#also Alec rocks in the last part

[loveswrites]

Hey bestie, how you have been? Hope is good! Anyway, i really L O V E D your poly Volturi things, i was wondering if you take requests here goes one...

Ok, listen, fem!reader x poly volturi one where the reader is in her period, like I'm in mine and reading this i was wondering how they will react like smelling the blood all the time... i will love to see the way you work on this, but just if your comfortable.

So is this, take care of yourself and hope you have a great day! (and sorry for the bad English :)

Red Sea Poly Volturi x reader

Time it took me: 4 hours along with a cupcake bake in the middle and then part of the next day which was today so i'd say 8 hours

Word count: 2884

To Coraline: Hello Lovely! I've been doing a little bit better thank you so much for asking! I loved this req seeing as I am on mine as well I felt that it was a perfect time to write it and I guess that's what pushed me to write it so quickly! But I don't think I really did what you asked for? I don't know I always just get the vibes that I don't truly listen to you guys when you req something, I always do something like it lmao. Let me know how you liked it thou! Ps. Your English was lovely!

Love <3

Poly Volturi x reader

Turning a corner you let out a long sigh. Currently you were walking around the castle just going around in circles indecisive on who you wanted to spend time with and who you wanted to ask for some.. Things.  You had woken up today to your punishment for simply being a woman. Your period. The reason you were walking around and not just lying in bed like you normally would is because this is your first time having your period in a castle full of vampires. Your period was very irregular so even though it had been a few months since your mates had found you, you’ve never bled around them before. 

You were nervous to see how they would react to it. You thought about asking Jane for some pads but then you remembered that she doesn’t have a period. And she’s probably never had one in her life to begin with. You thought about asking Felix but you felt that he would just make fun of you or tease you. Which was something you didn’t want to deal with right now. If someone teased you about something you couldn’t control you feel like you’d just snap. 

Asking Alec was just a plain no. You knew he’d just stare at you in confusion like what the hell do you mean your bleeding? With Caius you didn’t want to bother him as he was busy with trails right now with the other kings. Plus you’d have a feeling he’d want to paint with it. He has this infatuation with the way dark red blood looks. And you didn’t want him to paint a mural out of your blood for you. Though you're sure it would be gorgeous, he never disappoints you with his paintings.  

The only one that was left was Demtri. Your gentleman out of all your mates. Now you would ask him because you know he wouldn’t tease you or ask some weird request once you got what you needed but that still didn’t stop you from avoiding him also. 

So when you woke up this morning with the red sea between your legs you rushed to the bathroom and took a shower. Covering yourself in scents you’d only use if it was your last day on earth. Spraying yourself in the most expensive perfume that you could find. God do your mates love to spoil you or what? This one bottle of perfume you knew for a fact was a thousand dollars and yet they still said “It was nothing.” For once you were grateful that your room was on the far side of the castle away from all the other vampires including your mates.

You had picked this room purely based on the views that came with it. Your balcony was facing the ocean side of the castle. You could fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks. And you could watch the horizon where the moon and the sun would meet everyday, each rise and set of the moon and sun was always better than the last. That was what you loved about this castle. And that was what you loved about your wing of it. It was your small piece of the fortress and no one could take that away from you. Your love’s made sure of it. 

Taking the silk sheets off your bed you did your best to scrub them clean but of course there was still a stain. You tossed them into the hamper and made a mental note to ask the maid to come get it later for you. You placed new sheets on your bed. You changed your makeshift pad that was made of tissue then you were off to pace the halls to grow some balls.  

You wore your robes that matched all the vamps that were with the volturi, hood up and all in attempts to hide your identity. 

It didn’t work. 

You were convinced that everyone in the castle knew your scent by hard because every vampire that passed, rather they were walking normally or vamping away, they would pause in their tracks and make sure to bow to you. Though it was completely unnecessary, you loved how it made you feel. The power that you hold as just a human brung so much pride to you. The 3 kings and your mates always would tell you to own it and so you did. 

You tried hiding in the shadows when you knew that someone was coming. Pushing yourself against the walls, even turning your whole body like you were just put into time out. You knew you looked like a dumbass but that wasn’t the point nor your problem right now. All you knew was that you didn’t want to face any more people than necessary. 

Finally after what felt like hours you finally made it to the receptionist desk. You were thankful that she was even there. She was always off doing something she had no business doing. You were surprised that she hadn’t gotten herself killed yet. But today you were grateful for that. 

“What can I do to help you?” She asked, putting on a voice that you could tell was supposed to be charming. It was not.

Pulling your hood off she immediately stood from her chair but quickly dropped down to bow. 

“My queen, Is there anything I can do to assist you? Master Caius is out feeding with the others. Would you like me to retrieve him?” She asked, speaking softly. 

Respect was a big thing with the kings if someone showed you any signs of disrespect you never saw or heard from them again. So it was understandable as to why she switched up so fast. 

“No, I was wondering if you had any… You know.. Tampons or pads? Anything honestly.” You said rushing it out. But still trying to keep it low.

“Oh! Don’t you have any of that stuff? They practically treat you like royalty.” She laughed with a roll of her eyes. 

That pissed you off. She’s always had a problem with you and you’ve always kept your mouth shut but today that wasn’t how you were feeling.

“Because I am. Now if you don’t like it or respect it I have no problem having this conversion with the kings. I'm sure they would love to hear about this.” You said in a stern voice, sending her a glare. Her eyes widened, you never threatened anyone, you’ve never had to. It was always done for you if it needed to be done. 

She got up and quickly left, hoping she went to get you something, anything at this point. You could feel that your makeshift pad is not working. 

“Till we hear about what, Amore mio?” You heard behind you making you jump and turn around. When you did you were faced by the three kings themselves. You found yourself sort of stung in place. Your plan was to come get some pads and I don’t know, hide until it all went away? Horrible plan but it worked in your head. This was not a part of your plan.

“Umm nothing I was justt..” You dragged out shifting your eyes between the three. 

Aro was staring at you with his wide curious eyes. Marcus looked at you with soft knowing eyes, he always knew when things were wrong with you. And caius looked at you with narrowed eyes.

“Are you hiding something from us?” Caius questioned stepping closer to you. You felt your heart skip a beat. They heard it of course. 

“Caius can you go away?” You asked, covering your face with the palm of your hands.

“Why would I go away? Are you trying to run away?!” Cauis yelled out, making you frown.

“Caius..” Marcus sighed out. There was no doubt that Cauis’s biggest fear was you leaving him and him never being able to find you. It broke your heart that he felt he wasn’t truely loveable.

“I swear you're bipolar.” You said taking your hands off your face just in time to see the receptionist with a brown bag in her hand. When you saw this you grabbed it from her and ran as fast as you could. 

“I wanna be alone right now! No one bother me, pass the message along!” When you turned your head to see if they were behind you they weren't even there. Seeing this you stopped running and caught your breath leaning on a wall. You swear you need to work out more. Or hell even walk more, but what's the point when you can have Felix carry you everywhere? 

Since you were down here on this side of the castle you thought why not stop and get some snacks? So that’s what you did. Big mistake.

Walking into the kitchen you saw Demetri and Felix and immediately turned around hoping that they didn’t see you.

“Bellissima?” Dem said softly, making you turn around.

“Yes?” You said, just as softly.

“Are you alright?” He said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” You said shifting from side to side slightly cringing.

“What’s that sme-” Before Felix could even finish his sentence you dashed out of that kitchen and you ran. You ran straight to your room and you didn’t stop for anything or anybody. Your one mission was to get to your room and stay there. 

Once you got to your room you ran straight to the bathroom and turned the shower on. You didn’t even allow yourself to think about how embarrassingly long it took you to get to this point. You never paid attention to how many people or how many vampires live in this castle until you felt like fresh bait to them. You let yourself relax feeling the hot water hit your back. You allowed it to wash away the mixed emotions you had. 

Once you got out you did your normal hygiene routine and you felt better. You felt ready to rot in a ball for the next week. Opening your bathroom door you stopped in your tracks when you saw all of your mates standing in front of you.

“Hi..?” You said after a minute passed and no words were spoken.

“Why are you acting so strange?” Alec was the first to speak.

“How could I have been acting strange? I haven't even seen you today!” You yelled out holding onto your towel tighter. 

“Yes you have, you’ve seen us both when you were cowering into the ‘shadows’.” Jane said plainly.

“You walked right past us like you didn’t even know who we were!” Alec yelled.

“Don’t yell at me!” You yelled back at him frowning.

“Why not?! If I don’t yell you might walk right past me again!”

“Just cause I walked past you doesn’t mean you can yell at me!”

“I can do whatever-” 

“Where not going to solve this yelling at her!” Dem yelled, cutting Alec off.

“Anyone wanna talk to her and not yell at her?!” He yelled looking at the rest of your mates. 

While he eyes weren’t on you you felt your eyes water and you couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down your face. The moment you sniffled you caught everyone's attention.

“You made her cry!” Alec yelled glaring at Demetri.

“I didn’t do a damn thing!” Dem yelled back at Alec.

That started a yelling war between Alec and Dem which only made you cry harder. It was frustrating. 

“Can someone tell me what that smell is!” Felix yelled out in his own frustration. As he had been sniffing everything like a damn dog since you’ve seen him. 

“It’s me! It’s me okay? I’m fucking bleeding I’m on my period okay?! That’s why I’ve been acting weird all day it’s embarrassing and I needed some pads but I didn’t have any and I knew that none of you did and I didn’t wanna ask so I didn’t and you guess kept popping up in places that you didn’t belong and-”

“You smell good.” Felix said, making you stop immediately.

“What?” You questioned.

“Yeah you smell sweeter but at the same time dull. It’s something I’ve never smelt before. It makes my mouth water.” Felix said, staring at you with slightly darker red eyes.

“I agree.” Cauis said, looking you up and down with greedy eyes. 

“She doesn’t smell like that to me, she smells like a softer scent of her normal self.” Dem said now looking at you with a strange expression on his face.

“She smells like something that I can’t explain but it’s pleasant.” Jane said as Alec agreed with her.

“I smell good?” You questioned with your voice cracking slightly.

“You always smell good. Are you seriously telling us that this is the reason that you’ve been avoiding us? That’s a foolish reason.” Cauis said.

“I’ll go gather some stuff you’ll need.” Jane said and before you could say anything of hell even blind she was gone. 

“I’ve read a whole book about menstrual cycles before-” Felix started.

“You can read?” Alec scoffed, dodging the book Felix threw at him in reflex.

“We're gonna take good care of you, I promise.” Felix said as he appeared at your side and settled you on your bed softly. 

“Master Caius, can you lay down? As much as I don’t like to admit it, you're her favorite to lay on when she’s in pain.” He asked, even though Cauis wanted to respond to Felix's statement he kept his mouth shut for your sake.

Cauis pulled you into him as he laid down and you felt yourself relax immediately. While you felt it they could hear it. 

“I’m in my towel this is not a reliable form of protection if you catch my drift?” You said to your mates hinting at the fact that you’d like to get dressed.

“You think I care if you bleed on me Amore mio?” Caius questioned in a dull tone as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yes I do.” You said as a matter of fact. This sent your mates into a tumble of laughter. While you looked dumbfounded they just shook their heads.

