#and like. maybe there is one true 'timeline' for lack of a better word

[reikunrei]

one of my favorite cryptid/monster creation theories is that something, even if it was entirely made up, becomes real purely because people believe it enough, and I keep thinking about that in relation to henry's powers/the way he wanted to change the world

like, rather than it being actual timeline splitting or time travel in order to change things (thinking specifically of that shot of him rewinding the grandfather clock, literally manipulating time), it's just like... he wills these things to happen because he believed hard enough in it? if that makes sense?

like he still has powers, that's all real, but rather than it being actual time manipulation, it's closer to like... faulty or changed memories that then retroactively become real. as a tiny example, like brenner's hair inexplicably changing style or graying too fast is just bc henry remembered it wrong, but that doesn't mean it's not real

i just feel like it's an interesting thought since henry leaned so heavily into making false memories or interactions with his victims (chrissy's mom in the bathroom, the cop saying he recognized fred, max seeing her mom after leaving the letters for her family) but they all stemmed from the truth, and perhaps could have become real if the victims believed it hard enough and gave in to their pain and fear

idk! like... i feel like it would be a cool twist to have it be a manipulation of memories that retroactively changes stuff, but the old version still leaks through, rather than it directly being like time travel and stuff

[thepublishingpress]

In Remembrance of You

Katara is glad.

Honestly, she is.

She is glad that she could live to see her children grow.

She is glad to see her grandchildren, their playfulness and childishness.

If you asked her if she was content with how her life played out, she would respond that she wouldn’t have it any other way. That she was pleased with how she was leading her life.

But sometimes…

There are times when the realization, hitting her like a sharp slap to face, barges in, unannounced.

The realization that living in the timeline of the next Avatar, the Avatar after the one you loved, married, had kids with, and adored, hurts.

That when you see the new Avatar, you see bits and pieces of your lover, but in different person.

That there are these small things they do and say that make you think, That was so much like Aang.

That when you hear they consulted past Avatars, you think, She saw Aang. She talked with Aang.

She keeps these realizations to herself, hiding it away in a chest, reflecting on it only when she is alone.

Perhaps the thing that hurts most of all is that the new Avatar also has a lover.

And Katara looks at them and thinks, Me and Aang did that once. Me and Aang acted like that. Me and Aang looked at each other like that. Me and Aang, me and Aang, me and Aang…

Me and Aang loved like that.

Katara had always had hope that she would see Aang in the Spirit World.

But now that the Avatar Cycle was broken…

Was Aang’s spirit lost forever?

Or would she not have seen him in the Spirit World anyway, because he was Korra? And now that the Cycle was broken, Aang’s spirit was, for lack of a better word, freed?

Would it be so selfish to hope that was true?

Korra and the Avatar after her would need Aang, and all the others before him, wouldn’t they?

After all, that’s what comes with falling for the Avatar.

But Katara still hoped that she would see Aang either way.

So she’ll patiently waits for her time to come to the Spirit World permanently.

But she still looks at the new Avatar and her lover, Korra and Asami, and aches.

&*&*&*&*&*&*&

wooh boy! this is an angsty week, huh? first kataang fic, too! great progress, ehe-

tbh, i feel like theres little emphasis on katara's feeling about aang after he's gone in TLOK but maybe that's just me.

but bc of those feelings, i made this, so enjoy! :3

(i was inspired by some art, but ill find it soon to link it here!!!!)

[trippygalaxy]

im supposed to be DRAWING but instead you got me over here becoming invested in oc lore that doesn't even belong to me 🙄 [ /j ]

have wars or zelda told the kids about their multi-timeline war adventures? (idr how it ends but) has farola had a run-in with cia or lana? have wars and zelda told her about cia in the detail they'd (assumedly) talk about the others in, or do they just say "yeah. she was half of a person, but the bad version. we fought her" and called it a day?

the way you word raluadin's "fear of being punished' makes me think that he has been severely before (or maybe im just reading to far into things and i just like a very specific trope). i know you said that they had nayati, farola, and ruladin out of a want, but does that stop them from being bad parents-- or keep them from harshly punishing them?

while nayati is the responsible type, is he secfretly a gremlin? does he do something "out of character" in front of someone and hit them with a "no one will believe you," or is he just the well-mannered heir naturally? does he even want take the throne once wars and/or zelda steps down/die?

i feel like its natural that wars and zelda have the kids trained in several forms of combat or whatever you think idk, but do they just learn the basics and thats it? do they have the option to further their learning? does farola sneak out to watch the guards train out of curiousity and wonder, or does she sneak out to teach herself (similar to xu xialing from shang-chi for lack of a better comparison)?

more of a joke, but what members of the chain can nayati, farola, and ruladin beat in a hand-to-hand, sword, and whatever else you can think of fight?

SORRRYYY BABEEEEE <33!!!! HFDAJKFHAKFHJKA

The whole Timeline war had to be a BIG historical event within War's era! So for as long as the event is remember by the books and those who've experienced it's effects, it would be told to the newer generations, including the royal children. The children were told about the war in an educational way, leaving out the true gruesome or unneeded bits and focusing on big/important events that happened during said war. This does include a brief but non describe retelling of Cia's and Lana's story/life.

Warriors made it his MISSION to keep his children as far away from Cia as physically possible. No matter how much Cia changed, he will never truly feel comfortable with letting his children near her, which both Cia and Zelda respect.

-

When I say that Ruladin 'fears punishment' i meant it in the way that any kid is kinda scared of how their parents would react to them doing something bad! This fear isn't from bad experiences from his parents but from the inherent kid logic that 'consequence to actions = end of the world.' This isn't to say that Zelda and Wars are PERFECT (no parents truly are) but they have never willingly or unintentionally made their kids afraid of them.

-

OH-- i didn't think about that but now? YES. Nayati has the same gremlin genes like his FATHER!!! When he was a little younger (prob teens) he TOTALLY messed with the servants of the castle and HAS ABSOLUTELY used the 'no one will believe you' line!! But as he gets older, that gremlin spark does get quite buried by his more 'well mannered' attitude. And yeah! Nayati is perfectly fine with taking the throne once his time comes to step up! Zelda helps him with accepting the responsibility of the role while also letting him pursue other passions. Zelda doesn't want her son to dread the day of his ceremony like she did.

-

I do think that the three learn the basics of self defense. General Impa is one of the main teachers/mentors the three has during their training, (Ruladin wildly idolizes and looks up to Impa, to the point he even styles his hair like him!) but Sheik and even Wars took some time to help the three. They do have an option to train farer, but Farola is the only one that really pursues that seeing as she wants to be a Captain like her father was!

Following that up, Farola started to sneak out to watch the guards out of wonder and curiosity but it quickly turned into a want to train. It was actually because of Farola's constant sneaking out that Impa suggested to Wars and Zelda for the kids to learn self defense, but hid the fact of where Farola was actually sneaking off to.

--

OH FAROLA WOULD TOTALLY BEAT WARRIORS IN A FIGHT <3 I think she would be trained in sword combat compared to hand-to-hand but is still quite skilled! I can also see her being able to stay in a sword fight with Sky for a bit before losing to him!

Nayati could probably take Hyrule in hand to hand but would still fall first to him HDAKHJDAK. Ruladin is a full on child. 12 fight wind for the pure COMDEY of two preteens absoluetly beating eachothers ass.

[the-hidden-writer]

Death of the Author

Oneshot. Spoilers for Alan Wake 2!

Summary: Sometimes, the waves of the Dark Place moved in such a way that Alan could remember some of the loops. The memories left him tired and frustrated. That frustration could grow into a much more heated, dangerous anger.

Alan's confrontation with Casey plays out a little differently.

Words: 1,775 AO3 Link: [Here!]

Death of the Author

Sometimes, Alan remembered.

Not everything. Being stuck in a malleable hellscape that had no day-night cycle and no clear way of tracking the passage of time meant that memories were certain to blur together. Many of them were just swept away by the waves of The Dark Place. He could feel their loss, but he had no way of knowing what to mourn.

Maybe that was another cruel trick of The Dark Place, making him aware that he’d forgotten but leaving the memories themselves out of his grasp.

It must have been years. Or forever. Had he ever truly been out to begin with? Was his entire life from before just another facet of The Dark Place, waiting to reveal its true, looping nature?

The Dark Place had looked like New York for as long as Alan could remember. Even though he did remember it looking like Bright Falls at some point, he couldn’t remember when that was and where in the timeline of his experience that had been. The Dark Place couldn’t have been New York and Bright Falls simultaneously, and yet it was always New York. Memories like those were useless.

The Dark Place operated in loops. Alan knew that. Sometimes, he remembered them. Other times he didn’t. Though even if he didn’t, some events had happened over and over again so many times that they had worked their way into his subconscious, into his muscle-memory.

Which is why Alan braced himself as he began walking through the dark, greenly-lit alley.

He still jumped nevertheless when an arm suddenly pressed into shoulder and forced him up against the nearest wall.

“Casey!”

Alex Casey, despite being a smaller man, held a lot of power in his grasp as he pressed him against the hard concrete. Alan struggled against his grip, his side brushing against the cold barrel of the revolver pointed at him. The sensation was familiar. Like an echo of a memory of this moment playing out so many times before. He struggled harder with the knowledge that that gun wouldn’t be the one to go off.

“You’re the killer. The Cult leader. It’s in your eyes,” the detective snarled.

Alan’s instinct was to fight back. His mouth opened to deny, to claim innocence, to explain that it was Scratch he should be after, not him.

Then Alan had a moment of realization.

Fighting back was more than an instinct. It was something stronger, a memory of a looping moment that had played out exactly the same countless times before. Every time, he’d struggle and deny and push back. Every time, Casey would fall dead at his feet.

He stopped struggling and consequently grunted at the pain of Casey slamming him into the wall again from the inertia of his arm. Alan was suddenly very aware of his own gun still in his hand. He barked out a humorless chuckle. Surprise flashed across Casey’s face. He clearly wasn’t expecting a lack of resistance. His grip loosened ever so slightly.

“You’re almost right,” Alan said. He was tired of this. How many times had he lived through this exact scenario? How many times would he live through it again? He just wanted it to be over. He’d been in the Dark Place for so long. His tone was weary but snide as his blood began to boil, frustrated at being stuck in this exact scenario yet again and being no closer to escaping. “Maybe not the killer you’re looking for, but I’m a killer. I’ve killed a man.”

How long had it been since the last time he’d felt his temper flare up? Alice would always hate it and he’d always promise to do better. Maybe it was a good thing Alice wasn’t here right now.

