#and he can only try to make amends with the ones he hasn't killed

[apple-spider-vinegar]

Not a Norman Osborn Apologist or a Norman Osborn Hater but a secret third thing

[sparklecryptid]

Based on one of the previous asks, If Crowned Lucis Caelum’s share a dream space, does that mean that the Lucii - and even the non-Lucii LC’s - can just show up too?

(Totally not saying this because I want Somnus to get shredded by Ace. Or see him grovel in front of Ardyn. But I’m not not saying that.)

Ace does not intend for his dreams to become a family reunion. Unfortunately illegitimate Lucis Caelums' that wind up as a crown prince are few and far between so that's exactly what winds up happening.

He would appreciate it if people stopped addressing him as "The Hierophant" and he would appreciate it more if everyone just left.

"What are you doing?" Noctis asks as Ace closes his eyes.

"Trying to force myself to wake up."

Noctis grimaces. "I've tried that before, it never works."

"We're stuck here until we wake naturally aren't we."

"We are."

"Fuck." Ace says both in response to Noctis' comment and the fact that Somnus Lucis Caelum has entered dreamland.

Somnus meets Ace's gaze.

Ace distantly wonders if he can kill a dead man. He also wonders if his uncle will be showing up anytime soon. Ardyn hasn't slept in a few hundred years but he swore to try and sleep tonight.

What King would leave their Prince to the wolves after all?

"Somnus," Ace greets without any bothering to hide his disdain for his ancestor, "What brings you here?"

"Where is he?"

"I asked you a question first, dear ancestor of mine," Ace says and smiles a smile reserved for irritating Imperial officials, "I would have an answer before you ask your question."

"My brother," Somnus says at last, "Where is he?"

"Not sleeping as you can see."

"He wouldn't leave you to us."

"He might," Ace says mildly, "You're the one who thought of him as a monster. If he's as much as a monster as you claim then it would only be right for him to crown me and leave me, no?"

Somnus' eyes dart around the dream. He finds nothing.

"Then again-" Ace places a finger to his chin in thought. "-You are the one who made him a monster in the first place. Do you know how hard it was to convince him to not kill me?"

"Aether." A familiar voice echoes in the dream and Ace turns to greet his uncle. Ardyn shoves several family members out of the way and the rest part before him like the sea. "You know I never intended to kill you."

The words are spoken as he comes to a stop beside Ace and drops a hat on him.

"No," Ace agrees, "You didn't. You just planned to use me to destabilize Lucis, seat me on an empty throne and watch as I slowly went mad and succumbed to the Scourge."

"It was an excellent plan."

"It would have worked if I was normal."

"Count your blessings."

Ace makes a face.

"I would rather not."

Ardyn hums in thought.

"A reasonable idea, Ramuh likes you too much."

"He likes me because I died."

"You never told me how that went by the way."

"And I never will."

Somnus coughs.

Ardyn turns his attention to his brother.

The dream turns the color of blood.

"Stay away from what is mine," Ardyn suggests, "Or I will turn your kingdom into a ruin."

"He is my blood," Somnus says and the dream darkens as mist rises from the ground. "But he is not why I am here."

Ardyn laughs. A cruel thing.

"Then why are you here? To make amends? Dear brother, it is far too late for that."

[incoherent-orca]

💭

🐳

im really trying not to but damn,,,,,, im falling off malevolent

the entire last quarter of s4 and s5 so far are so ,,,,,,oddly packed with explanatory monologues and people giving extremely detailed character analyses of ??? themselves ?????

idk i just had to power through The Witch. like this woman just killed the most important guy in your life, possibly permanently, why are u letting her ask questions like its a job interview

frankly why are u justifying urself to her at all? John's return from the dark world and his deal with Kayne are things he hasn't even told Arthur, his closest friend, why is he laying it all out for some hostile stranger who asks leading questions ??

that's another thing! the witch herself is so inconsistent

does she respect John's innate power or not? does she recognize him as a godly being regardless of whether she recognizes his titles or not ?? because if Hastur/KiY doesn't matter to her because those are the gods her enemies worship, why does she give two shits about freeing John from his flesh prison?

it doesn't make sense that she's like "Hastur? idk and idc" and flexes her magic on John, then becomes subservient to him when he pretends to embrace the KiY title again

the monologues are also so,,,, unprompted and jarring. john sweetie you did not need to recite your essay about what you believe humanity and morality is

and idk the way the writing treats the concept of "humanity" just does not vibe with me, especially in The Witch ep. so the witch comes from a line of women mistreated by society so badly that she's given up hope on the human race as a whole,,,,, and the writing chucks her in the "monster" box wholesale because she has no hope and does creepy slimy things in a cave? is that not an absolutely tragic showcase of how humans can be monstrous and how things that are monster-ed & othered by society are still people?

you go through all this trouble to set up monstrous characters to juxtapose against John and emphasize how different he is, but it falls flat when the witch actually??? has a pretty good reason for turning out the way she did, and the writing gives her the barest crumbs of sympathy

has she not seen the cruelty humans are capable of? doesn't she love her maggots like a mother? why does she get slapped with the label monster and nothing else?

EDIT bc i am not immune to the spirit of the staircase:

for a show where one of the protagonists is a monster finding his humanity and regret, it seems so disinterested in exploring any other monster character. LIKE let's not forget that besides the monster-of-the-week in s1, John was the closest thing we had to an antagonist, and his arc is still one of my favorites ever. he does horrible, cruel shit, but is able to feel remorse and make some kind of amends towards Arthur. and John as the voice of morality in the mines? so fucking good

but in The Witch ?? it's such a one-sided conversation. the writing (through John) does not give a damn about the witch's trauma except in how it can be used to poke flimsy questions at John's identity. there's no fascination at all in the monsters. That's exemplified in how it's only sympathetic to John to the extent that he rejects his nature, which is a shame because holy shit John has a working monster form now!!!

YET ANOTHER EDIT:

I'm not exactly mad that arthur died but,,,, i AM disappointed that harlan did that ? the whole fake-out death. i feel like respecting the permanence of death is ,,,, idk a better writing choice. it takes more to pull that off, because you can't return to the status quo of your story AND find a way to continue the plot while providing space for grief

I get that it was meant to be a consequence of the patrons making a bad choice or something,,,, but surely there are other long-lasting effects that don't involve cheapening any consequence from now on ?

idk, any death of arthur from now on will always lack impact, because I'll be squinting at it suspiciously and thinking "well there's precedent for reversing protag death in this show, how do we know this is the real shit?"

then the show will have to spend an unnecessary amount of time providing evidence as to why he can't be brought back this time, and by then any emotional impact will be kind of dulled

[christelightlavo]

Boruto & kawaki after time-skip

If you see closely, boruto charging towards kawaki has changed. Previously boruto would have charged at him with the motion as kawaki.

In the top picture, momoshiki might be in control but he is obviously mimicking boruto's fighting style with the rasengan and how he jumps forward. That's how boruto used to fight.

But after the time-skip, boruto is charging towards kawaki at the same speed yet again but more relaxed. It almost looked like he is walking towards him. It shows one thing clearly, boruto knows he can READ kawaki. Just like he read code.

Read as in, less fighting more understanding. Boruto might be fighting the opponents but he is also understanding how to control them. With code, Boruto was busy trying to instill fear in him and make the guy retrieve. With kawaki, Boruto is trying so that kawaki is calmed down because at the moment Boruto perceives kawaki as an active bomb.

Now let's look at kawaki, kawaki's fighting style hasn't changed. It shows that he didn't try to learn but only sharpened what he did learn. From what Delta said, jt looks like he was training but only training his karma and the things he already knows.

We can also take a look into their minds with this, kawaki hasn't changed his mind at all. Very focused on killing Boruto. While Boruto has changed his mindset, about what? We don't really know. He still wants to made amends with kawaki like he said before the time-skip. He has changed his mind about something and I think we will figure it out along the way.

Kawaki in both the pictures is going for the kill.

Boruto-momoshiki in the above picture is going for the kill, while Boruto is going for knock out.

Thanks fir listening to my ted-talk.

[thedragonholder]

The rogue shirai ryu Ch-2 💙💖

Bi-han was currently going to the lab sektor was working in sektor had called him for an urgent matter that needed to be discussed, bi-han was in a frustrated mood as usual, he wanted to try and track down his brothers kuai liang and Tomas vrbada.

Even after his last fight with his brother he still hasn't forgotten about him and wants to make amends with his brother.

"Ashrah you can't tell me what to do!" A girl with short black hair and white highlight and black eyes with diamond diamond marks on them she also had fair skin and wore a black tank top with black pants and black boots.