“Sometimes I think you forget what we are.” Dem said looking at you with a soft smirk on his face.

“We eat your kind for breakfast, lunch and dinner and yet you think we are put off by a little drop of blood. That is foolish.” Cauis said, shaking his head pulling you closer to him. 

“Now relax until Jane gets back.” Felix said leaving no room for argument.

With this being said you watched as your mates took their places in your room. Alec sat in a chair that was next to your bed grabbing a book to read. Felix turned on your tv that they had installed and began flipping through the channels. And dem was busy closing all of your curtains so that the room was dark for you. You felt loved by the smallest things that they were doing. Even if it didn’t benefit you, you felt at peace with your loves just in the same place as you. 

As you close your eyes Cauis begins stroking your hair sending a small shiver down your spine due to his cold finger tips. 

“If you just let us change you you wouldn’t have to go through this pointless pain.” Cauis said, making you shake your head.

“I show one sign of pain and you already wanna kill me.” You said snuggling closer into Caius which he welcomed with open arms.

“You’d be reborn into Una versione migliore di te.” He voiced like it was nothing.

“You know that I haven’t been keeping up with my lessons with Marus!” You yelled hitting caius on his side.

“And whose fault is that?” Alec said casually flipping the page to his book he was reading. 

“Not mine actually! Because everytime I try to go to Marcus study, one of you always stops me in my tracks and leads me in a different direction!” You said pointing to each one of your mates. To which none of them could say anything because they knew that it was true.

“See.” You said smiling at the fact that there was no back talk at all. 

Some time passed and you had fallen asleep. When you woke up you felt a weight on your stomach looking down you saw that it was Jane. Her head rested on your stomach. The sun had gone completely down and it was now pitch black in your room but you felt no fear in your heart because you knew that you were safe. 

When you went to shift your legs you were placed with a reminder of why they were here in the first place. Looking down at your previously white towel you couldn’t help the words that came out of your mouth.

“Fucking hell.” You groaned, rolling your eyes.

“A little free bleeding ain’t never hurt nobody.” Felix said with a smirk that you could just feel in your soul.

“What the fuck.” You said and immediately you heard a few chuckles come from different parts of the room.

[tapedsleeves]

it hated that I tried to answer your question with a bunch of links, so a new post it is!

so I can answer some of these!

if you're looking for a prankster, that's Jonathan Marchessault.

He and Fleury were close, but also Marchy is just. A funny, joke-y guy. He once stole/hid guys sticks during practice. He makes weird noises, he is friends with everyone. He never stops talking. if anyone is chirping anyone, it's Marchy. He yapped at ryan lomberg for being short last year during the playoff run. Ryan Lomberg is 5'9" and Marchy is LISTED as 5'9" but if he is that tall i'll eat my fucking hat. He's not that tall. He's short. I also think that this video from the quest for the cup series last year is very indicative of some of the dynamics between Marchy & Jack, and several other guys! Jack comes in looking very nice in a suit, and several guys go "oh jacky!!" Known Marchessault associate Keegan Kolesar snaps his fingers at Jack, while everyone else just laughs. Marchy says that "they want to see your boxers too" and then does the meanest little laugh i love him so much. the mic'd up linked above is really good, even though it's a couple of years old - most of those guys are still here (except smitty & max) and smitty was. absolutely essential to Marchy's development in Vegas. But the part I'm referencing is "I blew it" / "you blew it." Marchy & Keegan often have this hilarious back and forth, they're so witty together, i love them.

If there's a dad of the group it's Mark stone (everyone thought he had kids before he had kids) Petro (alex pietrangelo), and Martini (alec martinez). They have the MOST dad energy.

Martini has this like, really dry kind of cutting sense of humor. This interaction between petro and martini where they talk about sitting next to each other is like. Martini is being SO cutting but with the warmest voice you've ever heard in your entire life. And Petro is saying the nicest things but you KNOW they're sarcastic. the same but coming in from exact opposite approaches.

This video with about half the guys answering the question of "who would you trust to guide you in NYC" is VERY good. Petro says Howie (brett howden) or Martini, but ultimately chooses martini. You can see a lot of things at play here, some of which I'll get to later (i'm lookin at you paul cotter), but you can see: a lot of guys trust Martinez to get them around, because he's just got that. Competent Dad Vibe. Like it might be rocky, but you're gonna get through it. Petro is less "it's gonna get rocky" but still "you're gonna get through it" vibes.

Now Mark: I have to tell you a couple of facts about Mark Stone:

he loves golf. He has no concept of what a "weird" story is. Everyone, to a man, loves him so much. Mark cannot smile on command - he just shows all his teeth. Mark is SO weird. He changes his gloves every period bc he doesn't like his hands to get wet. He tapes his stick into such an abomination (bc he loves golf, seriously, compare his stick handle to a golf club. they are the same). He meowed right before the cup picture to make everyone smile and it worked. Mark Stone is the weirdest dad you've ever met, and he's still somehow really cool. Part of the appeal is that he has No Fucking Clue how or why people love him so much. He gets so hype on the ice, but he is insanely chill off of it. He cringed when they dumped too much beer on him in the cup celebrations. He named his child scarlett. That's right. Scarlett Stone. Red Rocks. He named his kid Red Rocks. The ultimate dad joke. He tells a story about Robin Lehner at a party in his back yard for the end of the year, where Ryan Reaves said that he didn't like snakes. So Robin goes outside to try to bring one up and then Mark had 5 snakes in his pool. Witness a man realize he's telling a story he didn't realize before he was telling it is weird in real time. This is the essence of Mark. I LOVE him.

Ok ok ok so. There's KIND OF a butt to the joke guy? but he's also like. SO beloved? VGK is an incredibly inclusive and accepting group. There's not really like. a clique-ish culture at all - they were so new a couple of years ago that the culture they built is "you're here, welcome, come on in" and never looked back. Everyone who's been traded there has said so.

That being said: it's Paul fucking Cotter.

They love to make fun of him, but in a way where if anyone else made fun of him, they'd beat them up. Paul is. Special. He has a trainer dump water all down his back so he gets the zoomies. In the quest for the cup episode, since he wasn't playing in the final, he told a story before video review about his hole in one with everyone egging / cheering him on. As seen in the above video, nobody trusts paul to find his way out of a paper bag. He stole his HSK captain (brayden Pachal, traded to the flames)'s car keys. Pachal took his car in return. He put boulders in front of the doors of Jack's car so he couldn't get in them. I know both of these facts are in the primer but they're ESSENTIAL to Paul. He's a prankster. He's a doofus. He loves goalies SO MUCH. He's friends with LT, they went on a supervised date. They were in HSK around the same time, and Paul loved doing the shootout, and LT loved doing the shootout so they did extra shootout practice together.

Re: get togethers: i am pretty sure that they all do it at random. Mark will host a big party (referenced above) but since they didn't have a captain for so long, it's just. a shared responsibility. Mark loves feeding people tho. So i wouldn't be surprised if he just. does that.

Re: outings uh. I got no clue. sorry.

Re: Newbies I can answer!! For Noah Hanifin, Mark and a bunch of other guys went to pick him up from the airport, but when Jack was traded to VGK, he was met at the hotel with just the Viva Girls. Mark was met at the airport with the Viva Girls. The Viva girls are the official welcoming party, btw. Everything else is probably who's available / by committee. Hanifin & Hertl got mark bc he was on LTIR. Petro picked up Barbashev i'm pretty sure bc they knew each other from St Louis. Robin took Jack out to eat bc a) he was on LTIR and b) they knew each other from buffalo.

Wild Bill is Marchy's best friend and that's not a joke. Marchy, Karly, Shea (along with Alex Tuch, now in Buffalo and Deryk Engelland, retired) owned a restaurant together. Karly seems quiet, but he's just as funny as Marchy. He loves Star Wars & his dog's name is Obi-Wan.

he danced to abba with his mom

I feel like there's a lot of info about Jack out there, but he really did become uh. More fun in VGK? Now that he's not the guY THE GUY that buffalo expected him to be (connor mcdavid). he proposed the idea of the wig + glasses during the end of the season & post season last year. Jack is SO funny. He loves memes. Idk. I feel like Jack is probably the one Golden Knight that everyone knows the most about and I'm not gonna tread any new ground here.

Shea is just a guy and i love him so much for it. I'm not the best person to ask about it, sorry. He always looks like he's being punished / upset about something except when he's smiling. It's soo cute. When shea took the cup to his house in vancouver, he took pictures of it with his neighbor. VERY sweet guy, very cute.

Logan is VERY CUTE. here he is holding a stick pretending to interview tomas hertl

i LOVE LT. He's got really sick tattoos. He loves shootouts. he and Paul are really good friends.

Chandler Stephenson once said that they had to "just grab our nuts and work." He's very down to earth, very funny. There's a reason why he's my profile pic. I love him so much it's hard to articulate why. Low key. Reasonable. sneaky hilarious.

SO YOU WANT SHIPS ? I can do you some ships:

just a list of ships that i've personally written or considered writing

Alex Pietrangelo / Alec Martinez Paul Cotter / Logan Thompson Jonathan Marchessault / William Karlsson / Reilly Smith Chandler Stephenson / Mark Stone Jack Eichel / Shea Theodore Shea Theodore / Alec Martinez (talk to zimmboniandbitty about this one, i promise) Jack Eichel / Jonathan Marchesault Jack Eichel / Keegan Kolesar Jack Eichel / Mark Stone Logan THompson / Adin Hill Adin Hill / Logan Thompson / Paul Cotter

Literally any combo. If you propose it, i've probably thought about it at least once.

[sailorstarlesbian]

I made a harukyon playlist! Because I have intense brainworms and because I noticed there's a severe lack of TMOHS playlists on spotify (except for itsukyon, good job).

Explanation/rant about each song + link to lyrics and translations under the cut! (tldr: tsundere x tsundere realness)

Weird Autum (Shardrow/Night in the Woods). Sometimes you can't see someone until they're gone. But some people never stop, they're always moving on. This song pretty much reflects how people view Haruhi at the beginning of the story, plus the curiosity? the singer has about Autum also reflects Kyon's curiosity for Haruhi and wanting to know more about her despite thinking she's "weird".

Dakara boku wa ongaku wo yameta (Yorushika). Even I had a faith in something too, but now it has turned into rubbish. I wrote to you again and again. Shoutout to letyukisayfuck for suggesting this one on the discord because yeah... I feel this one really resonates with Haruhi's feelings pretty much through the series, but mostly during Melancholy. Her inner turmoil between wanting to believe in the supernatural, wanting to believe she's special, but also being a pretty rational person who deep down knows it's impossible. The "you" the singer is talking too pretty perfectly fits Haruhi's vision of John Smith too.

Yoake to Hotaru (n-buna). I can't find what I want to do, so I hang my head down low and pretend to be in a hurry. They laugh at me when I fell down, but I notice not to notice the laughter. Yea this is pretty much a continuation of the last song (they're written by the same person it's not my fault). Haruhi's melancholy, her negative feelings towards a boring world that has no use to her, etc etc. I like that this song is less angry than the others in the playlist because Haruhi also has her moments of just. Feeling sad, man.

