#and then there's iris who ALSO died and came back different...

[emmodii]

30/08/2024, 4.30pm

[persevereforahappyending]

Maybe in Another Life |8|

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Hunter of Artemis!Reader

Summary: You are a Hunter of Artemis, but you start to question what you truly want when you meet Clarisse and get to know her.

Warnings: Slight Titans Curse Spoilers

Word Count: 2.2k+

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 14 | ch. 15 | ch. 16 | ch. 17

You trekked through the woods with your sisters until Artemis decided on a spot to settle for the night. It had been about two months since you left Camp Half-Blood, since you last saw Clarisse, since Zoe died and Thalia joined the Hunters, taking her place as lieutenant. You threw yourself into the Hunt as much as possible, focusing only on what you needed to. It didn’t work, you were still reminded of Zoe’s loss every time you looked up at the night sky. You thought the distance from Clarisse would kill your crush, if you weren’t seeing her every day and spending time with her, you figured your newly developing feelings would be quickly snuffed out and everything would go back to the way it was, you were wrong about that as well.

You should have known grieving Zoe wouldn’t be as quick as the others. Losing a sister was always hard, losing the person who’s been by your side for a thousand years, that pain was indescribable. You took risks during hunts, cutting it close a few times, a lot closer than necessary. All because you took chances Zoe would have never let you take.

Everyone handled grief differently, some moved on quicker, some, like you, were still dealing with the loss just as hard a few months later. Even in a group of Hunters, that traveled together, lived together, and were around each other every day, all grieved differently. A lot of your sisters came together, spending more time together and just appreciating each other more. You were the opposite, distancing yourself as much as possible. You’d still train with them, you could still work flawlessly as a team, but you didn’t talk to them, not really. Thalia was similar to you; she was clearly grieving Zoë as well. She was also still getting used to the whole Hunter thing, she was a natural leader but some of your traditions, you guess could call them that, she was still learning.

You helped your sisters unpack, setting up each of the tents around where the campfire would go. A few of your sisters were already in position around various points of the campsite to keep watch for the night. When everything was unpacked, and your sisters started gathering around the campfire next to Artemis, you made yourself scarce. You caught Thalia’s eye and gave her a nod to let her know you’d be back. She watched you for a second before returning the nod, redirecting her attention back to Artemis who she sat beside. You knew Thalia had questions or thoughts on what you did but she never questioned you, you appreciated that, you didn’t have anything to hide but you didn’t feel like discussing these things with her.

You made your way through the woods, the chatter of your goddess and sisters getting quiet the more distance you put between you and them. You smiled when you came upon the creek you had been anxious to get to. The trees opened up around the creek, revealing the night sky in its entirety. You looked up, your eyes instantly finding Zoe’s constellation. You sighed, before pulling out a gold drachma and your little mirror that helped you make a rainbow almost anytime you wanted.

You said your little prayer to Iris and tossed your gold drachma into the rainbow. It was only a few seconds before Clarisse’s face appeared in the rainbow. “Hey,” you said, smiling.

You and Clarisse had Iris messaged each other every week since you left camp. Usually multiple times a week, there were weeks you talked every day. You could only talk to her when you guys were making camp or taking a break, so communication was more on your front than hers, but she always answered. You always tried to give her a good idea when you’d be able to contact her again or when you knew you’d be out all night and wouldn’t have time. Your talks were a nice break from the day to day of hunting and failing to find what you were looking for; besides, it was just nice to talk to her still.

“Hey,” Clarisse greeted. “How’s the hunt going?”

You let out a tired sigh, despite immortality and all the other perks of being a Hunter, you could still get exhausted. “That good?” Clarisse chuckled.

“Castellan really knows how to hide,” you mumbled. “Not that he deserves the credit, he is having quite a bit of help.”

You didn’t know all the details about what happened on the quest, all you knew was that despite what Percy originally thought, Luke was still alive. When you and the other Hunters caught up with Artemis again, she informed all of you that your new mission would be tracking Luke, anyone working with him, and gathering whatever information you could. Despite the years of experience Luke had the help of Kronos, the monsters, and who knew how many others. Every time you guys got a lead Luke was already gone, days ahead of you.

“We made camp for the night,” you sighed. “It kind of reminds me of your spot.” You looked around at your surroundings, there was a stream under the moonlight, surrounded by trees. You could almost believe you were back at Camp Half-Blood, except for the fact that you were in a different state hundreds of miles away.

“How are things there?” you asked.

“Well, Jackson’s gone, so it’s been nice,” Clarisse stated plainly. You couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Annabeth and I have been working on something.” A smirk appeared on her face.

“You and Annabeth are friends now?” you raised an eyebrow.

