#Reactions are my lifeforce.

[writingforfishes]

A plot is more: There are horrors, but vulnerability is love. Caretaking and understanding.

B plot is: Hiccups exist briefly as a result of horrors. Goofiness and dorkiness is also love.

Thank you for protecting yourself and not reading my sad, sad story about Otto trauma.

I'm ecstatic you appreciated my font joke!

Markets Otto and Atticus as cute little old queer couple, couple of silly bois, neurodivergent nerds, dapper doofuses with endearing social anxiety.

DUMPS ALL THE TRAUMA IN ONE FIC!!

Readers: But...whyyyy?!

Readers floating in shocked listlessness in a pond of their own salty tears.

Me: My darling beautiful fishes. It's quite simple.

I'm very fucked up.

[fefern]

Hiii I saw ur Scar hcs, and the TD Hybird part really piqued My interest. If Reader (gender-neutral), agreed to it, how would Scar react to it! And also Maybe, if it’s painful (because it probably is, considering it’s like shoving a whole New Lifeforce into your body) would He feel sorry for Reader? (I would feel sorry for myself if it Hurt 💀)

✧˖° scar's reaction to you agreeing to merge with a tacet discord. | scar headcanons.

⋆ ˚☁️ ⁀➴ synopsis: after some thought, you agreed to merge a tacet discord with your body just like your lover scar has kept asking you to do! how does he react, and what's the process like?

⋆ ˚☁️ ⁀➴ characters involved: scar, gender neutral reader.

⋆ ˚☁️ ⁀➴ warnings: none! no serious details of the transformation process, but if it's too much let me know and i'll change the warnings!

⋆ ˚☁️ ⁀➴ notes: hi hi pretty anon!! thank you for sending this wonderful ask in!! had me wondering for a long while how exactly scar shoved that whole other being into himself LOL!! (~ ~)" hope you enjoy this! requests are open as always! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ scar ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

when you first come to him with the idea, he’ll blink once. then twice. then a third time.

did he hear you right?

he’d at first be shocked that you’d agree

he’s used to asking many people to join the organization and insert a tacet discord into themselves just to be met with rejection time and time again. it's a normal part of his job.

but for you to agree? and it being his lover nonetheless!

scar is over the moon, so happy that you’re aligning with his ideals! he knew you’d come around!

he’d immediately begin talking energetically to you about the side effects that he experiences, and what it’s like being able to transform and merge your body with a whole new life form. 

it takes a lot of preparation for you two to be ready for this event, and when you’re all set up and ready to go, he’s the one that flicks the switch to begin the transformation. 

sparks fly, and a bright white light appears in an instant, almost like lighting. 

and he knows it’s a part of a process, and he knows what it’s like to be in there.

heck, he’s kind of got a manic happy expression seeing how successful the process of putting the tacet discord into you is going.

but can’t help how a small part of him feels his heart drop as he hears you scream, hears the way you’re in pain, sees the way that you’re in tears because of how painful it is.

watching you, his lover, get ripped apart in real time, and then getting pieced back together, hurts a part of him he didn’t expect to feel.

he almost wants to turn it off, to go back, but that in itself is risky. if he stops it  now, he’ll be threatening you with being seriously injured or worse, dead.

so he lets the process finish, basking in your glory and shoving down his worries before it finishes with a halt. 

some smoke appears, but when it settles, there you are.

you most likely have some new scars now or other physical changes due to the process, but he still finds you just as beautiful as you were before. 

he’ll quickly rush to your side and for the next week or so, he’s stuck to your side. his eyes are always on you, and he’s essentially nursing you back to health. 

you will be doted on to the fullest extent, and he’s suddenly the best house husband in the world.

he keeps telling you during this time how excited he is for you, how much of a stronger duo you two will be together, and how he’ll train you to be the best of the best just like he is.

but on the first night that he’s taking care of you, he’ll have his back towards you, sitting on the edge of the bed as you lay down. his tone gets softer, a little out of character for how usually smooth and charismatic he can be. after some silence, he breaks it.

“thank you for doing this for me. for a while, it felt as if this side of me was something i couldn't explain to you, but now, you truly are able to understand me for who i am. i will guide you through this new journey, and i will love you with all i can.”

probably also kisses the back of your hand after he says this KICKING MY FEET AND GIGGLING-

[treesandwords]

For anyone who's into LOTR I am rereading (again) and took notes on the weirdest/most interesting bits this time:

There are/were other magic rings beside the main ones, which is part of what makes it so hard for other characters to believe that Bilbo's ring is actually The ring

At one point Tolkien jumps into the POV of a random fox walking by our protagonists' camp and then never brings it up again, no big deal

The ever-controversial Tom Bombadil has several other names we just never talk about? And the elves (at least in Rivendell) know about him and have known about him for many years now

They also consider giving him the ring but ultimately decide it would be a bad idea because "he'd probably just lose it"

A lot of what happens to Frodo after he's been stabbed by the Nazgul is less symptomatic of dark magic and more of just...having a severe shoulder injury?? Like "oh no my hand is numb and I'm weak and can't move it, must be the evils of Mordor" bro you probably just have nerve damage and blood loss

Bilbo straight up writes and sings a song about Elrond's dad in front of him and a bunch of other elves in Rivendell like. The audacity.

There's a river called "Wetwang" (yes it's called Nindalf in Elvish, but that's not important here)

Aragorn never tells anyone else that Boromir admitted to trying to take the ring, it's implied he even keeps it secret from Gandalf once he reappears

The "Two Towers" actually refers to Orthanc and Minas Morgal, not Orthanc and Barad-Dur as the films suggest

Eomer has met and possibly was friendly with Boromir

Also Aragorn, who doesn't look that old, straight up tells Eomer he'd met both his father and Theoden when they were younger and he just...has zero reaction?? Like if a guy who looked not much older than me wisely said "ah yes, I met your father and uncle long ago" in a way that implied they'd worked together as somewhat equals I'd be. A little uncertain to say the least.

Oh and he also hung out with Denethor back in the day

Eomer and Gimli have a running disagreement on whether or not Galadriel is real, and if so, how hot she is

This is common ish knowledge but there are elements of actual Old English embedded into Rohan's worldbuilding (esp. the names/ "Rohrric" language) and the whole location is genuinely just Tolkien's fantasy version of Anglo-Saxon Britain. He is very not subtle about it.

Saruman was FULLY RUNNING DRUGS BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE SHIRE AND ISENGARD

And this actually ends up contributing to a main plot in the third book

Instead of the Palantir falling out of Saruman's pocket when he dies like in the movie, Gandalf shoots a spell at Saruman and makes him run back inside Orthanc and Wormtongue chucks the Palantir down at him from the window in retaliation

I know the potato scene is *iconic* but let's be real the fact that Sam risks a fire and takes the time to make a full rabbit stew plus seasoning while they're on a dangerous secret mission to sneak into the Darkest Of Dark Lords' fortress is kind of hilarious

Minas Morgul is some serious eldritch horror cryptid shit

Denethor is honestly such drama queen. Like I know he's supposed to be a threatening and tragic character but holy shit.

