he's ever seen.

He's tall, broad-shouldered, and from what Buck can see, he's got a light dusting of stubble around a mouth that looks amused as he talks to Lucy. He's got high cheekbones and a straight nose on a face that Buck suddenly wants to see even more of.

He nudges his sister. "Mads, who's that?"

She looks over, sets Jee down. "Oh, Tommy Kinard. He's an old friend. They've kept in touch over the years."

Buck blinks. "Oh, can you-"

Then Maddie's phone goes off and she pulls it out, her eyes widening. "Okay, everyone they're here. Hide!"

Everyone in the room scrambles to hide while Maddie hits the lights.

It doesn't take long for him to notice that he's not alone behind Maddie and Chimney's couch.

"Um," he says stupidly. "Hi."

The guy--Tommy--grins, and oh God, it makes his nose and eyes scrunch up a little. Did Buck know that was a thing before? He doesn't think so. He hasn't had this strong of a reaction to someone since Abby and he doesn't quite know what that means that Tommy is a man.

"Hi," Tommy says, clearly still amused. He holds out a hand. "Tommy Kinard."

Buck takes it. His grip is warm, strong, and firm and Buck can feel the butterflies in his stomach. "Evan. Buck. Buckley."

Tommy frowns a little. "Sorry?"

Buck sighs at himself. "Sorry. You can call me Evan."

The front door opens and Chimney walks in. "Hello?"

And as everyone stands up to yell surprise, Buck thinks he may have just discovered a surprise of his own.

[celestialgalaxyglow]

Batfam and Danny, Part 9

At the Justice League Watchtower.

Diana: Good morning everyone and thank you for coming to this pronto meeting. I known we all have busy schedules so I'll make this quick. Bruce, Clark, and I have been investigating an operation by Lex Luthor. He has been moving round large amounts of radioactive material to a secret lab in the Sahara Desert, we currently do not know what he is planning but last night the radioactivity around the base spiked. We believe that there was some leak of the radioactive materials and we need a plan to contain it.

J'ohn: Are there any civilians in the region?

Clark: No, the lab is far out into the desert. The closest town is a small village with a population of about 1000 people an hour and a half away.

Hal: I could but up a temporary shield around the lab and try to contain the radiation as much as possible.

Bruce: That would be a good start.

Arthur: This is concerning, how can I help?

Diana: There is another shipment currently on a Lexcorp boat heading towards a port in Algiers we need you to stop it.

Bruce: Oliver, you will help Arthur take control of the ship.

Oliver: Got it.

Diana: Barry, while we believe the town and its residents will be safe, we'd like to keep you on stand by just in case.

Barry: Yes ma'am!

Diana: That's all from us. Now that we are together we should start making a solid plan, we start this operation 10pm, local time in Algeria. That gives us 8 hours to prepare. Any questions?

Oliver: Just one question, who's Bruce's new kid?

Everyone turned to look at Danny.

Danny: Hi!

Bruce: This is Danny, alias Phantom, he's Jason's kid... and my grandson.

Barry (laughing): Congratulations Bruce, you're a thirty-one-year-old grandfather.

Arthur: Is he helping us with the operation?

Diana: Yes, Danny is half-ghost and immune to radiation, he'll be helpful if the radiation levels are higher than we expect.

J'onn: You have a quite mind young one.

Danny: If I let you read my thoughts there's a fifty-fifty chance your brain may get scrambled.

J'onn: I see...

Billy: I'm here! Sorry I'm late, just had to finish something before I could leave- Billy looked around the room till he saw Danny. He jumped back and covered his ears.

Clark: You ok there Billy?

Billy: Who is that kid?

Danny: I'm Bruce's grandson.

Billy: ...

Clark: Why?

J'ohn: The gods in Billy's mind all just screamed bloody murder and told him that under no circumstances, should he make Danny mad.

Everyone looked at Danny but before anyone could ask question Constantine walked in.

Constantine: You known if you're going to call a random meeting at least give us more than 3 hours to get ready- Constantine froze when he saw Danny. Shit...

Danny (grinning): Constantine!

Bruce: You two know each other?

Danny: Yes, he's the fool that sold his sold his soul to a hundred separate demons who are all now petition me to decide who actually owns his soul.

Constantine: ...

Hal: Why would they petition you?

Danny: I'm their king.

JL: What!?

Danny: And another thing Constantine, come over here. A green light encircled Constantine throwing him across the room, placing down in a chair next to Danny. You didn't pay your taxes for the last tax season.

Constantine: I- your majesty, I'm not a citizen of the Infinite Realms.

Danny: Actually you are! Danny summoned a scroll. According to section 8, subsection 45, clause B of the Infinite Realms Citizenship and Nationality Status Governing Deaths, Resurrections, and All Other Avoidances of Death Act, also known as the IRCNSGDRAOADA, due to your soul being more than 80% owned by citizens of the Infinite Realms, you too are a citizen of the Infinite Realms, and thus have to pay taxes.

Constantine: I-

Danny: You owe the Crown, aka me, $25,000.

Constantine (nervous): Would your majesty be so kind as to wave my taxes for this year, given I did not know I had to pay?

Danny: I'll give you... 120 days to come up with the money, if not I'll send the tax collectors after you.

Constantine (terrified): You- you're too kind your majesty. Constantine picked up a folder from the table. I'll just read the report... I- got to go. Constantine left the room.

Bruce (tired): Danny...

Danny: I was joking, I'll wave the his missing taxes.

Hal: Why is he so scared of tax collectors?

Danny: The tax collectors in the Infinite Realms are not just nerds with suitcases, they are nerds with suitcases that also carry paintball guns.

J'onn: Paintball guns?

Danny: The paint will never come off till you pay your taxes.

Berry: That sounds so fun!

Arthur: I'm happy to have another king on the team. Finally I have some to talk to about the duties of ruling.

Danny: Tell me about it, for some reason, people can't just do as their told.

Arthur (crying): You understand me my pain.

Clark: Where does your family find these children?

Bruce: We don't find them, they find us!

Diana: As fun as this whole conversation is we do need to prepare for the mission. Let's get to work.

JL: Yes ma'am!

(Master Post)

[stealingpotatoes]

POTES SEMI-LIVEBLOGS KOTOR!

ive been writing my thoughts in the notes app but due to popular demand (one person asked for it) i'm posting my liveblogging DO NOT SAY/TAG/COMMENT SPOILERS PLEASE i read tags

warning im a yapper, im 10 hours in and theres a lot already (separated into sessions):

SESSION 1

whos this clown i thought i would be playing as revan

ive been too spoiled by dragon age origins this character creator sucks ass

only human???? ): fr?? ill just imagine her different in my brain or some shit

my life is being mansplained to me. is this bad writing or do i have amnesiacs

hes meta now??? hes talking abt the screen controls?????

omg a jedi and an evil jediii

omg their asses suckedddd they both died immediately

i <3 bringing a sword to a gun fight

WHY R THERE SO MANY SITH WHERE IS TJE RULE OF TWO

i clicked a workbench and it said lightsaber so either i get a lightsaber or i get a jedi friend whose lightsaber i can steal if im careful

I assume u play as revan in kotor2 so im gonna buy that now so i can play it when im done playing w this clown

i got light side points im getting a good grade in game morality which is something both normal to want and possible to achieve

everyone keeps saying revan is dead but thats my friend revan from tumblr hes clearly alive. or they???

my characters ass is distractingly present onscreen

huge fan of the way everyone collapsed drunk what the FUCK was in that wine

ok these sith ppl might be the bad guys but their armour is DRIPPY AS FUCK

ideologically i dont agree w the sith but they kinda went off w the fits

googling how to become a sith without being evil cause they have Drip

SESSION 2

i paid £1.19 to see revan he better show up in this game at some point

all these sith n i still cant find one revan….. stop faking ur death rn come out n talk to me babygirl this isnt like u….

why can i be light/dark side if im not a jedi. give me a laser sword

maybe this jedi gyal will know where revan is faking his death. or give me a fuckin lightsaber PLEASEEE

was just thinking 'does this game have romance' and then carth called me beautiful. i dont think im gonna romance anyone until i get this amnesia sorted

why is carth questioning me so much abt the crash im pretty sure i have amnesia

why tf did the jedi lady have me transferred to this ship are we in lesbians with each other???

carth's not wrong it is suspicious but i lowkey have amnesia so i coulda done that i coulda not

a lot of clone wars voice actors in this. was lucasfilm so broke in the 2000s that they could only afford the same 3 VAs for every project

mission is 14??????? we need to get my girl back in school

SESH 3

tale as old as time i fucking suck at racing games

ok i didnt realise you had to mash click i won

REVAN!!! REVAN!!!!!!!!!

why am i dreaming abt revan tho. real as hell but ?????

lmao cringe revan getting blown up. i thought the jedi beat rev-meister in a fight but no. accident

"such visions are often a sign of force sensitivity" COOL YAY GIVE ME A LIGHTSABER

BASTILLE LOST HER FUCKING LIGHTSABER??