Casey’s grip tightened again. Alan reveled in watching the man gulp down any response he might have had. Deep down, he must have known how this would play out too.

“Do you wanna know who I killed?” Alan continued mockingly, now unable to hold back the layer of spite masking his words. A part of him screamed out that this wasn’t him, he would never act so cruelly when sober. A bigger, stronger part of him relished in the relief of being able to vent his frustration. Besides, Casey wasn’t real. He was just a figment of his imagination made real by the Dark Place. It felt good for him to be able to taunt the Dark Place for a change.

Casey didn’t answer, but Alan caught the glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes. That was enough. He grinned. 

“I killed you.”

“Bullshit!” Casey spat up into his face, thrusting his body backward into the wall. For once, the pain felt rewarding. “I’m taking you in and you’re gonna pay for what you’ve done. I am not going to fall for your sick game.”

Alan let out a laugh that turned into a cough as Casey slammed him backward a third time. The detective looked disturbed. Good. Alan was sick of this.

“Maybe it is a game,” he said. “Games aren’t real. You’re not real. Just another obstacle for me to face.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Casey asked as he released Alan and took a few steps back. Though the revolver was still trained on him, Alan could tell that the words were getting under his skin. Still, he wanted to push deeper, see how far he could go. It felt like fucked-up therapy.

“You’re my character and I killed you,” he said matter-of-factly, causing Casey to flinch. “I wrote stories about you. You were a pretty popular protagonist.”

Alan took a step forward. Casey didn’t move.

Alan sneered. “Then I got tired of you. I wrung you dry and killed you off, all because I was tired of writing about you. You were shot in an alley just like this. The Sudden Stop at the end.” 

Almost hysterical, Alan lifted his gun and straightened his arm to point it at Casey, playing the part of the killer from the book.

Casey’s eyes widened. “Shut up,” he hissed, raising his own gun higher in return. A stand-off.

He was frightened. Alan knew his own character well-enough to tell. 

“I still can’t escape you. After you, I got writer’s block. That’s why my life fell apart. That’s why Alice took me to Bright Falls. I wouldn’t be stuck here if it weren’t for you.”

A new anger started to build-up in Alan’s system. He’d never considered it before, but it was true. Alex Casey was the root of the reason he was now trapped in a never-ending, hellish nightmare. He glared at Casey with a newfound hatred, baring his teeth. He took another step forward.

Casey held his ground. His jaw was hardened and his expression was stoic and neutral, but his shining, wavering eyes betrayed the storm of varying emotions barely contained beneath the surface.

“Maybe that’s why the Dark Place insists on putting you in front of me. It wants to torture me by shoving the man I hate most into my face everywhere I turn.”

Posters, adverts, graffiti, the man himself. Casey, Casey, Casey. The anger only grew.

The anger didn’t stop growing. It grew and grew until it was way past the threshold of what Alan was familiar with. He was now very certain that his own thought process and justification were feeding into something that wasn’t him, but he’d gone too far to wrangle back control.

Another step forward.

“I’ve killed you so many times. Always in this alley, over and over. It doesn’t matter what I do, you’ll always end up dead. And watch, I’m going to do it again.”

The sound of a gunshot ringing out must have been familiar to the surrounding graffiti-ridden walls. Alan wondered how much was written in Casey’s blood before his racing thoughts started to slow.

Dazed, he gently brushed his left hand against the shirt that was already wet with his blood. Then the pain started to blossom in his abdomen. He looked down and saw the growing dark stain, a strange combination of red and black. Oh.

Both the fight and spite seeped out of his body along with his blood as his head began to spin. He caught Casey lowering his gun out of the corner of his eye before he roughly fell backward onto the street.

The pain was excruciating. He was used to being felled in the Dark Place, he knew he’d be back in a fresh loop, but normally it was over so quickly. This was slow and painful. His breathing began to stutter as his lungs struggled to draw in air. Was this how Casey felt every time?

What had come over him? Why didn’t he listen to instinct and play things out normally?

He watched, detached from reality, as Casey crouched down next to him while he wheezed on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Alan tried to say, but wasn’t sure how well it came out as blood pooled beneath him.

Casey opened his mouth as if to say something back. Then, after a few seconds, he exhaled lightly and closed it again. He just loomed above Alan and watched his life drain away.

Alan wanted to cry out and demand to hear what Casey had to say, to hear him yell back in return to what he’d said to him, but Casey was silent save for his heavy breathing. And as his brain started to lose function, Alan couldn’t decipher what the look behind his character’s eyes meant.

He’d blamed Casey for all his troubles and Casey was only a fictional character. But this was the Dark Place, where fiction was made real. Alan knew that Casey had every right to blame him (he’d just admitted to killing him over and over, after all) and that hearing it would probably give both of them some form of closure that might have even helped him to escape.

And yet Casey did nothing but look down at him. He didn’t offer any comfort, but he didn’t shout, either. He just crouched and looked down with that same guarded expression, giving no indication of his inner thoughts like Alan had witnessed in previous confrontations.

Maybe that was the cruelest trick of all, Alan thought, choking on air as he stared up at Casey’s face while his body finally started to shut down. He’d never find out how this would change the loop, how it would go on to change Casey.

All he got was the man’s tired sigh before, along with the surroundings, Casey’s features above him faded into darkness.

Thanks for reading!

[gummybugg]

Writer Questions Tag

Thanks for the tag @my-cursed-prince! I decided to make a Separate post because I didn't want to clog things up :')

Tagging these people to hop on in (optionally): @frostedlemonwriter, @another-white-hole, @rickie-the-storyteller, @rhikasa, @talesfromaurea & Anyone else who wants to fill out questions!

1) What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you've ever had?

My all-time Favorite idea is actually just the Creation of the Crater City crew. It’s probably something to do with how the story began as a Joke and then evolved into something a bit More. It’s also a great Break from writing Magniloquent essays :’)

2) Is there a question you've been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

I believe that would be “How did you come up with this?” And this question can Really be referring to formal writing or writing I do as a hobby. Either way, I do not know! Everything is a culmination of my Experiences + a Group of synapses accidentally fist bumping!

🌀🤜🤛🌀

3) What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

I really Love the way that I get to see my characters on the page in Clear writing instead of being Stuck in a sticky, ambiguous Cloud in my head. I also Love when ideas come to me at Random and my Subconscious is in on the action, too. It’s like a party in here! I think the only part I dislike is the time I spend away from writing and how Difficult it is to get back into the Groove.

4) What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

My greatest Motivation is seeing how my characters interact! It fuels me to write more dialogue 💖

I also just enjoy Stringing words together, and Always have since I was a Small child.

5) What is the best piece of advice you've ever read or been given as a writer?

Do not throw away Your writing Scraps because they will/can be relevant Later. No more tears! You can still have this Ending, even if it’ll be in Another timeline! :’)

6) What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

I wish I knew that I didn’t have to Halt creative writing just because I had Writer’s Block for one story. It’s been on Pause since 2017, and I have since Moved on until I am ready to resume. I chalk it up to not having “It” at the moment; i.e., the Mindset to keep writing that WIP.

I also wish I had Every Single draft saved in one app/device. I was young and didn’t know writing apps Existed so I saved everything via the standard Notes App. When I had to Reset my phone, my notes went along with the Reset, aha! So I had to force myself to Remember the Important details early on.

7) What is your favorite story you've written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you'd like and can!

Bold of you to Assume I’ve ever completed a story! But I Would like to complete a story within the next 5 years, Yes.

8) What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

Not really Sure where I put that one Quote, but maybe someday it will come to me!

9) Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Darcy from Crater City has a pretty Controversial mindset. For context, Darcy is a designer baby (for Lack of better words) and was created with the intent that he pull Humanity (Neo-civilization) out of the post-apocalyptic Dark Age. However, his methods of doing so aren’t exactly “Ethical” as many would say.

Darcy Does want to help humanity, it’s true! But in his mind, the only way to save Humanity is by reprogramming Mother Nature, so to speak. It’s not like there’s much Left to work with, he reasons. “Humans were given the gift of insatiable curiosity for a reason. It would be wasteful not to use our God-given potential to take advantage of the cards we were dealt,” he says.

What do I Think of this? Well, I know it’s controversial. If You were in Darcy’s shoes, would You do whatever it takes to save the world no matter the risks?

10) If You when you first started writing met You now, what would younger you think?

I started writing when I was five or six!

I’m not sure what Younger me would think, probably that I’m saying big words and that I’m making no sense at all whatsoever. Perhaps Younger me would show Present me the cool stories I wrote and characters I made up on the spot, and Present me would take notes. Little does Younger me know that I actually have some of my old work saved from all those years ago!

Perhaps Younger me would think that I am So experienced and learned and must have written 10 books by now, but Alas. Maybe someday, Younger me.

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Tagging @writeouswriter for Crater City content!

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Blank questions below!

1) What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you've ever had?

2) Is there a question you've been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

3) What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

4) What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

5) What is the best piece of advice you've ever read or been given as a writer?

6) What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

7) What is your favorite story you've written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you'd like and can!

8) What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

9) Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

10) If You when you first started writing met You now, what would younger you think?

[trashlie]

FP 202

There’s just a couple last thoughts I’d like to spit out before we move to 203, if I can, and this one in particular is something I didn’t get a chance to get to in my last post, one that I think both embodies the overall theme of ILY and I think hints at things to come yet. 

“Everyone’s got their own struggles. No matter how good you may think they have it. Remember that.” 

Shimhan’s words to Shinae in the hospital are significant because they demonstrate one of, if not the core, message that ILY has been telling us from the start. Even though it looks like some people may appear to have the good lives, are afforded better opportunities than you, even if on the outside everything appears to be well and good, more often than not this is not true. We all have struggles we must deal with, we all have personal burdens that we may not show to others. 

In the case of ILY, some of these are obvious. Shinae and Shimhan’s struggles are very overt and open - but as the timeline progresses, Shimhan attempts to keep it all together and pretend that his struggles are not nearly as bad as they really are. To us as readers, but not immediately to Shinae or even his friends, Nol’s struggles are apparent. Though he does a good job of keeping up a facade and hiding it all away, no one really knew just what goes on under the surface, what all he has endured and suffered through. 