"Sareena i am doing what's best for you!" Ashrah said the two sisters had gotten into a fight ashrah wanted sareena to stay with the monks but sareena wanted to leave the temple and go on her own journey she didn't want to follow her sisters footsteps.

"Ashrah i am begging you" Sareena said to ashrah "as I said you will not leave and you will stay! Otherwise I would have to use force!" Sareena looked at ashrah she stepped forward towards ashrah and quickly threw a shadow ball at ashrah causing her to deflect it with her kriss sareena then let out her devil wings and flew away ignoring ashrah's calls she didn't know where she was going only where her heart lead her too.

Bi-han was currently following sektor to his laboratory sektor stopped walking "sektor I don't have all day what do you-" Bi-han stopped as he felt a sharp wound on his back he looked behind to see it was cyrax but he was a yellow cyber robot "cyrax! You dare betray me!?' Bi-han shouted " Cyrax doesn't follow your commands..." Sektor said to bi-han his eyes widen looking at both cyrax and sektor "you both dare betray the lin kuei!" Bi-han shouted "actually you did, you see I had no intention of following your footsteps I just wanted the throne..." Sektor said bi-han's eyes widen "how could you sektor..." Bi-han fell into the ground the wound started to turn purple as he coughed up blood "good bye bi-han." Sektor said leaving bi-han and cyrax followed him.

Bi-han layed there on the snow not knowing what to do his eyes started to close the last thing he saw was a figure flying down in front of him "hey stay awake" The figure yelled.

The sound of chirping birds and the light of the sun on his face caused bi-han to wake up his eyes wandering around the room he was lying on a bed his wound bandaged and he was shirtless "what happened-" "I see your awake" Bi-han saw a girl stand in near the door way with a bowl of soup "who are you?" Bi-han asked "sareena I am the one who rescued you in the mountains" Sareena said to bi-han.

His mind drifted to the betrayal of cyrax and sektor "cyrax, sektor they...." Bi-han was at a loss of words trying to comprehend what was happening sareena sat on the chair beside his bed "what's your name-" "It's none of your business" Bi-han said to sareena she raised her eye brow "well eat up" Sareena said giving him the bowl of soup bi-han snatched the bowl and drank it in a gulp.

"Not a kind one are you" Sareena said bi-han narrowed his eyes at her "where am i?" Bi-han asked sareena "Japan" Sareena said to bi-han his eyes widened and looked at sareena "my sister was looking for me plus a strange army was looking for you so fleeing to Japan was the only option" Sareena said to bi-han his hand was on his forehead sareena put her hand on his shoulder "are you alright?" Sareena asked bi-han "do you know where the shirai ryu is?" Bi-han asked sareena.

"I am sorry what?" Sareena asked "I need to find the shirai ryu" Bi-han said getting up but his wound was too painful "hold up ice man that wound is poisonous any wrong move and it can get you killed" Sareena said to bi-han "so what I am supposed to take a fragile girl like you with me..." Bi-han said to sareena "I am not a fragile girl" Sareena said to bi-han "right cause-" Bi-han got pushed onto a chair sareena put her leg on his shoulder pressing him down with her hell sickle pointed at him.

"Listen here and listen good right now I am your only option and it looks to me that almost all the realms are hunting you down so it's either you accept my help Or suffer the consequences" Sareena said bi-han was stunned he stared at sareena his heart skipped a beat seeing the dominant woman "fine" Bi-han said sareena put her leg down and her hell sickle disappeared in the shadows "good now let's get going ice boy-" "Bi-han..." Bi-han said sareena looked at bi-han "my name is bi-han..." Bi-han said getting up "alright bi-han" Sareena said to bi-han.

"Let's go we have no time to waste" Bi-han said to sareena he was now determined to get to his brothers and try to apologies to them for what he did he looked at sareena who stood there with a smile 'maybe she's not a fragile woman after all' bi-han thought to himself 'atleast I got ice man to open up a bit' sareena thought.

[nokingsonlyfooles]

"Still, the effort stands almost no chance of succeeding in this Congress."

This is where we are. Politicians moving pieces around as if there is a play to be made, while knowing they will lose.

And, given the vibe check in my feed, this is where a lot of voters are too. Somehow, it will be less of a dictatorship if Communications Breakdown McGenocide staggers his way back into office. Because Democrat = Harm Reduction. PERIOD. We MUST do the ONLY THING WE CAN DO even if we KNOW that won't fix it.

I don't want to stop you. Vote your conscience. But don't vote your terrified ignorance. Stop for two seconds. Stop venting your anxiety at leftists who are just as scared as you are but dealing with it differently. Sit there with your own thoughts in your own head and sort them out. November is a long way away, you have time to think. This can't possibly be the only thing you can do.

You're gonna wake up after the election. Someone will win, someone will lose, and the Supreme Court's decision will stand - even if the amendment process continues, it will take years, so that decision will stand. You should be scared and sad no matter who's in the big chair. You should not be rooting for Biden to go full Stalin and take it out on some Republicans - a Blue dictatorship is not a win for democracy, why do I even have to say this?

So you'll be scared and sad but your life will still be there. It is very likely that the inertia will keep you safe for quite some time. Maybe your whole life - although if you've got kids, you should die worried for them. You'll need to go to work to buy food and housing. You'll have prescriptions to fill and repairs to make. You'll hafta pick out some presents for a birthday or holiday. All of that will still be there to distract you from the situation - and it will be good and important and make you feel happy and safe. Sometimes. Sometimes, you will still feel okay.

You have to decide if that is enough for you - spending down the good times you have left until they are gone, and dealing with whatever consequences as they hit. But, I promise you, there are people out there who are already unsafe and know it. There will be more and more people, maybe including your kids, who won't stop saying, "This isn't okay," because it's not. It hasn't been for a long time, but it's getting really obvious now.

And sometimes people will do things trying to fix it that intrude on the things you do to feel okay. They'll block traffic, or damage property, or yell real loud, or hurt your feelings, or even do something that gets human beings injured or killed. If you were happy for the Hong Kong protests or the Arab Spring, or the Civil Rights Movement or whatever distant protest that didn't inconvenience you, personally, now you'll have to square that up with protests that do. This will be that "glorious revolution" you don't want - your friends, neighbours and family pushing back, even when it hurts.

Even when it hurts you, because your continued emotional and even physical safety is very small, and the danger is very large.

You gotta decide if you're going to sit there and cry about your injury, and extrapolate your pain only so far as other people who want to sit still and colour within the lines like good voters, or if you want to push back too. I have no idea what pushing back will look like for you in your situation. For me, my health is in the crapper -I fled, and I'm fighting to repair myself. It's looking like the most I can do is donate money and write words no one will read - but it's not nothing. And it's not shutting people down when they mention something is wrong and voting won't fix it - which is worse than nothing.

If Biden doesn't win, it's not going to be because I betrayed him. I'm a voice in a void, with no campaign funding or right to influence his decisions. He decided he didn't want my vote a long time ago, he told me and I listened. Moderate Democrats and the corporate interests that fund them are abandoning him. They do not see an impending collapse and do not care if Trump wins. It won't make much difference to them.

Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat from Maine, argued the outcome of the election was a foregone conclusion. “While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win,” Golden said in a Bangor Daily News op-ed. “And I’m OK with that.”

I'm not OK with it. I'm not OK either way. I'm trying to repair my body enough that I can protest without being a liability, but that may not happen. If all I can do is get out of the fucking way, then I will. But I will not lay down my broken body to protect a system that wants me dead - I don't care if that scares you.

You should be scared. It's not okay. Get up. What are you going to do?

[x-manson-annotated]

X-Manson Annotated Chapter 5 - Part Six: "APOCALYPSE AND AUTISTIC PSYCHIC PROTECTION"

This fanfiction is fucking stupid. But we're almost done. The show must go on, everybody! :) We're going to be getting into some gross shit, but that's hardly new.

*Your U.N Secretary General, everybody. (Just joking, he doesn't look like this in the story, you'll see. it would be funnier if he did.)

**Cable and Xavier are biased in favor of psis. But now we're seeing further holes in the cult's internal mythology. this is showing that they were making things up as they went along.

***I don't totally see how autistic people can mirror psychic signals. But whatever, Doctor Benway.

*Nonverbal, they probably wouldn't have spoken even if born in more pleasant circumstances.

**They stopped actively trying after the twins?

***So Jean and Betsy and everyone else was probably still talking, possibly while being puppeted by Xavier or Cable.

James is referencing the psychologist "J.Phillippe Rushton" here. Or at least, he is the closest person I've found to matching this description. He ranked various ethnicities based on his Differential K Theory. In this theory, he attempted to "Explain the differences in intelligence, fertility, criminality, and sexual autonomy between the races". It goes without saying that it is racist pseudo-science.