CARTH IS RIGHT THATS LIKE DAY ONE JEDI SHIT. ok i still love her even tho shes a bit of a bitch and also doesnt have a saber

if we find a lightsaber im taking it first tho

whys carth getting weird abt me being weird that he doesnt trust me. i just wanna be friends mate

SESH IV: A NEW HOPE

'i mean no disrespect, but perhaps one of the male slaves could serve you better' i went in here to start a slave revolution and instead got called a lesbo

LMAO THERES A SPICE LAB???? WALTER WHITE WHERE ARE YOU

thats insaneee they blew up BILLIONS of people to get to one jedi?????? these sith arent fucking around theyre scary

UM THIS IS CRAZY GRAPHICS THE LIGHTING IS CLEARER/DARKER WHEN I COVER THE SUN W THE SHIP EDGE?? 2003 IS THE YEAR OF THE FUTURE

someone just called me padawan i kinda assumed i was in my late 20s do i just have baby vibes

all the jedi in the movies are so chill but every kotor jedi i've met so far has been a bit of a bitch

YO THEY HAVE A YODA!!! its not THE yoda but

cool so these guys are just the regional managers at best. your asses are not the council

why can everyone smell my force juju so strong

THATS STRAIGHT UP YODA'S CLONE WARS VA

why does fake yoda not blink both eyes at the same time. im calling him master tortimer he reminds me of the animal crossing mayor

bastila there was no need for such a fancy bow

malak is like evil aang

revan is so much shorter than malak omg

are me and bastila sharing dreams. are we both obsessed w revan

poor mission ):

WHAT WAS MASTER TORTIMER ABT TO SAY????????? EVER SINCE WHEN??? DID WE KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE MY AMNESIACS????? DID BASTILA TELL U SMTHN MORE WHEN I WASNT IN THE ROOM???

im intrigued i like this whole hidden jedi shtick its very compelling. so is whatever theyre hiding from me

kinda surprising no jedi found me before tho given my force juju is so strong

IM A LEGIT JEDI NOW??? SICK!!!

does revan rlly not have pronouns i thought that was a tumblr thing but they straight up are a nonbinary icon ive never heard a single pronoun used. revan's pronouns are revan/revan's

damn revan seems so cool in these stories (charismatic war hero that convinced their troops to join them as conqueror?? julius caesar) and yet all we've seen them do onscreen is get blown up and die by accident

A YEAR AGO? the way they were talking i assumed revan died like. a week before the game started

master uh i forgot his name he has martin scorcese vibes said revan was a paragon of the jedi so what im getting is that all jedi gifted kids turn evil

even if i didnt know revan as a tumblr darling id KNOW revan has to be alive somewhere they way everyone talks abt them is too cool for a character who exploded and died. i think. i hope. I PAID £1.19 TO MEET REVAN

'only you and bastila can stop malak' seriously????? just us two?? ive been a jedi for like, 6 minutes and you guys keep calling bastila young???? do you guys not wanna help??

omg im getting carth to traumadump! <3

HE WAS ON REVAN'S ARMY>??

i totally knew the jedi code and did not have to google it whatsoever

they rlly said fuck going to illum heres a crystal from the bin

he told me id be a great sentinel and i was like i know but i want blue cause i dont wanna be matchies with bastila

OGH!!! I HAVE A LIGHTSABER!!!! THIS IS GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!

omg i made my lightsaber perfectlyyy which is rare <3 getting a good grade in jedi

maybe i was a travelling lightsaber salesman before my amnesia

seriously though WHO was i everyone's kinda stopped acting like i have amnesia since the first mission BUT IVE PLAYED DRAGON AGE THAT GIVES YOU OPPORTUNITIES TO RP UR PAST. THIS DOESNT. EITHER THIS GAME IS BAD (but i love it so its not) OR I HAVE RETROGRADE AMNESIA

also everyone keeps being like "Oh ur force juju is so strong" AND NOBODY FOUND ME TIL NOW??? suspicious. did getting a really bad concussion activate the force in me

im too confused and amnesiac'd to think abt anything except the fact i have a glowing stick now

FSESH FIVE:

big fan of using aliens to avoid having to get VAs to read every line

oh so carth's boyfriend saul betrayed him and became leader of the sith fleet so he has trust issues

well he needs to calm down. i can't betray him cause i dont know what the fuck is happening

yooo i love the design differences on the mandalorians

oh my god this lady wanted to fuck her droid cause it was her husband's. and then it killed itself. wtf. game of the year tho

wtf they jebaited this juhani person into going dark side but then i talked her out of it. that seems a bit mean of them

i hope she can join my party she looks too unique to be a random npc

ive been thinking and I might be going crazy but there was a loading screen tip ages ago that said jedis could wipe ppl's mind and all i thought at the time was 'fuck the shitshow acolyte didnt make that up'. but what if one of them wiped MY memory and i used to be a jedi or smthn ????????

cause they keep being like ur weirdly good at this??? did bastila steal my memories??????????

I KNOW I HAVE AMNESIA!! EVEN IF EVERYONE DOESN'T BRING IT UP BC THEYRE PROBABLY TRYING TO SAVE MY FEELINGS

if i dont have amnesia and im just deeping the fact the opening had my life being mansplained then im gonna look real stupid

anyway time 2 go to the fuckshit ruins cave where r-dog and malak went to

"it must be referring to revan. the dark lord and malak--" revan's pronouns are revan/thedarklord

bastila said theres no mention of the Builders in the archives. does she just know every text off by heart

THIS DROID IS 20K YEARS OLD ???

omg i can equip 2 lightsabers at once. game of the year

OK I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT THE AMNESIA BASTILA IS ASKING ME QUESTIONS ABOUT MY BACKGROUND THAT I CAN ANSWER. I REPEAT I DO NOT HAVE AMNESIA

ok i didnt get choices and i didnt really uh… say anything that i didnt already get told im still not ruling out amnesia

also booo i didnt get to find out how old i was

master tortimer rlly looks like the ultimate ketamine yoda

LMAO THERE WAS A DIALOGUE OPTION 2 CALL JUHANI A CATGIRL

omg kashyyk from jedi fallen order!!!

I CAN UPGRADE MY LIGHTSABER THIS IS JUST LIKE JFO

omg this ship is fun i wish everyone had personalised bunk spaces like hfw… a game which came out 19 years after this i should probably just take what we have

im gonna start w manaan cause im p sure thats what B-dog said n its the same language the droid was speakin

omg hyperspace from star wars

THE GUY THE BUILDING FELL ON???

am i having dreams abt revan bc bastila killed revan and im connected to her this is so roundabout

maybe i'd sleep better if my ponytail wasnt clipping into the pillow

[kiwi accent] six

carth needs a xanax every time i think we're friends he stops trusting me

also lmao he actually pointed out how wild it was that a day one padawan is being sent on this uber important mission and HES RIGHT IT IS WEIRD!! i thought it was main character logic but he's calling it out

i really really like the sense of unease that's setting in like at first i thought it was just cause im not used to 2003 games but no this is on purpose bc carth my friend carth keeps calling it out

THERE IS A CHILD ON MY SHIP ??????????????????

lmao the representative for menaan is roland wann. its like poetry it rhymes

there are no cameras in the sith hangar <3 rookie error i can commit crimes now

bastila's favourite hobby is getting shot and walking into my grenades

this isnt a combat system this is a missing system

I GOT ARRESTED???? IM JUST A GIRL

nvm i had a datapad that said the sith were evil so theyve let me go free and we're besties

why do i feel like ive just walked into an underwater horror mission

this suit waddles at the speed of a penguin on fentanyl

i tamed the beastie this is like how to train your dragon

MALAK FIRED ON REVAN?????? WERENT THEY BEST FRIENDS???????

but maybe revan escaped when bastila wasnt looking THEYRE FINE THEYRE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. I BELIEVE

so hopefully when we run into revan they'll be like agh i changed my ways cause of the being shot thing and they'll be my bestie

great news i successfully communicated w the ship child and gave her back to dantooine. my girl has shockingly good linguisitics skills

bastila is so dour "oh watch out for the dark side" GIRL I AM. I NEED TO GET THE BEST GRADE IN GAME MORALITY

ok OFF TO KASHYYK i hope cal kestis is there… thru the force i guess… bc he wont be born for another 4000 years but its whatever

omg you'll never guess what. another vision. wow its one of the thangs. cool this is a tomorrow me problem

[mysteryshoptls]

Mozus Trein Shared Lines

Lesson Start 1: Let us begin class.

Lesson Start 2: There should be no background chatter.

Lesson Start 3: No talking back.

Lesson Over 1: That is all for today. Make sure to review what you learned on your own.

Lesson Over 2: I'm sure the students who chose to fall asleep understood everything, yes?

Lesson Over 3: Gracious, a complete lack of decorum...

Exam 1: I expect good things from you.

Exam 2: Show me what you are capable of.

Exam 3: Try your best in every exam.

Exam Win 1: Well done. I am very proud of you.

Exam Win 2: Wonderful. Continue your efforts in the same manner.

Exam Lose 1: I can provide assistance if you need to review.

Exam Lose 2: You're only one step too short.

Level Up 1: Continuous learning leads to academic accomplishments.

Level Up 2: If improvement is what one desires, the results cannot be rushed.

Level Up 3: It seems there is no end to what one can learn...

Level Max: As long as I still have knowledge to impart upon you, I cannot allow myself to retire. In other words, that day is still a long ways off.

Vignette Level Up: There are many students who dare to sleep during my lectures, however your attitude during class has been excellent of late. I must reward your effort.

Spell Level Up: Magic is so profound that one could spend their whole life studying it and never gain full insight. I, too, am still in the process of improving my skills as a mage.

