#and also a couple good upstanding citizens.

[razzadoop]

I am cringe but I am free.

[cauli-is-awake]

gem and the scott's band au in my brain rent free

Just them being not in a death game being a local band is so yippie. All the members just live in one town and all know each other and get up to shenanigans.

Gem came back to town after a couple years and immediately grabbed Scott and Impulse to start a band. Everyone was so excited for her to be back but she was just hyped to have freetime and be creative.

"are you gonna start unpackin-"

"GRAB YOUR GUITAR SCOTT I FINALLY WROTE A SONG."

"i have a shift Gem-"

"TELL LIZZIE THE CATS WILL LIVE WITHOUT YOU FOR ONE DAY"

Impulse just sitting at home when At Any Given Moment A Wild Gem May Appear. She might just, teleport and whisk him away for "mandatory super important band practice" and Skizz just gives them a thumbs up and a grin before going back to his coffee.

Scott making connections except he knows *literally everyone*. He is welcome in anyone's house for dinner and will show up with a gift and some gossip before disappearing into the night. Half the men in town are his ex, but simultaneously his bestie. Scott being involved in every event:

need live music? his band has got it!

redecorating? he can help move furniture AND he has the *perfect* rug to go with your new wallpaper

the theatre needs costumes but doesn't have the funds? done. he has a sewing machine

someone wants to host a party? he will send out the invites and make sure the catering is sorted

Scott being that reliable guy you can always lean on. :DD

Gem bringing Scott and Impulse over to her garage to rehearse and her neighbour's, the roommates, cheering at them from a window. Cleo is sending live pic updates on the three G's groupchat so Pearl can see aswell. Grian half-heartedly telling them they are too loud. Etho humming along as he cooks dinner that they will probably share with the band later anyway.

Lizzie has a cat cafe and everyone loves hanging out with her but are also slightly intimidated - there is no *proof* she is anything but an upstanding citizen... yet

Her cafe is *the hangout spot* and the walls are adorned with paintings the townsfolk did of the cats, she makes limited time specials when someone brings her a new ingredient, if anyone is having a tough time she forces them into a chair with a hot chocolate and a cat.

Joel is bragging about his epic wife at Mounder's HQ™ (a random old building that they don't think anyone owns, hopefully) while Bdubs is raging at a monopoly game, as Mumbo and Pearl try to actually hold a business meeting.

Joel swears he hates Scott but also has all the bands merch and shows up to every concert. He can be found walking around the town playing Pokemon Go atleast once a week.

Pearl somehow got added to the band groupchat and just,,, never left. (Her and Gem spam it with memes at 3am) She probably should be banned from atleast one establishment for silly-lil-guy-ing too close to the sun.

The whole town is 100% committed to telling Bdubs he is short, Not A Single Person will tell him he is not. They have official town photos where someone photoshopped him shorter.

Mumbo has a (not so) secret bunker to do science in but people just come into it and yap at him while he is revolutionising the towns power source. They do feed him, so he hasn't locked them out yet.

The heart foundation is always holding events, fundraisers, bake sales, etc. Everyone loves them and when they open auditions for a theatre production in the community building, EVERYONE shows up either to participate or just support. Lizzie and Bigb are giving out snacks whilst asking minutely creepy questions. Martyn is pleading with Ren to move back so they can be in the show together.

Martyn and Jimmy do something??? No one can figure out what it is but they have Good Vibes so they let it slide. They get a bit too silly every once in a while and someone (usually Grian) has to put them in their place.

They host DnD or Improv sessions in the community building while a threatre production isn't on.

Scar is like the local cryptid who everyone is talking about when they "know a guy". He is liable to show up to events an hour late with a tale and tub of cookies. Scar is mostly friendly but a little unpredictable, if you want a strange adventure, show up to his door with something shiny and you will be on your way.

I could yap about this au for ever they make me so unwell. Might draw all of their designs but idk yet. Anyway wildlife session 5 tmr yay :DDD

[mxtxfanatic]

One thing that I really appreciate about mxtx’s stories is that even though the common people are shown to have an understanding of hierarchy and a healthy skepticism—dare I say, disdain at times—for the elite class at the top of each world’s hierarchy, that doesn’t mean that their every judgment on the subject is right.

Tgcf is a perfect example of this in multiple arcs. The peoples of Xianle and Wuyong know that a person with money can bend the ear of a god, and the nobility of Xianle, specifically, even bar the poor from entering Xie Lian’s temples without first paying an entry fee. Lang Ying leads the Yong’an refugees to rebel because he sees the corruption girding Xianle society. However, these same peoples also believe in the hierarchy they despise for oppressing them. When the beloved princes of the respective kingdoms are unable to save their kingdoms from certain doom because they are unwilling to sacrifice the lives of others, those same citizens turn on them. Worse yet, Xie Lian and Jun Wu were the only gods who were about treating their worshippers equally regardless of status, while the gods who their former followers turned to for help were the very same ones that had watched them suffer, gleefully waiting for them to turn on their gods so that they could poach new worshippers. In the end, the people end up casting aside the gods who defied the heavens in an attempt to save them, in favor of worshipping the gods who wanted them to perish. We see this same level of misapplied understanding on smaller levels too: Mu Qing understanding classism but only taking issue with it when it negatively impacts him, personally; Lang Ying’s descendants devolving into the same kind of wasteful nobles that Lang Ying had deposed; the people in the temple who choose to stab Xie Lian to preserve their own life because “you’re meant to save us.”

Similar things happen in svsss and mdzs. In svsss, humans are reasonably wary of demons (who hunt and eat humans in this story) and look up to cultivators as their protectors, but broadly applying this allowed the corrupt Old Palace Master to weaponize that rightful wariness to harm his innocent targets: Su Xiyan, Tianlang-jun, Luo Binghe, and Shen Qingqiu. Had the common people witnessed a group of adult cultivators chasing a fearful toddler around be so convinced of the “righteousness” of the cultivators they admire? If so, would we, the audience, still look to the crowd as moral? At the same time in mdzs, the common people actually don’t look up to the righteous cultivation clans as inherently good, only a necessary expense—have you the funds—but even that is a weapon. Thirteen years after the first siege, a farming couple discusses how terrifying the power Wei Wuxian wielded was, grateful to the great cultivation clans for having killed him without any understanding that Wei Wuxian was the most upstanding cultivator of his generation.