Thought, I'm not entirely sure how this ended up being where the cult evolved. I think Benway put it in the story to add a bit more layers to it. Maybe the specificity of placing jews and first nations people at the bottom is a petty response by Xavier that's somewhat directed at Erich, Gabrielle, and the Proudstars?

The cult's racist dogma also explains why the new mutants are missing any reference to Roberto, but it doesn't account for the inclusion of Ororo and the "Arab Woman" in the fold. It also doesn't totally explain why Ororo wasn't cored like Jean. Is it because she isn't a psi?

****This explains why Kitty in the present hasn't had her period in years. She probably was given the crudest surgery on the planet. (If I had to guess, probably done by McCoy.)

20 children. That's only the ones found in the mansion. This isn't taking into account anyone born in the cult that reside outside in the town surrounding the mansion.

*This might be true, seeing as how there's evidence that the Kelly amendment has made few strides in terms of actual equality for mutants.

Could the children born in the cult possible not even be mutants? It's slim, but it might be true. Granted, Proudstar said that the cult killed children who were not born psychic, so human children probably wouldn't do well. So, a possible 20 psychic children have been sent away from the cult's influence?

*oh yeah, he sounds really intimidating, Ororo.

*Weird hobby to have.

ESN: Oh Ozymandias dear boy, could you select for me a set of those insane letters, I need a hearty chuckle this evening.

****This still seems to be the case with actual America.

*yeah.

*Typical cult paranoia?

**Maybe ESN is making himself smaller than his body actually is so that he doesn't actively physically intimidate people.

Goes without saying, real world Suez Crisis.

Erich used his abilities to make bombs, missiles, and planes not work?

I can see why that might be something to raise a fuss over.

*This seems very far in the past, but it would have felt like the immediate future to someone like Benway or ESN.

**Is this because these are places where nukes were actively used?

***Proactive response.

Amelia Vought is completely human?

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

A high heat small town, romantic suspense story from author Clio Evans. You're Next. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time--and that moment changed me forever. After walking in on a masked man murdering my neighbor, I went back to the one place I swore I'd never step foot in again. Citrus Cove. The sleepy town hasn't changed much, but the people have. Including my old high school bully, Cameron Harlow. He's the last person I want to see. He should be the last person I want. But Cameron Harlow has been dreaming of the day he'd see me again, and wants to set things right. Our history makes me hate him, but he's sinfully hot, has that sexy southern charm, and calls me sunshine. How can I resist him? When the danger I've been running from shows up in my hometown, Cameron becomes my sole refuge. Someone is watching me. Following me. They want me dead. From the ashes of our broken beginnings, all we want is our happy ending. But the killer has other ideas and the only way Cam and me have a future together is if we live to see it...

Review:

Coming back to the small town where your high school bully leaves to try and escape a killer hunting you down is definitely not the destination vacation Haley had in mind... nor did she expect her high school bully to be a completely changed man hell bent on making amends and proving to her that he's been in love with her since he knew her. Haley escaped her small town of Citrus Cove the moment she turned 18. She couldn't wait to be free of Cameron Harlow, the boy who made her life hell all throughout high school. Now years later she is a successful travel writer, yet she is forced to return to Citrus Cove after all these years because she witnesses her neighbor being murdered and the murderer is now after her. Haley intends to lie low until the killer is caught... but now she is facing Cameron Harlow again. Cameron Harlow is a changed man, he went through therapy, he grew and now he is determined to prove to Haley he isn't the same guy and that he is beyond sorry for everything he put her through. Cameron now owns a bar with his brothers and loves his small town of Citrus Cove, all he's looking for is the one, the one perfect person for him and when the woman he wronged is back in town he wants nothing more than to make it up to her... if she'd even let him near her. Haley needs a job and when she is offered a job at a bar the last person she expects to be her new boss is Cameron. Cameron is determined to prove to Haley he is changed, and the fact that he is falling for her all over again means he'll do just about anything for her. Yet Haley's troubles are coming after her and when residents of the town start getting a body count and Haley begins receiving more threatening texts and photos, she and Cameron will have to find the killer before he kills any chance of the romance growing between Haley and Cameron. Oh I absolutely devoured this book, I'm a sucker for a small town thriller romance and this was everything. The amount of groveling Cameron did for Haley was just perfect, Im someone who does not enjoy bully romances but this one was just perfect. Cameron is so so in love with Haley and would do anything for her. I love that he grew and changed, that he made amends and went above and beyond to prove to Haley he is the perfect guy for her. I adored the Emma and Cameron's brothers as well. I honestly can't wait for the second book and to see where the next couple and story goes!! I couldn't put this book down and I would absolutely recommend it!!! It's hot, it's fun, and it's everything you could want in a read!

*Thank you Grey's Promotions and Clio Evans for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!*

 IG: @clioevansauthor Twitter: @clioevansauthor FB: @clioevansauthor @greyspromo

Broken Beginnings: A High Heat Small Town Romance Suspense by Clio Evans is releasing June 4, 2024!

 Pre-order your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4a9pClX      

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3PMXs7Y

Grey's Promotions:

hello@greyspromo.com

greyspromo.com

[yallemagne]

New fuckin' Helluva Boss dropped and.

*whistles*

Fuckers gave me so much to pause and read. At least I didn't have to translate runes this time iojpger. But legitimately, the visual storytelling is cool. I did just... sit down after the ep and go on a monologue about how much the texting says about Blitz and Stolas...

Stolas gets a notification on his phone at the very start of the episode [0:22] for a "Deal @ Ozzie's Set" in 3 days. I have mentioned in a previous post (*cough* my only other Helluva post *cough*) that Stolas plans to give Blitz an Asmodean crystal as a substitute for the Grimoire. So, that's probably what the meeting is about, just to get that crystal made so he can give it to Blitz and let the man have his business, no strings attached.

In texts sent directly after the events of Ozzie's [17:24], he tries to reach out and make amends with Blitz for the events of the night:

"You seemed very upset and you took off so fast. But maybe I read too much into that, I'm glad if that's not the case. I wasn't upset either I just wanted to make sure you weren't and obviously you can handle any stupid joke a clown can make. Asmodeus can be very invasive in his humor, but I thought it was pretty funny myself. What he said about me at least, I enjoy being the subject of jest. Maybe you can say mean things to me too next time you come over."

sooo much insecurity. Though he is very worried, he tries not to come across as too clingy or as if he thinks Blitz can't fend for himself. He calls Fizzarolli's mockery "stupid joke[s] a clown can make". If he even remembers Fizzarolli from his childhood (who knows, he didn't seem to pay much attention to him), he would remember that Fizzarolli was more beloved by the audience. Meanwhile, Stolas was the only one who appreciated Blitz's strange humour. By dismissing Fizzarolli's jokes as stupid, he puts Blitz's humour above his more successful counterpart.

He also tries to say that he wasn't upset by the jokes made at his expense to assure Blitz that he's not ashamed of him. But he was upset, just not for the reason that hurt Blitz. He was upset that Ozzie reduced his first somewhat happy relationship to nothing more than a sex thing that tore his family apart.

At the end, there, he tries to cover up his worry by making a sex joke, because emotional weakness is not the norm in their relationship. An honest try, but all the uncertainty would read as insincerity to an outsider.

Stolas has been very anxious about holding Blitz to his part of the deal they made (exchanging sexual favours for the Grimoire each month), and in the texts he scrolls past, he offers to let Blitz keep the book for longer spans of time, even suggesting that he just pickup/dropoff the book with no sexual exchange needed whatsoever.

All the while, Blitz's responses are always curt and misspelled. Either he just has a writing quirk he commits to or he never learned how to spell properly and taught himself to do so phonetically-- which is likely considering his upbringing. Though he could get the resources to learn now, pride might be a motivation for why he hasn't. Either way, his short responses show his unwillingness to meet Stolas' level of vulnerability. Could also be that he's in the middle of killing people.

Oh, also, his "Git bevver swoon :(" is the only instance of Blitz texting Stolas first. Stolas replies first with genuine appreciation ("Thank you Blitz, that means a lot." one of the only times he has called him "Blitz" and not "Blitzy") and then an invitation for him to visit him in the hospital, masked with innuendo ("I might be here a while, if you ever want to visit. ❤️"). Blitz types a message but deletes it, once more unwilling to match Stolas' vulnerability, but also not wanting to humour the innuendo.

