#and then ace being the first one to die of the trio

[pinksepia]

Thinking about the asl brothers and how they all have hats

Sabo and luffy having a hat when they were younger and ace didn’t, and being the last one to get a hat (when he gets older)

Then all of them having hats when they were older

[velvees-archive]

Making my case for ManoSouta, Ace Attorney’s token doomed yaoi

Bronco knew, and still he told nobody.

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 full game spoilers ahead!

Chalk it up to lucky guesswork or my expertly honed writer’s intuition (sarcasm), but so rarely do I latch onto side ships that when I found myself gravitating towards Bronco (Manosuke Naito) x Simeon (Souta Sarushiro, hence ManoSouta) simply because of this line, I knew something was up…

…and boy was I right.

Simeon Saint’s fall from grace was a direct consequence of subjection to a corrupt justice system and equally as corrupted individuals. There was his father, who saw Simeon’s existence as a means to an end (the end being a pharmaceutical “recipe” book that could cure Gusto’s affliction and a shiny world class confectioner title), his best friend, who kidnapped him and almost killed him on his dad’s orders, and—if that wasn’t enough to destroy someone’s psyche—there was the presidential assassination trio, who tormented, interrogated, and dangled their judicial and executive power over him like a special-brand curse.

This is a character who hit rock bottom so long ago he believes nothing is left of him except agony, paranoia, and anger. He crafts an intricate revenge plot that dishes Simeon-esque justice to everyone who wronged him. The acts are performed mercilessly, too, no hesitation, regret, or unnecessary feelings involved in the flawless execution of his plan.

Well, almost.

There was one person in the same boat—no family, no longstanding companionship (barring each other)—who set Simeon’s descent in motion. Ironically, it is also through this person that we’re shown what remains of his humanity.

For me to talk about Simeon’s feelings as shown before we found out he was the mastermind, though, we have to see how he reacted after the big reveal. Upon being fingered as the villain, Simeon makes it clear he does not feel remorse towards any of the people “he” killed. After all, they drew first blood; Simeon firmly believes retaliation was warranted.

That is, until Miles clarifies the following points surrounding Simeon’s kidnapping, his memory loss, and the fate of his and Bronco’s fathers:

The reason Simeon was kidnapped wasn’t so Bronco’s dad could kill Simeon’s; Bronco was only meant to stall Simeon so he couldn’t help his dad win the confectionary competition finale

When a murder did occur, the victim of the murder was not Simeon’s dad, but Bronco’s.

This is how Simeon responds:

“He deserved to die!…Didn’t he?”

This line, in conjunction with the contemplative flashback shown in the video, conveys Simeon’s uncertainty/regret about inciting Knight’s murder, though one could argue this is only in reaction to the revelation rather than a lingering attachment to Knight, who he “stopped thinking” was his friend 18 years ago.

But then he follows it up with this.

“Then what was all this…for…!?”

At this point, you have to ask yourself why Simeon is questioning his entire plan (keyword in the quote is all, not just Bronco’s death) because he realized whose father actually died. Technically speaking, Bronco did still kidnap him. On top of that, everyone else Simeon exacted revenge on still wronged him, so it makes no sense to say this unless Bronco’s supposed role in “Simeon’s” father’s death was pivotal in Simeon’s decision to proceed with his whole plot. In other words, the reason Simeon questions his plot after Miles’ clarification is because this fundamental misunderstanding was what pushed him to take revenge on everyone in the first place. Bronco’s betrayal weighed so heavily on him that Simeon had no choice but to kill him in line with his principles, but he didn’t actually want to.

I’m not saying he wanted to spare Bronco because of the power of friendship or some misplaced sentimentality. It was inevitable that Bronco would die by Simeon’s hand because Simeon vowed to get his revenge on everyone who hurt him. What I am saying is that Simeon’s resolve is clearly shaken once Bronco’s role in his suffering is cleared up. As soon as Simeon realized Bronco’s dad didn’t murder his dad, he regretted killing his only friend. This is the only time Simeon shows remorse.

You might think Simeon’s hatred for Bronco stems from his kidnapping and its consequences, aka setting off the chain of events that would ruin Simeon’s life outside of “his” dad dying. However, Simeon doesn’t hold a grudge over Bronco for anything other than the kidnapping. The statement, “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago…it wouldn’t have had to…end like this” is vastly different from “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago, none of this would have happened.” His “hatred” for Bronco was a personal grudge he had against his best friend, who also happened to be the son of his dad’s killer. Bronco was on Simeon’s list because his betrayal stung Simeon most. “What was all of this for” really meant, “I wouldn’t have gone through with any of this if I knew you weren’t involved.”

Had Simeon truly hated him, it’d be difficult to justify why he snuck away from his carnival preparations to talk to Bronco. Why did he pay such an incriminating visit when he’d already delivered Bronco’s chess set during visiting hours? And why did he tell Bronco he snuck something into it, leaving him vulnerable to counterattack should Bronco tattle?

Why did he bother saying goodbye?

Simeon’s actions betray logic because try as he might to hate Bronco with all his heart, he cared. Bronco Knight’s betrayal was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but imagine if the misunderstanding had been sorted from the start. Simeon's reaction to wrongfully killing Bronco was a stellar portrayal of his desire for genuine companionship, and a peek into what remained of his humanity before he was unmasked. He really was all alone.

If you’re still not sold on them being the doomed yaoi representatives of Ace Attorney, if a misplaced desire for revenge cutting their time short doesn’t make this tragic enough, then consider this: Bronco legitimately cared for and trusted Simeon, but unlike Simeon, he was left completely in the dark.

He’s legitimately excited to see Simeon’s performance. He happily awaited Simeon’s chess correspondences because he just likes being around him!!

Perhaps the biggest sticking point in all of this is that Simeon admitted he put something in his chess set, Bronco definitely opened his chess set, and yet when it came time for Fifi Laguarde to interrogate him (aka when she discovers the chisel), Bronco does not tell her he doesn’t own it, he does not tell her he’s been set up, and he does not tell her his best friend—who the precinct knows visited him—is the one who put it there. Why didn’t Bronco tell her?

That’s the greatest pull of their dynamic: we don’t know. Maybe everything happened too fast. Maybe he did try to protest. Maybe he ratted Simeon out but Laguarde was already in hysterics. Maybe Bronco didn’t understand why the chisel frenzied the warden so, and paid the ultimate price for it.

Or maybe, just maybe, Bronco already knew the moment he saw the chisel. Maybe he died a knowing victim of Simeon’s retribution. Maybe he thought it better that the knowledge of their past—Paul Halique’s ring and Simeon’s secret hatred— dissolve with his last breath.

Worse yet, maybe he couldn’t believe Simeon would do something like this. Maybe he continued to have blind faith in him despite the damning evidence. Maybe he believed in him.

[kunikame]

# PURPLE LILACS !

[05] - perhaps he's into you ! | prev. | m. list | next

ace trappola x fem!reader smau

! warning(s) : cussing, miss-spellings in the tweets & texts, slight lilia lore spoilers, common jamil and azul behavior ("kys" used 2 times) ! w/c : 1k

when lilia vanrouge says he's coming over, he usually appears approximately 20 seconds after he warned you of his upcoming arrival, dressed in his dorm uniform.

tonight, however, your favorite fae-stie barely gives you a second to prepare before he appears in your room in a puff of green mist and his pink silky pajama set (yes, the one much like shaggy wore in the loch ness monster scooby-doo movie, just in pink). 

"what's up what's up what's uuup~!" he sing-songs, dropping down gracefully on the edge of your bed.

"hi, lils. cater?"

"on his way, do not fret. i brought some diasomnia snacks! and–"

"did you make them."

"no, he did not," said a monotone voice from somewhere. upon realizing it was not lilia who spoke, you turn toward the source, only to see malleus draconia (alias hornton) in the flesh, causing you to very nearly die of a heart attack.

okay, you might be over exaggerating. a little.

"--and malleus, i hope you don't mind. he wanted to join 'girls' night," the musician grins.

“nah, he’s welcome to join any time, i’m just not quite sure he’ll find it entertaining,” you say as you turn to look at the raven haired fae, “make yourself at home, hornton. i’ll go get the drinks and wait for cay.”

you spot grim playing with the resident ghosts in the living room area on your way to the (severely run down) kitchen. before you can even fully step into the room, you hear a few light knocks on the door and take a sharp turn towards the entrance instead. what greets you there is a heavily shaking individual known as cater diamond dressed in only his pajamas, carrying some baked goods (courtesy to trey) and his phone.

“w-what’s up what-’s up what’s u-u-uup?!”

a beat of silence passes and you momentarily consider just shutting the door in his face because how and why the fuck are riddle rosehearts and deuce spade also here. you can handle malleus, he’s much like a pet rock, but riddle in the same room with lilia and cater? you think your hair might start graying a bit early.

“riddle and deuce! what are you guys doing here?” you step aside to let them in with a strained smile only to glare daggers at your good friend behind their backs.

“cater insisted i come along and ‘hang out’ with ‘the girls’ for a bit. he said i need to mingle with people my age more to be able to keep up with the trends, or something along those lines, i believe. i don’t see a purpose behind me being here however, so i can take my leave if you’d rather keep it to a close circle discussion– i can’t leave trey to watch over the entire dorm either, i am housewarden, after all.”