Also the entire houses of healing segment is unintentionally comedic

Like between the old lady who runs the house giving absolutely zero fucks, and the herb master and Aragorn having a mini nerd off about what Athelas/Kingsfoil is called in different languages, and also Aragorn and Pippin roasting Merry - who has JUST woken up from an Evil Coma by the way - about not being able to find his weed

"This weed is better than I thought" -- actual quote by Ioreth re: kingsfoil

This is something I noticed that a lot of people don't mention - the "Evenstar" that Arwen gives Aragorn in the movies that's tied to her lifeforce/immortality isn't really a thing in the books. The closest to it is this green brooch that she gives him via Galadriel in FOTR - but the only necklace she gives to anyone is actually to Frodo, as a token that basically means if he ever wants to go to the Grey Havens (as he ultimately does) he'd essentially be taking her place because she isn't going

Ok the scouring of the Shire is pretty common knowledge but are we going to talk about Lotho Sackville-Baggins became Saruman's dealer and helped smuggle drugs pipeweed into Isengard (see I told you it would come back)

Also!! Lotho was possibly EATEN by Grima Wormtongue, or at the very least Saruman believes he was, yes this is an actual canon thing

Legit quote from ROTK: "Worm killed your Chief, poor little fellow, your nice little Boss. Didn't you, Worm? Stabbed him in his sleep, I believe. Buried him, I hope; though Worm has been very hungry lately[]"

Seriously what the fuck

Saruman is killed by Wormtongue (who is then shot by a bunch of Hobbit archers) and promptly....disintegrates?

Anyway if you're a casual fan who's only seen the movies, or if you haven't read the books in a while, I'd highly recommend.

[inconmess]

This post by @sky-scribbles reminded me of something I've been planning to look up all day. I started it as an reblog to that post and realised it might become a longpost so I just cut it off here. And FYI, this is just a compilation of how I've seen Laudna react to something in

a) a personal betrayal

b) After Delilah nudges her to do something

Putting it under the cut because I seem to be doing a long post. Again. Still marking it as CR spoilers even though I don't really go deep into what happened in the recent episodes. Just to be safe

So, starting from the top, I mean, there is the obvious scenario where Delilah nudges Laudna to touch Imogen's glowing purple rock (I always forget its name, sorry) and absorbs its power without any warning and it has Imogen upset about it. I would have assumed that this was the first time Delilah took some energy like this but...

I distinctly remember Laudna's reaction to FCG's rage and how she had just had a conversation with Delilah prior to that in episode 31... Right after Laudna refuses to touch another glowing purple rock (I always forget its name, sorry)

(Just copy pasting from the transcript here but if you want a time stamp, it is somewhere around 2:47:00 - 2:52:00)

Delilah: Bewarned child, not everyone's looking out for your wellbeing like I am. I'll keep you safe.

Laudna: Want to share a little bit more of that information? Tired of you withholding

Delilah: I am just paying attention from my distant forgotten perch, my dear. You continue to wander around things that hold all manner of delightful and dangerous magics. You know the impact they can have on you. You know the impact that magic has had on you. I claim responsibility myself. So just consider this recompense for trying to keep you safe. For if you die, I go too.

Assuming from this, I think Laudna has had instances where she has absorbed power from magic objects even before the initial one we see with Imogen's rock and the way Delilah speaks here, this seems like an old conversation and before. (Again, I may be wrong) But her sucking away magical items didn't really have a impact that affects people close to her until she probably takes power from Imogen's shard, which upsets Imogen.

And During Laudna's turn in combat, (3:07:00 - 3:11:30) Marisha does say this

"Laudna is in a weird headspace and suddenly, she starts hearing this rushing in her ears, and she can hear the words that Delilah just said about how her friends are going to betray her and how I'm in a dangerous place and how I need to protect myself and my friends are going to betray me and my friends are going to betray me. I walk up to him and cast Hunger of the Shadows"

Matt: So as you grasp the face you hear that voice curl up from in the back of your mind once more and be like, "You see, at the end of all things, only yourself can be relied on, when all love is taken." And with that, you feel this rush, this overwhelming surge of power within the center of your chest, and your gentle, cold, slow heartbeat for a moment fills with warmth and life.

So that is the moment Laudna first uses Hunger of the Shadows and it does seem to empower Delilah in some form with the way it is described.

Also, let it be known that, if this is the case, until this point, if Delilah had been knowingly or unknowingly sucking power from objects though Laudna, it had been only through objects and Laudna didn't really know that. This is the point where Laudna actually casts a spell to feed Delilah with someone living.

Fastforward to Bor'Dor. Delilah is presumed to be gone after the Darkstone incident. Laudna faces another betrayal and casts Hunger of the Shadows again and she says she cannot be betrayed again and if what Delilah says is true and Laudna and her are always in a symbiosis, Laudna just gave a huge amount of power to Delilah because at this point, unlike FCG, she is transferring the whole lifeforce of Bor'Dor (I know he was already dead at this point and stuff but still, unlike FCG, he dies here so I think it had a greater impact with regard to the power which is transferred) and Delilah is reawakened. (I was rewatching this and right as Marisha describes her form for Dread, she rolls a die and says another 10. What does that mean? Was that her check for Delilah or something else?)

(Shoutout to Laudna's breakdown in ep65 too)

Laudna's reaction with the Shard and Ashton was interesting. With the shard, she actively asks everyone to keep her out of the line of sight or everyone helps her be out of the line of sight of the shard once they clock in the fact that Delilah wants it.

And when Delilah nudges Laudna about the shard after she runs away with Ashton's betrayal because they all had thought that Fearne was about to take it but Ashton did, Without consulting anyone, her thoughts turn as to how Ashton was a child, completely leaning away from how Delilah was garnering from Laudna when she stated that Ashton was a child. And she still actively tries to resist Delilah's temptation to absorb the shard into herself. (Again, I know wisdom saves were involved here if I remembered right so Delilah tried to influence Laudna here too)

So now, on Ruidus, she initially disagrees with Orym taking in some of the Willmaster's power via the harness, Delilah backing up her thoughts/mixing in with it as she tells her that the power should've been hers as she casts Hunger of the Shadows on the Willmaster and listen, compared to the previous time, prior to joining BH, Delilah has been fed the life force of 2 living beings now while before BH, it was restricted to magical objects (speculation)

So relative to the power of Delilah, I am assuming that she might've been more powerful now than before Darkstone even, cuz even though Laudna has been with Delilah for 30 years, which is a lot of influence and dependency Delilah can create over Laudna, the magical items may not compare to magic from people who are alive combined with said magical items.

So by the time the current episode rolled about, I am not surprised about the amount of influence Delilah has over Laudna, given the magical items, people and stuff Delilah has absorbed through Laudna to strengthen herself. And not only that, Delilah is a skilled manipulator and while I haven't seen much of C1, I have seen the Briarwood arc and seeing the effect she's had on Cassandra over just a few years and multiplying it a few times because DELAILAH WAS IN LAUDNA'S HEAD. Dormant most of the time, maybe. But Omnipresent.

