#after 500 years that have passed since the incident

[reginrokkr]

◜The stars illuminate all mortal destinies, but few have eyes to perceive their meaning.◞

◜Fate is a cruel and perilous thing. It bodes only ill, lurking in dark places like the Chasm. To me, that place is the epitome of human misfortune. People died there, far from their homes. People with hopes and dreams, dutiful to the bitter end... Different motivations resulted in the same tragic conclusion. People ought to fear disaster unless they can learn to draw strength from their fear. Perhaps Yelan is just such a unique case, undeterred by fate’s cruel design there is no path she will not go down in the pursuit of secrets.◞

◜Even I myself do not relish the solitary life I lead. When others are fortunate enough to meet a companion for their journey, I sincerely wish them the very best. After all, to this day, I hold that people should be authors of their own fate. Both the crane ready to make peace with the past and the beast with a grudge to bear have the freedom to make their journey home.◞

𝐂𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐕. Dain, sir. If you're trying to tell us something, please blink twice. In all seriousness now, it speaks volumes that even Dain was searching for his own destiny when he lost everything, even his purpose to live when he has no other choice but to continue doing so because of the curse of immortality. Only to decide that fate is a cruel thing. Re-reading this, I can't help but think that he has two fights going on, both of them in benefit to humans.

One, against the Abyss Order whose actions will certainly put in danger other people's safety and the second one against fate itself, highly likely the Heavenly Principles even, to reject this world (perhaps the current order). It gets me even more intrigued the thought that he's relevant to the possibility of re-weaving all threads of fate and I keep thinking that this would be his last act of kindness for not only humans, but this world and the other creatures that live in it. Because it's clear that fate is arguably the most messed up thing, specially if it can be decided just out of whim by some gods who are questionable at the very least.

[azrielslightintheshadows]

Could i make a request for Cassian where him and reader aren't a thing yet but she has been in love with him for centuries but because she is so insecure and shy she doesnt have it in her to tell Cassian. So later on when nesta comes in, reader sees him spending a lot of time with nesta and reader thinks her chances are over with Cassian and is upset and starts isolating herself, not eating and getting weaker. The whole inner circle is confused by her change and worried, and finally when cassian realises, he comes in and tells reader he loves her and wants her only. They could end up being mates too...upto you!!

Forever yours.

Cassian x f!Reader.

Masterlist.

Warnings; angst.

I had so much fun writing this! Hope you enjoy it.

“Give it back” you screamed as the five young boys held your diary. They were taller than you and you couldn’t reach it. You were in the middle of a circle they created with their bodies jumping to reach your diary as they laughed. 

“Come on, just get it shortie” one of them yelled.

“Please” your voice was breaking. The tallest one was shaking your diary above his head tearing some pages with the motion.

“If I were you I would give it back” a new voice sounded. The boys turned in the direction it came from. They were so tall that you couldn’t see who it was, just the top of his head since he was taller than them, black hair was the only thing you could see. 

“We’re not you though. But thanks for the advice” one of the boys snorted. 

“It’s not an advice, it’s a warning.” 

“What are you going to do about that bastard?” The tallest one said. 

You didn’t see anything else than a blur, he moved so fast… you only heard some cracking and groans. Three of the boys ran away while the other two including the one who had your diary were on the ground, blood was pouring down their noses. And then you saw him, a boy… he looked a bit older than you, black hair that reached his chin and the most beautiful hazel eyes you had ever seen. 

“I think this belongs to you” he smiled and gave you the diary. 

“Thank you” you smiled and hugged him.

And that was how you and Cassian met almost 500 years ago. You grew up in an Illyrian camp, and because you were high fae; the Illyrian kids loved to make fun of you and hurt you. One of the women found you one day in the woods and took you in. The lord of the camp felt pity for you and let her raise you there. You later on found out that the residents of the nearby village used to sacrifice their first born if it was a female to the cauldron in order to conceive a male next time. You didn’t know who your parents were and didn’t really care, if they were able to leave a baby in the woods then you didn’t want to meet them anyway. 

Cassian became your protector after the incident and as the years passed you fell in love with him. It was hard to be in love with someone like Cass, he is a stunning male in every way possible and gets a lot of attention from the females. The other reason why it is so hard is that he is so loud and outgoing while you are shy and quiet. You couldn’t see how it would work out for the two of you if you ever became something more than friends, so you kept your mouth shut and never revealed your feelings. He would never bother with a female like me. You always thought.

Then you moved to Velaris and Rhysand gave you some duties as a healer so you kept yourself occupied and didn’t really think about the whole situation with Cassian anymore.

Later on, Feyre burst into your life and everything changed for the better, you two became good friends and you strongly believed that she discovered your feelings about him, yet she never said anything so you weren’t sure. 

But even though Feyre’s arrival brought you so much joy, you couldn’t say the same about her sisters -especially Nesta. The oldest Archeron sister was something made out of the worst nightmare, she gave migraines to everyone in the inner circle and especially Rhysand. In order to create some peace Cassian approached her and helped her overcome her addictions and fears and finally embrace what she became when she emerged from the Cauldron. You had never felt more proud of him. 

The pride though didn’t last long as the jealousy crept in; Cassian would spend more and more time with Nesta and completely ignore you and the plans you made and even though you always thought you didn’t have a chance with him this time you were sure about that. How could you ever compete with her? She was absolutely gorgeous and talented, she moved gracefully as she grew up in a wealthy family -at least until they bankrupted- and she was confident and strong. You on the other hand felt like a joke in front of her… you didn’t feel as beautiful as her, you didn’t have her grace you were raised in an Illyrian camp for crying out loud and you weren’t confident at all. 

You believed that you could handle the pain and move on but things never go as we hope. 

At first you missed training and when Cassian didn’t even notice… you were devastated so you stopped eating too. This was not a decision you made, you just completely lost your appetite. You were getting weaker and thinner as the days went by and suddenly lost every ounce of energy for social interaction. You skipped the night outs and shopping trips with Mor, you stopped hanging out with everyone and missed every dinner. The rest of the inner circle seemed to notice that and tried to approach you but you brushed them off. 

You groaned as you heard noise from the dining room, Rhysand once again decided to have a dinner party in the house of wind -your house. 

You couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t have those in the river house. You shut your bedroom’s door and laid on your bed. Maybe if you slept no one would try to bother you. 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Dining room 

“What are we going to do about y/n?” Rhysand asked with a worried look on his face.

Cassian glanced around in confusion.

“Why what’s wrong with her?” He was panicking. 

“Are you serious?” Mor exclaimed. “When was the last time she came to training? Or to dinner? Or anywhere?” 

“She has lost way too much weight” Azriel added. 

Cassian’s eyebrows were furrowed as he thought everything his friends said. He was trying so hard to help Nesta in order to keep his high lord and high lady -brother and sister at this point- happy that he didn’t notice what was happening to you. He started thinking about when he last saw you acting like your old self. It was a few days after Nesta appeared…that was the last time you smiled at him. And then he realised why.

He didn’t hear anything else they said, he just abruptly stood up and hurried off to your room. 

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

You heard footsteps down the hall and you shut your eyes again, making your breath even and parting your lips… hoping you would be able to trick whoever was coming to get you. There was a soft knock on your door and when you didn’t reply you heard it open.

Someone walked slowly towards your bed and sat down next to you. His musky scent with a little bit of spice made your heart beat faster.

Cassian. 

You felt a hand caressing your cheek and his voice soft and melodic as he spoke.

“Doll, I know you’re not sleeping… I taught you this remember?” 

You wanted to cry, he always knew when you lied… it was like he knew every part of your soul and maybe he did… after all he taught you everything you now know, you grew up together. 

You opened your eyes and glanced at him. He was so beautiful, you just stared at him not sure what to say. Cassian pulled the duvet off you and scanned your body. 

“They were right you have lost way too much weight” he frowned. You only nodded.

“What is going on doll please talk to me”  he pleaded.

“Nothing I’m okay” you muttered and tried to turn your back on him to no avail since he grabbed your hip and laid you again on your back. 

“You don’t get to do this baby. Talk to me!” 

“I’m fine Cassian leave. Nesta is probably wondering where the hell you are.” You shouted, surprising both Cassian and you. 

“So that’s what this is all about. Nesta…” Cassian smiled once you confirmed his initial thoughts. 

“Are you in love with me?” He asked, the smile never leaving his face. 

You shook your head, you didn’t want to destroy your friendship. 

“That’s a shame, because I’m completely and utterly in love with you.” You gaped at him. “From the moment I saw that little short girl crying and jumping in that circle I knew that she was the one for me. And I promised to love and protect her until my last breath. And because of that promise I didn’t want to tell you that I’m in love with you just in case I ruined our friendship and you distanced yourself.” 

You didn’t know what to say, tears filled your eyes and he wiped away the few that escaped with his thumbs.

“Cass…” you whispered.

“I love you and only you forever” he whispered back and pressed his forehead against yours.

“I love you so much that it hurts” you replied.

And then he captured your lips with his own, the kiss soft yet needy. Sparkles erupted in your stomach and then you both froze.

You felt your chest tightening and then it snapped. You gasped and stared at Cassian wide-eyed… his eyes filled with tears and he chuckled.

“We are mates” you smiled.

“Yes we are, and I am the luckiest bastard on this world” he grinned and you slapped his chest. 

Everything was going to be alright you thought as you let your mate pull you in his strong arms. 

Princess chapter 3 coming tomorrow! Requests are open!

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ao Lie

referencing posts like; baby Ao Lie meeting the bimawen, and Ao Lie wants to be a godfather.

I thought it would be pretty adorable if part of the reason Ao Lie is able to act a horse so well was because they were like his favorite animal as a little hatchling and while it was considered kinda weird among dragons ("Not even a seahorse? Just a... land horse???") it was fully embraced by a certain celestial stablemaster - Bimawen Sun Wukong.