“i got pulled along against my will.”

the drastic difference in their response, reasoning and length struck you like lightning for a mere second, “oh– uh, no, don’t worry, you’re all good, riddle. you can stay if you wish to! i won’t keep you against your will though. same goes for you, deuce. you just have to promise whatever you hear tonight stays between us.”

“not to worry, the queen of hearts rule number 14 states that secrets must stay between included parties. may the queen strike me down herself lest i break a rule.”

“anywayy~ after all this chitter chatter cay-cays’s gotten hungryyy and treys’ home-baked tarts are directly under my nose! it would be a crime to not eat them! shoo-shoo, up we go!"

a couple hours have passed since the guys arrival, and everything's been going well so far. it was quite a shock for the heartslabyul trio to find the malleus draconia here at first as well, but they’ve slowly warmed up to him and began to consider him as ‘one of the girls’. the conversation’s been flowing well and the night was filled with shared laughs and stories.

you were just finishing up recounting the recent happenings with ace to fill everyone in on the details when malleus spoke.

“i believe he might just be.. ‘into you’, was it?” he turned to lilia for confirmation, who nodded abruptly. “that’s what i’m saying! the little bat just won’t believe me,” he said, leaning onto cater (who nods along in agreement while patting his bandmate) dramatically, as if you not believing his nonsense caused him a fatal wound. so much for being a war general, this guy is a drama general at best.

“lils, he hates me.”

“enemies to lovers, i say! enemi–”

“on the contrary, i think he quite likes you, actually,” the redheaded housewarden speaks up from the corner he’s sat in, “you’re almost all he talks about recently.”

“oh, you’re right! i asked him about our alchemy homework last week and he found some way to bring you up, even in that conversation. ‘i wonder if [name]’s done it yet? should we ask? i hope she’s not struggling with her studies. perhaps we could help her out’ like, shut up,” said deuce, popping some candy in his mouth with a clearly annoyed look in his eyes. if you didn’t know him any better, you’d think he was jealous of his friend.

that forced you to stop and think for a moment. if it were anyone else (a picture of lilia and cater appears in your minds eye and you have to fight back a smile) saying it, you probably wouldn’t have paid it much mind, but if it’s the people closest to him, then perhaps there’s some truth behind the seemingly empty words?

“i have an idea, if i may,” all eyes turn to malleus (who.. you forgot was even here, with how quiet he was the entire time), eyebrows raised in question, “if you’re so unsure of his intentions and feelings, why not test them?”

the 2 light music club members eyes lit up at that and you felt an impending sense of doom.

and that’s how you found yourself dancing with deuce, then malleus, then riddle, then... all of them, for some reason? it was awkward initially, but the longer it went on the more fun it was, and perhaps you could say this was one of your best nights spent in twisted wonderland.

being erased from your own world be damned.

## ❝ after the events of the phantom bride wedding, ace started wondering whether he still had the ability to charm girls. he hasn’t thought about anyone romantically in years, hasn’t really flirted with anyone either, what if he’s gone out of it? perhaps it’s time to put his talents to the test; with the person who hates him most, no less. if he can charm her, he can charm anyone. ❞

#TAGLIST ! : @solxima @gabirii @lunavixia @y2unagiz @the-ghost-0f-t0m0 @borlining @verity-moon @myunghology @doughnuts-eater @lifeless-bug @babygurlenthusiast @shirishere @xopeach @stormyovent0aster @bontensbabygirl @ars-tral @wrathy-mcwrathface @sinofthesloth @skeet-2 @everettelz @sakuram1nt @shatiyuh @ambigrueity // ask/comment to be added/removed! (if you're in bold i can't tag you)

[whoishotteranimepolls]

In Defense for Sabo (Why hes appealing to me)

To be perfectly honest, I am absolutely down bad for Sabo. I am a Simp in every sense of the word. So understand, I am biased by this point- That out of the way, he's perfect your honor. He's so tragic, so cool, and so silly- i think people overlook him because out of the ASL trio he has the least amount of screen time of the three- but everytime he's there it's a wild ride

I coukd write a really shitty 100k word thesis on this bastard(affectionate) so I'll try my best to keep it short

How do I even begin this? What hooked me initially on his character as a whole was how he was born into nobility and instantly hated it. He could see how messed up the people around him were even as a child, Hes a born anarchist. So he runs away and meets angry child Ace and then they're both menaces to society with a plan on ditching this place. You know the backstory I don't gotta explain more but like, the whole ASL brother dynamic is amazing and hes so middle child coded. Then the tragedies begin- in literally every single way the upper class could be horrific and terrifying, it happens over and over within like no time just to really hammer into him his distaste for the whole system. To skip all the angsty details, He felt so cornered that he ran away. Just sets sail despite his age, then of all people to aim a weapon at him, a Celestial Dragon proceeds to give him amnesia for the next like 9 years of his life with some insane blunt force trauma. That gun was basically an explosive canon, the fact Canon!Sabo just has the eye scar is why so many artists headcanon him with a much bigger scar. How he survived that is just a testament to how he's just

Built Different™

Then he basically jumps into the deep end so to speak with no fucking memory. By the time Ace is setting sail- he's already insanely strong. He ends up second in command for a reason- he's smart, he's powerful, he's got that never ending well of stamina just like his bros, he's a beast

And what finally brings back his past? He sees the news about marineford. What rejogs his memories- is his brother fucking dieing. (Oda basically confirmed that if Sabo had his memories, Ace would have lived. I mean- pretime skip Luffy almost succeeded- putting Sabo in the mix would have absolutely turned the tides. But that's beside the point- as i said hes just strong) Sabo only remembered when it was already too late- like...holy shit- the Angst. Tragedy after Tragedy and he couldn't even try to help this time-

Listen, what I'm trying to say is He's cool and angsty (like every other character tbf lol). He's just like his bros, a crazy bastard with a heart of gold who breeds chaos by being himself and standing for his ideals. Luffy and Ace have some crazy bloodlines and ya know, D. But Sabo is just Sabo and is right there with them in levels of chaos from day one.

He's just Built Different™

His whole presence in Dressrosa was amazing and hilarious- he shows up for the first time in- ever, one whole body luffy hug later and he's in the coliseum in Luffys disguise being an absolute badass. He successfully gets Aces fruit and then destroyed the coliseum with one move- he has some insane Haki and wields a damn pipe at the same time (the fact its something he kept from his time with his bros is so 🥹 but the juxtaposition is hilarious) Evertime he fights in this arc it's them sitting up the altercation and next time you see him- hes won and moved on to the next thing he's doing. One of my favorite little things is after Dressrosa -when he talks to the few who weren't passed the fuck out- and he gives Luffys vivre card to the strawhats. Not his personal Card to luffy- Luffys to his crew. He hasn't seen his brother in at this point like 10 years and somehow had his DNA to make it- everyone overlooks his crazy but it's hilarious

One of the best hugs in the anime just saying ^

I was head over heels after Dressrosa ngl.

If Luffy is silly and Ace is hot cool guy, Sabo is right in the middle. I do think it's funny he's boiled down to the smart one of the three, he is, but he's also so much more. Also, as the person who originally asked what the appeal was said, yeah he also doesn't smell like a trashcan. He's the only one of his bros that takes a regular shower lmao. And while I do blame my insant love for the tophat look on my prior love of Jacob Frye from assassins creed, I think he's got style too. He looks good and he's wearing a damn cravat(the white neck scarf thing) most the time, he pulls it off. The movie look with the teal/cyan trenchcoat, the Reverie scenes, the newest episodes he just got animated in again-

He is beauty, He is Grace, I want him to sit on my fa- sorry

For context, they are responding to this post about Sabo

Wow, I'm impressed the one piece fandom never ceases to amaze me with your dedication to your characters

[atopvisenyashill]

AU where instead of having a dead ladies club we have a dead dudes club: Aerys dies in Summerhal and Rhaella eventually becomes Queen regent for her son. Joanna, Minisa and Lyarra live while their husbands Tywin, Hoster, and Rickard don't. And Cassana survives the shipwreck along with patchface.

me seeing this ask:

anyways, let's first establish how each man dies.

Aerys - like you said, just killing him at Summerhall is easiest.

Tywin - if we kill him during the Reyne/Tarbeck revolt, it butterflies away all the Lannister kids so we'll have it be that something goes horrifically bad during the Defiance of Duskendale and he dies there.

Steffon - Cassana washes up on shore with Patchface in 278.

Hoster - this one's a bit tricky because in order to die before Robert's Rebellion kicks off, something Weird and Tragic has to happen to him during a time period that is more or less chill in the riverlands. He does fight in the War of the Ninepenny Kings but that happens in 260 and Edmure likely isn't born until 267. We could say he dies in the Greyjoy Rebellions, but that's after Robert's Rebellion by a few years. We'll just invent a sickness or accident that kills him, instead of Minisa dying in childbirth lol. if it makes the plot more interesting for him to die during the Greyjoy Rebellions though, tbh, that's probably also fine, but I do think having only one (1) parent at Riverrun is important to how the kids develop.