But moreso, we see it true for all of the characters. Kousuke is a shining example: he has a good job, makes good money, he appears to be the favored son (or at least he certainly is by Yui), he is considered a gentleman and a most eligible bachelor. But Kousuke certainly has his own struggles, though he’s not opened himself up to them and Hansuke is one of the only characters to really key in on it. Kousuke has dealt with a lot of emotional neglect that has absolutely impacted his ability to deal with people and read and understand emotions - including his own. He has a nasty habit of repressing things and trying to compartmentalize things, attempting to apply logic to very illogical matters. The kind of neglect he suffered as a child manipulated the man he’s grown up to become, and he’s been so blinded by his quest for Rand’s favor that he’s unable to see what it’s done to him. Kousuke’s troubles are compartmentalized, shoved away in neat little boxes where he can continue to try to ignore them, but that doesn’t mean he lacks them.

Alyssa, too, lives up to this example, and Shinae actually touches on this. I think it’s something we may see more of, whether or not it’s through introspective Shinae in this flashback, or older and maybe just a little wiser current Shinae. To Shinae, Alyssa had everything she wanted: an intact family with a doting mother who spoils hers, a room full of books and portraits and expensive make up and sheet music and instruments, parents who are so involved in her life they border on suffocating, so many educational opportunities, skills Shinae can only dream of. It’s easy to look at the affluent and go “What can possibly suck about your life?” when they have all the things that could make your life easier. For Shinae, who fees lonely and maybe even neglected by how very busy her father is, the idea of parents who are so involved and so-ever present doesn’t seem like a bad thing, but to be the person who is smothered by a family that leaves you no real chances to try things out for yourself, it’s not a dream. In fact, there’s probably an argument to be made that because they seemed to be so involved in her life and she lacked connections with kids her age, this is largely a reason she isn’t good at interpersonal relationships and cannot deal with confrontation or disappointing people. It was probably born of a fear of disappointing her parents (especially when they make such efforts to meet her interests, which then can lead her to feeling guilty if she doesn’t follow through) that grew and expanded until it became what it has. 

But more than that, I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Alyssa and the struggles she’s dealing with. The potential of sexuality especially comes into question here, because what a struggle that is to hide and bury deep down, right? But we also have seen enough hints to know that her home life is not as idyllic as it looks and I am willing to bet that, much like Kousuke, the manner of Alyssa’s upbringing has absolutely affected the way she developed emotionally. Though Alyssa is a clever and intelligent girl, it’s kind of like book smarts vs street smarts. She lacks the experience and understanding to know how to deal with interpersonal relationships and very complex feelings, especially laced with deep-set fears. I think something worth remembering about Alyssa is that the kind of fear she feels isn’t just something casual you can brush off. In the same way that Shinae struggled to open up to people because of the number of times she’s been burned and how hard it was to let her trust and rely on others, I think Alyssa’s fears are also deeply ingrained and are something she needs to work heavily through to deal with. I don’t say this to dismiss her actions and behaviors, but just to reinforce that she is merely a product of her environment, and to reiterate that I think this will be a running theme with Alyssa through the story, when we finally learn more about her. Especially now that Alyssa is entering adulthood and has an idol career, I think we will find a lot more about the struggles she’s dealing with, even though to Shinae, it looks like she has everything and that her life is as neat and tidy as Shinae wishes hers was. 

Rand, too, is nothing but struggles. Beyond the obvious Yui vs Rand, we’ve definitely seen it alluded to that Rand has lost a lot of things in life - and many of them seemingly by his own hand. It feels very hinted at that Rand was in love with Nol’s mom, and that his relationship with Yui is much like a prison. We’ve seen moments of him attempting to parent Kousuke, only to be shadowed by Yui who undermined him at every opportunity. I think it was probably Rand’s intention to try to keep Nol safe, but the ways he attempted it were so abhorrently bad he did worse damage than had he maybe sent Nol away. I think in time we’ll find deeper struggles confirmed - that perhaps Rand wanted to be a better parent but it put Nol in danger or something. 

And Yui, too, surely has her own struggles. My personal theory remains that love and romance were never really something Yui wanted. I think she ultimately wants to be powerful and in a society that favors men probably disdains the situation she’s in. I still believe at this time that marriage to Rand was meant to provide her the means to be the shadow ruler she really wants to be - the person who is actually in charge, but unable to be in title and name, and because of this she’s taken it out on others. I imagine, too, if we ever learn more about her own upbringing, we will learn of plenty of struggles. 

It’s such a simple line, but I think it tells us a lot about how we are supposed to interpret the events of ILY - that nothing has ever been simply what it was at face value to us, that there is always another side of the story. Our own personal struggles and journeys affect our interactions, and we will continue to see that play out in ILY. No matter how good someone’s situation seems, never forget everyone has their own struggles, everyone is saddled with their own burdens, and though it may not excuse their behavior, it will at least explain it. 

[bcofl0ve]

I’m just a lurker on twitter, so I don’t have an account to respond to people, so I’m responding here. Sorry you get to hear my frustration. This is not directed at you. Austin has gotten praise after praise, after HES A MOVIE STAR! Etc. for Bikeriders. The ones that had one tiny critical thing to say had to do with they wished he got to say more lines. Which isn’t a criticism of HIM. They wanted more of him not less which is a compliment. And yet I keep seeing Austin fans online making statements about how Austin is getting bad reviews from critics and going after them, and saying not much about all the praise he’s getting? Isn’t that just spreading more negativity about him. Austin’s fans who are always worried about him and baby him are his worst enemy. Maybe spread all the positive reviews around more, and stop adding to the negative which isn’t even really happening! They’ve turned slight criticism of the screenplay really into a full on attack on Austin. Then that makes other people think not in the fandom that Austin got bad reviews which isn’t true! I just wish there was more positivity for him. I’ve seen other fandoms where they are always lifting up the person that is there fave. I just wish Austin got the same treatment since he’s the most positive celebrity I’ve ever encountered. I’m sorry for the essay.

good morning! there are parts of this i agree and disagree with (at least in terms of my own timeline i’m seemly mostly people being positive- but granted i simply might not be seeing the bulk of the tweets you’re talking about. i follow 1k+ ppl from various fandoms so things do get lost sometimes!) but by and large i get what you’re saying.

esp bc like you said- even the more negative reviews aren’t actually saying much of anything bad about austin or his performance as an actor, their gripe is with the writing he was given. which might be fair or might not be, i haven’t seen the film so i can’t be the judge of that yet.

and i know it’s SO easy to fall into that hole of lashing out over negative reviews. i have been in fandoms for various music artists and actors for 10+ years. i have been the person lashing out! but i so agree with you that the framing of anything less than stellar as an attack is, for lack of a better word, irksome. not every movie is going to be for everyone! i’m not really a sci fi person at all so while i will be seeing dune for austin i probably won’t personally love it! and that’s okay! it doesn’t mean i don’t think austin is a great actor (he’ll likely be the only part of it i do like LOL). it just means it wasn’t the movie for me. movies are an art form and film critics are important even if they make you scratch your head sometimes. i wish i had their job!

i hesitate to say ‘focus on the positive ‘ when i think i’d sound like a hypocrite since i too have been discussing the less than stellar reviews. but hey, maybe my trying to frame them in in a non-panicky lens is a good thing? like, i’m not letting them freak me out and y’all shouldn’t either!

[chiveburger]

[I'm sorry about that long-ass ask, but I saw your post and I'm bored and my adhd's kicking in and my brain has thoughts apparently. You're welcome to throw this in the trash ! (i didn't even proofread, so yeah i'm sorry)]

What you said about jixing in as beautiful as you is interesting because unlike you, I totally get where the boyfriend is coming from.

First, in their relationship, she almost exclusively the taker, rarely the giver (no physical affection except for a hug here and there, no acts of service, no quality time -she tried, but something more important came up, or it was with friends-, no words of affirmation, almost no communication -I think in the beginning, he's always the one calling her-...). To me, that felt really unbalanced.

That unbalance makes it easy to see their relationship from his point of view : he loves her so much that he proposes, but at the same time (I'm assuming here that the timeline of the first 8 episodes stretches over ~7-10 months. It's never explicited, but jixing said she would have enough money for a few months at the beginning of the startup and it makes the "struggling to find investors" storyline more realistic), he comes to realize that she doesn't seem to 1) love him as much as he loves her, 2) prioritize other things like her business and 3) most importantly, doesn't want the future he wants.

I think he made a very mature decision : he saw that their paths were diverging, and chose to be true to what he wanted (a chill family life) and what she wanted (a thriving business) and let their relationship go.

The """flaw""", if there is one, lies with jixing here I think :

She prioritizes work and knows that she is doing it, but she doesn't realize the impact it has on her relationship because she never really checks (saying "wait for me" and nothing else, no conversations, no "how's your life going?"..., feels dismissive. Imagine if the genders were reversed : we would feel bad for the girl and tell her to leave him because her partner doesn't care about her)

It's not even really "work" that she prioritizes : it's her dream of "helping people" through technology, science, and medicine - her dream isn't a house with him, not really, not anymore. She's not trying to make money, she's not trying to buy a house, she wants to make robots and code stuff and create something. Perfectly valid, but she prioritizes her own dream over their shared dream and that's why he breaks up. I think by the time they break up, she has not herself noticed that her own priorities have shifted : if she had been more introspective, she would have realized it and the breakup would have been mutual. Sad, but mutual.

I do believe she loves him, in her way. Her way is not enough for him and that's OK (again, lack of care, of time, of everything he emotionally needs in a partner), but, again, she does not realize this because she doesn't communicate (not because of lack of skills, but because she does not realize communication is needed : she is so deeply set in her couple routine -i love him, he loves me, everything's a-ok, that she can't fathom the idea that anything might be wrong in their couple). On this, he also doesn't communicate much, but he's a bit better at it and I'll give him a pass because he's already making choices around ep 5-6, even though he proposes (if anything, that's what he did wrong because he already had doubts by then, but it felt, on his part, like a last-ditch grand gesture which came crashing down the moment she said "maybe" instead of "yes").

In conclusion, they don't want the same things in life (a perfectly normal thing that happens to a lot of couples), but she never realizes it, because she never seems to think about her relationship, where it's going, how it's doing, what her boyfriend is feeling... To me as the viewer, she just doesn't seem to care and I believe that's where we get her main character flaw : lack of introspection.

Jixing is a woman that "goes with the flow", mostly. But, professionally and personally, she needs a push to actually do things : 1) when she was unsure of her professional future (valid, same), she relied on han ting's advice most of all to make a choice and didn't choose "alone" (that fine, but in context, i think it supports my point : making such a choice required introspection and she was having trouble with it) 2) when her boyfriend proposed, she was blindsided, even though their relationship was smooth-sailing. It's explained away because her financial situation isn't stable, but if she had done more thinking about her situation, it wouldn't have seemed so crazy that her boyfriend would try to stabilize that same situation by marrying her and giving her a security net. 3) i hate to say it, but I would have been out looking for a job the minute i heard my boss had lied and had no intention of promoting me -it took sexual assault and days (weeks?) of subsequent workplace harassment to make her quit (fuck corporate workplace culture). Resilience is usually a character strength, but damn. She was the personification of sunk cost fallacy for a few episodes there, and that stems also from her lack of introspection : unless she is forced to by exterior circumstances (han ting, heaven bless his people skills, even though he tried to use them for selfish reasons, the breakup, the sexual assault), she wont think about what she needs and what she wants.