In all of these examples, though the common people have an accurate understanding of systemic violence and the dangers present in their worlds, they are not always able to accurately apply that understanding on an individual or personal level, especially if their morals do not align with the idea that said violence is an inherent wrong. The common people in tgcf are not rioting against the concept of monarchies and nobility or the elitism of the gods, even as they know they suffer from it. The common people in svsss still shy away from demons, even though they’ve likely been harmed more times by a passing cultivator or rich person than they could even claim to have seen a demon. The common people in mdzs still turn to major cultivation clans for help and consider them to be overall moral people even with their publicly immoral behavior. None of these groups move to challenge the systemic violence despite knowing it exists on a personal level, which is what makes it very poignant when a character in these books does. Why did that person choose to speak up and stand out while most others didn’t? And what message is mxtx teaching us by showing us this character?

Knowledge, an understanding of systems of violence, and hierarchical placement does not make morality. Moral alignment paired with matching actions do. And without the latter, the former can be easily manipulated by bad-faith actors to reinforce the very systems that create the ills of society, regardless of what position one is born into on the social hierarchy.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Tim and Sylvia Friendship Headcanons

-They both met at Buck’s when they were ten years old, Tim having just started dealing and Sylvia flirting with the old drunks at the bar so she could pickpocket them. Tim noticed how much money she was getting and tried to shake her down for it but when he flipped open his switch she just laughed at him and pulled out one of her own. They’ve been best friends ever since, even though it took ages for Tim to admit it

-Sylvia is the only person who can call him ‘Timmy’ without getting slugged and it’s mostly because she wore him down.

-Sylvia is a con artist extraordinaire and Tim’s a gang leader and somehow they know everything and nothing about each other at the same time

-Almost everyone in Tulsa thinks they’re an item/have hooked up at least once but their relationship has only ever been 100% platonic. Even if Tim wasn’t gay and Sylvia was capable of love they both just couldn’t ever look at each other that way

-Tim thought HE had a good poker face but his is nothing compared to Sylvia’s. The only thoughts or feelings people can read from Sylvia are the ones she wants them to 

-They both have a radar for when Curly and/or Angela are about to get into trouble even though Sylvia is better at dealing with problems AFTER they arise whereas Tim is all about stopping them from happening in the first place

-Sylvia will occasionally disappear for a few days or a week and Tim never asks where she’s gone, but once she was gone for nearly two months and when she showed back up (twenty pounds lighter and with a newly stitched stab wound) he almost cried- he didn’t, but he did hug her and she actually let him

-Sylvia has been locked up almost as many times as Tim has, and they have a joking competition where they keep track. Whoever has the most tally marks each new years owes the other a pack of cigarettes. Tim had the title for three years in a row before Sylvia beat him and he was genuinely kind of upset about it (mostly because she kept making smart remarks about him becoming a ‘model citizen’ and he has a reputation to keep)

-Curly got the idea to play chicken with Ponyboy from Sylvia because he overheard her make an offhand comment about she and her cousins used to do it

-Sylvia originally went on a date with Dallas Winston because she knew it would piss of Tim, and then kept going out with him because of curiosity (y’know that meme that’s like ‘i wanna study you in a lab but also share fries with you’- that’s how Sylvia views Dally)

-Tim also warned Dally he had no idea what he was getting into when he asked Sylvia out but he obviously didn’t listen 

-we all know Dally & Sylvia we’re a toxic ass couple, and I think a huge contributing factor is that Sylvia played dumb but she was actually way smarter than Dally ever gave her credit for so every time he thought he had her figured out, she’d do something or say something that would shake up how he saw her and it made him feel stupid (which we all know he hated) but also made him more desperate to figure her out 

-Sylvia thinks the Curtis brothers are strange and avoids them as much as possible because they’re genuinely upstanding guys and she’s not used to people who aren’t just out for themselves

-Sylvia lives in six inch stilettos and they make her the same height as Tim (Sylvia is already tall for a girl) and it annoys him to no end

-Sylvia and Steve absolutely loathe each other but because they’re both friends with Angela they try to be civil when she’s around. Tim finds Sylvia’s ire at the guy endlessly funny

-Sylvia was the first person to find out about Tim being gay. He was terrified but she just rolled her eyes and told him to hide his magazines better 

-Tim is the only person who knows anything about Sylvia’s parents that isn’t rumour based speculation, and he will take those secrets to his grave

-Sylvia was originally HORRIFIED when she realised Tim had a thing for Darry Curtis because she does NOT trust that guy he is too nice to not be hiding some dark secret. It’s the only time Tim didn’t at least take her advice into consideration (and Sylvia was eventually forced to grudgingly admit she was wrong about this one)

-Sylvia is a better marksman than Tim, but Tim is more patient than Sylvia, so when they go hunting Tim bags more animals, but when they’re target shooting Sylvia always has a better score

[luucypevensie]

🦣 + Thea Monroe, please??

@dancingsunflowers-ocs 💖

MY BB GIRL THANK YOU ALEXANDRA! tagging the glee moots @daughter-of-melpomene and @ginger-grimm

a summer trip they think of fondly: thea's grandparents took her to paris one summer when she was eleven and she never forgot it. going to the louvre, exploring versailles, reaching the top of the eiffel tower etc. she loved it so much that thea's parents' wedding gift to her and finn was their honeymoon in paris

their favorite disney princess: thea will forever and always (see what i did there haha) be a cinderella stan. she related so much to her message of having courage and being kind, it was what helped her get through freshman year of high school. she's also a big aurora fan and will defend her hotly if anyone makes a crack about her short screen time

the first song they would dance to with their partner at their wedding: you know, i think it would be incredibly cute if thea and finn danced to so this is love from cinderella because it just fits them so well and finn knows how much thea loves both the fairy tale and the disney movie, so he would absolutely want to incorporate it into their wedding somehow

if they have any piercings or tattoos: thea is NOT a tattoo girl (she just can't stand the thought of a needle putting something permanent like that onto her skin). she does, however, have two ear piercings on each ear though, but that's the extent of her piercings

the scariest moment in their life: when she fainted at junior prom due to her eating disorder returning (she noticed the gym beginning to blur right before fainting, and that was when the fear came in of something being terribly wrong)

if they would break the law: absolutely not; thea is an upstanding citizen who is not a fan of taking the law into her own hands

their favorite reality show (because everyone secretly has one): the bachelor/bachelorette because thea is a romantic through and through (though it's saddening for her when most of the couples don't last very long after the show)

if they have a favorite chore: doing the laundry (there's something about folding her clothes into neat piles while new girl is playing in the background that comforts her after a long day at mckinley)

if they like being in pictures and what faces they make in them: thea is NOT a picture girl; she prefers being in the background where no one can see her (then she will put a beautiful smile on her face because, even if the camera isn't directly on her, thea still prefers to look good than to make silly faces)

if they get along with kids: oh yeah, thea's really good with kids. everyone in betty and abby's friend group also really looked up to thea, and she's the best mom to her and finn's kids when they have them

[kissorkill16]

When We Were Once Happy: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: A story before Trinity moved to Raven Brooks.