Rickard - this one is similarly difficult. we could just have him die when he does die, and just say that Lyarra didn't die.

anyways, let's dig into what this changes right off the bat, sort of set the scene here-

Rhaella is like 13-14 when Summerhall happens, and then like 15-16 I think when Jaehaerys II dies, so not only is she a very young Queen, she's likely to remarry. Since she's not even at the age of majority yet (jfc), I think if we assume she's regent, it means she allied with Aerys' friends to oust Jaehaerys II's small council - so Tywin is for sure still Hand, and ruling the entire realm in all but name. I do imagine that not only is Steffon very close at court as well, but Cassana becomes close to Rhaella.

Rhaegar won't be allowed to wait until he's like 21 to marry, they will be looking at marriages when he's like 12-13 and likely intend for him to get married right away at like 15-16 and consummate, because he's the only male heir.

Edmure becomes Lord of Riverrun very young, Minisa as his regent. I think given that Minisa will be regent, Catelyn still has a lot of parentification stuff happening here, but I do think it's more likely she notices the crushes going on between Lysa, Cat, and Petyr.

Robert still becomes Lord of Storm's End - he's 15 when Steffon dies, which is plenty old to take up his seat. However, with his mother still around, Stannis and Renly have a parental influence at least.

alright let's go event by event here:

262 AC: Jaehaerys II dies and little three year old Rhaegar Targaryen is crowned King. Though there is an initial push by Edgar Sloane and Jaehaerys' small council to establish one of their own as Regent and Hand of the King, Queen Rhaella is successful in ousting her father's men in favor of her own - mostly the husbands, brothers, or cousins of her ladies. This includes, of course, the impressive and young Tywin Lannister as Hand, probably Steffon Baratheon, and honestly, it's quite possible here that Lewyn or Loreza's husband is named to the small council as well, given the fact that we know one of Rhaella's ladies was Loreza. Despite being so young, Rhaella is named Regent.

272 AC: A decade with the trio of young Rhaegar, Queen Regent Rhaella, and Hand of the King Tywin has allowed the realm to prosper. Without Aerys pawing at her ladies, Rhaella holds onto several close allies, and neither Tywin nor Joanna spend their days being humiliated at court to curry favor with the king. Rhaella is likely more level headed than Aerys, and isn't overpromising on things and then abandoning her projects soon after. There's likely been a push for her to remarry, if only so Rhaegar's children may have a Valyrian option to marry somewhere down the line? But on the other hand...it might be possible there's some problems at court re: everyone gossiping that if Tywin is the real King, and Rhaella is Queen, are they not...you know....that gets back to Joanna. Not only that, but I can bet there's tensions between Loreza's Dornish faction and Tywin, probably with Steffon in the middle because Tywin is clearly trying to get Rhaegar/Cersei hitched from an early age, Loreza is clearly trying to get Elia/Rhaegar hitched from an early age, and Steffon and Cassana are desperately fucking and having kids in the hopes of having a girl for Rhaegar to marry. We know there was a visit by Rickard during the first ten years, so it's very possible that Lyarra develops a friendship with Rhaella, and that instead of that dumb "i'm going to build another Wall" plan, Rhaella starts encouraging more people to be sent to the Wall.

275 AC: Rhaegar comes of age and takes his position as King without a regent. While I don't doubt he would keep Tywin on, I do think there's going to be tension here - we see this with both Jaehaerys and Aegon III, and even Joffrey really, that the move from child to adult can be a bit rough on the Hand/Regent/King relationship. I think Rhaegar, melancholy as he is, would want to be known as a good king, a kind king, and probably doesn't appreciate Tywin's cruelty. I think it makes a lot of sense that he'd purposefully scorn Tywin specifically for this reason - the same as Alysanne purposefully spurning Rogar's match or the Dragon Twins + Aegon III purposefully spurning the lords for Daenaera. It's about making a statement, it's about power, it's about standing out from the people who are trying to rule through you. I almost think it's likely Rhaegar and Elia still marry here, but it's possible Rhaegar decides to just straight up marry someone who isn't connected at court at all - not a Martell, not a Lannister, but maybe a Hightower or Tyrell. Especially, imo, because of Rhaegar's prophecy obsession - what if he visits Jenny's woods witch on his own? Or what if he visits Oldtown and sees Mad Maid Malora is heavy with magic? Maybe, knowing how often he stays at Summerhall to be an emo fuck, he marries Ashara?

277 AC: The Defiance of Duskendale. I don't know if an 18 year old would be this stupid, it does seem likely that he would just fall into the same trap Aerys did - ie "I want to prove I'm better than my Hand and I'll deal with the issue myself" - but I think Rhaella would be like "absolutely fucking not, you're the fucking KING, and you have no heir/only a baby for an heir, if you don't want Tywin to do it, send someone else then." I think it would be really fun if Rhaella got caught in this trap, Tywin completely botches getting her out and gets himself killed, and Rhaegar just goes "oh fuck that noise" and burns Duskendale to the ground his damn self. It could be an interesting change here that Rhaegar's madness + obsession with the prophecy gets kicked off not by his father's own madness but by the near loss of his mother. Even if Rhaella is mostly fine (she went years being tortured by Aerys, I think she's made of sterner stuff! I can see her being real shaken up for awhile before chilling out), the idea that he could really be The Last Dragon is terrifying. Suddenly, he needs to set this prophecy in motion, he needs to have more dragons, it can't just be himself and his mother.

279 AC: Another blow, just after losing Tywin and nearly losing {his mom? joncon? does he care that much about joncon lmao}, Steffon dies in a storm coming back from the Free Cities. Cassana lives but is quite shaken up by the entire event and retires from court to stay at home with her boys. Another blow happens later in the year, when Loreza dies, and Doran inherits Sunspear.

281 AC: So....now we're at the Tourney of Harrenhal, where shit gets real. Who Rhaegar marries will decide who is on his side here and who has started getting ready for Mad King 2.0 because I do imagine that in the four years since the Duskendale fuck up, a lot of the lords have started whispering. If he marries Elia or Ashara, he still has Dorne on lock. If he marries Malora, that might mean Doran is involved in the Southron Ambitions plot (although then again, he might not be, it's not like anyone thought to involve Doran in the wo5k until way too fucking late anyway). If he risks marrying someone like, completely outside of Westeros, I think something kinda crazy starts cooking at home with every single region having no reason to be loyal to him. Not to mention, if Lyarra is friendly with Rhaella, does he already know Lyanna? Since Hoster and Tywin are both dead here, it probably means Rickard had to reach out to Minisa and and Joanna and I'm really interested in how this goes, politics wise. Is it just Rickard and Minisa (and Jon Arryn) doing Southron Ambitions? Is Cassana getting involved after the loss of Steffon? And what does Rhaegar's small council look like now? Is it packed with Dornishmen and Crownlanders? With Reachers? Does he have some sort of woods witch as his Hand?

SO WHEN RHAEGAR TAKES LYANNA. For one thing, when Brandon gets to KL and starts shouting "COME OUT AND DIE" Rhaella isn't going to respond by burning everyone. I can see her maybe taking them captive because what they're accusing Rhaegar of, when he's the King, is pretty fucking severe but she's not just slaughtering them. She's sending the Kingsguard to go look for him while she holds the Northern faction at KL, and while I do think they'll go and get him, I think Rhaegar is going to say something like "it's fine, she's fine, leave us alone" and the North is gonna get real shitty about this. Brandon might attempt to leave. Lyarra might attempt to find Lyanna herself with a host of Northerners, or maybe with a host of stormlanders, riverlanders, or westermen. The crown has to respond to that, so there's likely to be some skirmishes here. Either Rhaegar is found with Lyanna at the Tower of Joy or Rhaegar finally appears and is like "why is everyone yelling" while everyone demands to know where Lyanna is. If he's cagey, the North and their allies are going to start attacking more boldly. If he says "yeah she's my mistress now, back off, I'm the king" I think everyone is too amped up to give a shit and the North refuses to stand down, which leads to whoever is leading them - Lyarra, maybe Ned - being labelled a traitor to the crown. This is going to domino effect quickly. If he says "yeah she's my wife now, back off, I'm king" he is losing everyone fast as fuck.

Anyways, I kept this kind of general in case you just wanted some like, general outline of what could happen but if you want what EYE think is most interesting, it's a) Rhaella at Duskendale b) Minisa being the one to mastermind Southron Ambitions, although Cassana could be fun as well c) LYARRA STARK REBEL WAR HERO. I think it's likely Rhaegar would try to "she's my mistress/wife" his way out of this but its not fucking happening. all those theories about how "lyanna and rhaegar got valyrian married jon is legitimate" no he's fucking not because no one is going to give a single solitary shit. Bigamy is not allowed in Westeros anymore or Aegon IV would have tried it. if he legitimizes his own kid, it's sort of like, okay great, but he was born a bastard, now Rhaegar is legitimizing his kid just like aegon iv, and everyone is going to see this as a threat. they're going to say he's insane. they're still going to oust him. the question here is - can rhaella, through her friendships with the wives and now leaders of southron ambitions, keep hold long enough so that even if Rhaegar dies, she can get his kid on the throne? Can she make peace with Robert? Or does she have to go on the run, not with her own kids, but with Rhaegar's children?

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 7

Propaganda:

Ash -

"he just has those vibes ya know?"

