#and in the third book by now it's actually..super interesting!

[hellokittysasuke]

For anyone who's wondering what I've been doing I've been reading the Apollo Ascending series. And let's just say I'm midway through the third book when I started yesterday

[unlosts]

Short n' Sweet

1k words. Or; you're not as sneaky as you thought you were.

It’s not so bad sharing a cubicle with Spencer; he brings a new pile of books every day and he lets you borrow whichever you want once he’s done with them - which usually happens before lunch. He never complains when your stuff inevitably ends up over on his side of the desk because god forbid you attempt minimalism once in your life. But the only downside is that Spencer notices way more than he’s given credit for, and he’s not shy about pointing it out. 

In other words Spencer Reid knows something is up. 

The third time that morning you go up to the kitchenette to get a refill seems to be his breaking point. 

“Eighteen” 

“Excuse me?” You say startled, not really paying attention to him as you walk back to your desk. 

“Since last month the average time you get up from your desk went from ten times a day to eighteen, and at first I thought you weren't sleeping right and upped your caffeine intake but then I noticed you sometimes get up only to get someone else a file even though you never did that before, and even at lunch you seem to be out more often than not, so I thought maybe you were having trouble focusing, and if that’s the case then some simple modifications to your diet could really -” 

“Spence!” You cut him off before he could keep going, although the concern doe eyes he was still directing at you made your stomach tense in guilt. It was like being mean to a puppy. 

“I really appreciate you looking out for me but honestly I’ve just been feeling more restless, so I go out to jog at lunch and can’t really sit still” You said with a shrug of your shoulders and an apologetic smile “didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“That’s alright” he replied with a tight lipped smile “if you’re interested I could still send you the studies just in case they help” 

“Y'know what? Yeah that would be great” You said, and the negative karma from the lie and the absolute knowledge that you would not be reading those studies made you promise yourself that you would get him a super sugary caramel latte tomorrow morning to make up for it. 

Later that day at lunch the lie still weighed heavy on your mind. 

“I think Spence’s onto us” You said as Aaron slowly kissed a path up your neck to right behind your ear. Usually having his hands slowly caressing your back and his lips anywhere on you rendered your mind completely useless but today the fluorescent light of the file room was buzzing particularly loud in your ear. 

“Honey, can we please not talk about Spencer right now? I’m doing some of my best work right now” Aaron said, his voice muffled since he didn’t lift his lips from your neck, his breath tickling your skiing and chipping slowly away at your resolve. 

“I mean it, he said something about me getting up from my desk more which is Spencer code for you’re distracted which is actually code for everyone else noticed and since Spence sits right next to me he drew the short stick on having to talk to me about it” You finished out of breath, having worked yourself up about it during the two hours after your talk.  

Hotch sighed in defeat, slowly straightening up and looking at you.

“You got all of that from him asking if you’re having trouble focusing?” 

“Yes” 

“And now you think we should tell the rest of the team” He stated, quite sure by now of your answer. 

“Yes” 

“Alright” He agreed, squeezing your waist reassuringly. 

“Good” You said, your arms slowly going back perch on his shoulders “I mean it’s the least you could do since it’s like 70% your fault” 

“Okay how is it not 50/50 here?”

“It would be, except today you wore that dark green shirt I love” You said, playfully running your palms over his chest “so that’s 10% more and you rolled up your sleeves so that’s another 10, at the very least” 

“You’re absolutely right, It’s all on me” 

“Glad we straighten that out” 

“Now, we still have” he looked at his watch 25 minutes before we had to go back to work. Do you want to actually go get some food? There’s a nice place just around the corner from here” He said softly, sneaking a kiss right next to your lips. 

“Actually I believe you were in the middle of some of your best work so if you don’t mind I’d like to be the judge of that” 

“Excellent choice” 

Ten minutes after you got back a takeout order filled with sweet and sour pork got delivered right to your desk. As you caught yourself smiling at it like it was a flower bouquet you couldn’t help but feel Spencer's keen eyes on you letting you know that, indeed he knew something was up. 

[witchhazelevesque]

We actually have no confirmation whether the characters are living their first lives. Like. Percy saw the Isles of the Blessed in the very first book and thought “that’s where I want to end up”. But what if when he dies eventually expecting to go through judgement and hopefully get Elysium (he obviously will but he’s prob not gonna let his guard down about it til he’s there and maybe even after) only then he’s ushered past it and onto the Isles.

Can you imagine how he’d react?

But that also opens up some sad possibilities because honestly what are the odds that every single one of them are on the same stage in this possible cycle? And this goes back to some theories I had about how the three different lives thing works. And in the Last Olympian Percy insists that all the demigods and hunters that died in the war get granted Elysium and Hades agrees. He might have said something about paperwork or something for the on going joke about the Underworld as a business, but there was something to that? Either way, Percy wouldn’t know for sure when he made that requirement.

And it’s an interesting element that the books never really get into. Maybe because the characters are so young they just automatically assume it’s their first life. Also tragically they probably haven’t thought they would live long this life so they can’t imagine having done it successfully before. At least for the Greeks, the Romans are a whole other thing in that regard.

And since their souls are literally preordained to do certain things in the prophecies, I wonder if how new a soul is might relate. Not like dictating it but just if there’s any patterns or correlation. I think Leo and Hazel I’m most curious about. I guess the narrative has sort of implicitly set the reader up to operate with the mindset that this is the first lives for them, like again, Percy’s comment about the Isles. Silena’s last words were about seeing Charles, and the logical conclusion is that yeah they’re going to be in the same place, but there’s a layer to that that wasn’t addressed. And there’s the fact that both PJO and HoO start with the main characters (except Jason) being fully introduced to the mythical world, essentially casting them as beginners.

But by the nature of the world we’re being introduced to, it’s ancient, and looking at it that way it could totally seem like it’s plausible or probable that some of the characters have lived lives before.

Circling back to how that affects them in the afterlife though, it wouldn’t be clear to them automatically after their first and second lives. Are they told during judgment? Are they told in Elysium? Do they just innately know if they have the opportunity to be reborn?

For example, maybe this was Jason’s third life and he finds himself on the Isles and has to wait to see if his friends come there immediately when they die. Can those on the Isles go to Elysium? Are they confined there or is just that the residents of Elysium can’t go in? Time probably works weird in the Underworld, I think that might have been established. It might not be super painful if it turns out that Piper and Leo and Frank and Percy and Nico and everyone else aren’t bound for the Isles yet. He’d be at peace and have eternity to wait for them.

But on their end? Probably it depends on if the people on the Isles could visit. And again with those possibilities about their three identities and lifetimes worth of memories, it depends on who they are now. Are Piper and Leo going to find a Jason that is their Jason but also someone(s) else? That winner of the poll linked above and the possibility I agree with myself is that they get all their memories and decide what to do and who they are now. What would it be like if it was their first life and eventually they get reborn and then come back to Elysium as someone new, without those memories of their old friends? But again they have eternity so while it’s painful, it’s not permanently tragic.

Someone suggested they split into three different people and that is a really cool concept. It also adds an element of what the gods can do, splitting their essence and being multiple places at once. Not exactly like it since they’d be different people with different memories even if the core of them is the same technically. But just like demigods can’t understand what that’s like for the gods, those who haven’t lived three times can’t understand what it is to have three lives in your consciousness. And all of their minds are probably more elastic and more ‘godlike’ for lack of a better term after death since they aren’t confined to a mortal body. But it still not the same for those on the Isles and those in the outer sections of Elysium. I doubt it would stop people from being close, but it is a marked difference they’ll need to learn to navigate. It’s also really sweet because this means they get to have more of their loved ones to learn about.

[greenconverses]

I’m big time upset about annabeth’s characterization in these new books. She looked for Percy for a year or something, did everything she did in HOO, she’s so amazing that she caught up on all of her school work (in fact she’s back on track to go to an ivy if she wants after everything that happened to her), she has all this extra time for Percy (having a boyfriend is time consuming enough without his quests), and then she’s so good at socializing with mortals and so popular…. Just to go to New Rome University (wtf is new rome university) and live in new rome. It makes me sad for her because I feel like RR won’t let her be bad at anything or awkward anymore and she just has to be this hyper competent angel gf all the time…

Oh also the way Percy is contrasted against annabeth in this new series makes me nauseous. I feel in some ways she only exists as this hyper-competent angel gf so that percy has something to "aspire to"… as though he hasn't proven himself a million times and deserves to constantly measure himself up against annabeth. It really just robs them both of their depth and motivation and mutual respect for each other that was so painstakingly built up in the original books.

I was telling @perseannabeth last night that while Annabeth had a lot of pagetime in Wrath, she felt like an utter non-presence other than the last couple of action scenes. And yes, it's because he keeps writing Percy as the only one with all the problems and Annabeth is the perfectest, smartest angel who is always right and can do no wrong, unlike stupid idiot Percy. Ha. Ha.

I do think a lot of the character issues in these books come from him avoiding or only introducing easily resolvable conflict with the main trio. Part of what makes Percy and Annabeth, well, Percy and Annabeth is that they have conflict. Conflict doesn't mean they have to be mean to each other or something terrible has to happen to them, but having them at odds with each other over something (anything) allows for interesting character development and growth.

Grover and Annabeth each get moments of "aw I kinda fucked up" in Wrath that are resolved with basically no effort because Percy shrugs it off or blames himself for their actions. I couldn't even begin to tell you how Annabeth's hubris played a part in the third act ghost fight, but apparently it did, so that's a thing he can brush off because teamwork is all that matters in the end, kids!

And the thing is, Rick is actually setting up a really good conflict with Percy constantly bottling up his rage and messy feelings, but he's too much of a coward to pull the trigger on it. Grover destroying the house and releasing the animals was the perfect spot to actually pursue that conflict and give everyone something to do other than mini quests. Percy could've yelled at Grover and Annabeth for failing to do what they had promised him, and then everyone could deal with the consequences (both of the initial mistake and the fallout of his anger) and make amends in a meaningful way. Instead, Percy has to grit his teeth and fucking apologize to Grover instead. (I'm gonna do a separate post about this because boy howdy do I have THOUGHTS on that.)

By making Annabeth the perfectest, smartest girlfriend ever for dumb dumb Percy, RR is basically removing the conflict that makes them interesting together. There's also the matter of conflict being one of Annabeth's main drivers. Conflict happens to Percy ("I didn't want to be a half-blood."); Annabeth looks for it. And now she's just along for the ride... as long as it doesn't mess up her studying schedule! Her job is school now. Don't get your hopes up.

Also, super controversial opinion ahead, but I think the show casting has contributed to how he's writing Annabeth now. He's deliberately avoided describing her in these books. It's all very vague impressions of her, to the point of Percy describing her having a "human face, human hair" when she turns back after the animal transfiguration in Wrath. No blonde hair. No gray eyes. It's weird.

(Note: I'm not saying the TV cast is wrong or weird, I'm saying it's fucking insane that this man is trying to retcon 15 books worth of character descriptions so his dumbass "actually we never SAID annabeth was white, you just perceived her as it!!!!" defense holds some water.)