Friendship Level Up: Recently, I've seen an improvement in your focus on your studies. You've not been falling asleep in class, nor have you been forgetting your homework... Now, now, don't you leap for joy for something that should be the norm. That reaction in and of itself is yet another reason why I cannot lower my standards.

Friendship Level Max: Whenever I have a student so earnest like yourself, my life feels vigorously rejuvenated. It is beyond satisfying to have made it to my age and still be able to experience something so rewarding... I thank you.

Uncapped: I know not when the next generation will mature enough to take my place... But until then, it seems I must continue in my place as your instructor.

Groovification: People have the ability to vastly improve when under the tutelage of a good teacher. I will strive so as to be a worthy role model for you.

Lesson Select 1: I shall observe how you conduct yourself during your lessons. If you are attending your classes diligently on the daily, then this should not particularly affect your nerves.

Lesson Select 2: Let us see if this lesson satisfies the traditional curriculum of our most esteemed school. I shall sit in and listen.

Lesson Select 3:You are to study without forgoing any subject. Every class is vital to every single one of you.

Lesson Start: I see everyone has taken their seat.

Lesson Finish: Your classes should be attended in earnest, as shown by my example.

Battle Start: Stand back a tad, Lucius.

Battle Won: I'm sure you see now just how lax you've been in your studies.

Requested by Anonymous.

[avatarofthelesbian]

what tma fear domains I THINK (my opinion etc leave me alone) arcane characters would be trapped in with little explanation that makes even less sense (yes the web is here twice. so is the extinction. its arcane what did you expect.):

vi: a desolation domain (everyone and everything she'd ever cared for burns around her. she was never materialistic, but there used to be people in those now-smoking ruins. there were people that turned away from her while she felt the flames on her own skin.)

caitlyn: a hunt domain (she can never rest in the chase. one moment to consider sparing those in her path is her loss. the chase consumes her, but it will never end.)

jinx: a spiral domain (are their faces real? are their words real? is she real?)

ekko: an extinction domain (he is out of time, and even he can't fix it this time. there is a world, and he knows he breathed life into it. he knows there were others. but it's just him now, and they were no match for those that sat and watched it fall to ruin. concrete and rusted metal is all that's left now, and he knows it burrows so deep no roots will grow past it.)

jayce: an eye domain (he has to know. what it is that he has to know, he doesn't know, and it might well destroy him. he knows he is watched, but it won't sway him frim the path of discovery.)

viktor: a flesh domain (no rambling explanation here. you heard the part in mag171 about the cutaway tulip.)

mel: a web domain (every twitch of her fingers yanks on the puppet-strings attached to them, and she doesn't know if she'd rather the puppet hate her or be none the wiser. she's trapped in another web, though, and the pattern must go up forever.)

ambessa: a slaughter domain (she knows the war has a purpose. all wars do. the moment-to-moment blood on her hands makes the memory of that purpose slip away.)

sevika: a lonely domain (there are people all around her, she knows. some of them might hate her, she thinks she might try to lead others. the fog drifts around her face - they don't know her. somebody might have, once, but she doesn't remember them.)

silco: a corruption domain (his home is riddled with holes. he tries to repair them, to build a place apart from this, but the rot persists. perhaps the rot is within him, and he carries it as his home crumbles at the edges. he cannot save it, dearly as the rot loves him.)

vander: a buried domain (he shouldn't be trapped here. where 'here' is, he doesn't know, but it's dark and pressing. he is needed, but every cry of his name pushes the walls closer. his throat is full of mud, even if he could find the words to do what he needs to.)

singed: an end domain (he can't stop. if he does, the end will come for them all. his steps are slow, slowed more as he drags with him what he loves, what must not be terminated. it follows, that invisible cloud of death, and it will catch him and all he holds dear.)

heimerdinger: an extinction domain (he knows he caused this, that he sat by until it was too late to save what literal remained of the world. there is nobody left now, as he wanders the decaying remnants of the lives that people had begged him to change. he is all that is left, and he will continue forever.)

maddie: a web domain (they hate her. she doesn't know who they are, but they hate her. her wooden jaw is moved as a voice that belongs to thousands of tiny things spills from her mouth. she has no control over the show, but perhaps this act is the one that the puppetmaster will admire. it won't be, as much as her character tries to imitate it.)

isha: a dark domain (she is a child, after all. something big is coming, she cannot see it or hear it but in the blackness she feels it. she can't scream, and nobody is coming. she doesn't know what is approaching.)

i feel like some of these (silco and maddie especially) only make sense to me. oh well.

[itscloudsocks]

Time and Time again - chapter 1

cw: minor injury

The first time Viktor meets Jayce, he´s nothing more than nine years old. He´s been growing a lot lately so he might need to get a new cane soon. But since his dad has died and it´s just been himself and his mum, money´s more than just tight. His mum keeps picking up shifts at that big house where the people come and go and whenever she comes home early in the morning, she smells like sweet smoke and alcohol. Viktor doesn´t like it, but he says nothing, just snuggles closer once she slips into bed next to him, chasing all the warmth he can get. His mother is skinny but she still fusses over him. Over his messed-up leg and his hair that keeps on growing, over his scrubby little hands and the motor oil that seeps into his clothes and stains his pants. Over the little cuts and bruises he comes home with every day. She´s worried that other kids are mean to him but he just shakes his head. They don´t play with him, they can´t be mean if they don´t even look at him.  

Viktor plays alone, usually. Down down down in one of the deepest, darkest parts of Zaun, where the sun hardly shines and the smog is thick and bitter on his tongue, Viktor usually plays near the small canal. It´s water coming from the Topside, he´s heard some kids say, a crack in the earth, a passageway up for everyone who´s brave enough. There are official ways, apparently, a bridge and an elevator, but they´re guarded. He´s never seen them, has never dared to wander too far from home, frightened by his mothers warnings.

They don´t play around, malá hvězda. They kill everyone from down here, they´re not your friends. Don´t ever go up there, don´t even try, you hear me?

Viktor has only ever nodded, too frightened to ask what they are. Mama had told him that they´re too far from the river and the bridge, that they don´t dare to come down here, that they´re too scared. That this means safety. Viktor isn´t too sure about that, but he trusts her. Who else can he trust, if not his Mama?

So he stays down there, rummages in the trash for metal and builds little toys. They´re wonky little things, crooked and ugly, but his mother still puts them all on the little shelf above their bed and gives him a kiss to the forehead. So Viktor keeps making them, keeps showing them to his mother who keeps kissing his forehead, keeps putting his little figurines up on the shelf for the both of them to see. 

Sometimes Viktor wonders about that place up there, where the water runs clean and the sun is supposed to shine all the time. He wonders if there are kids like himself up there, not dirty and hungry, but curious, adventurous. He wonders what he´s done to deserve the life he and his mother have to live, what he needs to do to change it. Because he would. For his mother to stop having to work in that big house where the people come and go and the air is sweet and pink and heavy, for them to be a family again. He wonders if the kids up there have dreams, or if they have everything; if they can even dream because they don´t wish for anything more, they can´t wish for anything more. That´d be sad, Viktor thinks, not being able to dream. He dreams, he does nothing but dream. Mama always calls him malá hvězda, little star. A few years ago shes told him about the place where he´s been born. Where she and his dad came from. About the clear, blue sky and the deep rich nights, about the moon and the stars. He´d love to see it some day. But he probably won´t. 

He´s nine now and last week he´s met a man named Singed. While he´d been frightened by Singed and the strange cave-like house he lives in, he´d liked his pet. A big, soft pink thing with big big eyes and a slobbery, soft tongue. Rio, his name is. He had licked the grime and dirt from Viktor´s hand as a greeting and Viktor had laughed. He´d left with the promise from Singed, that he´d be allowed to return any time, take care of Rio with him.

He´s nine and on his way down the dim, wet alley, he hears a sound. It´s strange enough to see other kids his age in the immediate vicinity of his home, but to hear someone crying? Following the sound, Viktor tries but fails to keep the tap tap tap of his cane to a minimum. People don´t cry down here. Crying means weakness and weakness means death. Sometimes, when he was younger and still afraid of the dark, he´d cry into his pillow until his mother came home in the early early mornings and pulled him against her in a bony embrace, reminding him that crying would get him nowhere. 

Rounding a corner, Viktor narrows his eyes. Nothing. Besides houses, stacked upon each other like the empty liquor boxes Viktor sometimes stumbles upon when exploring the trashcans of the bar just a couple of blocks from home. It smells like trash and smoke and very faintly like fried pine tart and Viktors stomach grumbles painfully. The noise continues, a bit louder now, and Viktor narrows his eyes at two large wooden boxes stacked upon each other against the side of a brick wall. Peaking around the corner, all he sees for a moment is a mop of dark hair and a pair of tan arms wrapped around knees. It´s a kid, he notices, a very clean, very well-dressed kid with a nasty gash on their knee. 

“Hey,” he blurts out, because he´s curious and adventurous and because nobody else is here to see him.

Startled, the kid shrieks and pulls their legs further towards their chest. Still, the kid lifts their head. Big, hazel eyes blink back at Viktor, round cheeks dirty and streaky with tears, blood trickling down the right side of their face. It´s a boy, he notices, and he´s around Viktors age. 