Not to mention how she uses Laudna's love for Imogen and her determination about the lengths she will go to save Imogen to her own resolve to gain power. Laudna at this stage cannot be like... she is my murderer so she is bad. Delilah is not only her abuser and murderer but also the sole being who is in symbiosis with her and provides her power. And not only that, while she might not like it, the only company she's had, always, before she met Imogen because that is like 28 years of running away from people who hated her.

Speaking of the betrayal speech and how it seems to be a little old and repeated between Delilah and Laudna, cuz I DO NOT believe that ep31 is the first time they've had it, I wonder if this is kinda related to the companion that Laudna spoke about, of how a young girl used to travel with her for a while before she had to leave and the number of years Laudna spent on the run from villagers. I mean, it is deeply engrained into her at this point that even though she doesn't really say it out loud, she has internalised it and outwardly, trust issues.

And these trust issues definitely doesn't help when she leans into Delilah, thinking that empowering her empowers Laudna to protect Imogen better and Imogen hates it. Most of them in the group hate Delilah so who else could she talk to? Not the Tempest and the De Rolos? They killed Delilah and Delilah hates them. Not the Bells Hells because they hate Delilah but Laudna needs her, at least what she thinks is that.

(which also springs up a minor question in me. Is Delilah's hate for Vox Machina, given the fact that Keyleth is a member and Orym is a guard of Keyleth and one of her trusted amplifying whatever feelings Laudna has over the situation because Delilah feels negative feelings towards Orym due to who he is close to?)

As I type this, I think I can understand where Laudna comes from in episode 95, the decisions she took and maybe the reasons behind it. She couldn't tell the Hells she was absorbing the rapier to empower Delilah because they would hate it and wouldn't listen to it. She thought that stealth made more sense because she has been betrayed. Again. But even then her line of thought was different when it all started and when she got her hands on the sword, it changed because Delilah manipulated her again. It was tiny nudges but at her current state, it was enough.

Deep in her, she's always had a mistrust towards everyone and the situations with FCG rage attack, Bor'Dor's betrayal, Ashton's incident with the shard and the constant whisper of Delilah for decades, combined with the fact that now Orym took up the sword that honestly contains too much trauma for the group without a discussion was kinda her breaking point I think? Because tbh while everything mentioned here is spread over years in our time, in CR land, it all happened in the span of weeks *does a little calculation* approx like 2 to 3 months? (I am counting from ep31 for this)

But. That doesn't mean she was right or took the right way around it and in a sense, she is accountable for what she did. This post is not me saying that Laudna was right or Orym is right or all that stuff. No. This is me trying to dig deep into how far has Delilah's manipulation gone and how it has affected Laudna and her reactions, either in a PVP or outside of it.

Again, I might've missed something or gotten something wrong so... I am up for discussion and corrections. Until then. Thank you for finishing another of my messy thoughts and long post as I try to streamline my thought process cuz this is what it is.

Post Edit: Completely forgot to Add YU in here so... shoutout to her too. because I am

[dimalink]

In a New Year I and my bro played cool in NES

New Year I have met with game console NES. In a New Year I and my bro, we play good in game console NES. So, it was a special, somewhere almost 12. 11 with something. We sit with bro and play in Double Dragon 2, Contra. Main in Double Dragon 2. It was interesting! With a true CRT tv. Cool environment! With good expectations about a New Year. Good cozy atmosphere.

And, already, in a first days of new year itself I played in NES for myself. In a game LifeForce. For example. Good start of a New Year. For retro gamer. So, I still a big fan of 8 bit console NES.

Saying the truth, today I have a china clone FC Compact 2. But it is rather good.

 Mainly, we played with bro in Double Dragon 2. So, it is possible to play two players mode in this game. So, at one screen play together. In a first part of the game, it is not like this. There is no such a game mode. Game from a childhood, by the way. I remember good this videogame. I like gfx a lot. And I thought it was a boxers, I though like this in old days.

And I though that it was lots of Double Dragon videogames. Very a lot of them for NES. And I think about 5 or 7 parts. It was my ideas in old days.

Contra it is also a good game. Excellent action. But it was like a hard game. To play in Double Dragon it was more easy. By the way, I and my bro, we had this cartridge with contra in 90s. But game has a title Super Darkwing Duck. And instead of guys it were a ducks. Two ducks. We like this version a lot. So, I even today, I would like to get this version, one day.

In a game LifeForce I have already played in a new year. It was a good and calm start of the year. Well, of course, I do not go far in game. Game is unusual because of you are inside of some biological organism. It is inside something like cells. They do a defense. As I get it. Everything is such biological. Or you can think about some such planet. So, it is also a way. Unusual game setting for action game.

By the way I remember that in 90s I mismatch games Contra and Super Contra. So now, I and my bro we play both of these games. In Contra and in Super Contra. But as a symbolical, not for a long time. About A New Year event, we play for a while.

By the way, FC Compact 2 is rather good variation to play NES 8 bit with cartridges today. It is china clone. So, I play with it for a long time, play from time to time. And for game from time to time it is going to be good. And I think about, to change china joysticks for better one. To press buttons better, and something like better reaction, faster to be. It is valuable for fast games, like Dig Dug. Starting with some level it is already very fast everything and china joystick is not good.

And in anything else it is good version to play NES.

So, year start just excellent. Calm. With 8 bit game console NES. Excellent memories. I start some different games for point of interest. With a cartridge that have lots of games. So, in the evening it is a lamp light. Such a good mood. And game console NES 8 bit. It is a thing you need, in case you are retro gamer 8 bit. Good retro TV. Everything with a beautiful!

From time to time i like to play videogames. And write about it. Dima Link is making retro videogames, apps, a little of music, write stories, and some retro more.

WEBSITE: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html ITCHIO: https://dimalink.itch.io/ GAMEJOLT: https://gamejolt.com/@DimaLink/games

[saingirl101]

NeverAfter Ep 19 As Brian David Gilbert Gifs (SPOILERS!!!!)

Wow can't believe we are approaching the end of NeverAfter. I have no idea how things will turn out but I can bet either bittersweet or heartbreaking. Also I am still not over Gerard's trial and unprepared for their interactions this episode.

In any case onto the liveblog and as always:

Pib rolling an immediate Nat 20 on Rapunzel:

Rapunzel surviving by rolling a 13 but going to take another 34 damage at the start of PiB's next turn:

Tim giving Bless to everyone:

Tim rolling a Nat 1 to deceive the princesses that he doesnt have his book:

Cinderella insta-killing the bird:

Gerard talking about breaking up via sword with Elody and my reaction:

Ylfa trying to convince the beast not give up and go along with the princesses plan and not doing well:

THUMBELINA GOING DOWN AND CRICKET DYING:

In true King material - Pinnochio taking a big swig of whiskey and dimension dooring him and gerard, and USING HIS CALL OF DESTINY since using the bonus action makes it disadvantage TO MAKE THE PERSUASION CHECK ON MIRA:

Baba yaga casting cone of cold on the princesses on the zigurat:

and then sheherazade counterspelling it:

Gerard managing to cobble together a 20 persuasion check on Elody and managing to finally fight the right words AND ME AND THE OTHER GERELODY STANS CELEBRATING:

AND THEN RAPUNZEL GRABBING GERARD WITH HER HAIR AND STABBING HIM:

YLFA BARELY SAVING AGINST THE BEASTS SHOVE ATTEMPT TO NOT FALL OFF THE BOOKS INTO THE ROILING PAGES:

YLFA GETTING OUT OF THE HAIR AND GRAPPLING THE BEAST AND ENDING HER:

ROSAMUND GOING DOWN WITH A CRITICAL HIT AND INSTA DYING:

ROSAMUND DEVOURING THUMBELINA'S LIFEFORCE WITH HER THORNS AND LOSING ANY CHANCE OF A HAPPY ENDING:

MAMA BABA YAGA DISPELLING THE GEAS ON SHEHERAZADE:

Gerard getting out of the hair AND ACTION SURGING TO TAKE RAPUNZEL DOWN AND EATING HER:

TIM GETTING PIB BACK UP AND BREAKING SNOW'S CONCENTRATION:

YLFA TURNING INTO A BEAR TO GET MIRA INTO ATTACK RANGE AND GETTING MIRA TO GET HER SHIELD REACTION OUT:

ROSAMUND CRITING AGAINST SNOW WHITE WITH ZEPHYR STRIKE AND HER SWARM AND GETTING REVENGE BY KILLING HER NOW:

BABA YAGA GOING WWE ON CINDERELLA

OH BUT HERE COMES THE FAIRIES WITH A STEEL CHAIR:

THE WHOLE OF DESTINY'S CHILDREN + FRIENDS AT THE END OF THIS EPISODE:

Us not sure how the final episode will play out:

brennan fucking lee mulligan:

[arisveah]

i NEED more Generation Loss reaction images. you dont understand. my lifeforce- i just need them so badly

heres what i have

tbc

[chaoticgoodlawyerwrites]

Sneak Peak for HSY Ch 8

Hey folks! Here's a quick look at the next chapter of "The H(a)unting of Shen Yuan"!! It might be here sooner than you think...

-----

After reassuring both him and Luo Binghe that Shen Qingqiu was not in any kind of danger, let alone life threatening, Mu Qingfang once more kicked Binghe out of the examination room to speak to his Sect Leader and patient alone. Then his expression turned grim as the privacy barrier was once more raised, and Shen Qingqiu grew nervous.

“Qingfang, what is all this? You’re beginning to scare me,” he offered lightly, hoping that the doctor would reassure him.

He didn’t.

“Qingqiu,” he started very gently. “I have determined that I was initially correct in that two things have significantly changed since I have last examined you physically. Considering how this is the first time you have spoken to me openly about a sexual relationship with the other world’s Luo Binghe, I am deducing that you have been having a difficult time processing your simultaneous feelings towards them both. Is that correct?”

Shen Qingqiu cleared his throat and nodded. “Binghe reassured me since he arrived yesterday that he was accepting but yes, my guilt over that has left me a bit of an emotional wreck on and off for the past nine months or so.” 

Exhaustion and exasperation crossed Mu Qingfang’s face before it was smoothed back into a professional neutral. Shen Qingqiu winced internally, knowing that his failure to be honest would be brought up in the next therapy session.

“In any case, two things have changed. First, assumingly due to your close bonds to Heavenly Demons or just completing this mating bond with your former disciple, you now can absorb demonic energy. The satisfaction you described suggests, though more tests would need to be done to say for sure, that your body views it as a potentially vital energy source.”

Shen Qingqiu stared at him. “Are you saying I have to consume demonic energy like it’s food?”

“Possibly more important to you than food,” Mu Qingfang explained. “I was observing your core as your husband transferred you demonic energy. There was almost… an overflow where the transformed demonic energy went. I didn’t understand what I was sensing until he gave you the energy because it was already partially full. I suspect, but again, cannot conclude at this time, that failure to keep that energy at a certain level would begin to drain your energy reserves in your core. There is no inedia for that, Qingqiu.”

Shen Qingqiu stared at him. “You’re saying. I’m. An energy vampire.”

“Pardon?”

Shen Qingqiu shook his head. “I’m dependent on draining others of their energy to survive?”

“Ah. Not necessarily. Demonic energy is abundant in the environment of the demon realm and especially demonic artifacts like your husband’s sword. And, obviously, energy can be transferred freely from a willing party, or taken by force as seen by the somewhat sentient sword’s reaction to you.”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what to do with the information. He had known there could be other side effects to bonding to Binghe besides the lifeforce thing and being immune to poisons, but becoming a vampire?!

What even…

“But it’s not life threatening…” Shen Qingqiu said, trying to find some nugget of sanity in this mess.

“No, especially as you have two Heavenly Demon spouses to provide you with demonic energy through dual cultivation,” Mu Qingfang said without a hint of judgment.

“What’s the other thing?” Shen Qingqiu asked, hoping that the doctor had opted to go for the bad news first.

Mu Qingfang held his gaze and said, “Sect Leader, Qingqiu. You’re pregnant.”

[kudosmyhero]

Daredevil (vol. 1) #106: Life Be Not Proud!

Read Date: March 31, 2023 Cover Date: December 1973 ● Writer: Steve Gerber ● Penciler: Don Heck ● Inker: Sal Trapani ● Colorist: George Roussos ● Letterer: Shelly Leferman ● Editor: Roy Thomas ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● ugh, I like my heroes to be street level. all of this is just too much. ● this guy wanted to be “an absolute monarch with absolute power” … to be king of San Francisco… Way to rein it in there at the end, buddy ● Swamp Thing’s evil brother ● a genuinely shitty demise for that cop ● “The monster seems to be leaving peacefully.” sputters peacefully? he just killed someone! ● yikes, Black Widow looks like plastic surgery gone wrong

● Is DD starting to fall for Moon Dragon now? jeez ● finally something a little interesting. DD has to admit his blindness when he can’t follow a command from Moon Dragon ● DD has his vision back, but it also magically took away the lenses in his cowl? ● heh, others are noticing the lense pieces being gone, too ● JESUS. so long, Janis. ● without his radar sense, DD should be having trouble getting around, I would think. it’s all he’s known for so long. ● ah, ok. so they actually are making DD have some trouble getting around. it might bring this from a 1-clap issue to a 2-clap ● groans I can’t wait until DD is in NYC again and for this story arc to end. it sucks! ● 👏👏 (barely earned that second clap!)

Synopsis: Kerwin J. Broderick has been using Moon Dragon's Titanian technology for his own ends in order to reshape the city of San Francisco in his own image. When Daredevil and Moon Dragon have learned the truth, Broderick shot Moon Dragon in the back. He has unleashed his latest creation, Terrex, a creature that has the power of life itself. He has dispatched his agent the Dark Massiah to put a force-field around the city to prevent anyone from escaping. He has sent Ramrod out to smash any authorities that will resist Broderick's plot.

Broderick explains how not only was he the reputable owner of a law firm, but also the secret kingpin of crime of the San Francisco underworld. He had everyone in his back pocket until the arrival of the ethical lawyer Matt Murdock and the costumed crime fighter Daredevil. Things changed when he met Moon Dragon and tricked her into helping him, all for the sole purposes of taking over all of San Francisco. Kerwin then tells Daredevil that he intends to merge with Terrex giving him power of life and death. When the Man Without Fear attempts to stop him, Kerwin blasts him with his stun blaster and leaves the two unconscious beings behind.