[st4rbwrry]

COZY ☆ sasuke uchiha.

★ 𖥻 synopsis. nurse sasuke misses touching you.

     ‍ ☆. warnings — 2.1k. pwp. fem!reader, lowercase intended, pleasure!dom, sub reader, eats through the panties, teasing, praise, overstimulation, fingering, slow missionary, soft spoken sasuke ofc, clit spanks, neediness, face grabbing/smacking, pet names [ baby/babe, princess, pretty ] ,black coded. minors aren’t welcomed ! reblogs & comments are appreciated. for you, my pretty @sailewhoremoon

“hey, sweetheart.”

your tall boyfriend with messy hair emerges past the front door to greet you with a lopsided grin. he’s dressed in his usual attire; light blue scrubs while carrying a beige tote bag over his shoulder he sets down by the door after kicking his crocs off, a pile of three books clutched in his long fingers and underarms. he finds you sitting on the couch watching coraline in the darkish living room, holding a tub of ice cream in your hand and waving your spoon as you talked. only dressed in lilac panties and a vintage biker tee that’s like ten years old. feet propped on the coffee table as you enjoyed your movie on your day off.

“you’re home early. how was class?”

“interesting. i have a physiology final friday so the professor let us go early.”

nodding, your eyes drift. “whatcha got there?”

sasuke raises his brows, following the trail of your eyesight to see you looking at the books he had. “oh! i stopped by to get a few more supplies for class and found these novels i wanted us to read this weekend.”

his heavy body walks toward you, steps creaking the floor as he ruffled his black hair and hands you the novels. you set your ice cream aside to observe. sasuke’s crouched in front of you on his knees while he gets comfortable and rests his head on your pudgy stomach. you giggle from the gesture, scanning the grunge book covers on them all.

“dark fantasy this week, huh?”

his hands smooth up and down the outside of your smooth thighs, nodding his head. “you’ve been into that lately. look what you’re watching now. your third time this month, actually.”

you nod frantically, setting the books aside. “only because—okay, listen! i’m trying to analyze all the things i missed. there’s this theory that coraline didn’t actually seal the door.”

“why’s that? didn’t she get rid of the key?”

“yes! but in the end, right. notice when the camera pans out that it shows her parents’ garden. it shows her face, the same way it did in the other side. right. also, the cat fucking disappears through the sign at the end remember? and he could only do that in the other world!”

“mhmm!” sasuke raises his brow and making a sound that he understands, listening to you, barely that is considering he’s not looking at you at all. focused on his hands massaging your thighs and getting closer to your inner thighs, kissing your knee gently.

you frown. “baby, you’re not listening.”

sasuke raises his head, blinking. “i am. finish, babe.”

“okay, so!” the excitement picks back up in your tone, rambling on more. “point is, coraline never left from the other world and she only thinks that she did because she's in a fake copy of her own world somewhere behind the door. also if you notice, every single time she goes into the tunnel, it’s gets longer, which means she’s going deeper . . . ”

“what’s that smell?” sasuke interrupts, face completely unfocused. as much as he loves to hear your rambles and theories about your favorite movie, he’s too entranced by the way your skin smells right now, hiking your shirt to your midsection and seeing the sparkly belly piercing you have, leaning closer to lay his head there.

“ ‘ke,” your frown deepens, wishing he’d pay attention. you were super excited to tell him about this but he wasn’t listening to you. silence shadows you when you notice how much darker his eyes become, sucking in a breath the harder his thumbs knead into the flesh of your inner thighs, sasuke’s hands nearly gripping underneath your knees to hike your legs onto his shoulders. absentmindedly, your body sinks lower for him to accommodate, his face inching closer to your clothed cunt rapidly dampening as he releases a raspy moan.

“what is it? it’s driving me crazy.”

“t-that rihanna perfume i got at the flee market, remember? the red one.”

“fuck,” it’s like your sixth sense kicks in and you could practically tell that his dick just twitched in his pants, his hips pressing against the edge of the couch, close to grinding against it. sasuke loses his mind with the next thing you say. it coming out like you knew exactly what he was thinking right now. 

“just put your mouth on it,” it’s soft the way it comes out, perceiving. you sound as if you’ve been waiting for him to do it while also being needy for it. i missed you, is what he says in his head. and you knew that. could read it in his eyes that are low and longing for physical touch. he’s been touching all these bodies but yours, having enough of class and needing you. 

an undefeated grin sinks on his face, trying to keep that act up when you knew damn well how feral he’s feeling deep within. sasuke doesn't say a word, pushing your legs further back and craning his neck to drop his thick tongue onto your covered pussy, fabric sliding along his tongue as he licks a rough, long stripe over the entirety of your cunt. a whimper escapes the two of you in sync, his mouth suctioning your hidden clit, saliva soaking your lilac panties and sucking hard. your knees jerk from the feeling, hips grinding on his face. sasuke keeps his eyes on yours, releasing his mouth with a loud, wet pop and spanking your clit three times hard. he avoids where you craved him the most, playing with the thin band, moving it aside to catch a quick lick, dragging it side to side over your folds and sloppily kissing at your inner thighs.

“ ‘ke, stop teasing and eat it,” you whine, taking your hands to hold your own legs up, biting your lip, eyes glossy.

“i didn’t hear a please. you know i don’t like that.”

you hated giving him the satisfaction of begging sometimes because he tends to take advantage of it. he knows how badly you loved getting your pussy ate, and its embarrassing really. but he couldn't blame you when he did it so good. you’d cry for it, get mad if he doesn't do it or initiate it, didn’t offer after your period ends, when you’re sad or having a bad day. he will purposely make you beg for it even if he planned on doing it all along. 

you take too long, and he’s extremely impatient. sasuke slips your panties to the side and slides his two middle fingers deep into your creamy cunt, white substance coating his slim fingers, hearing it squelch as he gently curls them upward to hit that spot. he raises his brow, still waiting. your thighs shake when he smacks your outer thigh, the impact stinging. your back arches. “c’mon, girl.”

“please, please, pleaseee baby.”

“i can eat it, princess?” sasuke smirks like an asshole. 

fuck you. “yessss, yes, please!”

sasuke slurps at your clit greedily, destined to make you cum so he can drink it all. your pupils shift white once they roll back, clawing at your own thighs and prolonging his name in a content moan. its really wet, the sound so loud it bounces off the wall even with the movie playing on low in the background. sasuke thrusts his fingers slowly in and out, kissing at your pussy, sucking hard on your clit and pulling it with his lips, even uses the point of his tongue to flick at the throbbing bud. you can’t speak when you cum, your boyfriend moaning into your sweet pussy the minute you tug at his silky hair and hang your mouth wide open, squealing and closing your legs around his head. 

“good girl,” sasuke’s voice is deep and primal. he swallows down his gift, chin doused and lips shiny. he continues to thrust his fingers, your walls clenching tight on them as he hovers over you to stick his tongue in your mouth and kiss you. your eyes falter closed in bliss as you suck on his tongue and kiss back, rocking against his fingers. “taste that? that’s all you. ain’t it good?”

“mm hmm,” your attentive hands reach forward to tug down his scrubs, dick springing free and slapping hard onto his abdomen. sasuke’s stomach rolls inwardly from the freedom, thick vein pulsating on the right side of his cock leading up to the bubblegum pink tip, wanting more than anything to suck on it like a lollipop. the way he’s looking though? it’s not happening. maybe later in the shower. he straightens his back to lift off his top, chest bare to you now, his pretty vanilla skin gleaming from the low lighting coming from the kitchen and television. 

“look at her wantin’ more,” sasuke hums, thumb circling your sensitive clit and you jolt. sasuke bends his neck to spit between your legs, saliva hitting your mound and streaming down before he gathers it with two fingers and plunges them back into you, pushing your left leg back and fucking them fairly quick into you. he has his right knee indented into the sofa, messy black hair hanging around his clenched jaw, his brother’s necklace dangling. “nng you’re so much tighter, baby.”

“ ‘ke,” again, his name is the only thing you can conjure. sasuke locks his lips with yours roughly, whimpering in his mouth with his dick jumping against your thigh. “g’na cummm!”

“lemme have it,” its sort of a struggle to pump his fingers because of how tight you grip on it, despite it, he applies more force. he’d be a fool to ruin your orgasm. he loved pulling that out of you more than anything. gasping loud, you push at his exposed chest and trap his forearm with your spasming legs, screaming out the faster he fucks you. “mmm, thank you pretty.”

his next moves are haste, picking you off the sofa just to lay you flatly on your back before situating himself between, heavy cock pulsating and slapping the head on your clit a few times before he gently eases his way into your gaping hole. so fucking slick it drives him wild. still coming down from your previous high, your eyes are lazy as you hold your arms to your chest and watch him with fascination. the pretty man hovering above you hissing the deeper he sinks into your tight pussy, groaning loudly when he’s reached his peak. he’s become immobile like you have, the two of you needing nothing else to say, just wanting to relish the pleasure. sasuke’s hips roll back before he pistons forward, hips interacting, keeping his pace slow and hard to feel it all. it’s been a while since he’s taken his time with you. always rushing sex nowadays since he’s busy with classes and you’re constantly working. he missed you so damn much it was painful sometimes.

he has both your knees pressed to your chest, the two of you looking where you met, his dick coated in your juices and moving sensually into you. your cries are music to his ears, leaning forward to whimper and moan into your mouth. he fucks you a little faster, choking up from your third orgasm already building up. it’s insane how many times he can make you cum in one session. and you knew this wasn’t going to be the last today. he’s free for the next two days, and so are you since you requested off for a mental day. what’s mental is that you’re going to get your brains fucked out by your horny boyfriend all weekend.

“fuck, cum with me, please baby,” sasuke pants, fucking you harder the closer he gets. he interlocks one of your hands together and pins it above you head while your free one strokes at your clit. pain and pleasure mixing into one. “so fuckin’ good to me, baby. love you.”

“i love you too, ‘ke,” tears well in your eyes, holding eye contact as your mouths breathe into each others, reaching your climax at the same time. wrapping your legs around his waist, you hold him close to you as a note for him not to pull out, sasuke cussing like a sailor as he cums inside, filling you with a generous amount of cum. your orgasm shocks you, balling up into his chest and grinding on his dick. sasuke heaves, roughly grabbing your face to kiss you hard, gently smacking the side of your face with a proud grin. it’s a thank you. he does it every time he cums and it’s the best reward. your lips are pouty like a goldfish since he’s squeezing your cheek, pecking your lips once more and staying inside of you as he lays his head on your chest. both of you smiling and watching the end credits of coraline while you play with his hair, chain cold on your collarbone.

[boskadoff]

uh so Fiddleford is canonically likes men? And I guess Ford confirmed aro/ace hhksdkskdk

ok guys i- you-

I dont- post anything but the demons came back and they came back hard AhhHh

Why you making me write this why nobody else reporting this strong cannon

BoB confirmed two sexualities: Ford is aromantic and asexual, and Fiddleford likes men.