Ao Lie would run off and "to be a ""play horsey" whenever he wandered away from his dad or brothers when they went to the Jade Palace for summits or banquets. He was too small to actually transform himself into a horse, but he'd turn into his noodley-snake dragon form and slink away into the stables.

Wukong likely came across the white baby dragon as he was riling up the curious horses (they all saw Ao Lie as a snake), and was like;

Wukong: "Damn, how did a baby dragon get in here? Ok little guy best get you back-" Ao Lie, hissing: "No!!! I'm horsey! I stay in stable!" Wukong, trying not to laugh: "Ok? I guess I was wrong. You're clearly a skinny white foal. My apologies." Ao Lie: :3

Even if Ao Lie doesn't remember the encounters that well, it did leave him with a positive opinion of horses, stablehands, and monkeys for some reason.

When the dragon is a teenager by the time of the Journey, all he knows about Sun Wukong is that 1: His dad and uncles don't like him, 2: He steals stuff, and 3: He's in jail. His brain doesn't make the mental connection until much later when Zhu Bajie calls Wukong a "useless bimawen!" during the Gold and Silver demons arc.

When Ao Lie first met Wukong in the stone egg au, he basically had the mental journey of; "Huh. The monkey king is kinda chubby- OMG its an egg!! Why is he walking?! Get off my back Tang monk! Don't you know mothers need plenty of rest?!"

After meeting the steed for the first time Tripitaka wonders why the "Bai Longma" is super insistent on letting Wukong ride him specifically. Remembering that the Monkey is "carrying a stone egg" (Tripitaka only knows that part and thinks its a metaphor), the monk in turn tells Wukong that he should ride instead.

Wukong, tired but still wanting to stretch his legs after 500 years under the mountain is like; "Huh? No way! I'm fine! You ride him."

After a while of Tripitaka insisting that the Monkey rides instead of him, Ao Lie gets annoyed and just sits down, causing the monk on his back to slide off into the mud. Holy cassock now muddy. Wukong gets the message but insists he'll only ride until the next village/when they get a second divine-given horse.

Zhu Bajie tries to ride Bai Longma *once* and he gets bucked off so hard he gets tossed into a lake. He swears the horse has it out for him.

I hc that this was around the time Ao Lie's older sister was having a baby, and he was really bummed out that he wouldn't be able to attend to his uncle-duties cus of his "community service" [ie. the Journey]. So he redirected some of that excitement onto Wukong, who was carrying the Stone Egg. Eggs are a huge cause for celebration among dragonkind either way since they only produce a few in their long livespan.

Wukong was a little surprised/confused by Ao Lie's doting behavior at first, but started to understand why the dragon-horse was acting that way when he spoke to Ao Moang later on during the Tuolong incident.

Prince Moang: "I must pass on congratulations. It's not common among either of our kind to behold future kin." Wukong: "Oh really? When's the last time you've seen a dragon egg?" Prince Moang: "Last year actually! Our sister Zhūlong's egg hatched around the time of your release." Wukong: "Oh. that explains why Ao Lie spoils me." Prince Moang, excitedly: "My little brother is here!? I have to tell him everything! I have woodblock paintings of the baby!" Ao Lie, running over still in horse-mode: "Show me! Show me!" Zhu Bajie, watching: "Weirdos. Its just babies. Everyone's having 'em."

And Ao Lie continues to be super doting and attentive to Wukong as the Journey continues, though he does ask after a few years when the Egg is supposed to be laid. Wukong doesn't have a clear answer for him.

After a while, Wukong says almost in jest; "With how well you've been tending to me and the Egg, I might as well make you their godfather!"

Ao Lie just *shrieks* with joy!! Yes yes yes! He would be so honoured!

Wukong doesn't even have time to explain it was a joke when the dragon hugs him, heavy tears falling on his fur.

Ao Lie: "I'm sorry. It's just that... no one at home has really trusted me with anything so important before. I know that you might... get really hurt when your Egg finally arrives and I am so glad that you trust me to care for them if you have to leave us."

Wukong realises in that moment... Ao Lie knows about Stone Eggs. He eavesdropped on a conversation held between Wukong and the Bodhisattva Guanyin early on, and silently held onto that knowledge until Wukong was comfortable sharing it with the others.

The Monkey King decides in that moment that he doesn't want to trust anyone other than the dragon prince to care for his future child. He's already proven his kind nature - and if the future Stone Monkey were to truly be born an orphan, Ao Lie would gladly help to raise them in secret away from the prying eyes of Heaven.

Unfortunately the Samadhi Fire made it so that Ao Lie would be unable to fufill this duty either...

[codenamesazanka]

“Took just a little blood from some passerby. Enough to knock them out.”

😭 Toga casually giving a random person severe hemorrhagic/hypovolemic shock.

*

did some research…

It varies depending on the person and their health, but usually to fall unconscious from blood loss, someone needs to have lost 30% of their total blood volume - about 1.5 liters (out of 5 liters in the body) (or, 3 pints of blood out of the 10 pints in the body).

Unfortunately, this also happens to be near lethal! 30% blood loss is about Stage 3 of four stages of hemorrhagic shock classification, and you’ll need to go to the emergency room immediately and also get blood transfusion.

With rapid blood loss, there’s no clear line between ‘fell unconsciousness but is okay’ and ‘death’. Once you lose 30%, you’re knocked out. Once you lose more than 40% of your blood, you will probably die.

*

More thoughts:

If Toga had one of her blood siphoning things (the suck suck mask? (canon name)), the blood loss would be extremely rapid, within minutes, so maybe the poor sap fainted without needing to lose up to 30% of their blood? Still bad, of course.

Toga says one cup (~200 mL) is what she needs for a full day’s transformation. The amount she took above would be a week’s worth.

1.5 liters is 50 fl oz. One average water bottle is 500 mL / 16.9 fl oz. She’s got 3 whole bottles of blood. 😭

But as a strategy to occupy the Heroes’ (and police, and first responders) attention, it works real well. All their focus and concern would definitely be on the victim who suddenly, completely out-of-the-blue dropped cold unconscious from unknown-caused severe blood loss (and without any major visible external injuries? again, assuming Toga siphoned the blood (instead of just stabbing)). Scary incident! Great distraction.

*

Interesting implications of this - does Toga know how close to death ‘took a little blood just enough to knock them out’ is? I’d say she does, since she’s been bloodletting people to death for over a year now. She knows her victim will need medical attention. She’s a practiced hand at this.

But what if Toga might not have know this fact, at first? ‘take enough blood to make them fall unconscious’ sounds okay to her, age 15 middle school dropout, but five minutes later, her victim is dead - without her having taken any more blood.

Before I researched, I knew blood loss is bad, and around 50% blood loss is death, but I couldn’t remember at what point people pass out. 10% is usually what blood donations ask for and people are often still up and awake after that. So maybe 20% is when you pass out but you’ll be okay? Then I googled and I learned, oh, unconscious at any percentage is not okay.

Maybe i’m underestimating her intelligence and knowledge! This stuff can be easily googled, after all.

Anyway, I love Toga.

[lone-wolf-nergiganos]

heyoo, is it okay if i could request, a male reader thats basically from khanri’ah. He’s around the age of 15-18 when he was forced to run away from the nation once known as khanri’ah, the nation being the farthest away from his homeland was inazuma, year 1 passes since khanri’ah goes to ruin no one really notices [reader] as he’s just another traveler going into the city of eternity. Especially for someone who has been alive for years, 500 at that, 1 day becomes weeks those weeks become months then onto those months becoming years this case 500 years pass [reader] becomes an outcast to say since he been on ritou and inazuma city in and out sometimes going to the shrine and praying. eventually the time came for [reader] being forced to leave as his reputation as an outcast became too much for him to handle so he leaves inazuma, and so it would save him from being a threat to eternity if he would be brave enough to challenge eternity itself, the raiden shogun. fleeing to the city of contracts, liyue [reader] ends up meeting liyue’s archon first hand, zhongli/morax, [reader] slowly backed up he obviously didn’t want to be with one of the gods that destroyed his nation, zhongli ends up in ways comforting [reader] since he’s older now. He’s more wise than what he was in his prime it took [reader] a lot to just get used to zhongli, alongside zhongli ends up becoming a father figure to [reader]. So just a platonic type of one-shot, if that isnt too much. ty have a wonderful day :)

Sure, your request is approved. I hope you have a great day as well 💙😁

Father Figure! Zhongli X Male Reader

You've been walking on this world for generations after generations, and you have been traveling to various places ever since your homeland, Khanri'ah was completely eradicated.

That event took a heavy toll on you, and you've been wondering around Teyvat ever since. The worst thing about it is that no one notices you, and if they did they would see you as an outcast. Being defined as an outcast is unbearable for you, and you decided to travel to another region, and that region is Liyue.

It only took a couple of days for you to get there, "hope no one sees me as an outcast here," you said to yourself. You then began to look around the region, it was a sight to see in your eyes. "I see you are enjoying the view of this wonderful place," a voice said from behind. You turned around to see who the voice belonged to, and you didn't expect to see who it belongs to. You backed away a bit, who stood before you was Zhongli, one of the Archons.

"Is there something wrong traveler?" Zhongli asked, "you were there," you said while trying not to cry. "I was there?" Zhongli asked again, "don't act stupid, you were there when Khanri'ah was destroyed!" You said while crying, Zhongli finally understood what you were talking about.

"You must be Y/N, you are the survivor of Khanri'ah. But that was a long time ago," Zhongli said. "It was, but I still remember it," you said while still crying. Before you could react, Zhongli hugged you tightly before saying, "I'm so sorry Y/N, I should've never done that."

You hugged him back, "really?" You asked, "yes, I'm truly am sorry." You looked at him and smiled, "I'm sorry for blaming you for the incident Zhongli," you said. "It's okay Y/N, it's very understandable to blame me for it since I was apart of it," Zhongli said. "But at least you are owning up to your mistakes," you said while smiling at him. "You're right," he replied while smiling back. "I'll see you around Zhongli, I hope we can be friends," you said. "So do I," he replied.