Charce -

"Has a very hard time understanding the emotions of others along with his own emotions. Others claim that he acts in a very strange way before it's confirmed that most of the things others thought were weird of him were either because it had to do with biology, his special interest, or it was him acting like how he thinks normal people act when he doesn't understand the way neurotypical people act in the slightest."

Setsuna -

"recent scientific developments find that autism might just be stored in the hair."

Nicol -

"A constantly expressionless boy who does not show his feelings, Nicol is quiet and tends to be distrustful. He is fiercely protective of his sister, and though his pretty face makes him popular, he resents that it means that those outside of his friend circle only see him for his looks."

Galo -

"HIS SPECIAL INTEREST LITERALLY HELPED HIM SAVE THE EARTH FROM EXPLODING!!! HE STOPPED MID FIGHT ON TOP OF A BURNING HIGH RISE BUILDING TO SHOW A TRIO OF ARSONISTS A PROJECTOR POWER POINT PRESENTATION OF EDO PERIOD FIREFIGHTING!!!! HE COULDN'T PILOT THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF A GIANT ROBOT BECAUSE IT DIDN'T LOOK COOL AND HE COULDN'T JIVE WITH IT! AND ON TOP OF EVERYTHING HIS REACTIONS AND MANNERISMS TO FRUSTRATING SITUATIONS (ANGRILY SHAKING HIS HAIR WITH HIS HANDS AND RUNNING OFF IN A SITUATION THAT UPSET HIM IN A MANNER AKIN TO SENSORY OVERLOAD, COMBINED WITH HIM ESCAPING TO A QUIET AND COLD PLACE WITH LITTLE TO NO OUTSIDE STIMULUS TO CHILL OUT) PLUS HIS INCREDIBLY BLUNT WAY OF THINKING AND ODD MANNER IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS!!!!! THIS IS PEAK AUTISM! THE AUTISTIC ANIME BOY WITH A BURNING SOUL!"

Yuuji -

"The entire manga is about the mc moving to a new school and getting helped out by Yugami and then being like 'hey who is that guy' and all her classmates are like 'oh that's Yugami. He sucks.' And then she's like 'oh how sad everyone's bullying this guy :( I bet he's actually rlly nice since he helped me out' and then she tries to interact with him and. No actually he just sucks. The title is a reference to the fact that. He flat out refuses to make friends. People try a lot and he just rejects them. He's the ace of the baseball team but everyone hates his guts, INCLUDING his battery partner, who is just. Totally exasperated all the time. Anyways Yugami has a special interest in rakugou and will just. Recite rakugou. He does it in order to calm himself down during baseball games and everyone's like 'what.' He also jumps interests quite a bit? But every time he gets OBSESSED. There was a period where he was obsessed with building furniture. He cannot read social cues and he does not care. Like at all. He really likes structure! He makes a list every day of all the things he has to do and then checks them off. They have a school festival and he goes to every single exhibit. Just to check them off his list. Not even an actual visit. He pops in and immediately leaves. Someone will talk about some relationship issue and he's like 'just like in [rakugou].'"

Yasutora -

"People think he’s intimidating, but he’s one of the kindest characters in the show! He comes across as having a fairly flat affect with few expressions, and he’s often misinterpreted as being scary by others who don’t know him. He used to be aggressive, but chose to never fight unless protecting someone due to his abuelo’s influence, and I think he’s a low empathy flat affect icon!"

Taiyou -

"He befriends the main character through the power of autism (being completely unaware of the social cues telling him to avoid her and being extremely straightforward when complimenting her). He’s able to inadvertently twist any conversation by misinterpreting what people say, often taking things literally. The idea that someone doesn’t like this girl just Does Not Compute in his head. He’s astoundingly hyperempathetic, just the idea that he may have hurt someone made him burst into tears; and yet he seems to have difficulty reading other people’s emotions. And he has no sense of personal space at all. He’s a sweetheart and he makes up for every shitty “neurotypical person proves how nice they are by befriending the autistic person” trope."

Kai -

"I don’t think I can explain this in a convincing manner, but trust me it makes sense. For an (ex)assassin he is so bad a lying, he brings up details no one was talking about and ends up getting himself into trouble because of it. This is a massive spoiler, but I do think it’s really important to the point; during the first main game the cast are discussing the kitchen incident and whether or not Kai actually threatened Nao, causing her to attack Sou. During which they ask the question why? Why would Kai want Nao to do that, what would he get out of it? They eventually come to the conclusion that it’s because he was trying to steal the computer that Sou had found, and this immediately dooms Kai to his unfortunate fate. But the only reason they are able to get there is because Kai himself says ‘to steal something perhaps?’ when being questioned why he’d have it out for Sou. At that point it’s not even being bad a lying, there was no attempt to lie there he just said what happens in front of everyone and doomed himself. I love him but he’s not always the wisest. There’s something about even the main character thinking openly that he’s a bit weird. One of his first lines after being introduced is him worrying about the laundry he left hanging outside. They’ve been kidnapped and put in a death game and he’s worried about laundry. There something relatable about his limited facial expressions. His face doesn’t really change much unless he’s showing really big emotions, which makes him come across as really aloof and mysterious. The classic ’are you okay? you look sad’ face. Kai also won the most autistic Yttd character - excluding Gin- poll, so there’s that."

Albedo -

"Poor boy does NOT know how to be social with people and spends most of his time drawing stuff on a freezing mountain so he can avoid any kind of social interaction. Also he eats spiders and it's funny."

[pianostarinwonderland]

Well that ending for Playful Land was something !

Seeing the differing reactions of the ending among fans has been pretty interesting for me. Some find it to be the perfect ending, others find it a cop-out and a disappointment.

Personally, Playful Land's ending is the most interesting ending I've seen in a Twst event. I've never experienced a lot of mixed feelings for an ending till now.

On one hand, based on the event tl summaries, it did feel like a cop out to me. Fellow did win against the boys. They were going to die. And it was all ended by a call from his boss. It felt anti-climatic the first time I heard about it. Heck, it reminded me of how I felt with Endless Halloween's ending with how it was all just a prank. Admittedly, a lot of these feelings is because we had one book dedicated to 9 people fighting underworld blot monsters and saving the world, and they came out victorious xD with how Twst boys always manage to win in dire situations, it feels so weird that they were losing here.

On the other hand, I'm not mad about it. In fact, I think the "cop out" works for a few reasons.

There was indeed build up to the call, with Fellow calling his clients and boss in Episode 3 of the event. We saw how shitty the relationship is, we already see that Fellow was only in it for the money. If you researched or watched Pinocchio for this event, you would know that Honest John himself wasn't comfortable with Pleasure Island. But he still took up the job simply because it promises money. And Fellow is the same—he took up the amusement park job because there was money promised. And with his employers and clients being rich people? All the more enticing, especially since he isn't from a privileged background. Fellow has to make ends meet one way or another.

The boys were in a losing situation. Our boys may have witnessed many terrifying things like Overblot and Tartarus and came out victorious, but they're not invincible. The park was funded by influential people who have the magic and resources to make it so nobody escapes no matter what they do. They were also taken down one by one, with the SSR trio being turned to puppets by Fellow ripping their ticket, which was out of their control. And I think it may be worth keeping in mind, they're not Azul, Idia, and Malleus. They don't have the powerful magic or the ingenuity that the Glomas trio hold. They have their own strengths that do make them worthy of being the SSRs of the event (Ace's wit, Ortho's robo abilities, Kalim's kindness). But they were at an inherent disadvantage. (And on that note, it suddenly makes sense as to why the event started with the basketball team losing to RSA's—to establish that NRC isn't as strong as people would think).

It makes the situation all the more horrifying in the way that it's real. Aside from Lilia, the boys are still young people who are susceptible to crimes like human trafficking. A lot of victims don't make it out alive. NRC boys were just fortunate that they were able to talk to Fellow and have that his boss had one hell of a temper. Imagine if that boss was more patient. Imagine if they weren't able to get on Fellow's good side. Hell, the ending was hauntingly vague about the rest of the park goers. What happened to them as they blew up the amusement park? And hell, it gives not only the boys but the audience so much room for thought on the what ifs. What if that call didn't come through in time?

On the topic of being real, I also like that they really highlight Fellow being so done with his boss. It reflects a very real scenario of being tired of a toxic workplace, and you know what, rooting for you, Fellow. Get out of there.

It's so interesting how this ending works. Maybe there could have been a better ending. But as it is, it does work.

[sleepyheadincoulds]

Each Song Explained

NOTE: Some things may not be cannon to the story, and each chapter is 20 songs or possibly more or less!

Prologue + Chapter 1

[Prologue]

Middle of Nowhere

During the student orientation 

Yeah she’s lost guys ☹️

Goodnight Dad I Love You

First night alone but in Ramshackle

She’s a daddy’s girl guys and she’s never once not said goodnight to her dad

Police Scanner

Her first day at NRC

Learning about the school and becoming aware of her surroundings

“Self-care / Self-aware / Good people out of view / Soul to bare / Changes come / Something strange, yeah, something new”

Fluxxwave

Just a vibe, but when she first meets Ace and Deuce and gets in trouble for the chandelier and stuff

ketamine

Another vibe

When everything is fixed and Emmanuel and Grim become students

[Chapter 1]

Where’s Your Head At

When Ace comes to Emmanuel about his situation with Riddle

In a World of My Own

When Emmanuel first comes to Heartslabyul to meet Cater

Heartslabyul reminds her childhood memories

Babydoll

Making a tart after being kicked out of Heartslabyul by Cater

Sixteen

“You've been a juvenile / With a dolphin smile”

Reference to Ace

“You're only sixteen / Try to cross the line / But your little wings are intertwined / You're only sixteen / And you're such a tease And there's nothing you do / That can really please”

When things start to get out of hand during the Unbirthday

Painting the Roses Red / March of the Cards + The Queen of Hearts / Who’s Been Painting My Roses Red?