Meanwhile, above the surface, Terrex is giving a show of power, swiping the police away by creating gigantic plants, and then when a police officer approaches him ages him to death. As Terrex walks away, Black Widow and Paul Carson note that everything in Terrex's path has died as Terrex has absorbed it's lifeforce. While at police headquarters Chief O'Hara is answering a flood of phone calls from panicked people when he gets a telegram telling him that his brother, who was out on expedition in Africa, has been killed.

Back at Moon Dragon's ship, Daredevil revives to find that Moon Dragon is on the brink of death. Taking her to a regenesis chamber he is unable to operate the machinery because he cannot see what color the dials are. Moon Dragon uses her powers to restore Daredevil's sight so that he can operate the machinery and restore her to full health. Using the teleportation device the two return to the surface right before Black Widow and Paul and the quartet begin to track down Terrex.

Elsewhere, Angar the Screamer is out driving with his girlfriend Janice and they happen upon Terrex. As Angar brags about how Terrex and Broderick is going to make this city theirs to control, Angar is completely oblivious to the fact that his close proximity to Terrex has killed Janice. While at the same time, Daredevil, Black Widow, and Moon Dragon deal with the threats posed by the Dark Messiah, and Ramrod. After Moon Dragon defeats the Dark Messiah, Daredevil realizes that his vision is hampering his ability to fight, and has Moon Dragon take his vision away.

Daredevil lends Black Widow a helping hand against Ramrod, however their fight is cut short by the arrival of Broderick who has arrives with Terrex and is just about to merge with the creature and destroy the city.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Daredevil_Vol_1_106)

Fan Art: Daredevil in a free fall by Prestegui

Accompanying Podcast: ● Josh and Jamie Do Daredevil - episode 17

[granny-griffin]

Never Fade author’s notes under the cut! @masterfuldoodler you wanted to see this

The title contains the theme and also a key word—so to start, here’s a list of all the times I use some variant of the word fade in Never Fade

1. Uraraka repairs Midoriya’s half-destroyed shirt and the blood that was staining it fades away. Actually, this is the only time in the fic I used the word unintentionally, but I’m sure it can be read into to fit anyway.

2. In the flashback where Bakugou and Midoriya find Kirishima, who is in the middle of dying and being reborn. The color of the scales on his old body fade away.

3. Bakugou destroys a monster—it crumbles to dust and then fades away.

4. All for One loses his power and immediately dies—he flakes apart and fades away.

5. Midoriya remembers something the dragons told him in a past life.

The following events occur in this order chronologically:

1. Izuku asks all might if he can be a hero

2. owlbear fight

3. all might appears during the night watch

However, they appear in the fic in the order 3, 1, 2. Izuku doesn’t remember scenes 1 or 2 when he’s in scene 3—so the non-chronology of the fic shows his perspective.

“Young Midoriya,” All Might said, fiddling with the hem of his robe, “I changed my mind about something—and I never got the chance to tell you.”

This is a reference to scene one—knowledge of canon should gap in what All Might’s response was when Izuku asked the question the first time.

There was originally a small error in these scenes: 1 and 2 were supposed to occur within a week of each other, but I accidentally set 1 in the spring and 2 in the autumn. It bugged me, so I went back and changed the forest description in scene 2 to make it springtime.

Bakugo’s reaction the first time he sees Izuku in the fic is a direct response to the scene with the owlbear.

Racing through Kamino, Izuku remembered the crisis that had taught him how to run. Carrying the remnant of his master’s notes and an extra life force, he had fled this barren country, stopping only when he reached green grass and a clear stream.

Now he was going the other way.

This is a callback to the very beginning:

There was something wrong with the gait of his run. Once he had lapped up leagues where grass grew only in patches and the wastes lived to kill, but now he was huffing through a perfectly ordinary woodland.

AFO actually didn’t realize that Izuku was the current OFA holder (since he thought he was Todoroki).

The first soul explained it later, once Izuku had learned to dream.

At some nebulous time in the future after Izuku unlocks the OFA dreamscape, First explains the content of this paragraph to him.

The main portion of the spell was built to summon a dead man from beyond the grave, and All for One's blood directed it towards his nearest kin.

AFO was attempting a necromancy spell—he wanted to resurrect First. This is why AFO cuts his arm—the blood is supposed to “select” First from all possible dead people.

Though they had been bursting out of him instead of running towards him, the thousands of life forces traveling through the mechanism had still powered it, would have fulfilled their master's plan, were it not for one fatal mistake.

Izuku messed with the spell—it was supposed to be powered by killing a bunch of random nearby people using the AFO life force stealing mechanic. Izuku had previously changed this to the OFA life giving mechanic which is why AFO disintegrated—the spell made him use his own (stolen) lifeforce to power it. But this change didn’t actually keep the spell from working—it just changed how it was fueled.

His brother's most recent body was not the one he had been born in.

The spell functioned—it selected a person by AFO’s blood but then resurrected them based on life force, so by a fluke it pulled Izuku instead. Izuku doesn’t know any of this.

Waking without that knowledge, Izuku could think only of the word told to him by the dragons. Giving up your life was the only sure way to get one that would never fade.

It’s something Banjo learned from Kirishima. It’s the center of the story. If you lose your life you will find it.

Iida shook his head. “I’m not one to talk—but what you did was extremely foolish. You’re lucky you didn’t die too.”

The dramatic irony here is on purpose.

Knuckles half an inch from the door frame, Izuku stopped. There was something in the placement of the stepping stones, the color of the house’s paneling, like a tree left to grow for a decade—almost familiar enough to recognize. This could be his home, but it could have been Nana’s. What if he opened the door and found someone he did not know, a descendant he never got to meet?

This is funny because the last time he knocked at a random door he was greeted by one of Nana's descendants.

Now compare this:

Drawing his pocket knife from its sheath in his boot, he dove forward onto the ground, held the blade steady with both hands just as the owlbear stepped onto its point at full speed. Shrieking, it jerked back. The knife came up with its paw, driving in deeper when it put its weight on the limb again. Izuku had just enough time to scramble to his feet, grinning at his success, before its face turned sideways to bite him. His ribcage cracked like a nut in its beak.

With this:

“Are you sure? I’ve been told that coughing up blood is a symptom of severe pneumonia.”

Izuku held his breath. That was her.

“I told you,” All Might insisted, “I am not sick—it’s because of an injury to my ribcage.”

In this AU, All Might’s injury isn’t from AFO, it’s from passing on OFA. When he gave Izuku his life force(s), he ended up with Izuku’s injury.