“Please don´t hurt me,” the boy whimpers, wiping his snotty nose on his shoulder. Tilting his head, Viktor watches the boy gasp for air and gasp for air and gasp for air. He starts breathing in a way that doesn´t sound quite right, all tight and short and shallow, so Viktor smacks his foot with the bottom of his cane.

“Ouch! What was that for?”, the boy whines, putting his hands over his feet.

“You were freaking out. Who are you? You´re not from here,” Viktor demands to know, still staring down at the boy.

“I´m Jayce,” he sniffles, then coughs. “I…was playing…and there was this crack…and I wanted to check it out and - and then I fell down and and I hit my head and my knee hurts and -”

Viktor ignores the rest of his rambling. He fell down. He could´ve only fallen down when he was at up there, the top.

“You´re a Topsider,” he interrupts, taking a little step back.

“I…I just wanna go back home to my Ma!"

A fresh batch of tears appear in Jayce´s eyes; while wiping them away, clearly frustrated, he bumps against the injury over his brow and starts crying even more, interrupted by the occasional cough that in the end makes him hiccup. He truly is a Topsider, he´s struggling with every inhale down here.

“Why´d you fall in the first place? Are you stupid?”

“N-No, I´m not stupid! Ma says I´m super smart!”

Tilting his head, Viktor absentmindedly taps his cane against the ground.

“What is that, anyways?”, Jayce asks, curiosity in his eyes while tears still roll down his cheeks. 

“My cane. Problem?”

“Hm? No! Why do you have it?”

“I need it to walk. Mama says my leg was fucked when I was born so I can´t walk like the normal kids.”

With a gasp, Jayce stares up at him.

“You said a bad word,” he whispers. “Ma always gets mad when I curse.”

“Your Ma sounds weird,” notices Viktor.

“She´s not! She´s the best in the world! Did you make that cane yourself? Can I see?”

“Don´t break it, you hear me?”

Hesitantly, Viktor hands his cane into Jayce´s patiently waiting hands and leans against the box for stability instead. But Jayce doesn´t swing it around like a sword like the other kids used to when they stole his cane - when they still paid attention to him. Instead, he carefully places it in his now folded legs and lets his finger travel over the bolts and screws and folded metal.

“You really made that yourself?” When Viktor nods, Jayce´s entire face lights up. “That´s so cool! Dad sometimes lets me help out in the forge but he says I´m too young to build my own stuff yet. I really really badly want to, though! Did your dad teach you that?”

“No,” frowns Viktor, taking his cane back. “My dad is dead. I taught me all myself.”

“Oh.” For a moment, Jayce looks unsure of what to say next. 

“I think I know how to get you back home. Come on.”

Viktor watches Jayce struggle to stand and wince when he puts weight on his hurt leg. Still, he pulls his brows together in determination and shows Viktor to lead the way.

They mostly get through without problems. Viktor has only been in the Lanes a couple of times, mostly because his mother showed him where to get help, if anything ever were to happen to her. From time to time Viktor pushes Jayce into the shadow of houses before following him. Most people here aren´t unkind to kids as long as you stay out of their way. By the time they reach the Last Drop, Viktor is shaking in exhaustion and Jayce is back to being whiny and teary-eyed. Viktor doesn´t dare enter through the main door because Jayce is a Topsider and he´s not sure what people might do if they find out, so he sneaks around the back. It takes some knocking but then, the wooden door creaks open and a large shadow falls into the alleyway.

“Viktor! Boy, are you lucky I´ve been back here. Who´s your friend?”

Vander looks like always, big and hulky and kind. He´s one of the few grownups Viktor likes. 

“That´s Jayce,” he explains. “He´s from the Topside, he´s hurt. Help him.”

He´s about to turn and leave when Vander, a laugh on his lips and a heavy hand on Viktor´s shoulder, stops him.

“Not so fast, young man. You two are gonna come inside and tell me exactly what happened. Come on, no need to look at me like that. In you go. Felicia will be excited to see you.”

Lighting up a bit, Viktor slips past Jayce and Vander and enters the backrooms of Vander´s bar. Here, between boxes upon boxes of drinks and food, stands an old, sat-through couch. Jaycee sneezes when Viktor flops down on it and temptively sits on the edge next to him, looking around with big, scared eyes.

“I´m Vander, kid, it´s alright. I´ll be right back, yeah?” Jayce nods lightly and follows Vander leaving with his eyes before turning towards Viktor.

“What is this place? I´m scared…”

“A bar,” Viktor explains, stretching his aching leg out in front of him. “Mama said that if I´m ever in trouble, Vander would know what to do. So that´s what I´m doing.”

The door opens again and Vander returns, followed by Felicia. Viktor has only seen her twice out of the few times he´s been here, but she´s nice. Her dark purple hair has been braided and she´s wearing a dress similar to the one his mother used to wear years and years ago. Nervously, she glances over towards Vander, who rolls his eyes and nudges her closer.

“They´re kids, Fel, you´ll be fine.”

Upon coming closer, Viktor notices her holding a small leather bag in a hand that she, once she´s in front of Jayce, places on the ground. 

“I´ll just patch you up, yeah?”, she smiles softly, warm eyes taking in Jayce´s frightened, dirty appearance. While his wounds get cleaned, Felicia wraps him up into a conversation exciting enough for him to chatter on and on and completely forget about the pain.

“Tell me, kid,” Vander starts, sitting on a chair opposite of Viktor. “What exactly happened here?”

“I found him,” Viktor frowns. “He was crying and I heard it. Said he fell through a crack all the way down here.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Felicia sighs, patting Jayce´s hair while putting a bandaid over the wound on his forehead.

“I was just playing and wanted to check it out,” mumbles Jayce quietly, eyes cast down to his trembling hands. “I…tried to ask for help but this guy just…yelled at me…so I ran.”

“You did good, bringing him here.” Vander nods approvingly, making Viktor´s chest swell in pride. “I´ll bring you back up, yeah? To the bridge, the Enforcers will bring you back home.”

“But my mum can´t find out where I was! She´s gonna be so mad!”

“We´ll see what I can do,” Vander calms him down, chuckling. “Let´s get you boys some food and then it´s time for you to go back home, hm?”

Vander leaves the room again, taking Felicia with him. It´s quiet for a moment before Jayce speaks up again.

“She was nice,” he mumbles, cheeks rosy. Viktor frowns, but says nothing. 

“Can…can we meet again some day?”

That makes Viktor turn his head, staring at Jayce in disbelief.

“What?”

“Meet…again…I don´t have many friends my age and…you helped me and…maybe you can teach me how to build things? I´m a really quick learner!”

“How in the world would you even manage to come down here? Fall through another crack?”

Frowning, Jayce crosses his arms in front of his chest. “No. I´ll let you know that I´m very fast and sneaky. I´ll find a way!

“You have a deathwish,” Viktor notices. It´s the next plausible explanation of why anyone would voluntarily come down here.

“I don´t! I just…don´t have anyone to play with!”

Blinking, Viktor tilts his head to the side, thinking. He would´ve thought that people up there live in gluttony, having too much of everything, even friends. Huh. 

“...fine. But I´m not coming up there. Ever.”

“And I don´t want to go back to where you found me…the air was very bad down there.”

“It´s bad everywhere down here. It´s your peoples fault,” grumbles Viktor, feeling protective for reasons he doesn´t quite understand.

“I´m sorry that my people are mean to your people,” mumbles Jayce, eyes large and honest. It´s a bit unbearable to look at him. “But I won´t be mean to you! Promise. We can be friends and friends are never ever mean to each other!”

“...okay.”

“You´re Viktor, right? Cool! Ma says it´s important to say thank you, so, thank you for helping me!”

Vander comes back with two smoking bowls of silverberry porridge and Viktor eats so fast, he burns the roof of his mouth. It´s so worth it. Jayce, next to him, is slow and careful in trying it but when he does, his eyes light up again and he grins at Viktor.

Because Jayce is a topsider and apparently gets a lot of food at home, he has some leftovers that Viktor happily devours as well. The hot food has made him warm and sleepy but there´s no time to take a nap before Vander returns once more, this time with his coat in his arm.

“Ready to go?”

Viktor follows the two outside but stops at the corner of the Last Drop. Never before has he gone even a step further. Jayce, holding onto Vanders hand, takes a couple of steps before noticing that Viktor is not behind him. Instead of asking, he just turns and waves, a huge smile on his face that shows a gap in his teeth Viktor hasn´t noticed before. 

“See you soon, yeah?”

Nodding, Viktor timidly raises a hand and waves back. He stays until Vander and Jayce, now no more than two figures in the smog, fully disappear. Then, he turns and starts the tiring, gruesome walk back home without waiting for Vander to return. That night, he doesn´t tell his mother where he´s been, what has happened, who he´s met, he just nods when she asks if he had a nice day and lets her pull him closer, lulled into sleep by her stroking his hair.

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] Sakuya Sakuma | [SR] Bright Star of Blooming | My performance memories ~Sakuya~

Sakuya: Huh…? It’s morning, but why is it still kinda dark outside…?

Sakuya: (Seems like I woke up a little too early. I could probably go back to sleep, but since I’m already up…)

Citron: Sakuya…? Is it morning already…?

Sakuya: Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up! There’s still some time for you to sleep, Citron-san.

Citron: Ohh, you are right! But you are up quite early, Sakuya.

Sakuya: It’s probably because there’s the screening party today.