Lets start with Ford, cause its shorter:

BoB basically reiterated and highlighted that Ford is attracted to nothing.

Its actually very clearly pinpointed that Ford is aromantic/asexual. Why clearly? Like Alex chose, out of ALL the things to reveal about ford in Bills mind invasion section, is that he is "plansexual". He basically is indirectly says Ford feels no attraction. He is aromantic/asexual. Coupled with journal 3 entries "romance baffles me", and its confirmed.

Now Fiddleford, this is very interesting because it affects the story:

One, it clearifies why Fiddleford agreed to help with the portal. Bro just was GAY.

To extrapolate, he was from an area that expects traditional marriage Tennessee. He went through with it, probably wasn't super comfortable though seeing by how eagerly Fiddleford accepted Fords offer. So, integrating this new cannon, bro just always was gay for Ford and couldn't resist the opportunity to spend time with him.

Now lets gather all harder Book of Bill evidence

Bro knitted him gloves with many DRAFTS. (Shows how important it was to him to get it right)

Bro made him a snow globe of his lab.

Notice how it was HAND MADE.

He gave Emma-May nothing? He had time, he could have not made Ford two things, made one with for Ford and one thing for Emma-May. But he didn't?

The snowmen? And a whole picture of it??

Bill refers to Fiddleford as a third wheel.

They were roomates, obviously on very goods terms

"Try to forget"

"TheY emBraCed"

It was a very strong concentration on, and even mentioned in the same story, the gifts that Fiddleford gave. Notice how Alex SPECIFICALLY said Emma-Mays argument woth him was because Fiddleford gave her nothing. Which basically contrasts insanely with TWO HANDMADE gifts for Ford.

Lets couple with Journal 3 soft evidence where

His computer password was "Stanford"

The singular bed in the bunker.

Fiddleford knew when Stanford was possessed, shows how attentive he is.

He wrote up Fords research for him to publish.

Bro left his family for a while to spend time with Ford in isolation.

Disney decided to edit the phrase when Stanford says "happy to no longer be traveling this path alone" to " …happy to be traveling it with a friend". Basically showing the book was aware how gay these two sound.

Im note sure if Ford ever recipricated these feelings, he probably thought of Fiddleford as a very good friend, at most subconsciously some kind of QPR.

But BOY did Fiddleford fall for him.

In terms of why this might have been added to BoB:

I believe Alex saw how strongly Journal 3 implied Fiddauthor, (I watched too many interviews, and there were questions about those two, so it WAS on his mind) and just decided to finally clarify their bond. He eluded direct statements, but obviously made a call.

He may have also found the need to clearify why Fiddleford was so eager to jump in and help Ford for so many months, it is kind of murky evidence to say he just wanted to help out and leave his family for months for the heck of it while his son was still young. (Also in Twitter a long time ago, also kind of accepted that one jelous girlfriend meme of Bill Ford and Fiddleford where overlaid)

Moreover, the Alex didn't have to mention Fiddleford in the Book of Bill, all loose ends of his story were tied in Journal 3. Book of Bill was only supposed to be about Bills story, and clearification about his relation with Stanford. But he added Fiddleford anyway. And not only did he, but he chose to incorporate it in the Christmas scene: a very specific, often intimate time. This did not need to be included for any lore reason on than their relationship. It literally serves ZERO major purpose other than to elaborate on the relationship. Sure there were some minor mentions of fords childhood winter traditions for the funnies, a reference to dipper and mabel time traveling (footprints), and the santa goat story, but it revealed very little about any of it to defend the existence of that whole scene. It mostly supported already known lore with a silly santa goat story that circled around to Fiddleford being the hero anyway. Basically Christmas story = confirmed Fiddleford likes Ford more than his wife, which leads to gay romantic/QPR implications to his character.

Now, its clear that Fiddleford likes Ford, and by extention in some capacity likes men. So is he gay or bi? Not much evidence obviously, but I speculate he was gay, because if he had the ability to also like women as much as he liked men, why jump to the first woman so early in life and marry her? It feels like an impulse decision, he could have waited for others he liked more, to actually make gifts for them for christmas. He married her as if he was trying to hide something. Although no strong evidence to establish this.

And lastly, arguments may ensue because it was not "clearly stated given on a platter", but Alex communicates very indirectly about most lore, often leaving things for interpretation. Repeating the same information twice among two works, AND incorporated an INCREDIBLY specific scene about Christmas is pretty reinforced evidence of his intent.

I feel like Alex is kind of being devious and is toying with the audience because he knows there is a group kind of losing our minds over this particular relationship, hence the hazy statements and stories.

But I feel like summarizing what he wrote and the way he wrote it, there is no other reason why that content exists other than to confirm their sexualies and romantic preferences, and how it supports the plot of the story.

TLDR; update Fandom.con, Fiddleford likes men. Ford is aro/ace.

Like uh do you all agree or am I crazy or uh skmebody save me or 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[spaceorphan18]

SO's Guide to the Bridgerton Children so @coffeegleek can tell them apart ;)

Violet Bridgerton

Okay, so first of all this is the mom of all these children. Her husband was Edmund. He got stung by a bee and died, so he is no longer around.

Anthony Bridgerton

Okay, so the oldest son is Anthony. He is the current Viscount (don't ask me about British nobility, I know nothing) and is currently running the Bridgerton estate, though that is not his favorite thing to do. He had very unfortunate sideburns in season one. And he likes to shout things like "you are the bane of my existence" and "LILACS". He does have oldest child syndrome where he acts like he doesn't want to be in charge, but he totally loves being in charge and telling everyone what to do.

His wife is Kate Sharma. She is a delight, and possibly the second best character on this show (obviously after Penelope). So just remember, passionate and loud guy with Kate -- that is Anthony. Oh, and they have one child who is being born in India because Jonathan Bailey is apparently very in demand right now.

Benedict Bridgerton

Benedict is the artsy, bisexual who hangs out on the swings with Eloise. He is an actual delight, but the writers don't seem to really know what to do with him. He makes a good comedic foil to Anthony. Also they cut his hair for seasons 2 and 3 which doesn't help the whole looking the same thing. We're speculating his season is next because of a bunch of hints. In the books he falls in love with a lower class girl.

Colin Bridgerton

Colin is the sweet, sensitive (most likely demisexual) writer and world traveler. He's got some insecurity issues, a massive hero complex, and is a complete simp for his wife.

HOW HAVE YOU FOLLOWED ME FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS AND NOT KNOW WHO COLIN IS - C'MON GIRL, PAY ATTENTION

He is married to Penelope Featherington, aka Lady Whistledown, aka the best damn character on this whole show. 90% of the time, Colin is hanging off Penelope, so he honestly should be easy to spot. Also, he got her pregnant BEFORE the wedding and little Lord Feathertington was born 8 months into their marriage.

Daphne Bridgerton

She was the main character of Season 1, who looks a lot like Keira Knightly. You don't really need to worry about her, because it's doubtful that she's coming back.

She is married to the Duke - Simon Basset, Lord of Hastings or something. He enjoys licking spoons. Daphne burns for him. Again, he's not coming back so, you know, I wouldn't worry about it.

They do have a child together, a little boy I believe and I think they hinted at a second one? Idk, maybe the kids will come back to hang out with Gregory and Hyacinth at the end of the series.

Eloise Bridgerton

Probably my personal favorite Bridgerton? (Idk, Colin wormed his way up there.) She stands out because Claudia Jessie is just amazing at giving her a lot quirky mannerisms. She doesn't want to get married and is really into women's rights. She is also fucking hilarious. I would love her to be asexual, but the writers insist she's getting a love story at some point, so.... The internet would prefer her to be a lesbian. That's cool, too, but also unlikely to happen.

Eloise spends a lot of her time on swings with Benedict and in is often the third wheel with Pen and Colin (though sometimes Colin is that third wheel).

She and Penelope are BFFs. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Francesca Bridgerton

Francesca is SUPER into the piano(forte) and really nothing else. There's really not a whole lot to say about her other than she IS probably going to be the lesbian of the show.

She is currently married to John Stirling. The two are very quiet together and that's exactly how they want it. Don't get too attached to him, he's most likely going to die in the next season. John also has a female cousin named Michaela, whom the internet is mad about because she is a woman -- making Francesca's future love interest a woman instead of a man. I say more power to the lesbians. Calm your tits folks, it'll be fine.

Gregory Bridgerton

OMG, look how adorable this kid is. He's gonna look just like his older brothers when he grows up. They've already given him a tad more to do in Season 3, and he's been an utter delight. I'm sure he'll be great leading Season 8 when we get to it in 2034.

Hyacinth Bridgerton

The youngest Bridgerton! She is excitable and energetic and super excited about all the marriages and also KNOWS who is ending up with who and is totally down for it. She is also a sassy delight and really can't wait until she starts holding her own with Eloise!

THERE YOU GO THAT'S THE WHOLE BRIDGERTON FAMILY - DOES THAT HELP??

[whereserpentswalk]

It’s fascinating that you think trans people’s names come to them like wands in Harry Potter, you can’t just culturally appropriate bc you’re trans

Ok, this is about comments I made like a year ago on a comedy bit. While I stand by my feelings that the bit was bad and transphobic, my reasons why are a lot diffrent.

When I first wrote the comments my arguments were very thermian. I treated the story the comic was telling as if it was real and objective. Which feels right for most people, because stand up comedy is often presented like conversation, where we do treat stories like that as real things. But that's not how comedy works, comedians don't tell stories the way we do in conversation, they're creatives, the stories they tell are basically fictional, the art form might look like real conversations but it's not.

Comedians want to make you laugh, and sometimes want to send a message or make you think about things in a new way, but they have no reason to want to portray events accurately. They might be basing some things off of real experiences, but that's true for everyone, Tolkien might have chosen to explore his experience in world war one in lord of things, that doesn't mean we have to argue about orcs as if they're real entities when we're talking about if those books were racist.

So let's actually look at the skit, and analyze its outlook on trans people keeping in mind its a story that a cis man is telling, and not actual events: So the summery of the skit is that a white trans man comes out to his to his family, and he picked a name you'd expect a black person to have. He has older black relatives (who are implied to fully accept him, which would make him possibly the only trans person on earth with a fully accepting family) who refuse to use this name, and instead call him "the boy". The sketch ends with the comedian saying he should pick a name like Kevin, because even if he's trans he's not interesting (keep your thoughts on that last one).

Now, ignoring how this would play out in real life, what does this as a peice of fiction say about trans people:

First off: it's creating a plausible but unlikely situation where the woke thing to do is to not respect a trans person's identity. A lot of political humor exists to call ideas into question with hypotheticals, and the idea being questioned here is the idea that trans people's identities deserve respect.