[teruthecreator]

dear jesus christ this thing is getting longer and longer 

[exyandotherobsessions]

can you write about andrew calling neil captain as a joke but he likes it so much that andrew regularly call him it in bed

~~~

“Just shut up unless you want ten more laps.”

“Damn Neil,” started Nicky, making a gesture of zipping his lips up. “Didn’t know you were as bad as Kevin.”

“Fifteen.”

“Shutting up now.”

Sighing, Neil brushed away the curls of hair falling in front of his eyes before leaving Nicky to his lunges. With Dan and Kevin on some sort of promotional trip for the day, Neil was left to lead the foxes’ training. Granted, the idea sounded much better as just that— an idea. But no one could deny⁠— he was effective.

Blonde and black on orange caught in the corner of his eye, and with a quick jog, he arrived at the other end of the court.

“Having fun?”

Leaned against the goal was Andrew, plucking at the net of his racket with a disinterested look on his face.

“Actually, yes,” replied Neil. They’d barely started, yet Neil’s shirt was already sticking to his torso with sweat. “Are you planning on doing anything?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Just a few rounds?”

“Hope must be a blinding thing.”

“Fine,” said Neil, pulling a light scowl. “But you’re covering the goal so the rest of them can practice.”

“Yes captain.”

The word was barely uttered, yet Neil heard it loud and clear over the chatter behind them. His face flushed a deep red and for a split second he froze. To his embarrassment, Andrew seemed to have picked up on it, raising an eyebrow.

“Flustered much?”

“Shut up.”

“Or I’ll get ten laps?”

Neil simply replied with a glare.

~~~

For an strenuous hour (though they’d all have sworn it was two), Neil went on yelling orders to the others. If they were being honest, practice was slightly irritating, possibly because of Neil’s favouritism to a certain blond goalkeeper. But no one could deny; it was almost the most effective they’d been in weeks.

That being said, they were still exhausted, practically dragging themselves out of court. And after a tiring morning of practice, Neil would have been perfectly content spending the rest of the day on Andrew’s lap, or skimming through a math textbook that Nicky had once threatened to burn.

“Wait— Neil hasn’t been to the ice cream place on fifth street, has he?”

But apparently, Nicky had other ideas. Neil sighed redundantly.

“Really?” Asked Matt, frantically turning to face Neil. “Have we seriously never taken you?”

“No, but I don’t really⁠—”

"Well, would you like to⁠—” started Renee, quickly interrupted.

“We’re going now! And you,” emphasised Nicky, pointing directly at Neil, his finger just falling short of Neil’s chest. “Are coming with us.”

With a helpless look on his face, Neil turned to Andrew for some sort of help. But Andrew merely shrugged and turned to Neil. “Have a problem, captain?”

After almost missing his step and falling flat on his face, Neil resisted the very strong urge to roll his eyes.

“As a matter of fact,” started Neil, making deliberate eye contact with Andrew’s unbothered face. “No, I don’t. We’re going.”

That seemed to elicit some sort of reaction from Andrew, even if it were only his eyebrows twitching up slightly in surprise. Neil took it as success, though his satisfaction was quickly wiped away by the rest of their smiling faces rushing him to the car.

Though he wouldn’t admit how contagious their excitement was.

~~~

If Neil was being honest, the place wasn’t half bad.

With bright blue walls and an overenthusiastic waiter, it was practically trademark to the underclassmen, and came with no surprise. Squeezing into a booth, he was grateful for the way Matt next to him tried his best in a feeble attempt to give Neil some space. Neil threw a glance at Andrew, who seemed surprisingly void of regret.

“No, shut up Neil,” started Allison.

“I didn’t— ”

Aggressively, she shushed him with a finger to her lips. “I’m ordering for you. Because a plain vanilla ice cream is not an acceptable choice.”

The way she said it, you’d think Neil had committed a war crime.

“Don’t worry about Allison—” said Nicky, waving her off. “This place is her lifeforce, just smile and wave is my advice.”

Neil noted the way he seemed to have perfectly mastered the art of ignoring Allison shooting daggers with her stares.

Daggers turned to smiles as the waiter came over to the table. As if on script, each person recited their order on cue— except for Neil, whose pleading look was unfortunately not enough to bag a choice.

With a glance, Neil observed as Allison sent a wary glare to Andrew, waiting for his order. And he watched as her look went from wary to puzzled with his dry response.

“Tell the captain to choose for me.”

No words in any of the numerous languages Neil knew were strong enough to describe the feelings that flew through Neil, all at once.

The emphasis on a certain word was obvious, and Nicky’s stare was uncomfortably knowing. And Neil certainly wasn’t the only one blushing faintly.

Only Renee seemed utterly unfazed. “I’d suppose that’s Neil?”

At Neil’s scowl she responded, “…as he’s the captain of the team for the time being, of course?”

Watching tense faces melt slowly, Neil sent a much more grateful look, for which he was rewarded with a glowing smile.

“The same for him, please.”

“So…” started Nicky. “Practice was hard, huh?”

“No,” mumbled Allison. “The captain was.”

“Well I for one have no doubt that Neil would make a delightful captain.”

Neil passed a small smile to Renee.

“As long as we’ve all graduated before.”

“Well, Allison,” started Neil. “It’s not my fault you were sloppy on your—”

“It’s not my fault you left us too tired after warm ups to actually play anything decently!”

“I agree with her, actually,” added Nicky.

“Oh really? Because you weren’t perfect eith —"

“I was glowing, thank you very much.”

The deadpan stare on Neil’s face was answer enough. Allison tried to hide her grin. Something about a riled up Neil was so easily entertaining. And somewhere at the edge of the seat, Andrew shared a glance with Renee, silently thinking the same thing.

Eventually amongst the bickering, came a voice. “Your orders are here, ma’am.”

The waiter looked baffled— so baffled that Neil had to let out a chuckle. Placing down the ice creams that looked too large to be real onto the tables, he disappeared almost as quickly as he came.

“Well,” started Renee, trying to break the silence. “What are Andrew’s thoughts on practice?”

Perking up ever-so-slightly, Andrew said smoothly. “I was just obeying the captain.”

And with that, he ignored the almost flustered breath Neil took in as he shot a world-class glare. If looks could kill, almost everyone at the table would certainly be in danger. Most certainly Andrew.

But his stare was as blank as ever.

~~~

If Neil knew how the evening would turn out, maybe he wouldn’t have pushed himself to exhaustion during training.

Sprawled over the floor with his math book laid out in front of him he flicked through the pages, skimming the pages disinterestedly. Every couple seconds— though he wouldn’t admit it⁠— he stole glances of Andrew, staring vaguely into the air. Numbly, his mind was going over the events of the day, and Neil couldn’t help a certain, faint blush that overcame certain moments.

When the keys jangled, and Nicky left the house, a small glance was shared between the two. Funnily enough, the bed seemed awfully empty all of a sudden.

It started out with small kisses. Andrew’s lips were soft against Neil’s— something that he was grateful for, what with being thoroughly exhausted.

Fingers trailed over bare skin, and with every small touch, Neil felt his breath quiver. With sudden contact, Neil felt his back against the wall. Letting a heated breath out, he felt Andrew’s lips travel over his neck and collarbone, exploring his skin. With Neil’s elbows resting on his shoulders, he let Andrew lead the way.

Soft kisses gradually became more passionate, until both of them were ready for more. Meeting Andrew’s eyes, Neil pushed back ruffled strays of auburn hair.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes, captain.”

The sigh that escaped him was answer enough.