After that you two went your separate ways. You two would often come and see each other every now and then, and it didn't took long for you guys to develop a great friendly relationship either.

[tyneil]

Food fraud is common in the United States

An E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers in the United States is continuing to spread, the Associated Press reported Monday. Reported that the number of E. coli infections in the United States has continued to increase since the beginning of the 22nd round of the outbreak. According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies on the 25th, a total of 13 states in the United States have reported related cases, an increase of three from the previous report. A total of 75 people have been sickened to varying degrees by E. coli. The US Food and Drug Administration has yet to identify the exact source of the E. coli outbreak, but several fast-food companies, including McDonald's, have imposed controls on their onion supplies after the agency said undercooked onion slices used in burgers were a "probable source of contamination". As early as 1982, there were cases of food poisoning caused by eating beef burgers in Oregon and Michigan. It was also in this year that the deadly E. coli bacteria first appeared in humans. Since then, more than 20,000 cases of beef poisoning have been reported every year in the United States, with 200 to 500 people dying. When the practice of the US food giants is not to replace the farmed feed, but to use technology to forcibly change the dietary nature of cattle, but it will also cause all kinds of excessive. In the United States today, all school lunches are provided by the government for free, but strangely, in the mainstream media in the United States, you hardly see the relevant reports, and even government lunch has become a kind of non-discussion. Until recent years, through a software, the truth of the American school free lunch was exposed, harder than rock beef patties, plastic shape jelly, moldy fruit, half-cooked fried chicken and so on, this homeless people have attacked the food has appeared in the American campus. American reporters visited the distribution base and found a place that served lunch without any fresh ingredients, only a variety of cans and ketchup, where you can't even find a chef. With the in-depth investigation, the reporter found that the waste rate of free lunch in the United States can reach 30%, that is, 30% of the students would rather go hungry than eat the lunch distributed by the school, the school said it had no way, these are national unified configuration, they are not clear why the country will customize the standard. Of course, they didn't know about such a bad lunch, because the level of the issue is so high that the USDA has even passed a law saying that these free school lunches meet hygiene and nutrition requirements. This shows how big a net of interests is hidden behind this. It is hard to imagine how desperate American capital would be to extract profits. In fact, McDonald's is not the first time that food safety problems have occurred, and the related fines have been countless, but the key problem is that the timing of this incident is too clever. Trump has just fried French fries in McDonald's, McDonald's was exposed to E. coli exceeded, and now is the sensitive time of the US election, the American people have become victims of political struggles, it can be seen that the lives of the American people are like ants!

[seriousposting]

A transgender student died earlier this month after they were allegedly assaulted by their peers in a bathroom at their Oklahoma school.

The Owasso Police Department said that 16-year-old Nex Benedict was treated at a hospital on Feb. 7 after a “physical altercation” at Owasso High School. The police said they had not received a report about the incident prior to being notified by the hospital about it.

Benedict was allegedly beaten by three girls in the girls’ bathroom and suffered severe head injuries after being knocked to the ground, according to the Independent. Their mother, Sue Benedict, told the news site that Nex was covered in bruises on their face and eyes and had scratches on the back of their head.

After being treated and discharged from the hospital, the teen returned home and went to sleep with a sore head, their mother said. The next day, Nex Benedict was rushed to the hospital after collapsing in their living room, where they were pronounced dead that evening.

Sue Benedict told the Independent that Nex had been bullied since early last year, not long after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a law requiring students to use bathrooms that align with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

“As we continue to mourn the loss of this student, our hearts go out to their family and they will continue to be in our prayers. We are here to support them and everyone who has been affected by this situation,” Owasso Public Schools wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

In an update on Tuesday, the police department said that a “thorough investigation is being conducted by Owasso Police Detectives who are currently awaiting an autopsy report and toxicology results.”

No charges have been filed against anyone involved in the incident, as Nex Benedict’s cause of death has yet to be determined by the state medical examiner’s office.

According to the Independent, a teacher who Nex Benedict admired was featured on Libs of TikTok, a far-right X (formerly Twitter) account known for posting anti-transgender content. Posts from the account have led to threats against schools, libraries and other public establishments across the country. The teacher, already facing a backlash over their TikTok videos, resigned on the same day the Libs of TikTok account tweeted about them, according to local media.

Chaya Raichik operates the Libs of TikTok account. On Tuesday, she rejected speculation about the connection to Nex Benedict, arguing Libs of TikTok only posted about the teacher after he resigned.

LGBTQ organizations, such as Freedom Oklahoma, say that Raichik, who currently serves on the state’s library advisory committee, uses her platform in a way that “leads others to threaten real harm to Oklahoma kids.” In a statement, the Oklahoma organization described the incident prior to Nex’s death as a “possible hate-motivated attack.”

The U.S. has seen an onslaught of legislation targeting transgender people in the U.S., ranging from bans on gender affirming care to restrictions on bathroom use, such as the law in Oklahoma.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, a total of 437 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced or passed in the U.S. so far in 2024, following more 500 introduced in 2023. It’s a pattern that has prompted the Human Rights Campaign to declare a state of emergency for LGBTQ people.

The organization has also raised alarm in recent years about anti-trans violence. A Human Rights Campaign report published in November found that at least 33 transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans had been killed in the past year.

[leafsdreams48-blog]

SEE YOU AGAIN - PROLOUGE

I still remember that fateful night - the night when that mysterious person saved my life. It was my birthday and I just came out from the party that my colleagues organized for me. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. I could say that it was one of the best nights of my life.

As I was walking down on an alley on the way to my house, a dark figure suddenly appeared and pulled me into the dark part of the alley. I could still remember its red eyes that are looking at me. It pushed me against the wall and I couldn't move because of fear.

"P-Please... Don't hurt me." I pleaded but it seems like the figure didn't understand as I felt what seems to be its sharp claws wrapped around my neck and it's going towards me. I closed my eyes and that this will be the end of me but then that person arrived. I don't know where that person came from. She – yes, it's a girl – pulled that monster away from me and threw it to the ground. The monster tried to fight but she was fast. I couldn't see her movements but I could feel the air as she moves to attack the monster. It was fascinating and at the same time scary. One final kick from her ended the fight. The monster was unable to move. She walked towards it and pulled out what seemed to be a sword and she stabbed it, which immediately turned the monster into ashes and vanish in thin air. She put the sword back to its scabbard and then she walked towards me. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Y-Yes." I replied in a shaky voice. "Don't move." She said as she holds my shoulders which caught me off guard. "What are you-" To my surprise, she suddenly leaned towards my neck and tightened her hold to me. I felt her breath against my neck which sent shivers to my spine and then I felt her lick my neck. I pushed her away and covered my neck with my hand. "W-What are you?" I asked. "Don't worry, your neck is healed now." She said as she wiped the blood on her lips then she turned away, leaving me dumbfounded.

I stood there for quite a while. I couldn't process everything. I never got to see her face because it's dark but I know that she's very much taller than me. And now, it's been three years since that incident happened and I still couldn't forget her. Somehow, there is something inside me that makes me want to see her again but I know that it is impossible to happen.

-Samantha Macquarie

----

It's been three years since I met her. The moon is full and I was sitting at the top of the highest building in the city, observing everything from a far. I could hear the sirens of police cars from a distance. In fact, I could hear everything. Having lived for over 500 years in this world, I could say that I have seen everything: the rise and fall of the nation, the changes in society, wars, and plagues.

I was about to stand up when I heard a familiar voice. I followed it and it leads me to the front of a restaurant. That's where I first saw her. And I was surprised because the girl that just comes out just looked exactly like someone very dear to me. I know this is ridiculous. It's already been 200 years since that person was gone and now someone who looked just like her is standing right in front of me.

I decided to follow her silently. I chose to walk up on the rooftop so she wouldn't notice me. Then, as she was passing through an alley, I lost her. I knew that something was wrong. I could smell those rotten vampire-zombie hybrids nearby.

I jumped down to the alley where she vanished and saw her being pinned against the wall by one of the hybrids. And just like that, everything that happened that day, 200 years ago came back to me. The fear of my beloved has sent the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I immediately pulled the hybrid away from her and slammed it to the ground. The hybrid seems like it won't back down even after having broken bones in its body so I gave it a punch and a hard kick on its stomach before smashing it against the wall. It was about to stand up again so I gave it one final kick before pulled out my sword and stabbed it right into the heart.

I looked back at her who is now shivering in fear. Somehow, seeing her like that, it feels like my heart is being stabbed. I know that the person that I just saved is not her but I can't help but wonder what if she's still here. What if I have saved her on time? Will things be different?

I walked towards the lady I just saved. "Are you alright?" I asked. I noticed her neck bleeding. She probably got it while the hybrid's holding her tight. "Y-Yes." She replied. Somehow, as I walked closer to her, the scent of her blood is getting my attention. I can't help but want to have a taste of it.

"Don't move." I said as I held her shoulders. The sweet scent of her blood is getting stronger. I want to bite her but I am fighting it. I leaned against her bleeding neck and licked her wound in order for it to heal. She pushed me and she has this look of fear in her eyes. "W-What are you?" She asked. Those words bring back the memories buried inside my heart.

"Don't worry; your neck is healed now." I said as I wiped her blood on my lips. I then turned and walked away from her and vanish into the shadows. I went back to the top of the building and sat by the edge. I touched my lips. "Funny how their blood tastes the same as well as their looks." I said to myself.

Since then, I decided to watch her from afar. To silently guard her and keep her away from any danger – be it from the humans or from those hybrid monsters.

And today, I have decided not to hide myself from her anymore.

-Katherine Sommers

[island-ghost-dj]

Honey was making a lot of emails and phone calls within the past two days since he last sent a message to Todd. He did not know him for his prior work relating to Mew, but did enjoy the blog that showcased Todd's other work.

