#a part 2 ... because I couldn't think of a transition

[desiderium-eden]

"Did either of you find any traces of animulla?"

"No. But I didn't really get a chance to look." Lazuli pouted. "The guards have some sort of protection against my charms. And thought I could've got an in with Chercia but then she went and disappeared."

"I didn't sense anything with any weapons during the duels or on the guards."

"Nothing seemed suspicious when I met with Charidynn." Mikhail thought back to the handmaiden. How Souji was quick to approach them at the duels. Granted, lured in by Kyrie. "And if any of the staff knew anything, they probably would've avoided us. Lazuli, what about when you were shot down last night?"

"The arrow was normal. And we never found the guard who did it."

"Maybe they aren't involved?"

Mikhail frowned. They could've stayed, yes. But so many people leaving meant more eyes able to focus on them. Even with the missing royals. No, especially because of the missing royals. It'd only be a matter of time until one of them was caught in a weird place. And given the papers they'd copied, it was best to leave sooner rather than later.

Still, he at least left Phuong behind. She should be able to go undetected for a couple days. In case anything changes with their absence.

Even if Charidynn wasn't currently involved with the missing animulla, if someone were selling it, it was only a matter of time before the emperor would sniff it out. And there was no way he'd pass up a chance to grab something they'd been denying him for years.

[ozzgin]

Its been 6 months😭😭 pleaasseeee make a part 2 of the android x human story im beggingggg😭

-H❤️

Yandere! Android x Reader (II)

Featuring your assigned android partner who is not as devoid of humanity as you originally thought.

Content: female reader, AI yandere, mildly NSFW, based on Caves of Steel

[Part 1] | [More original works]

The case had been solved.

Not only that, but you'd managed to prove that human officers were just as efficient as their robot counterparts. The Commissioner was beyond ecstatic, pacing back and forth in his office and finding new ways to praise your detective skills.

"That'll show those Spacers. They think some glorified tin box can match our skill?"

You frowned at his words and glanced to your side, where the android was sitting. He observed the Commissioner with the same polite smile, no hint of disagreement on his features. Was he not insulted? You questioned him once the formal meeting had finished.

"I have no reason to be offended, (Y/N). It is a personal opinion, and thus I have no control over it."

"So you don't mind people disliking robots to such an extent?"

He pondered your statement.

"I would certainly be upset if it was you who harbored the disdain. The beliefs of other humans hold no meaning to me otherwise."

You couldn't tell if he said it out of politeness, or if he actually meant it. Most likely the former, in order to part on good terms. After all, your partnership has reached its completion. He'd return to the Spacer Colony with his report on human customs, and you'd go back to your regular job.

Except he never left. Days later, he was still sipping on his morning coffee, lounging at your table. You fiddled with your cup in contemplation. Was there anything else left to do?

"When are you leaving, actually?"

The pale man raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"Is my presence here of such significant disturbance?"

"What? No!" you swiftly exclaimed, stumbling on your words. His lips widened in yet another cheeky grin. He was teasing you again.

"My assignment on Earth is done, thus I should have returned to the Colony already. That's what you're wondering about, yes? I am awaiting a response from my superiors."

"Whether you can go back?"

"No, whether my transfer has been accepted. I have applied to be your permanent partner."

You could feel your cheeks burning with heat. Was it that obvious to the synthetic that you enjoyed his company? Then again, he wouldn't have gone through such motions just for your sake.

"Why did you..." you probed sheepishly. There was no logical reason for him to keep working in a poorer, less advanced environment.

"Because I want to continue spending time with you."

Nonsense. An artificial being wouldn't make its decision based on such mundane, emotional reasons.

"I don't believe you."

"I understand. It is a faulty answer to come out of a machine. Though unlike common AI assistants, we have been invested with the capacity to develop likes and dislikes. Interests. Wants. It helps with variety and individualization."

"And you want to stay here? If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you have a crush on me or something", you attempted to joke.

A few moments of uncomfortable silence. Had you gone too far with your humor? Was it too cliché of a sentence? You turned away, tucking some strands of hair behind your ear. You just had to be witty, huh?

"I'm afraid I do not know what to tell you, (Y/N)."

"You don't need to say anything, it was a poor choice of-"

"Many social aspects have been implemented into my behavioral network. Workplace rapport, friendships, intimate relationships. What seems to be lacking is the transition from one to another. I know how to act as a romantic partner, but how does one achieve such a title in the first place?"

You gazed at him, incredulous. What was he trying to say?

"I am trying to convey that I am indeed infatuated with you. Which, then, makes my initial explanation dishonest: while I do appreciate our fruitful work cooperation, it is not a main reason for my decision. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings."

You'd never been a romantic. You sometimes flipped through sample pages of contemporary romance books at stores and community centers, but they always felt forcefully cheesy. Predictable. Consequently, you never had any grand dreams of passionate confessions under the rain.

On the other hand, you also didn't expect to be asked out in such a mechanical, calculated manner. Or that a machine would be the suitor. Yet there was something charming about his approach. For the first time since meeting him at the border, you saw him struggle. There was something human-like in his uncertainty.

You stood up from the table, and walked towards the android. Then, you placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, expressing the mutual feeling and understanding.

His eyes bore an eerie glint to them. It was most kind of you to offer a common ground, but he knew better. The affections you held for him were, with utmost certainty, a mere fraction of whatever overwhelmed him from the moment he encountered you. Limerence, obsession, compulsion, there were many definitions that aptly described his otherwise unexplainable desires towards you. Even more unexplainable was the fact they'd evolved from a blank slate, a programmed agent with no previous knowledge on feelings or humans.

You noticed his hesitation.

"Is there anything else troubling you presently?" you nudged.

Nothing of immediate urgency. Well, not for you, at least. The android remained thoughtful. What were the variables which needed to be met in order to initiate a sexual encounter? Would it have been inappropriate for him to suggest intercourse straight after this conversation? To him, it was a natural escalation he'd considered many times in the past. To you, it could've come as a sudden, crass, and hurried proposal.

He reached for your wrist and discreetly pressed a thumb against your skin. Judging from your resting heart rate, facial expression, and localized temperature, there was a fair chance you wouldn't reject his advances. Once the statistical risk had been assessed, he pulled you in for a kiss.

"Would it be possible to continue this in your bedroom?" he inquired, standing up.

"Alright, just don't...ask for approval for every single step" you retorted. You'd rather not become a narrator of your own pounding.

You open your eyes with a squint, greeted by unexpected natural light flooding your bedroom. Someone must’ve lifted the hologram blinds.

“My apologies, I hadn’t considered the discomfort it would cause you. My Spacer colony uses artificial lightning, though I am becoming rather fond of the natural sun rays here.”

Your android partner is meticulously preparing his outfit for the day. Judging by the stark nakedness and the glistening skin, you suppose he’s had a shower while you were still sleeping. You involuntarily furrow your brows and blush at the sight. He notices your embarrassment. 

“A most surprising reaction. You have seen the very same genital organ…”, he says as he quickly checks his wristwatch, “...precisely eight hours and forty-five minutes ago.”

“It’s just…most people get dressed once they start doing other things. I also wear a towel for coverage when I come out of the shower.”

He processes your words.

“Hmmm. Illogical, but it explains your reaction.”

You stand up and stretch with a prolonged yawn. Suddenly, a revelation hits you: your mind flashes with images of the android fondling your body, your ears ring with the shameless moans you’ve let out throughout the night. Your face turns pale.

“Listen, when is your next functional inspection?” you ask, without waiting for the synthetic to answer. “Will they, uh…will they have access to all of your memories?”

You know that the android permanently records all data and saves it into a memory unit. It’s a pointless fear, of course. The Spacers couldn’t care less about irrelevant details. If the intended tasks are fulfilled, what happens on the side is out of their concern. Yet you don’t exactly appreciate the possibility of your personal deeds airing like this, before the eyes of multiple engineers. 

“You may rest assured, whatever involves your privacy will not be included in the examination.”

“Do you get to decide what is checked and what isn’t?”

“No, most data is sampled randomly.”

You stare at him, confused.

“Then how-”

“It is not common practice, nor encouraged by our code of ethics. I can, however, choose which information is available to begin with.”

“What? I thought you’re fully controlled by whoever created you. If they so desired, couldn’t they open you up and take whatever they require?”

The robot smiles at your assumption and takes a few steps towards you.

“Once an android model is finished, one can no longer modify the processor. Not without compromising everything else with it. It is not a device to be deconstructed, (Y/N).” He taps his temple, then continues: “I am a biocomputer. While most of my parts are mechanical, my processor is a cortical organoid developed in a laboratory. A human brain, if you will.”

Somehow, the discovery fills you with dread. A living organ, encapsulated within a machine. What does that say about consciousness? About self-awareness? The Spacers didn't just tinker with metal scraps and smart computers. They artificially birthed life.

You were always under the impression that your robot companion is closer to the computer you have on your desk. Billions of lines of code within a black box, which then lead to spontaneous, novel interactions with the outside world. To think that at the very core of his functions lies a clump of living cells...