((Her lack of introspection (in addition to her somewhat undue confidence in her skills as boss of her own startup at the beginning) is the most interesting thing about her - I think, anyway.))

Anyway, the difference between jixing and her boyfriend is that the boyfriend thinks about their relationship (we see him do so several times), but that she never does. And the boyfriend chooses to break up because he sees all the things that she doesn't (because he's looking and she's not) and realizes that, if they stay together, one of them will always be miserable, no matter how much they love each other. It doesn't matter how much he loves her : she's not looking forward to the life he dreams of, and he doesn't want the life she's running towards.

I think breaking up was the most mature and considerate and loving thing he could have done.

On episode 9 : the fact that she went up to his flat with the contract and the money only just made him more convinced he made the right choice - Seven Tan did the delusional and desperate smile so well it was glorious and tragic I love her so much.

Also, the fact that the first thing she did was look for signs of infidelity instead of asking questions is so fucked up. But also the last sign we're getting that they are very much NOT on the same page in their relationship.

I hope this character flaw (her lack of introspection, especially when it comes to relationships) is going to be a plot point in the future and in her next relationship because, apart from her mix of confidence, resilience and naivete, that's the most interesting thing about her. I trust 7Tan to play it, but I never trust the writers.

[again, sorry for the wall of text, I got bored... This is not a rebuttal or me starting an argument or anything, I swear ! I just had thoughts. Also, I said "the boyfriend" the whole way through because I don't remember his name and I can't be bothered to check

Anyway, I hope you have a brilliant morning / day / lunch / evening / night]

omg don't be sorry, but I also didn't think anybody would read my analysis of the show because nobody ever watches the same chinese dramas as me at the same time 🫠 I'll be honest I agree with you like I do think yichen was mature enough to step away from a relationship where he wasn't being fulfilled. part of me feels like it's a shame though because it was a four year long relationship who's end goal was marriage and a life together. on jixing's part she's been very oblivious to the problems and their mutual needs, but if I were yichen I don't think I would've been able to make that decision, which is probably why I can't justify it myself.

I'm not mad at yichen because he is a great boyfriend but there was definitely some errors in communication on both sides... as naive as jixing often is I certainly don't think she's stubborn and incapable of compromise. I feel like yichen doesn't want jixing to change or rather he doesn't want her to give up her dreams to settle for him especially if he sees that their goals are changing. he loves her enough to not want her to sacrifice anything for him and it's this altruistic quality of his that ultimately creates this safety net for jixing to be less aware of the cracks in their relationship. when they break up he says "I can't always be there just when you need me, and a background character when you don't" but he's also created this role for himself because he never voices out when he's hurt or when he needs her.

jixing is definitely not blameless and you're right that she is so comfortable in this state and in the know that her boyfriend loves her, wants to marry her, that she forgets that relationships requires effort. her immediately jumping to the conclusion of of him cheating on her I thought that was actually pretty sound on her end though. I don't think it was because she REALLY thought he had someone else, but it was because she was in such denial and shock that he would break up with her one random morning with no warning signs. none that she noticed at least.

ultimately, I think by the end of their discussion they both realize that their break up was the best decision for them, and jixing accepts it. as much as it is sad to see two people who still very much love each other break up, it's refreshing to see the maturity that is coming out of it (though I think something happens between yichen and jixing's friend 👀) anyways! I'm glad we're mutually watching this show because I looooooove songyun and I've waited for this drama for so long. I'm happy we can talk about it!

[five-rivers]

Part the first, also for Dannymay.

Danny floated behind Clockwork, slowly rotating with the line being traced across the screen.  The pale green background had been scribbled over with ringlets, loops, and criss-crossing lines.  It reminded him a little of a spirograph or the particle collision event images he’d seen from CERN once or twice.  

Clockwork had called him here and then had just… watched.  

“So,” said Danny, burning with curiosity but trying to be at least a little patient.  “What is it?”

“A timeline,” said Clockwork.  

Danny turned over once again.  “Not mine, I hope.”  He time traveled a lot, but this looked, for lack of a better word, knotted.  And it was moving.  Unlike him.  Except, maybe, he was moving– moving forward, that is– but he was in Long Now, and…  Yeah.  He hoped it wasn’t his.  

“It is not.  Although–” Clockwork looked over his shoulder, so his profile stood out starkly against the bright screen, visible eye glinting bright with amusement, “--yours is similarly complex.”

Danny hunched his shoulders.  “I don’t mean to make it like that.”

“Ah, so all the times you’ve asked me to turn back time or stop it were mistakes, hm?”

“But that was you doing it,” said Danny.  “You know what you’re doing.”

“That is true,” Clockwork agreed, looking back.  “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“Yep,” said Danny.  He stopped spinning, feeling dizzy, and floated closer to hover above Clockwork’s shoulder.  “What are you going to do about it?”

Clockwork grinned.  Danny swallowed.  He’d seen that grin before.  It was the grin of a prankster about to set up a good one.  

“Clockwork?  What are you going to do about it?  You are going to do something about it, right?”

“Yes,” said Clockwork.  “I’m going to send you.”

Danny blinked, looked up at the spiraling line, then back at Clockwork.  “Me?” he asked, pointing at himself, as though he wasn’t the only other person in Long Now, not counting Dan and other dangerous paradoxes.  

“Yes.  You do need to practice certain things, after all.  And you owe me a favor or two.”

“Or ten thousand,” admitted Danny, with a slump of his shoulders. “But, ughh, can’t you just grab this guy and send him back to wherever he’s supposed to be?”

“I could,” said Clockwork.  “But that’s been tried before.  Unfortunately, a select few of his friends do not seem to realize that what has happened once can happen again, among other things.”  He rolled his eyes.  “Moving faster than the speed of light is all very well and good, but it does have a tendency to interact poorly with causality, even when mediated by a higher power.”

“Uh,” said Danny, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you haven’t met the Quick yet.  You will eventually.”  He turned and patted Danny on the shoulder.  “You’ll do alright.  Here.”  He strung one of his medallions around Danny’s neck.  “This one has a temporal compass.  Follow it.  You can return like you usually do.”

“You can’t just dump me on top of him?” asked Danny, examining the faintly glowing back of the medallion.  

“I could, but that wouldn’t solve any of the other issues at hand.  Every loop here represents dozens of microparadoxes thrown into the immediate environment.  Footprints in time.  You will need to wipe away at least some of them.”

“What if I find this guy and there’re still paradoxes?”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Clockwork.  The screen dissolved into static, then resolved into a small woodland area.  

Danny made a face at him, then flew through the screen to the time it showed.  

.

Bruce did not know how he had gotten here, where he was, or when he was.  Somewhere preagricultural was the best he could do.  Which was… vexing, to say the least.  Unacceptable.  He’d thought that he was prepared enough for unexpected and spontaneous time travel, after the last incident, but he’d been incorrect.  He’d have to update everything to be more… more.  

He slapped a mosquito reflexively, then frowned deeply.  Time, in his own limited experience, seemed to be remarkably resilient, and stable time loops were as common as unstable loops, but he was starting to worry about cumulative effects.  The Veldt might have been his favorite story as a child, but he’d read the other works of Ray Bradbury, including A Sound of Thunder.  He did not want to hear that sound, figuratively or otherwise.  

But letting the mosquitos bite him seemed as unwise as killing them.  He likely had diseases the people of this time period had no defenses against, and he refused to chance them escaping into the general population unless he absolutely had to.

That, at least, was something he could do.  

Something crashed through the bushes.  “YOU!” shouted a young voice, in English, as the bushes disgorged a small, floating figure.  “I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU!  I HA– Oh my gosh, you’re Batman.”

Batman had not been expecting English in this place and time.  He reached back for his batarangs.  A flying foe needed ranged weapons, but… this one was young.  Very young.  It could be a ruse, but with the way the boy held himself, hands on his hips, head tilted back just so, face rapidly paling, Batman doubted he was very much older than he looked.  

“Did you bring me here?” asked Batman.  Young did not mean harmless, as his children were always proving.  Constantly.  Mostly with respect to his nerves and sanity, but also with respect to criminals several times older and larger than they were.  

“No,” said the boy, nervously.  “I’m just here to pick you up.  I–”  The boy seemed to make up his mind about something.  “I’m really sorry about this, but I can’t have a conversation with you, so–”  The boy darted forward and through Batman’s outstretched defensive arm, grabbing his shoulder before taking off a large medallion Batman had only just noticed.  

Static consumed his vision, and the next thing he knew he was in Star City, lying flat on his back, in the exact same place - in the exact same rubble - he’d been in before his twelve and a half hour journey to the past.  

Actually, he was even in the same battle.  

No rest for the wicked, he supposed.

But even as he rejoined the battle, he made a note to himself, pressing every detail of the encounter into his memory.  His life being what it was like, what he had made it, he doubted this was a one-time event.  When he got back to Gotham, there would be a brand new file in the batcomputer. 

Dp x dc crossover

Danny’s got dozens of favors to cw to pay back so when the bats get stuck in time shenanigans cw gets Danny to pull them out and fix it for him to pay back the debts

Danny’s annoyed and wondering how one family who don’t even have superpowers can get into so much time shit (it’s the flash family’s fault)

Batfam are confused abt who this time traveling/fixing kid is and why he owes so many favors to a mysterious powerful figure

Cw is laughing bc he knows no matter how this pans out it’ll be deeply entertaining in a non apocalyptic way

[dentos-wife]

That's the last anon about the canon stuff here! What I meant is that making a pairing canon with two characters being siblings while allowing the players to make others allowing the players to make marry said characters sounds like a cursed idea. For example if they made Chrobin canon than Morgan and lucina would be canonically sibilings but in normal circumstances Morgan and Lucina can get married so imagine if they let this option available provided that you make another father fro Morgan while knowing who is canon dad is !!

and the multiverse thing was used to explain time travel in Awakening. You know ? alternate timeline and stuff. Like in the drama Cd they explained it's why the future Ylisse would still remain destroyed and why the future units are still orphans no matter what. For example, in Hiddent Truths, the Trio first begged Anankos if he could revive their parents and Emblem Lucina speaks her father as dead. This confirms the fact that Awakening relies on several branches.