I Hear a Symphony (Cody Fry). I used to hear a simple song, that was until you came along. Now in its place is something new. I hear it when I look at you. I feel like this is pretty obvious, but, yea, Kyon's world literally gains color after he meets Haruhi. He, a self-defined cynic who thought he was over believing in supernatural stuff, is suddenly thrown into Haruhi's whole mess and he loves it. I'm gonna lay down and cry now.

Die Anywhere Else (Alec Holowka/Night in the Woods). I just want to die anywhere else. If only I could die anywhere else. So come with me, let’s die anywhere else. Pretty much Haruhi's feelings during Melancholy, especially at the end. The song talks about feeling insignificant, about not liking where you are but being unable to change anything. This girl needs therapy.

I was an Island (John-Allison Weiss). I was a fighter, and I was so brave. But I lowered my sword when you held me and swore you'd stay. This is one of those songs that fit both of them pretty well! It's a bit more obvious is that Haruhi finally found in Kyon someone who would stay with her despite everything (I feel like their fight in Sighs is the best example of this), but it's also true that Kyon trusts Haruhi more than anyone else, and he found in her someone who helps him be himself (even if he's tsundere about it).

Bouken deshou deshou? (Aya Hirano). Please come with me. Look at me--I'm free everywhere I go. Literally a Haruhi song! I couldn't not add it. I feel like it sums up Haruhi's feelings right after meeting Kyon and forming the brigade, of excitement and feeling like doing things that aren't normal, and wanting Kyon to come with her and look at her as she finally feels some happy after so long.

Rock in God's Shoe (Sushi Soucy). God is a narrator but He left His mic off, and now we are left without guidance. Okay this one is less about their relationship and just a good Haruhi song. The "God is a middle schooler, we are a science project" part reflects pretty well both Haruhi's mentality during and before the did whatever the fuck to the world three years ago, and the song reflects pretty well how the different factions view her. The God is a narrator part also fits really well with the Kyon is god theory. I wanna make an animatic with this song someone please bully me into doing it.

Despair (Leo). 'Cause it's not romantic, I swear. I'm not gasping for air. I want you to be here, but please don't come near. It's the tsundere song! They're both tsundere!! What else can I say. They're both so in love with the other but are too stubborn and prideful to admit it.

Avalanche (Walk the Moon). One glance and the avalanche drops. One look and my heartbeat stops. This is to me like, the pinning song. Again kind of self-explanatory, they're both in love with the other but are too tsundere to admit it. "Sometimes the past echoes in the future" also speaks to how their relationship literally started before they met for the first time (the sense of urgency in the lyrics is me pushing them together like dolls).

Kimi no shiranai monogatari (Supercell). Since when did I become someone who chases after you? I'm begging you, listen without being surprised, to these feelings I have. It's super important to me that this is Kyon's POV. This is a song about Kyon realizing too late he was in love with Haruhi the whole time and regretting not telling her (if you wanna get sad, this is after they graduate and lose contact, or it could just him being dramatic). The brief mentions of the "you" in the song sound a lot like Haruhi, and the mentions of summer to me are reminscent of how brief the three years of high school really are. I also really really love the scenario of Kyon finally realizing/accepting he's in love with Haruhi. Plus it's important to me that back in like 2010 every popular ship got an AMV or a MAD with this song, AND that it's a Bakemonogatari ED and Bakemonogatari owes sooo much to Haruhi let's be real.

Zenzenzense (RADWIMPS). We met at the far extremes of so many galaxies. How should I grasp your hand to keep it from falling apart? All of this song is just harukyon. From the very beginning with Haruhi telling Kyon he's late, the mentions of basically "I would stop the earth to save you if anything happened to you", to "the parts of the story that happened while you were sleeping" (everything Haruhi doesn't know about the brigade), plus the singer's cocky attitude (calling the other person's smile awkward or their voice annoying while talking about restarting the world for them) that fits Kyon so well. "You stole from me my ability to ever give up" is just. I need to lay down I'm getting emotional.

(break in the list because tumblr got mad at me)

One Man Live (RADWIMPS). You make this perfectly round earth in to a theater, and you make yourself on the stage, there you will play until the sound of the ringing stops and the applause echoes around. Kind of a similar vibe to Zenzenzense, though this is more about Haruhi's strong personality and Kyon being willing to be his support (even if he's tsundere about it). The way it talks about overcoming pain speaks to me about both Haruhi overcoming her issues, and about Kyon overcoming all the real stuff that comes with being in Haruhi's orbit, but "the feedback is no problem, that sound will become your voice".

Shut Up And Dance (Walk the Moon). "Oh, don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me" I said, "You're holding back". She said, "Shut up and dance with me". The chorus just always makes me think of Haruhi and Kyon, and their typical kind of banter, while in the "narration" Kyon knows them getting together is just matter of time. Maybe not as deep as the rest but it's fun and I like it.

Super Driver (Aya Hirano). I found you all by myself, isn't it obvious I'd fall in love with you? I mean this is another Haruhi song so, you konw. I really like the bridge, where Haruhi says "none of this is a dream, so why is my heart pounding?", because it refelcts how she's finally having fun without having to "force" anything, just being with the Bridage. Haruhi being happy makes me happy.

Melancholic (Junky). Ever since you appeared in that dream, I haven't been honest to myself. Another tsundere song! What I like about these is that it fits both of them, though this is a bit more Haruhi-centric. You can tell the singer is angry about having her heart stolen, but happy about it at the same time. Haruhi and Kyon are both a bit angry at the other for their feelings, but at the end of the day it's still a happy feeling and they both enjoy each other's presence (no matter how tsundere they are about it).

Sokkenai (RADWIMPS). Why are you so indifferent? Turn around and face me. You’re the one who told me to come. Listen it's not my fault so many RADWIMPS songs sound like Kyon's POV. This really feels like the rare moments when Kyon gets emotionally mature with Haruhi, where he knows what Haruhi wants from him but wants her to say it out loud (like exactly the end of Melancholy, "looks good on you" etc etc). Deep down Kyon knows Haruhi is both embarrassed and afraid to admit her feelings, even though she's the one that keeps pulling him closer and closer. The way the chorus says "if I'm not the one, tell me because I don't have that much time", but then "if you'll teach me about love, I have all the time in the world" just... feels like the type of thing Kyon would say. Even the part at the end when the singer admits he's only being this bold because he's a little drunk anddoesn't know if he'll be brave enough to admit all this later is spot-on. I need to lay down again.

My Life Would Suck Without You (Kelly Clarkson). Maybe I was stupid for tellin' you goodbye. Maybe I was wrong for tryna pick a fight. This is another tsundere song, but at least now it's Established Relationship Tsunderes. I have a hard time believing Haruhi and Kyon would stop fighting even if they got over their issues and started dating, they're both still very stubborn and prideful and I feel like fighting is just how Haruhi communicates sometimes. But at the same time it just works for them? They're the type of couple that have a lot of small "fights" that are never serious but are actually very well-balanced and barely ever get into any real fight.

Still Into You (Paramore). Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't really need to wonder at all. I know this isn't necessarily a tsundere song but I've interpreted that way for years so hey. I don't really have much to say about this one, I think it's really sweet and the kind of relationship described in the song is just Established harukyon.

Sparkle (RADWIMPS). Even if it may become a tragedy, I wished for seemingly unreal days… with abnormal meaning… But once I did, you were standing outside the door, all of your baggage in tow. What can I say. This is just Kyon during Disappearance, this is a song about being in love with someone through the pain and wanting to stay together through all. It's one of those songs that to me really capture the heart of harukyon, and that's that while they may be tsundere and they may get on each others' nerves, they trust each other more than anything, they bring meaning to each other's lives, and they will quite literally find each other in every universe

Magic Mirror (RADWIMPS). Can you protect yourself? Do you know how to use your courage? I'm sure you're bad at it, So I'll help you out as I can. Staying in line with the previous song but in a more general sense, kind of similar to One Man Live, this song is about Kyon wanting to help Haruhi through her issues. However I like that in the end, "the person crying in the mirror was myself", is basically saying that Kyon also has issues! He's also a weird little man who isn't honest and he tries to help others to distract from his feelings. Go to therapy boy!

Iin desu ka? (RADWIMPS). When I searched for the meaning of being with you, the answer was to live through tomorrow. When I searched for the meaning of living through tomorrow, the answer was to be with you. Don't complain about the amont of RADWIMPS songs this is my playlist okay. This is another song that feels like it fits both POVs. They're both tsundere, they're both unsure if it's okay for them to like the other, but they also know that it's okay, because it's them. The part where it says "because I know my last words in this world will be 'thank you' to you" hits me every time.

God knows... (Aya Hirano/ENOZ/you know this song it's okay). I'll follow you. No matter where you are in the darkness of this bitter world you will shine, and exceed the limits of the future. This is kind of an honorary addition? In that I don't really think it fits them as well as the other songs, but I just wanted to add it lol. I do think there's a bit of both of them in this song, again with their motif or "I'll follow you anywhere, I'll share your pain, we will make the world fit us". Also there's no better way to end a harukyon playlist than with Aya Hirano.

Shoutout also to Kyon's character songs, especially kentai life returns and daga soredake janai, which I love unironically but just didn't fit the vibe of the playlist. Also thanks for reading this far this was very very long whoops.

[bi-disaster-kit-herondale]

The Mortal Instruments as Speak Now TV pt. 1/2

this is gonna flop since nobody really talks about tmi anymore, but I love them so much <3

Enchanted: Alec & Magnus (them. the entire song.)

“this is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends. my thoughts will echo your name until I see you again. these are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you.”

Mine: Jace & Clary

“you said, “I remember how we felt sitting by the water. and every time I look at you it’s like the first time. I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter. she is the best thing that’s every been mine. hold on, make it last.”

Ours: Simon & Izzy

“the jury’s out, but my choice is you. so don’t you worry your pretty, little mind. people throw rocks at things that shine. and life makes love look hard. the stakes are high, the water’s rough, but this love is ours.”

Back To December: Magnus & Alec (breakup)

“I watched you laughing from the passenger side and realized I loved you in the fall. and then the cold came, the dark days when fear crept into my mind. you gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye.”

Dear John: Jocelyn & Valentine

“well, maybe it’s me and my blind optimism to blame. or maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love then take it away. and you’ll add my name to your long list of traitors who don’t understand. and I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said ‘run as fast as you can’.”

The Story Of Us: Clary & Jace (sibling era 🤪)

“I’d tell you I miss you, but I don’t know how. I never heard silence quite this loud. now I’m standing alone in a crowded room and we’re not speaking. and I’m dying to know is it killing you like it’s killing me? I don’t know what to say since a twist of fate, when it all broke down.”

I Can See You: Izzy & Simon

“what would you do if we never made a sound? cause I can see you waiting down the hall from me. and I could see you up against the wall with me. and what would you do baby, if you only knew.”

Haunted: Maia & Jordan (tbh every verse is like a POV change and a different part of their story)

“something’s made your eyes go cold. come on, come on, don’t leave me like this. I thought I had you figured out. something’s gone terribly wrong, you’re all I wanted.”