Second off: it's creating a situation where a trans person is entitled and arogent for wanting his identity respected. In the fiction this trans person is that. But it's promoting the idea that they are in real life. Transphobes will show you a lot of spooky examples of trans identities that are unreasonable to respect, but that's not useally ever what it's like in real life. (An otherkin robotgirl isn't going to demand you communicate with her through beeps and boops, she probably just wants you not to laugh at her.)

Third off: it's pitting minorities agaisnt eachother. Conservatives love this, but it's super common when people try to convince progressives to a specific group from their advocacy. It shows us a world where trans rights and poc rights are at odds with eachother, in the real world they aren't, in the real world they're part of one larger struggle and diminishing one is diminishing the other. A lot of people do this with different identities, lgb types do it with gayness, terfs do it with womanhood, class reductionists do it with class, trscum do it between trans people. But it doesn't help one oppressed group when you shit on a diffrent oppressed group in their name. It's white conservatives who love it the most when trans people and poc at pit agaisnt eachother, and it's trans poc who suffer the most.

Fourth off: it's feeds into a very old myth amoung queerphobic progressives, which is the idea that queer people are privileged people looking to pose as the marginalized to get special rights. This is a myth we really have to get over, because its been internalized by a lot of people, and we get these hunts for fake minorities. This is why the "you're not interesting" line sticks out to me. Most trans people don't give themselves appropriative names, but trans people as a group constantly get accused of trying to steal other people's struggles. This is a myth that preys on the fact that white skined white colar queer people are more visible, and its one that is based on treating that disparity in visibility as a fact. We have to cut this out, nobody fakes minority status to get privileges because minorities aren't privileged. It's not true for queer people, even the queer people other queer people hate like bi people and ace people. It's not true about mentally ill and ND people, or converts to non Christian religions, or East Asian people, or anyone who gets accused of this. Stop it dearly.

Fifth off: this entire sketch is based in the idea that families can accept their trans kids, but only conditionally, only if they prove themselves to be doing it for the right reasons, and they please their family's whims. This is a transphobic idea, it's a transphobic idea most neolibs hold. Comedy bits are a lot like story books (no shade at either) where a problem is presented at the beginning, and a solution at the end, that the audience is expected to take for their own problems. And the solution here is a form of transphobia, the idea that trans people aren't owned acceptance, they need to earn it. I've seen a lot of trans people tormented by their families over that idea. And when a person of color goes and stage and wraps that idea in racial justice, it's young trans poc who get hurt by it the most.

Sixth off: not a huge point, but I feel like a cis black man, of all cis people, should be the most likely to understand that calling a trans man a boy is dehumanizing and insulting. I guess this goes to show he's not interested in thinking about how trans people's struggles are like his, he stands alongside a lot of marginalized trans people there.

Finally I kind of don't know how to end this. This is long. Really long. I don't know whose going to read this, because its a lot. Hopefully you got a bit of media literacy from reading all of this. Early on in my tumblr career, when I had just moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan, I had read an essay by @wifelinkmtg about a concept called the ditch. The idea was we often argue about media wrong, talking about things in hyper literal cannon obsessed terms, and that was the ditch, the ditch we dig for ourselves when we ignore things like themes and audience experiences. Hopefully this series of words dug less of a ditch than my words did a year ago. Sorry I don't have the actual sketch on hand. Mabye I'm wrong, but if someone wants to prove me wrong I'd rather they do it outside of a ditch. Mabye the ask wasn't even about that post. Mabye I'm tired. Maybe you should be tired too.

Sorry for the long post. Media literacy matters. Black trans lives matter. Goodbye, enjoy your night well.

[blanketorghost]

A taste of Something New (Pt. 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The new taste is heartbreak, actually <3

This third one was supposed to have the resolution included but I realized this chapter was already 3000 words, also the last part is written in both Azul and Yuu's perspectives so perchance it is best that its separate from this one. Anyways stay tuned for the fourth maybe fifth parts. I may take less than a whole six months this time to write it!

Summary: Against his better judgement, Yuu wants to bring Azul a meaningful souvenir from the scalding sands.

Pairing: Yuu Fujisaki x Azul Ashengrotto (one-sided?), Azul Ashengrotto x Jamil Viper (implied, one-sided)

Timeline: During/Post Al'ab Narya and Ch. 4. Pre Ch. 5

Notes: Azul may be OOC? Have never been good at writing him convincingly imho

—

With a pep in his step and a nervous smile, Yuu exited the light music club. He'd mulled over it in class, planned his speech during lunch, and agonized over the details after school. He didn't even play anything during club time, even after an eternity of Kalim whining and goading him to join in with the rest of the members.

The light music club was just right across the board game club, and even if he would've spent time in there anyway, today all he could do was anxiously look at the slightly ajar door a few steps away. Would it be too weird if he just came in and gave him the book?

Yeah... definitely.

Honestly, the best option here was to just hand it to him after club session's over. He just needed to casually greet him and give him the book as the guise of a souvenir. He could explain the details later.

But what if he came out with a friend? He didn't really trust on his guts enough to think he could give him the gift then, he'd have to brainstorm new possibilities for encounter.

He clutches the piece tightly against his chest, wrapping paper crinkling to his touch.

"Wat'cha looking at, Yuu-chan?"

Cater's voice takes him out of his trance, rudely interrupting that vicious cycle of what-ifs and but-thens he'd already crafted in his brain about optimal gift-giving times.

"Oh, uhm..." He hides the package under his blazer and looks at the ground, hoping to find a good excuse inside the cracks on the floor. "I needed to ask for Azul's help for something about the gourmet club. I was hoping if I gave him something in return, he might say yes more easily."

"Really? Well, good luck with that." Cater raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms. "I've heard around the grapevine that Azul-kun's been super stingy about creating his famous contracts now. It's a shame. I was totes hoping we could do some sponsorship deal where I advertised the lounge on Magicam for free meals..."

"Huh. I guess he really turned a whole new leaf with that whole..." Yuu trails off as he smiles in spite of himself. He wasn't very sure that that was the reason Azul had stopped, but he could at least pretend maybe he had caused a positive change. A bit of wishful thinking never hurts anybody. "Never mind, I mean- Thanks for the warning. But I think he would be really interested in what I have to offer." He waves Cater off.

"Well, I mean, if you wanna you can use the points I've been saving up at the lounge to get a meeting, I honestly get them mostly for the discounts on seasonal meals, but I don't min-"

"Oh, I already have enough points for a meeting." Yuu takes his loyalty card from his pocket. Usually, he used the points to get some tutoring sessions for Grim or get him a study guide. It was convenient, and Azul's teaching method was the only one that actually worked. Yet, he had decidedly started to save up for a private meeting right before the City of Silk trip. He knew Azul was busy and stingy with his time, but if all other attempts to talk to him failed, he had to at least hear him out If he used his points, right?

"Aw, you're all prepared and everything! Gotta give it to Yuu to always be one step ahead." Cater gives him a smile, then checks his phone and sighs, cheerful demeanor diminishing slightly. "Welp. I gotta go to my dorm now. It's my turn to feed the flamingos. Good luck with your Gourmet Club business stuff!"

"Yeah, thanks." Yuu waves at all the members of the light music club, and, one by one, the classroom was left empty.

It feels like an eternity before the classroom adjacent to him opens its door, and he waits and waits for the students inside to tidy up and put back everything in their shelves until finally, the members of the Board Game Club also say their goodbyes for the day.

He could hear someone ranting inside the classroom to seeminly no one in particular, some students groaning or shaking their heads as they left the room. Some time later, Azul's voice rises through the chatter to retort to that one ranting, most likely. He scans the crowd until he finally sees a white tuft of hair exit from the room, black gloved hand raising to say his goodbyes to the people that were still inside.

He was always so outwardly nice and polite, he really just had a way of charming people, really. If only he used that power of his for better purposes... still, he couldn't deny the fact that that scheming was also attractive. Very much so, in fact. There was a reason why Yuu ended up falling for him so fast, after all.

“Yuu-san?” Yuu doesn't even notice when Azul turns to see him, his eyebrows arching in surprise.

“Ah- Uh– Azul-” He can barely string out a coherent sentence as he scrambles to hide the package behind his back— wait, what was he doing?! “I just… wanted to say hi.”

“Well then, hi.” Azul flashes him a smile. “It's nice to see you. Perhaps we could talk more at length later, though. I have to get the lounge ready for openin-—”

“Wait!”

Oh dear, that came out louder than what he intended.

Yuu clears his throat, taking a second to look down at the floor to compose himself. “Can't you spare a couple of minutes? It won't take long.”

“I'm sorry, Yuu-san. But I need to help Floyd prep the ingredients for today's menu and make sure Jade doesn't tamper with any of them, I'm sure you understand.”

“I see…”

“If you want, though, I could maybe clear up some time later?”

“I was actually hoping we could meet today… If you have time.” It's like Yuu's body was working on its own, completely overriding the script he'd had so carefully prepared. He was supposed to just give him the gift. “I wanted to talk to you about something important.”

Oh dear sevens, now he was making things sound way more serious than needed. Just give him the gift already!

“Ah.” … Did Azul just blush right now? Maybe he was seeing things. “I think I am free, but I'll ask Jade to schedule you.” He purses his lips. “I'll… Send you a text with the details later this evening.”

“Alright.” Yuu holds his breath as he hands Azul the card, who then rips it in half to signify it's been redeemed. “I’ll… Be waiting, then.”

With that, Azul flashes him another small smile and nods.”I’ll see you later, then.”

“Yeah… see you later.” 

Azul gives Yuu a small wave as he walks away, looking back just once to examine him before turning his heel towards the hallway at the left. And when Azul is out of view, he feels his nerves give out just a little bit…

just a little.

...

What... was he thinking?!

In his panic, he had used up what was supposed to be his hail mary. Sure, Azul was a busy guy and maybe he wouldn't be able to talk to him in a couple of days, but the recipe book could wait!

Giving the book to him after club activities was just a first option, he could've come up with others later. Save his points too!

Ugh, he really needed to learn not to blank when being alone with Azul.

~ 

It’s only 5:00 PM when Yuu receives that fabled message from Azul. 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

Huh, he thought meetings were only supposed to last 15 minutes. Perhaps Azul was feeling generous today. He wouldn’t be needing all that time, though.

Still, Yuu felt one hour to prepare was nearly not enough. Now that his initial courage waned after his first failed attempt, all he could feel was a growing pit in his stomach as he got ready. He didn’t want to keep Azul waiting, though. And before he knew it, he was already at the door of Mostro Lounge. Five minutes early, too.

“Good evening, Yuu. Here for your meeting?” Jade bows as he approaches, and Yuu reflexively bows to him as well. “I hope your conversation is productive.”

“Ah… yeah. Is Azul still in a meeting? I can wait if need be.”

“Oh, not really. Azul only accepted your request for today. You’re the only client he’ll be seeing.” Jade gives him a wide, closed-eyed smile. If his aim was to soothe him, it had the exact opposite effect on Yuu, getting a small jolt of adrenaline course through his body when he bares witness to that creepy grin of his. “In fact, you can go in now, if you’d like.”