Ooooh I get you I get you. Yeah see that option is why I personally think nothing will ever be canon just inferred like they've been doing. That said while Chrobin is pretty pushed, if someone would rather ship Lucina and Morgna people shouldn't get mad, because in that person's canon obviously they aren't sibilings. Or maybe they are, and they want to ship them anyway, that's odd to me but I have no right to judge someone's fictional preferences

And yeah the future line stays the same no matter what I think the new line is just an off shoot? Kind of like how Madoks Magica does it? Instead of Lucina trying millions of times it was once but I think all these lines is the best way to describe it. Also the ruined future Naga sent Chrom and Robin to to interfere wasn't even the og place Lucina came from it was another one so there's probably a bunch of lines out there. And only those two, our plot, and the one that Naga interfered in are the ones Grima failed in. I dunno man time travel and lines and all this stuff is honestly too much for FE to handle I'm stunned we never got an Awakening anime or manga to really go into things, Fates got that Leo manga that really helped explain a lot about Rev for example.

I also think it's a strong possibility because we know Robin wasn't the same person in the OG timeline he wasn't as close with Chrom and thus there was not as strong as a bond and Lucina has a different parent in the og line then the new line, heck the kids could even all have different parents (they don't but it's always a possibly the butterly effect and all that) Grima did say touching Robin knocked his memories out and it was amnesic Robin who was the one to for lack of a better term be Chrobin'd. What's Robin's true personality? Who knows, but my belief is Grima *is* Robin's original personality and Robin is amnesic Grima. So in other words the reason the new line didn't turn out like the first was Robin was just a nicer person. I have nothing to back this up and this is all headcanons but like...we also have nothing from the og line so people can make up stuff as they go lol

[e-vasong]

I’ve already talked about a Leverage crossover where the Hargreeves are conmen but I'm. losing it thinking about. a Leverage AU where the Leverage team sees these kids on tv, and they just go.  oh shit, that’s just fucking wrong.  (I know the timelines don’t match up but let’s pretend the umbrella kids were born a little later, or that Leverage takes place a little earlier, or something like that.  I don’t know.)

But these fucking umbrella kids show up on TV, and at first none of them are paying much attention. Not right away.  They’re busy running cons, and none of them except Hardison watch TV for fun very often.

So they’ve all heard bits and pieces about this Umbrella thing, and aren’t quite sure what to make of it.  Superhumans, huh? Eliot mutters at one point. Whatever. Our lives are already so goddamn weird.

But eventually they catch a broadcast while they’re home in between cases.  it’s playing in the background while they’re enjoying a meal together at the brewery.

The Umbrella Academy saves the day yet again! the broadcaster declares cheerily. We go now to a statement at the Louvre from their leader, Sir Reginald Hargreeves.

It’s just novel enough to catch their attention--being who they are, they all perk up at the word Louvre--and it gets them half-watching as they chat over breakfast.

It’s Parker that sees it first.  She’s Parker, so what catches her attention is actually not the fact that one of them is covered in blood, nor is it the fact that their father is calling them by numbers instead of names.  It’s the way that they stand, tense and upright.  It’s the way that the one covered in blood is trembling minutely, so fine that it’s almost imperceptible. But she notices. And she notices the way that the one to the bloodied boy’s left--the fifth one in line--leans over ever-so-subtly when their father is looking away. Whispers something with the barest movement of his lips. And then, after a moment of hesitation, he links hands with his shaking brother, twining their fingers together.  Parker knows that whisper, knows what this is. She used to do that with her brother.  Used to hold Nick’s hand, just like that, when their fosters were scaring him, trying to provide comfort even despite the fear of being caught.

It’s not long before the others follow her gaze. She’s stopped engaging in the conversation entirely, is just staring at the television with a death glare, nose wrinkled.

“Parker, baby,” Hardison says.  “That’s your angry face.”

“I’m angry,” she says, and doesn’t elaborate.

“Got it,” Hardison takes it in stride, as he always does.

Eliot’s frowning at the TV.  Unlike Parker, his eye does jump to the most obvious thing first.  To the boy, no older than eleven or twelve probably, drenched head to toe with blood.  There’s no rips in his clothing; Eliot’s pretty sure the blood isn’t his. He’s standing up straight, but his shoulders are slightly hunched.  Like he’s injured.  Broken ribs, maybe?  And he’s been taught to hide them too. He’s also not the only one with that too-stiff posture. These kids aren’t standing up straight. They’re standing at attention.  Number One, their father calls one of them, and what are those? Fucking callsigns?  

Sophie and Nate are watching too.  Their faces are carefully blank.  They aren’t happy, Parker’s pretty sure, but they’re trying not to react.

“What the hell?” Hardison says slowly.  He’s the last one to catch on, though only by a very narrow margin.  He lacks Sophie and Nate’s cynicism, and the years of personal experience Parker and Eliot have, but he’s still too smart to not figure it out almost immediately.  And he is first one to abandon the stunned stillness that’s fallen over the rest of them, pulling his laptop out of his bag, already quickly tapping away at the keys.

“This ain’t right,” Eliot says, voice a growl in his chest.  “This is--this is--it’s televised child abuse.”

Sophie makes a quiet noise of agreement then. “It is,” she says, quietly disgusted. “Those poor children.”

Nate is still staring at the screen, lips pressed flat.

“This Reginald guy looks rich,” Parker says.  Then: “Can we kill him?”

Eliot chokes on his drink.

“How is this even legal?” Sophie asks.  She sounds curious, though not particularly surprised by the grievous violation of child protection laws before her. “It’s so...blatant.”

“Sir Reginald Hargreeves,” Hardison says, no longer typing.  “He is--oh shit.” And the typing resumes, faster and a little more panicked than before.

“Hardison?” Nate prods after a moment, giving Hardison a sidelong glance.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s all good,” Hardison says.  “The INTERPOL files on this guy are locked up tight though.  Almost tripped their security system there.  I didn’t, of course, but--”

“You couldn’t get in?” Eliot says, smirking.

“Yet,” Hardison says.  “Dammit, man, it’s been less than five minutes.  Give me a couple hours and that thing is mincemeat.  Metaphorically speaking, of course.  But I do see what’s going on here and,” he clicks his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment.  “Y’all, this is hinky.”

“Yes, I think we got that,” Nate says.  The corner of his lip twitches up.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hardison says.  “This guy has got friends everywhere.  No one knows how he got the kids, but it looks like he technically bought them--”

“He what?” Sophie sounds like she’s been suckerpunched.  Parker can’t think of the last time she heard Sophie sound so shocked.

“Oh yeah.  You think that’s bad?  The numbers aren’t code names  The numbers are their name names.  Like, legally.  I just found an article that said he ordered them by how useful he thinks they are, but judging by the adoption papers it was actually in the order he, uh,” Hardison coughs, “acquired them.”

Eliot is swaying where he stands.  “Common tactic.  He’s pitting them against one another so they’ll be easier to control.  It undermines the self worth of the ones lower on the scale and makes the ones that are higher up feel obligated to do what he wants.  Son of a bitch.”

“...And it looks like he leveraged their powers as excuse to gain exemptions from child protection laws,” Hardison continues like he hasn’t been interrupted.  “Claimed their abilities meant they don’t need the same safeguards.”

“That’s bullshit!” Eliot sounds thunderous.

“I know, buddy,” Hardison reaches over blindly, waving his hand around vaguely until he finds Eliot’s shoulder.  He gives it a comforting squeeze.  “I didn’t write it.”

Eliot heaves in a shuddering breath.  “That’s just--”

“Evil,” Sophie finishes.  

“I’m inclined to agree,” Nate says.  He’s not watching the TV anymore.  He’s staring off into the middle distance, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh!” Parker perks up.  All the grief and distress that had been brewing on her face vanishes like storm clouds parting for the sun.  “Nate! Nate, are you scheming?  You look like you’re scheming.”

Nate makes a noncommittal grunt.  “It would be dangerous.”

“They’re in danger,” Sophie says softly, jerking her head in the television’s direction.

Eliot’s long-since gotten to his feet.  He’s pacing, and that’s how Parker knows he’s furious.  When Eliot is too angry to stand it, he has to move, has to find some way to handle the rage roiling under his skin.  Usually he cooks, chopping vegetables with furious aplomb.  And when he can’t cook, he paces.  

“They’re fucking child soldiers,” he says.  “I can’t--” he cuts himself off with a furious shake of the head.  I can’t believe, he was about to say, Parker thinks, but he had to stop because that’s not true.  Eliot knows better than anyone what the government--what the world does to people they find useful, whether its skill or power that makes them so.

“Y’all are behind,” Hardison says in sing-song.  “I’m already trying to burn this motherfucker down.”

“Hardison, do not tip our hand,” Nate says, snapping into his leader-voice automatically.  Parker grins.  He’s already got a plan, then.  She knew all that reluctance was just for show.  Sophie laughs, as clear and bright as the ringing of a bell, and even Eliot perks up.  

Hardison grumbles, closing his laptop and stuffing it back in his messenger bag.  

Nate is grinning a little too, though it’s that angry smile he gets sometimes when Parker knows he’s thinking about hurting bad people.  She understands.  She's wearing hers too right now.  Nate glances them all over, and for all the malice dripping off the knife’s edge of that smile, his eyes are soft.  Maybe even a little proud.

“Fine. Fine. You guys win,” Nate says, lifting his hands in defeat.  He’s putting on a show of being beleaguered, but Parker can hear the sparking anger in his voice, and oh, how could she have forgotten?  Sophie is so gently righteous, Hardison so achingly distressed, and Eliot so full of fire and fury that she almost didn’t notice Nate’s seething wrath, nearly forgot that Nate looks at every injured child in need of help and thinks of Sam.  “Everyone, get your things.  Hardison, get us some plane tickets.  Let’s go steal some children.”

“Okay, okay.  I ain’t complaining cause, like, fuck that guy,” Hardison says, slinging his bag over his shoulder.  “But stealing children?  Could you have made us sound anymore like kidnappers?”

“Hardison!”

“I’m just saying.”