Emmanuel starting to get dragged into this mess

Mr. Brett

Emmanuel trying to defend Ace

“Mr. Brett, we won't pay that fee / To keep you livin' in luxury / Some say genius, some say mistake / But you've become what you used to hate”

Mr. Knowitall

“They call me Mr. Knowitall / I will not compromise. / I will not be told what to do. / I shall not step aside.”

Beefing with Riddle and Riddle insulting Emmanuel of where she came from

Riddle: “Clearly, you were born to parents with no great magical capability. And as a result... You lack even the basic education necessary to attend a school such as this. It's quite sad.”

Loose

Ace stepped in to defend Emmanuel

Deuce: “You little...”

Ace: “You shut your spoiled little mouth!”

Emmanuel: “Damn!”

“Watch these fuckers jump when I get loose”

Purity

“Someone find me, please, losing all reserve / I'm fucking gone, I think I'm fucking dying / Hands on my face, overbearing, I can't get out!”

Overblot

Emmanuel is literally dying from Riddle’s impacts

Cardiac arrest pt. 1

“There's something inside me / You all stare, but you'll never see / There's something inside me / You all stare, but you'll never see / There's something inside me / You all stare, but you'll never / see / There's something in you l despise!”

“I am willing and able and never any danger to myself / Knowledge in my pain, knowledge in my pain / Or was my tolerance a phase? / Empathy, out of my way / I can't die! / I can't die! / I can't die! / I can't die!”

Home Recording

When Emmanuel is under a coma after cardiac arrest

Just for one day

Fight For Your Right

Mostly when Emmanuel, Ace, Deuce become a trio (officially)

They’re gonna be a headache for Riddle (Emmanuel may be a bit mischievous)

The Judge

Emmanuel and Riddle kinda starting to form a bond

Emmanuel was a bit hesitant to trust him but understood about his past

“You're the judge, oh, no / Set me free / You're the judge, oh, no / Set me free / I know my soul's freezing / Hell's hot for good reason / So please, take me”

Emmanuel is the ‘judge’

Unbirthday Song

Yay! A good Unbirthday party! 😸

HOT TO GO!

A happy ending for this chapter of Emmanuel’s journey :)

Emmanuel’s song

Headcannon: She will teach them the dance

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Warning: I write Yuu/reader with she/her pronouns

In case it isn’t obvious, ‘Found Family’ is one of my favourite tropes in fiction. I love everything about it.

As someone who’s favourite animes include Haikyuu and Assassination Classroom, I’d love to hear more about Yuu/reader’s relationship with her fellow first years - and by that I mean the NPCs that are in her class.

I once made a post about how when she dates a Dorm Leader, she basically become’s the dorm’s mother/darling angel who they would protect with their dying breath and can do no wrong ever where all of the NPCs love her but I always thought that she’d have a closer relationship with her fellow first years because 1) they’re the same age as her and they’re also new to the school so it would be easier to connect with them and 2) she spends more time with them so it would be easier to form a relationship with them.

Like, I know that Ace + Deuce + Yuu/Reader (+ Grim) are Ride-or-Die-BFFs-Do-Not-Separate but it would be cool to see Yuu being her own person and forming friendships with her fellow first years by either being table buddies for a lesson or they’re working on a group project or they’re helping each other out with something - and the NPC is friendly with her not because she’s got connections with his dorm leader but because she’s a genuinely cool person to be around.

I just think that it would make sense for her to feel close to her fellow first years and they would be the easiest to make friends with. It would be so wholesome for her to have these sweet platonic friendships in this strange magical world. 

It would be so cool to see her walk into Octavinelle and the Trio think that she’s here to spend time with them only for her to cheerfully say that she’s going to hang out with her friend Tristan and they’re like ‘Octavinelle Student C?!’ or for the Riddle, Trey and Cater to just watch in confusion as Yuu is happily chatting away with some of the Heartslabyul first years during a croquet match.

I did have this idea where all of the first years go on a camping trip as a school outing and I just thought of other school trips they could do together (since trips are usually done by year groups).

I just think that it would be cool for her to have some friendly faces she could rely on if she ever needed assistance and the main cast aren’t available.

[dweetwise]

[Riconti] The Long Con (part 2/6)

Bitchy Felix my beloved. Rated T | 2k words | ao3 link [previous] [next]

"Oh, really?" Ace said, feigning interest. "An architect? That has to be a really demanding profession."

The man next to him cleared his throat. "Not really."

Ace forced a smile and silently cursed his luck. He'd been trying to break through this guy's facade for nearly half an hour without much progress.

"He's lying!" the woman opposite the table from Ace exclaimed loudly. "Two weeks ago, we stayed at the office for 36 hours straight to finish a project!"

"Wow." Ace whistled lowly. "Now that's what I call dedication. You had to be dead on your feet after, huh?"

A minute shrug from Mr. Antisocial. "A little."

"You drank a quadruple espresso. Black," the woman continued, then turned to Ace. "I thought he was going to give himself a heart attack—I kept screaming 'Don't you dare die before you finish that render!'"

Ace laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, have to keep your priorities straight. And for what it's worth, I'm very happy neither of you succumbed to a caffeine-related early grave."

That got a small twitch of the man's mouth. "I think Americans and the sugary milkshakes you call coffee are more at risk for that."

"Well, excuse us for not wanting to drink bean water au natural," Ace teased.

The joke only earned him another bored glance. Ace took a big gulp of his beer to fill the awkward silence.

This really wasn't going according to plan.

When Ace first walked into the beer tent that Meg had pointed him to, he'd been briefly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the space. The tent looked even bigger than it had from the outside, full of tables and benches and a bar that ran almost the entire length of the room. A good portion of the tables were already occupied and wait staff scurried about in traditional outfits, carrying huge glasses of beer to their eager customers.

Ace had made his way to the bar and ordered the first beer on the menu. The bartender—dressed in suspenders and lederhosen and one of the ugliest pairs of socks Ace had ever seen—filled his glass from a wooden barrel, and Ace had to admire the vendors’ dedication to preserving the old-timey atmosphere.

Unfortunately, tradition also seemed to dictate that the default serving size was one whole liter of beer.

Ace had struggled to even carry his damn beer without sloshing it all over his favorite shirt. In the end, he only made it to a currently closed section of the bar, but it was a good vantage point to take in the sea of people.

While observing the chatter, the unholy amounts of beer being consumed, and the most leather pants Ace had seen since the eighties, he'd spotted a small group sitting at a corner table not far away. Or more specifically, his eye had been drawn to a woman dressed in a seemingly unassuming white t-shirt and a simple silver necklace, gesturing animatedly with her purse as she talked to her friends.

But the shirt looked like an expensive material, the sunglasses pushed up into her hair were from a designer Ace recognized, and the necklace he remembered seeing in a pawn shop—selling for over a grand. The woman's entire outfit radiated the sort of casual luxury that most people wouldn't even notice.

Fortunately, Ace had spent the last thirty years practicing how to do just that. And with the majority of festival-goers sporting identical-looking traditional Bavarian garb that was impossible to appraise, the woman was by far the safest bet when it came to schmoozing up to a wealthy target.

Ace sipped on his beer and kept watching the group out of the corner of his eye. It was only three people—the woman and two men—and Ace waited to see if others would be joining them from the bar or returning from a bathroom break. Larger groups were usually harder to squeeze into and if another woman joined the trio, they were obviously two couples enjoying the festival together who would not be happy about Ace fifth-wheeling.

But after ten minutes and no sign of potentially missing friends or the group even glancing around for anyone, Ace felt confident enough to proceed with his plan. He gave himself a cursory once-over to check for beer stains on his clothes before making a small detour back to the bar, just on the odd chance that he was being watched. He pretended to study the food menu before looking around the tent like a dumb little tourist—which wasn’t entirely an act—and then made a show of noticing the group for the first time and strolling up to their table.

After that, it was the familiar spiel of, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?", followed by a sheepish smile as they turned to look at him, and then, "This is actually my first Oktoberfest and I'm a little lost."

The woman had immediately offered an excited, "No, no, sit down!", the man next to her had smiled and nodded, and Ace turned to the final member of the group who he'd only seen the back of so far—

And proceeded to nearly choke on his spit because holy shit, was that guy a model or something?

One of the most handsome men Ace had ever met frowned at him, his brows drawn together as his icy blue eyes studied Ace. His blond hair was impeccably styled with not a strand out of place and his checkered dress shirt and navy blue waistcoat hugged his broad torso perfectly. Like almost everyone else, he was also wearing lederhosen, though these were of the more form-fitting variety and Ace sorely regretted not ogling his backside while he'd been watching their table earlier.