“... Right.” Yuu slowly nods and starts walking towards the door, allowing Jade to open it for him. It’s not like the VIP lounge was an unfamiliar sight. In fact, he often found himself hanging out with Azul there, doing homework or chatting the afternoon away while Azul filled out some paperwork. It was a pleasant, quiet environment. Something Yuu severely lacked in his daily life.

As soon as the door opens, Azul looks up from his desk and smiles, lowering his right hand and placing his pen down. “Yuu-san. You’re early.” He states, then uses his left hand to gesture at the chair in front of him. “Take a seat. Do you mind if I continue working while we talk?”

“Hi…” Yuu gives his crush a sheepish smile as he walks over, Jade closing the door behind him. As he sits down, he can now feel a paradoxical heat irradiate from his chest. Wasn’t he just feeling chills before? “And no, of course not. Please continue.”

“Thank you. How was your weekend? Jade mentioned that you and some other students went to a festival.”

“Oh, yeah. Kalim-kun invited us to the firelit festival at his hometown. The Silk City at the Scalding Sands.” Yuu explains, trying to get more comfortable in the leather-bound chair. It usually felt so plush, but now he couldn’t seem to find a good, comfortable position. “Viper showed us around town.”

"So I trust you had a pleasant trip, then?" Azul lifts his head up from his papers and flashes another friendly smile.

It took Yuu weeks of careful observation and millions of failed attempts to discern a genuine smile from Azul Ashengrotto. But once he got that first laugh, that first smirk or chortle, he committed it to memory. It wasn't too different from his all-business one— he still crinkled his eyes and kept his mouth shut. But there was a way in which his lips curled outwards too much, and his brows furrowed ever so slightly when he would pretend.

He was glad Azul would naturally smile more around him.

"It was very fruitful," Yuu leaves the package on his lap, and leans forward. He rests his chin on the back of his palm as he glances at Azul's writing. "Can I ask what you're working on today?"

"You can, and I'm just taking some notes after receiving the most recent customer reviews." Azul keeps smiling as he resumes scribbling at the margins of what Yuu can now see are printed out screenshots of some website. "What brings you here today? If you're looking for a position, permanent or temporary, I unfortunately have no spots open right now."

"Pity." Yuu hums as he eyes some of the comments. The amount of hate had certainly decreased in the months after his overblots. "I could help with accounting if you'd like. I used to do that sometimes."

"I've got that covered. I actually quite enjoy doing the math myself." Azul's smile turns into a small smirk. Cute know-it-all pout included. "I really do mean it when I say I have no spots today. It's a shame, though. I do enjoy you being around the lounge."

Right there, Yuu's heart does a flip.

"Thank you. But actually, that's not the only reason I'm coming here today." He would've liked to. If anything, most of Yuu's time was spent thinking up excuses to come to the lounge more often and not become broke in the process, but today was more of a do-shit-and-dip kind of deal. "And I'll preface, I've used my loyalty points for this meeting. So you have to hear me out."

Azul's eyes widen slightly in surprise, and he looks up once again, placing his fishbone pen on its holder. "Ah, right. You did tell me you had something important to tell me.” He purses his lips, and a hint of pink appears on his cheeks once more. “I'm listening."

Yuu has to consciously stop himself from taking a deep breath and betraying his nervousness. Instead, he straightens up and moves his hands to hold the book. "Well, I've been told that you've been looking for ways to freshen up the menu for this coming month, and..."

"If Grim has somehow convinced you to try and pitch me a tuna-themed menu, tell him I'm still not interested." Azul’s expression tenses as he  speaks in a serious tone, but Yuu can't help but snort at the answer.

"No, no. It's not that." Yuu covers his mouth with a hand as he regains his composure. "Has he actually tried to do that? Or— wait, I'm getting off-topic. But it's not Grim nor tuna related, promise."

“He may have once or twice.” He says nonchalantly as he places the papers aside, and, upon hearing Yuu's response, Azul's placid smile returns, and his posture relaxes a bit, crossing his arms. "I'm all ears, then.”

"Well, during my trip to Silk City, I had the opportunity to sample some of the popular dishes," Yuu starts. He'd created this pitch before he even got to writing the recipes down themselves. He knew that, with Azul, he needed to make his offer to actually look alluring— appetizing, even, if he were to even entertain the possibility of a novice cook gifting recipes to him. "And I've found some interesting recipes you might like." Azul opens his mouth to speak, but Yuu quickly starts again. "And before you tell me that I am in no position to pitch you any possible dishes, or that you've already stocked up on Scalding Sands recipe books, I'd like you to take a look at what I've brought first."

He slowly takes the wrapped book from his lap and hands it to Azul with both his hands. It takes Yuu all his self-control to keep his hands from shaking as Azul, now perplexed, and perhaps curious, takes the package and examines it. 

Their hands touch.

Please, for everything that's sacred, please don't let him blush.

Azul stares at it blankly for a few seconds before he takes off the tape that holds the bottom fold of the package together and slides the notebook from its wraps. And as soon as he does, the aroma of various spices strike both their nostrils. Cumin, Saffron, Paprika— all generously donated by the Asim's cooks.

It also strikes Yuu for the first time just how humble the notebook looks compared to the luxurious office. It looked out of place, foreign, and Yuu couldn't help but purse his lips in slight embarrassment. "I... Um..." God, this wasn't the time to start stammering!

"I... Interviewed the staff from Kalim's kitchens... and gathered as many recipes I could find." As Yuu steadies his voice, Azul starts turning the pages. Expression completely unreadable. "Most of these, they told me, were passed down through generations of trial and error, and I- well, I also documented each dish as best as I could."

"The Asims were kind enough to also allow me to sample their spices. Each is paired with a dish, but I made sure to gather enough for you to experiment if you wish to." Yuu's eyes leave Azul's face and look down at the pages, goodness knows he needed to take a break from trying to figure him out if he didn't want to just faint right then and there, and he was already feeling that annoying lump in his throat that threatened another mistake in his speech. "I know it'd be futile to just buy you a recipe book, since you'd probably have many, so I tried my best to gather as many recipes as possible from a variety of sources.... I, um..."

“I can't accept this. I'm sorry."

Yuu's eyes widen as he gains that same blank expression. His words hit him like a truck, and nothing could've softened that punch to his got nor the sense daze he was struck by. "... Huh?"

“I appreciate the effort you put into this, but… if you were strapped for money, you didn't need to get me anything.” A sharp, stinging pang pierces right through his chest, and Yuu feels mouth go dry. His body is somehow tense yet limp, and he just now notices how cold the VIP room is. "Jade probably mustn't have told you. But it's a personal policy of mine not to accept any gifts." Azul's brows furrow, whether it were with pity or sternness Yuu couldn't care to figure out. "Leaves too many loose ends for me to follow, you see."

"... I..." Yuu's left speechless as Azul puts the wrapping paper over the book and nudges it towards him, sliding it over the dark wood desk. "... I don't want anything for it, really." Yuu's voice is drained of any confidence as he meekly whispers, still in shock. "You can even make me sign a contract if you want."

"And as kind as your offer is, I can't make any exceptions." Azul shrugs, and Yuu's heart sinks. His tone isn't even laced with a sense of remorse or pity. It's... completely and utterly calm as he rejects Yuu's work. “Besides, as you've mentioned, I most likely already have the recipes somewhere in my library. Though having them all compiled in one is certainly convenient, I'd rather do so myself.”

"I still want you to have it." He glances down and leaves the book on the desk, untouched, then takes a step back.

“Yuu… It really isn’t─”

"If you don't want it as a gift, then take it... t-then take it as trash or-..." he breathes in, "Anyway. What matters is that it's yours. Throw it away, sell it, I don't care. But it's yours." He tries to act nonchalant, but he can already feel the lump in his throat becoming larger, cutting any air from getting to his lungs.

Why did he even say that?!

Anyways, before Azul can say or do anything else, Yuu simply walks out the VIP Lounge and out of Octavinelle. He pushes out a smiling Jade and ignores a greeting from Floyd. The atmosphere was just so heavy, suffocating. And all in all, Yuu was sure this was the most pathetic he'd acted in front of Azul ever.

And all he could hear was the sound of Floyd's annoyed whine to his brother just as he crossed the mirror portal door.

"Heeeeyyyy~~ what is up with Shrimpy today~??”

[99redragons]

Wow, I agonized over this post way too long. Here it is, finally. I was gonna make this a reblog but i think since it's referencing multiple posts (and boy it got super long and added a related theory) this is better on its own. This is furthering @gin-juice-tonic's analysis of the tBoB journal pages. Heavy tBoB spoilers, and warning for the darker content it has. (some swearing too) I'm convinced now they're a warped version of events and downright fake for some, however, I believe many are real.

...But did Ford remember them? "I can delete memories randomly, just for fun. Maybe I already have." I do NOT think Bill could erase everything. He probably can only erase small/recent sections. But this is a big part of my theory.

But first, Gin's points. (using some of your pics for this Gin, hope you dont mind) I'm not going to post every journal page, but I'll give a ref for ones that seem important.

Okay, this is the post that actually convinced me (went through the links from tapas, the first is sure suspicious, but the second has pretty compelling evidence.) Ford referred to Fiddleford as F through the whole of journal 3 (aside from in code), and Bill as his Muse until the reveal, he wouldn't suddenly change the way he refers to people, even if he planned to rip out the pages, in which case, why would you write them in the first place?

On the first link (this one), this appears to be an embellished story. When you look at it from bill's perspective, he's reminiscing. He lies to himself. He's making it seem like Ford and Bill hit it off immediately, and while in a way, they did, it probably wasn't like this. I'll buy Ford used Cipher's line back at him, but the jovial way they banter is just so Bill. Ford would emphasize how he felt, the mysteries he was thinking about, his reverence for his Muse. He probably wouldn't recount it line for line when he was so secretive in journal 3. Bill makes it seem like they were more like equals, when in reality he likely relished the devotion and divine status Ford attributed to him. Also, "Cipher Speaks" is in Bill's handwriting from the sticky notes. could be coincidence? I think not. 'Ford' also describes it as the "GREATEST. DAY. OF MY LIFE." This mirrors bill's earlier statements about the reader's life being forever changed after meeting bill. According to Bill, meeting him is the highest moment of anyone's life, right?

In an additional post, Gin explains how Bill didn't tell Ford he was from another dimension. Ford had to find that out at the betrayal. So, all this taken, those two pages at least are fake.

For the third link, this one, while from Doylist perspective, Alex wanted the book to have fun little callbacks, from Watsonian, Bill simply can't help himself. Bill loves trying to be funny. He's trying to keep the reader hooked, and keeping the story interesting through callbacks is one way to do that. Some of these are Bill, some are self-referential because Bill's talking about real events from the past. (rats, cipherite suit, Small World cassette, we'll get to those later)

Bill has a habit of telling the truth through his lies. What I mean by that is, if he is repeating himself through actions or words, it's probably because there's some truth to it. If he's contradicting himself, there's something he's hiding. He'll claim he has no weaknesses, but later admit he does. He'll say he has no exes, only to reference exes later. So, we can glean truths from the lies he's telling in the pages.