[witch-hazels-musings]

Okay okay, I’m super excited and nervous bc i’ve never requested anything but: can I request some headcanons of Dainsleif, Scaramouche and Tartaglia falling in love with a god? I’m the anon from that ask 😅

archons of my heart

this might have been the most different set of short little stories i’ve ever written - each character responds so differently to this scenario! (note: based on what we know about these characters, I stuck true to their values* - it might not be what you were intending, and I keep things true to their character) <3 

Warning -> angst (Dain), fluff (Childe), genera/fluff?(Scara - mention of long hair)

Character X GN Reader | Anthology 

Includes: Dainsleif, Scaramouche, Childe

Dain

Devastated, conflicted - these words have never resonated more in his mind than the day he found out about who you were, what you were 

What does he do … he dislikes, no hates the archons and yet … you were one of them - you’d always been one of them and the whole time you hid this fact from him knowing full well the feelings he had for them 

He couldn’t really hear as you desperately tried to explain to him why, he only heard the shattering of his heart as your face turned into something he no longer recognized 

He stood there, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides, eyes tracking your movement as you paced back and forth in front of him, your feet wearing down the grass with each passover. 

“I know you’ll never forgive them for what happened …” You begin, your voice somehow distorted now that he saw you for what you really were. He didn’t have words to respond, he felt out of his body. An observer rather than a participant, how he wished that were the case. 

You stepped closer to him, hands reaching for his arm - the arm that had been tainted for so long - and without noticing he recoiled from your outreach. It was the first time he had ever deliberately refused your touch and, although he understood the pain it caused you, it was clear from the reaction of your face, he couldn’t bear your hands on him. Not now, not when the whole world was crumbling down around him. 

You stood there, just the way you always did, incredible, perfect, beautiful and reverent in a way no-one ever looked before - he loved you, he thought he loved you 

You were so different than those gods that destroyed everything he ever knew, everything he ever cared for, fought for 

If only you hadn’t tried to save him then maybe he could have gone on living in the delusion of this relationship .. though, it was only a matter of time before he found out anyway - one day he’d notice how you never aged ... it was inevitable 

To love you, to love you so deeply and intensely; to love you after keeping his heart sealed up for so long, to love you with the passion that burns like the stars in the sky only to know this truth - he felt that light burn out in a painful flash 

An eye for an eye - he will maintain his beliefs  

“Dainsl…” 

“Do not …” His voice caught in his throat, it was the first time you’d heard him be taken over by his emotions, “ … do not speak my name.” 

“Please, I love you.” Your hands pressed against your chest, body bent forward as if to beg him, plead with him to reconsider. 

“I owe you nothing but the repayment of the life that you saved. I shall spare yours to conclude my debt.” For one final time he gazed upon your face, burning into memory the cheeks that he once touched, the eyes that held his breath, the lips that lingered against his skin and were capable of transforming into the most incredible smile. He looked, he lingered, he tried so hard to will the power in him that would whisk him as far from you as he could go but each time he tried he stalled, like a stubborn fool he hesitated. 

Your wet cheeks moved as you studied at him with a hopeful, supplicating smile, your head shook and your lips parted as if to call out to him and the power he lacked to leave you filled him suddenly. Like a flash of lightning in a storm he disappeared from your eyes. 

Citizens will often recall the days when it rained with an intensity of a woeful god, and can’t help but notice the mysterious man who would leave the room every time your name was mentioned. 

Scara

Cool -- cool, cool, cool - you’re a divine being - bet

It’s very likely that Scara will be excited about this revelation - he already thinks so highly of himself that knowing that he has captured the affection of a god only swells his pride more than it already did

He’s so smug when you tell him, when you spill to him what you are - he doesn't believe it either and will make you demonstrate that power to him and if you look back at him after your display, you’ll see him with a devious grin 

Be careful, he may manipulate you to act as an extension of his wishes -- and if he has any vengeance to enact on the people who harmed him, you’ll have to be very strong in your convictions (though, you can do whatever you’d like honestly, you a god) 

“Again.” Scara commands, his arms crossed over his chest, head tilted up so he can look at you from his perch on the rock and a smile stretched so far across his face you wonder how his lips don’t steam in pain. 

“I’ve already shown you multiple times. Do you still not believe me?” You huff, resting your hands on your hips, adamant that you won’t comply with his request. 

“Okay okay, I’m convinced.” He shrugs, hoping off of his stoop and walking toward you. “So how long have you been a god?” 

“I don’t know, it’s hard to keep track of the years … though I’d say around 500.” 

“Interesting. Can you make me a god?” 

“No, I don’t have that authority.” 

“Disappointing, but oh well.” He stopped just before you, he was shorter than you so you looked down at him, thankful that he removed his hat otherwise you’d have a hard time seeing his face. He reached for a strand of your long hair, his fingers twirling around it before sliding down the silky strands and repeating the process. “So, why did you decide to tell me this secret of yours?” 

“I …” Why did you tell him? You knew what kind of person he was, you knew the actions that would follow - his greed and selfishness would motivate him to use this information for his own advantage. “Against my better judgement, I told you because I love you.” You cover your face with your hand, embarrassed by the confession. It’s the first time you’ve ever fallen in love with a human before, Scara was your first and that notion electrified your skin. 

“You love me?” You didn’t need to see him to catch the cocky attitude spilling from him. 

“I do …” You replied with a sigh. 

“Who would have thought that?” “Listen, if you’re going to make fun of me then I’ll just …” Your voice was cut off by Scara pulling you toward him and pressing his lips against your own. Your knees nearly gave way at the contact and you reached to his arms to stabilize yourself. His lips are thin and the power he uses, the pressure of the kiss tells you what kind of man he is. 

“This is excellent news, don’t think I’ll let you get away from me now.”  He hummed, his lips dancing over your own as he spoke, his breath warming your skin. Was this really the best human that could have stolen your heart? Well, you were sure it wouldn’t be borning. 

Childe

He’s likely indifferent to your real status - to find out that you’re an archon or a god - he’s almost unsurprised by the news  

You wonder if he didn’t already know that you weren’t human, you wouldn’t put it past him to have done some digging on you and after being alive for so long it was bound to be suspicious that you knew things that many people didn’t anymore -- it was also suspicious that Zhongli seemed to recognize you pretty quickly, his eyes shining as if he saw an old friend  

“You could have just told me.” Childe emphasized, crossing his arms and leaning against the large pole behind him. 

“I know … but, well I wasn’t really planning on sticking around.” 

“Oh, so you’re one of those.” 

“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant.” For being of reverence, you always found yourself stumbling over your words when talking to Childe. “Ugh, I meant that I didn’t think that … well that I’d fall in love with a human.” You picked at your clothes and shook your head. 

“If there was ever a human for you to fall head over heels for, I am the best candidate for that.” You looked at him, laughing at the way he pointed his thumbs at his chest and grinned from his own joke. 

“I don’t know … maybe I made a mistake?” You express, rubbing your chin with your hands.

“Hey now!” 

“I’m joking of course … so, you really aren’t … upset?” 

“Why would I be upset?” He asked, eyes furrowing and head tilting to the side. 

“I don’t know … my timeline is different from yours for one.”

“So. That doesn’t matter to me.” 

“There will be a day when you’ll be old and I won’t have aged a day.” 

“Don’t care.” You huff and take a few steps away from him. He didn’t seem to grasp what it meant to be in love with a god. This was the reason you rarely took human companions, the guilt in your heart at watching them age and the pain of losing them was all a strain on your heart. 

“Childe …” You begin again but as you turn to face him you notice he’s moved from his place and is now standing in front of you. 

“I don’t care who you are, what you are, or what you’ve done.” He takes your hand and brings it to his lips, his breath of humanity filling your very soul. “I love you, and I don’t take that feeling lightly.” 

“I don’t want you to regret choosing a partner who cannot live a normal human life.” 

“If I wanted a normal life, I wouldn’t be where I am to begin with. What I want is you, and I’m pretty good at getting what I want.” He smirked and kissed each knuckle on your hand. How was it that a man could bring down a god so easily? 

“Now, the real question …” Childe’s tone shifted, his body extended to his full height which made you tilt your head to look at him. “Do you still have your divine powers or whatever?” 

“Like …?” 

“Like, can you summon lightning or manipulate the earth with a snap of your fingers?” 

“Haha, oh, I still have my abilities, yes. There were times I had to fight, so I’ve adapted them for those purposes.”

“Excellent.” He grabbed your wrist and pulled you along after him. “Let’s fight, don't hold back.” 

“Childe! That’s dangerous.”

“Even better.” He gave you a quick wink before dragging you to a place where the two of you could engage in the battle of his dreams.

[thephantom394]

Today marks 12 years since the day my life changed completely. The setting in motion of so many stories thereafter.

Recently I saw a post from a woman I follow on Instagram, who has a daughter that suffered a traumatic brain injury several years ago. She talked about how the yearly anniversary of the date of the accident always catches her off guard. As she reminisced, she talked about the beauty she's found since, but also the crushing grief of what could have been. She said that she felt like the date was so isolating in a way, like the rest of the world turns as normal on that date but she has to fight through it alone. I commented and said I understand the feeling - I know I'm the only one who remembers September 18th, 2012. There's one other person who probably still remembers the circumstances and me within them, but has tried to forget it ever since. There is no meaning in the date to them.

It takes time to be reborn, So forgive and wait a little longer.

I still remember when I asked God if I would marry him, although I don't remember why I asked. It was a cold night - around New Year's - somewhere near the back of the old wooden lodge. But I do remember feeling like the answer was "yes." Of course, I didn't have nearly the reservations about supposed "whisperings" from God back then like I do now. I sometimes miss when it felt like God was so close to me, and I could recognize His voice amongst all the noise of my feelings and doubts and the opinions of others. I mean, that's why the events of the entire Colorado year transpired the way they did - because I was 100% convinced that God wanted me to pray and fight for him. Nobody could tell me otherwise. Any romantic feelings were complications that had to be looked past. But when I felt like God said "yes" in that moment, I was confused. Even more confused when I learned later on that he had his own "impression" from God that he was meant to find his future wife at camp. The revelation was mutual. So why did things end up the way they did? I left broken; he left with another girl who became his wife.

In the time since (especially since getting married myself), I've tried to explain this in a few ways. One, maybe we really were meant to be together and he decided to go against what the Lord wanted and pursue someone else. I wouldn't put it past him. He still got to feel like the prophecy (for lack of a better word) of him finding his spouse at camp came true, and he didn't have to put in the work to be a better person or make amends with me. Two, it's possible that we both genuinely heard from God, but for my part, the Lord meant I would end up marrying someone like him, or the circumstances would be similar. Which ended up being very true. Everything from the fighting to love, the hard background, the darkness at times...there are some similarities although the two men could not be more different in personality. Or, finally, there's also the possibility that one or both of us just heard what we wanted to hear and that God actually had nothing to do with it. Maybe God was silent the entire time and we filled in the blanks, trying to make sense of our complicated paths and justify the whims of fickle teenage hearts.