Also, words can't describe how disappointed I was that the episode ended on ANOTHER sombre note and not Blitz crashing in through the window. I was so confident that Blitz had stopped typing because he decided to visit Stolas (and, of course, he would choose the window because he couldn't get past the front desk). Ugh. Every single damn episode has been ending on either a threatening or a sombre note, bring back the last-second punchlines for some diversity!!

There's more I could say but that would be straying from the written messages. And none of my followers care about this ijopeg.

[thenewfuture]

(I...wish that I could agree with that perspective. But Nagito in canon is a pretty shallow asshole. And no offense, since I like the portrayals of the other characters. But his role in this blog reflects that well. He hasn't shown any such depth or good qualities so far. Not to say that I condone the mean-spiritedness from earlier. However, I'm not surprised so many people have gotten fed up with him.)

Yeah, this has something to do with what I meant with how the fandom only really focuses on those smaller parts of Nagito. How depressed he is, the ship, and how "hot" he is. Most people forget or tend to look over how he acted at the end of Chapter 4 and all through 5. That happened, that's another part of his character just like everything else.

Like I said Nagito's not my favorite character, I find him very much overrated and I think realistically, he would be the biggest obstacle towards amending everyone's relationship with each other. No one really liked him ever since he started the killing game essentially and he's been nothing but trifling for the rest throughout the game. That doesn't go away in the blink of an eye(Thanks DR 2.5).

But even so, I want to try and not make Nagito seem so one note just because I don't like him, this applies to Hiyoko too by the way when we get to her. No one is going to immediately forgive and forget what Nagito has done so easily and that's really the point I'm trying to get across here. Nagito can change, but it is going to be an uphill battle. That much is certain.

-Mod

[flipwizardstarlight]

Okay so lets dive a little into the particulars. It's been a year since they cut danny off. He gets about 12 hours a week in what is essentially a prison cell to take the bracelet off so he can use his ice cause the adults learned very early that it would kill him if he didn't, and they want to "help" danny so letting it kill him like that would be counter productive. So lets put the gala like, the day before they are gonna let him have access to his core, so danny looks *so fucking bad* but he is desperate. He has avoided these things for the whole year cause they happen to always fall when he is at his worst health wise, but Lady Gotham finally managed to make contact through all the fenton and Masters protections to tell him about how her knights would help him if they knew he needed help, but he would have to tell them because for all she is trying, she cant lead them to him. So danny is miserable, tremors are terrible, can't keep food down, heart palpitations, absent seizures, the works, but he manages to convice them to bring him to the gala so he can socialize with "normal humans" and hopefully it will help "fix him" and they are dubious but agree.

So he is at this gala and he looks terrible and he feels awful but he has to try, and he knows something is fucky about bruce and doesn't trust it cause adults have a bad rep for Not Helping so he is short and distrustful and goes to sit down, right? And then Tim approaches him. And tim... let's say this is a little under a year since bruce came back, put tim at age 18 (only a year and a half older then danny) and he is working on taking better care of himself but it's slow going. It has only been a few months since the fam realized he was fading and started trying to make amends, so he is still pretty sickly looking too, so danny looks at this kid and immediately feels like "he would understand". And lady gotham didn't tell him the civilian ids for her knights because she didn't have time, but she manages to put a mark on tim right before the gala since she knows tim is the one he is most likely to trust, so he sees this mark and is like "yeah let's go" and tim starts trying to make small talk and Danny just

Danny, quietly, facing away from his parents and vlad so they wont know what he is saying: act like Im not saying some extremely concerning things so we dont get caught

Tim, immediately on board but incredibly concerned: yeah i can do that what's up?

Danny: im sick cause they are trying to "fix" me by taking away the part of me that keeps me alive and they wont believe me when i tell them this.

Tim, pulling out his phone to text jay to come kidnap this kid right now immediately: explain that a little more

Danny: i was in a lab accident that should have killed me but because of the substance involved it just gave me powers that literally keep me alive. Jack maddie and vlad are trying to take the powers away cause they want their son back but im literally right here.

Tim, trans man who has DEFINITELY heard that exact line about metas and trans people before, texts jason to hurry the fuck up: sweet how do you feel about siblings?

Like. Just. Tim takes one look at this pathetic wet cat of a boy who is pratically begging for help and is like "time to pull the 'my brother is still technically a crime lord so he can get away with this' card-hey Jason come kidnap this kid"

And jason is hella on board, it has been a slow night, he is bored, has been a while since he worked with tim on something so he misses his Red Robin, knows tim wouldn't ask him to kidnap someone without good reason, is also just like. So fucking ride or die for this guy. Like. Tim says jump and jason says "yes sir right away sir" but also would shoot you for pointing it out cause tim absolutely hasn't realized this yet. (Can u tell i ship jaytim??)

And just. Tim says "you want loud or quiet escape" and danny like "quiet so they dont know to follow me. Just like. Ask them about their inventions and they will forget about me probably for long enough to get me out" so tim is like "sweet, bruce has them occupied want to join me on a balcony for a few?"

They go outside and red fucking hood appears about two minutes later like "sup nerds lets get u gone" and coincidence of coincidences, one of the rogues attacks right then so the fentons are even more thuroughly distracted long enough for them to get danny to a safehouse to take off the bracelet that has a tracker that they then give to nightwing to plant somewhere else and danny immediately is gaining strength and once the bracelet is off he can tell jay is also halfa and is like "oh god oh no i put you in so much danger oh god we have to get out of here do you have somewhere like, so fucking far away that it would take a week for my parents to get there at least so i can regain enough strength to make a portal to somewhere fully safe?"

Im imagining jay calls kori and takes danny to space and he is just. So fucking relieved. So fucking happy. Like a wet fucking kitten. A week later danny makes the portal and oops turns out he is interdimensional royalty? Holy shit? And his grandpa is literally the embodiment of time? The bats all get a bit of a power boost for helping danny.

By the time the bat approaches the fentons to be like "lemme hear your side of things please" they are spitting mad about phantom and it is supremely unhelpful to themselves how they go on a whole ass rant about how ghosts as "non sentient and non sapient" but also "pure evil" and how they keep talking about what happened in amity to like "prove" their side but like, most of the stories follow this basic plot of "we were notified of a ghost, arrived to see phantom and the other ghost fighting, phantom captured the other ghost then ran away and we lost him" and like. They also keep talking about danny being one of the people consistently volunteering to help fix the property damage from ghost fights and like, bruce knows a lot of metahumans. bruce knows a lot of superheroes. Bruce knows a lit of heroes who fight powered villians who also insist on volunteering to clean up their messes after fights. And also the parents are graphic about the vitrol they are spewing towards phantom and the things they want to do to him when they finally separate him from danny and like.

Bruce is just.

Bruce goes home and hugs his children super tight.

He almost cries about what these people have put their son through, he is so upset about it. Because he also knows a lot of trans and metas. And he knows what kind of hate is spewed their way. And he knows how people talk about them. And he knows how some *parents* talk about their *kids* who are those. And he just. It all sounds *exactly like those people*.

It gets even worse when tim tells him that JASON has the same condition they were trying to "cure" danny of. Bruce and jay don't have the best relationship but they gave bruce some of their notes on danny and what they have done to try and cure him and after he knows that he can't stop seeing jay in Danny's place and just.

He goes to superman and wonder woman like "if i work on this any longer i will end up trying to kill these people. I cannot do this."

Jay and danny get a nice vacay in the far frozen and some real good therapists while the JL take down the fwbtons and dalvco.

Jazz has been searching for her brother and parents for a year at this point, fully dropped out if college, collected sam and tucker, and the three have been living out of her car for a YEAR trying to find and rescue danny. They find out the JL is going after dalvco and that the three adults are under house arrest while they are investigated for child abuse and the dissappearance/death of the Fenton's son and they are so fucking worried about if the jl has danny. They go to the nearest city with a jl hero and rob a store so they can get the hero's attention and have just like. Full on breakdowns about "please tell me he isn't dead please tell me he is okay please he can't be dead we have been looking for him for a year PLEASE"

Imagining them talking to like. Martian manhunter like "you were his favorite hero, PLEASE, you don't even have to tell us where he is just tell us he is ALIVE" and like. God that year from their pov is just. So fucking good angst material.

Dp x Dc Bad parents with a twist.

The Fentons find out about Danny being Phantom. Either from Vlad or just randomly. They take it badly. They think Phantom is possessing him, but they think they can "save" him. Unfortunately, the GIW think otherwise and want to destroy their son. So what do they do? They erase all signs of their existence in Amity and wiping every article and study they ever had on ghost. Then they packed up and moved to Gotham in the middle of the night. Cutting Danny off from his friends and Jazz (due to her being at college and disagreeing with them). Vlad and the Fentons become business partners. Publicly, the three work together making and marketing inventions. while privately trying to 'fix' Danny on the side.