Chapter 14

Aaron, Mya, Lucy and Nicky were laughing their heads off in the woods.

They had all recently made a prank machine out of spoons.

Some old guy lets his dog poop on Aaron's lawn almost every day, and never picks it up, so he deserves some comeuppance. They all came together and made a spoon catapult and put it in his mailbox.

It was pretty easy, all they had to do was distract him long enough so Nicky could put it in the mailbox.

They all hid behind a tree and laughed so hard as they watched him get a face full of dog shit.

"Do you think some got in his mouth?", Lucy asked in between giggles.

"Eww! I hope not!", Mya said before bursting into giggles again.

They all waited until their laughter died down before Aaron spoke up.

"So who do you guys want to prank next?", asked Aaron.

"Well there's not really a lot of fun people to prank here. You guys remember Principal Abanate's warning, right?", Lucy asked Aaron and Nicky. "She said you guys aren't allowed to be seen together at school anymore."

"Yeah yeah, I remember that. Unfortunately. But she didn't say we couldn't be seen together outside of school.", said Aaron.

Lucy nodded her head. They all sat in silence for a moment.

"I bought more Surviva Bars.", said Aaron, pulling out said bars from his backpack. "Who wants to fart their butts off?"

Lucy, Mya, and Nicky made grabby hands at the bars, getting one bar each. They all quickly tore off the wrapping and bit into the bars.

Soon enough, everyone was farting like crazy, like they sat on a couple of whoopie cushions. It wasn't too long before they were on the ground again, rolling around like beetles and laughing their heads off.

"So gross!", Mya laughed hysterically.

"But so funny!", Lucy replied.

Mya got up and started running behind a tree, "I think a little poop slipped out!", she said, her face red as a tomato.

"Eww!", said Lucy, turning to Aaron. "Aaron, do you have any toilet paper or paper towels?"

Aaron pulled out a roll of toilet paper, "I was gonna use it on Abanate's house, but I guess you need it more than I do.", he said, handing it to Lucy.

Lucy took it and went to give it to Mya, leaving Aaron and Nicky together.

"Anything on your mind, Nicky? You've been really quiet.", Nicky turned his head to face Aaron.

"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about our next prank. Also, just thinking about how bad we are."

Aaron's eyes widened in shock. "Bad? How're we bad?", he asked. He didn't mean to sound like he was yelling, but it just slipped out.

"Aaron, I'm sorry, I -"

Aaron raised his hand to stop him. "You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just shocked.", he said. "But seriously, how're we bad?"

Nicky stared at his knees. "Well, I guess because of all of the things we do. I mean, we pull pranks on people, you have to admit that's not exactly upstanding citizen good."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Sure, we may do stuff like that, but that's not exactly bad. We're just kids that like to have fun. That's not bad."

Nicky nodded, still staring at his knees.

"Nicky, look at me.", said Aaron. Nicky turned to look at Aaron, "Do you feel like you're bad?"

Nicky didn't want to answer that question, but it'd be rude to just ignore a question like that. "Kind of."

"How?"

"Well...", Nicky felt his throat close up, but he did his best to answer. "Sometimes, I think I'm bad because I go places I'm not supposed to.", he said. Instantly, he recalled the night where broke his promise to Bubba about not going near the Peterson house, how he stumbled into Mr. Peterson's office, and how he went into the woods despite Bubba telling him not to.

Aaron took Nicky's hand and locked their fingers together.

"Nick, that doesn't make you a bad person, it just makes you curious.", he said. "But I guess that's probably the reason why they came up with the phrase curiosity killed the cat. But you're not bad, being curious doesn't make you a bad person."

Nicky tried to maintain eye contact with Aaron, "What does make a person bad then?", he asked.

Aaron looked Nicky in the eye, his eyes a dull flat brown, and without any emotion in his voice, he said "Being happy when bad things happen."

Then Aaron let go of his hand and stood up, Nicky stood up too, looking at the ground. "Cool. Cool. Good talk."

"Yeah, good talk.", said Aaron.

Nicky let out an accidental fart, and they both started laughing.

[annoyed-galaxy]

Fictober 2024 ~ 14

"did you stick to the plan?"

Fanfiction: DA2 Just some sweet simple dialogue between Purple Hawke and Mom Aveline because Fictober burnout is starting to hit and I'm eepy again. But I will press forward. Can also be found on Ao3

Aveline crouched behind the rocks, squinting her eyes as she examined the bandits lousing about. She counted about seventeen of them, all dressed in rugged leathers and armed with poorly made blades. She knew the people with her could take them down. What she needed was to know if she could maage to pull more out of other parts of the cave. 

She looked behind her at Anders and Varric, Varric adjusting his crossbow a bit and Anders tapping his staff nervously. “Anders, I need you to make a loud noise, draw whoever may be hiding in other parts out. Varric, you’ll offer cover fire. Let’s hope Hawke can sneak in with this distraction and do what he needs to do.” The dwarf and mage nodded. Varric scurried away to a higher position, getting ready. Aveline slid down from their perch and landed behind a couple crates, waiting for the signal. 

Anders stood up, not yet seen by any of the bandits below and summoned power to his hands and staff. He closed his eyes feeling the storm build up inside him, ticking his nerves as lightning danced across his hands. When he opened his eyes, they sparked with purple and his statically rose a bit. He channeled the power into his staff and aimed it at the ceiling. A purple bolt of lightning struck out from the staff and struck the ceiling of the cave with a loud CRASH and shook the entire cavern. 

Aveline ran from her hiding spot into the fray of confused bandits and began cutting them down. More bandits appeared from tunnels into other places, investigating the noise until they saw Aveline fighting and joined the fray. Varric began firing into the crowd below, making sure to nab any bandit that was behind Aveline and therefore out of her focus. The guard-captain was a fearless woman and her strength unparalleled. With the assistance of a mage and sharpshooting dwarf, the bandits stood no chance of taking her down. 