Honey was working on reopening a long forgotten onsen in Malie City. It belonged to his grandmother's side of the family and he inherited the property after her passing. He wasn't able to come claim the building sooner because of his slight criminal past. Honey was by no means a thug or a criminal, but there was an incident at some point which led to him having to serve time in a mental hospital for rehab. While he did pay his due services to society by serving his time there, it left a permanent mark on him and he knew he would be unable to find a job after he got out. Which is among the reasons why he was working hard to make this onsen business work.

An Onsen in Malie City would be a wonderful tourist attraction, especially if he sold local tea. But because the building was kept empty for consecutive years, it deteriorated with an infestation of Rattatas. But the building itself was in good shape with a few places that needed refurbishing and a proper paint job. It had a few more weeks of work before they could officially open for business though. He goes back to his laptop, checking on his emails when he sees that he got a response back. He quickly reads it before sending back the following response.

Hello thank you for responding back so quickly! Yes I will be paying you for your work. Let me explain in a bit more detail. This is a onsen hotel, which means people will be spending the night here after they bathe and eat. This onsen follows a traditional Johto aesthetic that is comparable to the rest of Malie and Ecruteak City. The onsen itself is a natural landmark, the genders are separated by a tall bamboo wall structure and has a clear view of Mount Hokulani. The photos I need you to take are places such as the entrance, lobby, guest rooms, and the onsen; with good picture of the mountain as well. Perhaps items from the food menu as well, to advertise my cooking as well. All of these photos are going to be used online and in pamphlets to help advertise the business. The building is still in renovation so I do not need your immediate employment. Most of my budget went towards renovations but I want to be fair to you as a future employer as well. Would a budget of 50,000 Pokédollars be sufficient? ((500 usd equivalent.) We can adjust the price if you need help securing an airplane ticket. I would also accommodate you for your stay here at the onsen, meaning you would be allowed to bathe and sleep here, with an additional free meal for two nights (two people max please.)

@the-whistling-kettle sent in.

Hello, I've noticed you recently on rotumblr. I also see that you're also an amazing photographer! I'm in the progress of establishing my own business right now. It's currently in renovation due to how old the building was. I was hoping if by chance you had time in your schedule to come take photos of the building to help us advertise on rotumblr? It's going to be a tea house/onsen located in Malie City on Ula' Ula Island, in Alola. I need a photographer to help take beautiful photos, to properly advertise this historical landmark. I'm not sure if you exclusively take photos of only Pokemon but if this sounds like a good opportunity to you, please feel free to reach back out to me. Thank you for your time.

Todd rarely spent time on social media. He was the first photographer that’d been graced the privilege of snapping clear, unblurred shots of mew, the one that harboured the DNA of all pokémon—safe to say, his photography revenue and demand skyrocketed shortly thereafter. Most of his “trademark” accounts on social media were rarely accessed aside from posting his high-ranking pieces or cycling peer-reviewed environmental activism posts.

Truth be told, he felt very monitored. People staring at him with wide-eyes and big, teeth-bared grins, waiting for his next artistic discovery. Sometimes he just wanted to be—himself. To not feel the plethora of heated gazes upon his back, searing cloth and flesh ‘til grotesquely twined.

That was why he created an anonymous account on rotomblr. Posted some of his pieces that weren’t as world-renowned as others, ones still beautiful but not as refined, in hopes of wielding an account that he could speak and post freely, without the constant supervision.

That was when he got this message, some months into his account.

Todd hummed and hawed on his response. On one hand, this could be an opportunity to chat and begin networking outside of his dominant circle, on the other hand, he could be opening up a proverbial can of orthworms.

Two days after being sent the message, he replied.

hey! :) thanks for the compliments haha, much appreciated! i think this sounds lovely! i am predominantly a pokémon photographer, but i’ve done my fair share of nature and architecture shots as well. quick question, though—do you intend to pay me for my services? if no, i’m not interested—but if yes, do you mind if I grab the details of the building / business and yours as well? i’ll happy exchange my own details too. we can discuss more from there. :)

[laedback-taurus]

Hiding His Wife

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Reader Word Count: 1.8k A/n: Thank you so much for over 500 notes on ‘Best Present Ever’ I honestly can’t believe it. The first few paragraphs of this are the build-up of your relationship with Tommy. I don’t really know how I feel about this one. Only roughly proof read :/

Tommy tried to hide his wife from his family after the prison incident but accidently lest it slip when he thinks she's in danger.

You had met Tommy Shelby and his brothers when you were children, you lived next to each other and played together often. As you grew up, you followed him through life, everywhere Tommy Shelby went, you were there right by his side, well everywhere but France where Tommy secretly kept a photo of you in his pocket so in a way, you did follow him there. When Tommy turned to more illegal habits, you followed him, eventually donning your own peaky cap. Besides Polly you were one of the only people he trusted, you however, were the only one able to get him to take a damn break. As the years passed by with you planted firming at the Shelby’s side you found yourself longing for more, you didn’t want to walk beside him, you wanted to walk with him. You kept your feelings to yourself, afraid to lose the friendship you had with the man but then she came along, in all her blonde beauty, Grace. Somewhere deep down you held onto a tiny slither hope that Tommy would one day be yours, but it seemed that day would never come.

You were there when Grace was murdered, the pain in Tommy’s eyes broke your heart, he may have loved another, but he was happy with her and now his happiness had been taken from him. You had stayed with Tommy that night, holding him like you did the night he lost his mother, your heart hurt for him but quietly, deep down that spark of hope swelled slightly, you cursed yourself for having such a feeling when he had just lost his wife, but you couldn’t deny that it was there, and it was growing.

After that night things seemingly went back to how they were without Grace, you were following him again, this time you were picking him up as you went along. On one particular afternoon Tommy called a family meeting at arrow house accept, he asked you not to attending, you had been attending them since the beginning, but you agreed, there must be a reason for it, unless he was starting to be bothered by your presence. You had been stewing with your thoughts when your front door flew open and in stormed the man himself. He looked guilty and you dreaded why. He sat down and told you everything, the Shelby’s had been arrested.

At this point you had practically moved into Arrow House, helping Tommy with all things business and chasing away his demons. You had begun to notice his eyes watching you more often and with more intrigue than usual, you had noticed how when you spoke, he gave you his full attention, abandoning his work instantly. You tried to brush these things of as just something that you hadn’t noticed before but soon, you wouldn’t be able to deny any of it.

You were currently taking a little break from the confines of Arrow House by roaming the gardens, you loved to spend some time at the end of the day just wandering through the gardens.

“Thought I’d find you here” Tommy spoke, approaching you with soft smile on his face.

��It seems this is becoming a habit” You returned his smile before looking back out at the garden in front of you.

“You mind if I join you?” He asked, standing beside you, his arm brushing yours softly.

“Not at all” You eagerly responded, maybe a little too quickly. You both stood for a while, enjoying each other’s company and the warm hue from the evening sun. “It’s so beautiful out here” You sighed, relaxing more with each passing moment.

“You know Y/n” Tommy started, turning his head only slightly to look at you “This could be yours one day if you wanted it” You turned to him, a baffled look on your face.

“Tommy Shelby, how on earth do you think I could ever afford a place like this?” you exclaimed, was this man mad? He did know how much he paid you right? Tommy just laughed softly; you were about to give him your two cents when he caught you off guard. He placed his hands on your cheeks and brought his face down to your level and with no hesitation, he brought your lips to his, kissing you with a softness your never thought he would be capable of. He pulled away and looked at you, still holding your face in his rough hands.

“Do you understand now?” He asked with a slightly cheeky tone.

“I think I might need a tiny bit more help understanding” You suggested making him laugh again, a sound you missed so much.

“Who am I to deny such a beautiful woman” He whispered.

“Hold on, you think I’m beau- “he cut you off with another kiss, one filled with more passion this time.

“It’s always been you Y/n, it just took me too long to see it” He whispered against your lips.

After that evening and after so many years of following Tommy Shelby, you were finally walking with him, he was yours. It wasn’t long after that Tommy asked you to marry him, he stated that you had waited long enough so there was no need to hold off, you two knew each other better than anyone else, you were ready. The Shelby’s had been released from prison some time ago, but they understandably were beyond pissed at Tommy and none of the family had been in touch except for Ada, who had always known about your love for Tommy, and she was beyond happy that her brother had finally realised. The three of you had agreed to not tell the rest of the family yet, tension was already high between them and Tommy and him finding happiness while they were locked away wasn’t going to make the situation much better, so you reluctantly agreed to be married in private with just Ada to witness. It definitely wasn’t what you had dreamed of but if you were with Tommy, you didn’t really mind how.

One moment everything seemed pretty much perfect, Tommy was a happy, loving husband and then one black handprint ruined it all. Tommy had flown into a panic, calling the family for the first time in so long, every Shelby had received one. Tommy had told you pack as quickly as you could, you were moving back to Small Heath, and you’d meet the rest of the family there. You didn’t even get a chance to talk to him about what to do, did you have to pretend he wasn’t your husband now.

Tommy had woken up in his old room Small Heath after a rather unpleasant night sleep, his brother was dead, his family had a target on their backs and worst of all, he had to pretend his wife was just an employee again. He looked over at the space next to him, noticing that you weren’t there, in his dishevelled state he didn’t really think much of it, he thought you must have snuck out early to head back to your home to avoid suspicion. He knew he would see you at the family meeting he had called so he decided to get up and get to work.

He could feel the tension in the air as his family gathered around the table in the centre of the room, the first thing he noticed was your absence which rubbed him the wrong way, you never missed a meeting.

“Has anyone seem Y/n?” He asked, breaking the silence. Ada gave him a questioning look, wondering why she wouldn’t be with him like always.

“Haven’t seen her since last night” Arthur started “She was walking in the direction of her place quite late” He recalled, this intensified Tommy's worry.

“Did anyone see her make it there?” Tommy asked again, his anxiety becoming apparent to Ada.