When Emma Falls In Love: Izzy

“when emma falls apart it’s when she’s alone, she takes on the pain and bears it on her own. cause when emma falls in love she’s in it for keeps, she won’t walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave. and she’s the kind of book that you can’t put down.”

Innocent: Clary (this song is so james & matthew coded but i’ll give it to the other fairchild cuz she’s also been through a lot)

“wasn’t it beautiful runnin’ wild ‘til you fell asleep. before the monsters caught up to you? it’s alright, just wait and see. your string of lights is still bright to me. oh, who you are is not where you’ve been. you’re still an innocent.”

Long Live: Alec & Magnus

“I was screaming long live all the magic we made, and bring on all the pretenders, I’m not afraid. long live all the mountains we moved, I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. and I was screaming long live that look on your face.”

part two!

[alexanderlightweight]

Any writing with short!Alec? I can imagine Magnus introducing Alec to his friends and they’re like ‘is this a joke? Is he invisible? Have you finally lost it?’ And Alec just steps out from behind him and completely fucks them up while Magnus watches with adoration.

i really love show malec and so i headcanon them as that and don't have any plans to write alec smaller though i would considering and have writen magnus bigger due to his warlock mark?

i wrote alec super tall for a prompt for @saeths and i also wrote a giant megladon!magnus mer for them but i like keeping malec at least as tall as how they come across.

i know that in the books alec is shorter than magnus but personally, i just adore that alec is a bit taller and scowly and softens and submits so beautifully to magnus. all of that power and strength and training and he just melts for magnus and my brain goes a;ksjbaksdbjf;abf.

this is an absolutely fine ask btw! i appreciate asks like this because it helps me explain stuff and i'm also willing to work around stuff to try and incorporate things.

this is smol!dragon!alec because i just got some good news (a meeting cancelled which means i dont have to leave the house or see none-house people today! - i am an anxious introvert and @saeths is a non-anxious extrovert so i love cancelations! and they like that i am around for cuddles) dragon style. part of the 'taste of his magic' verse as a treat?

<3 lumine

-

"I thought you said you had something impressive to show us?" Ragnor mocks as he steps in and plops in his chair, he stares over at where Alexander is pretending to nap and rolls his eyes.

Magnus stares at Ragnor and wonders just what is going on.

Alexander is curled up the size of a housecat on the windowseat and Magnus knows that he looks small, but he's still a dragon.

"Are you experimenting with reptiles again?" Ragnor asks, absently summoning himself a cuppa, "I thought you gave that up when you lost Baby to Camille?"

Magnus can feel the glow of jealous, accusatory eyes on his back and he blinks rapidly at Ragnor and wonders if he can get away with just summoning a scone into the other warlocks mouth. Anything to get him to stop talking.

"Ba-" he starts and there is a subtle hiss that only he seems to hear and he clears his throat. "The snake was merely an accessory, Ragnor. A security feature, hardly anything more than a sometimes useful pet." Magnus leaves out how cute the snake was, he doesn't think it would go well for him.

That seems to placate Alexander but Ragnor is sending him a confused, dubious look.

"Well then, what's with the lizard on your windowseat, hmm?"

"He's not a lizard." Magnus bites through gritted teeth because he can feel the force of Alexander's stare growing colder. "Ragnor, when was the last time you slept?"

"Oh a few days ago or so. Research and all that, you know how that is." Ragnor does look a bit peckish and the hollows under his eyes are a dark green rather than the normal shade.

"Ragnor-" Magnus starts and then he sees movement and he shifts, lunging forward to grab Alexander's nape with his maw. He instinctively growls and shakes and to his delighted surprise, Alexander goes limp.

-

Alec glares at the tired old warlock who interrupted his nap and then sighs, content as Magnus holds him close.

It's exactly as he planned and he smirks, smug from his position of being held and rocked by Magnus' mouth.

Alec smirks and, with a flick of his tongue, freezes the old warlock's tea.

The man splutters and gives them both an accusatory stare before his skin pales to a soft, sage green with fear as their eyes meet.

"Ducky, please tell me you don't have a dragon in your mouth."

Alec smirks and gives the lightest of trills and the warlock shivers, hands up in surrender.

Magnus chuffs around where he's holding him and Alec rolls his eyes, finally taking the force of his gaze away.

It's hardly his fault if even as the size of say, a lizard, Alec is too powerful for warlocks to gaze upon without fear.

... well, all warlocks except for Magnus of course.

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 16

... is Derek really an incel? like, at the very least, shouldn't him being with Kristal prove that he isn't an incel? i have no qualms with Emily insulting Derek, but she should at least be accurate.

ooh, Emily going full villain mode? we stan :D

girl how would you possibly think this would work

so Ally has resorted to playing a fully emotional game, huh? you either get eliminated a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the Jake.

the music in this scene cracked me up. also, i think aleriya is (canonically) dead after this scene, if it hadn't already died beforehand. (i say canonically bc fans can do whatever they want)

d-does he still...? also, obligatory "just because Connor loves Riya doesn't mean she has any obligation to love him back, villain or not."

i really can't tell if this part of Ally's character arc is meant to be viewed as good or bad. like, the show is obviously telling us that Ally's overall trajectory is bad, and being needlessly cruel to other people for the sake of putting your own emotional wellbeing first could certainly be a part of that. but, there's also been a lot of commentary about how hard it is to be under the scrutiny of social media (likely from the crew's own experiences), so Ally learning to stand up for herself and what she needs could also be a form of wish fulfillment. hopefully it'll resolve as a multi-layered predicament in the end, but i'm just trying to figure out how Ally will respond to her edit in All Stars in either the finale or the Loser's Motel episode.

...can't you just wait, like, two more episodes to directly state the point of your character arc, essentially then concluding it? then i could be sure that you'd win.

HELP

lmao of course the nerd can't rock climb. he can carry 120 pounds on his back but he cannot ascend.

Connor is really fucking strong goddamn?

Ally really can't fight this, because this is the exact rationale that she was trying to use on Jake for their entire games.

i want to see people draw buff Grett in the style of the buff Natsuki meme from DDLC. but, also, go Grett!!!

the intense difficulty of a twelve piece jigsaw puzzle. Venus noted that it really sounded like Kristal was describing a slide puzzle, but I understand why that would've been really difficult to storyboard.

Connor you can't be this stupid (/j)

in-universe, i don't really understand how she beat Alec (he was really good at the block puzzle in s1 and it fits his vibes), but yay Grett! i knew she wasn't going home tonight anyway.

what else could it have possibly been, Ally? regardless, we're definitely setting up the pieces for Grett's downfall soon.

can you really count the TikTok challenge as a "Jake immunity win"? literally everyone except Gabby and Grett won immunity in that challenge.

for a moment, i really thought Connor was going to pull the Kim Possible "out there... in here..." thing.

so true Jake

this feels like a fanfic line

you know Jake's having flashbacks to his last final 6 experience.

well, while i certainly thought that it was Riya's time to go in terms of the cut, it does actually make more sense for Alec to go home here, no plot armor involved! (other than arguably the plot armor of not letting Alec win the challenge.) Alec is much more threatening in a final 3 situation because of his greater athleticism and intelligence as compared to Riya, and Grett is closer to Riya than Alec. it sucks to see one of my favorites go, but it's entirely logical.

Riya out here projecting ("little toy")

this was such a good moment. i especially love the storytelling without dialogue going on with Connor's reaction. anyways, if Riya wasn't going to win before, she's definitely not going to win now. you don't get hit with the "look at what a sorry state you're in" three episodes before the final and then snatch the W.

maybe you shouldn't have fired and humiliated your employees live on TV, then.

is this season going to end with Kristal resigning from the show? i thought that might happen to make way for Emily as the new host, but now that she's going more villainous, i don't think that'll be the cast anymore. maybe Derek and Trevor will take the show back over, as (I think) the more popular hosts in the fandom?

anyways. a solid episode! i think a good number of people saw the Connor idol play coming from a mile away, so it wasn't all that surprising that one of the major villains was going down. still, we had interesting strategy and some great character moments, especially for Connor. they're really making the best of his extended time in All Stars. and, hey, there are only two guys left, so maybe he'll make the finale! it doesn't really matter, though, because it's gonna be Jake. i'll keep riding the Jake winner train until he gets eliminated. not that i think that's going to happen ;)

see you next week!

[yourfifitherealone]

I love Sodikken and idc what anyone says if there's 1 Sodikken Dan on this earth ITS ME.

1. Sodikken made me start enjoying music

For a while I couldn't find any artist I liked that weren't Panic at the Disco, Twenty-One Pilots, Alec Benjamin and occasionally Fall Out Boy but when I started listening to Sodikken I finally found an underground, underrated artist that made lyrics special and meaningful to me. The way some people prefer 🍒or 🍑 is like music and lyrics people. I am 100% a lyrics person while some others are beat and music people. But I need lyrics that resonate with me or are important and Sodikken does that for me. They made lyrics like;

"Take it from me looks couldn't kill, no but they can get you disowned",(Gretel)

"How can anyone think I'm lovely, when they retch at the sight of me?", (Gretel)

"There goes my sister yeah you couldn't miss her...I think I hate her, those green alligators, I wish they had ate her..", (Hansel)

"Would you like to eat with me, eat dinner as a family, we take care of each other's needs- Yeah that's not happening". (People Eater)

And others that were really relatable and comforting for me. I know it sounds stupid but it's my favorite thing. In the song 'Gretel', it was about not being conventionally attractive and getting treated differently for it (pretty privilege). For 'Hansel' it was about feeling alone and isolated and that's why they did dangerous tricks to get attention and also explains why they were jealous of their sister. Lastly, 'People Eater' is about abusive/toxic relationships when someone just takes and takes and one is constantly stuck giving parts of themselves until there's nothing more to give.

2. Their voice (ft their creativity)

It takes pure artistry to do what Sodikken does to find the perfect voice, transitions in their animation and music videos, lyrics and rhythm for their songs. And also on a lighter note, I just really like their voice, especially in the last video they posted "An announcement"(?) I like how in a lot (I'm 90% sure all) of their songs they have vocal changes and they sound wildly and completely different keeping it interesting and creative. The song titles are unique and so is their style.

3. (Short) how relatable they are

Like I mentioned above, Sodikken has lyrics that stuck with me because of how much it reminded me of myself or other people I encountered. Overall making their music more memorable.

Lastly, about the hate they get

Sodikken ABSOLUTELY does not deserve the hate they get. Everyone always says that we need something "different" "more unique" and "creative" and complaining how "Everyone's the same (nowadays)" and when there's a actual artist who who fits all of those descriptions they chew them up...(their popular song on TikTok with the lyrics, "A whole garden of flowers and my name etched on a rock. All this could've been avoided all I wanted was to talk..."from the song Hansel And "You wanna taste of my brain? Okay. It's yours anyway. A bite of my eye? Alright. I won't put up a fight. How bout today, you try eating something else for a change? Because the way things are going I won't last another day." From People Eater) and spit them out. There's people saying it's "weird" and "cringey." Just because you don't like a song, doesn't mean someone out there doesn't think that song is amazing or helped them through hard times. (I also have another one of my favorite songs called a "bad song", The Beer by Kimya Dawson) these songs/ artist mean so much to me and your words affect others. If you don't like it scroll,not interested, or block but don't leave hate. I don't know if it because Sodikken seen the hate or maybe by coincidence but they deleted their song, People Eater of their original account but there can be many reason to why they did; Hate on the song , A found dislike for their song after putting it out, legal reasons ECT but if it was for the hate I really advice for Sodikken not to listen to it and pay more attention to their fans that love their content.