Perhaps you weren't so different, after all. The line between machines and humans is suddenly blurred.

[thegalleonsnest]

OK since I haven't seen too many people talk about this since twitter news usually strikes pretty fast over here whenever e'usk does anything ever, let me give ya'll the run down on two things that will go live on NOVEMBER 15TH and why people are mass migrating to Blue Sky once more; and provide resources to help protect your art and make the transition to Blue Sky easier if you so choose:

The Block function no longer blocks people as intended. It now basically acts as a glorified Mute button. Even when you block someone, they can still see your posts, but they can't engage in them. If your account is a Public one and not a Private one, people you blocked will see your posts.

They say because people can easily "share and hide harmful or private information about those they've blocked," they changed it this way for "greater transparency." When in reality, this is an extremely dangerous change, as the whole point of blocking is to cease interaction with people entirely for a plethora of reasons, i.e. stalking, harassment, spam, endangerment, or just plainly annoying and not wanting to see said tweets/accounts. or you know, for 18+ accounts who do not want minors interacting with them or their material at all (There is speculation saying these changes are specifically for Elon himself so he can do his own kind of stalking, and honestly, with the private likes change, it lowkey checks out in my opinion)

Also, this straight up goes against and may violate Apple and Google's app store policies and also is straight up illegal in Canada and probably other countries as well.

If this ACTUALLY goes through, twitter will only be available in select countries, probably exclusively in the US, which would collapse the site with the lost of users and stock, and probably be the last push it needs to kill the site. And if not, will be a very sad and exclusive platform made for specific kinds of people who line up with musk's line of thinking.

2. New policies regarding Grok AI and basically removing the option to opt out of Grok's information gathering to improve their software.

And anything you upload/post on the site is considered "fair game" with "royalty-free licenses" and they can do whatever they please with it. Primarily using any and all posts on twitter to train their Grok AI. A few months ago, there was a setting you can opt out of so they couldn't take anything you post to "improve" Grok, but I guess because so many people were opting out, they decided to make it mandatory as part of the policy change (This is mainly speculation from what I hear).

So this is considered the final straw for a LOT of people, especially artists who have been gripping on to twitter for as long as they can, but the AI nonsense is too much for people now, including myself. Lot's of people are moving to Blue Sky for good reason, and from personal experience, it is literally 10x better than twitter ever was, even before elon took over. There is no algorithm on there, and you can save "feeds" to your timeline to have a catered timelines to hop between if your looking for something specific like furry art or game dev stuff. It's taken them a bit to get off the ground and add much needed features, but it's genuinely so much better now

RESOURCES

Project Glaze & Cara

If you're an artist who's still on twitter or trying to ride it out for as long as you can for whatever reason you have, do yourself a favor and Glaze and/or Nightshade your work. Project Glaze is a free program designed to protect your art work from getting scrapped by AI machines. Glazing basically makes it harder to adapt and copy artwork that AI programs try to scan, while Nightshade basically "poisons" works to make AI libraries much more unstable and generate images completely off the mark. (These are layman's terms I'm using here, but follow the link to get more information)

The only problem with these programs is that they can be resource intensive for computers, and not every pc can run glaze. It's basically like rendering a frame/animation, you gotta let your pc sit there to get it glazed/nightshade, and depending on the intensity and power of your pc, this may take minutes to hours depending on how much you wanna protect your work.

HOWEVER, there are two alternatives, WebGlaze and Cara

WebGlaze is an in browser version of the program, so your pc doesn't have to do the heavy lifting. You do need to have an account with Glaze and be invited to use the program (I have not done so personally so I don't know much about the process.)

Cara is an artist focused site that doubles as both a portfolio site and a general social media platform. They've partnered with Glaze and have their own browser glazing called "Cara Glaze," and highly encourage users to post their work Glazed and are extremely anti-ai. You do get limited uses per day to glaze your work, so if you plan on doing a huge backlog uploading of your art, it may take awhile if your using just Cara Glaze.

Some twitter users have suggested glazing your art, cropping it, and overlaying it with a frame telling people to follow them elsewhere like on Bluesky. Here's a template someone provided if you wanna use this one or make your own.

Blue Sky Resources and Tips

So if your a twitter user and your about to realize the hellish task of refollowing a massive chunk of people you follow, have no fear, there's an extension called Sky Follower Bridge (Firefox & Chrome links). This is a very basic extension that makes it really easy to find people on Bluesky

It sorts them out by trying to find matching usernames, usernames in descriptions, or by screen name. It's not 100% perfect, there's a couple people I already follow on Blue Sky but the extension could not find them on twitter correctly, but I still found a huge chunk of people. Also if your worried that this extension is "iffy," they do have a github open with the source publicly available and the Blue Sky Team themselves have promoted the extension in their recent posts while welcoming new users to the platform.

FEEDS and LABELS

OK SO THE COOLEST PART ABOUT BLUESKY IS THE FEEDS SYSTEM. Basically if you've made a twitter list before, it's like that, but way more customizable and caters to specific types of posts/topics. Consolidating them into a timeline/feed that exclusively filled about those particular topics, or just people in general. There's thousands to pick and choose from!

Here's a couple of mine that I have saved and ready (down below). Some feeds I have saved so I can jump to seeing what my friends and mutuals are up to, and see their posts specifically so it doesn't get lost in reposts or other accounts, and also specialized feeds for browsing artists within the furry community.

The Furry Community feeds I have here were created by people who've built an algorithm to place any #furry or #furryart or other special tags like #Furrystreamer or #furrydev. They even have one for commissions, and yes you can say commissions on a post and not have it destroyed or shadow banned. You are safe.

If you want, and I highly recommend it to get visibility and check out a neat community, follow furryli.st to get added to their list and feeds. Once your on the list, even without a hashtag, you'll still pop up in their specialized feeds as just a member of the community there. There are plenty of other feeds out there besides this one, but I feel like a lot of people could use one like this. They even got ones for OC specific too I remember seeing somewhere.

And in terms of labels, they can be either ways to help label yourself with specific things or have user created accessibility settings to help better control your experience on Blue Sky.

And my personal favorite: Ai Imagery Labeler. Removes any AI stuff or hides it to the best of it's abilities, and it does a pretty good job, I have not seen anything AI related since subscribing to it.

Finally, HASHTAGS WORK & No need to censor yourself!

This is NOT like twitter or any other big named social media site AT ALL, so you don't have to work around words to get your stuff out there and be seen. There are literally feeds built around having commissions getting and art seen! Some people worry about bots and that has been a recent issue since a lot of people are migrating to Blue Sky, but it comes with any social media territory.

ALSO COOL PART,

you can search a hashtag on someone's profile and search exclusively on that profile as well! You can even put the hashtag in bio for easy access if you have a specialize tag like here on tumblr. OR EVEN BUILD YOUR OWN ART FEED FOR YOUR STUFF SPECIFICALLY!

So yeah, there's your quick run down about twitter's current burning building, how to protect your art, and what to do when you move to Blue Sky! Have fun!

[judesmoonbeauty]

Once More, An Evil From Which You Can't Return Part 2: Jude Jazza Chapter

This is a fan translation only. Please expect grammatical errors and translation inaccuracies. This is a full translation. Creative liberties are taken for characterization and smoother translation process. Cybird owns everything. Re-blogs are appreciated, but please do not post my translation elsewhere. Thank you for your support! ☾.

I lost my memories and was feeling down about it…..

Every time I experienced the kindness of everyone at Crown, I felt more and more that things couldn't continue like this.

Kate: I can't stay depressed like this forever, so I'm going to try to actively recover my memories.

Kate: So…. I want everyone to try as much as possible to behave the same way they did before I lost my memories.

(If I continue to live the same life, eat the same foods, go to the same places as before...)

(Then just maybe I’ll recall something.)

—That was Roger’s suggestion.

Kate: I know it’s troublesome…but I’d really appreciate your help!

Victor: Kate….!!! How brave and commendable! Let’s all work together everyone!

Everyone in Crown nodded their heads in agreement, but it was still too early to feel relieved.

Jude:…..Fine, but I got somethin’ t’say.

(I knew it….I figured Jude would be the only one unwilling to cooperate…)

Jude: If ya say ya want thin’s like they were b’fore….

(...I'm sure I'll be subjected to some pretty nasty abuse or snide comments.)

Thinking that, I braced myself—

Jude: Then I’ll treat ya like a lover.

Kate: What….?

[Transitions to Common Room]

Kate: Jude…..are you sure this is correct?

Jude: Y’think I'm wrong? Yer gutsy.

Kate: ……

I want to say quite loudly that this is wrong.

Because right now….I am fearfully sitting on Jude’s lap.

This seems to be a part of what Jude was talking about as being treated like a lover.

Jude: ‘Fore ya lost yer memory, ya seemed happy t’get on it.

Kate: I…..don’t remember.

(Jude said he was my boyfriend.....is that really true?)

As I sat on his lap in confusion, he offered me a piece of chocolate.