Clarisse was quick to scoff. “Let’s not go that far.”

“Oh, that’s right you don’t have friends,” you said, laughing at your own joke.

Clarisse made sure to flip you off and throw a glare that would intimidate most people through an iris message. Good thing you weren’t most people, and you found her glares harmless, they were actually almost adorable.

“What have you and Annabeth been working on?” You questioned when your laughter died down. If Clarisse was working with Annabeth on something, then it had to be important.

“I can’t tell you,” Clarisse said, giving you an apologetic look. You tilted your head at that, there wasn’t much Clarisse would keep secret from you unless it was absolutely important. “But I’ll be going on a secret mission in a few days so I might be unavailable.”

That made your heart drop and not just because you might not be able to talk with Clarisse. That uneasy feeling you got when Zoe was given her last quest came over you. It wasn’t as strong or as dire as the one with Zoe, but a little red warning light was going off in your head. You weren’t sure why, demigods went on quests all the time and Clarisse was more than capable, maybe you were reading too much into it because of your feelings for the daughter of Ares.

You had expected your feelings for the Ares girl to disappear after getting away from her, but it seemed with each passing day you only fell deeper. Every conversation, every new thing you learned about her, made you like her even more. There weren’t many people you could talk to for hours, but she was one, you didn’t even have to talk, even during an iris message the two of you could sit in silence and be comfortable.

“Who’s going with you on your quest?” You questioned. “Annabeth? That what the two of you are working on?”

“Actually…” she started. You scrunched your eyebrow when you saw Clarisse avoiding eye contact, which she never did. “It’s not an official quest.”

That sent a shiver down your spine, making you stand straighter. The only time campers left camp was when they were part timers and were going home for the school year or when they were going on a quest. Chiron never let campers wander out otherwise, it was much too dangerous for a demigod.

“What?” Your voice sounded hollow as you asked, already knowing you wouldn’t like whatever she said next.

“It’s a scouting mission,” Clarisse said. “Chiron asked for me specifically.” She gave you an apologetic smile, she clearly knew the risk of this mission but even through the iris message you could see the pride in her eyes.

“And Annabeth’s going with you?” you knew you were grasping for straws, but you had to hold onto the little bit of hope you had.

“No,” Clarisse admitted, straightening her back. “This is a solo mission.”

You looked to the ground, nodding your head. “Not going to wish me luck?” Clarisse joked, giving you her usual arrogant smile.

You couldn’t help but smile, lightly chuckling. “Luck is for losers,” you said. “Just…” you sighed, looking up at the sky, your smile sure didn’t last long. “Stay alive.” You looked Clarisse right in the eyes. You knew you shouldn’t ask that.

“I promise.” You knew she shouldn’t promise that.

Demigods should never promise to stay alive; it was nearly an impossible task. Demigods were created to go on quests, to run errands for the gods, to fight their wars, and to die in their name. If Chiron was sending a camper on a mission, that couldn’t even be classified as an official quest, alone, you knew it must be of the utmost importance. You didn’t know Annabeth very well, just that you liked her more than Percy and Thalia. You also knew she was smart and if she was involved in helping set up the scouting mission then you had to assume the mission wasn’t meant to be dangerous. Not that that mattered, every mission and quest for a demigod was dangerous, just walking down the street could be the death of them.

“How’s the princess doing?” Clarisse asked, breaking you out of your thoughts.

You chuckled, Clarisse had taken to calling Thalia princess and you couldn’t deny that there were certainly times she acted like a princess, though she also commanded like one as well. “I mean…” you started, glancing behind you when you heard branches breaking. “She’s capable but it’s not like she’s the best lieutenant we’ve ever had.”

“Rude,” Thalia said, walking up behind you but staying far enough back that she didn’t overstep into your and Clarisse’s conversation.

You couldn’t help but scoff. “You think you actually compare to Zoe?” you glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow.

Thalia rolled her eyes but raised her hands. “I have no notions of competing with Zoe.” You gave her a sad smile. You respected that though she might have taken over Zoe’s position, she was clearly not trying to replace Zoe, she understood you were all still grieving her. “Artemis wants you back.”

You nodded, watching as Zoe stepped further back, out of earshot of you and Clarisse. “Duty calls,” you said, looking back at Clarisse.

Clarisse nodded. “I shouldn’t be leaving on my mission for a few days, talk before then?”

“Of course,” you smiled as you both ended the call.

You sighed, you were going to talk to her at least one more time before her solo mission, hopefully. You were sure you’d be anxious until you got a call from her telling you she was back from the mission. You would happily listen to her recount the tales of her mission, exaggerating how heroic she was in whatever she was meant to be doing, you would listen to her for hours if it meant she returned alive.