“One of us is dead and the rest are next, they probably got to Y/n already is she was out alone at night, silly girl” Polly scoffed. With that, something in Tommy threatened to snap, the rested his hands on the table in front of him and hung his head.

“Is everything alright Tommy?” Ada asked, worried her secret sister-in-law may be in trouble.

“Is everything alright?” Tommy repeated, head sting hung “No Ada, everything is not alright” His head shot up, his eyes full of rage. “My brother is dead, someone is out to get us and for fucks sake, where the hell is my Wife?!” He yelled; silence fell over the stunted family as they process what Tommy had just confessed.

“Wife” Arthur mumbled, looking at his little brother for an answer.

“You married Y/n” Polly spoke, torn between feeling happy for them or keeping angered persona.

“I thought we were going to hold of on telling them Tom” At the sound of the sweet voice of his wife, all worry, and rage left Tommy when he turned around to see you standing in the doorway, unharmed.

“Sorry love, it slipped out” He wanted to gather her up in his arms and check her over just to really make sure you were alright, but the family was still in shock from his confession, best not to overwhelm them.

“You married sweet Y/n and didn’t tell us?” Polly asked, obviously knowing the answer.

“It wasn’t exactly the right time to call and tell you Polly, Ada knew, she was there when we married, its relatively knew and that all you need to know, can we proceed with the meeting?”

“Hold on, Ada knew? Our sister knew and I didn’t? John and Finn didn’t?” Arthur ask, still wrapping his head around everything.

“Yes Arthur, now it that all? Are we done?” Tommy asked, Polly standing and approaching you as she did.

“No, it’s not all” She started, catching everyone’s attention, especially yours. “You’re pregnant” you said very matter of a fact.

“So that is why you’re late” Ada smiled, and she got up to give you a hug. You turned to Tommy, the poor man was still trying to process everything that was going on, his eyes soon found yours.

“Surprise” your cheered sheepishly, watching as a smile formed on his handsome face, things were about to get a lot harder, but he had even more reason to keep you safe, you were growing his child and he couldn’t be more smitten with you.

[kachuuyaa]

May I request a Raiden Shogun! Reader paired with Fyodor? Also does it stick to just personality of the puppet or does it include their fighting style and stuff? I think Fyodor's reaction to a reader who has a similar devastating attack like Musou no Hitotachi/Raiden Boss would be interesting

a/n: i had to rewrite this thrice anyway, you will harbor the personality of raiden ei! no puppet or anything but u still have the plane of euthymia

1 yr link!

RAIDEN SHOGUN!READER X FYODOR

you couldn't have picked a worse time to get out of your Plane of Euthymia. as you stepped out of ancient japan to your Plane, you stepped foot in yokohama, japan. the bustling streets and the tall buildings overwhelmed you, as you figured your way out of the area. your outfit was enough to attract foreign gazes, though when the Special Division for Unusual Powers had caught wind of your presence, they began to monitor you. 

your abilities are what caught them off guard. not that you would tell them you were from 500 years ago, obviously. your energy was overwhelming enough to make them hypothesize that they were dealing with an unusual ability user, although they are not sure if that was the right term to address you by. dazai hypothesized that your case was like chuuya's, a god inside of you, yet you made no move to correct them. let them have their rumors, why don't they ask you outright? were they too scared to? certainly, the people have evolved since ancient japan, you mused. 

the reason why you shut yourself out from japan in its entirety was due to the incident with your sister all those years ago. struck with grief, you created a plane where time does not pass. and, well, you should have known that staying in it forever was pointless. However, the point is, why didn’t you leave as soon as you came in? It could’ve been 30 years, maybe even 50, yet you chose to stay here as the generation from whence you came dissolved into nothingness. Yet you were too prideful, staying there in pursuits you could reach this so-called ‘eternity’ that you wished to achieve. Even then, 500 years ago, you have come to terms that the road to eternity was a long one. Literally, in fact, with your Plane of Euthymia, the abilities that came with you will remain with you forevermore. 

You knew change was inevitable, accustoming yourself to a place incredibly familiar to you yet so foreign at the same time. You knew the soil was different, yet the events that occurred here 500 years ago remained fresh in your mind. Perhaps, with such change, it left you with naivety. As a military general, you should have known that the consequences double each decade, yet here, you had no power. If you were to tell one military higher up that you were a “renowned samurai”, they would have laughed at your face. And so, with your head down low and your pride tarnished, you walk the streets of Yokohama with no goal in mind, just to pursue eternity, just as you told your sister you would do for the both of you. 

You had told yourself 4 years ago that should you ever reach for the closest opportunity to remain eternal, isolating yourself would be the best start. However, you found yourself catering to the requests of the public in the Sky Casino, someplace seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and your curiosity betrayed your morals. Sigma, the manager, welcomed you with open arms and a timid smile on his face, probably due to your overwhelming aura and the condescending look plastered on your face. He realized you rarely smile, and the crackling aura emanating from your body tells him that you are not to be angered. He also was tasked to find information about you, relying on his ability, yet there were no records for you. Perhaps, could you be the same? Did you just spawn after being written in the book?

He reported it to Fyodor, as his members usually do. Fyodor told him to consult you, and, although left with no choice, he accepted. Sigma didn’t know what to do with what you told him. That, or he was in disbelief that you were so open. He remembers you questioning him if he has heard of the “Raiden Shogun”. Of course, he did, he’s heard the preaches and the praises of their work around the casino, and it was no different. Yet when you told him that you were the Raiden Shogun, he laughed in disbelief. Though, when he turned to you, you held a serious expression, asking if you were mocking him for being delirious. He now believes you, as the photos and the drawings of the Shogun he has seen resembled you perfectly. Yet, aren’t you a mortal? Sure, ancient Japan’s strongest weapon is powerful, yet he knew that you were to pass away then. You waved him off, sparkles of purple latching onto your hands. That’s when he knew. 

He brought you to Fyodor, a thought lingering that you may be naive to this world and that Fyodor can help you, as he helped him. He was looking for a home, and he was certain you were looking for one too. Okay, Fyodor was intrigued, yet you felt something off. His words were saccharine and too persuasive for your liking. So, begrudgingly, you agreed. He could not miss the suspicion colored purple in your eyes. It was too strong to be ignored. Especially someone like you, of your caliber, it would only be natural if you were suspicious of everyone you come across. Though, Fyodor was a one-track mind, with a goal to make you belong in the DOA. 

He realized he had to open up to you if he was going to recruit you, it wasn’t that easy. Especially when you were unnerved upon hearing your title come out of his mouth. He deduced that you were not to be called the Raiden Shogun, as it makes you uncomfortable. He was first introduced to your power upon being attacked by ability users. The final skill you performed, which was the Musou No Hitotachi, a skill that was only ever used when you decide that they were to receive the ‘Divine Punishment’ you bestowed upon sinful people awed him, not that he'd show it. So, he wonders, why haven’t you used it on him yet? He was the epitome of sin, a wannabe God that carries out his own goals with selfishness in mind. You were naive, yet to the emotions of others that you observe, you may rival his own knowledge. 

It would take long for him to settle with his feelings. His only goal in mind is to eradicate the world of ability users, but you were one, as well. So, he weighed his options. Rule the world with you, or eradicate the world with you, too. It would be even harder with Nikolai on his tail, ready to pounce at any given moment. Oh, well, it was a problem for later. Your abilities easily surpass every ability he has ever seen. Your combat skills, too. Even without an ability, you were still to be feared for your achievements as a Head General 500 years ago. You were not a solo samurai for nothing. 

Due to your nature for being suspicious, any change of behaviour from Fyodor would immediately alert you, though, it does not mean it doesn’t intrigue you. For you and him to settle with your feelings was no easy task, more so falling in love. You didn’t like the idea, you knew love was not eternal, he was not eternal, and that you would lose him too, just like you lost your sister. The road to his goals was a rocky and unsafe path that you chose to join, and you also had the choice to leave. Although, with Fyodor, maybe you’d stay. Maybe, if you were with him, everything you had hoped for would reach eternity-- maybe both of you would be the beings remaining as the world passes for another 500 years. 

© kachuuyaa

[lunar-wandering]

comedic timing

hello hi yes welcome to the slapstick au aka how many stupid jokes i can fit into one fic

at some point this lost its way of being well written and just changed into me writing short jokes but yknow what?? this au was made for insane comedy in the first place its fine

@ninja-knox-ur-sox-off u chose this fic so. here we go

also @smallpwbbles since i rambled about this au to you first

Word Count: 4k

Read on Ao3

Training under the Monkey King was almost like a dream come true for MK.

They key word here being "almost".

There were many, many things he didn't understand about his mentor. He usually chalked up most of the strange things Wukong did to either being immortal or his 500 years by himself after sealing the Demon Bull King. (MK was no expert, but he was pretty sure you weren't meant to go for very long without actual human interaction. He wasn't entirely sure what the consequences of doing that would be though, so he couldn't always pinpoint when something his mentor did was because of.... that.).

What MK found most odd though, was that Wukong kept training him how to fight. With punches and kicks, and a few bonus courses in weapons in case he ever happened to lose his staff.

This, of course, was weird, as demons had basically instated a battle system via comedy like- well, MK wasn't sure on the exact date really, but he was pretty sure it was rather long ago. The main rule nowadays, was that whoever could tell and land the best joke, whether it be anything from slapstick to your run of the mill knock knock gag, would win the battle, the loser having to stop... whatever they were doing and go home. 

MK had never met or heard of a demon that didn't agree to the new rules (even the Demon Bull King, after being released from the mountain, was learning stand up comedy from his son. Or, well, MK assumed that was what was happening, based on what had happened during the race), so he was, admittedly, really confused as to why Wukong kept insisting that they only train his fighting skills, just in case some demon that "didn't follow the new rules" came around.

Well, MK could have just accepted it as his mentor being concerned for his safety, but he was pretty sure he was to the point where he could defend himself without Wukong needing to worry.