Jude: Kate, open yer mouth.

Kate: Ah, yes……Hngh.

Jude: Tasty?

Kate: It’s tasty……

But what captivates me more than the sweet taste of chocolate is, the unusually soft smile on Jude’s face….

(Just what did I do before I lost my memory to make Jude turn out like this...?)

After that, Jude invites me out and takes me to his company, Raven Ltd.

Jude: Look familiar?

Kate: No, it doesn’t…..

Apparently as a fairytale keeper, I would visit this place when I had business with Ellis and Jude.

(I would wait for them to finish work, and then go back to Crown with them….)

But even with listening to such stories, I still can’t remember anything.

Jude: …….Well, ain’t like I had expectations.

His profile looked a bit lonely as he muttered, and my heart shook a little.

Jude: Wait ‘ere a bit.

Kate: Sure. Where are you going Jude…?

Jude: Work ‘course. This’s a business.

At that moment, a lively voice echoed from the other side of the hall...

Cheerful Young Man: Kaaaaaate!

Jude: Chat with that guy.

Kate: Huh? Wait, Jude.

As Jude leaves, a cheerful young man approaches.

Cheerful Young Man: Kate, I heard ya got amnesia, are ya okay?!

Kate: I’m sorry to worry you. Umm, what’s your name?

Theodore: Oh, sorry. I’m Theodore Walker, the most popular guy at Raven Ltd. Pleased to meet’cha.

Female Employee: Getting carried away a bit there aren’t you? Theo stop telling Kate lies.

Male Employee: If you don’t tell Kate the truth, won’t she be confused later?

(I wonder if Jude told all the employees I lost my memory?)

Kate: I'm sorry for causing so many people concern.….

Female Employee: I hope you can remember everything soon, Kate.

Male Employee: Once your memory returns, please come and help me with my work again.

Theodore: The prez’s mood’s like night ‘n day when yer not here Kate.

Kate: Is that so….?

Female Employee: It’s all thanks to you Kate, that the president’s attitude has softened a bit!

Theodore: Yeah, I’m INCREDIBLY grateful! I only report mistakes when yer there, Kate.

Theo’s story elicits laughter.

(Looks like before I lost my memories, I got along with the employees at Raven….)

At the same time, things that I hadn't quite believed before were starting to seem real, and my cheeks started to heat up slightly.

(I was shocked when he said he’d treat me as his lover, but maybe Jude and I really were lovers...)

Jude: Oy, whoever’s jabberin’ over there, can ya dash ‘n deliver these documents immediately?

Kate: I’ll go!

(I-I will?)

I reflexively raised my hand, and while the employees stared at me in amazement, Jude simply cracked a smile.

Jude: Leavin’ it to ya then.

Using the map he had drawn for me, I delivered the contracts safely and started to make my way back.

Man With Scarred Cheek: Hey, you Jude’s woman?

Kate: Who are y— !

It was then, that a bag was placed over my head…..

I lose consciousness along the way, and when I regain consciousness, I find myself inside a warehouse somewhere.

(The person who kidnapped me must have a grudge against Jude, right?)

I remember that he was hated by many people.

(What should I do now….?)

However, that worry was quickly alleviated.

Jude: …..G’mornin’, Princess.

Kate: What? Uh? I was kidnapped…..

Jude: This git?

Jude nudges the man lying at his feet with the tip of his shoe.

(He already took care of it…!)

Kate: Thank you for coming to help me, Jude.

Jude: …..

Jude gripped my chin and tilted it up.

Kate: Jude…?

Jude: Was it scary? That kinda thin’s a normal occurrence while datin’ me.

Kate: …..It was definitely scary when I was being kidnapped.

Kate: But….it felt like someone would come and help me.

Jude: Why dont’cha just remember who that someone is quick?

Kate: ………….

As I furrow my brow in thought, Jude quickly grew impatient and released my chin.

Jude: ….Well, never mind. Let’s head back.

Kate: ………….

My heart felt heavy because I couldn’t remember, and when I couldn’t take the hand extended to me, my hand was grabbed forcefully…..

On the way home, Jude held my hand the entire time.

[Master List] [Jude END]

Tags list: @sh0jun @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 @velisle @nateko @greatwitchsongsinger @injudescoat @aeyumicore @complexivelovely @yuoi-the-magnificent @husbandosandladders @nawlink @justgiulia @vickietickie @greedyqueensfavourite @sharigax @belphiesleftpinkytoe @reimy1164 @cosmowgyral @lunaaka @rosalyne08 @8the-perfect-lie8 @voydsoul @goustmilk @kraiyne @midnightsrunaway

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

Hello! I was wondering if I could request a Poly!plastic x reader where the reader is a hockey player at northsore and its hockey szn so every player on the team has to where a suit for a big game coming up but the plastics think reader looks so fucking hot in the suit and might pull them away for a quick make out sesh 🌝 because who would let there girlfriend walk around looking that good without doing something 🤭

Time to Shine part 1

part 2 ||

|| poly!plastics x genderfluid!reader

|| Warnings; public make out session, flirting, pretty Regina focused, hinted at sex, swearing, short drabble, light smut

|| Summary; when reader shows up at school after practice in a suit, they're meet with three needy girlfriends.

Requests open!