Sakuya: To be honest, I was already kinda feeling restless before I went to bed last night…

Citron: That reminds me, you were very nervous during the previous screening, were you not, Sakuya? I remember the way that you stumbled over your introduction even during practice very well!

Sakuya: Yeah. I couldn’t even say my own name right back then. But at least I managed to get through the actual thing.

Sakuya: That’s why I’m thinking of practicing for the talk show, just in case. And thanks to me waking up early, it seems like I’ll have a little extra time for that.

Citron: Then I will also help you with your morning practice, Sakuya!

Sakuya: Really? Thank you so much, Citron-san!

Citron: You are welcome~. Also, I have an idea!

Sakuya: Wait, an idea?

Citron: I think we should invite Tsuzuru and Itaru and all have morning practice together! I will message them on LIME right away~!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: Hello, everyone!

Sakuya: Thank you very much for watching today’s screening of “Romeo and Julius ~Rosso e Blu~”! I’m Spring Troupe’s Sakuya Sakuma.

Itaru: Yep. Seems like your intro is already perfect, Sakuya.

Sakuya: I’m glad. I’m sure it’s all thanks to everyone in Spring Troupe rehearsing with me.

Sakuya: Thank you so much for rehearsing so early with me this morning, Tsuzuru-kun and Itaru-san!

Tsuzuru: Nah, don’t mention it. I just so happened to be up early this morning too.

Itaru: And I had an alarm set early so I could spend stamina for a social game event.

Tsuzuru: That said, it was kinda unexpected to see Masumi and Chikage-san come to a morning rehearsal.

Tsuzuru: I mean, I did let Masumi know, just in case, but it’s still pretty rare to see him actually get up at that hour…

Itaru: Real. Senpai was already awake when I found out, though…

Itaru & Tsuzuru: …

Sakuya: What’s wrong, guys? Is there something bothering you?

Tsuzuru: Nothing, it’s just… I know it’s kinda late to say this, but I’m worried about whether or not what we did this morning was really that much of a rehearsal for you, Sakuya…

Itaru: I mean, I don’t really think it was bad, but it was kinda just us talking to Citron and the others like they were the audience.

Sakuya: Yeah. I’m glad that I was able to say my own name right when I did my introduction during rehearsal this morning!

Tsuzuru: The problem is what happened after that. As soon as we finished our introductions, our audience members, Citron-san and Masumi, started fighting for some reason…

Itaru: And by the end of it, Senpai was acting as a security guard and was forced to subdue them. Sure was one hell of an etude.

Sakuya: But I still had a lot of fun doing an etude with everyone, and I feel like it really helped me relax.

Tsuzuru: Well, I guess I can’t deny that.

Itaru: Yeah, I think it really did help you relax, Sakuya.

Izumi: The screening party is done, so it’s about time to be on standby. Make sure you’re ready, guys!

Tsuzuru: Alright. Guess it’s time for us to do this thing.

Sakuya: Yeah!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Itaru: So do you guys have any kinda behind-the-scenes stories for the RomiJuli sequel that you can talk about now?

Tsuzuru: Right. I dunno if I’d call it a behind-the-scenes story, but…

Tsuzuru: The idea of doing a sequel for RomiJuli actually came from doing a workshop aimed at beginners that Spring Troupe did.

Sakuya: Yeah. The people who participated in the workshop were nervous, but it seemed like they were enjoying performing…

Sakuya: That allowed us to go back to our beginnings, too. And that’s why we ended up talking about doing our debut performance RomiJuli again.

Tsuzuru: Yeah. So, after talking it over with everyone, we decided to do a sequel showing the future of RomiJuli, which is something that only the current us would’ve been able to do.

Sakuya: By the way, are any of the people who participated in the workshop here right now?

Audience Member A: Yeah!

Audience Member B: I did it!

Itaru: I can see a handful of you are raising your hands. Then do any of you wanna share what you thought about participating?

Audience Member A: It was so exciting to play a role like that!

Audience Member B: Being under the spotlight like that for the first time was so hot!

Audience Member C: But it was super fun, so I’d love to do it again!

Audience Member D: Same! I’d love it if you guys did another beginner’s workshop!

Itaru: Gotcha. Thank you so much for all those positive feelings, everyone.

Tsuzuru: It was a great experience for us too, so maybe we’ll do one again.

Sakuya: Yeah!

· ❀ —– ٠ ❀ ٠ —– ❀ ·

Izumi: Good work, guys! Seems like everyone was really excited to talk about the workshop.

Izumi: Alright, are you ready to take your instant photo, Sakuya-kun?

Sakuya: Sure. I’m supposed to do a heart pose to show my thanks, right?

Izumi: Yeah, that’s right.

Sakuya: Got it! Okay, I’ll give it a shot.

Izumi: Alright, ready? Three, two, one…

*Camera clicks*

Izumi: There’s that wonderful smile of yours, Sakuya-kun! I think this should be good.

Sakuya: Good! All I did was think about the talk show earlier and I was able to just smile naturally like that.

Tsuzuru: I get that feeling. The audience seemed to respond well and it was a lot of fun.

Itaru: Seems like we were all able to just talk and relax from start to finish. Maybe that morning rehearsal really helped after all.

Sakuya: Yeah. I’m sure it did!

Sakuya: Yawn…

Sakuya: …Ah, sorry! I don’t know why I’m yawning all of a sudden…

Izumi: Hehe, don’t worry about it. You work especially hard today, so you deserve some rest, Sakuya-kun.

Sakuya: Yeah, thank you so much.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Dream starts*

Sakuya: Huh, where…?

Sakuya: (I’m pretty sure I went back to my room to rest after the screening party today, but… It almost feels like I’m in some sorta foreign country.)

Sakuya: (But somehow this all seems kinda familiar to me…)

Romeo: What’s wrong? You’ve been in a daze for a while now, but are you okay?

Sakuya: Wait, you’re…

Sakuya: (Romeo!?)

Sakuya: (I get it… Now that I look a little more, this is one of the cities Romeo and Julius stopped in during their journey.)

Sakuya: (I guess my dream is being influenced by the RomiJuli sequel because of the screening party today.)

Romeo: Are you not feeling well? Should I call a doctor?

Sakuya: Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you! I’m okay.

Sakuya: I just never thought that I’d be in a place like this, so I’m just kinda surprised by it all.

Romeo: It is pretty surprising when you first arrive at an unfamiliar place, isn’t it? But that sort of thing is just one of the wonders of traveling…

Sakuya: Huh?

Romeo: I’m also on a journey to see the world, so I sort of understand how you feel!

Sakuya: (I guess Romeo thinks I’m a traveler just like he and Julius are.)

Sakuya: Thank you. Has your journey been fun?

Romeo: It’s been incredibly fun! I mean, it’s not always easy, like when we have to fend off burglars in the middle of the night, and such.

Romeo: But when I was back at home, I had no idea that the world was so big and full of so many things.

Romeo: That’s why I’m so glad I get to experience so many different things every day!

Sakuya: (Romeo’s eyes are sparkling so much. I’m sure he’s really enjoying his journey with Julius.)

Romeo: …Ah, sorry. For some reason, I feel like this isn’t my first time meeting you, and I just wanted to tell you about all sorts of things.

Sakuya: I feel the same way. It’s really fun to talk with you, Romeo.

Romeo: Wait, how did you know my…? I haven’t told you that yet, have I?

Sakuya: You haven’t. But I know you really well.

Sakuya: That’s why I hope you and Julius keep having lots of good times together on your journey, Romeo!

*Dream ends*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: Hn…

Sakuya: Huh? This is my room…?

Sakuya: (I see, I must’ve already woken up from my dream. But it was really nice that I was able to meet Romeo in my dreams.)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Door opens*

Sakuya: Good morning!

Tsuzuru: Morning, Sakuya.

Chikage: Morning. And good work at the screening party yesterday.

Masumi: We heard from the Director that everyone was really excited to talk about the workshop at the talk show.

Tsuzuru: Yeah. And it was really nice to get some feedback from the audience.

Itaru: Oh, and it seems like that ridiculous morning rehearsal we all did was surprisingly helpful.

Citron: …Hm? You seem to be happy about something, Sakuya. Your face is very smiley~!

Sakuya: Yeah! Actually…

Sakuya: (I’m gonna tell everyone about the dream I just had!)

[thejokulatrix]

You're the first person to acknowledge I'm an ex radfem, though to be fair, I hate noting that as well.

I never had a peak trans moment - or rather, I was that moment, I guess? I couldn't accept that I wasn't only a woman or only a man, and spent years struggling to force myself into one box or the other and failing. In exhaustion I turned to the people who promised to make the whole entire question go away permanently. I spent most of my time in the detransitioner circle, because that was where I felt most comfortable. But as I spent years with radfems, reading and reciting their views, questions started to arise.

If dysphoria could be cured by ignoring it, why were the facebook groups constantly full of posts of people on the verge of killing themselves in misery? Why did none of them get better like what they promised?

If males are innately evil and females are innately weak, what is the point of feminism? Radical feminism is built on the concept nothing can change and the only way to be safe is to hide away and shun.

Who is this 'average woman' and why does every radfem insist on limiting themselves to her capabilities? Every time anything was brought up, like lifting weights, I'd get tons of replies that the 'average woman' can not do that, despite statistics like that not even being meant to be used in that context! Its supposed to track trends!