Ace managed a friendly smile, to which the man just turned back to the table and shrugged unenthusiastically. The message was clear: Ace could stay, but he wasn't happy about it.

Not bothered by the reaction, Ace took his seat and the woman immediately started introducing them all in heavily accented English. Her name was Lauren, the man beside her was Daniel, her husband, and the hottie with a bad attitude was Felix, her business partner slash best friend.

And, really, Ace's original plan had been to simply befriend Lauren—at least as soon as she said "husband" and Ace realized that flirting would probably not go over well. Still, Lauren was sociable, already tipsy, and seemed to like Ace from the get go; it would probably only be a matter of time before she asked her charming new friend to watch her purse while the rest of them got more drinks or something.

But then Ace rolled up his sleeve and reached over the table to shake Lauren's hand, and Felix's gaze immediately snapped to Ace's exposed forearm before roving over his entire body.

Ace's skin felt hot from the obvious once-over and he almost stuttered on his own name as he greeted both Lauren and her husband. When he went to shake Felix's hand, Felix's large palm was a little sweaty and he couldn't quite meet Ace's eye anymore.

And sure, Lauren would have made an easy target. But Felix? 

Well, flirting was definitely back on the menu when it came to Felix.

…Or that's what Ace initially thought, but after countless attempts at conversation that Felix shut down immediately, he was starting to doubt his intuition.

Maybe Felix hadn't been checking him out. Maybe he just hated arm hair with a passion, or felt extreme second-hand embarrassment from Ace's shirt choice?

Ace forced down some more of his beer and desperately grasped for another conversation starter. He glanced around the tent and spotted a few rays of sunlight shining in through a transparent panel on the ceiling—surely, small talk about the weather was at least a safe topic? 

"Really nice weather for a festival," Ace said.

"I like rain," Felix said, because of course he did.

Ace would have probably excused himself at that very moment. But Felix started unbuttoning his cufflinks—the tent was getting a little warm from the sun—and Ace happened to catch a glimpse of his watch in the process.

Mechanical. Swiss made. Possibly platinum?

Oh, and probably worth at least thirty grand.

Realization slowly dawned on Ace: Felix was likely the wealthiest person in the entire room. Hell, maybe even the entire festival.

Ace straightened his back and put on his most charming grin. The pot had just been sweetened a whole lot, and Ace wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

He'd crack this man's code somehow.

═════════════ ♤ ═════════════

"—And Melbourne was really nice as well," Ace said. "Have any of you been to Australia?"

"Not yet," Lauren said.

"Once, but that was over twenty years ago," Daniel said. "I don't remember much."

Ace nodded, then smoothly leaned closer to Felix. "What about you, blondie? Any exciting travel—"

"What are you doing, dad?" a very familiar and thoroughly exasperated voice butted in.

"Meg!" Ace exclaimed, quickly putting distance between himself and Felix. 

He turned to face Meg, who was standing behind him with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. At least she'd had the decency to pretend they were related instead of addressing him as "Hey, asshole" like she did most times.

"I was just getting to know some of the locals," Ace said. "Did you want to join us? I mean, if that's okay…?" He glanced at Lauren in question.

Lauren was already nodding enthusiastically, but Meg immediately shot the suggestion down. 

"No," Meg said pointedly. "I just wanted to talk to you. Alone."

Ace smiled at the table. "Be right back."

═════════════ ♤ ═════════════

"What the hell are you doing!?" Meg hissed once they were out of earshot.

Ace shrugged. "Getting into the festival spirit?"

"If by 'festival spirit' you mean Blondie McSnob's pants!" Meg accused. "Just nick his wallet and dip!"

"I'm playing the long con," Ace said. "He's loaded, and he likes me."

Well. Sort of. Maybe.

Meg crossed her arms again and glared. "I remember what happened last time you said that."

Ace winced. "Last time" referred to almost a year ago, when he'd seduced a target and then ended up running through the fancy garden of her estate in the middle of the night, clad in only his underwear while her husband chased him with a shotgun.

That night Meg had been the angriest Ace had ever seen her, patching up his wound from where a bullet had grazed him while screaming in his ear about, "You knew she was a mob wife and you still fucked her! You could have died, you fucking useless piece of shit!"

Ace knew it meant, "I was so scared, please don't ever do that again."

"It's not like that," Ace insisted. "He's harmless."

Meg scoffed.

"Come on, look at the guy," Ace said. "He can barely put a sentence together and he's an architect. The most dangerous thing he's done is probably yachting without a life jacket."

Meg snorted and discreetly looked back to the table. "He does kinda seem like a nerd."

"A rich nerd," Ace stressed.

"Ugh, fine," Meg groaned. "As long as you remember rule number one."

Ah, throwing Ace's own teachings back in his face: one of Meg's favorite pastimes. Rule number one, of course, being, "Never get attached to your target."

"I know what I'm doing," Ace said, then smirked. "You'd better get to work if you still plan on winning our bet, dear 'daughter'."

Meg responded with the middle finger, and then she seamlessly slipped back into the crowd.

Ace sighed and absent-mindedly fiddled with the rabbit’s foot hanging from his belt: one of the knick-knacks he’d attached to it in what the internet told him was an old Oktoberfest tradition. Hopefully one of the lucky charms would work, because god knows Ace could really use some good fortune right now.

Forcing a smile onto his face, Ace ventured back to the table.

[ace-of-garlic-breads]

Animaniacs Headcanons

I recently came upon my 5 page Harry Potter HC google doc so I thought I would do it for one of my most recent Hyper fixations

- Hello Nurse Mindey and Katie Kaboom's Moms Sister - the mime creeps Wakko out, - Slappy basically adopted the Warners as her grandkids - all the Warners share traits with the animals they described themselves as in the "what are we" song - Wakko is partially colour blind - they also shake themselves dry after swimming, gating rained of etc - Dot sometimes can't handle water - Dot's claws grow the fastest and the longest out of all the Warners - Yakko bounces when happy - Yakko has really sensitive hearing - Wakko has pretty bad sensory issues, but they're calmed by their hat, - when having a but of a sensory overload Wakko tucks their ears into their hat to cancel out the noise - the Warners have a three teir bunk bed, and whever Dot can't sleep she usually alternates on which brother she goes to for comfort - when it's Yakko, he usually tells her a story and sings a song - and When it's Wakko they usually just Let Dot sleep in their bed and provides sufficient hugs - Wakko has read the whole Riordenverse multiple times - and Wakko hot Dot to read them too - Yakko is not much of a fantasy book fan but - Wakko is ambidextrous - Wakko is really good at physically demanding tasks - Yakko is the Brains of the trio, Wakko is the Brawn and Dot is the Beauty - Wakko prefers Skirts to pants - Dot goes out with Wakko to buy dresses, skirts etc, - Dot and Wakko act like twins, since their only one year apart in age they just treat eachother like twins (people also ask them if they're twins and they just say yes, cause it's funny) - Dot is really good at embroidery, cross Stich etc, and she makes little things for her siblings - Wakko and Dot once went as Dipper and Mabel for Halloween (Yakko went as Grunkle Stan) - sometimes all three Warners just pile on top of each other on Yakko's bed and sleep there - Hello Nurse is Basically the Warner Sibs mum - Minerva and Hello Nurse have a bit of a thing goin on (crack ships my beloved) - despite being severly lactose intolerant Yakko just doesn't care, he'll eat cheese, chocolate etc - on a separate Halloween Wakko and Dot dressed as Leo and Piper - Angelina fell first William fell harder - if the Warners were humans they'd be half British and half from Warnerstalk (Germany) and have Vertiligo - Angelina is German but has an American accent (VC Taylor Swift) - William is British and has a British Accent (VC Weasley twins) - Angelina is an only child and William has two siblings - Dot loves Musiums - after Pink Dot's favourite colour is yellow - Yakko's favourite colour is Lavender (this might be canon idk) - Wakko likes alot of the cool colours like blues, greens and Purples - Yakko is dog shit at math and I will die on this hill - Wakko is actually really good at it and helped write the Multiplication song - Dot is semi tiktok famous - Yakko gets into random fights with people on Twitter? X? idk anymore - Wakko streams of YouTube and Twitch - the Warners have a pretty big YouTube channel - Wakko is a really good cook - Dot can't cook for shit, she has burnt Water for Spielberg's sake - all three Warners love the Owl house - they dressed up as both the Blight kids (Y: Ed, W: Em D: Amity) and the Noceda kids (Y:Hunter, W:Vee,D:Luz) - Wakko has a mild Cat allergy - -all the Warners are Ace - Yakko is Pan, Wakko is Aroace and Dot is Bi -Wakko is Non-binary & uses They/them Pronouns -Yakko is a Demi-boy & uses he/they pronouns - Dot is the only Cis Warner Sibling (you could say that she's the Warner Cis-ter) -Hello Nurse is a Lesbian - Dr Scrach'n'sniff is Trans-masc & Gay -Hello Nurse & Dr Scrach'n'sniff co-parent the warners

[scrapyardboyfriends]

In my opinion, 2015 was quite good even without Robert and Aaron (though that really stepped it up). I actually found the Ross/Debbie/Pete storyline really captivating, especially with the reveal at the wedding and then them thinking Ross died. It was quite well done. After 2015, I started to lose interest if Robert and Aaron weren't involved in a story. Also, the ships were better in 2015 too. Robron had electric chemistry, and Ross and Debbie had genuine chemistry as well, and I think that's something really lacking in the ships now. As a result, it makes it hard to believe that there's actual love between the characters. Like I'm sorry but are we meant to believe Mack loves Chloe, because there's NO chemistry there lol. You know things are going downhill when they're seriously planning on getting Victoria with her ex fiances son lol

I wasn't the biggest fan of Ross and Debbie but they definitely had more going for them than any ship these days. I was far more of a Ross and Donna person. That was good stuff.