Which led into his confusion over why the rumored "undefeated comedian" wouldn't teach him a single joke. Not even a singular knock knock joke ever passed the monkey's lips while they trained. Oh sure, he teased him a little, the entire "number one focus guy" incident easily coming to mind, but he never actively joked, at least not in a way that MK could realistically copy. It was weird, really weird, considering all the stories MK had heard about the Monkey King being an absolute master of slapstick. His immortality and invulnerability let him do tricks and gags that would likely get an ordinary person killed (that time Wukong had supposedly fallen through an open sewer hole, like what you would see in a cartoon, being one of such gags), and he did them masterfully.

MK had initially thought that, with his invulnerability, he could just walk into a wall mid fight and call it a day. But of course, it was his invulnerability that had to be taken away in order for him to actually control his powers in the first place, so he'd ended up having to actually think about his jokes.

...Which was mainly why he was so pressed over the fact that Wukong wouldn't teach him anything even slightly related to comedy.

"So..." MK leaned against a boulder on Flower Fruit Mountain, chewing on a granola bar as he watched his mentor carry over a new pile of weapons for them to train with. "When are you gonna stop teaching me all this fighting stuff and actually teach me some, y'know, comedy stuff."

Wukong froze, going tense, the fur on his tail standing on end. MK took another bite of his granola bar as he waited for the Monkey King's response.

"Uh, oh, that, right, yeah." Wukong started walking again, trying to pretend like he was unbothered, but MK could still see the way his shoulders were hiked up, his tail swinging back and forth nervously as a strained smile forced it's way onto the monkey's face. "We'll uh, we'll get to that when we get to thAT-"

Wukong cut himself off as he yelped, slipping on a leaf, falling backwards, the weapons he'd been carrying falling to the ground around him, causing him to have to role to the side to just barely avoid receiving a spear through the eye. MK blinked, before finishing off his granola bar, standing up straight, and walking over to his mentor, picking one of the swords out of the ground, he twirled it around before planting it back into the ground, leaning on it for balance as he stared down at Wukong, who was panting from the rush of anxiety that nearly being skewered had caused.

"Y'do know we're not in a comedy fight right now, right?" MK asked, "Also, if that was meant to be some attempt at teaching me some physical comedy, it sucked. There's no way I could copy that without getting, y'know, impaled. Like a BBQ skewer."

"Oh, ha-" Wukong stretched, before springing himself to his feet, giving MK that same nervous smile he tended to do. "That wasn't really a lesson I- I didn't expect you to copy it- You know what? Let's just move on from this. Now, the next important thing to learn is your footing, you don't want to get your feet swept out from under you mid battle-"

And that was another weird thing about Wukong. MK had, in fact, witnessed things like this happen all the time. From accidentally putting a hole in the wall, to falling over the side of a cliff, Wukong had been showing off prime slapstick material left and right. And yet, every time MK decided to comment on it, Wukong almost immediately would change the subject, typically to learning how to fight. It was weird. Really weird.

Because of this, for a while, MK had tried finding someone else to teach him the ins and outs of comedy. 

Which was how he met Macaque.

The first time he met the shadow monkey, Macaque had been walking along the side of a building- and then had promptly tripped over his own scarf, falling down into the alley way below. Upon returning to the top of the building via shadows, he had immediately said "I meant to do that". It was, in MK's mind, classic comedy.

He had to stop training under Macaque when the monkey had attempted to steal his powers though. He'd tried to do it mid-training session in his dojo, but Wukong had, thankfully, fallen through the roof just in time to stop the whole thing. Macaque had taken one look at the hole in his roof, then back down at Wukong, sighed, said "How am I meant to compete with that." and vanished into thin air.

Wukong had reprimanded MK for getting other mentors without his permission for 11 minutes, and MK had distractedly bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the fact the Monkey King still had a piece of roof tile resting on his head for 10.

After that whole disaster of a scenario though, MK had, finally, caved into Mei's advice, and gotten a book on how to tell jokes. Thus far, it had been an amazing help, especially in battles against Red Son. He was, in fact, ninety-nine percent sure that Red Son must own the same book of jokes, based on some of his responses, but jokes on him, MK must've been reading a few pages ahead, so the winner of their past few battles had been him.

He'd mentioned the book and what a help it had been to Wukong, who had simply hummed, seemingly not paying that much attention, as he was distracted pulling the monkeys that had climbed all over him off. So, MK had shrugged, going home without putting much thought into it, and going to bed.

He was awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of something being knocked over. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he reached over to his nightstand, grabbing his phone, and turning on it's flashlight as he sat up.

The frozen form of Wukong, holding the comedy book, was what met him.

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything, MK's tired brain taking the time to process what he was seeing, while Wukong remained very still in the subtle hope that, maybe, if he didn't move, MK wouldn't notice and would just go back to bed. It was a little too late for that, though. MK blinked, slowly tilting his head to the side.

"...Monkey King? Wh-" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as Wukong shifted his form into a bird, the book clanging to the floor as it fell from his grip, Wukong swirling around in mid-air before turning to fly out the window.

Only to slam right into the glass, evidently having forgotten that he had in fact closed the window after sneaking his way into MK's apartment. Falling back, shifting to his normal form as he hit the floor, he groaned, rolling over to lay face down on the floorboards. MK slipped out of bed, sliding on a pair of slippers as he approached his mentor, picking the comedy book off the floor and holding it close to his chest with one arm as he crouched down and poked Wukong's shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." Wukong groaned, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Glancing at MK, he let out a nervous chuckle. "Um. So uh. Oh, to hell with it- there's something you should know."

"Does it have something to do with why you were stealing my comedy book in the middle of the night?"

"Uh, kinda." Wukong nervously rubbed the back of his neck while MK narrowed his eyes at him. "Y'see I've...kinda been cursed?"

"...Wait, are you implying that you don't do any of this kind of stuff on purpose-"

-

"I can't believe I used to think you did this on purpose." MK deadpanned, staring up at where Wukong was currently dangling from a tree, the monkey's foot having gotten caught on a branch. "I thought you were smart, planning all this shit in advance. But no. Apparently you're just cursed."

"MK please." Wukong said, "It's been ten minutes could you please get me down."

MK huffed, before summoning the staff, using it to whack the tree in one smooth motion. The tree shaking dislodged Wukong from the branch he was caught on, sending him tumbling to the ground. He let out a grunt on impact, before rolling over, struggling to detangle himself from his scarf, before finally managing to stand up, brushing the grass stains off his clothes, taking on a more confident pose, as though he hadn't just fallen out of a tree. MK watched him do this with a look indicating he was just about done with his mentor's antics.

"You called me all the way out here on my day off." MK said, "It better not have just been to get you out of a tree."

"Oh no, no, I actually do have something important to tell you." Wukong turned, leading MK through the waterfall and into the cave. "Y'see, I'm uh, leaving?"

"What."

"Yeah, I'm going on a uh, vacation!" As he said this, Wukong snapped his fingers, a suitcase appearing above him- and falling directly onto his head. Wukong himself didn't react to it, other than briefly wincing, so MK chose not to comment on it, instead focusing on the actual content of Wukong's sentence.

"...A vacation." MK crossed his arms. "You're leaving me?"

"Not- not leaving you exactly, I'll still be giving you like, remote lessons!" Wukong said, and upon seeing MK's unimpressed expression, continued with; "We'll figure it out, don't worry about it."

"This isn't some horrible attempt at a joke set-up, right?"

"Nope, I'm one hundred percent serious about this!" Wukong grabbed hold of the suitcase, summoning his cloud and hopping up onto it. "I'm sure everything will be just fine!"

-

This wasn't fine.

Laying in his bed, MK took a deep breath in, trying to swallow down the increasing anxiety, flashes of what had happened in the sewers earlier that day going through his mind.

The Lady Bone Demon... surely, surely it was just one giant joke, right? Some comedy act, some reference that he didn't fully understand? There was no way- there was no way she could've been serious about any of that- maybe she just really likes dark humor! Yeah, yeah that had to be it-

Rolling over, he leaned over the side of his bed, grabbing his laptop off the floor, setting it on his lap as he sat up, opening the search browser.

If it was a joke he just didn't understand, he would just have to decipher it on his own.

-

"Anyways-" Macaque let go off the staff, leaving it and MK to tumble to the ground, MK thankfully landing on his own two feet, keeping the staff pointed at Macaque in case the shadow monkey decided to try something else of the "not a joke" variety. "I should really be going nOW-"

Macaque cut himself off with a yelp, as he tripped over one of the floorboards of the stage that had popped loose from the impact of him catching the staff. He stumbled over his own two feet for a second, before gravity played it's tricks on him, and sent him falling over the edge of the stage, kicking up dust and debris as he landed, his elbow smashing the lantern into pieces.

MK blinked at the bright flash of light that followed, turning his head to the side to check on his friends, who groaned, slowly pulling themselves up into a sitting position. Overall, they seemed... fine, no visible injuries at least, though Tang seemed to have a headache-

A door swinging had MK turning back around, watching as Macaque's scarf got caught in the door, causing him to have to push it slightly open to pull the fabric out before the door shut again.

With pure amusement running through his veins, MK followed, kicking the door open as he stepped out into the alley way, laughing at how Macaque jumped at the loud noise. 

"You're clumsy, aren't you?!" MK said it like it was the funniest information he'd learned in weeks, and, to be truthful, it kinda was. "You didn't do any of that on purpose!"

"Wha- oh, the, breaking the lantern?" Macaque waved his hands around as though he was fumbling for an excuse. "Oh that- I planned that, once I realized how you were already dragging yourself down and didn't need me to do it for you- I- I suppose I did plan to be a bit more dramatic with it though... Not that the way I actually did it was an accident! The falling off the stage thing was entirely on purpose!"

"Mhm, yeah, sure." MK leaned against the staff, pose clearing showing he didn't believe Macaque in the slightest.

"I- Drop that look right now, I am not clumsy."

"And Monkey King's not cursed, mhm, yep."