If sex is so solid, why does science keep showing how a lot of women have 'male' traits and vice versa. Back when I was around the radfems of this site rejected the sexed brain theory, but just a casual scan shows ya'll accept it now? Even today I keep finding new studied showing how our bodies are basically the exact same, just with different parts active due to hormones.

I'm not sure if yall still do this, but back in my day there used to be these lists of physical features only males and females have, and I became so insecure because my skull was male-coded! And that was with me being too white to understand the other racist undertones to those lists.

If you can not identify into an experience that is not your own, why is one of the base tenants of radical feminism political lesbianism?

All the books and essays write real pretty - but the only thing they do is take trauma response and spread them further, convincing you your fear response isn't paranoia, but a legitimate threat response, to the point a lot of radfems I knew on a one to one basis were afraid to leave their house.

All of the things I remember radfems screaming for is happening now, and just like trans people tried to warn them, it has led to awful things for everybody, to the point we now live in a fascist country. No I'm not saying radfems solely caused project 2025 and all that, I'm saying they worked real, real hard on adding to the fire that led to all this.

Honestly, despite this, I still stuck around far long than I should have. The breaking point was when I joined spinster and left the cozy little cache of tumblr rad feminism. See, here, yall are still somewhat seated in reality, and those who start to become extreme are ran out of the community. You reject polilesbianism and still try to be open to everybody (except trans people....). But elsewhere, that is far from the truth. I became somewhat known on spinster, which allowed me to see all of the community that had gathered there at once, and it terrified me. The transvestigators on twitter screaming how everybody around them is trans and personally out to get her and writing big long diagrams to show Marilyn Monroe was born a man? THAT is late stage radical feminism. That is what all of the people here are headed for if they don't get out. And the sheer vile hatred towards everyone was overwhelming. Those radical feminists were gloves off about how they thought detransitioners were disgusting mutilated freaks, how actual lesbians were predators who were basically men because they were attracted to women physically instead of it being a political movement, even the mobs against women who dared to have sons. There were women bragging about having nazi friends because they supported her transphobia.

I left 5 years ago. A lot of my initial post is aimed at the fears and doubts I had walking away, that I would be alone and shunned and considered tainted by anyone I met. I was used to the treatment already from radfems for not being a gold star lesbian and they had done everything they could to convince me the outside world hated me, only they would ever tolerate my presence, and I believed them. And to be fair, even when I got out, with my obligatory thread about how I was actually innately evil, a spy, not really a radfem, a male this whole time!, all the favourite mental disorders that every exiting radfem gets saddled with, I was still half rabid and not fit for civilization. I did not leave to go become a trans ally or whatever, but to just get away before I was permanently broken too. It took a lot of time for me to pull all those fears and self hatred and ignorance out of my head, and ironically, it took an abusive relationship to make me realize how far I had fallen as a person. Before radfeminism, I prided myself in how I was never afraid to step up and even physically fight anybody who tried to hurt me, considering myself immune to abuse because of that. But as one of the radfem's pet detransitioners, I had became small, meek, and afraid, and since she too was a radfem, she was good at tearing me down in ways I was still raw about. Even though I saw what was happening to me, I still reacted the way i had been trained to in my time in this community, slicing parts off of me and trying desperately to force myself into the shape she demanded I be so she'd stop hurting me, and it just grew worst and worst. She finally abandoned me after I stopped being fun to emotionally kick around, and then I felt as alone as I had feared I would be.

But. . . it was then, separated completely from the radfem sphere, with only myself and my beloved brother to pick me up, was I able to start to heal. Without the constant feedback of be afraid be afraid be afraid and going out and having good interactions, I began to relax. I found that my obnoxious judgements of people based off something as stupid as a misspeak on their part or not matching MY political purity or even their sex was stopping me from getting friends, so I dropped them. I gave them room to be people around me, and I found I loved them, and in return they loved me, and through their eyes, I came to love myself in a way I never had before. And when I approached people as people, instead of just the labels I was taught to straddle them with, I learned and it expanded my world so much. I truly hadn't realized how tiny and grey my world had become, how isolated and shut in I was. And now I'm engaged, I have things I do every week with my friends, I'm greeted when I go out and am invited to things. Hell, the depression I was convinced was chronic hasn't popped up in almost 2 years now? Turns out it was situational, and I just never managed to get out of the Situations long enough to figure it out before, haha. I finally got over my internalized transphobia and accepted I'm both man and woman, and its okay. All of the mental strain and distress I had put myself under resolved immediately and I'm so much healthier now. And that was before I found out I'm intersex and physically both too. I embraced my transness and in that other trans people found me and became my friends, even when I admitted my past mistakes, because they see how I strive constantly to be better and to make up for them. The people who knew me as a terf and now tell me I'm a completely different person. Even the really bad misogny I had picked up from radical feminism because it puts womanhood on a too high to reach pillar then punishes anybody who can't reach it disappeared. By seeing women as people first and foremost instead of just their sex, I let go off the weird assumptions I was trying to hold them too. That makes me a million times the feminist I pretended to be back then. In short, I finally grew up emotionally.

Damn, I was hoping I could answer all your questions in my story, but I can't see where to slot them in.

I don't have any radical feminism beliefs anymore, and will never have any of them ever again, because they don't mesh with material reality.

The woods thing isn't related to paganism, but both a reference to the female only radfem camping trips that used to happen yearly up in California and a weird message I got on Spinster inviting me out into some woods close to me in order to (I always forget the exact word she used! I wish i remembered) center my feminity, reconnect with Womanhood, something like that. Is the camping trips cancelled? To be fair, a lot of the rad fems I hung around and knew by name were Californian for some reason lol.

I avoided men so hard that the first time I heard Markiplier speak I had the cat fear response because I was so unaccustomed to deep male voices at that time, lmao.

Really, I wrote this post as a love letter to the me that existed 5 years ago. I wish I hadn't started with a sarcastic meme joke, but when I started that post I figured I'd delete it and it wouldn't matter, but then decided what the hell. Radfems can't hurt me anymore, and who knows, maybe something I write there will resonate with other people wanting out but hasn't mustered the courage yet.

I wish all current and future radical feminists a very quick escape your cult.

Don't believe their lies.

People leave the cult all the time. They just memoryhole them to keep up the lie of 'nobody stops being a radfem'.

They are NOT the majority, there is a reason you find the same faces on every site and group. Once you escape, you won't believe how big and wonderful the world is.

There is forgiveness and healing for you.

Being afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing is NOT normal or feminism!

You won't be alone if you leave. There are plenty of people out here willing to embrace you, even as you're going through your healing pains as you get deprogrammed.

You cannot power your way to being cis, regardless of what they say. You can't divine goddess weird forest female only ritual your way out of dysphoria, and looking back, it will honestly just be weird and embarassing lol

I know most of the deep in the sauce radfems will ignore/mock this, but those of you who want out and are afraid of being alone or hated because of your past, it is a lie. Don't be afraid to jump for freedom. My messenger/inbox is always open if you need a helping hand.

[winniefrezcomics]

Why is Ved like that?

Like a freak, I mean

That, my friend, is an EXCELLENT question dbebddbdhd, and one that I actually do have an answer for!! 🤓

Veds mentality is… UNIQUE, let’s say. He’s proud to be an anti-fairy, and leans into it HARD. this is due to two main factors:

The first factor is- While MOST anti faires discover fairly quickly that thier species are considered the “opposite” of faires, that faires are the dominant magical species on earth, AND that the earth adheres to FAIRY standards of “good” and “evil”- Ved learned those things a little late. Despite Elads best efforts, Ved’s Dad wasn’t exactly RUSHING to make sure Ved had a full, cohesive understanding of his species and thier place in the world, since he was more focused on just keeping his son ALIVE and minimizing the amount of damage his magical outbursts would cause to anti-fairyworld in his pup’s adolescence (when Ved’s magic was the most destructive)

This, combined with Ved’s special ability to glimpse into other dimensions that he’s had since birth, has led to something strange in his Psyche: Ved doesn’t think Evil, dark, or scary things are “bad.” Most anti-faries share this line of thinking, of course, but Ved growing up somewhat an outcast, and seeing countless universes where Dark, disturbed and evil WERE the norm, has led to a single, festering thought- one that’s eaten away at Ved ever since he first discovered that faires got to decide what was “correct” for the human race: WHY.

Why are anti faires the “opposite”? Surely FARIES are the opposite of THEM as well? So then, why are faries considered ‘RIGHT’? Why are their customs? Thier lifestyle? Who decided anti-faries being dark and evil was “WRONG”?