“You two seem to have gotten close,” Thalia commented as the two of you made your way back to the campsite.

“We’re friends,” you mumbled, shrugging off the nerves you got at someone else noticing how much you seemed to care for Clarisse.

“Annabeth’s my best friend and even I don’t talk to her that much,” she mumbled.

“What are you implying?” you spun around, pulling her back by the arm.

You kept your gaze firm as you glared at her. You hadn’t broken your oath, but you weren’t sure you could deny your evolving feelings for the daughter of Ares if someone directly asked about them. You swallowed as you saw Thalia’s eyes scan over your face, widening slightly, the only reason you noticed was because you were inches from her.

“Nothing,” Thalia said, shaking her head. You frowned when she took a step back from you, Thalia never backed down and it was clear she had something to say. She pushed past you to walk back up the hill. “There’s nothing wrong with your friendship with Clarisse,” she turned her head just enough to barely glance back at you.

You watched her walk back up the hill. You couldn’t help but feel like there was a second meaning to Thalia’s words. You shook off the tense encounter before following her up the hill. The fire with all your sisters gathered around quickly came into view. Thalia took her seat at Artemis’s side. You took your place on the other side of Artemis, this was where you belonged, you needed to focus on the current objective and not worry about Clarisse. Who knew, maybe no contact for however long her mission took would do you some good, maybe your little crush on her would finally die.

Taglist: @cxcilla @touchmyfracturedomens @luclue @manu-007s-world

[cabe0512]

Richter Belmont and Maria Renard, the Duo Protagonists of The Rondo of Blood.

Even with the bigger cast of characters for The Rondo of Blood, it's best that I should narrow the focus of the first few arcs down to the main protagonists of the story, namely Richter, Maria, and later Annette.

I personally loathed the way Nocturne portrayed Maria as this foul-mouthed, sarcastic revolutionary instead of the lovely, purehearted character whose compassion and unwavering hopefulness is what compelled her to face such harrowing dangers that even Dracula found endearing. So I took influence from that and being 12 years old in the game, she undergoes a certain character arc where her worldview is tested by the obstacles she meets like Shaft, the Revolution, and her own developing abilities, forcing her to grow and mature as both a child and as a magician.

Richter, on the other hand, is leagues different from his portrayal in Nocturne (which I equally despised for how badly-written and inconsistent it was). Even though he still faces a great tragedy back in 1783 (this time it's his father, Reinhardt Schneider, a distant descendant of Trevor Belmont, who dies at the hands of Eztli/formerly N!Olrox), Richter developed a sense of guilt that further boiled into anger and would be the driving force behind his desire to be stronger, in hopes of protecting his mother (now named Sonja Belmont) from a similar fate.

Richter also recovered his magic earlier in the year 1789, the same year he met the young alchemist Annette de Winter and Sonja being killed by the same vampire behind his father's murder, further fueling his thirst for vengeance. Annette becomes his close friend and companion as they survived the horrors that came with the outbreak of the revolution, with their bond growing stronger over their shared grief as Annette also lost her mother Iris earlier that year. Under Juste's tutelage, Richter had grown accustomed to his magical abilities and strives to do his parents justice by saving innocent lives from the forces of evil and hunting down the vampire Eztli.

The main storyline begins in 1792 just as the two first met in Boston with Maria having escaped the chaos in France, being forced to leave Annette behind which weighed heavily on her conscience. This would give me the opportunity to build up their dynamic a lot more than Nocturne, forming a makeshift siblingship bond during the little time they had in Boston. Bound by their shared love for Annette (being Maria's adoptive older sister and guardian), the duo leave the comforts of America behind and return to France to save their lost friend from a rising threat across the sea.

[dangermousie]

Do you like triumph of evil in your kdramas? A small rec list for the pessimist in you

If, like me, you got into kdramas way back when or like older kdramas, tragic endings are not a particular surprise - endings where one or both members of the OTP die were pretty common and even unsettling endings that remind you of the world being rather unjust (Bad Guys) also happen.

But I am talking about something more than that - an ending that really socks it to you, by making you feel the villains won, it was all in vain. I confess when well-done, I love the bleakness of that type of ending. So here are my five favorites for this sort of thing:

Hong Gil Dong (2008)