The relationships these days are tragic. They just throw people together with no build up and then it's like "set it and forget it". They get no development as a couple until suddenly they have a random plot that either breaks them up or lasts for two seconds and then they're off screen again.

I was trying to think if there are any couples in the terrible trio's run that I've though actually worked.

Bernice and Liam are one that I thought actually worked really well and they did get a lot of fun story and development. It's just a shame that Sam had to leave and screw it up because nothing they've done with Liam since, relationship wise, has really worked as well.

Liv and Vinny worked fairly well. I mean I have my own personal reasons for appreciating that relationship but they meet all of my low bar criteria, which is impressive these days. Because Liv was ace they couldn't just have them sleep together and suddenly be a couple. They actually had to tell a different kind of story. Different being that there was a story. Haha. But no, they had to go through different stages because of the ace aspect. And that gave them more time for development. Plus being the romantic subplot of the Paul saga gave them more screen time to develop too.

Jai and Laurel were a good match. And they did actually get something of a story getting together although they could have done a bit more. But they've at least had various plots over the years to actually develop them as a couple.

Marlon and Rhona reuniting worked fairly well. Now, I think they work largely because of all of the history between them that the terrible trio had nothing to do with so I can't give them too much credit.

Matty and Amy I like, but I like them in spite of the absolute nothing that the terrible trio have done with them.

Billy and Dawn I liked in their first incarnation but I still think they missed a huge opportunity to have Billy be a part of the Malone lie and be ride or die for Dawn in that crisis. Instead they broke them up and only really put them back together again because they had to replace David and Vic in the Meena story. Now they're...fine I guess but they only get annoying kid stories.

But the rest...

Vic and Luke were insulting. Vic and David were okay sort of until external reasons ruined them and then they should have just let it go. And now we have this Vic and Jacob thing, which is just weird. Ethan and Marcus were a whole lot of nothing. Nicky and Suni could be something but I have no faith in these people to actually put in the work. Wendy and Bob have been pretty awful. Wendy and Liam were horrific. Chaddy lasted waaaaay past their sell by date. Belle and Tom are boring. All of Gabby's relationship attempts have been terrible. Brenda and Eric and pretty dull and are really only together because the actors are together in real life. Mack and Charity really never worked. Mack and Chloe is a joke. Amelia and Noah are kind of obnoxious. Arthur and Marshall could have been something but then...weren't. Will and Harriet were...not great. Will and Kim are so mismatched they have never worked for me and their relationship also came out of nowhere and was never developed properly. Andrea was the worst thing that ever happened to Jamie. Andrea and Charles were pointless. Charles and Manpreet could have been something but they overly relied on their convoluted past and haven't developed them since. Jacob and Leanna were all over the place just for extra dramatics when she was murdered. Graham and Rhona were terrible and never made much sense. And Ben and Aaron were obviously an abomination.

I could go on but you get the idea. I really think relationships are one of the biggest things they need to work on. Because they can be great sources of drama but also great sources of positivity if done well. And the show is desperately in need of the occasional bit of positivity.

[tired-fandom-ndn]

-hello ^^! i want to ask: what youre opinion on sabolu? or asl as a trio ship in general. sorry if there are errors, english is not my first language

I can't ship just sabolu, I love Ace too much to excluse him :(

I like asl in the context of an AU where Sabo doesn't "die", either because he didn't try to leave at all or because Ace and Luffy got to him before Dragon did. I feel like if he actually got to grow up with them, the three of them being a triad instead of it just being acelu would be pretty inevitable.

Sabo would be the. . . foundation, I guess? Not the heart of their relationship, that's definitely Luffy, but the one who's steady and solid. He cools Ace's temper, reminds Luffy to think for even a moment before acting, and is just as ready as the other two to throw down if his idea of diplomacy doesn't work. He's the one who keeps them all together when they leave for their journeys, instead of letting Ace just run off and leave them behind out of some misguided idea that it's for the best.

In a semi-canon context though, where he still ends up amnesiac with Dragon (but Ace LIVES because he always lives in my heart), idk if asl would work out. I think the people they'd become in the time he was away might be too different for them to click the same way, and Ace and Luffy had years to build a relationship and bond that Sabo was not part of. He would have to work damn hard to build his relationships back up with both of them, and any hint of a romantic relationship would be very far on the horizon.

[kiwikipedia]

Not me rushing to finish this just before valentines day ends lmao. Also two pieces in one day? Slow tf down you’ll die by the end of the week Kiwi

Ahem. Anyways. It’s been like 6000 years since I’ve drawn either Clay OR Seph. Despite the fact that Seph is literally one of the easier OCs of mine to draw lmao. Nonetheless, happy valentines times day or whatever I guess (lol)— have the Rough and Tumble Cowboy Businessman and his Pastelcore Pastry Chef wife.

(minor notes/lore and also taglist under the cut~)

For anyone who doesn’t know me via Pisscord Discord/hasn’t read my attempt at a PLA AU (Even the Gods Cowered) which is basically Dad Clay and the Nimbasa Trio, Persephone “Seph” Spring is the younger twin sister of Naomi “Nomi” Spring and the two run a teahouse together with one other friend of theirs who is a menace to society— Lila Archibald— on the edges of Driftveil City.

In Even the Gods Cowered, however Seph has since passed away, leaving Clay with a house that’s a bit too big for one man, and a few pokemon who he since inherited from her. Don’t worry, she’s only dead in this AU. That I will finish one day. Maybe. Hopefully. (probably??)

The two sisters hail from Galar originally with one parent being from Galar and the other from Hoenn, having moved across to Unova when they were in their teen years— though Seph’s team is primarily Galarian and Hoenn in nature with her starter and ace being a massive Corviknight she named “Lancelot”. He does show up in Even the Gods Cowered.

Both Spring sisters have shown up briefly in my SW universe as well, where their roles are pretty much the same, save for the minor fact that their tea house doubles as Bounty Hunter Guild informant building and spa.

Clay and Seph’s ship name being “Elysian Shipping” “Elysian Duo” is a bit of a lore joke that stems from Greek and Roman mythos. Clay's moniker is the "Underground Boss" which I linked to Hades' roman counterpart, Pluto— who is also the god of riches found beneath the earth. riches → mining. And Pluto = Hades, and Hades’ wife is the goddess of spring, Persephone. The two rule the Greek underworld and Elysium is one of the realms in the Underworld.

So yeah. There’s that bit.

Ok im done talking for now lfkhdskfhsd

Taglist:

@jedifisto​​ @spaceydragons​​ @purgetrooperfox​​ @spacerocksarethebestrocks​ @insanelytomato @babygirljoelmiller​ @certified-anakinfucker​ @d3epfriedanger​ @genifer-first-of-her-name​​ @thecodyagenda​ @babygirl-leon-kennedy​ @txtalnyx​ @jawajawas​

Taglist Form or feel free to ask me to get tagged (just DM!)

[lasenbyphoenix]

10 Characters I Fell In Love With in 2023

I liked doing this retrospective so I'm bringing it back. I feel like I didn't watch many shows in 2023 but of the shows I did watch there were SO MANY good characters that making this list proved to be difficult to narrow down.

1. Tang Lian, The Blood of Youth.

The Blood of Youth gave us a main trio of an exiled prince, a chaotic monk and a himbo firestarter, but it was Tang Lian the ace shixiong who was the first in the series to make me go oooh he's mine. Was it the purple clothes? The grey streaks in his hair? The romantic awkwardness? The hyper competence with small deadly weaponry? The crisis over following orders vs following his heart? All of the above probably. And I'm very glad the creators of the bonus episode decided to agree with me that HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO DIE otherwise I would have been throwing hands.

2. Sikong Changfeng, The Blood of Youth.

While the main trio are very fun to follow along with, they are also very young and at my age now I find myself gravitating towards appreciating some of the older generation just as much. Sikong Changfeng is one such character, and chosen because he's someone I think I'd like spending time with. He's a practical man among outlandish people, a doting father, and the fact that he'll throw a tantrum in public when one of his fellow city lord's decides to slice their training tower into pieces is a refreshing change from the great and aloof martial experts of his generation. And just look at that cloak!

3. Di Feisheng, Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

I came to MLC for Cheng Yi, and watched with amusement as other tumblr users fell head over heels for the moody antagonist until I got halfway through the show and had to mentally apologise to everyone because y'all had the right idea, omg how do I explain how Di Feisheng endears himself right into your heart and stays there? He's very show-no-weakness especially for someone who gets constantly nerfed - and boy do I like watching a strong man being whumped - he has the aesthetic of a total Boss and a sword named Sword.