Anders kept making sure to instill her body with haste, causing his magic to flow from her and then into Varric, allowing them to move and attack faster. When Aveline did hit, Anders immediately sent a bolt of restoring blue energy to her, sealing up the wound just as quickly as it formed. 

More bandits poured in and Anders threw a fireball there way, his perch allowing him an advantageous view of the battlefield to sling his magic. Eventually, the bandits tried retreating but were cut down by either Anders or Varric. Once the last of the bandits had fallen, Aveline was panting hard. Anders slid down from his perch, meeting Varric halfway before rushing to Aveline and putting a hand on her shoulder, concentrating and sending soothing magic throughout her body, healing whatever wounds were left and allowing her to catch her breath. She nodded her thanks, used to the magic Anders now usually provided despite still not fully liking him. She tolerated him enough to play card games with him when everyone gathered at the Hanged Man and he was a good enough man for what he did for the refugees in Darktown that, had he not been possessed, she would have fully liked him. 

As they looked around the bodies, looking for anything of valuable, Seth emerged from the farthest tunnel, a smug look on his face and staff slung over his shoulders as he waltzed towards them. Aveline stood from her position next to one of the fallen men and nodded. “Did you stick to the plan?” she asked, titling her head.

Seth looked at incredulously. “Well duh. With all the commotion you guys were making, it was easy to slip in.” 

Aveline nodded, satisfied. “Then you found their leader?”

Seth nodded. “And I did what any good, upstanding citizen of Kirkwall would.” He smiled and puffed his chest out proudly.

“Which was…?” Aveline questioned, an eyebrow raising. 

“Sent him to the Maker of course.” 

“Hawke!” Aveline shouted in a tone a mother used when scolding her children. Seth flinched, his smug appearance dropping immediately. “You were supposed to capture him, not kill him!” 

“Well you didn’t say that!” he argued. 

“I didn’t think I needed to!” 

“How many guys have we killed in the past two years? How was this any different?! We always kill bandits! Anders back me up here!” Seth pleaded, turning to Anders. 

The mage shook his head and backed up. “Oh no, I am not getting involved in this one.” 

Seth groaned then turned to Varric. “Ah ah,” the dwarf shook his head. 

Seth groaned louder and stamped his foot. “How was I supposed to know the one time you didn’t want me to kill a bandit leader?” 

“Because, Hawke,” Aveline started, tired irritation running across her face, “he was just part of the bigger leadership here. I needed information from him.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

“Well, I’m sure the others will turn up soon and we’ll deal with them just as well.” Seth slung his staff on his back and crossed his arms. “No biggie.” 

Aveline glared at him. “You are such a child.” 

“You should’ve been more clear on your instructions then, mother,” Seth jabbed jokingly. 

“How does Leandra deal with you?” Aveline groaned. 

“She is the strongest woman I know,” Varric chuckled. “She has Seth and Carver as sons who bicker all the time.” 

Anders joined in on the teasing. “It take a great amount of fortitude to deal with Seth Hawke.” 

Seth rolled his eyes and began walking towards the cave exit. “If everyone is done berating me, shall we go and enjoy our victory?” 

Aveline just shook her head in exhaustion, but there was a smile on her face. Seth was efficient, just sometimes acted silly. It was part of his charm. 

[caffedrine]

Have you seen the new Ikemen prince act 3 trailer where Gilbert is meeting with chevalier and Leon there is apparently a new threat that could take over the whole continent threatening obsssidian roudolite,jade and the other nation he’s want to work together with the other to stop this new threat how do you think the story will be now with Gilberta and mc on act 3 now with this new foe.

Oh my gosh, yes! Didn’t it look so cool?!

Gilbert: Oh, I’m sorry, did you think I was the final boss, and your greatest threat?

Gilbert: Nope! I’m going to be your favorite ally in the new season!

I agree with you, I am curious about how it’s going to go. From the preview, I’m guessing/hoping that they’ll do Chev/Leon/Gil sequel routes (if no one else) where they’ll introduce the new princes.

You can’t convince me they won’t do at least a Chev sequel.

They could go in any direction if they do a Gilbert sequel route. Is he still going to be his anti-monarchy self and undermine the ‘alliance’ with Emma stopping him?

Or maybe he will set aside his differences and become a power couple where Gilbert (with some of Chev’s help) handling the military while Emma handles the diplomacy.

I’m his route, he talked about how the princes we know (Rhodolite, Jade, and Benitoite) are good and upstanding people, but other monarchies (maybe the three new countries) are horrible (actively participate in the slave trade, murder their citizens, etc)

Maybe the possible sequel route will start off with delegations from the new countries trying to get Gilbert (and his military) on their side?

I’m also curious about what it will be like in Chev’s potential sequel route. In there, we don’t know Gilbert that well, and unless Gilbert makes some decisions, he is still operating under the deception of ‘my dad’s totally alive guys, he’s just recovering from an illness, no, you can’t see him’.

[eien-no-gakusha]

Outen no Mon/Deep Sea

The Tale of Young Sugawara no Michizane

Outen no Mon the show made me want to read the manga.  Reading the synopsis, I originally joked with friends that this was just another Heian era swashbuckling mystery thriller or Onmyoji knockoff sans magic.  It is not just another Heian era swashbuckling mystery thriller, it is…different enough to be called unique.  Where Onmyoji was basically tale of a smartass, debauched sorcerer and straightlaced warrior who overcome their differences to save Heian-kyo to comical effect; Outen no Mon is about a smartass, bookworm scholar and playboy warrior who overcome their differences to save Heian-kyo.  As in any story set in Heian-kyo, it is haunted.  No wonder onmyoji business was booming during that era.  The difference is in Onmyoji the ghosts are real while in Outen no Mon the real danger lies in man.  As for the chick in the team, the immortal priestess is replaced with an imports and antique dealer who is probably also running a sweatshop of counterfeit goods.  But she has a good heart and uses her talents in service of the protagonists so don’t worry about it.