Started; october 28th

Finished; october 28th

~~~

Hockey season. You were hyped, you'd been waiting all year for this. This was your time to shine. When you came into school that afternoon wearing a suit after some practice before a big game, your girlfriends nearly lost it. They'd never seen you in a suit before and they definitely weren't complaining. Regina was the first to speak up about it when they walked over to you.

"Jesus Christ, come here." She practically purred, you swore there was more desire in her eyes than normal. Which made you smirk a little.

"What was that?" You couldn't help but tease your favourite blonde.

"Mama, you're going to come to school dressed like that and expect us not to drool? You're like- the definition of fetch right now." Gretchen couldn't take her eyes off you. You laughed a little and looked to Karen, whose eyes were wide and her mouth open.

"Sorry did you say something?" She blinked after a moment, Regina rolled her eyes.

"Don't make me repeat myself." You looked to Regina, whose eyes were now narrowed at you and you grinned. Easily moving closer to her. She grabbed you by the collar of your suit and dragged you to the closest bathroom. The other two following eagerly behind.

When you got there, Regina shoved you into a stall and down onto the toilet before straddling your lap. Her hands cupped your cheeks as she caught your lips in a desperate, needy kiss.

Gretchen and Karen followed after; the four of you cramped up in one stall. While Regina kissed you, Gretchen and Karen kept themselves occupied with each other. Lips moving in sync. Luckily the bathroom happened to be empty, so nobody could hear the soft grunts and moans they made. Regina's hands went to your suit, working to pull it away from your shoulder and leave you in the button up. She broke the kiss, biting your lower lip to get a gasp out of you. Your eyes were already clouded over with desire.

"Fuck you're so hot in red.." Regina muttered, taking in the sight of your red button up. You grinned at her and leaned back.

"I look better without it." If she was going to flirt with you, you were going to flirt right back. She matched your grin and started getting the buttons undone, kissing at your neck. Gretchen came over and leaned up against Regina's back, giving you a deep kiss while Karen kissed at Gretchen's neck. More little moans echoed off the stall. How nobody could hear you you didn't know, you were just grateful the halls seemed to be empty.

The four of you only stopped because of the bell ringing, knowing that the bathrooms get pretty filled during transition times. Regina glared towards the ceiling, she really hated that bell.

"Fuck." She muttered, she looked to you and pointed her finger on your chest," you better keep that on tonight."

"Yes, ma'am." You gave her a joking salute, which got a laugh out of Karen. Knowing you were definitely in for a night.

[gemmascouts]

TILE TRANSITION TUTORIAL

a couple of people have asked me for a tutorial on how I did the penultimate gif in this set, so here goes! this is my first tutorial, so please feel free to reach out with further questions if anything's unclear.

note: this tutorial assumes you know the basics of gifmaking, can create the base gifs, and are familiar with timeline mode.

STEP ONE: create the base gifs! I'd recommend staying between 25-40 frames for each gif, since the transitions we'll use later tend to increase gif sizes. these are the ones I'll be using for this tutorial:

STEP TWO: create the guide layouts for both base gifs. for this panel, I chose a 4x4 grid — I would recommend keeping the number of "tiles" low because it can get tedious, but have a minimum of 9 (3x3 grid).

now your canvas should look like this:

STEP THREE: create the tiles. this is where the going gets rough; there might be easier ways to do this that I couldn't think of 😭 if there are any please send me an ask!

essentially, in this step we'll cut up the base gifs into smaller squares so that each tile can be manipulated separately when we put both gifs together. to do this, first create a square using the rectangle tool and the guides. then duplicate the base gif, move it above the square, apply a clipping mask, and then convert the clipped gif and square (selected in the image below) into one smart object.

ALTERNATELY: you could duplicate the original base gif and use layer masks to isolate tiles. create a layer mask for the duplicated gif layer and, with the layer mask selected, drag your mouse over a square (using the guide layout) and press delete. then press ctrl/cmd + i to invert the layer mask so that the gif only shows in the square of your choosing.

now repeat until you've got the entire gif in tiles, and do the same for the other gif!

since the transition effect is achieved by staggering the crossfades for each tile of the final gif, you can cheat by having multiple tiles "flip" at a time, ideally no more than four. this means you need to cut the base gif up into fewer pieces. to do this, simply draw multiple squares instead of one and then merge the shapes, before duplicating and clipping the gif onto them.

if you do this, it's essential to remember that you have to divide both gifs up in the exact same way. each piece of the b/w gif has to correspond to a piece of the purple gif!

this is what the layers look like for each gif once I'm done:

I have them lettered so that it'll be easier to match them up in the next step.

STEP FOUR: this is the complicated bit that took me two days to figure out. I'll do my best to explain but don't hesitate to reach out if something isn't clear!

to begin, open up a new psd and import both base gifs into it. (remember to click "create video timeline" and ensure that your gifs are all in order before proceeding.)

now, the trickiest part about this transition is ensuring that all the little tiles sync up so that the larger gif is coherent. so first we'll create some markers (just empty layers) to ensure that everything lines up as it should. — marker 1: at about halfway through the first gif (b/w in this case) — marker 2: at about a quarter of the gif length — marker 3: close to the end of the gifs

at this point we're ready to start bringing in the tiles. I'm going to delete the base gifs from this new psd just to keep things cleaner!

first thing to do is import my b/w tile. move the timeline slider over to marker 1 and split the first gif. (if it helps, rename the split gifs and add (start) and (end) to the two halves.) then, move the (end) half to the beginning of the timeline, and the (start) half to line up with marker 3.

the purple tile is easier to manage. simply import it into the psd and line it up with marker 2.

your timeline should now look like this:

notice the overlap between the gifs at their beginnings and ends — this is where you'll be able to cascade the tiles flipping, so it helps to have a significant amount of overlap.

crop the three gifs for this tile as you see fit! since this is the first tile I want to flip from b/w to purple, I'll crop gif 1a (end) all the way to the current position of the timeline slider (red line with blue tip) and leave the beginning of gif 2a uncropped. for the flip from purple to b/w, I'll crop both gifs a bit.

once that's done, drag all three gifs onto the same level in timeline so they form a video group. your timeline should look something like this:

now you just repeat the process for all the other tiles! as long as you made sure that all the tiles in one gif correspond with tiles in the other gif in step three, this should be a fairly painless process. make sure to crop the starts/ends of the gifs separately so that they don't all flip together.

this is what my layers look once I've done all the tiles:

and the gif!

STEP FIVE: transitions! click on the half-white square (top right of the left column in the timeline, beside the scissors) and select the crossfade transition, then drag it between two gifs in a video group. it should create a two-triangle symbol and shorten the overall length of the video group.

apply the transition to all the tile flips, ensuring that the duration of all transitions is constant. this can sometimes be tricky because ps likes to change the duration of each transition, so right click on the transition symbol and manually change all your transition durations to be the same.

your layers should now look something like this:

STEP SIX: draw the grid. bring back the guide layout from step two and using the line tool (I like 2px thickness), trace the grid. adjust opacity as you see fit (50-80% is usually a good idea), so that the canvas looks like this:

STEP SEVEN: export and celebrate! you're done!

I hope this tutorial made sense and was easy to follow, and happy giffing! my inbox is always open for any questions <3

[circeyoru]

I love all of your works 😍..When I read about Monarch!reader..I also interested in her attitude 😂..I feel like she's going denying Jinwoo until the end and only accept anything related to Ashborn like Bellion and Igris..I feel she will be close to Igris and only show her true attitude to Ashborn,Igris and Bellion.(maybe like a smile) causing Jinwoo to feel dissatisfied and the reader will answer 'I hate you so why do I have to smile to people I hate😂😂

This is for {Shadow and Void}, check MASTERLIST for the work

Thank you for your support!!

Back to the attitude of Reader/you. I guess at the moment it appears that way since it's up to Arc 2. Though thinking that it would stay that way is where you're wrong~ (I mean, this is a slowburn type of story) Yay~ This is perfect to explain a bit and I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum.

From part 5, it's already hinted that Monarch!Reader (aka you) have known the Shadows and have a hold on Ashborn's army. Now keep this one in mind first while we go over the attitude part.

It's obvious that you are starting to warm up in some way and accepting Jinwoo as the successor of Ashborn instead of some vessel to be occupied. Accepting that Ashborn was letting go of the world conquest in a way and the ongoing battle with the Rulers.

Another major part in part 5 is that you are showing vulnerability. Opposite to the persona you have been showcasing to Jinwoo, you were just as weak on the inside as you clung to the figure(s) that made you human. However, as vulnerable as you are, you still couldn't follow through with giving yourself up like Ashborn has and that's where your 'monarch' traits appear. You are cruel, heartless, and indifferent to anything that didn't catch your interest/fancy. You showed that to Jinwoo.

Believe it or not, the banters you have with Jinwoo about Hae-In was you warming up to him and you 'protecting' what you have. It's ironic that you want Ashborn to return as soon as possible but you have been slowly easing into siding by Jinwoo's side. You're greedy and you want both in a way. Yet when things come to pass, Ashborn outweights Jinwoo because he is human. A human that would one day die and leave you. Jinwoo would move on while you are staying still. Even with the overwhelming powers he has now, he was only human. That's why you only showed your obsession with Ashborn's return, clinging onto Jinwoo was a lost cause. You knew more than you let on, you knew nothing about Jinwoo's growing obsession and possessiveness over you because it was something you didn't care. How you protected yourself was being a pain to Jinwoo. The disrespect, the shouting, the scolding, the wanting to get away from him. It's all to protect your fragile self. You wanted back the familiarity you had before.

In Arc 3, the transition of defensive you to accepting will be shown, solifying you being by Jinwoo's side. And Arc 4~ Ohh~ That one should be fun.