Unfortunately for EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING, Dev being an incredibly lazy fairy means that Ved, his opposite, is CRAZY AMBITIOUS, and will ‘play nice’ for as LONG as it takes to reach his goal (turning the earth into a dark, evil paradise where anti faires can be the dominant magical species)

THIS is why Ved is an irredeemable villian; you can’t appeal to his morality, because his morality is COMPLETELY flipped, and it secretly BUGS HIM when other antis ALSO decide to adheare to the fairy definitions of “right” and “wrong”- (he resents his father for this especially)

Thats not to say he’s one-dimensional tho! Despite being the cartoonishly-evil ‘series’ antagonist, I’ve taken care to keep my writing for Ved emotionally nuanced, so I sincerely hope yall find him as fun as I do, and aren’t too disappointed by his lack of a planned ‘redemption arc’ 😅

Also here’s a fun fact about how Ved communicates that will become clear very quickly upon his arrival- most people only think he’s ‘nice’ because he’s always saying very kind things to people and faries alike, but word to the wise? If Ved ACTUALLY likes you, expect to be INSULTED, because while he DOES usually mean everything he says, if he gives you a compliment, it’s NOT a good thing, and u may have even pissed him off somehow ☠️

Poor Hazel thinks she and Ved are good friends… I think only Dev, Iris and other Antis are aware of this “reversed” manner of speaking (Perry often has to ask Dev for clarification- it’s a bit confusing, but that’s intentional on Ved’s part ☠️)

[theoceanoasis]

Happy 2025, Ocean! Wanted to share a scenario with you:

Hot Rod is doing a speed dating event after being poked into it by his friends, who are all worried he's the only one single amongst them. He's having a terrible time since his dates are either boring or just trying to get into his panels. He desperately wants to escape this.

Then imagine his surprise when Soundwave sits across him from the table, radiating a murderous aura since he's also had a terrible night so far as well. The two chat with each other and they end up deciding to go with each other as their 'partner' so they can escape this event.

The two leave and Soundwave surprisingly offers Hot Rod a night in his hab so his friends will leave him alone for a bit if he stays overnight with someone. Hot Rod, surprised but touched, agrees to it since he's always had a crush on Soundwave but thinks it's not reciprocated.

They go to Soundwave's place and end up having a few drinks and long story short? They end up in berth together and are embarrassed to find themselves entangled in an embrace the next morning. Hot Rod wants to run off but Soundwave stops him, asking if he wants to talk and consider making this more, because Soundwave always found him attractive even during the war...

"Come on Hot Rod you should give it a try."

"Yeah you deserve someone special."

Even though he tried getting out of it his friends forced him to go to a speed dating event. Claiming they were worried about him because he was still single. Unlike all of his friends who were happily in a relationship and decided he needed to be in one as well.

He tried to give it a chance for all of them but the entire night sucked and he just wanted to go home. The people there were either boring or just trying to get behind his panels. A few had been really creepy and sent shivers down his spine.

Just when he's thinking about making a break for it Soundwave sits across from him. He freezes in surprise and then blurts out a question. Asking Soundwave why he was there. Which probably wasn't the best idea.

Soundwave who'd also been having a terrible time was radiating a murderous aura that had everyone else trying to get away from him. Scared about what he'd do to them when he finally snaps.

Instead Soundwave sighs looking defeated and tells him about his casseticons. He finds it kind of sweet that they're trying to set him up on dates because they're worried he's lonely. Although they are definitely going about it the wrong way.

The two of them spend the evening chatting and it's surprisingly pleasant. Although both of them wanted to get out of there and decided to leave.

Pretending to be a couple they got up and left. Although instead of going their separate ways they find themselves reluctant to leave the other.

Soundwave offers going back to his house. That way his friends will think he went home with someone since they were still spying on him. They thought they were discreet but it was obvious they were spying.

He agrees both because he wants to hang out with him more and because he has a small crush on him.

Going back to Soundwaves apartment the two sit on his couch and continue talking while having a few drinks.

He doesn't realize how late it gets and Soundwave offers to let him stay the night. As the two continue talking and drinking they get closer and closer until they end up sleeping together.

In the morning they are both embarrassed to find themselves tangled up together. The evidence of what they'd done obvious.

Feeling mortified Hot Rod debates running off and moving somewhere far far away so he never has to see Soundwave again. When he was stopped by the Decepticon.

He gave him a confused look when Soundwave confessed having a crush on him and wanted to make things more official. Shocked that Soundwave liked him back he immediately agreed.

The two cuddled together and went back to sleep still tired from the night before.

[yoroshiu]

Sora: Self-Esteem, Or Lack Thereof

I legit got struck with many thoughts when I woke up and decided to write an essay instead of going back to sleep. As in, this one's another long one ToT

Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 13)

This is a topic that has been brought up a lot as of late but I found myself wanting to talk about it after reading some comments from some KH videos I was watching.

Specifically in Sora’s sacrifice scene in KH1 and his breakdown scene in KH3, it was interesting to see people say that they had just realized how low his self-esteem actually is, and I thought to myself, it must be interesting for them to look back and see how far back this feeling goes for him. I had my own thoughts as a result.

Sora grew up in Riku’s shadow. In the words of both of them, they agreed on the belief that Riku was the better one between them. It makes sense that Sora from the get-go had already taken blows to his self-confidence.

This is only added onto when it’s revealed that Sora was “just the delivery boy” for Riku, leading to the loss of the keyblade (which, for one, alongside the title of “Hero of the Keyblade” gave him a lot of confidence/assurance) and Donald and Goofy. This is a moment that stuck with him as shown in 358/2 Days is a memory that makes Roxas cry (in the same way seeing the Twilight Town trio made Sora cry). And while this is mostly supplemented by the manga/light novel adaptations mostly, Xion’s frustration in her encounter with Riku is reflective of that moment for Sora (especially in the manga).

In the perspective of the audience, Sora getting the keyblade back is a show of his own will and strength of heart. But in his eyes, since Donald and Goofy came back just a bit before, this is probably where the idea that his strength coming from his friends gets cemented. For him, the keyblade chooses him because he chooses to support others, which we will see rear its head in 3D.

One of the things that kept grabbing my attention when watching people play through 3D is when they get to the part where Sora says “I know the keyblade didn’t choose me, and I don’t care” because that ends up warranting confusion, and they usually say “but he was chosen though?” This is where that perspective thing shows up.

3D spent a notable amount of times mentioning how Sora isn’t the first choice. How the keyblade moved down the list (Riku to Sora), how the Organization moved down the list (Riku to Roxas to Sora). Xigbar even makes an attempt of mentioning such before Sora says the Thing. In Sora’s view, he wasn’t chosen for being special or having some kind of power but he was chosen because, in his eyes, his purpose is to help “those it [the keyblade] did choose.”

Even at his most confident (as he was on that KH2 victory high), he never viewed himself as “chosen” due to being worthy from his own merit.

And it doesn’t help that after 3D strips him of his power, he gets poked and prodded at for losing it. And that constant loss of power is something he’s aware of (“It’s always like this” line in Japanese). Others have mentioned it in other posts before, but Sora’s mistakes and failures weigh more heavily on his mind than the others who see his strength and victories over all else. Sora knows that he doesn’t understand everything and only does what he feels he can do in the situation for others. It’s kinda like everyone else sees him through these rose-tinted glasses (he gets through everything with a smile, he follows his heart /pos) but for him, he’s clawing through and following his heart /neg.

"It's okay, it's always like this."

This is all the buildup leading to his breakdown. It’s very in line with him, and it’s so fascinating seeing people realize that. Sora’s relationship with his self-esteem, alongside his trauma, are much more subtle arcs compared to other characters. It’s very much due to his style of coping being repression and smiling through everything until he can’t take it anymore.

This isn’t even taking into account other moments of his perspective like how he kinda blames himself for Donald and Goofy leaving him in KH1 (he puts it as “they had to leave” or that “they were separated” (in Japanese), never that they left or abandoned him. He usually doesn’t blame his friends if they’ve hurt him before. There’s even the tangentially connected topic of him being dehumanized.

Sora is both very straightforward and complex in his presentation and writing, just as his series is. His relationships with others are actually pretty complicated and are both the reasons for his strengths and his weaknesses (he and Riku alone are a whole doozy, being each others reasons for improvement but also their downfalls). Sora’s mental health is and will continue to be a topic of interest for me as we go into the next saga.

Someone please get him a nice hot cocoa and proper therapy…

[alpaca-clouds]

Using a vague excuse to ramble about more historical stuff

As y'all know: I freaking love history. And as such I could not help but perk up, as we saw the gang hang out in those ruins that clearly are near Machecoul. I instantly assumed that this was the Chateau de Machecoul, given that the ruins do indeed look similar and are located in about the same location in relation to Machecoul as the real ruins.

I was however informed by the crew that these parallels are coincidental and that indeed those ruins are not meant to be the Chateau. It is just a ruin by Machecoul.

And I mean, it is kinda fair, given that we are in Europe, and it is hard to throw a stone and not hit some medieval ruins over here.

But y'all know what? I am going to talk about the Chateau the Machecoul either way, and be it just to talk about one of my favorite historical figures. Gilles de Rais.

So, first things first: Indeed, in medieval Europe, there were a lot of castles. This had to do both with how much the different regions went to war at each others, and that nobles wanted to feel safe in some way.

Now, with Castlevania Nocturne I am still somewhat interested to see should we get a season 3, why the plot is originally set in Machecoul. My original thought was, that the show would go into the War in the Vandée. But so far that has not yet happened.

But Machecoul indeed for being a fairly small town was actually involved in several historical events.

And then we have its role towards the 100 Year War, and especially the stuff towards the end of it.

See, there are two figures in regards to the late medieval and early modern time that are quite similar in their reception today - especially in regards to how Japanese media treats them: Elizabeth Bathory (or more correctly Erszebet Bathory) and Gilles de Rais.

Why are those two so similar?

Well, because they were high ranking nobles who were sentenced for murdering children, and are by today's historians assumed to be innocent in fact.

Now, the details could not be more different though.