Characters:

In summary we have the brains, the brawn, and the street smarts for our protagonist team of investigators.  They can also be classified as middle class (Sugawara no Michizane), aristocrat (Ariwara no Narihira), and peasant (Shouki).  They are performed by our triple moon tops:   Tsukishiro Kanato, Houzuki An, and Umino Mitsuki respectively.  (I just realized the tops and niibante of moon troupe all have moon in their name.  Coincidence? ^^;)  This is my second non-romantic Takarazuka show in a row.  First I got a politically-charged Chinese historical fiction and now I got a politically-charged Japanese historical fiction.  In other words, this show tends to focus on the mystery and we follow the friendship of Michizane and Narihira more closely than anything Shouki is doing.  Reiko and Chinatsu portrayed their respective roles and contrasted each other admirably.  Michizane as a character is a shut-in bookworm and apathetic to the machinations of the court, choosing to mingle with the commoners whom he feels kinship with.  This often manifests as dressing casually to see the Emperor.  In the manga, he is a classic shounen hero with a difficult, socially awkward personality but still a morally upstanding citizen.  Reiko’s version is a bit more socially competent and suave because she is a Takarazuka hero.  Her Michizane comes across as an introverted and introspective youth rather than full hikikomori.  Since we aren’t privy to internal monologue in this staging, this is probably a better approach for presenting the main character.

Then we have Chinatsu as Narihira, resident playboy and military officer responsible for the safety of Heian-kyo.  While being a nepo-baby nobleman, he does take his job seriously and is open-minded.  His haughtiness and discrimination against the peasants is a result of ignorance rather than him being a dick and his friendship with Michizane begins with him opening his eyes to the plight of the disenfranchised.  I feel the fanservice was toned down compared to usual Takarazuka fare.  Narihira is so blasé about his charms.  Instead of a dramatic pose or drawn out moment where he puts his flirt on, he’s just going about his day and doing his job.  He just throws out a wink or wave while on patrol but marches professionally on when he’s on the clock even if fangirls are present.  That strikes me as a different portrayal of playboy from the norm.  Houzuki An is certainly one who would know she is suave without overcompensating. XD  Her makeup didn’t photograph well in some angles and I think she was attempting an old man but sexy look as Narihira is considerably older than Michizane.  Chinatsu’s voice is divine and it’s strong enough to carry.  Couple times she nearly blew out her mic in both the show and revue.  Also, I swear she had more costume changes than the Top Star since she’s playing a man of society so we saw her in dress uniform, street uniform, casual ensemble, etc.  On the other hand, Michizane is a maverick scholar known to be a slob who even dares to come to court in the Heian version of sweatpants and T-shirt so Tsukishiro Kanato is usually in the same outfit.

As the political intrigue features heavily in the story, the show is a bit of a sausage fest so there isn’t much for musumeyaku to do.  There are only three named female roles of note so it makes sense that Eri would take the biggest female role.  Shouki is a fun character in her own right and has no romantic subplot as a shrewd businesswoman and an equal member of our intrepid trio.  She is the ingenious friend who provides the resources to make Michizane’s plans a reality.  It is a refreshing role for a musumeyaku, who usually get stuck as love interests.  Of course, there is star-crossed romance on the side in case seinen is not your genre.  Narihira and Takako were lovers who tried to elope in their youth but circumstances of birth have rendered their relationship forbidden.  They resolve this the mature, Japanese way (those of you who watch Japanese historical dramas know what I’m talking about).  For a side character and love interest, Takako is a complex character with her own personality and drive despite her vulnerable social circumstances that Amashi Juri brought to life.  Generally, the female characters were well-developed and interesting even if sparse.

Kazama Yuno as Fujiwara no Mototsune is practically a lead character and a complicated antagonist.  He doesn’t have much depth to him as cold and calculating Fujiwara Jr who does most of foster dad’s dirty work.  However, his relationship with everyone else makes him interesting.  He had a not-negative acquaintance with Kisshoumaru, Michizane’s deceased older brother.  However, his younger brothers were responsible for Kisshoumaru’s death.  Thus, Mototsune and Michizane’s relationship is awkward to say the least.  If his solo number is any indication, he really did consider the Sugawara brothers as friends and misses their childhood romps while regretful about the harm his dick younger brothers inflicted.  Mototsune hasn’t completely gone to the dark side yet, perhaps due to him being a distant relative adopted into the main branch of the Fujiwaras or his youth.  Him and Takako are on the same boat as adoptees from a lesser branch of the family so he is more sympathetic and softer towards her.  He’s also willing to give respect when it is due, even if it is for the opposition.

Those are the characters worth mentioning.  The supporting cast do their jobs.  The two child characters are comic relief running around to sing the praises of Michizane’s genius.  Groups of women serve to showcase how corruption has disenfranchised the poor or as fangirls to promote Narihira’s star stud status.  The Sugawara household are a wholesome and supportive family who are scholarly and down to earth.  The Fujiwara household is…evil.  I joke but they portray a toxic and strained family.  Half are spoiled, despotic fools hiding behind the family name while the other half are miserable, calculating souls forced to make sacrifices and make up the slack of the former.  The emperor is young, naïve, and weak.  But he is always that way in any media featuring the corrupt Fujiwara puppeteering the throne (an actual stretch of history Japanese media love to defer to).  Overall, a strong cast from Tsukigumi!

Plot:

Story wise, it was a good opening but as the manga is ongoing and probably quite lengthy, it feels like we just completed an arc.  The arc is specifically about a demon parade harassing the streets of Heian-kyo that kills hapless citizens caught in its path.  By imperial decree among other circumstances, our main characters find themselves working together to stop the murders and uncover the truth of the matter.  The mystery of murder-ghosts was resolved but a lot of the interpersonal conflicts remained open-ended.  And what I mean by resolution is the streets are safe again now that the murderers are arrested but we never learn the motive or discover the mastermind.  In this respect, the musical did end a bit abruptly.  Regardless, I enjoyed the pacing, intrigue, and story immensely.

The plot was quite rich.  There is the main plot of why there’s a demon parade abducting people at night.  Michizane deduces this is a more earthly problem and together with his crew they catch the culprits.  Additionally, we are given lots of political intrigue with a naïve young Emperor being controlled by the Fujiwara clan.  Papa-Fujiwara is such a social climber he’s adopting all his country bumpkin relatives to be his pawns in court.  His heir is an adopted son and now he’s acquired a new daughter he’s trying to shove into the emperor’s harem.  Someone wants the emperor dead and someone is using the emperor for their own ends, all fingers point to the Fujiwaras but they are untouchable.  There are many layers to this show.