Danny has to wear an upgraded specter deflector, which is a thin metal bracelet.

Having half of himself offline for a long period of time has been causing his physical health to decline. That and the experiments his parents have been performing on him. No full-blown vivisection. He also gets anesthesia because they believe the Danny can still feel.

It wasn't long for the people of Gotham to start to talk about Vlad Co's new business partners and their sickly son. It wasn't long after for Bruce Wayne to gain some interest as well.

The first time Bruce met the Fentons was at a gala with Masters introducing them. Jack, Maddie, and Their son. He was also able to observe that he looked more sickly in person. With deep eye bags, pale skin, and how thin he was. It made Bruce's heart ache thinking what the boy about Tim's age had been having to endure.

The conversation contuied. Danny nervously fidgeting, only giving curt responses. Mr Fenton laughed, joking about how Danny didn't like fancy events. He excused Danny, telling him to grab something to eat. Danny nodded and rushed away, grabbing food and settling down in a nestled in a far back conner.

Bruce continued talking to the enthusiastic pair, talking glances at the boy occasionally. He felt some of his tension relax when spotting Tim taking a seat near Danny.

After the gala Tim and Bruce got together and compared notes. They both came to one conclusion.

They needed to find out more.

[softersinned-arc]

@balldwin said: ❝ this will end in blood. the only question that remains is which side is willing to spill more. ❞

It's been some time since she's seen him like this. Centuries, really. He was long dead by the time Astoria had come into Baldwin's life, and the legend of the man who killed Dracula was relevant mostly in that it irritated her. She enjoyed hearing it, to be sure, but so did everyone else, and in the days before she began to stake a claim of her own nothing was surer to give her a headache than someone else hearing the story and trying to fall into his bed. The threat, then, was not the man but the family he left behind, the scores of loyal children determined to avenge their father or, at the very least, make the de Clermonts bleed.

There's something in him that awakens only when the dragon stirs. Astoria can hardly blame him; there's no one else to help him carry the weight, now, not as his father had done centuries before. He has her, of course―his left hand, his blade. He knows that there is nothing she wouldn't do for him, no risk she wouldn't take, but she is young, compared to Philippe. So are his children, though Astoria doesn't doubt that Miyako can, will wreak havoc to rival any of her grandfather's.

She rests a hand on his shoulder before she moves around the chair to settle comfortably into his lap. Dracula's scent no doubt lingers on her skin, his prolonged proximity hanging on her like the stench of rotting earth, and she's almost hesitant to bring the smell so close to him. But he could do with her presence, she thinks, her closeness, whatever comfort it might offer, and it's not as though standing away from him will make him any less aware of what happened today. Baldwin's nostrils flare with some agitation, but he winds his arms around her as he always does, keeping her held as near to him as he can.

Five hundred years ago he didn't have her with him when he killed―almost killed, Astoria mentally amends, and not for the first time she wonders if Dracula can die at all. Will her presence be a help or a hindrance? Already she's been used as a messenger, Dracula's threat obvious. Their call with Constanta earlier confirmed what she had suspected, made it clear that this was not the first death from which he returned.

"I know." It's a useless thing to say, but it's the best Astoria has right now. And she'd be a liar if she said she wasn't frightened, too. As if reading her mind (he so often does) Baldwin tightens his arms around her, drops a kiss to her temple. "He made that much clear." She doesn't have an answer to his question, either, and that troubles her more than anything else she's experienced today. (She is not Ysabeau; their minds work differently, always have. She is an assassin, not a general. She is a strategist, not a commander. She has never been sorry for it but right now, she thinks she is.)

One hand settles on his desk, fingers drumming against the wood. The other raises to his face, and she strokes a gentle line along his jaw before she presses a kiss there. "We have more weapons now than we did then," she says finally. "We have witches we can rely upon, but he's always had witches, hasn't he?" But they don't have Philippe. Or Godfrey. Gallowglass and Fernando will help them, as will Ysabeau and Matthew, but Matthew may not allow Diana to step into the line of fire, and the twins are another potential target. Their alliances were strong before, but there's only so much they can rely on Constanta now, if at all. "It may be time to reach out to Domenico again," she says after a beat. "For all his flaws, he's deadly enough."

And then, of course, comes the question of whose blood should be spilled. "Would it do anything to kill Constanta?" she asks softly. She'd be surprised if he hadn't thought of it already, but it needs to be asked. "I can't tell if it'll help or hurt him, to lose her. If she's to be believed, he's killed the other two himself. It might enrage him, or it might be a favor to him."

She pauses, presses another kiss to his jaw, settles against him with a sigh. Some part of her wants to tell him to ignore it all, leave it to someone else to handle, but who? He is the head of the family. As much as he deserves a rest, considering all that Diana and Matthew put him through, she knows there is no one else who could do what they must. And whatever her own fear may be, nothing short of death will take her from his side, or render her inactive.

"I'm sorry I don't have more for you. And I'm sorry he used me to get to you." It's not her fault and she knows it, but the sympathy is real. Even as she softens, she readies herself for war. "Tell me what you need of me, my love, and it's yours."

(It always is.)

[jinjeriffic]

More accidental marriage AU!

Tim and Danny are both 19ish in this story. After they explain the situation to the Batfam, Batman contacts every occult expert he can think of to try and figure out a way to break the contract, while Danny does the same thing on the ghost front (with no luck). Zatanna does cast a glamour to hide the amulet from view so no one figures out that Tim and Red Robin are wearing the same gaudy, ancient and valuable-looking bling that was reported stolen from Gotham Museum.

Danny gets invited to the Manor for family dinner so the Bats can meet him and try to get a read on him. Most of them are super concerned about who Tim has found himself magically shackled to! After meeting Danny, Steph immediately gets a betting pool going on how long it will take the two of them to actually get together (Cass wins, obviously). Jason thinks the whole situation is hilarious until he meets his new brother-in-law who immediately clocks him as being infected with corrupted ectoplasm (more on that later).

Damian is miffed because while Danny has commoner roots he is a King by Conquest, which means he probably outranks Damian. Hell, as consort Drake might now outrank Damian which is unacceptable. Dick is worried at first but after making sure that Danny is being a perfect gentleman towards Tim he turns towards gentle ribbing. Who would have thought Tim would be the first of the Batkids to get hitched! Probably because there was no wedding ceremony for villains to blow up! Duke is mostly excited to not be the only meta in the family anymore and wants to swap teenage superhero stories with Danny.

Bruce and Alfred quiz Danny on ghosts and what being Consort will mean for Tim. Danny tries to reassure them (hah, as if anyone could) that Tim is under Danny's protection and basically has a magical giant neon sign on him saying Do Not Touch, Or Else! They worry even more.

The existence of the Lazarus Pits and what they do are a bombshell to Danny. Glowing green waters with strange properties? Reviving the dead? Driving people crazy? Aw nuts, this is gonna end up being Danny's problem, isn't it? It is. He does some research and discovers that the Pits are basically Ghost Zone sewage runoff that has been leaking into the mortal realm through cracks in reality. Since, you know, there hasn't been a reigning monarch to organize things there have been a lot of GZ problems that no one has been dealing with. Danny bangs his head on a wall for a bit and resigns himself to having to work out a GZ Infrastructure Reform Plan.

Jason gets to spend a nice week in the Far Frozen, getting all the Pit Rage cleaned out him in what amounts to a relaxing spa treatment.

Over the following months, as Danny gets to know the Batfam better he gradually figures out just how much shit Ra's and his brood have put his new family and especially Tim through. Including that time Ra's daughter (or sister?) tried to force Tim into being her baby daddy before killing him (hurk!). Danny goes to the GZ to scream for a while, then amends his plan to include thoroughly screwing Ra's.

To get back to the comedy, imagine Danny rolling up to each Lazarus pit in turn with a group of ghostly workmen in hard hats in tow. Nocturne puts the assassin guards to sleep, then the workman lower a giant hose into the pit and drain that sucker through a ghost portal in full view of the cameras. As a final touch, they put up sign in the empty pit.

Under New Management

On the Authority of HRH King Phantom

This site has been deemed a Ghost Ecological Hazard and underwent Maintenance in accordance with the Ghost-Material Plane Infrastructure Law on xx.xx.20xx

For any complaints, please contact the Office of Material Plane Affairs at Royal Phantom Court, Ghost Zone

Long May He Reign!