I think Alex is a good enough writer to keep Ford and his writing (mostly) in character. He's made retcons/continuity errors before, but he knows the fandom will pick apart everything and find them, and will have a reason for it. There's definitely some fake pages, which begs the question, which are real?

One detail I want to point out is the vignette/burn marks on the edges of some of the pages. My secondary theory is about these. (And no, it doesn't indicate they were fake.) I'll explain later.

Assumptions/disclaimers: The pages we're shown are roughly chronological, though skip forward where surviving J3 pages would go. Pages aren't realistically double-sided like they would be in J3, these are inserted into tBoB magically. I don't have a blacklight version of J3, so I'm probably missing a little bit of context there. References J3 quite a few times, so this post works best if you are able to reference both books. I can go into detail and post more pictures for any sections that aren't clear.

First off, 'Lost in the woods'. This one I believe is real, because Ford's (author's cipher) codes are in it. This code is consistently used in the book whenever Ford inserts a page, even on the moth. For Bill to use this code would break the established pattern Alex has made. However, I agree with Gin that Bill intentionally placed this page to establish Ford as lonely, and thus make Bill look better for befriending him in contrast. I don't think it's that odd for Ford to talk about his social awkwardness, he talks about his childhood bullying pretty frankly, specifically on a page meant to be an author's About Me. However, he did rip this one out, so I think he was trying to ignore his feelings by hiding this page. No vignette.

'Cipher speaks', as we've discussed, is likely a fake/altered meeting. Vignettes on both pages. On the second page you can see where it looks burnt in one corner, and there's even tear marks like there's a page missing there, perhaps their real first meeting. It's also strange for Ford to draw himself like that.

'My Muse & Me'- Ford refers to Bill as his Muse again. Despite my doubts (I went back and forth on this one), I think this one has to be real. We find on the website computer (code: Fordtramarine) that Ford tried to submit a paper on fordtramarine. In that paper he refers to an 'extradimensional entity' and 'two-dimensional'. He shouldn't know that Bill is interdimensional at this point, so Ford must mean 'outside of physical reality', as in, the astral plane. Though, there's a painting of 'a muse' in the paper. Wasn't Bill supposed to be secret? Perhaps he thought he could get away with that small reference? Perhaps this paper was submitted more recently? I don't like the idea that things from the website are also fake, since it would be strange for Bill to have such narrative control there. The website seems to reveal things Bill can't control, even if Bill is talking. This page also establishes more timeline. This is saying that not only could Bill freely move in and out of Ford's mind within a year, he had full access to alter it as well, ahead of their deal before the test. This page is probably to make it seem appealing to let Bill into your mind. It also serves a purpose of showing us Ford had let Bill fully into his mind at this point in the story Bill's weaving. I am curious why would Ford hide this only to submit a paper on it, just to keep his Muse secret? And those damn red triangles, did Bill draw those, implying he could possess Ford before their deal? No burns/vignette. The neighboring pages both have it, why not this one?

June 15th- There is direct dialogue from Bill quoted, however, he refers to Bill as his Muse. Wouldn't Ford be creeped the hell out by the rat thing, and be alarmed that Bill possessed things just to kill them? I think this page was real, but was ripped out by Bill. Heavy vignette.

(Sorry for the poor quality, my phone camera is awful)

At this point I should explain: I think the burn/vignette represents Bill 'burning away' memories/altering them. Ford's memories, but possibly even the reader's. I want to be clear; I don't mean Bill erased the entire memory of the page, I mean Bill erased at least some part of those events. When it's heavy around the edges, heavier manipulation. It also could indicate which ones Bill burned/destroyed. More evidence for this later.

Karaoke page- How did Bill convince Ford to drink with him after the rat thing? Bill made him forget it was Bill. "The rats were his idea?" Yeah, he told you that right away, why did he need to tell you again? While probable this happened, the writing from Ford is sus. "This Bill guy, he's really got it all figured out"? Sounds a bit like Bill talking. The drawing is strangely detailed, too. 'Dancing queen' (disco girl's parody origin) was released in '76, so that lines up time wise, at least. Likely altered/created to make Bill seem friendlier. Either could have destroyed this one if there was a real version. Vignette.

A Voice from the Past spread- He says 'my Muse', but then mentions Bill by name, which indicates it's altered. Is the first bit real, then? Why would Ford rip out this important page revealing his muse's origin and past? His curiosity would overtake wanting to keep it secret, surely? And conversely, why would Bill fabricate it? To make himself seem more sympathetic? However, there is another explanation. There is the possibility Bill erased the memories of this conversation and it really happened in some form. Bill probably realized after revealing this information to Ford it could ruin his plans. Some vignette at the top, mostly on the right page. In that is a drawing of space and a code. The code says 'forget the past." Coincidence, or purposeful on a page for a conversation Bill made Ford forget? Bill could have ripped out the pages (if they existed) himself. It's also important to note Bill is trying to isolate Ford here, which is another reason he'd hide the pages/alter memories of talking about Stanley. Also, if Bill erased the phone number from Ford's mind later, it would make sense why Ford had to send a postcard.

A Winter Break/The Krampus adventure. Where would these pages have gone if they were real? It was January for the test, so it was before the deal, but after the bunker? Gin mentioned it feeling 'off' and strange because it's just Krampus, nothing weird or Gravity Falls-y about it, and I agree. And also, Fidds knocking it out feels... weird. I think that story is fabricated with some real details thrown in. Fidds is noticeably shaken up after, but otherwise the whole story seemed almost whimsical, and just...weird, and not in the GF way. It's fake. Ford goes back inside after looking outside in Time Traveler's Pig. He doesn't come outside onto the porch at all. You could say he comes back out after that, maybe. You could say it's a retcon. But we know the children's footprints were Dipper and Mabel, not random kidnapped kids. (Bill likely wouldn't expect the reader to know this.) My eyes are also drawn to the green and red rectangles. The festive theming bring to mind a Christmas special, and how often are those only partly canon? So, then what's real about it? I believe the gloves, and possibly the snow globe was real, since they come up again later. I believe if there was a monster, Ford (or bill possessing ford 'then-DARKNESS') fought it off, traumatizing Fidds even more. Something made Fidds shaken up. Fidds and Ford probably spent Christmas together. And Bill did warn Ford about Fidds' second thoughts (mentioned in J3). Did Fiddleford notice Ford forgetting things? Did he assume Ford was simply unshaken by what happened? For me what seals the deal is the heavy vignette around those pages. Bill altered his memories of what happened and is telling us this story instead, probably to make it seem not as bad, so Ford wouldn't be so angry that Bill wasn't there/realize that he possessed Ford. I'm also suspicious of the "Trust No One." at the end. Did this phrase really come from Bill? Wouldn't Bill be saying 'Trust me'? To be honest, it's possible the last page here was half a real conversation, but the way Ford suddenly changes his tune is strange AF and I suspect shenanigans for it. And the things Bill says are very different from 'F is not bold enough to follow through.' (J3 code, An Encounter) Also, most of these pages seem to have no reason to be ripped out, aside from mentioning Stan by name/drawing them, but he could have crossed that out, and the last page which Ford would have hidden from Fidds. If they were real in some form, Bill probably destroyed them to hide the truth.

Stanley memories pages- Real, not much to say about those. Goes after Bill's warning. Probably legitimately torn out by Ford since he'd want to keep these pictures before hiding J3. Though I do notice they are covering up a lot of red triangles, perhaps also drawn by Bill. No vignette.

Dream, or warning?- Before Jan. 17th. Real, since I can't see why Bill would make up a warning about himself. He wants the reader to trust him. The heavy vignette, again, indicates he made Ford forget about it and destroyed the pages before he could solve it, which would probably be easy since it was a dream. The laughter+fire at the end indicates Bill discovered them. Just a fun side note: the song referenced is 'Im your puppet'

"I was wrong about everything" spread- I think goes in the gap where the black scribbled out pages are in J3. Again, the Author's cipher is here, indicating these are real. Vignette again. Bill's possessing Ford a lot, trying to erase the idea of fighting back from his mind(unsuccessfully), likely also hiding these pages. More red triangles.

Bill-proof suit- Goes after The Blind Eye- references being banned from the library, Blind eye mentions still researching Bill. J3 said he discovered the chant to enter someone's mind by researching Bill, so he could also find the anti-cipher society and the cassette. Real. Bill likely destroyed these pages and the previous ones to try and slow down Ford and erase his plans to destroy Bill. Vignette.

Zom-bills to Looky Here: After 'Ways to hide', as Zom-bills is written in invisible ink, but before the truck stop. (This would require Ford to have written on the right page first, then Bill tore the rest of these out, but not a huge stretch) Bill is fucking with Ford hard. He's probably taking his anger out on Ford while simultaneously trying to bully and manipulate him like he would do to his henchmaniacs, as he says later. Vignette on most of these- he's constantly possessing Ford and making him black out, trying to manipulate his memory to make him compliant/torture him. Bill likely destroyed the cassette+the memory of it so it couldn't be used against him, as Ford presumably never gets the chance to. Why he's showing the reader this? He thinks it's funny. He could also be hoping to scare the reader, if the reader knows what he's capable of, they'll be more afraid, and fear and love are the same, right? Notably the sticky note page is only a little darkened, probably because Bill genuinely was trying to talk at first. I can't find any evidence that these are fake, but there's no codes indicating they're real either. I think they were real, but Bill destroyed at least some of them.

(Side note: Computer code: Oroborous. Curiously uses Bill's cipher, bill writes in J3 too. These pages are also vignetted. Bill wouldn't like Ford knowing he showed fear. He also purposefully didn't give the reader these 'missing pages', because he hates them and doesn't want to reveal his fear.)

Polaroids- Did Ford destroy this himself like the VHS? Trying to avoid being blamed for things Bill did? Just ashamed/horrified? Curiously, no vignette on the polaroids (this could be just to have the full page visible), or Bill wanted Ford to remember these to have the threat sink in fully. Probably actually happened, Bill doesn't really have a reason to fake these pages as they make him look worse/scarier.

Blackness/'No' pages: This is largely where my theory that vignette=memory manipulation makes the most sense, The darkness overtaking the page represents bill's influence and control, and stops resembling the journal pages much (though it could be invisible ink again). He can mess with Ford's mind as much as he likes. If these pages were ever real, Bill could have destroyed them himself too. Bill's pretty much telling the story here.

Fidds page, S page- Gin made another excellent post pointing out the problems with these. They're a bit redundant when compared to J3, aren't they? And in oddly specific ways. The use of the brother code indicates they're real, though. If Bill erased Ford's memories of these pages, him basically re-writing them makes sense, and also Ford going from 'the caves hold the answer' to 'the caves might hold the answers', the snow going from 'begun to fall' to 'has fallen', and going 'fidds wont speak to me'! instead of 'my assistant has clearly left me'. In some way Ford has probably retained a bit of his plans, but its not a stretch to say he'd loop his train of thought after losing memories. The "I grow maddened" at the edge is very shaky and blurry, which could reflect the shaky and blurry memory.