The character relationships are also complicated and the conflicts hit in the feels.  The main character is disenchanted with the Japanese court and is struck with wanderlust so strong he wants to go abroad and explore broader horizons.  He has big dreams and genius to match but is hampered by politics and domestic issues.  Reiko explains all of this in song form!  You have hard-working and practical Shouki who may be doing some shady business but the economy is bad and the system is against her.  Narihira and Takako are pining for each other, but are unable to reconcile their duty to family and their own pride.  Theirs is a bittersweet ending.  Mototsune has a lot of internal conflict to sort through but being a corrupt politician is hard work.  The list goes on.  I wasn’t moved to tears but was invested in the characters.

The musical is definitely plot driven.  I had more of an impression of that and the character development than I did of the musical numbers, which informed the story rather than serve as earworms.  The diegetic dance sequence in the imperial court was the only memorable number.  This was a grand dance number where Takako was meant to perform and seduce the emperor.  Then it transitions to the investigating trio being forced to duet together while they try to protect the emperor from assassination without ruining the banquet.  Lots of flashy bird costumes in this scene.  The court ladies are doing some sort of crane or heron dance with not-Takako at the center in a silver crane costume equipped with anachronistically showgirl style headdress.  Then Michizane and Shouki perform what appears to be a mandarin duck dance (based on the costume) but are interrupted due to Murphy’s law and lots of plots so Narihira has no choice but to take Shouki’s place.  Read into that what you will.  While the emperor has his attention on the stage within the stage, the audience is focused on the surrounding intrigue.

Overall, I quite liked it.  Now I will go read the manga and see how it compares.

The Carnival of the Sea Gods

After such an amazing show, I was underwhelmed by the revue.  Deep Sea?  More like “Glitter Cabaret.”  The theme was very subtle, which can be creative genius or WTF.  It was leaning towards the latter for me.  There were some ideas I liked such as the jellyfish tailcoats and personified pearls representing inspiration, courage, and hope.  The Mariana Trench episode was an interesting direction… Not all the ideas hit.  There were some snappy tunes but nothing memorable.  Lots of spicy Latin flavor such as tango, frills, spurned lovers, etc as advertised.  This revue was very shiny.  Blindingly so at times.  That is my biggest impression of it.

The revue was a hit-or-miss, but that is just my opinion.  My neighbors were significantly more impressed.  Amazingly enough, I was surrounded by sweaty dudes.  One grandpa was camped out with all his binoculars including a piece of equipment fit for birdwatching.  He was regularly switching between binoculars during both show and revue.  Another gentleman was clearly looking for a specific seito, perking up at specific times.  All the gentlemen fans noticeably leaned forward during the rockettes number.  No judgment there, Takarazuka entertains all!

[wrathofrats]

what’s your favorite pairing of ghouls?? and why?

You’ve opened a flood gate my friend bc there’s a couple

Probably the absolute most favorite is Swiss and dew. They’re fucking idiots and I want to shake both of them like a water bottle of crystal light, affectionately. They’re like two sides of the same coin chaos wise. (My own headcanons and pulling from a lot of diff creators here) I just love how they’re characterized together. Dew being a brat and a shithead, messing with people for his own entertainment and not being super open emotions wise. And then Swiss just knows him inside and out, and isn’t afraid to completely break him open and rub salt in his wounds, and dew loves it. It’s what he needs to ground him.

Kind of a pair but also not depending but Swiss and cumulus or Swiss and cirrus and cumulus. Swiss is just the biggest flirt and loves to mess with people, so I love imagining him always flirting with cumulus, constantly flattering her, and just submitting so well for her (or her and cirrus) when they get into the bedroom. Just imagining him being so submissive for her !!!!!!! Especially if both cirrus and cumulus are there to completely ravage him

MOUNTAIN AND DEW!!!!!! I’m am banging my fists on the floor at these two. Mountain being a fairly stoic more serious guy, just wants to do his work and be an upstanding citizen, and then dew just being a complete menace, again as I said before, a brat. And mountain has his patience, he knows dew will stop at some point if he doesn’t indulge, but sometimes he can’t help himself. He just has to teach the smaller ghoul a lesson. BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE imaging dew being good for mountain! And not even in a completely sexual sense, just dew being nice and sitting with mountain while he works in the green house, and listening to him talk, or cuddling with him. Ugh just dew being soft for him MY STOMACH HURTS

i could probably talk about every single pair like this, but these make me want to eat drywall when I see them paired together (affectionately)

I hope you enjoyed

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

Rare pair stuff, if you’re still open that. Got three pairs actually.

Sayaka and Mahiru. (I’m planning to pair them in a fic I’m working on)

Chihiro and Miu. (See above reason)

Kiyotaka and Nagito. (They have a friendly rivalry in the aforementioned fic.)

Idk, would love to see your thoughts on any and all of these pairs.

oh man i went long with these but les go!

Sayaka/Mahiru: Girlboss 4 Girlboss lol. Okay but these two are one of them duos that were just BOUND to meet. A literal popstar is in fact going to have/need a lot of photo shoots and who better to do that than the Ultimate Photographer? And y’know Mahiru would have a lot of enjoyment photographing Sayaka considering how much Sayaka genuinely loves being an idol and how she did it originally to bring a smile to people's faces (the way the idols she watched growing up would make her feel less alone with their smiles). Mahiru enjoys capturing people at their happiest and watching Sayaka on stage, surrounded by her team members (who are more family than anything else), inspiring others like she always dreamed of—well I think the sight would be breathtaking and sweep Mahiru off her feet. But it’s not like everything is rainbows and sunshine with Sayaka—she’s done things she’s not happy about to achieve her dream, but if there’s someone who can be sympathetic towards good intentions through questionable means, Mahiru would be one of them. I mean she was willing to not only forgive her friend for actual murder, but also help cover it up—yeah I think Mahiru is the type to really stick by someone even at their lowest if she knows that they really just wanted the best and didn’t intend for it to go that far. Honestly I think these two would be such a comfort to each other. 

Kiyotaka/Nagito: I’ve actually talked about this combo before! I dubbed them the “Law Abiding Citizens* (exceptions apply)” duo because yeah they both do seem to like upholding the rules! Of course, Nagito is the “exceptions apply”—Komaeda “murder and arson is okay but I draw the line at underage drinking” Nagito. To touch back on what the anon from before mentioned about them: both Nagi and Taka have a very “humbled” view of themselves but for widely different perspectives—Taka values hardwork first and foremost and discredits natural talent, Nagito views natural talent as the best indicator of worth, thus both viewpoints resulting in Nagi and Taka feeling like their respective talents aren't much to talk about for different reasons. Then there’s the pride they both have in Hope’s Peak and wanting to be the very best of an upstanding student for their school. There’s enough common ground for these two to simultaneously agree on one thing and then completely disagree on another within one sentence, which I think makes for some great interactions! A sort of agree to disagree mentality. So I can totally see how a friendly rivalry can spark between these two with Taka potentially trying to prove that hardwork is the best indicator of one’s purpose and Nagito inadvertently pushing his buttons by saying things like “just what you’d expect to hear from the Ultimate Moral Compass! Your talent to come to the defense of even lesser beings is truly inspiring. And to humble yourself to such an extent as belittling your own natural talent to give hope to the less fortunate—while I don’t agree in such a practice—is still quite admirable!” and the cycle continues.