Now for the Shadows and original army. Well, if you guys didn't get it from part 5. It's foreshadowing that you will be responsible for opening that massive gate over the city and preparing for Jinwoo to have more allies. You played a hand in hiding the army away from the other Monarchs while waiting for Ashborn to pick a vessel to return. Of course, there's the whole thing with Jinwoo but he's worthy now so... The real army will be returned to the Shadow Monarch.

Let's do a bit of trivia with the Shadows, yeah?

Igris: Obviously knew you already when he was with Ashborn long before Jinwoo. After being in Jinwoo's service, it was a matter of time before you two reunited. He saw how you were protecting yourself from Jinwoo and wanted his old lord back. He could sympathize, in a way. But he also accepted Jinwoo as the new Monarch. He didn't force you to accept, but let it play out. He'll sometimes help you get a breather from Jinwoo in the early days of you being forced to join Jinwoo's side. Beru: While he hasn't appeared in the story as much. He is hostile towards you because you berated his King constantly as someone to be replaced and forgotten. Though, as much as he wanted to give you an attitude, he couldn't. Not because Jinwoo tolerated it but due to the oppressive aura you'd exerted. It minds him of Jinwoo being mad and murderous, but you exerted that so casually that his instincts screamed at him not to get on your bad side. His view of you change after you had easily defeated Hae-In because that woman got on his nerves. In his (and the other Shadows) mind, you were the one rightfully supposed to be by Jinwoo's side as a significant other. All kings need their queen, and you hold that position. If you weren't called to be Hae-In's opponent and he was (basically the original storyline), then he would have attempted to actually kill Hae-In for trying to take your place by his master's side. The other Shadows: They saw that Jinwoo was getting more and more touchy-feely with you and they do their best to help. Their lord was strong and you were strong, it was a perfect match up!

Overall... Your attitude towards Jinwoo is slowly beginning to change to the point that the Jinwoo x Reader moments are coming up. So do wait for those~~

[jenny-in-a-jar]

🌈 2 Days Until my Surgery 🌈

(Picture taken June 8th, 2024)

I'm very very excited for my surgery (it's my second gender affirming surgery but this one is more significant to me since it'll be top and bottom surgery) and I'm obviously counting the days until it and I thought some people might be interested in my trans journey 🏳️‍⚧️ I finished up most of the story yesterday so today I'll queerness bc it's pride month under the cut! 🌈🌈🌈

But you can read through my journey starting here

First, let's talk about this outfit. Yes, I bought the shorts and top at Spencer's and honestly you can easily find someone who matches it at a large enough pride event. But, it's hard for me to not be sentimental about it. Especially since I wore it at least once the last three years.

(Pictures taken June 11, 2022 and June 10, 2023)

And you can see how it and I have subtly changed these last three years of my transition. (Too bad I didn't have for my first year of transition but such is life 🤷‍♀️). And every year I get excited to wear it again!

Because being queer means a lot to me. I wasn't one of those people who always knew they were queer. But, I never felt connected to my cishet peers either. It's odd looking back and thinking about how my normal group of friends were cishet but at things like summer camp and then college I would quickly make friends with queer people. I really wanted to be like them but couldn't know why because I felt like I didn't deserve to be as cool and free as them.

But, when I let myself dive head into queerness I finally realized that I queer people are mostly awkward nerds and all of them just want to live their lives as fully honestly themselves. And that I could relate to. And that's what made it easy for me "to rip off the band-aid" and transition. It's what let me walk out into a world where I knew I would get hateful stares because I knew I wasn't alone. And seeing how other queer people's eyes light up when they see me showed me I made the right decision because I made them feel less alone too.

And making friends in the queer community is so much easier than in the cishet community. Because there's a lot more likelihood that they'll understand your awkwardness and admire your weirdness. I said earlier that I had gone to a few house parties and actually enjoyed myself for the first time. I think the best way to show why is this anecdote. I remember being in this circle of people standing around awkwardly silent and then someone said "I'm autistic and house parties make me uncomfortable can someone start talking?" and someone replied with how they felt the same way and how they felt the same way and then a conversation started about how hard parties are and social interactions in general but we were glad to be here and to try to connect with people.

And I love studying queer history a lot. Mostly because I'm curious how I would fit in to a time/culture in history. But also I love seeing how we don't fit in existed and how society understood our non-conformity. We have always existed. Queerness is part of the human condition.

The queer community is far from perfect. We all come from very different backgrounds and often have biases we need to work on. But, it's worth it to carve out your place in the community and to find people who understand and support you and to reciprocate for them. Because the alternative is being alone.

And we all deserve to feel loved, in whatever form you need. And because I'm feeling sentimental so here's a picture of me and my love 🥲

(Picture taken June 8th, 2024)

I have one last update before my surgery tomorrow where I'll look towards the future ✨

Next part

[floridecuts]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Epilogue Bonus

And here's the next part, with 3 more pages! Couldn't wait so I uploaded it a bit earlier! Thank you very much for the nice tag comments again, I'm reading and treasuring all of them!! I'm really glad there's people who enjoy this comic idea! Hope you're gonna stick around some more, because there's still a lot coming!

Sadly, it's not going too well for Yashiki at the moment. Mashita's gotta think of something to help him. I really enjoyed drawing Daimon here, he's one of my favorite mark bearers and we definitely will be seeing him again in this story!

I hope the transition between the 3rd and fourth page wasn't too confusing. Adding a chase scene with The Departed would've taken longer than I would have liked (and also challenging to draw) so I chose the easy way out with that skip. What's supposed to happen there is that Mashita shooting at The Departed scared them off long enough to free Yashiki and make a run. The Departed kept chasing them trough the forest but they managed to keep them at a distance (probably with more shooting from Mashita's site).

Thanks for taking a look! :)

[12woso12]

Angry woman

Part 3

Part 2 here

TW: Some tough topics, look after yourselves

The greatest show

It had only been a few days since the first training session with Arsenal, and the weight of the transition was still settling on your shoulders. Every minute felt like a negotiation between your past and your future—like you were caught between two worlds, neither of which felt fully like home.

But tonight was different.

Alessia had insisted that you join her and a couple of other teammates for a casual movie night. She’d been nudging you about it for days, telling you how it’d be a “fun way to get to know the girls,” and how “they’re way cooler than you think.” At first, you’d hesitated. After all, you were still adjusting to everything, still felt like the new kid. But Alessia had a way of making you feel like you were part of something bigger, something you hadn’t quite figured out yet, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

You walked into Alessia's apartment, palms sweating and beyond ready to run in the other direction, feeling that familiar sense of anticipation and uncertainty—like showing up to a first day of school. The girls were already there, sprawled out on the couch, the kitchen counter littered with popcorn, snacks, and takeout containers.

Victoria Pelova, or Vic as Alessia called her, was sprawled on the floor with a blanket thrown over her, sipping something from a glass with a knowing grin. She had a sly, mischievous air about her that reminded you a little of Alessia—playful but sharp. Then there was Kyra Cooney-Cross, sitting next to Vic, fiddling with her phone while her feet bounced to some rhythm only she could hear. Kyra was your age, and the second Alessia introduced you to her, you could feel the instant connection. She reminded you a little of Grace Clinton.

“Y/N, you made it!” Alessia grinned as you stepped in, pulling you into a quick hug before gesturing to the others. “Make yourself at home, I'm afraid we're watching The Greatest Showman tonight.”

You rolled your eyes, already knowing Alessia’s taste in movies. It wasn’t the first time she’d dragged you into something cheesy, but at this point, you were just happy to be part of the group.

“Just remember, I’m not responsible for any emotional breakdowns if you get too invested in the love story,” Vic teased, her accent thick and playful. She looked at you with a glint in her eye. “Are you prepared to cry?”

Kyra shot you a grin. “Oh, trust me, the real question is how many tissues you’ll go through. Vic cried the last time we watched this—what was it, the third time in a row?”

“Hey,” Vic said, raising her hand in mock defense. “That was a moment. A deep emotional experience.”

Kyra snorted. “It’s okay, Vic. We won’t judge you for being a big softie.”

You felt a grin tug at the corner of your mouth. The playful, easy camaraderie between them was infectious, and suddenly, the weight of everything else didn’t seem so heavy.

As the movie started, you sunk into the oversized beanbag chair that Alessia had pulled out for you. The smell of popcorn filled the room, and for the first time in a while, you felt like you could breathe.

Suddenly, you found yourself laughing along with the others. Kyra’s laugh was loud and uninhibited, the kind of laugh that made you want to laugh just because it was so infectious. Vic, on the other hand, was effortlessly witty, tossing in sarcastic remarks that only added to the fun.

“You’re really quiet,” Kyra said, nudging you with her elbow halfway through the movie. Her eyes were twinkling with curiosity, like she was trying to figure you out. “I thought you were suppose to be loud and angry...according to the BBC"

You chuckled lightly, not sure how to respond. After a second, you brush it off. You were fine just a little overwhelmed but it was nothing you couldn't handle.

“I'm just relaxing” you said quietly, smiling at no one in particular. “I need to get myself one of these beanbag chairs Less. I could fall asleep"

Kyra raised an eyebrow. “"Y/N, you’re basically living the dream. You just made a huge move from United to Arsenal. You’re practically a football god in this city. Ask the club to get you a damn bean bag if you want one, they'll run to your every beck and call”

You smirked but shook your head. “I'm not as important as everyone is making out, trust me"

Vic looked up from the floor, a knowing look in her eyes. “Y/N, no offence but are you always this stupid? You're easily the best player of your generation She paused as Kyra huffed but didn't object. "There's a reason clubs all over the world wanted you."

The words landed differently than you expected, like a quiet affirmation that you belonged here.

Kyra nudged you again, her grin returning. “Yeah, miss big shot. Go march into Renee's office tomorrow and demand a bean bag"