In Conclusion:

If you like mainstream artists, do you but don't criticize unique artists so much they stop creating their music. Because I'm even if it doesn't necessarily feel like it, people really do enjoy all types of songs.

[ladyhindsight]

As I said in the end of my last piece of grumbling and groaning, the one great thing about this chapter—and one of the few good things in the whole book—is Clary finally getting in tune with her Shadowhunter senses and her training coming to fruition. And as I said also in the end of said piece of grumbling and groaning, everything else in this chapter is horrible and, frankly, gross.

We left the last chapter with a cliffhanger of demons attacking the Team Evil, so a not-so-enticing-as-per-usual battle ensues.

At this point Clary has studied and trained enough that she doesn’t need to justify her knowledge of Elapid demons from seeing an illustration sometime and somewhere. It also takes away from the urgency of the fight. Similarly to Clary fighting the Ravener in City of Bones.

The writing constantly tells and reminds the readers of how it is Jace who trained her. Alec does that too on his end (City of Glass, for instance), so leave this part out. I’m sure Clary has practiced enough by now so she can just throw it without constantly bringing Jace into this.

They kill the demons, Clary is a badass warrior now, and they secure the chunk of adamas. Well done, folks!

Cut to Simon and Isabelle arriving to Magnus’ living room.

So many characters in this book “pad” somewhere.

→ “He padded off to the kitchen” (Magnus) → “He padded off toward the kitchen” (Magnus, again leaving for the kitchen after skidding into the living room) → “padding back into the bedroom” (Clary) → “as he padded past her, barefoot, and down…” (Sebastian) → “He kicked his shoes off by to door and padded as quietly as he could…” (Alec)

They are ready to answer Azazel and summon him back. Jordan and Maia are also present.

What were the rules demon activity again? They can infiltrate the Earth through the cracks in the wards. Also most likely a nod to Magnus’ father being a Greater Demon, but did it say anywhere that the Greater Demons can only be summoned? That otherwise they cannot enter the Earth? Why though?

(Leviathan did not fit for his size but the rest are pretty much human-shaped. The new incarnation of Belial just appears on his own accord. And Azazel could not fully appear since he is physically trapped to a rock in some dimension.)

Magnus warns Jordan from stepping into the pentagram: Summon a demon and trap it in a pentagram, and it can’t get out to harm you. But step into the pentagram, and you’ve put yourself in the demon’s range of power —” And basically few paragraphs later:

→ It’s good that Simon can recognize that it’s Isabelle’s voice out of all the men, her, and Maia. Unlike Clary.

Simon has stepped into the pentagram while trying to catch Chairman Meow, and we are reminded of what was basically said on a previous page. No need. No thanks. We remember and understand the gravity of the situation without this.

→ …even Magnus looked unsettled. [paragraph division] There was a tap on Simon’s shoulder.

Azazel takes the opportunity to grab Simon.

If all is avenged sevenfold, Azazel didn’t really try or intend to do anything to Simon since all that happened was him being thrown backwards. Nice subtlety, since the writing generally is completely incapable of it.

→ Clary also makes belated realizations in the beginning of the chapter with the Elapid demons. How about use other words or phrasing.

Azazel then gets scared of the Mark of Cain on Simon and leaves on his own accord. Cut to Team Evil. Jace is helping Clary heal and clean up after the fight with the Elapid demons.

Which begs the question: Can Shadowhunters use mundane pharmaceuticals? Do they have any effect if the Shadowhunter is runed (obviously Clary wasn’t before)?

Hoped you liked it as much as fighting together with your parabatai, someone that was actually supposed to be of use in battles.

They clean up, Clary gets new clothes and the team Evil leaves to celebrate the seizing of the adamas.

Cut to Team Good who are considering summoning an angel, you know, for change. Magnus tells Simon about the prophetic dream of blood and destruction and blah while others are cleaning up the mess left by the summoning of Azazel.

I don’t think this point is recognized enough. But Simon just keeps being happy to sacrifice it all to Clary no questions asked.

The Team Evil arrives at the place of their celebration, Kosti Lustr or The Bone Chandelier.

And thank goodness you explained it all.

→ Clary shivered. Easy is the descent into Hell.

That’s all you need.

And we jump back with the Team Good because why not constantly change to point of view. Simon and Isabelle discuss the summoning of Raziel.

Which makes Simon the best of them all and consistent with his character that has had the ability to see the greater picture when needed. Mostly it’s about Clary and sacrificing for Clary, but as I said, when needed. He is also the only one who can do it and not die, so there’s that.

→ Also why Jace is the paragon of bravery here? As if there was a question of Simon otherwise being a coward.

I like the quote from ASoIAF: “Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?' 'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”

It is what it is, sis. This is the result of Jace and Clary’s lies and secrecy and now other people have to pay for it. None of this would’ve happened if Clary and Jace were honest in the first place, but they never go far enough to note that. Clary and Jace are protected from anger, contempt, and enmity people might feel because they are now in this situation because of them, basically.

Not that Sebastian wouldn’t raise hell anyway, but Jace wouldn’t have been susceptible to Lilith in the first place, Lilith wouldn't have been able to lure Jace and so Simon in to raise Sebastian back to life, and then Jace wouldn't have been gone as a puppet to Sebastian—then Clary with them—if there wasn’t this huge secret they were keeping. Especially when the writing never justified the secret anyway. These characters don’t need to hate Jace or Clary, but they also don’t feel anything human or negative towards them because of their decisions.

Back to the bone party.

It’s all so performative.

No. Just no. We’re not doing any more of these “only Jace” things. Even if it’s through Clary’s eyes, because it implies that eeeveryone else in this whole existence looks like a fucking moron. And that is rude and a lie. And makes Clary's character all the more unlikable.

Unintentionally hilarious image of Clary just spinning around. What Clare is worse at that writing fighting scenes is writing people dancing. This actually makes me almost appreciate the fighting scenes.

The spine…

Angel girl is no more acceptable than angel boy.

What about names mothers choose? Are the faeries also patriarchal bastards for no reason?

So Sebastian has a secret meeting with Meliorn while Clary and Jace are going at it again. Clary then has a bad trip and sees scary things and faints because that is just the perfect way to end this terrible chapter.

[x-ceirios-x]

rowan

template based on this post

Basics

Name: Rowan Ashfair

Birthplace: Idris

Places Lived: Idris, New York

Current Residence: New York

Birthday: September 16, 1991

Age: 15-16

Species: shadowhunter/nephilim

Appearance

Hair: black

Eyes: blue

Height: 5'8

Clothing style: hoodies, baggy jeans, usually everything is black considering they're a shadowhunter

Face Claim: Erika Linder

Family

Mother: Mollie Ashfair (deceased)

Father: Aric Ashfair

Sibling(s): Jensen Ashfair

Other Important Relatives: Patrick Penhallow (maternal uncle), Jia Penhallow (aunt), Aline Penhallow (cousin), Guinevere Verlac (maternal aunt), Émile Verlac (uncle), Sebastian Verlac (cousin), Élodie Verlac (aunt through marriage)

Closest Friends: Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane

Romantic interest: Simon Lewis

Past Relationship(s): Jace Herondale

Personality

Rowan is a private person. It's not likely that, upon meeting them, you'd get more than their name and the vibe that they don't like you. This isn't always the case, but they have a habit of staring and trying to read people rather than engaging in conversation. They're competitive and a fighter, having trained under Hodge Starkweather and the Lightwoods since they were about eight. They do not make friends easily, but when they do, their friends are their family and they will do anything to protect those people (or the people that matter most to them). In their off time, they're a reader and enjoy a good Wilde poetry book. Eventually, they're introduced to more contemporary, mundane novels and enjoy these series as well (including Star Wars and Lord of The Rings).

Likes: listening to music much too loud for their ears to handle, training, bothering Alec at weird hours of the night with ideas about the latest book they finished

Dislikes: jace, mostly

Hobbies: mostly reading and training, though they enjoy a good walk to clear their head

Fear(s): losing family, abandonment

Shadowhunter Information

Familial Symbol: mountains for the Penhallow family, ashfair family doesn't have one

Institute Base: New York

Weapon: a chakram—handheld pieces that surround their hands in a flat surface with a blade along the edge. also quite good with throwing knives over short to mid-size distances

Fighting Style: melee/close combat, throwing knives for range

Favoured rune(s): agility, perseverance, soundless, unseen

Parabatai (if any): none

Favorites/Least Favorites

Food: something isabelle isn't cooking

Drink: coffee with a hit of sugar and sometimes cinnamon

Colour: black or blue

Season: fall

Scent: citrus

Music: 2000s pop-punk rock

Time of day: sunrise

Movie: star wars IV

Background

Rowan was born in Idris to parents Aric and Mollie Ashfair. Their childhood was mostly uneventful, save the trips around the world with their parents to visit family in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. They grew up in Penhallow Manor as a child, alongside their younger brother, Jensen until they were 7 and 4, respectively. It was then that they lost their mother during a mission, and after the funeral, Aric sent them to stay in New York with former friends from school for some time while he got his affairs in order.

A few weeks turned into a few months, and months turned to years, so Rowan got settled in New York. Due to lack of access to portals, they rarely got to see their family anymore and lost touch with Aline and Sebastian. However, they slowly warmed up to the Lightwoods and became part of the family. They got close with Alec, specifically. Two years later, when Jace arrived, the three became quite the trio that caused chaos around the Institute.

When they were fourteen, Jace and Rowan's relationship progressed and they started dating. While it was frustrating for Alec at the time, neither of them knew exactly why and brushed it off for the most part. Their relationship lasted for a year and a half and the breakup was messy, leaving many hurt feelings (and hurt egos) and causing tension on both sides.

While they were in New York, they got particularly close with Hodge Starkweather. Like him, they got along better with books than people and they spent a lot of time drinking tea and discussing novels they read. Even Hugo was nicer to them than he was the others in the Institute (also because they gave him treats behind Hodge's back frequently).

As of August 2006, life was business as usual until a mission they went on with Alec, Jace, and Isabelle when they met a young red-haired girl named Clary Fray.

to be continued

Extra Family Information:

Mollie Ashfair+ (formerly Penhallow) is the older sister to Patrick and Guinevere* Penhallow.

Patrick married Jia Ke and they had their daughter, Aline Penhallow.