Chihiro/Miu: Another ship I’ve (somewhat) talked about in a previous ask! Oooooo these two would be the nerdiest of nerd power couple. I just love that what would connect these two is a no brainer and everyone can automatically see how they’d wind up interacting (much like Sayaka and Mahiru)—Ultimate Programmer and Ultimate Inventor? OBVIOUSLY they're bound to talk at SOME point how can they not?? They’re talents are so complimentary it would be an absolute mistake not to get them to combine their forces! But with that being said, their personalities are just polar opposites in every way besides their mutual anxiety lol. But maybe it can be that type of relationship where one helps there other in an area they’re lacking in—Miu helps Chihiro become more confident with speaking their mind and Chihiro helps Miu learns how to keep her temperament to an extent (or least when Miu is around Chihiro). I also like to think that Miu—who’s quite comfortable in her skin, would help Chihiro become more comfortable in theirs too. While you’d think Chihiro would be the more positive influence between the two, funnily enough, I honestly think Miu’s influence would do Chihiro a world of great good.

[acourtofthought]

I know you’re mainly for the Elucien ship in the ACOTAR world but it’s Gwynriel week and looking at the artwork makes me go—how could ANYONE not think that these two belong together. Think of all the fun they could have and the actual things they’d do with each other.

The same goes for Elucien really. When you look at just aesthetic, they belong together like no other. There’s no other way to put it. If you really stick the the character’s aesthetic E/riel don’t mesh as well. They keep putting her with Truth Teller too when we know for a fact that she returned it to him and walked away.

🥰🥰🥰 that’s all from me! Hope you have a good day!

Gwynriel just feels right, doesn't it? I love that they are both competitive in a playful way because I don't recall any SJM couple who shares in that trait quite so strongly. Nesta and Cassian definitely don't. Neither did Rhys or Feyre. Nor Aelin or Rowan. They are literally the couple that will constantly be trying to one up each other and that's just fun. And it makes me laugh when people trying to insult Gwyn by claiming she's "childish". Az is not some extremely upstanding, responsible, mature citizen 😂. Rhys and Feyre read as the Mom and Dad of the group while Cassian and Az remind me of the trouble making children. And Gwyn seems like she'd be right there at Az's side, being a lot brave and occasionally a bit reckless. Seeing Elain and Az interact as "love interests" brings about a feeling of discomfort. Gwyn and Az as "approaching the friendship stage" brings about a feeling of happiness and joy. And eventually that will cross over into love which is an excellent thing to have in your relationship. I'm sure they'll hit a few speed bumps along the way since SJM doesn't make relationships that easy but you can already tell the kind of playful that endgame Gwynriel will be. I also agree about Elucien. They are pretty unique to the SJM worlds. I don't know of two other characters who are such quiet, intelligent observers, who try to find paths that don't involve war and destruction, who tend to hold back what they're actually thinking in favor of a more diplomatic approach. It will be interesting for her to give us POVs for them because to me they are very different than anyone she's written about so far.

[grichel]

ALSO one confirmed homophobic. random lady asked if he was a couple with four and made the “huh? gay people? 🤨” dean winchester face, while #gayicon four blithely said they were a couple for a 10% off coupon

i have to believe that the writers knew he sucked and it was intentional, because all his behavior makes sense when you recontextualize with his backstory. for me its always that he goes from “we may have been bad people before but that doesn’t define us, we can all choose to be better now, we’re not those people anymore” straight to “but you’re all evil criminals unlike me, i’m a normal nice upstanding citizen, that’s why i’m built different, it’s in your nature to be evil i guess idk” as soon as he found out he wasn’t jace corso. that shit goes from ungodly annoying to actually good writing when you think about him as intentionally bad.

[aeolianblues]

Also correct, it does not stop at wherever you, one single person that believes you’re reasonable, wants it to stop.

Do you know how quickly misinformation spreads? Have you not seen this in action? Misinformed people will full-throatedly support people that want to erase your existence. And when you question them? They’ve been told they’re helping erase monsters that do unspeakable things. They may not think it’s you they’re harming but they’re TOLD they’re being good upstanding citizens— like you are about explicit content/porn/whatever you think you’re doing a good job erasing. It may, in the end, affect 0 of the hypothetical boogeymen created by those who do have motives to suppress the voices of a marginalised group—because the bogeymen indeed, are hypothetical. But someone that you, the good, reasonable person never wanted to harm, will have lost their livelihood, or have found their work or even existence, wrongly labelled as illegal.

All of a sudden, that mother breastfeeding on the train is in trouble. That queer person is in trouble for not going undercover and passing as cishet. That interfaith couple is getting lynched. That interracial couple is watching the clock turn back 80 years. You give an inch, they’ll take a mile.

Sometimes I feel like people who grew up with certain hard-fought for rights can ignore or forget what it took to get to that point. Why do you think it took decades, centuries to overturn legal discrimination? Homosexuality (in particular sodomy) was illegalised in my country in the 1800s. It was only overturned about 5 years ago. (Notably, this was a big decision but still a partial victory. Queer people can’t get married or own together. Landlords are free to discriminate. Many people will still pass themselves off as housemates or present as single legally. And of course, decriminalising sodomy in the penal code does not 1) remove stigma 2) nor quite serve as legal protection for queer people outside the specific context of gay sex).

Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. Straight young couples have been chased by mobs for holding hands in public in my country in the too-uncomfortably-recent past. Do you really want to willingly hand over control to conservatives? ‘It happened in your backward-ass country, it can never happen here!’ It can happen here. Don’t wait to find out.

“Why are you so upset about adult content bans? You don’t even post that stuff. can’t you just look at porn somewhere else?”

Well, you see, I have this small problem where my very existence is considered adult content by a small but very powerful group of people and I actually rather enjoy being able to exist in public without restriction so uhhhh put that in your bong and smoke it kiddo.