This story of a rebel fighting to overthrow the mad tyrant and bring justice to the people has the most thoroughly bad ending on the list. Who dies? EVERYONE EXCEPT THE BAD GUYS! I don't mean the OTP, I don't mean your fave secondaries, I mean everyone. The sheer realistic bleakness of the ending is breath-taking. Gil Dong, his OTP Yi Nok and the rest of the rebels are murdered by the forces of the king they put on the throne. The last shot of the story proper is them standing watching a shower of arrows coming towards them, staring at their death. The only survivors are the King and the secondary girl and both are monsters. The king is the man they put on the throne with so much effort but who cannot allow them to live because what they want is not to replace a bad absolute ruler with a different one (that he may have coped with) but to replace the system itself - to hold the king accountable, and he cannot have that. In the end, a mad tyrant has been replaced with a sane tyrant and the class system and the injustices of that society that wrecked Hil Dong, Yi Nok and the rest continue unabated. And secondary girl betrays Gil Dong because - for all her sort of crush - she never truly saw him as human, just a fancy peasant toy that should be thrown away and punished for not behaving as he ought. In the end, the good guys, the heroes, who fought so hard are killed and it's not easy acceptance for them either (there is a scene where Gil Dong, knowing they are all dead once spring comes, admits to Yi Nok how terrified of death he is that has haunted me for a decade plus) and the monsters continue on happily. Sure, the people recite stories and new fighters will rise in their place but it's very much of a "no happy ending in our lifetime" message.

At the time this drama came out, the Hong Sisters were known for their romcoms and this started out pretty goofy - watching it live as it got darker and darker was a hell of a trip and the ending made the fandom insane. But the more I thought about it, the more I loved it, the more fitting it seemed. I love all the other takes on rebels against the crown a la various other HGD and Iljimae adaptations but this one has, to me, by far the most fitting ending.

IRIS (2009)

Talk about bleak. This drama starts as your standard if high quality actioner about competent glam agents of a secret CIA type agency. And then it all goes to hell in a handbasket for our mains as it turns out a secret evil organization is the one that's pulling the strings, and our protagonist Kim Hyun Jun (played by Lee Byung Hun in my favorite of all of his performances) is sacrificed for complicated reasons that are only gradually revealed and begins his descent into hell. He starts the story as a competent, cocky sweetheart and transforms into a PTSDing shaking hands wreck. And you watch him fight so hard - fight through all the torments inflicted, fight to protect his loved ones and to keep his sanity, and fight to take the evil org down. You watch him slowly rebuild himself, and to slowly find happiness again with the woman he's loved all this time, Choi Seung Hee (played by Kim Tae Hee in my fave of her performances, who has unknowing ties to the org) and to fight over the org and inflict damage on it.

And then we get that ending, as he's finally found some peace and safety, and he's driving to propose to Seung Hee and as he sees her, he's shot in the head, point blank and he lies there, dying, seeing her but not able to reach her, tears falling out of his eyes as she waits oblivious for a man who will never come and it's made so clear that the org goes on, that nothing has been defeated and that it has all been for nothing - he's been killed as a punishment to him but also as a message to Seung Hee that nobody ever escapes - for her to find his body and realize it was all for naught. And it is also made clear that there was NOTHING he could have ever done to avoid this fate except if his parents made different choices before he was born (!!!) Talk about bleak. I sobbed for hours.

Ja Myung Go (2009)

I've just posted about this one so I am not gonna re-do the comments but yeah, it ends with the OTP death, the kingdom destroyed and the one winner is King Daemushin, the bad guy. The God of Battles wins again. Sure he lost a son but he's got other sons. Worth it, would think the old monster.

My Country: the New Age (2019)

The rest of the dramas on this list are older. This one is not. Our two main protagonists die in the end but that is not what makes it so bleak - what makes it so bleak is that nothing of what they wanted came to pass. In a way, it's a bit of a Hong Gil Dong redux situation - there is a new ruler on the throne but he's not any better than the old ones and he's cleaning up the people who put him on the throne. Hwi especially fought so hard for a place and then just to have some peace and he gets neither, the man he fought so hard to put on the throne being his murderer.

What Happened in Bali (2004)

Ooof, this drama! We have four main characters and at the end, two of them are dead, shot by the third one who turns the gun on himself. The only survivor is the ice cold secondary girl who would probably not pause sipping her morning coffee when hearing the news.

This is a story of people damaged and ruined by a bunch of monsters who suppress any hope and anything good and cause more and more damage - we watch the three mains claw at others and at themselves hoping for happiness and connection and love and it all gets dismantled and set on fire repeatedly and in the worst way. It's perhaps the starkest with Jo In Sung's Jung Jae Min - who you watch taken apart and driven to extremity slowly and gradually over the course of the drama. And his monstrous family ends up triumphant at the end - even in death and murder he was not monstrous enough for them to fit in - and now they will continue their lives.

PS The scene where he shoots Ha Ji Won's character right as she's just finishes telling So Ji Sub she loves JIS and wants to go back to him and she tells him "I love you" for the first time ever as she lies dying - that lives in my head rent free forever.