"I think i need to demand for an apartment first" you joked

The laughter that followed was easy, unburdened, and for that moment, you felt your anxiety start to slip away. You hadn’t realised how much you’d needed it—real, unscripted fun with people who genuinely liked you.

The movie had wrapped up a while ago, but no one was in any rush to leave. Instead, the room was alive with chatter, laughter, and more than a little teasing. Kyra and Vic were now in a heated discussion about whether The Greatest Showman could be considered a “true” musical or just an overhyped concert movie. Meanwhile, Alessia was curled up next to you, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she listened in on the banter.

“You know,” Alessia mused, nudging you with her elbow, “this was a good idea. You should hang out with us more often.”

You glanced over at her, smiling. “Yeah, I didn’t expect to have this much fun.”

Kyra raised an eyebrow. “Oh, trust me, we’re just getting started. I’ve got a whole list of movies that’ll make you laugh until you cry.”

Vic piped up from across the room, grinning. “And I’ll make sure to keep the musicals to a minimum. We’ll go more with the horror next time, yeah?”

“No. Absolutely not,” you said, shaking your head.

The night wound down with more jokes, more light-hearted banter, until eventually, Alessia stood up and stretched, giving you a playful nudge. “Alright, newbie. Time to hit the hay. We’ve got training tomorrow, and trust me, we’re gonna work you hard.”

“Bring it on,” you said with a grin, a little more relaxed now. “I can take it.”

After a few more laughs and goodbyes, you left Alessia's apartment. The crisp night air nipped at your skin as you stepped out onto the street, but it didn’t feel as cold anymore. The weight of your thoughts was lighter, the nagging, constant pressure that had followed you for so long now seemed distant—almost forgotten.

As you walked up the stairs to your apartment and unlocked the door, the feeling of lightness began to fade. The moment you stepped inside, everything changed.

The air felt heavier again. The room was quiet, too quiet, and as you placed your bag on the table, you felt the old, familiar weight settle back on your chest. The smile that had lingered on your lips slipped away, replaced by a gnawing emptiness.

You kicked off your shoes and walked over to the window, staring out at the lights of the town. From here, everything looked peaceful. Arsenal was a world of possibilities, of new starts, and yet—here you were, standing in the shadow of everything you’d left behind.

The memories crept in like the cold breeze that fluttered through the window cracks. They didn’t care about your new start, your new team, your new life. They were relentless, reminding you of the darkness that had clung to you for so long.

Manchester United.

David Coben.

The words were like a whisper in the back of your mind, a chill that crawled down your spine. You could almost hear his voice, taunting you, reminding you that no matter where you went, no matter how far you ran, he’d still be there, lurking in the shadows.

The sound of his footsteps echoed in your memory—the way he always found you, the way he made you feel small, like nothing more than a piece of his game. The fear, the anger, the helplessness—it all came rushing back in a tidal wave. You could almost feel the walls of the United locker room closing in on you, the suffocating pressure, the isolation.

You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to push the memories away, but it was like trying to keep the tide from flooding the shore. The darkness had followed you here.

The room felt suddenly cold, too cold, and your hands trembled as you gripped the windowsill. No, you told yourself. You’re not there anymore. You don’t have to carry this.

But no matter how hard you tried, the memories wouldn’t leave. They stuck to you like glue, tugging at your heart, your mind, like a weight that refused to be shaken off.

You didn’t want to feel this way. You wanted to be free.

You wanted to let yourself laugh, to breathe without that constant pressure. You wanted to live in the now, to savor the joy you’d found in Arsenal’s warm welcome, in the laughter of your teammates, in Alessia’s bright smile.

But then you heard the sound of footsteps in your memory again. You saw his face—the smirk that had haunted your dreams—and in that moment, you knew the past wasn’t done with you yet.

For now, you could only stand there, staring out into the town. The lights below seemed so far away, as if they belonged to a different life, a different version of you.

You turned away from the window and walked over to the couch, dropping onto it heavily. The laughter from earlier still echoed faintly in your mind, but now it seemed distant, like a dream you could barely remember.

You wanted to believe that the future, Arsenal, would give you the freedom to be someone else—to be the version of you that was happy, whole, and unbroken. But the memories lingered, lurking in the corners, waiting for you to slip up.

You didn’t know if you could ever escape them, or if you even deserved to.

But for tonight… you could at least pretend. You could close your eyes and imagine a world where the past didn’t exist, a world where the only thing that mattered was the team you were a part of now, the friends you had just started to make, and the future that might one day be within reach.

Tomorrow would come with its own challenges, but for tonight… you let yourself breathe.

You let yourself believe.

And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.

[betweenthescarletmoon]

On Mage!Viktor / the Hexcore's Involvement on the Transformation of Jayce

Incoming loooong post to encompass my massive brainrot about jayce. you've been warned <3

This post, written by @xenorat, made me consider how the Hexcore was the main player behind the whole timelines thing. Of course it explains why the world is an exact replica of what our Jayce's future would become and why Mage!Viktor himself doesn't look like the Machine Herald we know.

The OP also explained how the stone Viktor gave (was it due to the Hexcore or Viktor himself?) could've led Jayce to feel this frenzied, feral rage that goes against his own nature. His natural reaction to violence is usually horror, becoming sick, and profound guilt when he's the cause of it.

However!! Because I'm insane, I've been thinking for months about a theory/headcanon on why Jayce is sometimes violent and sometimes he seems to return to himself, which can work directly with the one that xenorat introduced.

And that theory is:

Mage!Viktor fused alternate versions of Jayce because he knew Jayce couldn't possibly fulfill his promise on his own.

TL;DR: Jayce's transition from feral and violent to calm and compassionate is not clear, but Act II and the scene with him and Mel in Act III show how Jayce may not be in complete control of his actions. Instead, as his physical frame glitches and the visions plague him, or in less visually obvious moments, his demeanor changes and flickers, as if our Jayce is switching with another versions of him. I also shamelessly self-plug about my newly posted oneshot that's gonna be part of my sad bookstreet/jayce-centric series.

Needless to say, I never understood Jayce's act iii arc, especially because he went from this:

to this:

in the span of like, a few weeks at most??

Although the writing and pacing of Act 3 leaves much to be desired for Jayce, Act 2 gives us really exciting clues about what could've been the explanation to Jayce's predicament. Its vagueness is fascinating, because the fandom has such different interpretations to it. Is it PTSD? Is it the self-annihilating nature of the Anomaly? Is it the infection of the world that burrowed into his leg, or the one from the stone that's spreading in his arm? Is it a side effect of witnessing the Cosmic Horrors? Or is it because he's fighting himself? Or rather, alternate versions of himself? Seven, to be exact?

As we can see in the gif above, as well as in most of his conversation with Salo, there seem to be various other versions of Jayce that have just been merged.

It is important to note that, in the novel experience of living in one body, or because of the presence of the Anomaly, Jayce experiences these magnetic-like pulls, in which a part of him seems to either separate or pass through.

I'm sure you've noticed the rest of these instances, especially this one:

But this could also be why he looked like this after killing Salo:

And like this after almost killing the child in the Commune:

(credit to @cruelcomfort-deactivated2024120 on this post, sadly i couldnt find the gif so i uploaded it here)

In every instance, it looks like he wavers in differing levels from whatever violence he has, is, or could've committed. With Salo, the horror almost breaks through the rage, but it fails. With the kid, it's like he slowly snaps out of the haze of fury (visually, the strobing effect and vignette fade away, which tells us that his vision is literally clearing); and all that he is left with is just that same horror. But with Viktor, there is simply chaos. Screaming and weeping and a glimpse of one breaking the vow once again (because he looked at Viktor right before he could kill him. oh i am ill).

Who controlled the body to fulfill the vow, I don't know. I'm willing to believe the act of killing his partner was so traumatizing, it was like we were witnessing an Arcane-ified, violent version of a mind dissociating to the point of an identity split. Y'know, like DID, but not exactly.

I frankly think the writers are kinda cowards for not showing us more of this or giving us more hints as to what is actually afflicting him, unless the mystery IS the point. BUT!! There is one more scene in Act III, where Fortiche left us clues about the alternate Jayces (or at least one of them) one last time.

This scene:

Though Jayce is already triggered and distrustful of Mel from the beginning of this scene, it is here where his entire demeanor slowly changes into that agony and pure rage we've seen before. The vision causes him to jerk in pain and start to shake. His grip on the Mercury Hammer grows tighter. But the most interesting detail is the most surreptitious one: his head warps with one or both eyes, perhaps the gaze of another version of himself.

Interestingly, he does not go to harm Mel as I feared on my first watch. Instead, he pushed her away to shoot, almost as if on instinct. As I looked into this 19 sec clip with Mel, I realized that he was angry but stable right before the first vision. Then a sort of struggle began, as if he is genuinely trying to hold himself back, or to push through the visible pain the arcane is putting him through. But every time he is overwhelmed by this pain, or he is falling deeper into that unnatural, feral rage, we see those eyes.

For context:

(Look above the corner of the left brow and you'll find a subtle eye under his bangs. This happens when he sees his first vision in the scene.)

The eyes become more and more obvious as time goes on. Or interestingly, the longer he closes his eyes, the more we can see these other eyes.

(They look bitter and dark, but also exhausted. How long have they been at this? And why only one pair of eyes? Have the others found rest when they fulfilled their promise of killing Viktor? Honestly, we'll never know.)

But then, when the chromatic aberration (that red, green, purple, and blue distortion of reality to show the Arcane's influence on him) intensifies, we see how our Jayce's eyes and this other gaze seem to merge, exactly when Jayce is on the cusp of violence.

This last one is right when he pushes Mel to shoot at Viktor. It is like they almost become one to attack Viktor again.