Ra's is of course furious and terrified at having his immortality threatened. Danny leaves him alone for juuuuust enough to let him really stew in it, but has to make sure he doesn't try any alternatives he has lined up (like trying to body-snatch Damian). King Phantom shows up in Nanda Parbat in maximum Eldritch Horror mode: "Greetings Ra's Al-Ghul. I am the King of the Dead, and you have evaded me for long enough!". Then he unleashes Spectra on Ra's to drain him down to a husk, incinerates the remains until there's nothing left and makes sure any ghost he might have left behind is sealed in a can for all eternity. And then he goes home.

Tim: Hey Danny! What have you been up to

Danny: Eh, I had to make sure some GZ sewage work got fixed. Man, I hate bureaucracy!

DC x DP prompt/ficlet

Throwing my hat in the ring with this idea that has been doing the zoomies in my brain for days. The Tim/Danny Accidental Ghost Marriage to Fake Dating to Friends to Lovers AU:

Pariah Dark was a piece of shit. Before his imprisonment, mortals would sometimes manage to bargain with the Ghost King for scraps of power. One of the "standard" deals was to send PD a "Bride" to play with and feed on (because I HC he feeds on fear and pain) and what better way than a little mortal battery that couldn't get away from him? The deal was sealed with a cursed amulet. Now in one instance, the contract was never fulfilled (maybe the petitioner died before he could complete his half) and the amulet was lost. After Pariah was imprisoned and couldn't make deals anymore the knowledge of the rituals needed was gradually forgotten since they didn't work anymore...

Eventually the amulet gets dug up by archeologists (maybe in Egypt or Mesopotamia?) and ends up in a traveling exhibit in Gotham. A Rogue robs the place (Riddler? Two-Face? doesn't really matter). When the Bats show up to foil the robbery, during the fight with the goons a drop of Red Robin's blood gets on the amulet, there's a blinding flash of green light and the amulet is suddenly glued to him.

While everyone is dazed by the ghostly magic flashbang, Fright Knight pops out of a portal, yoinks Red Robin across his saddle and jumps back through the portal before anyone can stop him. Cue the Bats trying to frantically figure out what in the multi-dimensional occult hell happened and where RR went?!

Meanwhile, Danny is disturbed to receive a ghostly missive in his college dorm to tell him that his Mail Order Bride has been delivered to his Ghost Zone Palace and is awaiting him so they can consummate their Unholy Matrimony.

----------------

Danny: Wtf I have to study I don't have time to get MARRIED

Fright Knight: I'm sorry my liege, but according to the laws of ghosts, gods and magic you already ARE

Danny: Wtf. How did this happen?

RR: I would like to know that too

Danny: Oh shit, you're a superhero. Frighty, you can't just kidnap people! Especially not SUPERHEROES!

RR: While that's good to hear, I would really like to know about this supposed marriage..?

FK: I am not aware of the exact details, I was merely summoned to retrieve the Bride of the Ghost King. There used to be standard magical contracts for this, which went into effect when the Bride bled on the King's Token...

RR: Shit

Danny: Hold on, PARIAH got married? Multiple times??

FK: ...but we can always consult the Royal Archivist, if we can dig him out from under the several thousand years worth of paperwork that piled up while there was no King actively ruling...

Danny: Oh ancients, am I gonna have to deal with that?? I have exams to prepare for, dude!

RR: ...the dead still have to do exams? And paperwork?? *horror*

-------------

Some time and explanations later...

Royal Archivist: It took some digging, but I believe I have found the contract in question. You are one Timothy Drake-Wayne, correct?

Tim: Fml

RA: Ahem. The contract was sealed with your mortal blood, as is standard procedure. Congratulations, you are officially King-Consort of the Infinite Realms! Until death do you part, and all that

Danny: Can I see that contract? ...This isn't in English

RA: Oh dear, looks like we will have to schedule your Royal Highness classes in reading cuneiform/hieroglyphics

Tim: Okay, does it say anywhere in that contract how to dissolve it? What's the procedure for a ghost divorce? Fright Knight mentioned the previous king being married multiple times

RA: Well usually, when Pariah tired of a consort he would simply devour their soul...

Danny: Ewwwww I am so not doing that

Tim: I concur. I can't imagine my soul would taste good anyway

Danny: That's what you took from that??

RA: ...but when you die and your soul passes into the Afterlife proper, the contract will be fulfilled. As long as you're not resurrected again.

Tim: Nuts, there goes that loophole

RA: Until then you are the Consort and duty-bound to fulfill his Royal Highness' every whim; ghostly, spiritual, carnal...

Danny: *sinks through the floor in embarrassment*

Tim: Can't he just... release me from the contract? Take the amulet off me or something?

RA: Not without obliterating your soul, no

Danny and Tim: Fuck

--------------

Some time later, while Danny is away consulting other ghosts on possible ways of dissolving the contract, they discover the nasty little clause that if Tim isn't in regular physical contact with Danny the amulet starts draining his life force. To prevent victims from escaping you see... Danny really really hates Pariah right now.

They eventually return to the mortal plane to explain to the Batfam what the hell is going on and that they're still trying to fix it. In the meantime, Danny can't miss any more classes (studying areospace engineering at MIT or sth) and Tim has to stick close to him because of the curse...

Alfred: Oh dear, looks like Master Timothy will have to go to college after all *unflappable British Smugness*

Bruce pulls a lot of strings to fast track Tim getting his high school diploma and let him attend classes with Danny (he's not officially enrolled yet, but Money, Dear Boy). They never know when Danny has to respond to a ghost emergency or Red Robin to a Bat emergency, so they stay pretty much joined at the hip in their civilian lives. Of course there's gonna be rumors. Why did the Wayne CEO suddenly drop everything to go to college? So they make up a story about Danny and Tim having been secret boyfriends for a while and Tim becoming so smitten that he moves with him to Boston...

Cue the fake dates, interviews with magazines, couple photoshoots to really sell the bit... and the two young men gradually becoming friends... and then "Feelings?? But what do I do?? He was forced into this?" etc.

[safyresky]

Happy Saturday night/Sunday morning fellow tsc fans! How we all feeling post episode drop? Good? Bad? SHOCKED and APPALLED at the Charlie scene*? Smad about Jack being called a frozen lunatic? Because our emotional support lunatic DID in fact THAW? Mad that Santa can now, uh, blow winds and uh, send ICICLES? WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT DID HE DO TO JACK? WHERE IS JACK?

I'm calm, I'm cool. I'm chill. Uh.

Are you tired of people being like nah, fuck it, Jack is still evil/frozie/villain lmao, POST tsc3? Girl, same.

Well, may I offer you a plug for Crystal Springs in this trying time?

Crystal Springs? You ask. The thing I see you post about a solid 25% of your time on hellsite?

Yes! Crystal Springs!

Well...alright, I'll bite, you say. What is it?

Crystal Springs is a genfic that I wrote that takes place a year after tsc3, and focuses on our boy Jack Frost, who has THAWED! He's been chilling at the Pole, doing them community service hours, making up with Santa and the other elves, just. Y'know. GETTING BETTER POST-THAW. HE'S HAVING A REDEMPTION ARC! IT'S GREAT! IT'S ALL GREAT!

Except for one itty bitty tiny thing...

His powers seem to be...gone. And you know, this wouldn't be TOO much of a problem if he wasn't tied to the Dome that shelters the entire North Pole and saves them from exposure and also, keeps Elfsburg temperate!

But unfortunately, keeping the Dome shipshape is one of the ah, not so perky perks of Jack's job. And when his powers stop working...the Dome starts melting, warming up the North Pole and letting the magic leak out. And if the magic leaks out??? It'll spread way too fast, way too hot, and potentially jeopardize not only the magical populous of the world, but the regular populous, too! Because not only does the Dome keep them safe and temperate, it also doles out the magic in proper quantities so as not to overwhelm the magic that coats the entire globe!

And on TOP of that, BECAUSE the Dome melting is starting--a process known as the Deliquesce--everyone is beginning to think that maybe Jack's going back to his old ways...ruh-oh raggy!

So what to do, what to do? Well, after finally admitting his lack of powers to the Council, there's one thing that may be able to help Jack: the Legate Law.

Santa has his clauses, but the Council? Well, they all have a lil' something known as the Legate Law, in which, should something happen to them or they become unable to do their job or even just retire (yeah tscs series, I did it FIRST! HA!), their Legate steps in to take their place!

Jack's Legate should be good to take over his seasonal duties and fix up the Dome temporarily, if they partially enact the law. They may even be able to help Jack get to the bottom of his power shortage!

There's only one problem.

His Legate is his younger sister, Jacqueline.

Who he hasn't seen or talked in fourteen hundred years.