[straightbaittournament]

may the best bait win! propaganda under the cut

kaname and hitomi:

They were originally going to become a couple after the events of the first game, but the creator decided against it in favor of focusing on the Father/Daughter dynamic w/ Date and Hitomi’s daughter, Iris (based and cool). Date and Hitomi have dated in the past before he lost his memory, have romantic tension afterwards, but as of the second game, are not together and don’t hint at becoming an item. In fact, Date reveals he’s receptive to flirting from his male coworker Ryuki (also based and cool). But also Datomi is MY non-canon straight ship and YOU CANT TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME- I am going to purposefully be vague about certain details to try to convey how they are straightbait without spoiling any of the game's huge twists. So, they were actually a couple in the past, but then 6 YEARS AGO, all the events which occurred 6 YEARS AGO happened, so they separated. Then the events of the first game happen, and once we go through all the different timelines to fully reveal everything that happened 6 YEARS AGO, and the game leaves off with it seeming like they are going to get back together now that they know everything they know about what happened 6 YEARS AGO. But then, the next (and currently most recent) game starts 6 years later, and we find out that 6 YEARS AGO (roughly 3 months after the first game) Date went missing before they actually got back together. So the events of second game happen, and now Date's back and once again the ending implies that they are going to get back together, but they haven't actually yet. But who knows what will actually happen if/when we get a third game. (The second game had this story issue in general where trying to make the mystery's big twist actually work came at the expense of any of the characters involved with it having any sort of growth). Anyways, PLEASE DATE JUST MARRY HER ALREADY (AND ALSO GET YOUR SECOND LEGALLY ADOPTED DAUGHTER)!!!!!!!! there is no way Kaname "all of my friends outside of work are people I met at the gay bar I always drink at" Date isn't Bisexual. This is their final appearance in the most recent game and they are still somehow not actually together

picard and dr crusher:

They have a number of romantic moments throughout the TNG series from arguably the first but DEFINITELY the second episode. but they only get together (briefly before divorcing) in an alternate timeline episode which is also the season finale. Also they have a kid together in Picard but are still not allowed to be together She was married to his best friend and he was in love with her but wouldn’t say anything because he wouldn’t want to damage his bestie’s marriage and then his friend died and they met again years later and shared a lot of romantic and sexual tension for years. He openly admitted (under mind reading) that he had loved her since his bestie was alive but felt he couldn’t act on it. In an alternate future they got married. In the canon future they got together and broke up repeatedly because trauma makes relationships hard sometimes and they have a kid together who is named after the aforementioned bestie. An episode forcing them to share thoughts makes him openly admit that he loves her and has loved her for years even when she was married to his best friend.

[spiderlinging]

Alright go! Top 3 starker fics you didn't write and your favorite you wrote?

Love it. Let's do this thang-

From Thy Bounty by feyrelay, natureboy (natureboi)

Tony’s eyes are always dark, but now there's almost no iris left. He looks hollowed out. There’s something terribly hungry there, despite the feast they've filled themselves on.

This will never not be on a fic rec list from me. It's incredibly well written, an amazing amount of sexual tension, and is just overall very hot. It's the definition of *chefs kiss*

2. when the sun came up (you were looking at me) by charonsdescent

After Pepper dies, Peter helps Tony pick up the pieces. Only picking up the pieces becomes a little more complicated when a new CEO (who may or may not be Harry Osborn) comes into the picture. And picking up the pieces becomes even more complicated when both Tony and Peter start looking at each other a little differently.

I rarely give 10 out of 10 for my bookmarks, but this one is. Slow, slow but perfect burn. So much emotion but also so much hotness. The love between Tony and Peter builds gracefully and maturely in a very realistic manner.

3. Permission by cagestark

During drinks with the Avengers, Peter admits that he enjoys orgasms more when someone is giving him permission, though since he's single, there isn't anyone in his life to offer it. Generous Tony offers to offer it.

I'm primarily including this one because I forgot to include it in my last fic rec list. Pretty sure I've read this more times than a sane person should. Even though it's not really my kink, it's a very good read.

4. The Name on Your Lips by me (aka Dryerlint)

Dealing with the aftermath of No Way Home, Peter Parker makes a life for himself under a new identity. He never imagined that almost seven years later he would come face to face with Tony Stark back from the dead. While Tony not recognizing him was unsurprising, the hunger in his eyes as he looked the boy up and down certainly was.

It was a toss up between this and Much Ado About Tropes. My favorite plot is Much Ado, but I think my favorite overall is The Name on Your Lips. It's the one I'm most proud of.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 4

Shortly after this scene at the Irie Clinic Rika and Satoko are off to the local game store to play their board game tournament like they did at the start of Watanagashi.