We don't see any internal war in Jayce in like the rest of the episode, as well as the finale. Which sucks. It was so cool and it got resolved off-screen ig? Where is that much-needed transition between Jayce "my partner died in this room" Talis and this other Jayce "all i want is my partner back" Talis? Who is ours? Or, even more interesting: did they fuse completely? It would explain their stability surely. And this internal healing could also explain his sudden ability to extend compassion and love towards Viktor in a way he couldn't for Mel.

(And don't tell me it's because he didn't love Mel. My man NEEDED to have a scene that portrayed just how badly that apocalyptic isolation messed him up. If anything, his behavior with Mel is TEN TIMES more realistic than his behavior with Viktor in the astral realm. Maybe the astral realm is the key to his change? But still, Jayce is a man who loves at heart. He was pushed to unimaginable suffering and violence that would make even Silco balk, but you can tell he still cares about Mel and Viktor despite this.)

Anyway!!

If you're a bit crazy and obsessed with trauma like me, then perhaps you might be interested in reading the fic series I've got in the works! I decided to post the prologue to contribute to the small but growing Jayce-centric fics, and more importantly to explore this theory through writing.

[evieelyzabethh]

Oh oh! I think I’d be so cute in streamer au if, after a while, Viktor is okay to come on stream here and there, though, mostly being off to the side where he isn’t seen and just talks. However, one day, he’s comfortable to be in camera once, though with mask (and maybe sunglasses on) to more or so keep anonymous, and so they do a baking stream and couple qna when the oven is being used

i'm still having streamerau!Viktor thoughts, so i'm using this to drop part 2...hope no one minds 🎀

oh! also, thanks to @lillycore for the thirst trap idea, your brain is humongous

streamerau!Viktor who fights the urge to crash the fuck out every time Jayce sends him an edit of you. Jayce, being a good friend of both of yours, shows his support of your channel through his secret editing account (he's a velocity warrior). This is made even funnier because Jayce himself is a streamer!!! Surprisingly, he starts out as a more traditional dude bro gamer, playing a lot of COD, Fortnight, PUBG, and then eventually transitions into DND because he sucked ass and got tired of 12-year-olds yelling at him in lobbies. streamerau! Jayce also sends you edits to annoy you. You try to send some back, but they really don't bother him at all.

streamerau!Viktor who, once introduced to the world of edits, absolutely despises the amount of thirst you get. You have a primarily female audience, so outrageous thirst comments aren't something that happen often in your chat, and when it is, it's incredibly confusing to decipher. He spent ten minutes trying to figure out what "I'm (s)creaming" meant. It was just so stupid to him he couldn't wrap his head around it

streamerau!Viktor whose voice is introduced into the streams before his face. He starts sitting in your recording room while you stream, where he'll crack a few jokes or give you some of his notorious "pro-tips". While the demand for him is still high but he's not ready to show his face on camera, you'll do couples Q&A's in your living room or kitchen, pulling from a bunch of commonly asked questions from your comment section, Twitter, or Insta. It's a shame he wears a mask the whole time because he has a very expressive face to match some of the insane questions you receive. Usually these Q&A's happen while you make some sort of sweet treat, the stream ending after the goods are finished and you feed them to him off camera, signing of with Viktor giving a thumbs up to the camera signaling the "Grim Stamp of Approval".

streamerau!Viktor who makes a guest appearance on your Halloween live stream, though hiding behind some shades, a plague doctor mask, and one of his suits. You pleaded with him to be a plague doctor since he already had the physique of a sickly Victorian child. He originally was gonna be a sheet ghost and call it a day but noooooo you said he had to put in a little effort to sit on your couch and play the Halloween DLC of some stupid FNAF game

He refuses to touch the controller and simply sits on the side with his arms crossed over his chest, his legs spread a little, his cane to the side, judging every move you make while everyone collectively loses their shit in the chat. Don't let him have some gloves on either, the girlies are salivating (someone draw some fanart of PlagueDoctor!Viktor and my life is yours). He doesn't get it. It doesn't help that when he notices, his immediate reaction is to degrade your chat for "being some dirty perverts" and that sets them off even more.

streamerau!Viktor who finally does his face reveal during a collab with you and streamerau!Jayce for a DND game. It's highly anticipated, they even make a very cinematic trailer for it. They set the scene dramatically, the dungeon master flickering the lights, whoever's behind the camera doing the close up of the doorknob jiggling, the door eventually swinging open to reveal a cloaked and masked Viktor, the camera cutting just as he begins to take it off. Needless to say, Twitter explodes when the stream finally airs and they finally get to see the masked mystery man.

streamerau!Viktor who after his big reveal becomes a regular feature in your content. You eventually shift to different types of streams, movie reviews, a cooking series, rating tv shows or albums that came out that year. Cooking with Viktor specifically got very popular, something about that accent and the camera close ups on his hands really got the people going. Your dynamic also adds fuel to the fire. You both have a very flirtatious relationship, often spending most of your streams dropping dirty jokes trying to see who would crack first. Every time things get too hard, he jokes that you could just cut the stream, and he eats you instead. He stops making that joke after you say you don't have to cut the stream, and people wouldn't stop begging for an OnlyFans drop for months.

streamerau!Viktor who eventually becomes a part of your new Minecraft series. It may just be one of the only games he's good at, though he is the first to admit it's harder than it looks. He blinks and you already have a full set of iron gear and are trying to get him to go cave hunting with you and he's barely cut down a tree. He's far more of a builder than a miner, often opting to stay "home" whilst you go out and get building materials for the both of you. He has never been more than a hundred blocks from your very gorgeous blocky house but most definitely has a full set of enchanted diamond armor

streamerau!Viktor who also introduces the New Years tradition to your channel where you spend New Years on stream while slowly getting drunker throughout the night. This stream is usually one of the much longer ones, inviting your friends as guest stars. Obviously, Jayce, but also Mel who joins in on the initial DND session which eventually devolves into drunk baking and an even drunker never-ending match of Monopoly. The only reason things stay even minutely contained is because you bribe Ekko to babysit. He does get in on the fun, just without the alcohol (he took a quarter of an edible at like 6 and cross fading is very not good)

[dawntread]

never again shall i know a body that was only my body. this body has born monsters.

— VIERAPRIL, DAY 8: Weakness

(CW: brief discussion of SA under the cut)

caption was gonna be longer but then i couldn't find a way to explain everything that's going on here and in the caption in a way that made a whole lot of sense but, like, yes this is "in from the cold" angst because how could i not but this is also light corruption angst. because the body musical chairs and nearly turning into an uncontrollable monster are very similar traumas and kind of compound each other. because if a game has stuff about bodily agency (possession, bodynapping, etc.) then not only will i absolutely take advantage of its presence, i will also do a sexual violence/abuse metaphor about it if it makes sense to do so. which i have a hard time thinking of "in from the cold" as anything but because it is very hard for me to not see zenos and my wol as anything other than "stalker guy who will absolutely not take the hint that his enemy (love interest) isn't into him and doesn't want to rip out his throat and dig around in his intestines (have sex with him), and so will go to increasing lengths to pressure them into doing what he wants them to because he will not take no for an answer" i totally respect other readings it just does not work with My Guy in particular because there is no universe out there where she was anything other than deeply honestly terrified of him.

but this isn't just about zenos and the bodynapping, this is also about the light corruption, and so this is also about g'raha. to be clear, g'raha is absolutely Not Like That. and, as i talked about in my crystal exarch/hydaelyn parallels post: the exarch is kind of the instrument for the wol going through ARR 2: electric boogaloo, but with eating lightwardens instead of killing gods and collecting crystals. and if the g'raha to crystal exarch transition is a form of apotheosis, the wol being brought to the first because someone needs to hold all the corrupted light (until the exarch can take it upon himself and hop into the rift and go die) is like, jesus christ, or whatever /lh.

all of that to say is that although it is done with the aim of saving her life, the exarch is part of a process where yroh'a nearly loses all of herself to this Thing that's been growing in and through her. because his plan doesn't go through.

so anyway. that's why g'raha is here in this scene rather than someone like thancred who has a bit more experience with the possession stuff (and killing someone you care about while going through that, too). because it's about him as much as it's about zenos and he knows that.

throws up hands. anyway. go my scarabs.

[kieraknightleys]

at this point it almost feels like joe alwyn was the one kept locked away for 6 years because the man couldn't fill up his car or get a haircut without getting stalked. the photos coming out now are at events where he has an opportunity to know it's coming, select his clothing and styling, wear a pin representing a cause that's important to him. he has control of his appearances now instead of gritting his teeth during pap walks for backgrid.

we know how ts feels when she feels the narrative is being pulled out of her control ("gaslit by an entire system"). a sense of control over one's own life seems essential for sanity and i don't think it's fair for people to gloss over the part where she agreed to the level of privacy he needed and publicly endorsed it during some of her media statements made during the relationship (which i applaud for being unusually restrained and mature at the time). extreme extroverts and extreme introverts can try to make it work but neither is wrong if it doesn't work (if the breakdown is specifically about that difference between them) and it's kinda crappy to couch it in terms of "being locked away" now. especially since some of the locking away was due to a global pandemic.

joe alwyn wasn't on my radar for most of the 6 years except 1) i felt her music entered a new era of relationship contentment and grown up sensuality that reflected late 20s/early 30s womanhood and then transitioned into a more literary set of albums (folkmore) that had a broader focus thematically and 2) i heard little about him and there was effectively zero romantic drama for 5 full years. what a break for her (and us!).