[renjirukia]

#'now this part is just speculation and headcanon-ery but that's the lifeforce the animates any fandom so' <- first of all THANK YOU bc#i see ppl say 'i know it's just your headcanon but that's cool' or 'this is just my headcanon but' and i'm always like lord why else are we#here though what is the point if not the headcanons and speculations!! clearly many feel differently about where such things rank in the#hierarchy of posts but i'm always like lol i have canon at home i did not come all this way to not eat headcanons#i love yumichika's quote as a kind of 'arc thesis' statement and the way it speaks to RR as you've laid it out here#because inasmuch as tying is more difficult than untying i feel like both rukia and renji are doing an awful lot of tying--just not#necessarily affixing themselves to things that are each other#rukia feeling unmoored and looking for confirmations of isolation#finding them in renji's reaction to her adoption and her experience with the kuchiki further giving her her tower mentality that she#deserves her loneliness (all the better to ignore renji with once they're both in the gotei)#and when circumstances force them into the same space renji must confront the LACK of confirmation he's received for this whole knot-rug#he's made based on his own perception of how he should react re: rukia's adoption and his various friends' subsequent advice#he's tied them both into a particular configuration where 'surpass byakuya' is meant to serve as some kind of weft and yet here rukia is no#existing as part of the knot-rug at all because she's off being a gremlin with humans in some weird gigai and WHAT is happening#which is a lot of cognitive dissonance when you're a few months into your new Byakuya's VC job and also don't know yet how to do that eithe#so there's a lot that needs to be UNtied first before new tying can even happen#thank you for this post!#abarai renji#kuchiki rukia#bleach meta#bleach headcanons tags via @bleachbleachbleach

tbh i don't think too hard about the forty year renruki separation beyond the angst of the pining and avoidance but in an effort to un-vague that time period and make some sense as to why renji is so aggressive towards rukia during the arrest/reunion i have some thoughts.

more under the cut because this got long

first let's talk about the break up. they've been drifting apart since arriving at the academy; they're in different classes ; renji gets sorted into the advanced class while rukia is not and this creates a shift in their dynamic; as it's implied rukia was very much the leader of their little gang. renji doesn't seem to mind the shift as he finally gets an edge over rukia and likes to show off though there isn't any kind of malicious intent in his behavior. rukia on the other hand is going through an intense case of cultural shock, her shift in dynamic with renji is distorting her own self-perception and making her feel cut off from her one friend in the world. enter byakuya. rukia is hesitant to accept the offer of adoption but at renji's boisterous (and somewhat forced) encouragement she takes the offer. i think renji's actions here devastated rukia and saw it as a confirmation that she was right in feeling like she was being left behind or cast aside.

now the intervening years. in the soul society arc the root conflict between them is that she is a noble and he isn't and that class disparity is why they can't "be together" though there isn't much evidence of the gotei adhering to such a rigid caste system and that class mingling is acceptable at least during work hours (and like everyone wondered why renji just didn't get a job at the 13th if he wanted to hang out with her so bad). we don't learn too much of what they got up to during their estrangement other than rukia's kaien trauma and her tenure as one of the more unlucky heroines from an 18th century gothic novel. while renji graduated school went to the fifth got transferred to the eleventh and somewhere in their picked up the goal of surpassing byakuya. we get a glimpse when renji tells ichigo "for a long time... a real long time... for decades... rukia and i... ...had drifted so far apart we wouldn't even pass by each other. it was you... who closed that... distance between us."

Like i said i don't think academy renji was fully aware of how hard of a time rukia was having at adjusting to seireitei life. he teases her about not "getting with program yet" but i think renji was confident in rukia's moxie that he figured she would eventually settle in. i don't think it was much later he realized there were irreparable cracks in their relationship. in chapter 98 as rukia walks away he narrates "rukia finally had a real family. let her go... don't get in the way... that's what I told myself." but it bleeds into the present day and it reads like a retrospective rationalization. "but thinking back...maybe i was just... afraid."

ok the point finally. now this part is just speculation and headcanon-ery but that's the lifeforce the animates any fandom so... basically i think rukia ignored renji. hard. after he finally went to work in the gotei 13 and i think it blindsided him. it's never stated exactly when renji decided to surpass byakuya but in the (frankly incredible) chapter 144 flashback kira tells renji "i suggest you stay away from her. for your sake and hers. i'm sure she realizes that she's not like us." and as that scene does not take place during their academy days i read it as renji only at that moment understanding the full breadth of their separation. i'm not sure i take kira's word as law wrt to her intentions because frankly he doesn't know her like that, and instead i see it more as kira encouraging his friend to move on and uses their difference in social status as a reason for her snubbing him ( rukia doesn't care about social status and it's not something she could have picked up from byakuya because 1. he doesn't talk to her 2. byakuya himself doesn't care about social status). next we cut to ikkaku saying "wow. that's quite a goal. to become stronger than kuchiki byakuya." and finally yumichika in all his wisdom sums up their break up era, "it's a difficult thing. discouraging, isn't it? it's always easier to tear down than to build. and much more difficult to tie than untie."

i read these scenes as a cause-and-effect from the order presented to us. rukia ignores renji (because from her pov he dumped her and she still feels some type of way about it) -> kira witnesses said ignoring and tries to impart some advice -> renji doesn't agree with the advice because he can see different social classes interacting all the time but kira's minor nobility does hold some weight with him so he takes what he wants from the advice -> concocts a plan to surpass byakuya (love the vague word choice surpass him in what? social status? ability? height? i don't think renji really knew instead using it as a launch pad to get back into rukia's good graces, because once they start hanging out again he seems more than fine with being byakuya's 2nd) -> yumichika imparts his own advice (which reads more like a thesis statement of the arc the way "a heart is born between two people" was used during the hueco mundo arc) but in the context of the scene he's sympathizing with renji and his relationship woes; "rukia finally had a real family. let her go... don't get in the way... that's what I told myself. but thinking back...maybe i was just... afraid." renji had doubts about pursuing rukia this way, but kept on course because he was uncertain he was in a position to 'tie' the relationship back together, but doesn't want to 'untie' it either.

now the other point; renji's aggression during the arrest. renji has dedicated a huge chunk of his (after)life into reaching a position where they can be equals again, and here rukia is fucking it all up with her "antics" as he later calls them. and if he's been living with the idea that rukia won't talk to him because of the gulf in their social status and here she is living amongst humans (not sure where humans sits on the soul society social hierarchy but i'm gonna guess they're not even considered they're so low) it probably brings up some deep resentments, i don't think renji has the heart to truly stay pissed at her for long and when ishida and ichigo step onto the scene they make for much easier targets. this isn't renji at his best, but i can see where he's coming from, and he drops the act completely when it becomes obvious rukia is willing to go to jail for a long time for ichigo's sake.

ok wow this really got away from me and i've forgotten the point i was trying to make BUT tl;dr i think the renruki break up is more complicated than initially presented and there are some incredible unexplored avenues of angst.

[lovekittylover12345]

Shhhh....

Lets let him rest, ok?