Seriously, the original art for Hanyuu makes her look like such a pathetic creature, just a real sad sack. Which I guess is a perfectly in-line look to have given her character is a rather gloomy apathetic individual. Hanyuu throughout the early stages of the chapter is constantly telling Rika to not get her hopes up and to basically assume that nothing about her fate is going to change at all ever.

A good portion of the board game tourney here is spent with Rika just overcome with a despair over how repetitious and pointless it all seems. It doesn't really get into it, but there's the distinct impression that she's lived through this tournament a fair number of times throughout the hundred plus year span she's been stuck in the loop. Also for some reason there's an odd change in the dialogue during this section. Rika tells Keiichi that he'll wind up playing the game Billionaire with his group, but when the store owner brings out the game it's a copy of the Game of Life. Which Rika acts like is normal, telling Keiichi that this is how fate always seems to shake out whenever they do this gaming tournament. Keiichi then decides basically, nuts to that and requests a different game for him and his group. Instead of Billionaire/Game of Life, the three play a game called pop-up pirate. Which is a game where you stab little swords into a barrel that has a pirate guy in it. This small change in fate inspires Rika to request a change to her groups game as well. It doesn't say what they change it to, but they do.

This small change in destiny made the visual novel then proceeds to skip over the game tournament. Presumably it happens the same as it did previously. I know Hanyuu is trying to keep Rika's expectations low so she doesn't get hurt by the lack of significant changes in her fate, but I do wonder how she perceives the small microscopic alterations to events like the above. Later on Hanyuu acts like these changes of events won't actually affect anything in the long run, and she advocates a "let's just let nature run its course" type of approach to Rika's situation. But I wonder if she's secretly slightly thrilled at the minor changes because it drags Rika temporarily out of her deep gloom.

It's now after the tournament, when the shop owner gives everyone, sans Mion a doll. I was surprised here because the visual novel offers a choice between whether Rika should try to influence events and convince Keiichi to give Mion the doll, or to observe.

I don't know if there will be ramifications further down the line, but choosing either option results in the same dialogue playing out for the most part. If you go with the try to influence Keiichi option there's a few lines extra about how he seems somewhat aware of your interjection, but otherwise it plays out the same.

I like the insinuation here that Hanyuu might not actually be Oyashiro. Who she would actually be is an interesting question I think, I'm pretty sure she is actually Oyashiro, but the idea that she's just some random horned weirdo who hangs out with Rika is also pretty amusing. Just some divine entity hanging out with the reincarnation of Oyashiro for a lark.

Oh yeah, also in this version of the universe Shion is in Keiichi and so on's class. It seems to be taking place in the hallucination Shion had before she died at the end of Meakashi.

Something that's been slightly bothering me since it came up in Tsumihoroboshi, and gets brought up again here is the change of the food they put the needle in from Onikakushi. They mentioned it was Ohagi, and it just struck me as wrong, because it was something else originally, I thought. So I went back and checked, sure enough in Onikakushi Mion mentions that they made mochi for Keiichi. Now I know this is a really extremely minor thing to get distracted by, but I am just sort of curious about the change here. According to the release dates on GOG and Steam there was four years between the chapters, and maybe it's more accurate this way or something. But there's been quite a few little changes in various aspects of the plots from chapter to chapter. The difference in the corpse tunnel in Watanagashi to Meakashi still being the largest one. It's not really affecting my enjoyment of the series, just a little oddity I've noticed.

Also did I mention Shion's back? She's back, in supporting cast form. And boy howdy do I have some opinions about some actions she takes later on.

[sea-owl]

Part two to the Iris Council. Find the original part one here, and the edited one here.

AO3: Link

Just as Penelope and Sophie said King Anthony had not gone to Kate's room that first night, or any night after since she's came to the Garden Palace. He actually left right after their dinner with Penelope and Sophie that first night to go back to Aubrey Hall. There was a kiss though.

As the king was leaving Kate was shown one of her duties that others will expect of her as part of the high-ranking concubines. It was simple, seeing the king off, and of course mid and lower ranked concubines could also join them, but of course the high ranked ones were the ones expected to actually see him off.

"It's technically practice since we have the highest chances of becoming queen," Penelope explained. "Gotta make sure we're prepared if we send him off to war!"

"And he dies under mysterious circumstances," Sophie joined in. "Leaving us all alone!"

Anthony rolled his eyes at their dramatics. Kate joined in on their laughter.

Finally, they reach the steps that lead towards the entrance where the concubines were not allowed to travel beyond without special permission. One by one the king kissed his concubines as was expected. They were quick kisses, nothing more than a peck of the lips really. Penelope and Sophie were quick to hide the lower half of their faces with their fans after. Kate could see both of them either pursing their lips or holding back a shiver.