Erszebet is assumed by today's historians the target of a misogynist campaign for being a well-educated and quite opinionated woman. There is some assumptions also going on, that she practiced medicine, and at times could not save her patients. While historians are very sure that not even half as many people died due to her as people had said, they are also sure that there were at least six deaths attributed to her. But those were very probably just accidents due to her being unable to cure everyone. She lived in the 16th century. Those people mainly still believed in the four humors theory.

Meanwhile we have Gilles de Rais. Gilles de Rais was a noble and a commander during the 100 year war, and notably he was a close confidant of Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). And from all we know he was very unhappy with the sham trial against her, and tried in fact to petition people to release her. After she died... Well, we have little in terms of first hand accounts of how he saw the situation. But what we know is, that after her death he stopped financially supporting the church, and instead focused on producing art (mainly a very extravagant theatre play), while also getting interested in some spiritualism. One way or another: He was first accused of heresy, as he got into a brawl with a clergyman in a bar. And then there were suddenly accusations coming up that he had killed a variety of young boys, which got him in front of a court, and eventually executed.

While in both cases historians are fairly certain that they were innocent and got eventually prosecuted for political reason, only Gilles de Rais eventually got post-humosly got declared innocent. He now is considered a heroic figure in France.

However, this does obviously not stop Japanese game developers to use both figures as the horrific mudery kind.

Of course they do show up in the Fate games.

I mean, what can I say? At the very least they did not turn Gilles into a loli? lol

And yes, obviously they also showed up as characters in the Castlevania games.

Generally speaking, they are definitely among those figures who do show up a ton in Japanese media that somehow features references to European history - and usually those will just assume that they are in fact the kind of murderers that they were prosecuted as back in the day. And also they are probably some sort of magic being. (To be fair, Gilles de Rais also got prosecuted for witchcraft.)

But yeah, to come back to the Chateau de Machecoul: Gilles de Rais was living there by the time that he got accused of those murders and of witchcraft. He was living there when he got arrested. So yes, he has a strong connection to Machecoul.

As some of you might know: I used Gilles in my own Castlevania writing in a big role, as he is the main villain of The lesser Evil. However, given that I personally am not a big fan of propagating those possibly false accusations, I made his entire plot hinge on the fact that he had been wrongly accused and now kinda was out for revenge - very willing to draw Europe into chaos for this goal.

But I absolutely think he is a very interesting historical figure.

[hermitcraftx]

I agree with your post about hermit fans in regard to things being very popular. I’ve seen more people being angry and annoyed about scarian in the last six months than people celebrating it. Not tagging shipping is shit but it’s better than harassing people. I don’t know what was put in the water but something changed drastically and I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s seen it.

IT'S FUCKING INSANE! This fandom used to be so positive and welcoming and overall way more pleasant than some... other MCYT fandoms, but now??? I can't log on without seeing untagged negative interpretations in the main tags, can't express an opinion without getting anons calling me heterosexual sympathizers and hoping that I die, everyone has turned their back on everything that used to make this fandom really... fun? Like, I don't tag ON MY BLOG, but usually I don't maintag my shipping posts, and if I do, I tag the ship name so people can filter it.... I don't maintag duo names. What the fuck happened to make everyone so- miserable. Anons are probably going to be permanently off for me, too many people comfortable with their opinions and not comfortable with mine and desperately needing to tell me that.

And like- look. I get not liking interpretations. Personally I'm not a fan of the Double Life cheating arc because of how abusive and out of character people made Grian be, and I had to avoid ao3 for a bit because of that and filter the fucking tags. Same thing with found family dynamics. Just because you don't like something doesn't make it "overrated and popular" and just because you don't like something doesn't make it immoral or unethical either!!! People have to make everything a moral standpoint nowadays and it's really exhausting-

But that's a tirade. All over all the confessions blogs there's "scarian is overrated" despite Grian having nearly 10mil subscribers and most of them being on YouTube and considering all the hermits friends or family truthing them. Yes, there is more shipping than before- that's because Hermitcraft season 8 made it very obvious that the people on the SMP and the people IRL are very different, and it's no longer considered RPF. None of the real hermits died via moon explosion, ZombieCleo often says she's doing "lore", they make different skins, even GRIAN acknowledges that he's acting and playing a part with the permit office. Despite all that, there's STILL wars on shipping and people insisting that we're shipping real people, I fought this war on the DSMP side of things and it's SO TIRING.

DND podcast listeners, do you ship the people playing the characters? NO!!!!! Unless you do, in which case, have fun with that. I don't really care about RPF and I filtered the tags for it a long time ago, so maybe they do do that.

Every other day I see "Third life is overrated" "Last life is overrated" (LAST LIFE IS OFTEN THE LEAST FAVORITE SEASON I SEE PEOPLE SAY!), "the life series is overrated" "the cactus ring is fucking stupid" "they left the desert but we didn't" "no, THIS interpretation of scarian is bad and wrong" and like... guys. Guys. Fandom is supposed to be fun. It is not supposed to be a full time job. It is not supposed to be moral or ethical and you shouldn't feel the need to police shit. Jesus Christ, every other month there's a new fad that tumblr users flock to and once it's over everyone goes "EWWW THAT WAS LAME AND OVERRATED AND I NEVER LIKED IT ANYWAY" like.... I promise you cannibalism as an allegory for love is not mainstream you are just on Tumblr.

Like Good God. If it's so bad here go to Twitter. I'm sick of all the complaining and misery and hatred and I miss when things were fun- people are so scared of being cliche that they don't want to write things that they enjoy. Where are the coffee shop aus???? Where are the fun silly things??? Where are the 100k grimdark fics with worldbuilding??? Wheres the 500k fics that aren't even about the same characters anymore but that we love just the same??? Where are the forums and people talking to each other in comments and meeting each other that way??? Where are the roleplay servers?????? What are you all doing??????

People are scared of being judged. They want to do what everyone else is doing. They don't want to be cringe or cliche and every day I see a "cringe culture is dead" post and then someone making fun of another part of fandom, an antithesis to their previous statement. They don't want to be late to things, either. Who cares if Last Life was a couple years ago? Draw the fanart anyway!

I'm scared. Maybe I'm just old, but every post I see I notice that I get maybe a 10th in reblogs of what I do in likes, and I don't even post my art or fics to this site. Every post is like that. More and more people only like posts and they die, unseen, by everyone. More and more people misuse archive of our own's functions, treating it like it has some algorithm, when it doesn't, and it never has and hopefully never will. I see fic reuploads to "gain traction" (not how it works) and people reaching out to find RP partners (breaking TOS) and all sorts of other shit on both sites and it fucking horrifies me. I'm not even that old- I'm eighteen, and I can already tell how fandom has changed for the worst for everyone. Fandom used to be a community. Not consumption.

It's just... sad. Old fandom had PLENTY of fucking problems, and we have problems here too, but at least the positives outweighed the negatives. It's so... mean here, now. Even the happy things are mean-spirited. People treat it as if certain people have invaded this fandom space, spreading horrible opinions and ruining it for everyone, but the truth is is that shipping is always going to be a thing. It's a foundation of fandom- fandom started with housewives in the 1950s writing Star Trek fanfiction. You can never get rid of shipping. You can just interact with what you want to interact with and leave others to mind their own business.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Council of lovefools.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[theotherbuckley]

Okay but Tommy drops out of high school — he told his father he was gay and he told him he could either be homeless or go to military school. He goes to military school and joins the army and he likes flying the helicopters because it means he doesn’t have to do any of the killing himself. And he makes some friends.

There's one guy who's like the squad leader who's a few years old and built like a Greek god and Tommy's young and a little bit in love. And they're friends maybe even family because this whole group of people spend every waking (and sleeping) moment together. And they all talk like a family and they all say they love each other and tease each other and it's nice. And one night it's just the two of them trading a flask of some sort of alcohol that Tommy doesn't know the name of and the man asks Tommy why he joined the army and where he wants to be in five years and Tommy trusts this man. He's half way in love with him so he doesn't even think twice before he tells the story about the time he came out to his family and his father nearly beat him to death before sending him here. And the conversation tapers off after that and he doesn’t register the change in the air but when he wakes up the next morning he’s being dishonourably discharged because he poses “unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability”. He knows what that means.

Tommy joins the fire department because he doesn’t know what else to do. He represses anything regarding his sexuality because he knows now that it’s wrong. He almost feels like he has a family again because his captain seems to like him and some of the guys are cool even if they say things he doesn’t agree with. And then he starts agreeing because maybe they’re right and he’s wrong and he’s just inherently wrong. So he follows their leads and is just straight racist because that’s how he can fit in.

And then a black lesbian woman joins and says she’s a black lesbian woman and Tommy doesn’t understand that either because you can’t be queer you just can’t be because it’s wrong.

But he nearly dies and and an Asian man saves his life and a black lesbian woman comes up with a better idea than any of them had and she tells them she’s no different and she is just as capable. So he improves himself he does and he tries to be better but he still can’t be who he is because the last 2 times he was honest about that he was betrayed.

Tommy leaves the 118 and “don’t ask, don’t tell” is lifted and he meets this guy he likes who likes him back and the 217 don’t seem to have a problem with the gender neutral pronouns and he slowly but surely lets himself open up again and be who he is and when the thing with that guy doesn’t work out because he’s moving to New York and Tommy’s not sure he’s ready to leave, it’s okay because his crew is there and they support him and he can still be himself.