[enkisstories]

The explorer duo entered the prison feeling more than a little uneasy. In the past they had dodged several laws and on occasion crossed into criminal territory. But there were no WANTED! - notices on their heads, so as far as the prison management was concerned, they were aiding a couple of upstanding citizens after a crash.

Brandon and Yuki briefly wondered whether they'd get their meals served in an office or would have to sit between the inmates. Turned out only a single prisoner was present in the messs hall and he had picked the seat closest to the entrance.

The duo took seats at the same table.

The man seemed to be only dimly aware of his surroundings, and that didn't even change when the food's scent tickled his nose.

Armitage: Sausages! That's the good stuff the droids only bring out when an inspection is due. For the inspector, that is.

How easy it would be to simply give voice to that thought! Except for one who was not just a prisoner of Hoth for well over a year, but also of his own mind.

Yuki: "Is everything here automated?"

After a long while, Brandon and Yuki didn't expect an answer anymore, the prisoner opened his mouth. He spoke with a hoarse, not used in a long time, throat.

Armitage: "Yep. Only droids on site."

Brandon: "And the Republic keeps this facility running for a single inmate? What are you, man?!"

Armitage: "You don't KNOW?"

Brandon: "Nope."

Armitage: "But... But I'm the Supreme Leader of the First Order!"

Brandon: "The one sliced through with a lightsaber, the one exiled to a moon or the one executed?"

Armitage: "Don't be ridiculous!"

At this point Hux got up. He collected his own plate and Yuki's and went to do the dishes. Maaaan, they've really broken him.

Back at the table Brandon scraped the last bits of potatoe mash into his mouth, looking away - or back into a time far, far behind him.

[trappolia]

do you have any of your head canons for rhys and aenea :33 or information about their relationships with other characters :0 or or choices you’ve made within each playthrough.. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I DONT UNDERSTAND 💗💗💗

i do in fact have some hcs about them !! tw once again for the long post </3

rhys is a neutral evil character !! it's why he got along so well w/ gortash (lawful evil character who could allow rhys access to many, many benefits) and crashed horribly w/ orin the red (chaotic evil). though he certainly has very violent tendences (see: his reign of terror as a child that accumulated in his foster father's death) and fantasises about gore and bloodshed more so than a regular bhaalspawn, he's actually very put-together if not provoked (or aroused, in gortash's case) — which is why he worked so well as a cog in the absolute scheme. he's a very serious character as well, and it shows in his taste (black coffee ... takes his whiskey neat ... only likes bitter food).

HOWEVER! if he has one downfall, then it is that he is horribly high-maintenance — more so than astarion, if you can even believe it. he was of noble background, so he was served by a whole team of staff all day every day until his downfall as a noble heir, and even after being taken to the temple of bhaal, he refused to sleep in that nasty, mouldy place ... stale blood is yuck, even if it is blood and gore and all the things the son of bhaal loves. scleritas fel has been mauled a few too many times for not finding a suitable place of boarding for the beloved son ...

oh, and don't even get me started on when rhys started sleeping w/ gortash. based on this post here, i love how it's basically canon that gortash spoiled durge rotten. it doesn't matter that rhys used to be cosplaying as a rich man like he was before, he's now legitimately rich. i'm talking about being gifted not only fresh corpses or terrified citizens to torment, but also jewels, fine fabrics, embroidered clothes — hell, even a whole suite in gortash's estate that is not fucking necessary because rhys sleeps with gortash in his chambers anyway. they are literally faerun's most annoying couple — but it is also vital to me that you understand this: gortash and rhys were truly, genuinely in love (even if it was a warped display of what love is) i literally think about them every day.

+

as for aerea ! she's a neutral good character; wyll's voicelines mention how she was generally an upstanding noble heiress growing up until any incident where her morals are being compromised ... duke ravengard has had to pull several strings to get her out of trouble, but she never got any proper scolding for it because she does have decent morals (unlike a certain brother of hers...) and so her acting out was actually called for. there have been incidents where aerea got overly attached and was unable to make a rational decision (see: gale's dilemma with the orb) but it all worked out in the end (he does not blow himself up in this playthrough, i promise).

like rhys, aerea is spoiled ... except she's really, properly spoiled. however, unlike rhys (who lacked a proper parental figure for FOREVER) she was taught manners, so she's generally better at sucking things up and keeping quiet about how she wants to be back in her estate at baldur's gate, sleeping on her silken bedsheets and feathered pillows ... evidently, she's been going through torture while on the road. she also shares rhys' love for the finer things in life, though her wardrobe palette is significantly ... well, lighter than his. she has a sweet tooth too! wyll used to sneak her sweets during lessons (they were tutored together).

aerea is also much, much more popular amongst the companions than rhys is in his own playthrough ... which is ironic because her nickname as a child was literally "the bitch princess" (reference to her general personality + her worship of the bitch queen umberlee). they adore this tiny half-drow with her odd tendencies and her self-sacrificial habits of throwing herself into the line of fire for any of them (she has known all of them except for wyll for a grand total of three days). the people's princess, truly.

+

but the siblings as a duo ... oh, what tragedy. rhys is canonically dead in aerea's playthrough, and rhys has no memory of aerea in his playthrough ... which would mean a blank slate for them to start anew as a proper family, if rhys had not chosen to become bhaal's special little boy and start on his rampage to massacre the entire fucking world. since aerea is somewhat exempt from his bloodlust, i feel that she'd somehow survive the shit that goes down in baldur's gate and start to gather forces to rebel against what was once her brother ... oh my god. oh my fucking god i don't even want to think about it. holds my head in my fucking hands.

but them as children !!! oh, what joy. i hc that they managed to stay together up until they were 10 or so ?? no older than 11, surely. they were raised as twins even though rhys is by right a few years older than aerea ... whether he just ages slow or she aged quickly during her youth, i haven't decided yet. but due to the circumstances of aerea's birth, they were very much attached at the hip !! it's actually the reason why scleritas fel separated them, since rhys couldn't achieve True Bhaalspawn form while his sister was nullifying his bloodlust ... bhaal's acolytes just really hate to see a decent pair of siblings (they preferred orin and her doing little lobotomies on her older brother ... fun). but before shit went down, they were so happy !! snuck around together a lot, ate snacks, played pranks on citizens passing by underneath the balcony (aerea has had to stop rhys from dropping a potted plant on their heads more than once) ... ah, bliss.