Contrary to popular belief, I actually sustain my lifeforce with wholesomeness, thank you very much! @mrssansserif I got it done, and on time! yay! lol. it is definitely a bit of a mess, but paper is hard! I know I probably look like a whiny kid screaming in an aisle at some cursed target somewhere, complaining about paper, lol. Especially when we have these professional “paper enjoyers,” who make amazing art as if it takes no effort at all on paper (I imagine those people as the Giga chads from the meme). This posing was super hard and took hours FR.... *shivers*

This is my OC from my story on Ao3, so not Frans, but I’m sorry if this sort of thing wasn't allowed- I’ll be sure to tag my post just in case. 

And the Bonus! I quite like their reactions, even if they are a bit rushed. 

Papyrus: hehe, ok! (he also likes Sans getting some quality sleep, and I respect that)

Red: h..hey! (jealous, eh?)

Edge: How... crude... Hmm... 

Blue: o....oh...

[uozlulu]

Black Clover chapter 335 reaction and spoilers

Lucius said that to transform Lily he incarnated and then purified a devil, which sounds like these are definitely some kind of angelic form then. So I would think we’re eventually going to hear from some actual angels in person at some point in this arc.

Lucius is going to call these creatures Paladins. He also wants to be Wizard Emperor, which will be interesting to see what the Japanese of that title is since some people translate 魔法帝 (mahoutei) as Magic Emperor instead of Wizard King. I like how this is setting us up potentially for the theory that Julius’ prophecy of the kingdoms ceasing to exist if Asta lives will be because they had to unite against a common enemy and remained united after the enemy’s defeat. Though in that scenario I think they’d be less one united country and more of a EU situation depending on how things go, but that’s a post for another time~

It’s interesting that Lily gets Beezelbub’s power. This probably means we’ll eventually see a Paladin with Megicula’s power. Not sure about anyone with Luciferio’s power since Lucius did eat Luciferio’s heart so I would assume he’s the one with gravity magic at the moment.

Bezzelily vanquishes Asta in a flash of light (probably some kind of spatial magic spell). This knocks Asta into the interior of a tower so we can’t actually be certain that he’s dead. I hope the anime gets to come back because I want to hear Yuuki knock Noelle’s scream out of the park.

The captains arrive too late and Lucius and Bezzelily disappear via spatial magic. Lucius said that there will be seven days until “Judgement Day,” so it’ll be interesting to see what that means for the Shuffle Kingdoms and other places like the Sun Kingdom which might have been dealing with some of this wege aftermath for a while now. Also interesting that we’ve got a week to work with in the timeline. This probably means this arc will last about as long as the last one potentially hopefully this time without the pacing hiccups along the way.

I want to talk about Asta’s potential situation separately because I’ve been thinking up this general theory for a while and I thought it should be separate from the chapter liveblog.

So, I’m thinking Asta possibly not only has no magic but might not have any soul either. This might mean that he’s still alive though badly injured as well. My evidence for this is:

Licita said that her magic stole life force and mana from creatures around her.

Liebe was drawn to Licita because he had no life force or mana.

I think it’s possible that Licita also drew Asta to her, likely for the same reason Liebe ended up arriving. Licita was likely lonely and maybe thought it would be nice to have a family. Asta perhaps was a spirit that had passed on, a soul that had ascended already and that’s why he cannot access mana and also why he might not have any lifeforce either considering Licita’s magic didn’t immediately kill him despite being a baby.

So it’s possible that if Asta is some kind of cursed being or subclass of undead creature, that he either has no ki or he’s some kind of immortal or subclass of immortal, which might be how he was able to have Licita for his mother. I want to hear Yami’s hot takes on this since only he and Asta seem to be able to sense ki so far.

This might also be why Lucius’ magic couldn’t work on Asta, not only does he have anti-magic, but there’s no soul for Lucius to manipulate or Lucius’ soul manipulation magic extends to only certain types of creatures and whatever Asta is is not affected.

Anyway, it’s going to be interesting to also see what the angels think of Asta if/when they show up since he’s probably some kind of abomination.

I could also be completely wrong and part of this arc is going to be Asta and Liebe’s Excellent Hell Adventure, so we’ll see where things go next week.

[elysialm]

G. IMP.ACT VERSE: NATURE/TEYVAT’S REACTION TO ELY.SIA’S PRESENCE.

It is a no surprise that I would dive into something so signification for my G.I. verse as how the energy that exudes Elysia and how her general presence affects the world around her. As the 6.0 PV shows, if she is in her Herrscher appearance, the nature seems to be filled with life, the flowers bloom and the nature blossoms instead of withering away as many Herrschers seem to bring to the nature/world in terms of their destructive nature against humanity. As the world she comes from is not as magical and as filled with positive nonhuman beings, the world of Teyvat is far more susceptible to sense and understand Elysia’s nature.

What does it means? The Ley Lines, the Sacred Sakura, the Irminsul - and more - are far more sensitive to her presence, her energy, and her ego/true self. It is shown through the 6.0 and through how Elysia’s existence/power that she is the representation of how a love nurtures and protects. The fact that Elysia is always surrounded by plant-like motifs alongside crystals (now, with the universe/sky symbolism too), I think that Teyvat will reflect in its yearning for Elysia’s presence as if she were a beloved of the nature as well. It means that the Sacred Sakura would respond to her touch and so would Irminsul, the Ley Lines as well would react to her touch/energy if she were in her Herrscher mode or if she were to use her crystal abilities around her. 

The vitality aspect comes in Elysia’s playstyle even before 6.0 PV, it comes from Elysia’s boss fighting. She s able to steal a person’s HP/lifeforce but 6.0 PV shows that her steps might as well give life back to the ones surrounding her. I do not think she is a healer by any point, I do not think she is able to heal another person or anything like that, but I am sure she greatly affects the world around her as the Herrscher of the Beginning. The nature of Teyvat positively responds to her, the wind would gently caress her and whispers of its adoration for her, the grass would wish to give her the softest cushion to sleep on, the flowers bloom for her to watch them, and the nature itself longs for her to stay and love it as unconditionally as she loves the world/humanity.  

Characters who sense the state of the world like Kazuha, Ganyu, and Mona would easily notice how the air feels different around her and they will be able to immediately know of her good intentions because she does not hide it. IT IS NOT GOD MODDING FOR CHARACTERS LIKE THOSE TO SENSE HOW ELYSIA IS DIFFERENT. As examples: Kazuha will be able to sense the nature respond positively to her and love her, Ganyu would feel how Elysia’s energy is different than Archon’s but it is warm and welcoming, Mona will be able to immediately know that Elysia is not of this world through her astrology but she won’t be able to see anything inside or about her or what will happen to her. I cannot say exactly how Archons would react to her because they do not possess the same type of sensitivity needed to understand Elysia’s nature because it is not exactly in the open as in her world, she couldn’t be found out as a Herrscher when she was younger. It only seems that she is loved by the world itself, but it could be because she was just born like that in Teyvat, but if she does come into contact with Ley Lines or Sacred Sakura/Irminsul, that’s where the big differences lie. 

It does not mean that the enemies will take kindly to Elysia or anything like that. Many would be intimidated but intimidation can cause aggressive reactions as well because her presence has its weight on the sensitive creatures of different elements. A lot of the enemies will continue to see Elysia as an opponent and an enemy because of the energy she carries inside herself as a Herrscher, the difference would certainly make many get into fight or flight reflex, and, usually, it’s a fight reflex.