Guinevere* married Émile* Verlac and they had a son, Sebastian Verlac. Émile* is the brother of Élodie Verlac.

all characters with a * are canon, unnamed characters that I gave names all characters with a + are ocs ref

[optikes]

1 Alec Mingelmanganu, Wunambal people, Western Australia (1905–1981) Wandjina (c1980) natural earth pigments and oil paint on canvas 159x139.5cm

2 Jack Karadada, Wunambal people, Western Australia (1918 /1922–2003) Untitled(Wandjina) (c1971) natural earth pigments and binder on eucalyptus bark 145.5x67cm

3 Lily Karadada, Wunambal people, Western Australia (1935 /1939)Wandjina (1991) Kalumburu, Kimberley, Western Australia, natural pigments on canvas 80x60cm         

A    kimberleyfoundation.org.au    

Aboriginal people in northern and central Kimberley continue to identify with Wanjina, a continuous tradition dating to the last 4000 years. As figurations of supernatural power, images of Wanjina are characterised by halo-like headdresses and mouthless faces with large round eyes, set either side of an ovate nose. These ‘Creator Beings’ and the ‘Wunggurr Creator Snake’ are painted in many forms and can be repainted to ensure annual renewal of the seasonal cycle and the associated periods of natural fertility. The actual Wanjina is believed to either reside in the rock where it is painted or to have left its body there. Also called: Regular Infill Period, Polychrome Art Period.

 B   nga.gov.au

In many parts of the Kimberley in Western Australia, the Wandjina ancestral beings established the laws of social behaviour. The Wandjina are associated with the life-giving properties of water. They bring the monsoonal rains and distribute the spirits of the unborn to their eventual parents. Mingelmanganu was the first artist in the region to continue the tradition on canvas. To convey the scale of the rock paintings, he used the possibilities presented by the size of canvas as opposed to the smaller sheets of eucalyptus bark which artists in the area were used to painting on.

 C   Kim Akerman nga.gov.au

Unlike most Wanjina images that seem to stare far into the distance, those painted by Alec Mingelmanganu appear to be the audience gazing at the viewer, rather than being the subject of a painting. The close-set eyes lend a disconcerting air of questioning to the image. In turn, the broad hunched shoulders suggest that the Wanjina may not be all that comfortable with the world of humans.

Like most Wanjina painted in rock shelters, Alec’s figures possess a sense of enigmatic magnitude, a massiveness that projects far beyond the edges of the canvas. Mingelmanganu’s Wanjina paintings, executed in ochres on bark, were first exhibited publicly in mid 1975. As well as producing paintings for the (then) very limited market, Alec also engraved Wanjina figures, either singly or in groups, on tablets of stone or wood that had first been covered with a wash of ochre and gum.

In 1979 he was introduced to canvas as a more stable surface on which to paint, and in 1980 he had his first solo exhibition in Perth. Inspired by large non-Aboriginal paintings he had seen in Perth, Alec then embarked on painting a series of large canvases, completing at least four superb works before his death in 1981. The larger size offered him the opportunity to render his images of Wanjina on a scale similar to that found in the rock art of the Kimberley. The monumental strength and character in these works ensures that Alec Mingelmanganu will be recognised as the greatest of the contemporary Wanjina artists of the Kimberley.

[headstrongblake]

‘  this  is  the  very  first  page,  not  where  the  storyline  ends.  ’ / @thewholecrew​ / SPEAK NOW TAYLORS VERSION

     all of them gather around together, nervous and excited smiles dancing on all their lips. octavia rocking on her heels because this is it. it’s been a long road. at times one she was entirely convinced wouldn’t happen for her. it’s not that she’s not smart, but this year has been a lot. overwhelming at every turn and yet, she stands tall with her friends decked out in graduation caps and gowns.

      they’re supposed to be lining up soon, but octavia’s fiddling with kassy’s hair, ensuring it’s perfection with the cap on her head. rev looks amped up, but also bored all at the same time waiting for the two girls to finish before octavia steps back, taking a look at her handy work. “ you’re good girl. ” she practically squeals, surprised by the emotion she feels welling up in her eyes when she looks at them all. rev. alec. kassy. liv. chris. spencer. truly the people she’d never have gotten through these last four years, let alone this past year without.

      the rest of them begin to line up while octavia takes another moment to just take it all in. that’s when she feels alec at her side, a soft smile offered his way. “ i can’t believe it’s all really over. we’re done here... ” she said, a little slip of sadness in her tone. would they always remain this close? would college change anything? would distance? this is the very first page, not where the storyline ends.

      while her smile never falters, alec’s words are just what she needs to push her emotions over the edge, a tear mixed with happiness & sadness running down her cheek. “ you better always be a part of my story, alec. ” octavia’s hand reached for alec’s, nudging her head towards their group that was calling them to hurry up. 

[arklypurple]

ALBUM REVIEW: DAMN SKIPPY (2005)

not gonna do number ratings anymore bc it's just gonna be all 5s

Dead Sea Monkeys: the other day they were alive, and now they're floating at the top. pretty good opening to an album that i love.

Sky is Not Blue: he wasnt lying, this song is defective and little. love it.

Pumpkin Pie: i want to try some of that guy's pumpkin pie. shame that the king tortured him to death.

When Robots Attack: i love the detail of "this is how to act" becoming "this is how we act" and then "this is how i act". i can't believe they made team fortress two into a lemon demon song.

Geeks in Love: la la la, la la la, la labadi dodadi love. i love saying the ending part occasionally, it's a very fun voice to put on.

New Way Out: this one's another great song for staring out the window of a moving vehicle and pretending you're the main character of a movie. in livin in an illin villakin i kinda caterwauled.

What Will Happen Will Happen: song about how it's not really worth it to linger in depression over things that happen. we do, we do nothing but hold the window shut to keep the worry out.

Kitten is Angry: complete tonal shift from the previous song. it's ok tho bc it's really funny. her little whiskers are stained with the blood of those that she has slain.

The Ceiling: short little song about looking up. two thumbs up.

Subtle Oddities: song about a guy experiencing fucked up distortion of reality as the time signature changes constantly. great at creating visuals. also just kind of a banger.

Gonna Dig Up Alec Guinness: gonna show them all the meaning of "a great disturbance in the force". not the only instance of neil singing about resurrecting someone. also ending in the guy getting a cease and desist and claiming fair use and then the first amendment, which is hilarious.

Flamingo Legs: this used to be called "living underneath a rock". it's pretty obviously about a guy (probably a child) who is dead and revisiting places from their life as a ghost. really fucking good song. i'd love to say it's only fair, but it's not, i'd love to form a perfect square, i forgot my love of rolling down the hill on the lawn, i never noticed it until it was gone.

Ode to Crayola: religious levels of obsession with crayola brand crayons. also he eats the crayons.

Rainwater: feels a little apocalyptic, but it could also just be someone who's eccentric. pretty good either way.

Smell Like a Cookie All Day: my friend humanity, stop this insanity, put a drop of vanilla behind each ear and you'll smell like a cookie all day. love this song.

Dizziful Bliss: even the song feels wobbly. we're staggering, wobbly, dizzy, confused little people spinning round and round and round.

Word Dissasociation: the finger smells sticky. webs eat the key in tea. 👍👍

Eventuality: the more you focus more on one thing, the less of the big picture you see. great closer. this whole album is very "last day of the school year" and this song is the trip home. also ends in gameplay of commander keen 4 gameplay sounds.

[prairieprayer]

The human made ones are varied genres, I did not save the audacity file so I do not remember them all in the correct order. The ones I do know are:

A light, poppy song from YT's free music library

A rock or metal song (either Time of Dying by 3 Days Grace or Kingslayer by Bring me the Horizon)

A rock or metal song (either Time of Dying by 3 Days Grace or Kingslayer by Bring me the Horizon)

This one is probably You Can't Hide, a FNAF fansong

Don't recall which

Harpy Hare (Yaelokre)

Lullaby for a Princess, a slow MLP fansong

Don't recall in what order the last 3 were. The songs I'm unsure of order are: Monitoring (Deco), The Way You Felt (Alec Benjamin), Murder Drones Rap Song, BITE ME Nightcore (from Murder Drones)

I'm not sure about the fic, I've skimmed parts of it. There are some human mistakes and some generic, passionless parts that come off as AI tropey (I've played with LLMs a loooot to see what they're capable of, their fiction generation tend to be formulaic, boring, and sometimes even childlike). They credit the "coworker" on at least one chapter. AI text detectors are also sadly not reliable- they can't tell Suno AI generated lyrics are AI at all in most tests. I couldn't say how much AI is involved in the fic, but I can say certain parts give AI edited vibes.

Church of Null is definitely using AI for its songs... not even gonna twiddle my thumbs with the "maybes" anymore :^P

After being convinced Church of Null is using Suno AI despite the song generator artist's claim that it isn't AI, I did further research by.. gag... making a Suno AI account to look more closely at MD generated songs on the platform, including their voices.

I found two accounts that, while I don't think that they're Electrical Ink, are certainly in the same vein and later on were inspired by them. They're perfect examples of Suno AI voices, compositions, and lyrics that are incredibly similar to all Church of Null songs.

The first is The Solver, who was making MD AI songs before Electrical Ink, but who is too Uzi focused to make me think they're the same person. (click read more to check the comparisons out).

First MD AI song on the account (Oct 2) , the first one uploaded by Electrical Ink was Oct 7th

First Cyn song on their Suno (Oct 16)

This voice vs. Electrical Ink's Jax song

This AI N song with the same voice as Church of Null's N song, but the Suno AI generated one came first (Oct vs. Dec)

This account starts making church themed Cyn/Cyn worship songs in Nov, but it's possible these were inspired by the Church of Null ones (a few of the early songs did get 50k+ views). Here's one of them.

The second is supreme_solver, who made a handful of Cyn heavy AI songs, including one referencing Church of Null. This account made their first MD song on Oct 20th. They made a Church of Null song on Nov 11th, using the same male AI voice on many of the Church of Null songs.

Nothing will give you an ear for AI generated music and lyrical habits like listening to them for like, two hours. Kill me.

The Church of Null songs are, definitively, 100%, AI generated songs, and Electrical Ink is just a plain ol' internet liar who didn't want to be dismissed or demeaned for using AI. But, I think lying about it is worse than just using it and owning up to it. And pretending to have 6 friends/“coworkers” who adore your fic and help with it and the songs when really it’s just a bot churning AI slop out is incredibly depressing.

Also, Electrical Ink appears to have manually comment moderation on, meaning only comments manually allowed will show. I thought it was a word filter for AI words, but no comment I make shows up when I'm logged out, so comments aren't being auto approved, meaning manual is turned on (that's how you check if your comment was removed/not posted; it will show to you if logged in, but will be gone when logged out/viewed by others). So, if anybody were to suggest AI, it would be unlikely to be approved (mine asking 'Suno' 3 days ago was not).

Okay. I'm done with this sleuthing now :P don't think anybody cares much about CoN anyways. But what a load of AI dude-bro tomfuckery. I'm tired of AI people playing pretend to get headpats and taking up spots from real human musicians and artisans, then blatantly lying to your face about it (lookin at u, DA AI spam accounts, and AI slop farms on Spotify).