In fact, the last time they saw each other, he uh. He maybe almost killed her. Maybe. Almost. It was bad. Bad enough to be known as the Day of Darkness in magical history.

But, Jack, realizes, it's time to make amends with the fam. And this seems to be the only way to save the North Pole and all of the magical world. (And Christmas too, I guess).

But when Jacqueline arrives and things take a turn for the worse, the pair realize that if they want to fix this at all, they're gonna have to go home.

Back to Crystal Springs.

(BOOM NAME DROP!)

So off Jack goes to make amends with his parents, meet the younger twin siblings he didn't even KNOW existed, and hopefully get his and Jacqueline's sleet together before the nefarious stranger in the shadows manages to string together a devious plot for some very, very, very old vengeance on the Frosts.

Oh, I didn't mention the mysterious stranger? Well, there is one, and he's stirring up trouble for the entire Frost Fam!

So. In conclusion. Crystal Springs has EVERYTHING.

AND MORE! (Bernard, weird evil man working in the shadows for lord knows WHAT reason, canon characters IN CHARACTER)

But mostly, it has JACK. And if anyone out there is missing their emotional support frozen lunatic, well. I GOTYOU ;)

🆕🆕 And is now completely, start to finish, on ao3 here! 🆕🆕

*we here at SafyreSky Industries are aware of the reasons they did the Charlie scene the way they did in Disney+'s The Santa Clauses. However, we are upset at the way they portrayed him and his wife's relationship. SafyreSky Industries is of the opinion that:

A) Charlie should have TOLD wifey AGES AGO about Scott as Santa AGES AGO and that

B) Had he and wifey had a nice conversation that was drawn out and not, you know, like THAT. Just a bit more mature and heartfelt and communicating their needs to one another, then it would've been LESS anger inducing, and finally

C) Like Charlie being next better and as such, will be going forward in CS Verse canon with Charlie becoming Santa's Legate and after that, the next Santa :)

[coraniaid]

Thinking about Xander's Lie again after rereading this essay. I definitely agree that the lack of narrative follow-up it gets is a problem with later seasons, not with Becoming itself.

It would have been nice to have it discussed at some point in Season 3, and there are actually several episodes where it's strange it doesn't come up. I can imagine it being central to (a radically different/better version of) Dead Man's Party for example, or perhaps being talked about in Amends (the latter episode already features Xander apologizing to Buffy for some of his earlier behaviour re:Angel, after all, and it would have only taken a couple of lines of dialogue to cover the Lie as well).

In any event, it should have been a lot more consequential than it was allowed to be. We see Buffy tell Giles and Willow that Willow's spell worked, but we never see her complain about the 'fact' that Willow didn't try to warn her it was coming. That should matter, shouldn't it? On a show that cared more about inter-season continuity, I think it would have mattered.

That said, I think the one callback to the Lie we do get in iater seasons -- in Season 7's Sefless -- is worse than 'insufficient', and I'd have been much happier if it wasn't included there at all.

Mainly because ... well, this is the entirety of the callback:

Buffy: I killed Angel […] I loved him […] and I put a sword through his heart. Because I had to. [...] Do you remember cheering me on? Both of you. Do you remember giving me Willow's message: 'kick his ass'?

Willow: I never said that--

... and that's it. The conversation moves on. We don't ever come back to this. The Lie is never exposed.

The problem I have with this is that, before Selfless, it's possible to just handwave the lack of discussion of the Lie away. Either Buffy didn't actually think about it that much (which is why she never brings it up again), or perhaps it was something that got resolved off-screen. But Sefless makes two things canon:

Buffy did remember it, and it's something she's been dwelling on for years;

Xander has never confessed to the Lie, and Buffy and Willow have never spoken about it before.

While this doesn't contradict anything we've seen on screen, it puts it into focus in a way I'm not sure works very well. Is it really credible that Buffy wouldn't have discussed something like this with her best friend, despite all the times they must have talked about Angel after he came back? Would Buffy really accept without question that Willow would simultaenously work to restore Angel's soul and encourage Buffy to just kill him and not stall for time? If we believe that, then what does that mean for their relationship? Nothing good, I think.

And the show does this for what? For a throwaway reference that none of the characters will ever talk about again. After all, at the end of this episode, Buffy still hasn't found out the truth about the Lie. So what's the point of this exchange? Just to say to the audience "hey, wow, wasn't it weird that we never brought this up before?" How is the episode Selfless improved by this?

[thelordofgifs]

I have NO idea what’s going on here now. Here’s some stuff. It’s so far from being finished. I actually twisted myself into pretzels trying not to kill Maglor, but I think it sort of works? Maybe? After the Gil-galad series I promised myself I’d only write sane stuff for a while but :(

Rewind to the Dagor Bragollach.

When the surviving population of Himlad fled west and south to Nargothrond, along the marches of Doriath, none of the Noldor among them could pass through the Girdle.

People died there, pursued by orcs and spiders, scarce feet from safety.

Thingol... isn't exactly sure he'd do things differently. They were not just any Noldor, after all - they were Fëanorians, followers of Celegorm and Curufin. Many of them were Kinslayers.

But, after, when his marchwardens told him of the mass graves they had made just outside his borders—

The Girdle is a little more permeable now.

Senior marchwardens, like Mablung, can exercise their judgement to bring the wounded to safety.

Not that anyone, in their wildest dreams, imagined that one day the wounded seeking shelter might count Maglor Fëanorion among their number.

Mablung is pretty sure he's going to get in trouble for this. But he decides to bring Maedhros and the unconscious Maglor, both blindfolded and guarded, back to Menegroth.

Of course, Mablung doesn't know that there's currently a Silmaril in Menegroth.

Mablung is now very sure he's going to get in trouble for this.

Thingol is disgusted, but he isn't evil. He agrees to have Maglor treated, and keeps Maedhros, chained to the wall by his left hand, in the same room.

Look, everyone knows what Maedhros has been through. Nobody wants to do this. But the alternative is having the deadliest son of Fëanor loose in Menegroth with a Silmaril, which people want even less.

Maedhros is having such a bad day.

Maglor is getting worse. They've stemmed the bleeding, at least. But it turns out Carcharoth's fangs were poisoned, and he isn't getting better, and he won't wake, he won't wake—

Maedhros is 50% here, watching his favourite brother slowly die in front of him, and 50% back on Thangorodrim, suspended from his wrist.

He tries to focus, at least, when Thingol shows up to interrogate him.

They're both a bit surprised by the other.

Maedhros isn't expecting someone taller than him (he hasn't dealt with that since Turgon fucked off to Gondolin several centuries ago).

Thingol wasn't expecting to see his old friend Finwë's features on the pale troubled face of this Kinslaying upstart.

"Why have you come here, Fëanorion?" he demands.

Maedhros flicks rapidly past the truth and over various plausible and implausible lies. "To apologise most sincerely for my brothers' deplorable treatment of your daughter, and to make amends in whatever way possible."

"Really," says Thingol, taking a risk. "And the Silmaril that you saw borne towards Doriath had no effect whatsoever on you."

Maedhros can't say, "I don't want the Silmaril," not with the Oath clawing at his throat. But he is good at dissembling. Pressing his wrist against the hard metal of its shackle, he says, "What did you hope to achieve, King Thingol, when you set one of my father's jewels as your daughter's bride-price? Did you want our enmity, we who spend our blood to keep Beleriand safe? Did you truly wish for Finrod my cousin's death?"

Thingol can't say, "I only meant to scare him," because that would be pathetic. But Maedhros has given him an opening. "How you dare to speak my nephew's name, when your perfidious brothers sent him to his doom at Gorthaur's hands!"

Okay so Thingol obviously isn't Sauron, but Sauron also favours the form of a tall fair-haired elf-lord and his name has come up and Maedhros is absolutely digging his nails into his hand trying to stay in the here and now, because Sauron isn't here, he isn't here. "Well, what do you plan to do now?" he asks. "You have a Silmaril, and the eldest sons of Fëanor. Are you hoping to ransom us, the way mortals do?"

“Don’t goad me, Kinslayer,” Thingol snaps. “You can stay here and rot for all I care.”

So that was productive.

Thingol stalks off to meet with Mablung, who updates him on the wolf situation - it looks like Carcharoth is drawing nearer to Doriath (the trail of blood they left from their previous encounter doesn't help), but why would he be able to get through the Girdle?

Honestly Thingol has a pretty good thing going right now. He has a Silmaril, his daughter is back, and turns out her husband isn't actually that terrible after all. His biggest problem is how to get the damned Noldor princes out of his city without them attacking anyone.

You know what this situation needs? Another son of Fëanor! said no one ever.