I might never know. In fact I'd say there's a pretty good chance I'll never know. But one thing I do know, I can't look at everything that's happened since that first September 18th and think it wasn't divinely orchestrated. I can't imagine another timeline where I would willingly choose to go to Boyce College over the other school I actually wanted to go to, end up staying in Louisville, and meeting the love of my life here. Everything happened in the earth-shattering way it did to get me where I needed to be. The burden of actually giving a damn about him was so heavy, because it was orchestrated to be heavy. I had to be so incredibly sure I knew what God wanted of me that year in order to spur me to do everything I did later.

I still want to make it back out to the mountain one day. Maybe on a September 18th. But for now, I'll just remember it and not let today pass me by.

Nine eighteen

This time last year

There wasn’t anything between us.

Your kiss was still holy,

And our love was lawless.

Don’t you remember 

Anything at all

From the night you and I

Began the downfall?

Your words were riding

The crest of the waters,

And even then I couldn’t hear

Between them, your falters.

Lion’s arms wrapped me up

In desperation and sorrow

But he forgot the strength of his claws

And down he fell with his halo.

Just once, will you go back with me

To the days spent out on the porch,

When we would laugh about our pasts

And make love instead of war?

The warrior was my hope,

The prophet was my messiah.

But the lover was also my blunder,

And the beloved became the pariah.

I can’t stand to think about you now

With a beer glass to your lips

When I can still remember

Your hands holding my hips.

Rescue isn’t going to come

By way of bitterness and anger

It takes time to be reborn,

So forgive and wait a little longer.

Someday the warrior will fall

And no one will be there to catch him

Except for the nail-scarred hands of the Father

And the gospel found therein.

[skepticalarrie]

Hi Allie, just want to get this off my chest. I think some people here should admit that Twarries exist is because of Tumblr Larries and it is true. From making up theories and outright telling people close to H and Louis that theyre xyz. If we're gonna be honest some tweets are just copy pasted from here and vice versa. It's quite fuck up tbh when some things are taken out of context and people then believed that said context rather than researching the full thing. Tumblr is literally the main source of Twarries, let's be real. For example: a blog here *claims* that Louis likes to get choked, then twarries spread that info that Louis confirmed that he likes to get choked BUT reading the whole context of the Zac Sang interview, he never stated that he *likes* to get choked. See how that works? Another example is this one blog who posted a certain magazine article of Louis (this was YEARS ago) stating he feels like a "mother/sister" and every twarrie and blouie uses that as proof that Louis is quote on quote " a woman like Harry " . Yes, I didn't post the blog's name cuz theyre "popular" here but that being said some statements are literally out of context and some blogs here should be careful on how they word their posts. Also, about the "debunk" issue that's been going around, I feel some people just don't accept the truth for their narrative to be correct. Like this thread is all facts but some people here tend to say it's fake. We have dozens of facts already, some shit is fake, tumblrinas should lower their superior complex and accept that fact. From said blog, doesnt like to accept it due to the "versatality" thing but we have to admit, those back scratches are fake/photoshopped and it's okay.

Anon, I don't like your tone and I don't like your opinion either if I'm being honest. First of all, if you have some sort of issue with a certain popular blog go talk to them or I don't know, or stop following them or whatever. You're going to find people you agree with more and people you agree with less and that's fine. I feel like you're being kind of a dick with this. I have no idea who you're talking about and I'm not particularly interested in this kind of drama on my blog.

As for the tumblr x twitter dynamics, I think all platforms feed from each other, twitter, tumblr, tiktok, instagram... and people will engage with whatever makes more sense to them. I'm on tumblr because I feel like this platform is superior for the kind of discussions and experiences I'd like to have about this. We have the ability to talk about facts, timelines, and context much better because we have archives and tags to check. It's that simple. Now, if people are taking something from my blog - what is supposed to be a "safe space" - and putting it out there with no context, it's their problem. I can't be responsible for someone else's interpretation of my words and what they're going to do with them. I can talk about whatever I want here and I trust people to have a drop of critical thinking to take away something reasonable from it. People need to think for themselves, for fucks sake! Maybe some people lack the ability of being truthful with themselves and others, and that's a shame. But it's not my problem, if they like running around like a headless chicken completely unaware and uninterested in what is really happening, I don't want anything to do with it and I don't want anyone bothering me about it.

I don't know what this "debunk" talk is about, I feel like I'm missing something, but I've ranted endlessly on my DEBUNKED OR NOT DEBUNKED tag. And the thing is, we're not talking about science here, we're talking about something that is incredibly subjective, it's someone's opinion/point of view on something. So what you can do is try to find the most reasonable explanation and with that try to figure out if something is real or not real... but people are going to believe whatever they want to believe. So like I said, I like interacting with people that are worried about making sense of things and finding the most truthful explanations, I don't want to believe any lies. But if someone is more interested in feeding something they already made their minds about and that makes them happy, I mean- that's fine. As long as they're not bothering HL in real life, or bothering me... nothing wrong with it. And I wish it was that simple lol But unfortunately it feels like they're not the ones responsible for the consequences when they do that. All the larries suffer from it. I get hateful messages because of something that is being said on twitter and that I don't even agree with. So I don't think people need to accept anything if they don't want to, but I think people need to take responsibility and most importantly I think people need to stay in their own lanes and stop bothering people on other sides of the fandom.

[southotheborder]

SIEMBRA

A Sequel to Narcos

Chapter 1: Limón y Sal

Title: Limón y Sal

Rating: 18+ (M)ature

Warnings: Some language in English and Spanish, mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 2235

Pairing: Javier x Female OC

Masterlist || Next Chapter

A/N: I’m so upset that we didn’t get more of Javi in a Season 4 of Narcos. So, I’ve decided to explore what Javi’s life would look like when he returns to Laredo. I try to stay true to the plot of all three seasons of Narcos. Note that there is no Y/N usage as I'm creating original characters and narratives within the context and timeline. Spanish translations are at the bottom.

“What else is a guy like you gonna do?” Javier Peña thought about that question over and over. But when he got back to Laredo, he realized that maybe there was more to life than chasing the bad guys.

Chucho dropped the letter on the wooden kitchen table before going to wash his hands. Javier glanced over as he took his final gulp of coffee.

“Not another one, pop,” he huffed.

“You won’t know until you open it.”

For weeks he’d gotten letters from journalists asking for interviews. Everyone wanted to know about Escobar’s final moments in the words of the agent who took him down. But Javier hadn’t been there to see it and those requests for interviews were a constant reminder of that. No one seemed to care about Cali, or worse, the government's involvement with them. People usually liked victory stories and Cali was a reminder that they'd lost the so called war on drugs.

He picked up the envelope, surprised to see it was from his alma mater. Then he smirked. He had no plans to make any donations.

“Jenny called earlier when you were out on the ranch...,”  Chucho said as he spread some butter on the bread.

Javier nodded. Jenny was the first old acquaintance he’d seen since he returned to Laredo. They had gone to the same high school. Not that he paid much attention to her then. He was a senior headed to study sociology at Texas A&I University while she was a freshman. It wasn’t until he returned to Laredo after college that he got a better look at her. She went to the local community college and worked as a teller before she settled at her current job as an administrative assistant for an industrial construction company. Everyone thought she’d marry the manager. He was ten years her senior with a good retirement pension and some connections in Houston. After two years of unsuccessful dating and a pregnancy scare, Ken transferred to another office and Jenny kept her position with minimal drama.

On the day Javier landed in Laredo, Jenny was dropping off her older sister Joana at the airport. As Chucho parked the truck by the terminal, he caught his son talking with her, and Chucho, being the man he was, invited Jenny for dinner that evening. Since then, she had become a customary guest at the Peña household for weekend lunches. Javier had only seen her twice before. The more recent was at Danny’s wedding…the other, a decade ago, on the day of his wedding to Lorraine. Before getting on the highway, he stopped at the bank. "A big day, huh?” She smiled, wishing him congratulations. “What can I do for you today, Javier?” He was there to remove his funds and leave the country.

Jenny had a Texas drawl, a habit of giggling, but keen intuition. She noticed the discomfort in Javier’s face when she first asked him about “catching Escobar and that other cartel.” From that point on, she didn’t mention Colombia again. Instead, she complained about her job. Life in Laredo was slow and there wasn’t much room for growth at the industrial plant.  

“You consider goin’ back to school, mija?” Chucho asked over a cold beer.

“I just don’t know what I’d study…,” she answered.

Javier listened quietly as he watched her wash the dishes. She shook her hips to the cumbia coming out of Chucho’s radio. He didn’t know that she lacked the courage to approach him at Danny's wedding after she saw him talking to Lorraine. It wasn’t really her intention to say hi to him at the airport terminal either, but her older sister teased her, saying she had nothing to lose. And her sister was right. Javier slowly inhaled from his cigarette as he took a good look at her and reached in for a hug. Her hair had grown to her waist, and he liked the way she looked in blue cowboy boots.

“Fancy seein’ ya this early in the afternoon,” Jenny kissed him on the cheek as she stepped away from the lobby entrance.

Javier shrugged and placed the bag of conchas in her hand. “I was running a few errands for pop. Figured I’d drop these off while they’re still fresh.”

She sniffed the bag with a smile. “I’ll save one for ma. You got any plans for later? She’s been meanin’ to cook up a chicken fried steak.”

Since Jenny had broken it off with Ken, her ma had been pushing her to settle down. And it’s not that Jenny didn’t necessarily want to settle down. She saw a future with Ken until she caught him in bed with a girl from Georgia. When Javier returned to Laredo a year ago, it didn’t take long for Jenny’s ma to find out. At the time, she didn’t think it concerned her. Jenny had never mentioned him before. She only heard about Javier from the women at the church group Mrs. Peña belonged to. When she found out Jenny was spending Saturday afternoons eating tacos and sopa de borrego at the Peña ranch, she started to inquire more about the man who left his bride at the alter to catch some drug lords down south. Out of all the men in their town, her Jenny had been handed two cards from the same bad deck – Ken, a man who faked commitment and Javier, a man who had no shame in avoiding it.

Javi scratched the back of his neck, his eyes tracing her figure, still thinking about the letter he had been ignoring. “Can’t say no to that. See you at seven?”

“And maybe we can sneak out after for some shots,” she winked at him. Jenny loved tequila with lime and he enjoyed feeling her dance against him after she chased her shots with lime and salt.