[alexanderlightweight]

warlock sh: lumines meta abyss

part of it deleted so triyng again.

continuation of sh headcanons:

okay so I also have half a dozen asks about warlock culture or exploring both warlock and nephilim culture and rituals and so far i've been sticking to the nephilim

that's because for me, the culture and rituals of nephilim fluctuate based on what headcanon's and eldritch paths i'm going with them in that particular verse.

warlock culture and rituals are much more consistent across my universes and i have several asks about them. i'm working on a meta post where i can basically share the magical flora/fauna i've created with descriptions and also talk about the council of elders i went with and a bunch of other stuff involving warlock rituals and cultures and why magnus and ragnor are considered old when both are less than a thousand.

so it's not that i'm not excited to answer those asks or that i don't have stuff for warlock culture

it's that i have too many things that i headcanon and unlike nephilim culture, i don't mix and match so much. so i want to get it a bit more laid out so i can share it and it makes sense and then write out the fics with a reference base.

especially because i have a really big headcanon about the consorts/lovers/companions of powerful warlocks etc

and also magnus/ragnor/cat have consistently fucked with a lot of things and i want to be able to talk about that. cause they don't fuck around and find out. team immortal fucks around and other people find out.

like i have magical plumbing meta

and pocket dimension meta

and magnus' magical closet meta and i have meta about magic innately intrinsic based on heritage and personality

i have familiar meta and virgin shadowhunter energy meta and the power of spells and oaths and magical vows and oh yeah

i also have meta about shadowhunters being able to use blood magic (its just rare and risky) and that's across my universes but it comes up because i have meta about magnus being able to learn angelic blood magic

and meta about part of magnus' power being in edom chaining his father and that's why sometimes his power fluctuates in canon

and yeah okay wow i started rambling

i have thread and hair magic meta too okay. last sentence! there are rituals with plants and animals and islands that the warlocks and seelie and unseelie have sealed away and pockets of magical territory that has been turned into special preserves that only magical beings with tokens can go to

with seelies and unseelies and nature inclined warlocks all acting as guardians of these pockets.

there is magical husbandry and while magnus collects the abyssal moths himself, its a lucrative and dangerou business. there are night markets and shadow markets and pleasure houses and magical sex workers who are respected (as they should be in the mundane world but aren't) and baths and spas and etc

there's underground dimension markets that never shut down. that are dark and busy and filled with noise and business and there is no sun or moon there. only fairylights and magic and glowing rocks.

there's music halls and pubs and tailors and magical restaurants etc

i have meta about the little misunderstandings between warlock and nephilim culture

aka magnus opening doors for alec out of chivalry and because he wants to admire alec's back and ass

alec: omg he hates me, he hates me. (because he thinks magnus doesn't trust him enough to turn his back to him)

-

how important jewelry is for warlocks and how platinum is as important to them as adamas

how mithril is coveted for sex rituals and toys and different magical rocks can conduit different things

how the dominion magic of saeth's world interacts with this one

and i'm going to pop this into the bottom of an ask answer because it was getting too long.

and i am very tired now (but this was super fun!) and going to go pat nightshade and get something to drink before i fill any fics lol

[accirax]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 12)

Well, I can already tell that this is going to be a SUPER episode! (Also, @venus-is-thinking is finally caught up and is joining me this week, so make sure to check her rankings out too if you enjoy mine!)

In case you haven't seen my previous power rankings ( 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11), the Power Ranking Format is essentially a way of ranking how well each player is doing in the game. So, in essence, this is a long form way of predicting who I think will be eliminated from the competition in the next episode. There will be spoilers for last week's episode (obviously) and its power ranking, so make sure to read that first if you don't want to be spoiled on how I ranked our last boot. If you want more clarification on the rules, that first post will help you out as well. Furthermore, I'm going to be spoiling the preview for next episode, so if you want to go in TOTALLY blind, save this for later. Let's go!

Recap - Tom's Elimination

Current Score: 49 acquired/73 total

HOW THE FUCK DID YUL NOT GO HOME?????

Anyways.

The fans have been rooting for a Tom/Jake/Aiden elimination for a while now, and I think it will be beneficial for the show moving forward to not have all three of them in the heroes' cast. I'd still probably call myself a Tom fan overall, but... goddamn did this guy make it hard to like him sometimes. Between the three of them, I think I baseline like Aiden the most, and I think Jake has the most potential, so I'm glad it was Tom of the three of them. I also got a whopping 8 points from him, so haha >:D

(I was SO worried about my score if Gabby had gone home... I still don't really understand why they targeted her in the first place, but, no matter.)

It's really weird to finally have more S2 characters than S1 characters given how the season started, though. I guess these guys are finally getting their time in the spotlight.

Trailer Analysis

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER THEMED EPISODE!!!

Therapy from Nina? This will be interesting...

Alec will get #whitegirlwasted at his reward. I know he's neither white nor a girl, but it's the vibes that count.

THE INTERVIEW ROOM??? Is Emily back?! :D

Quirk analysis time! I very much assume that this will be in the same simulation program that presented the zombie apocalypse challenge in S1, although this time, it seems participants will be aware of it ahead of time. Yul appears to have lightning powers, and possibly the ability to teleport, although that's very likely just him spawning into the program for the first time.

Riya's repping the fire nation.

Aiden has super speed and a great expression. The fact that this is his power is part of what makes me thinks Yul won't be able to teleport.

We "don't see any scenes of Connor using his powers"* (I'll come back to this later), but we do have a suit design for him. The gray color and geometric shapes make me think he could have some sort of earthbending-like ability?

Grett appears to be the water to Riya's fire. Do all of the former Yellow team members have elemental abilities? That could fit if Connor is earth, and Alec is air.

Gabby can turn into an eagle at least, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just animal shapeshifting in general. Very fitting ability for her.

Another fitting power, because Jake is really fruity--

(I really hope he can only manipulate bananas instead of having telekinesis in general.)

Ally has stretchy powers, representing how she's carrying all of the other characters on her back. (/j) I would say that this scene is an argument against Connor being able to move rocks, though, because then it seems like he would have made a bridge.

These could be random creatures on the island, but I wouldn't be surprised if one or both were actually Gabby.

Beyond being hilarious, this is where we come back to that asterisk from earlier! I think this scene could be evidence of Connor having super strength as his power. That seems fitting with his character.

"And you never will...!"

Riya's definitely showing off her fire abilities here. My guess is that this could be in response to Connor trying to "get under her skin" (AKA genuinely help her) again. Riya would see that as a threat to her game, or possibly just to her winning immunity this episode.

Another really weird thing to note is that we don't see Alec's superpower in this trailer at all? The team seems pretty cavalier about showing off what everyone's abilities were, so I doubt they're concealing it for spoilers' sake. Here are a couple of my theories on that:

Alec gets so intoxicated before the challenge that he can't compete/gets eliminated instantly.

Alec is actually the dinosaur/kaiju that I mentioned earlier could be Gabby. However, I don't know if they would really want to make two different competitors' abilities "going beast mode."

Alec's power is invisibility. He could even be whatever Riya hears in the bushes and starts to throw a fireball at in that one scene. I think I like this theory the most, because invisibility matches Alec's cunning well.

Power Ranking

#1: Grett

I don't think I need to repeat my same argument again. Who is targeting Grett? There are far more problematic villains to target, from both the heroes' perspective and the villains'. We also know from last episode that, when Ally, Aiden, Connor, and Jake (and Tom) had the choice to vote for Gabby, Grett, or Yul, they chose to vote for Gabby. That makes me think that Grett is in less danger than Gabby at least.

Then there's all the stuff about Grett's character arc and how it would feel weird to eliminate her before Yul at this point... But, hey, didn't I say that I wasn't going to waste my time repeating myself? I would be incredibly surprised if Grett were ousted this episode.

#2: Ally

I have to admit, Ally's placement here is mostly a meta read as opposed to actual character dynamic analysis. Simply put, she's (currently) the only female hero left in the game. If Ally were eliminated now, it would leave Aiden, Connor, and Jake as the only heroes, which would just feel... weird. She also hasn't done a lot in the last couple of episodes, which would make the villains targeting her feel pretty random.

There's also that fake alliance that Riya attempted to set up with Ally last episode. Despite me arguing that Riya should actually be trying to set up Alec-less endgame options, it seems that Riya isn't actually intending on working with Ally at all at this point. Still, if Riya at least intends on keeping up the illusion of forming a women's alliance with Ally, she probably wouldn't be the one pitching Ally's name to an otherwise seemingly disinterested group.

There is still the argument that Ally doesn't seem to have a lot going on right now, so you could say that having her unfruitfully taking up space as an actual competitor would be worse than suffering one episode of a mediocre elimination. However, it seems like Ally and Connor will be spending a lot of time together in this episode, so I'm hopeful that the writers will capitalize off of the brief bond that Ally and Connor formed in S2 to create a new relationship for her to bounce off of in upcoming episodes. Well... assuming that both of them make it through this elimination, anyways.

#3: Jake

I can't really tell if Tom getting axed makes it more or less likely that Jake would be going home soon. On one hand, now that the TomJake plot is "over," Jake theoretically has fewer plotlines to justify his continued inclusion in the story. He made enough progress in his character arc of becoming a better, less paranoid person that he could exit the competition on a good note at this point. The writers may also want Tom and Jake to both be eliminated at the time of the fabled Loser's Motel episode so that we can wrap up their story with a heart-to-heart conversation.

However, with Tom gone, Jake also gains more opportunities to explore plotlines on his own, like his growing friendship(?) with Aiden. He has made progress in his character arc, but there's still a ways to go if his former backpedaling foreshadows anything. And, well... even if that Loser's Motel thing is true, they might want to eliminate Jake closer to when it would actually happen, so that they don't have to explain why Tom and Jake wouldn't have talked to each other for the entire time period before the episode takes place. (Venus theorized that the Motel episode will take place pretty close to the end of the season so that they can have as many characters in it as possible. That made sense to me, so I'm sticking with it.)

At the end of the day, Jake winds up pretty high because I overall think it's more likely that a villain will go home than a hero, and I think that the villains have two heroes that they're more likely to target than Jake. The votes simply don't seem to be there, in my opinion. Also, he still gives me some winner vibes, no matter how bananas that may sound to some.

#4: Aiden

Yeah, I know. I talk some big talk about there being two heroes that the villains are more likely to target than Jake, and then I put one of them directly below him. But, look, one point in ranking differences is a huge gulf at this point! And I do think that the villains are more likely to target Aiden than Jake, I'm just not convinced that it would actually go through.

Aiden still has a lot of enemies in the villains alliance. Even if Gabby confirmed last episode that she doesn't really have it out for Tom or Aiden anymore, Riya and Yul still dislike him. If there's some reason why they aren't allowed to target Connor this episode-- such as, if Connor wins immunity-- I imagine Aiden would be their most likely backup plan. And, if the heroes can't manage to do anything to split the villains up at this point, they have the majority, and Aiden is gone.

That possibility relies on a lot of contingents, though, and is overall pretty unlikely. Still, it's not like I would be stunned if it happened. I don't really think that Aiden is going to be a finalist again, so, if that's true, he's gotta go home at some point or another. It could be now! However, there are more compelling reasons for me to think that others might be eliminated, so I'm sticking Aiden here.

#5: Gabby

Trust me, I want to put Gabby higher. But, after last week's scare, I'm afraid that I have the wrong read on the group's dynamics. Clearly, the heroes thought there was something to worry about with Gabby, and she got a whopping five votes last episode. Being that close to elimination can't bode well for her odds in this round.