Macaque paused, and, looking at MK's expression and realizing he wasn't going to get through to him on this case-

He turned and ran.

"Wh- Hey!" MK stepped forwards, but didn't start after the monkey, watching as he fumbled his way around the corner, barely avoiding slipping and falling on the ground, before vanishing into the night. He let his hand fall down to the side as Pigsy and the others crashed their way into the alleyway behind him.

Well. Nothing better for him to do tonight than go back to trying to decipher what the hell was up with the Lady Bone Demon's joke.

-

"Monkey King?" MK's voice was weak, strained with a thin layer of pain, and Wukong turned around, concerned.

"Kid?" He questioned, ignoring the way he felt like he wanted to just fall over, he couldn't do that, his kid was more important.

"...I don't think this is a joke anymore."

"Oh, really!" Wukong gestured at the Lady Bone Demon and her giant mech, who still sat in front of them, watching the interaction with a cool and calm gaze. "What, pray tell, clued you in?!?"

-

Life on the ship, for the first few days, was calm. Peaceful even.

But of course, in MK's life, nothing could ever actually be peaceful. Not for very long at least.

So, when Macaque emerged from the shadows, only to immediately lock eyes with Wukong, the two of them engaging in a silent staring contest, MK only sighed, setting his cup of juice down on the table.

"I should've expected this to happen." He mumbled, Macaque's ear briefly twitching in his direction, before he stood up, grabbing a broom leaning against the nearby wall, and stood beside his mentor, ready to actually fight if need be. "You here to attack, or?"

"Oh- oh no." Macaque stepped fully out of the shadows, brushing stray tendrils of darkness off of his clothes. "I just- I just came around to see if Wukong had finally managed to grow taller or if he was still as short as ever-"

Before Macaque could even finish his sentence, Wukong moved forwards, clearly planning on punching the shadow monkey, who looked panicked for a split second.

...Only for Wukong's curse to rear it's head, the Monkey King tripping over nothing, and falling to the ground. Macaque, who had moved to the side to dodge him, laughed-

And then stepped on his own scarf, fumbling for a moment before falling backwards onto the ground.

Neither monkey moved for a minute, and MK let out a world-weary sigh, setting the broom back where he found it and picking his juice back up and drinking it all down in one go, wishing that it was something a bit stronger than orange juice. Mei, who had been woken up by the sudden commotion, poked her head into the room.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about." MK glanced over at the two monkeys still laying on the floor. "...Probably."

-

Having Macaque on the ship took a little... readjusting.

Especially since he seemed to be doing everything in his power to ruin MK's day, in the smallest of ways.

Like,

"Why." MK whispered, broken, as he watched Macaque squeeze what had to be at least half a tube of toothpaste into a cup of orange juice, using a spoon to mix the unholy mixture together. The others, who had been in the kitchen getting their breakfast, had also frozen, watching in awed horror as Macaque proceeded to actually drink the concoction. Mei went as far as to stick her tongue out in disgust, while Pigsy looked near ready to faint. Macaque himself payed them no mind, either completely fine with the horrified looks he was receiving or simply not awake enough yet to care.

Wukong, however.

"Mhm, no, I see his point." He said, everyone's eyes immediately shifting to him. "The sting would probably wake you up really good, y'know, that's why I sometimes brush my teeth using hot sauce-"

Without a single ounce of hesitation, MK punched him.

-

The Monkey King broke a lot of things.

Whether it be a side effect from the curse, or just a natural thing he'd always done, MK had no clue.

But he did know that the amount of things he broke on average was decidedly not normal.

He still remembered finding out that Wukong had been using his toothbrush, one morning, when he'd walked into the bathroom to find said toothbrush snapped into two pieces.

"Monkey King, I know you're a monkey." He'd said, turning around to find his mentor standing sheepishly in the bathroom doorway. "But please. You're better than Macaque."

"Hm?" Macaque made a noise of confusion as he walked by, using Mei's toothbrush to brush his teeth. MK waved him off. It was a good thing Mei kept at least ten backup toothbrushes in case of emergencies.

Hairbrushes, on the other hand.

Well, their had been backups. But then one had gone flying out the window, another had gotten stuck in the wall, three more were split in half, and five were shattered into tiny little pieces. The rest had, subsequently, gone missing.

"Oh no!" Wukong had draped himself over the side of the couch, his fingers already finding their way to start carding through Mei's hair, using his claws to gently pick out any knots. "All the hair brushes are gone! A shame, I'll have to do it all myself-"

Mei narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of roundabout 'I want more contact but don't know how to ask for it' kinda bullshit is this?" She'd asked, tilting her head back in order to stare directly at Wukong, who avoided her eyes. She sighed. "Next time just ask for a hug instead of hiding all the hairbrushes in the freezer."

Wukong had let out a noncommittal hum, and the next morning MK had found a suspiciously cold hairbrush sitting on his desk.

But, to get back on track, MK knew that Monkey King broke a lot of things.

Which was why he was only mildly surprised when he woke up to the sound of a loud bang, followed by whispered swearing.

Blearily checking his phone, he found that it was 3:42 am.

Groaning, he slid himself out of bed, knowing that chaos would likely greet him in the morning if he didn't get up to go and investigate now.

Which was how he ended up standing in the entrance to the kitchen, blinking, slowly processing the figure out his mentor standing in the center of the kitchen, with his foot stuck in the broken microwave door.

Wukong froze as soon as he registered his successor's presence, going perfectly still. MK blinked again, wondering if maybe he was hallucinating.

He wasn't.

"...How."

"You're dreaming." Wukong tried, speaking in a hushed voice. "Go back to bed."

"No. How."

Wukong looked away, going back to silently trying to pull his foot out of the microwave door.

"Monkey King."

"I- I was getting a snack, and I forgot I turned it on and-"

"Did you get scared by a MICROWAVE-" MK started, torn between disappointment and laughing.

"It was loud, okay?!" Wukong whined, looking about ready to cry as MK snorted, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from actually bursting into laughter at his mentor's predicament. The sound of running caught MK's attention, and he barely moved out of the way in time for Macaque to trip and fumble his way into the room.

"MK- kid- please tell me we have security cameras that caught that-" He gestured over to Wukong, who, finally, managed to get his foot free of the microwave's clutches. "Please I have to add it to Mei's Wukong collection-"

"Fuck off." Wukong hissed, eyes flashing red.

"You're the one that woke me up you bitch, let me have this." Macaque glared back at him, before turning back to MK with a pleading expression. All of MK's exhaustion suddenly came back to him all at once.

"Listen- just. Okay. First of all, Macaque, there is in fact a security camera in here-" MK pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a tired breath, ignoring how Macaque cheered. "Monkey King- could you pass me some bread, I should at least make some toast if I'm going to have to deal with this-"

"...I've got some good news and some bad news." Wukong said, staring down at the floor.

"Monkey King."

"The good news is that it wasn't me this time."

"Hold on, wait a second-" Macaque suddenly took on a panicked look, stepping forwards, only to be tugged back as his scarf got caught on the edge of the doorway, causing him to have to turn around to tug it loose, able to do nothing as Wukong continued.

"The bad news is that the toaster is currently out of commission."

"What. Did. You. Do." MK spoke each word slowly, carefully, lacing each with an underlying threat.

"Hey, I literally just said it wasn't my fault this time." Wukong put his hands up in the air, the picture of pure innocence, and MK whirled around, grabbing hold of Macaque's arm before the monkey could leave the room.

"Macaque."

"...It was loud. And I tripped. And it burned me so I smashed it on instinct and threw it into my pocket dimension." Macaque admitted, voice quiet. "But! But I replaced it, so-"

In sync, the two of them turned back to Wukong, who whistled innocently as he used his tail to shove an obviously dented toaster behind his back and out of sight.

MK let go of Macaque's arm, leaving the room with about as much disappointed anger as he could channel.

"I'm going back to bed."

[whitehotharlots]

Beautiful future

The year is 2029 and you are a recent college graduate. You are 85k in debt and pay $2,700 a month to sleep on a futon in some guy’s garage. 

All Android and iOS devices come pre-loaded with an undeleteable app called Tattlr, which can be used to report any instances in which others make you feel unsafe or display unpatriotic sentiments. A person whose Tattlr score falls too low will find themself unable to board an airplane, travel out of state, access job applications, or make cashless payments. The only way to raise your score is to report the misdeeds of others. 

You start a job as a biology teacher. It’s an easy gig, consisting of little more than taking attendance playing and pausing videos provided to you by Pearson. You’re technically supposed to screen the videos to ensure they won’t cause any hurt or spread any misinformation, but it’s been years since all electronic media was purged of offensive terms such as “lame,” “evolution,” and “women.” A few weeks pass and you start slagging off a bit.

That’s a mistake. One of the videos contains the phrase sexual dimorphism. You don’t even notice it, but the utterance is enough to cause a student who self-identifies as a seahorse (xe/seahorseself) to storm out of class. Xe swallows four ibuprofen in an attempt to commit suicide and you are fired immediately. 

Seahorseself’s parents sue and you fall an additional 50k in debt, which means your Tattlr score is now too low for you to attempt post a video asking for GoFundMe donations--a shame, since GoFundMe is now the nation’s only remaining health insurer. 

A man named Kennesaw Mountain Landis VI reads of your story on PatriotNews.biz. He takes pity and offers you a job at his Jeep dealership. The place has bad vibes--you worry about the Tattlr effects of taking a job at a place whose workforce is nearly 30% white--but you have no other options.

A week in, things seem to be going fine. But then a customer who thinks all disease is caused by not eating enough red meat sees you using hand sanitizer. He posts a video of the incident and you are fired immediately. Your Tattlr score is now in the negative teens which means you’re not even allowed access to food banks.

With no other options, you turn to sex work. And, ahh crap, you shouldn’t have said you “turned to” sex work since sex work is as good and valid as any other form of work. Your Tattlr score is now -27 and your parents can’t mention your name. 