Then it was Kate's turn. Just like with the other two, it was nothing more than a quick peck. Kate wasn't sure the shiver that went up her back wasn't for the same reason the other two had though. Kate wasn't sure she was having that same weird feeling the other two had as well. Why were her lips tingling? Is her face heating up? Kate quickly, and a little clumsily, hid her face just as the other two did.

After that it was down to business. Under Penelope and Sophie's advice Kate began to set up her new home in the Lily Pavilion. Currently the three of them were in the Snapdragon Pavilion where Penelope made her home.

Kate was finding out there was a lot of secret compartments in the Snapdragon Pavilion, some she thinks she will never remember how Penelope opened them. Upon Kate's request Penelope was gathering documents that contained information about the staff, guards, and most importantly the concubines of the Garden Palace.

"First things first we'll need to find you a head lady in waiting," Sophie said. "Someone you can trust to keep your secrets."

Kate's mind flashed to Felicity and Posy, the head ladies in waiting to Penelope and Sophie. The head ladies in waiting who were a little too young in Kate's mind to be in such a position.

Penelope plopped down a bunch of documents in her hands. "Your sister might be an option," Penelope suggested. "It's what Sophie and I did."

Kate snapped her head up. Now that she thought about it she could see a resemblance between the two red heads, not so much between the two blondes though.

Sophie glanced up at Kate from one of her financial reports. An understanding was on her face. "Posy and I are stepsisters."

"Oh." Kate nodded. "But I could hire Edwina?"

"If you trust her enough," Sophie replied. "While our head ladies in waiting don't know everything, they do know enough to know there is something else going on, but they also trust us enough that we can continue the ruse."

"So it's best if I pick wisely," Kate said as she skimmed over some of the documents on the other concubines. They must've been Penelope's personal notes, each one was written in her hand.

There were several different flower markings on the documents. A common one she noticed, especially among the lower ranked concubines was a rose. But there was a mixture of roses, hyacinths, daffodils, and poppies. The least common ones were an iris, and a lily. Kate could guess what the iris flower was supposed to represent, but the lily was an interesting one. She could only find it on two other concubines' information besides her own.

"What do these represent?" Kate asked as she pointed at the flowers.

Penelope looked at the documents. "Oh that's how I keep each girl organized. As you know not all of us are here as concubines, but we can't let other know that. Roses are for the actual concubines like those two." Penelope pointed out the window where two brunettes sat.

Kate dug through the papers to find their information. Sienna and Maria Rosso, cousins who came here at around the same time. According to their paperwork they both are singers. Kate noticed that Maria had a daffodil next to her rose, while Sienna had a poppy.

"Daffodils are to mark girls who have expressed desire to leave when the time comes, while those marked with a poppy have no such desire or they haven't expressed it," Penelope explained. "Hyacinths are for girls who are here out of protection more than anything else, they're the ones Anthony wouldn't touch. The iris marked girls are a little more obvious."

It was simple but effective, and should anyone accidentally come across these it would give nothing away.

"Huh, this is all so elaborate, " Kate said as she looked back at the documents. "How did this even start?"

Penelope sat down. "Well, at the time I was about two months away from turning fifteen."

-

"No Eloise."

"But Anthony Lady Hazelwood has brilliant ideas that could-"

"Eloise, I said no."

Penelope stayed silent as she watched the two siblings argue. She really wished Eloise would stop dragging her to these impromptu meetings with the king. This is the third time Eloise has tried to convince him to have a private meeting with Lady Hazelwood and much like the other two times it was not successful.

The open-door policy the king has for his siblings may not be lasting that much longer Penelope thought to herself.

Eloise huffed. "Why won't you even consider it?"

The king sat down his pen. "Eloise may I remind you that Lady Hazelwood is married to Lord Hazelwood? The same lord who is infamous among the court for his schemes of influence?"

"That is her husband," Eloise argued.

"Who she would have loyalty to." There was a finality to the king's voice. "My answer remains the same."

Eloise let out another huff and stormed out of the room. Penelope felt herself slightly pout. She cannot come and go as freely as Eloise does with her position as princess. Penelope was only a baron's daughter, proper etiquette demanded she stay put until she was excused by one of the royals. She picked at her skirt.

"Um, your majesty?"

The king looked back over to the seated area where Penelope still found herself. He looked tired. Penelope has known Anthony since he was prince and she was in leading strings due to their mothers' friendship. She remembers when the messengers informing every lord that they were required to travel to the ancestral home of the royal family, Aubrey Hall, for the coronation of the new king. She remembers thinking it was a mad house as each lord fought to be the leading influence over the new king who had yet to go to university and looked too young to be wearing the crown on his head.