I also notice (this has probably been pointed out before) now in J3 that only once outside of Gravity Falls (route 14) can Ford plan clearly. Perhaps Cipher's influence is weaker outside the town? It makes sense. if Ford sent the postcard and made his plan while free(ish) of Bill's meddling, that's why Bill couldn't just erase his memory of his plan again.

So...yeah! Some are definitely fake. Some are placed or altered intentionally to serve a narrative. Bill could be manipulating the reader's and ford's memory to have never seen these pages. Some of these memories could have been simply warped, or erased later- not right away. I'll be honest I don't love the implication that Bill can just manipulate Ford's memories freely, so I'm sure there are significant limitations to it. Bill has to stall for the whole book and give away a lot of secrets in order to change the reader's brain enough for him to be satisfied, and even then it's not enough to make the reader give in. Bill's abilities are much less than he purports. He also says that the person can notice his 'tune-ups', so there is only so much he could alter someone's brain before they notice. However, if he's been messing with Ford's head this long, he'd have a big advantage. Is the explanation that Bill erased Ford's memory a little lazy? ...Yeah? But it also kind of heightens how badly Ford was being manipulated and why he got so paranoid and unhinged there. It lets a lot of these puzzle pieces fit together that wouldn't otherwise.

My vignette theory isn't super strong, I'll admit, but I think it definitely indicates something, given some pages don't have it when they could have. They could also simply indicate those pages were burned, though it being on the fake pages makes less sense then. Bill having destroyed the pages himself makes sense for a lot of the pages, but I cant rule out the possibility Ford did destroy some of them out of frustration/shame.

Something I also realized while going through J3 again is how many 'doodles' in J3 involve red triangles. (you can see an example on Frilliam's page) The triangles I assumed were Ford's obsession with Bill, but what if they were Bill's obsession? For another post perhaps.

So, what do y'all think? Ideas? Agree? Disagree? Things I missed? Questions? Something huge that shatters my whole theory? Let me know!

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Skelles with a partner with ADHD

imagine, s/o wonders if they forgot something and realizes they're shaking, and then says "oh that's right, I forgot to eat". I think this scenario with Oak would be interesting, I imagine them talking and they say "what were we talking about?" and Oak "I don't remember either"

This post is for all my ADHD pals (myself included). Some of these might or might have not happened in real life lol.

Undertale Sans - That's the second time you come back home because you forgot something. He's waiting just behind the door with all your missing things and puts them in your arms. He's so used to it with Papyrus than it's quite normal.

Undertale Papyrus - How are you surviving. You were going to go to the grocery store when you both saw flashing pretty colours on a shop facade. That's ten minutes you're just staring at the pretty colours now, hypnotized. By the time you finally get tired of this, you completely forgot what you were doing, it's dark outside and all the shops are closed. Well, shit. Guess you're eating in a restaurant outside because the fridge is empty.

Underswap Sans - You were driving and got distracted, and now you're both somehow in the middle of a random forest with no idea where you're supposed to go. Blue is slowly losing in mind, and eventually, he can't take it anymore. He bursts the door open and starts running at full speed in the forest, just screaming, to calm down. You try to follow him, but then you can't find the road back to the car and decided to just sit on a rock and wait :')

Underswap Papyrus - That's the third time he whines now. Like a puppy. You're focus on a video game for three hours now. He's invisible now. Not only it's his video game in the first place but now he wants attention :( Please? Just a pet? :( He's sad boy.

Underfell Sans - He asked you three times if you had your keys before driving to your vacation place for three hours. In front of the house you rent, you start to pat your pockets, more and more distressed. Red stares at you. You smile apologetically at him. He takes a deep breath and walks behind the house. Then screams and throws bones into the wall. Before coming back, calm, down and telling you they're going back to fetch the keys.

Underfell Papyrus - He flicks you behind the head every time you lose focus. You said you would do your taxes and not let you get distracted. He's taking his role very seriously. He's just standing behind you, arms crossed. You can feel his breath on your neck. Do. Your. Taxes.

Horrortale Sans - So he followed you, not realizing you had no idea where you were going. Since you thought he knew where you two were supposed to go. It takes an hour and three times to pass in front of the same shop for Oak to ask where you're going. And you, just blinking back, saying you thought he knew where you were going. Awkward silence. After a while, you decide to call Willow to ask him where you two are supposed to go...

Horrortale Papyrus - You absolutely wanted to paint and nothing else, so Willow struggled to buy you art stuff in the shortest time. As soon as he gets home, you blink at him and just say "Oh I changed my mind, I like to draw now." Willow takes a deep breath, then turns around. FINE. If you won't have your painting hyperfocus now, he will because it was damn expensive and it's not going to waste.

Swapfell Sans - He's tired of watching you rambling and pacing so he just makes your soul blue and suddenly change your gravity. You fall on your stomach like a dying whale and can't move from the ground now. Nox sighs with relief. You're stressing him out, he needs a break.

Swapfell Papyrus - That's three times he calls you to eat. He grabs your book, climbs a chair, sticks it to the ceiling with super glue, and says you can have it again only after you come and eat. You obey, grumbling. You're not even hungry. You make two steps and collapse because you have actually no energy. Ah.

Fellswap Gold Sans - You keep moving in bed, randomly kicking him in your sleep as you can't keep your legs still. After one too many kicks, he hisses and bites your leg with all he has, which for sure wakes you up. Wine huffs and goes back to sleep like nothing happened. You're too in shock to even proceed what just happened.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - You're fighting to know who has the less anxiety today to move your ass from the couch and go to the grocery store. None of you is ready to move and procrastinate the best you can so the other goes. Coffee tried to yeet you out with his magic but you held on to him and it didn't work. Now you're having a stare battle. You sure you will win.

[cometrose]

how do you feel about the eyes being a window to the soul and Zhongli's eyes not being shown in flashback?

oh now we are getting into videogame analysis.

The first it could represent his "unchanging expression" during the Archon War. It is was rumored that during the war, Morax did not show emotion and was rather "cold and unfeeling" and his judgements were "rational and dispassionate". He wore an emotionless mask and his stone-cold expression did not change until the war ended and not seeing his eyes is a simple representation of Morax's behavior. There are no eyes, because there is no emotion, there is barely a face (he is blank as stone) so its just very clever visual symbolism.

On the other hand, it could suggest there is more to Zhongli than meets the eye. As you said eyes are windows to the soul, and from a narrative point eye symbolism is powerful tool in literature. The most common usage for eye symbolism is to represent wisdom, knowledge, truth, perception or control.

Not seeing Zhongli's eyes means there is something the writer's are deliberately hiding. It could mean his true nature, has not been revealed to us. It doesn't necessarily means his physical eyes have changed but rather the Morax of the past presented himself differently than the Morax of today.

Zhongli's true origins are unknown we have no idea where he came from, what he truly is and the truth of many of his contracts (the tsaritsa, celestia, khaenriah just to name a few). We have known Zhongli for so long, but do we actually know anything about him? Not seeing Zhongli's eyes means there is even more to his identity that has not been revealed to the traveler. His true soul, identity, or purpose have not been revealed, we have not seen him for all that he is.

I have my own theories about Zhongli's true origin (why is the third act of liyue archon quest a new star approaches hmmmm) but if you look through some of the Liyue books or character stories you will notice there is a lot of mention about Zhongli's eyes.

In Rex Incognito, Rex Lapis' disguises as a woman with "eyes shone a brilliant amber" or a rugged worker with "eyes shone like amber from the mountain mines in the light of the setting sun" and a noble young man with "his golden eyes smiling."

In Moonlit Bamboo Forest, the main character meets a woman that "didn't appear to be an adeptus, apart from the piercing gaze of her golden eyes."

Even Tubby, you know the teapot adeptus that takes care of your teapot? In the story quest for the teapot she mentions a "golden-eyed adeptus" explained the limits of adeptal power in teapot to her. First of all Ping mentions in part I of the same quest that Rex Lapis blessed the adepti with "illumination" that allows them perform sub-space creation and form teapots. So the adeptus is clearly him.

In the description for the Euphonium Unbound: Winding, the teapot furnishing that allows you to play music "According to Tubby, a certain adepti with black hair and golden eyes wanted to temporarily change the melody echoing in the Realm Within to match the aesthetic of the tea on the table when he was having a small gathering with his friends in the Realm Within."

These are just the descriptions I can remember off the top of my head. Like many characters have gold eyes but Zhongli alone has so many many references to his eyes. Whenever genshin wants to describe Zhongli without saying his name they just say a person with "golden/amber eyes". Hell there was literally some Millelith soldier that knew Rex Lapis wasn't dead because he saw some guy with golden eyes walk past him.

Like really long story short. Eye symbolism is super important to Zhongli and a key part of his characterization. It is clear that no matter what form he takes it seems his eyes stay the same. Which is super interesting for shapeshifter characters. Shapeshifters usually change everything about themselves unless it very important to them so for Zhongli to hold onto a part of himself could suggest so many things. It could also just be a limitation of his transformation.

ANYWAY to hide Zhongli's eyes in his flashbacks even though we have seen the eyes of all the other archons and then to make his signature description his "golden eyes" is so interesting. Why make his signature feature his eyes then not show us his eyes!! What is the reason!

And again the first answer isn't exclusive at the same time, because his eyes are so important Zhongli not showing his eyes in flashbacks could mean that back then he was hiding a part of himself. Now that he is free from the title of Rex Lapis he can show his eyes freely without care, he is free from the contract of protecting humanity he doesn't have to wear an emotionless mask anymore so his beautiful eyes are on display.

Though interestingly in his museum collaboration we got to see Morax's eyes and in his archon outfit and all. However that could've taken place after the war and is also a fun little collab so like *shrugs shoulder* who knows!

[blitz0hno]

Ah hello. Did you know in the T1 script book John Doe 009 VD, when 09 introduces himself, "Mikoto Kayano" personally introduces himself with the kanji spelling of his name but its alternative reading (furigana) is in katakana, not hiragana. He is the only prisoner that introduces himself in full with an alt spelling in katakana rather than Es imparting or calling a prisoner with their katakana code name in the beginning.

The speech style he has here also matches the speech style in Neoplasm where Boku was using gobi due to the usage of the particle 「さ」。(I've written a speech style analysis of 09 before but I'll have to find the notes again. I'll likely send a follow-up ask or something ^^')

This has me thinking about one of your previous posts which brought up the possibility that Mikoto "boku" Kayano, or, how others say, 🔵 and 🟢koto, don't realize that they're separate identities.