In Himring, Celegorm and Curufin are Not Impressed to find their brothers missing and the guards and stablehands all sworn to secrecy.

(They left all their own followers in Nargothrond. In Himring, things are done Maedhros' way, which is... an adjustment.)

"You try to work out what happened," says Celegorm. "I'm going to follow them."

Even without Huan, Celegorm is a prodigious tracker.

He follows his brothers' trail to the point, north of Doriath, where they evidently encountered another party of elves and some sort of rampaging creature. Someone was wounded, everyone went towards Doriath, and the monster continued on its way.

Tracking Carcharoth is a lot easier than tracking Iathrim rangers on their home territory. Celegorm follows his trail, skirting west around the Girdle.

Eventually he catches sight of Carcharoth up ahead.

Okay, this is weird. Admittedly Melian's magic warps reality a bit here, but Celegorm is sure the wolf is actually weaving in and out of the Girdle.

Well, his brothers are probably inside the Girdle, which means he should be there too, even if Thingol might have him killed on sight.

You thought Finrod was the only one who could wrestle wolves with his bare hands?

Celegorm takes a running leap onto Carcharoth's back.

Meanwhile in Menegroth, Beren, Lúthien and Huan are all having crises of conscience.

"Being chained was the worst part," Beren tells his wife. "To feel that powerless - I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

Lúthien is remembering how close she came to losing Beren to his poisoned wound.

Admittedly, Maglor is an elf raised in the Treelight, with all the strength of the ancient world in his bones, but. How much longer will he last?

Huan has gone to wait out the death watch with Maedhros.

Maedhros is very glad to see him, for a given value of gladness, as Maglor's breathing grows fainter and fainter.

Sometimes, when Maedhros has bad nights, Maglor sits up with him, and sings quietly, constantly, throughout the hours of darkness.

Maglor can’t do that for him now. Maglor is dying. But the principle is sound, so he keeps up a steady stream of more-or-less (less. it’s definitely less.) sane babble.

To Maglor: “Stay with me, Káno, keep breathing, listen to my voice, I’m still here, stay with me…” (Not that he thinks this will work, but it sounds nice.)

To Huan: “It was good of you, to leave when you did. Tyelko needed – he needed to know, that it wasn’t right. Do you think – the wolf—?”

To himself: “You did say that it would take the best thing you had left! Why didn’t I listen?”

When it’s really bad, to Sauron: “Shut up. Go away. You aren’t here. You aren’t here. You aren’t here—”

At some point during this litany, Lúthien shows up.

In her hand is a Silmaril.

(to be continued)

In light of recent interesting discourse about Beren and Lúthien's Silmaril theft, and the Fëanorions' priorities in the lead-up to Nirnaeth and after, I started wondering how things might have changed if B&L had managed to steal two Silmarils rather than one. Would pulling the Union together be harder with only one jewel left to draw focus in Angband?

Then as soon as I thought about it some more, I realised the most inevitable path diverged earlier than that.

Then I started writing a fic, got 400 words in, and realised I wanted to actually figure out what happened first. So here's a half (or potentially a smaller fraction) of a sort of bullet point fic/plan/thing, which may or may not get properly written up later. First I need to work out where to go from here.

Angrist was forged by the greatest of the Dwarf-smiths in the master-workshops of Nogrod. It cuts two Silmarils from Morgoth's iron crown before the blade snaps, and Morgoth stirs in his enchanted sleep.

Beren passes one Silmaril to Lúthien, and they run for it.

Carcharoth still meets them, snarling, at the gate. Beren still holds out a Silmaril to ward him off. His hand still gets bitten off.

But when the Eagles come for them, and Lúthien clambers sobbing onto Thorondor's back, she clasps a Silmaril in her hand.

The Eagles bear them towards Doriath, and the Treelight undiminished shines out over Dorthonion and Gondolin.

In chilly Himring, Maglor is shaken awake from nightmares of fire and smoke by his eldest brother, who drags him out of bed and towards the window. "Look! Is that not a Silmaril that shines now in the North?"

Maglor recognises it, of course. Moreover, he recognises the size and shape of Eagles in flight, even at a distance. Recognises, too, that as often as not they bear doom itself upon their great feathered backs.

(His father's jewel stinging his Oath awake, his brother's emaciated bleeding body wrapped in Fingon's cloak - they all mean failure.)

"Thingol's daughter and the mortal must have succeeded," he says. "What can we do?"

Maedhros and Maglor, you see, are Not Happy with the news out of Nargothrond.

That Celegorm wanted to force an elf-maid to wed against her will, after what they heard befell Aredhel—

That Curufin could turn against his favourite cousin, and betray him to his death—

"I am afraid," says Maedhros, "of what it will make us do. What it will make us become."

"We could ignore it," says Maglor, whose first response is always inaction. "Let it go to Doriath—" But it is hard even to finish the sentence, with the Oath choking his words.

And there is a bigger problem: Celegorm and Curufin, who are sleeping now (it is only Maedhros who can be relied upon to pace the fortress by night), will not do so forever. They have already attacked Thingol's daughter once - will they do so again, before she can pass into the safety of her mother's Girdle?

"We have to get to Doriath before they do," says Maedhros, and wonders when his little brothers became the threat to be outpaced.

"And then what?" asks Maglor, who never shies from difficult questions.

Maedhros gives him one of his quick strange smiles. "This is how it works, you know," he says. "Huan has turned from Tyelko. Tyelpë has repudiated Curvo. It turns you into the worst version of yourself, and then it strips away the best thing you have left."

Maedhros has ridden out to claim a Silmaril before, and lost all of himself in the process.

Maglor, too, has been offered all he ever wanted - his dearest brother, returned to him - and turned away for the sake of the Oath he renewed at his father's deathbed.

They are both afraid of what they could become.

They ride out from Himring anyway, swiftly and secretly, before the dawn.

Meanwhile, Thorondor sets Beren and Lúthien down on Doriath's southern border.

Huan comes to join them, and with the power of the Silmaril, Beren is healed sooner than he might have been, otherwise.

The Quest is fulfilled. Beren has no reason to stay away from Thingol's house.

Instead of wandering in the wilds, the lovers return to Menegroth, present a Silmaril, and promptly get married.

Thingol is very surprised (and overjoyed) to see them; the last news he had of Lúthien was that she had vanished from Nargothrond.

In fact, he's just sent out a couple of messengers, led by Mablung Heavy-hand, with a scathing letter to Maedhros Fëanorion demanding his aid in finding the princess.

North of the Girdle: "Hey, isn't that Maedhros Fëanorion?"

"Sure is," says Mablung, who was at the Mereth Aderthad.

"Hail, Mablung of Doriath!" calls Maedhros, who never forgets a face. "What news from King Thingol?"

Well, there isn't news as such. Just... fury.

Maedhros considers the merits of keeping his cards close to his chest versus the dire diplomatic situation he's currently in, and opts to share what they saw from Himring, and what it bodes for Beren's success.

He decides not to share that Lúthien was definitely with Beren, which he knows because his brothers attacked her.

Maglor is not sure how stopping to chat with an Iathren marchwarden is going to get them closer to a Silmaril, but he isn't in the habit of arguing with Maedhros.

Anyway, before the conversation can wrap up, a marauding werewolf appears.

Right. Carcharoth.

The Iathrim make the sensible call and scramble up some trees. Maglor follows a beat later.

Noldor don't climb trees very often. It isn't one of the skills Maedhros has had cause to practice one-handed.

Not that it matters, because he's frozen where he stands, eyes wide and bright and thoughtful.

This is unusual. Maedhros would not be the most renowned warrior of the Noldor if he were constantly dissociating in the midst of battle.

He saves the dissociation for after the battle, thank you.

The wolf is almost upon him.

Well, thinks Maglor, about time I did some saving for a change.

Maglor is not Lúthien. Does he need to be? He knows enough about madness, and enough about torment. He knows how to sing the suffering to sleep.

He drops down from his perch to begin a lullaby.

Carcharoth slows down when he sings, and comes to a momentary halt, and Maglor takes the time to hiss, "Nelyo, run—"

"They burned him," Maedhros breathes, still with that bright faraway look in his eyes that means he is half-lost in memory. "His hands were black and ruined. No evil thing may touch them."

The wolf lunges.

[I want to kill Maglor off here but I'm a coward. so.]

Carcharoth savages Maglor's leg and he collapses.

That brings Maedhros back to himself.

Mablung and his party aren't heavily armed. They were only meant to be messengers, after all. They get a few shots in at the wolf, who runs off, still maddened.

Maglor isn't moving isn't talking and there's so much blood—

(to be continued)