Her yellow pencil dress made her blue eyes stand out. Javier patted her hip before she walked across the lobby back to her cubicle. She turned around to wave at him, passing by the mailman who noticed Javier. He shook his head to himself as he pushed the cart towards her desk. Won’t be making it to the altar for this one either I bet, he thought to himself as he dropped off a stack of mail.

•••

Eduardo received a call at one in the morning. He had to get out Mexico.

“What did you expect was going to happen?” The voice on the other end said callously.

“Change. That’s what is supposed to happen when the truth is published.”

“Listen, the newspaper isn’t firing you. You’ll be able to write, but that can only happen if you’re not dead.”

Eduardo held the phone between his ear and shoulder as he rushed through his apartment shoving some of his belongings into a luggage case.

“There’s a place in Guadalajara I can stay…But I’ll need to make a few phone calls...”

“Eduardo, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. You’re not safe anywhere in Mexico.”

His hands shook as he flicked on the light switch. Books were scattered across his dining room table. He knocked off a few notepads as he searched for his passport.

“How the hell am I supposed to enter without a visa, Mauricio?”

“Listen to me, Eduardo. We have a few columnists reporting from across the border. You need to fly there. I got a person who will help you pass the checkpoint into Texas.”

“A la verga con el checkpoint,” he spit out, “Then what? Where do I go? What do I tell my family?”

“We’ll handle it. Get yourself across the border first. You’ll be able to continue writing. Most importantly, you’ll be alive. I’ll call Doña Maria once I know you’re safe.”

“Why do I have to hide for writing the truth?”

“Because this is Mexico…You knew what you were up against when you started investigating that story.”

“Pero Mauricio…”

“That’s enough, Eduardo. I think I already woke up my wife. Do what I say. We’ll handle any loose ends, but you need to go. We can’t lose another reporter. I’ll have Antonio pick you up at 5 to take you to the airport. That should give you enough time to pack and organize.”

The line disconnected and Eduardo rushed to his desk to scribble a note. Then reconsidered whether that would be a smart move. He crumbled up the piece of paper and went to the bathroom. Under the brightness of the mirror lights, he traced the bags under his green eyes. He hadn’t slept properly in the past week. He reminded himself to take in a few deep breaths and combed his wavy brown locks back before putting on a fresh button down and jeans. He was unable to get rid of the discomfort of the damp sweat on his back.

•••

“Already signed the lease…” Javier stroked his mustache.

“You didn’t have to make a decision so fast. You’re free to stay at the ranch as long as you need.”

“It’s fine, pop. Can’t hurt to see where it goes.”

“I’m just sayin’ mijo…” Chucho took a sip from the can of beer.

“It’s something different. Pay is fine, gives me time to think about my next move.”

“You know you have to read and grade work, right?” There was a tinge of humor in his father’s voice.

“Better than stakeouts and chasing dead ends,” Javier sighed as he looked out from the porch.

“You tell Jenny yet?”

“Not quite.”

“Distance doesn’t have to be an issue. I used to enjoy the long drive to see your mother on the weekends before we got married.”

“Pop…,” Javi squinted uncomfortably. “At least let me settle in Kingsville for a while before I pull the trigger,” he smirked.

Chucho never failed to make Javi laugh. He had already left one woman at the altar in Laredo, yet his father still had faith in him to get it right the second time around.

•••

“Alo?” Her voice was still heavy with sleep.

Eduardo breathed into the phone without responding.

“Alo?”

He jumped at the knock on his door and hung up, grabbing his backpack and luggage case. Antonio, Mauricio’s editor, opened the trunk of the ’85 Impala and threw Eduardo’s belongs inside.

“Here is your ticket. When you land, you’ll see a man with a red briefcase reading from La Nueva Capital at the exit terminal.”

“Am I supposed to say anything to him?”

“Show him your ticket, he’ll have the papers you need to pass the checkpoint. On the other side of the border, Cesar, one of the journalists, will pick you up in a white Ford Bronco.”

“Sea la madre…,” Eduardo mumbled to himself as he lit his cigarette and took a final look at the sleeping city, fearing it would be the last time he’d see Mexico City.

•••

This wasn’t the way Javier wanted to tell Jenny that he’d taken the job as adjunct professor at Texas A&M University Kingsville – on the phone, as he drove northeast on the highway, already an hour away from Laredo.

Despite lacking a master’s degree, his alma mater couldn’t resist offering the teaching position to the agent who took down Escobar. With Agent Peña teaching a course in the sociology department on terrorist networks, the university felt they’d be able to attract more students.

It was a drastic change for Javier – a man who liked to do everything on his own terms. And while he briefly considered settling into local law enforcement, the prospect of dealing with bureaucratic bullshit was enough to accept a meeting with the university. Without giving it extra thought, he looked through the circulars for an apartment near campus, and within a few days, he signed the lease.

It wasn’t until he got back to the ranch that night after the meeting with the sociology department that he even thought how it would affect whatever it is that he had with Jenny. He wouldn’t really call it a breakup. There wasn’t exactly anything to break. He never actually asked her to be his girlfriend and she never pushed him on anything more than family dinners and some late-night drinks at the bar. He never made her any promises, but there was something in the way she’d hold him while they kissed. Expectations. She wanted to believe that enough time had passed. He was older, he’d gotten everything he wanted to get out of his system with as many women as he could and now he was back in Laredo for good. The time he gave her had to mean something. And he knew that. It did mean something. It just wasn't something he could put to words.

“Does that mean you’re gonna make me drive all the way to Kingsville on the weekends?” she smirked on her end of the line. Javier couldn’t tell whether she was whispering from the office phone or frowning.

“More than happy to make the drive to Laredo...,” he paused. “Besides, I’m not teaching every day and I’m already worried about leaving pops on the ranch by himself again.”

“I’ll check up on him. You know that.”

“I’ll call you when I get there so you can have my apartment number. And listen, I’m sorry about breaking the news to you over the phone. I –“

“You know I’ve never asked you to change who you are, Javi.”

At that moment he couldn’t tell if that stung him or made him feel better.

"Tell me something...," there was hesitation in her voice. "Do you want this to work out?"

His hand gripped the steering wheel. "Yea. Yea I do."

A decade ago, he drove at ninety miles an hour on that same highway, anxious to leave Laredo behind. It took him a moment to come to terms with the notion that this time, he had no reason to run. Or maybe, he just didn’t have anywhere to run to.

Next Chapter

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Translations:

A la chingada: Mexican slang for “to hell”

Sea la madre: slang equivalent to saying “goddamnit”

Mija/Mijo: term of endearment for a girl/boy

Conchas: Mexican sweet bread

Pero Mauricio...but Maurico

Limón y Sal: Lime and Salt. Limón can also be translated to lemon, but in Mexico it is used to express lime.

Doña: Mrs.

Sopa de borrego: lamb soup

La Nueva Capital: The New Capital

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My first writing! Feedback appreciated. Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

[ct-multifandom]

AINI predictions except they’re varying levels of straightforward to crack

Binato being “removed from this reality” means that he was killed, but his consciousness SHIFTed

The writers are very insistent on their wording here. Lumina is freaked out by bloodstains in her room, and she’s the only one who mentions something like that. I think Binato was in that room before, and he was physically killed when he lost the vote, but his consciousness moved to a different reality when that happened. He and Aine tweeted about things that sound like SHIFTing in response to a deadly situation, vague memories of getting hit by a truck or stabbed. I think he swapped places with himself from a timeline where the vote tied or he won.

Shoma is autistic

They’re definitely going for some form of a gifted kid stereotype with him, but from what we’ve seen of him, he is interested in those robot figurines, maybe special interest?, he wears (noise cancelling?) headphones all the time, keeps to himself, and he’s good at cracking codes. Ik some nd people complain about the lack of positive representation in Uchikoshi games as a lot of his nd or mentally ill characters are, like, homicidal and/or super stereotyped, so if I’m right I hope he will be much better.

Mayumi dies

*screams and cries* She had dementia already, and even if she is still there in the “six years ago” time, will she make it to six years later? We haven’t seen her in any promotional content so far unlike most of the characters from the last game.

Iris dies

If this is a different timeline, will the Sagans manage to scrape together enough money on their own to get her tumor removed? I predict that she won’t make it past the time skip (if there’s evidence otherwise please correct me)

Iris being in the Hidden Bats experiment wasn’t the original plan, either in-universe or in real life

Her portrait is in a completely different style and rendering medium than the rest, and her age messes up a pattern of each victim being one year older than the last. Additionally, [see below the cut*]

Rohan is still in prison in Yagyuu’s body

AINI is supposed to be “no spoilers” for AITSF, so this is a pretty easy way to get rid of the guy. We haven’t seen Yagyuu’s body yet since Date is still in Saito.

Saito… uh. Good question. Died in someone else’s body such as So or Renju?

Maybe the New Cyclops Killings didn’t even happen in this timeline? But we haven’t seen Shoko or Ren, so they are probably dead like in the true ending, but Pewter’s not in prison and Date didn’t body swap back to Yagyuu, so it’s not that timeline. Still, they can’t directly reference the twist of the last game, can they? So they must’ve gotten rid of him somehow.

The title of the game references Naixatloz’s plan

In the trailer, Tokiko calls Naix a perfectly legitimate religious organization. It’s interesting that they identify its agenda as religious, not scientific or anything. I think the Nirvana Initiative refers to their goal which results in a perfect world or something. Maybe they want to accomplish this by SHIFTing until they reach a timeline where nothing bad has ever happened, and the Hidden Bats experiments are supposed to help with that like how the ambidex game was constructed to stimulate SHIFTing.

Gen is Seven from 999

Okay this one is super silly, but,,, why have AINI and HB been referencing zero escape so much more than the last game? From “made by Team Zero Escape” to the more clear mentions of SHIFTing to the cameos? I think they might make a tie-in. Maybe nothing that’d spoil ZE, but a cameo more explicit than “lol real ZE fans will get this joke”. Seven is the only character in the whole trilogy whose real name we still don’t know, and he has the right physique to be Gen. Maybe he wears the mask and fronts as a cook for an investigation, such as investigating Naix, or maybe he quit his detective job and is in hiding with a new life. 999 is a video game in-universe, though, as Mizuki is seen playing it in the announcement trailer.

⚠️ Under the cut is something we most likely aren’t supposed to have seen right now. Only look at it if SPOILERS completely don’t bother you. If anyone reblogs this, please keep the cut.

*additionally, the portrait and name for the character between Lumina and Kairo is in the Hidden Bats code. Faya Hanadate is in the same art style, and she looks like she could be 22, following the age pattern unlike Iris. Could the ages be a deliberate clue for us? Was her character scrapped or will she still play into something?