now i'm more impressed by him than ever. he's quiet in the wake of it all, focuses on his industry commitments and the work he's doing, and absolutely glows with newfound relaxed joy. i absolutely do not think women shouldn't be entitled to have strong, deep emotions and write about those experiences. her work is perhaps the strongest ever in terms of conveying a feminine quixotic, idealized romantic viewpoint and then the flipside of idealizing (it's giving BPD!!!) which is devaluation/disillusionment/disenchantment, resentment, feelings of being deceived or let down ("maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up" being the early and best example).

the way joe has handled this, though, has made his status in my mind go from "just some guy" to an example of stability and fortitude that interests me. I personally believe that not publicly suffering is not necessarily a sign of callous lack of empathy - sometimes it means maturity and perspective. sw*fties harassing her exes want/ed to see a public mea culpa/punishment/expression of suffering that they feel equals their idols' - it's giving fatal attraction from those fans. maybe we don't need our past partners to suffer. maybe processing feelings involves personal reflection and doesn't require another party.

i'll leave off with this to support idealization/devaluation (the classic bpd trend):

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel

Say you're sorry, that face of an angel

And I damn sure would've never danced with the devil

Dear reader, when you aim at the devil

He looks up, grinning like a devil

[ofswordsandpens]

Finale Thoughts

The show stuck the ending far better than I thought it would and when compared to the preceding episodes it knocks it out of the park. That being said, I think because the bar was so low going in, that it makes this episode feel spectacular when really every episode should have done this well, at minimum.

Solo Lessons and Ares Battle

I'm so happy they included the one-on-one training sessions with Luke since its so essential to foreshadowing. I also liked the setting in the woods but why was it like autumn/fall in the flashback lol? However, I think that did unintentionally add a dreamlike quality to the scene which I did really like so whatever I'm here for it.

That being said I do wish these scenes were in episode 2/3 alongside the other chb stuff instead of being a flashback in the finale because it makes it just so on the nose that Luke's the traitor. However, the shot panning from Luke's extended sword to Percy's on the beach ate I can't lie.

Honestly it may have been interesting if they had established some of the solo lessons early on in episode 3 and then done periodic flashbacks to expand on them throughout the series. That way, its not so obvious that Luke's the traitor in the final hour and we also get cool transition shots and establishing that Percy is thinking about what he's learned from his lessons with Luke.

#Relieved that the Ares and Percy fight was not a single sword strike and then cut to black. Glad we had some action. Still think we should've pushed the limits much harder tho.

Oh but Percy's wave did go hard. They actually made the wave much bigger than what happened in the book and now I'm just sitting here wondering why we couldn't see some more of this instead of 10,000 cut to black scenes every time Percy uses his powers.

I wish we had gotten this Ares's reaction from the book when he lost: "The roar that followed made Hades’s earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide." Show Ares's reaction seemed so anticlimactic in comparison.

And no curse???? huh??

I know Ares was like "we're enemies 4 life now" but the curse and dialogue from the book goes so unbelievably hard: “You have made an enemy, godling. You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware.”

Why couldn't show Ares say that??

Olympus, Zeus, & Poseidon

[Insert aw, she's ugly John Mulaney Meme]

sorry Olympus could've should've been prettier.

Like Olympus in the book felt a lot more wondrous and lush and colorful. But in the show it seemed so dull. Idk if its cause the "war's happening" or whatever it was just bland. a wash of dull-looking cgi and then an instant cut to the Big Palace.

Lance Reddick's Zeus was amazing tho. He had that godly presence I've been waiting for.

And Toby Stephens's Poseidon? oh I loved it.

I especially loved their conversation in greek.

I still wish however they would have done effects on the gods' eyes. Like glowing with energy or something when they get emotional. I felt like I was waiting to see electricity burst from Zeus when he was yelling at Percy.

And so it turns out that the reason why they changed it to Percy missing the deadline in the show was to create a situation in which Poseidon surrenders a war for his son.

And listen, if this scene existed in a vacuum I'd be so here for it. I guess a part of me can't fathom the solstice being anything other than a hard deadline. I enjoy the scene without context, within context I have mixed feelings about it.

But the "do you dream?" convo between Percy and Poseidon. Oh my god no notes. I loved it.

Some more book dialogue that I wish made it: “You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.”

Luke's Betrayal

Okay here's where we get some high highs and low lows.

Some things I sincerely liked:

The setting. Fireworks going off in the background. The lantern illuminating the side of Luke's face with the scar. So visually nice.

Luke actively trying to recruit Percy! I've always joked that if Luke was just a little smarter he would have tried to persuade Percy to join his side rather than immediately kill him. And I do like that the show went this direction.

While I do mourn the loss of the scorpion them battling via swords is a great subversion of the sword mentor/mentee dynamic they share. It makes the scene tense and fast pace.

And its all of the above that makes me wonder why we didn't have more of this throughout the show: talking while battling, visually appealing and dynamic settings, unique visuals, etc.

I love how triggered Luke was at Percy's mention of meeting Hermes. I still hate how much Hermes introduction bogged down the show but damn if it didn't lead to one singular funny moment.

Percy getting a hit in on Luke and then immediately apologizing

"I didn't think you'd give the shoes to Grover." Oh that was cold.

Walker and Charlie deserve their flowers and more they were fantastic and carried.

Now things I DIDN'T like:

I don't like how Percy pieced it together with the information he did have... which honestly isn't a lot in the show? If he was going to figure out that Luke was the traitor I would've have had Luke show more of his bitterness like he did in the book. Like the fact the show never even mentioned Luke's failed his quest loses the entire element of Percy succeeding an "impossible" quest and being celebrated while Luke only got a scar and a chip on his shoulder from his failed one.

Luke's scar shoulda been worse idc.

Percy should have been mortally wounded. That's where we run into an issue with there being no scorpion because yeah, a fatal sword injury probably would've been a bit much to depict. I also 10000% think that Luke is enough of a baby to get his daddy issues triggered and then try to off Percy for it even if his original intention was to recruit him.

Also the fact that you see Luke raise his sword for a damning blow and then the very next day you have Percy like "I don't think Luke was trying to kill me." and Chiron agreeing? asdlkfjsdlkf WRONG.

Also, sorry, I don't like that Annabeth was there.

But if you're gonna have Annabeth there, her reaction to Luke betraying her and trying to hurt Percy should've been way more severe than a solemn "I heard everything."

She shoulda been crying, questioning, yelling even if she had suspected him. It's one thing to suspect it, it's another to see the person you consider your family to actually prove it true.

(And this isn't on Leah! It's 100% on the directors cause what was the thought process here? Her brother figure betrays her and she's like :/)

And sure, in the book Annabeth isn't actually all that surprised by Luke's betrayal when Percy tells her about it... but we also never got to see her initial reaction to it. Percy was out for 2 days.

Just, if book Annabeth had been there, she would've been so emotional and that's okay!! let Leah show off her chops!

Sally

I mourn book Sally. I mourn her arc. I mourn the power of Sally unapologetically petrifying Gabe with Medusa's head.

One of the most iconic storylines from the book and it was sanitized in the show to the point that it lost all sense and meaning.

Honestly one of the biggest disappointments of the show for me.

Other

I love the fact that a flower is the searcher's license for satyrs its just so silly and sweet.

I love Annabeth sincerely hugging Percy but also using it for strategizing purposes it feels very on point for her.

Also her braids at the end!! so sweet!

I am very very bitter that Percy didn't see the fates. This + the changes made to Sally's characterization and arc... the show truly doesn't get it.

[shoot-i-messed-up]

Halsinestro for the ship ask

ahhhh a classic.

Ship It/Don’t Ship It

What made you ship it?

Just about every interaction they have in Johns era and forward. They're so tragic, and there is such a complicated history implied behind why they act Like That. They're also so goddamn funny.

*cue disney channel laughter as upbeat jazzy outro plays so we can transition to the next scene*

Also the fic Lodestar was probably what made me go up from "I really enjoy their doomed yaoi dynamic but I almost feel like the romance detracts from the tragedy" to "hooooly shit I see it and I love them."

I don't see them as endgame, but I definitely think they had something while Sin was still a GL and Hal was his protege.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Do I even have to answer? The tragedy of it all. Both my favorite and my least favorite part tbh because I'm a sucker for happy endings, and I don't think sinhal would ever get one, barring possibly some very drastic events.

Also, I'm very much a person who likes my ships to balance each other out and also I love my ships to be character foils to each other, and sinhal very much does both of those. Hal's reckless, fearless, follows his instincts, self-sacrificing, and unpredictable; Sinestro is manipulative, scheming, and self-controlled.

And as I've talked about in my bruhal ask, Hal throughout his GL-Parallax-Spectre-GL journey has had a very, very complicated relationship to both fear and control, both of which are things that Sinestro is the thematical represenative of. Sinestro is kind of a precursor to Parallax!Hal but also kind of a "better" version of it at the same time? Sinestro wants to bring order to the universe, just like Parallax!Hal did, but he doesn't go batshit crazy over it either. He's measured, in control of himself, and knows his limits in a way that Zero Hour Hal wasn't able to. hell, the entirety of Sinestro 2014 issue #5 is Hal projecting onto Sinestro that he wouldn't be able to control Parallax like Hal couldn't, and Sinesto proving him wrong.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Hmmmm. I still lowkey think that focusing too much on the romance detracts from the tragedy, but that's less to do with the ship itself. Maybe my unpopular opinion is that I don't think these two would actually ever hook up after Sinestro becomes a Yellow Lantern? Like, I do think the love is always there, but I don't think it would have an outlet after Sin is ousted from the GLC. Like, Hal testified against him. I think Hal is too attached to his sense of morality and Sin too unwilling to be vulnerable again for anything like that again. I very much see this ship as a lovers-to-enemies situation, not a lovers-while-enemies, which I think some people do.

in conclusion: them </3