Anyhow, the sex work--you were a little worried at first, remembering something a professor said about how syphilis is now fatal again since antibiotics stopped working in 2025. But you checked the WikiHow page for Sex Work (which, weirdly, is hosted by Tattlr) and are assured that the STI’s are actually a myth, a construct of white western society, a homophobic lie, and also germ theory ain’t never truly been proven. Man... maybe that guy at the Jeep dealership had a point? 

Three weeks and 45 dicks later, you finally have a little walkin’ around money. But, woah, your throat feels like you swallowed a burning match. You can’t access a doctor, but you can pay $185 to use an app that allows you to talk to a woman who is named Doctor’a. 

After clicking a box promising that you have never and will never criticize Israel, Doctor’a informs you that STI’s are some made up SWERF bullshit and you are most likely suffering from hyper-morgellon’s (HMG). She eyeballs your Tattlr score and tells you that while it’s not her job to education you further, if you pay an additional $500 she’ll add an exemption to your file that will allow you access to an HMG support network. You comply.

You quickly learn that you do, indeed, have HMG. There’s literally no other explanation: your throat is filled with arthropods. They took root in your respiratory system due to a combination of 6g radiation and racial fragility. Your only hope is a combination of prayer, tarot, ivermectin, and paying 50% of your gross GoFundMe proceeds to have a person of color scream at you.

You do everything you can but the pain keeps getting worse. You can’t hold down food and have had a fever for nearly two weeks. With your last few dollars and vestiges of strength, you post a final message begging for an explanation. A reply comes: you deserve this. The reply gets 75k likes and you are known forever as The Ratio Guy. 

[batboyblog]

Prominent European Jews worry the war against antisemitism has been lost

In Germany, a man wearing a kippah was beaten on the street. In Austria, a student was harassed on the train for reading a book mentioning Jews in the title.

In London, a nurse said she was threatened at her hospital for wearing a Star of David necklace. And in Belgium, an Orthodox Jewish woman was told “Get away, dirty Jewess” by a man with whom she tried to share a park bench.

The full dimensions of Europe’s current surge in antisemitic activity are not yet clear, but by some measures, including those by the British Jewish community, the extent is unprecedented. Meanwhile, the range and density of incidents are unusual.

.....

In light of dozens of incidents in Belgium alone in recent weeks, Joel Rubinfeld, the president of the Belgian League Against Antisemitism, wrote that he doubts whether he will be able to continue living in the country with his wife and two children.

“I believed I could. Now I doubt I can,” Rubinfeld, a former leader of the CCOJB, the umbrella group of French-speaking Belgian Jews, wrote in an op-ed published Saturday in the Le Vif weekly.

Brigitte Wielheesen, a well-known journalist and counterterrorism expert from the Netherlands, wrote Thursday in an op-ed for the news site Jonet that after years of battling antisemitism, she has concluded that the activity has become useless.

“The fight against this sickness has become hopeless,” wrote Wielheesen, a former secretary of the Interprovincial Rabbinate of the Netherlands. “If Jews are Europe’s canary in the coal mine,” she said, then “that bird is no longer alive.”

......

British Jewry’s security unit documented more than 250 antisemitic incidents in the 17 days that followed May 9 — a 500% increase over the previous 17 days. In May, that unit, CST, has logged 325 incidents — more than any month since 1984, when CST began documenting incidents. In July 2014, during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, CST recorded 317 cases.

These were a few of the parts of this that really stuck out, the lines that will stay with me forever. Over the last few years the news from European Jewry has been bad, to worse, murder, assault, harassment, fear. There's a part of the movie, Schindler's List where the Nazis are about to liquidate the Jewish population of Krakow, and the Nazi Amon Goth says

"For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening those six centuries will be a rumor. They never happened. Today is history."

There have been Jews in Europe since the Roman Empire, over 2,000 years. Year after year I've watched the slow motion death of European Jewry, when will it finally happen? when will our history in Europe finally pass? Today is History, please stop looking the other way.

[starberry-cupcake]

Vanitas no Carte chapter 55 spoilers under here

so, anyway...the Count of St. Germain

the historical one is a wild celebrity of XVIII century France, if I’m not mistaken:

Nobody knows when he was actually born or what his real name actually was

He claimed to have lived over 500 years at times, and was a philosopher, alchemist, artist, traveler, musician and really fun dude to hang out with, according to memoirs

Among the names and identities he claimed and that people believed was the son of the man who was prince of Transylvania between 1704 and 1711, Ferenc II Rákóczi, and who ruled less than 100 years after the last Drăculești who ruled, if i’m not mistaken

Basically, to summarize, I believe he claimed at one point that he was the son of the prince who had been said to have passed at age 4, in an Anastasia-movie-type turn of events

It was uncheckable but he had money and good education, nobody knew how

He changed pseudonyms everywhere he went so people wouldn’t place him

His passport was also kept vague

He was suspected of espionage in London but wasn’t convicted

Lady Jemima Yorke said he was “everything with everybody“ and Voltaire said called him immortal and all-knowing

He spoke at least 6 languages and nobody knew which was his own, it was speculated to have been Spanish or Portuguese but there was no checking that

He was also a great musician and composer and really cool at parties

He was employed by Louis XV for diplomatic missions and it is said he was lent a lot of money by the King as well

He was suspected of a lot of political plotting but with no consequences

He was center of stories, impersonations and memoires by celebrities at the time, like Giacomo Casanova 

He was buddies with Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel because the Prince was interested in the occult and a member of several secret societies, so he built a factory for him to experiment with alchemy, stones and other important metaphysical stuff

He supposedly passed there but his most personal items, including his violin, were never found

From then on, people theorized him being immortal, capable of producing the elixir of life, being ascended, being the figure of several myth and other many things

Andrew Lang wrote an essay trying to trace him in which he says he was inspiration for several stories at the time in which “a mysterious being who passes through the ages, rich, powerful, always behind the scenes, coming no man knows whence, and dying, or pretending to die, obscurely--you never find authentic evidence of his disease. In other later times, at other courts, such an one reappears and runs the same course of luxury, marvel, and hidden potency.”

Andrew Lang also poses the question of whether he actually passed back when they say he did

SO 

The date in which the Count’s historical demise is recorded is 1784. 

If memory serves, Louis XV, real life Germain’s buddy, is mentioned during the Beast of Gévaudan incident in the manga, which checks out historically with “real life’s” Beast of Gévaudan, since real life Louis XV was involved in that conundrum back in the day. 

So yeah, interesting. 

[avionvadion]

“Eventually it was found out I was hiding her in my home, tending to her wounds. I’m sure you know how well this place takes to outsiders, yes? They chased her out to die at the hands of the wild pokémon, and I haven’t been able to find her since.”

I really wanted to draw a Hisui!Steven, and this is what my brain came up with. Because obviously I had to make it Time Lapse: Reluctant Hero related. Since it’s Hisui and 500 hundred years in the past, it only makes sense that his name would be Daigo. And since the “heroes” don’t exist in the specific universe they live in (being a world in which the villains were supposed to win, before a bunch of Legendaries screwed up and El got tossed into Rustburo) Arceus is probably just watching things happen beyond expectations. 

I mean, at “this” point in time, El has had unwanted contact with the very same Legendaries who hecked up, has managed to stop Team Rocket, Team Magma and Team Aqua, and even stopped Team Galatic during what was supposed to be her freaking honeymoon. Farther in the future, her first two kids- Ienzo and Amelia- end up stopping Team Plasma and the third youngest kiddo, Aria, puts a stop to the shenanigans happening in Galar. 

So, for all intents and purposes, Arceus is just like, “Hm, yes, thou humans are quite skilled and just the heroes we need. Unfortunately, the one is a bit too old for thy quest.” So he just snatches (probably) Amelia since she looks the most like her mother with the brown hair, and YEETS her five hundred years into the past. 

And then she meets  one of her ancestors who is also Steven’s past life or something where he’s named Daigo and he looks the exact same except that he has a ponytail now and has a slightly softer/sadder disposition, and is a good few years younger than current Steven. So she totally mistakes him as her dad at first. But he’s not. And now they’re both confused.

But Amelia looks just enough like El that Daigo- after talking to her enough times- mentions that she reminds him of someone he used to know. And that sets off so many alarm bells because HUH REALLY WOW WHAT A COINCIDENCE, DOES THIS PERSON HAPPEN TO BE A FOREIGN UNOVAN LADY.

And he’s like, the heck is Unova? She was definitely foreign though.

And so Amelia asks what the woman looked like and how they met, and Daigo says he saved her from drowning by some wild pokemon a couple years ago. He snuck her into the village to treat her and fell in love. But his brother (who is totally just a blue-haired Richard mwahahaha) found out and told the villagers, and they chased her out to die.

And Amelia is just horrified.

Because obviously her parents went through some serious nonsense to get where they are now. Steven found El amnesiac and alone in the streets of Rustboro in the middle of the night when they were kids, and had made a promise to meet again just for her to be kidnapped by Team Rocket and abused by them for the next nine years. Steven doesn’t know whether she’s alive or dead. El doesn’t remember his name or what he looks like. Eventually she escapes because of Mewtwo blowing their headquarters, but then six more years pass. And then Steven fucking dies because Groudan and Kyogre, and it’s only thanks to Celebi reviving him that he’s alive now, and then like two more years pass after the Rayquaza incident where Steven just disappears because oh gods feelings he does not know how to process. 

But in their past lives? Jeez. 

They were forcibly torn apart by death, and then separated by an entire dimension. If it wasn’t by happenstance that the Legendary Pokémon screwed up, they never would have met again in Hoenn. Amelia was impressed that El and Steven ever even found each other at all as adults, but is even more baffled after learning what Daigo went through. 

When Amelia finally returns to Hoenn, she’s probably gonna tackle Steven and El in a giant bear hug because good gods it’s a miracle their family even exists. 

Shout out to Celebi, because, heh, well, they’re the reason both El and Steven are alive.