However, now that the heroes are down in numbers, it seems like it'd be a lot more difficult for them to actually manage to eliminate Gabby. This is because, now, they'd have to convince one of the villains to vote for Gabby with them. I can't imagine that Alec or Riya would be down for that for strategy reasons, and, despite Grett's complaints, I do think that she would struggle to vote Gabby out after all Gabby has tried to do to help her.

Really, their only option is Yul, but I do think that's possible. If Yul hears wind from Riya that Gabby wanted to flip on the alliance and vote him out, he could panic and decide to work with the heroes to vote out the biggest threat to his game. If that did happen, it could be the final nail in the coffin for Grett, who could work with the (still) four remaining heroes to eliminate Yul next time. You know. Because Yul's elimination seems to be a next time issue.

However, that fringe scenario would require the heroes to actually choose to work with Yul to vote out Gabby instead of working with Gabby to vote out Yul. Even if Gabby wouldn't have heard of that plan on her own, the heroes could always pitch that vote back to her, and she would presumably agree. That would be good for their games, because a vote would further cement Gabby with their alliance moving forward.

Wait, I'm not supposed to be writing about why Yul would go home! This is about Gabby being eliminated! I do definitely think it's possible. But, there are flaws with the premise as well. Thus, she winds up in the middle. That's what happens when half of me wants to put her higher, and half lower.

#6: Connor

I mean, what am I supposed to do in the face of the villains alliance directly saying last episode that Connor would be in trouble as soon as he didn't have immunity? Assuming that he doesn't win immunity again this episode, I find it incredibly likely that the villains' plan will be to throw all five of their votes on Connor. And, if everything goes according to plan, he would be eliminated. But... will it go to plan?

Yes, Connor has had one episode back in the game at this point to do things. And, do things he did! His motivational speech got all of the heroes to finally put their personal agendas aside and work as a team. Even if they lost the tiebreaker competition, that was a big step. Connor had an impact. He could be voted out.

Except, having your returning competitor be back for two episodes, only surviving the one because the host gave him immunity, is still pretty lame. It feels like we're on the precipice of a villains loss, which would be the perfect excuse timing for keeping Connor in the game for a little bit longer, even without immunity.

My internal feelings say that Connor wouldn't be voted out so soon, but, I've certainly been wrong before, so I'm trying not to rely too hard on gut instinct. Unless he has immunity, there probably will be votes headed his way. It's just a question of whether there'll be enough of them to knock Connor down.

#7: Alec

Alec... I really don't know. He's such a threat. He has too much power! People have to be coming for him at some point. He wouldn't win immunity again now... could he? What is this man doing?!

I can't help but feel like we're reaching the point where Alec's game takes a turn for the worse. The fact that he seemingly gets drunk at the reward bodes poorly for him, in my opinion. He's in control, and he's getting sloppy. He could even make a mistake directly as a result of him being drunk/hungover, like accidentally revealing too much of his true opinions. Opinions about what? Not liking Yul? Actually liking Riya? I can't say, but it could stir up trouble with the villains for the future.

Still, even if Alec will be in trouble soon, would it really result in his elimination now? Well, maybe. I maintain that if the heroes could eliminate anyone of their choosing, they should pick Alec. The issue is, he does seem pretty well insulated within the villains alliance, so getting Grett, Gabby, Yul, or Riya to flip on him could be tricky. Honestly, despite all my praise for their friendship, I feel like Riya could be the best choice. After all, she would be the most likely to realize the true threat that he poses.

Here's a classic Accirax Crack Theory: Maybe Alec does have the power of invisibility in this episode, but, not being able to see him, the other competitors assume that he was too hungover to compete, or that someone else eliminated him without their noticing. At the end of the challenge, someone will believe that they've won, only for Alec to sneak attack them and steal immunity from right under their nose. While he celebrates his third straight victory, Riya will have a sobering moment realizing Alec's ability to sneak, deceive, and win challenges. It plants the seed in her mind that she needs to get Alec out sooner rather than later, especially because the friendship she's been building with him (showcased in this episode with the reward) has been keeping her from seeing him as a threat. That's dangerous. He needs to go.

Now, you may have noticed that that Accirax Crack Theory does not actually support Alec going home in this episode, because he would have immunity again. Yet, I still have him at #7. Oops. Well, it's because, even if that theory isn't exactly right, parts of its logic could still be used to justify an Alec boot. Maybe that exact thing is about to happen, except Alec's sneak attack doesn't succeed. Maybe it's just that sloppy gameplay that causes Riya to panic and seek out that "fake" alliance she built with Ally.

I don't, like... really think that Alec is going home this episode, but there's still enough going against him that I feel okay putting him down here. There are still obvious reasons why Alec would go home, even if the votes aren't necessarily there. Although, hell, if the villains are split between voting Gabby and Yul (like Yul/Riya/Alec on Gabby and Grett/Gabby on Yul) or whatever, it would be really funny if the heroes could use their four votes on Alec in the exact same way that the villains did on Ashley. Weird things can happen, and I do feel like Alec's timer could be running out. It could just be pessimism, though. Can't forget the pessimism.

#8: Riya

Much like how Riya feels about Connor, I'm sure that, now that Riya (theoretically) no longer has immunity, Connor will want to vote her out if he has the chance. Aiden and Connor both want her gone, so I wouldn't be surprised if the heroes wind up throwing their votes on her if they don't have a better plan. The main point against that plan is that throwing four votes on Riya won't do a whole lot unless you can get a fifth vote or if the villains split their votes. Could that possibly happen?

Well, the "splitting the votes" option is basically the same thing I described for Alec, just with the heroes' votes landing on Riya instead of Alec. It could be a result of Alec having immunity again, or of them just having more of a personal vendetta against Riya. But, how could a fifth vote happen?

One option is definitely Yul. Despite working together for so long in DCAS, Riya and Yul definitely don't like each other, so Yul could flip to take her out. Remember that vote that Riya cast on Yul for funsies back at the Miriam vote? Now that Connor is back in the game, he could once again try to prove to Yul that it was Riya who cast that vote. If he could come up with some convincing proof, it could set Yul off. Wouldn't it be fitting for Riya to be eliminated as a result of her former pettiness?

This would also work in terms of Connor being the one to get Riya eliminated. I assume that, much like they were going for with Ashley and Fiore, the writers will want Connor to get his revenge on Riya at some point in this season. It could be now.

The dialogue scene shown in the trailer also gives me reason to worry for Riya. She seems to be having a dramatic and emotional moment, possibly losing control of the That Bitch(tm) persona she's tried to cultivate and reestablish in Connor's absence. If she freaks out in a way that winds up losing the challenge for the villains, it could remind the former Yellows of the way she lost them the musical challenge. It could be additional fuel to the fire of Yul's flipping, or even convince Alec that she's too much of a liability...?

I don't know. I definitely feel like there's something there to support a Riya elimination, but I sorta worry about putting her this low, because I might be calling it too early. But, it's gotta be #9's time to go, right?!

#9: Yul

I'm NOT making my Ellie mistake again. I'm not going to let the fact that I feel like Yul should have been an obvious boot an episode or two ago cause me to gaslight myself into moving him away at the eleventh hour...!

I already talked about one way that Yul could be eliminated back in Gabby's section, and that's not even the most obvious way he could get axed. Gabby and Grett just straight up turning on him seems far more likely. I'm sure that the skin tight superhero suits will only invite more negative commentary from Yul to Grett, which could further motivate Gabby.

This point isn't necessarily directed at solely Yul, but, the superhero imagery certainly seems to bring a heroes' victory in this episode to mind, doesn't it...?

Yeah, I don't have much else to add about Yul. I think that I've already said everything I have to say about him in prior power rankings. Other than that the tiebreaker loss thing probably isn't happening anymore, just because I doubt they'd want two tiebreakers in one season. Ah well. You can't win 'em all... but hopefully I'll finally win by putting Yul at the bottom this week.

Well, that's it! I'll once again plug @venus-is-thinking's own power ranking if you want something else to read now that you're done with this. See you all on... Saturday? Woah, what a twist! We're really picking up the pace heading into the Disvengers: Endgame. I'm sure the superhero timing was purely intentional. Until then!

[nikz-artea]

"Not even me. Luckily, Wishmaker never hit you or Cat Noir." The lie sounded so loud in the narrow alley. He hated the way it slipped out of his mouth so easily, but the look of utter relief she had even for a brief moment made it all worth it.

When she was out of sight, he fought the urge to sigh and began to walk back. If there's one person in the Paris who loathed lies with fearsome passion, it's him. He got Akumatized into Truth, for Kwamis sake! Lying was the discordant note his melody refused to play.

Marinette knew it and somehow it made him feel much worse because that knowledge was probably the reason why she believed him in a heartbeat.

Luka didn't want to but had to. So he did. He lied. For Marinette. For Adrien. For all of Paris. He lied for the sake of everyone but him. Because he knew how important Ladybug and Chat Noir's secret identities were to them. He was there when she firmly told them to hide the fact that they're a hero/heroine to protect their self and everyone close to them. It didn't matter how long they've been using the Miraculous or how strong they were. They should never tell anyone about it. Not even their parents.

So, who is he to take away the assurance away from them?

Guilt clawed its way to his conscience. He knew it was unfair of him to keep the truth from them. Still, knowing the pair, it was for their own good.

Marinette already had so many things going on in her life. The bakery, her future, all the dreams she wanted to achieve and her love for Adrien. One didn't need any instrument to her the clear frustration on the tone of her voice when they were talking earlier. If he told her, she would freak out and overthink about it.

It was same with Adrien. He was stuck in modeling, fencing, learning Mandarin, but most of all, a controlling father. He's living a life of nothing but blind obedience and he desperately wanted to change it by choosing his own future for himself. And if he knew that he found out about their secret identity, he would blame himself for not being good enough to stop an Akuma because he was too kind to even think ill of others.

He knew that Miraculous holders still have to face problems other than Akumas. He understood that despite being Paris' highly regarded superhero duo, Ladybug and Chat Noir was still a child like him. Mere children that bore the safety of the citizens on their still developing shoulders. No wonder their inner melodies were in chaos and disarray.

Luka blinked, he had been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the bathroom in front of him.

The door opened, revealing Marinette. She smiled and thanked him when in fact, it should be the other way around. Not even a minute passed, Adrien came running to them.

He stared at them both. The heroes of Paris. The children who saved them one to many times from dangerous, Akumatized villains. Their friends. How fortunate were they to have such great, selfless friends? His lips curled up in a grateful smile as he thanked the heroes, the both of them, with all genuineness he could muster.

Lying may not be so bad after all if it could protect the two amazing person in front of him.

Adrien and Marinette glanced at each other with a smile and he realized with a sinking feeling that oh. Oh, these two were hopelessly in love with each other.

It was like cutting his own heartstrings when he decided to step away let go of his love. His chest constricted with pain and he could almost hear the heartbreak mixing in his melody, creating a bittersweet sound. But he made up his mind, he would support and encourage Marinette to pursue the love of her life no matter how much it crushed him because he knew right from the start that he had no chance.

There was no way he could ever compete for her affection. Not when her heart was already singing Adrien's song. Yet he still foolishly hoped it would work out for them. That he could somehow slowly alter the tune and make them resonate.

Now though, he saw how stupid he had been. They were obviously made for each other. And he would do everything to keep anything and anyone from standing in between them.