「ボクが僕を救ってあげましょう」 <- these bokus

There's also the possibility that when people have been referring to 🔵koto, they've actually been meaning 🟢koto this entire time. So are color code[name]s appropriate for 09 anymore? (/rhetorical)

What do you think? Any changes in how you perceive 09? I look forward to seeing more of your really cool analyses or thoughts on him.

Hello! Thanks so much for the ask! I did not know that; super interesting that it's unique from the other introductions. What you pointed out here is actually so intriguing, thank you for sharing your knowledge!

I have been wrestling with this for some time now because it's truly a case of "Schrodinger's Alter"; we have several instances that seem to indicate 2 "boku"s, but when they're speaking without the pronoun visually accompanying it, there's no gurantee of which one is fronting in any given interaction (let alone if a completely seperate alter is masking as "Mikoto," which is unlikely because writing that would get complicated, but not impossible).

Telling them apart is likely as difficult for them as it is for us given the amnesia; however, we don’t get insight into these things without the narrative explicitly stating such. This is interesting to me because this uncomfortable ambiguity is how systems operate in daily life, sometimes even amongst ourselves.

While color codenames have lost their usefulness to me personally, colloquially I find it helpful in discussing basic theories (and even tho it's gimmicky I've just personally liked the concept); that said, for all we the audience know, ボク ("Mido") and 僕 ("Miko") could be interchangable alters in the narrative; people may very well be referring to ボク as 僕 or vice-versa in any given interaction that John isn't around.

As far as changes in perception, it's dawning on me more and more how little we know about "Mikoto" (僕 or otherwise) as an individual in his system. He's high-masking as it is, but on top of that, we have no real way of guessing which alter "he" is at any given time unless they give an indicator. It's just simplest to assume 僕 in most cases. In the case of 俺, he's an easy guess only because he is made outwardly distinct by the narrative in both speech pattern and attitude. If there is a third, we may see glimpses of them in hindsight, but either way "Mikoto" (僕) as an individual alter is yet to be known as his own person beyond his passive, "professional" demeanor.

Tbh it's giving me insight into why a system host may be widely "liked" while remaining relatively or even completely unknown as an individual person. The demeanor shown by 僕 and his desire to be popular further shows that his sense of self is purely dependent on others' perceptions of him, which is as expected as it is tragic. I think if there is a third, we're gonna see a resigned, perhaps even apathetic tone from them; the system all tried so hard for seemingly nothing. I think the more 僕 tries to disappear, the more the other could realize their place alongside John in the system, if we explicitly see ボク at all.

It's all very ambiguous so I don't get really care how others label them, but I'm near certain that "僕" is not always who we think he is. (In John's case, I typically use his name rather than his pronoun bc even if he picks a more suitable name for himself later on, I feel strange using a first-person pronoun in place of a name when he has one; in the case of "僕" Mikoto, I do find it a necessary distinction from "ボク" given the ambiguity of it all, and it's more solid than color theory imo.)

This is all just my personal conjecture on how they are writing the system. It's definitely a kind of narrative I never thought I'd get to analyze, so I'm so happy to have others to discuss with! Thanks again for the ask. I'd love to see the follow up w the speech style analysis! I love yapping w you about the little guys 🙏

[dopscratch]

mugshot meme with the trio :) i love fishlegs which reminds me....

INCOMING BOOKS-MOVIES RAMBLE- even if you only know the movies please stick around, i cant make you but maybe you'll find the rest of this interesting

SO, so so so. i love the movies (well the first two...) but i will never forget their transgressions on the original plot

they took away hiccups Heroic Hair why would you do that he's nothing without his Heroic Hair

they swapped hiccup and fishlegs's personalities why would you do that why would you take away my nerd protagonist my nerd self is weeping

hiccup and fishlegs are no longer best friends why why would you do that to me i live for their loser friendship its just like me

they took away camacazi and made a mid love interest i dont care what you say astrid is mid tier never liked her much apologies i also dont like love interests so take my opinons with a grain of salt

in the movies toothless is actually Super Cool and hiccup also becomes Super Cool and earns massive respect and is not a laughingstock ever since the very first movie which hurt his appeal to me in the movies since, believe it or not, i am a Loser and hiccup also being a Loser and Becoming A Hero The Hard Way was very compelling to me

hiccup is the Absolute Main Character in the movies and the supporting characters don't get much spotlight while in the books it's a pretty well balanced group which i like

snotlout is no longer hiccups cousin and is just comic relief which is a HUGE missed opportunity for drama and depth that i loved in the books

villains in general are sort of mid tier throughout (except viggo viggo was cool. also i love dagur he's the best)

WHERE'S ALVIN

dragons are no longer complex. i loved their society of sorts and their unique morals (generally selfish, cruel creatures who have full knowledge of their actions and just don't care- though have the capacity for kindness) and their whole language and the fact hiccup knew that language because he is a Nerd

HICCUP'S LANGUAGES!! GUYS WHO ONLY WATCHED THE MOVIES, DID YOU KNOW HICCUP IS FLUENT IN AT LEAST 4 LANGUAGES?? HE KNOWS NORSE, DRAGONESE, FRENCH, AND LATIN!! WELL YOU DO NOW

HOOOOLY CRAP the story is SO much darker i'll avoid huge spoilers but let's just say. war. slavery. torture. death. surprisingly generous amounts of blood.

more main-line content- technically yes the shows and other companion materials count for the movie-verse but some things are questionably canon and all that. meanwhile you have 12 whole books that are irrefutably canon and are incredibly well-connected especially through the end.

thats everything that my brain feels like spitting out now. there's obviously more (ESPECIALLY in regards to my uh... opinions about the third movie) but im too lazy to do anything about it at the moment

overall all two movies and the shows are still good and i cherish them so my smack talking is pretty lighthearted. still love the books more though

[natureismynature]

Ok. But I do actually want to talk about this now.

In Foolish's day 26 vod, Leo showed him paintings of her three friends. The first one was Cucurucho.

She kept saying it was there, watching them. Always. Then she said Foolish should say hello, to which he complied. He said hello to the air, but then Cucurucho ACTUALLY showed up and said hello too before leaving again.

When Foolish asked what the hell was that supposed to be, Leo told him that "It just came to say hello. It always takes care of me." Then Cucu came back and game Foolish a book.

Inside the book (written in Spanish) was the question "HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING CARE OF LEO?"

Which is just??? WHAT??? I know that Leo always claimed that she was friends with Cucurucho, but for Cucu itself to actually ask this question?? To show this much care for Leo??? It blows my mind, I don't even have the words rn. (This leads me to believe that Leo's friend is the defective one, Osito Bimbo)

After Foosh and Leo confirm that yes, he's been taking good care of her, Cucurucho leaves them alone once again.

The next friend is interesting because, well, it's a painting of a capybara saying "Hola Leo! :)"

They didn't really get to dive deeper into this since Foolish thought that Perry (Leo's pet platypus) was the one in the painting, despite Leo saying it was a capybara. To be fair, she didn't really try to correct him when he asked if she was talking about Perry.

And knowing what I know now, this really really sticks out to me. Because on this day, Leo introduced Foosh to mysteriously powerful entities she called friends... and one out of those three friends is supposedly a capybara...

The third friend is where things get a little more freaky. Leo showed Foolish a painting of Dark, who she called her best friend.

She claimed that Dark is powerful and he protects them from bad people, but he can only do it on Foolish's dragon home and nowhere else. She said he lived on top of the dragon. And she also said he was an enemy to the "green things" (the Codes).

Leo tries to explain her friends to a very confused Foolish.

"My friends are good pa, they only kill bad people"

"My friends want you to take care of me so they don't see more eggs die"

"You don't see them, but they are always here"

These words were the one who stuck out to me because it's... strange. How favored Leo is. Like, why her? What did she do to gain favor of the Feds? Are Cucurucho and Dark on the same side? Or are they on the opposite sides who got attached to the same kid? If Dark is an enemy to the Code, then is he a friend to the Federation? What if he isn't? And what of the capybara painting? Was the concept of the capybaras solidified that early on to the server?

And why does Leo know so much? How did she befriend such powerful entities?

Was Dark really the one behind the black signs? Was the "LAST WARNING" sign in Vegetta's tower after the code attack a warning to Foolish if he ever fails to protect Leo? Was the "Don't look down" sign a payback for almost failing? Was the "Always watching" sign a reminder that he's always there?

I have so many questions and no answers kfvekehm what I'm saying is, they have to bring back Horror Child Leo because this shit is AWESOME. I mean, she's been bringing it back from time to time, but Dark hasn't been touched on since this day which is honestly super upsetting, I hope they don't scrap the concept...

(Screenshots reblogged)

[nalyra-dreaming]

I just don't see the Nicki/Louis similarities, ESPECIALLY in the show context. If anything, they will parallel in being opposites.

Wellllllllllll..... I mean, Rolin... approached Louis as a character through the lens of Lestat's previous relationships, namely Nicki and Gabrielle.

I'm not joking. This is the relevant transcript of the podcast (after Naomi asks about Louis being black now):

“I kind of came around to his ethnicity through a very weird way, which is through Lestat. So there's a very famous sort of rewrite of Lestat, starting with book two. He's aggressively different character than he was in book one. But that's the Lestat that she carried on for the rest of time. And I was like, OK, that should be Lestat. And so we tried to take the given circumstances that are set with Lestat and put it back into this time period. And so he had this sort of super emo relationship with this guy named Nicky. And then he had a very excitable relationship with his mother as his second companion choice. And get into that season three, y'all. And then I was like, let's give Lestat a legitimate third attempt to try to figure out how to be with somebody for the rest of his life. And how do you not repeat your mistakes? So it started from there. And I wanted somebody who had some money, because I think he wanted to be with his own folks there. And I think he wanted someone, I thought, who could fight back and who could be a challenge and who would force him to restrain himself. And nobody at AMC was really interested in seven seasons of The Regretful Plantation Owner. So even with that, though, you wanted to have some connective threads to the novel. So we made Louis come from a lineage that once did own a plantation, did own slaves. The other thing was sort of aesthetic. If you were going to take away the ruffled shirts and all the swampy goodness and you wanted to make this, okay, something new. What's the next hot time that had a sense of smell and taste and sound? Birth of Jazz seemed pretty, pretty right on. And it just so happened there was a spot at that historical time where a black man could get in on some business and still have the sort of morally gray thing that owning a plantation would. And I don't know, it all actually clicked into place pretty quickly.”

Rolin Jones on the Podcast. *shrugs*

The show went about this brilliantly and color-consciously (thank god), much more than the transcript here can convey, obviously.

But it's still an intent of character building, namely the changes, the enhancements they made to Louis (from a character POV) being that what Lestat wanted (and did not get, for various reasons) from his other companions.

I mean, Lestat was very clear about the similarities between Nicolas and Louis in the book. He was also very clear as to where Louis surpassed Nicolas there (and Lestat's feelings). And Rolin obviously is aware of that.

I don't really see Louis as an opposite. I see him as someone more than what reminded Lestat of Nicki, and the one that Lestat ultimately fell for - fatally.

And I think that holds for book and show version.