He's unapologetic about his ambitions to be The Best Ever, which comes across as a bit shallow until you learn that his entire goal to be strongest ever is to be able to overcome the mind control bug forced onto him by the slave driver who raised/trained/tortured him as a kid and kick the guys ass. Which is the best and most heart breaking reason for a character to do anything and if that doesnt make you love him then the cuteness of the A'Fei amnesia arc certainly will.

4. He Xiaohui, Mysterious Lotus Casebook.

Again the older generation appealing to me, Fang Duobing's mother is absolutely a character you want on your side in a crazy place like this show. Taking in her sister's son as her own, she doesn't hide what she thinks of the jianghu when Fang Doubing runs away from court life, but also happily creates an accupressure torture machine when he needs a prisoner interrogatated. A little haunting can't scare her off from a bargain for her new dayspa empire, and she's barely rattled after being kidnapped. She's just so fun.

5. Yang Wuxie, Heroes.

Clever, loyal and funny are 3 easy ways to win me over. But they also went ahead and wrote a man who said "you're my only friend" and proved it with his every action -

- The way he pauses at the door to plaster a smile on his face before entering the room when Su Mengzhen is sick,

-  "can you take the archers on that side?" "Yes, but I'll die."

- clinging to SMZ's robe and weeping that he can't find him

- being trusted with the final blow, and crying all the while....

I really don't have the words. End me now.😭😩

6. Di Feijing, Heroes.

Again the loyalty of the subordinate is what moves me in this show and I chose Di Feijing for this list because I didn't expect to be moved by him. At first everyone in Six Half Hall seems to be there for their own greed, which is good for them but can be a very flat motivation to watch. It's after the death of Lei Sun that his story unveils itself and his protection of Lei Chun comes to the foreground and you learn that he's a moral person stuck in the middle of corruption and obligation.

I kinda feel like he got shafted by being ordered to stay out of things, because I reckon if given the chance he could have actually sorted a bunch of shit out?? I liked the handful of interactions between Di Feijing and Wang Xiaoshi and wish there could have been more.

7. Lee Rang, Tale of the Nine Tailed & Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938.

Protagonist's little brother with severe abandonment issues and a grudge to match, deadly but secretly a softie? Sign me up. The spurned sibling is by far the most relatable and likeable of the antagonists in season 1, and you get the joy of seeing him turn from the dark side due to the Power of Family, but still cuss and sulk the whole time. They created such a fun sibling dynamic that they had to go back in time for season 2 so that we could have a whole nother season with the two of them bickering and fighting for each other. Also, the looks he had going in season 2 were stellar.

8. Li Wu, Pledge of Allegiance.

I'm predisposed to liking Zhang Yunlong, and Li Wu was both very fun and very angsty to watch as he lied his way into and out of all sorts of trouble.

As Li Wu would tell you, he's just a theif! Selfish, no moral compass to see here..(Rescues kid from being arrested, finds kid a job)(shares his money with his friends in the alley)(helps them flee when he thinks they're in danger because of him)(keeps the knife as a reminder of the death he feels responsible for)(helps the son of the man he killed when he finds him again)(how many times does he save Lu Zheng from himself and all the people gunning for him??)(unravels political conspiracies)(and so much more). Just a theif! Sure thing Jan.

9 & 10. Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, The X Files.

Having only started watching The X Files for the first time in 2023 (and only as a filler show when I was too tired for subtitles,) I now find myself in season 7 of the show, entirely because of these two leads. What can I say about Mulder's non-threatening, hyperfixating, dorky ass and Scully's brainiac does-everything-he-does-only-backwards-and-in-high-heels competency that hasn't already been said? They're just *chefs kiss*

If anyone else wants to do a similar review I'd love to be tagged and see your 2023 blorbos!

[gcfmug]

ZeroRanger is an interesting game

i haven't played all that many kinds of shmups. only Touhou and R-type, which i played when i was like 12 and haven't touched either franchise since. the closest to a bullet hell game that i've played otherwise has probably been The Binding of Isaac and Nuclear Throne

ZeroRanger is much more of a normal shmup than a bullet hell. it has fairly simple bullet patterns, and it's rare to see a "heat seeking curving laser" , the closest you get to that are streams of bomber ships trying to blow you up by ramming into you

mechanically spaking, the game is pretty simple. you have omnidirectional movement (though that requries playing with a joystick), but no speed up / slow down function (unless, again, you play with a stick). your ship starts out with only it's main fire, and as you advance through the stages you gain more weapons, finishing with the ability to turn your ship into a goddamn mecha

the first time i saw the transformation sequence cutscene, i was completely sold

there are 2 ships. rybb and decker, type-b and type-c respectively. every weapon you have fills the same function on both ships, but they fire differently or have special attributes. an example is that rybb's charge shot explodes into a fireball upon impact, while decker's has infinite piercing. there are nuances for every weapon, but from my time playing, both ships are just as strong and capable of finishing the game

what, to my opinion, sets ZeroRanger apart from other shmups is it's visuals, it's story and it's soundtrack. the story is... honestly a bit too complex to get at first, mostly because it is shrouded in symbolism and mystery.

it starts out fairly simply — a massive alien fleet invades earth, leaded by Green Orange. earth's defense systems are compromised, and the ace pilot that was supposed to fight off the invasion is MIA. you're one of two sisters (of a trio, where the other is the ace pilot) and you got a ship that is barely functioning. time to save the world

the beginning couldn't be more generic, and it stays that way for a few stages as well. you fight off waves of enemies — most of them are earthen ships, flying drones, tanks, battlecruisers. there're hints that things might be a bit... weirder than it is immediately apparent - as the bosses you fight take more and more damage, they reveal a massive glowing Orange eye at the center of their bodies upon reaching their last health bar, and upon defeat, they bestow you two glowing orbs where you find your upgrade weapons

grabbing one plays a short cutscene with an ominuous backing track, ending with a strange symbol. if you're familiar with buddhism, or know sanskrit, you will quickly realise that this symbol a number, written in sanskrit. destroying an orb, however... well, destroys it. you gain nothing but a massive distorted explosion.

if you're starting out, and you haven't played many shmups, it's probably fair to say you have died, either on stage 1 (probably to the first miniboss, tbh) or on stage 2 (probably to the miniboss, again. or-typo is a binch). when you die for the first time you get this cute little message that goes something like "you have entered an endless cycle of life and death"

upon dying, your score is converted into extra continues, filling up an eight pronged gauge that looks like this

at this point, the symbolism is fairly clear, and it only becomes clearer as you play. ZeroRanger's story is one that mixes sci-fi and Buddhism, where your goal is to escape the cycle of reincarnation by... well

as you continue playing, you will eventually reach higher stages. stage 3 is where you gain the ability to transform into a mecha — a power bestowed to you after defeating the stage's boss, a humanoid mecha that fights with a swarm of sword-like drones, who uses said drones to create an impenetrable shield around them

the game after stage 3 is where all pretenses of this being a simple story gets thrown out of the window. enemies now are filled with eyes, you fight the reincarnated minibosses from stage 1 and 2 together, who upon being defeated turn into flying buddha heads (which turn into flying heat seeking bombs when killed). as you fly into the enemy base, you destroy wave after wave of skulls, gaining entry after defeating a giant skull with a single eye in it's forehead

you enter the base by being devoured

fighting onwards, you are pitted against overwhelming odds, waves of controlled earthen fighters oppose you, and the better you have played thus far the harder the difficulty becomes. stage 4 seems to finish once you destroy a strange skull shaped boss, which spews large orbs... similar to the ones you've used to power yourself up, though touching these is a deadly mistake.

inside the skull, you find the center of Green Orange's command, and as the pre-boss text indicates, you are going to have a pretty awkward reuinion.

for the first time you find someone, or something, willing to talk with you. Erasure. a computer created using a mysterious artifact found a long time ago by earth's government. this computer predicted the alien invasion, and using it's peculiar powers of reality manipulation, you and your sisters were trained to become the fighters who would one day destroy the invading fleet.

sadly, Erasure was hijacked by Green Orange, and thus now fights for the opponent.

still, Erasure seems to have some amount of regret over the whole thing, telling you that your chances of survival are zero. but that you must "do not give up". it then sends you into a gauntlet of bosses

of these, 3 are mandatory fights, and one is not. you are transported to a strange, dark room, where instead of a ship you seem to have become a small, orange sphere. a large, humanoid monk — corpse like and desiccated — seems to be sleeping. hitting them triggers a fight.

if you pop their snot bubble, they wake up, and begin a tale:

a long, long time ago, manusya such as us were invaded by an alien fleet. using the power of the Lotus Jewel, we created fighters to destroy these aliens. manusya, fearing that the skies would covet the power of the Jewel, sent it's strongest fighter into the great beyond — to kill, destroy, and annihilate any form of life in a pre-emptive strike.

this, they say, is the story of a god who wanted to become...

and then Erasure pulls you back.

if you manage to win against every boss, Erasure gets stumped by your perseverance and skill. however, it says that "Green Orange would not be happy seeing you still alive, but i got a solution!"

the solution is sending you to the past.

this is where i am, so far. i keep dying to the last boss of 2-2, so this is where this review? ends. i kinda know the rest of the story, but i want to experience myself

and if this shitty cliffhanger makes you want to experience the story, well, there're a few full playthroughs on youtube, and the game is pretty cheap. go listen to the soundtrack, it fucks hard