Penelope could see Anthony about to wave her off, but he paused. "Penelope be honest with me, as a family friend, do you think this Lady Hazelwood to be genuine? Or is she like the others and trying to use one of my siblings?"

Penelope bit her lip, her brown eyes drifting towards her lap. Thinking back, if she was to be honest, Penelope shook her head. "In court Lady Hazelwood is always by her husband's side, or she is close enough to have him in her eyesight while he mouths the words she says."

Anthony nodded. "Thank you, Penelope, you may go."

Penelope bowed and took her leave.

Over the next few days, Penelope found herself following her mother around the court as usual, but something had shifted.

She couldn't quite pin point what it was. The rumors were the same as usual. No new schemes among the lords, no newcomers, and no one has announced an engagement recently either. Maybe something happened at one of the parties? While Penelope was old enough to start attending the day court, and technically she was old enough to marry with her mother's permission as soon as she was fifteen, she was still too young to attend the night parties. That had to be it honestly.

Satisfied with the thought Penelope settled herself in a corner as she watched yet another lord try to butter up their king. Marquess Stratton, according to the rumors he's been trying to weasel his way into the royal family's inner court even back with King Edmund had been alive. Unfortunately for him King Edmund held strong in his belief of those he was raised with were the only ones allowed into his inner court. This limited it to his siblings and the Rokesby family who has been close with the royal family for at least four generations now. King Anthony has refused to build an inner court at all, which was quite odd. Most believed he would follow in his father's footsteps and have an inner court made up of his siblings.

"Marquess Stratton is making a fool of himself," Portia, Penelope's mother, said with a shake of her head.

Other lords and ladies murmured in agreement.

"The king is just like his father. Just you wait his inner court will be nothing but his siblings."

"The Duke of Hastings might also be a member, they are best friends after all."

"He's just waiting for more of them to debut. Watch as soon as Princess Eloise is old enough to attend the night parties the inner court will be formed."

Penelope tuned out the whispers, it is nothing that has not been said before. Instead she refocused on the marquess. His back stood straight, but his arms were overly animated as he spoke. There was a shine on his palms like they were wet. Penelope could also see a slight limp in his walk despite how hard he tries to stay in one place. How odd, according to all the reports the battles at the border have all been successful, and there have been no rumors about injuries to the officers.

Penelope glanced up at the king, and flinched when she met his eyes. She was not expecting that, nor was she expecting for the king to have her stay back while the rest of the court dispersed. Not that her mother noticed she wasn't following.

Penelope bowed to the king who still sat on his throne. "Your majesty."

"Penelope be honest with me, as a family friend, what do you think of Marquess Stratton?" Anthony asked.

Penelope hummed as she thought back on the older gentleman. He certainly wasn't as calm as he pretended to be. Which was odd, Marquess Stratton should be ridding the highs of won battles right now. But instead he's hiding a limp.

"I think his reports of the battles are not as truthful as they should be," Penelope said.

Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"According to the rumors he's been successful in battle, but he walk with a limp he did not have before this current battle. Oh! He is also skittish when talking to anyone too!"

Anthony nodded. "Thank you Penelope. You may go."

Penelope bowed and made her leave. That was strange.

Two weeks later Penelope receives an invitation to tea in the royal family wing. It wasn't unusual for her to receive such an invitation. After all Eloise was her best friend, and hopefully Penelope can be her lady in waiting when they are older. What was unsual though was that only the king was waiting for her in the tea room. She didn't see her friends, the princess Eloise and Francesca, nor the prince Colin, none of the royal siblings are here. Not even their mother the Dowager Queen was present, who would never miss a tea time.

Penelope started to shrink in on herself. She was alone with the king. "Your majesty." She bowed, stiff.

"Penelope, I invited you here as a family friend, no need to be so formal," Anthony reassured her.

Penelope's shoulder loosened. She took her seat, busying her hands by making a cup of tea. "Pardon me Anthony, but where is the rest of your family?"

"I have sent them and my extended family on a trip for a few months this morning. I didn't want to risk them interrupting."

Penelope paused in her tea prepping. Interrupting?

Anthony sat down a folder. It was full of reports that have been edited, some even completely different.

"You were right, Marquess Stratton hasn't been truthful in his reports, as had other lords." Anthony scowled at the folder. Turning his eyes back on her they softened in a way she has seen when he looks at his younger siblings. "I can not trust them with the responsibilities I need to entrust to others."

Penelope furrowed her brow. "If you can not trust the lords Anthony, then why not air your concerns with your family?"

"They are too easily reached. Benedict, Colin, and Daphne are all attending the balls now. Eloise will soon start attending the day court, with Francesca following next year. You've seen it Penelope, some of these lords are like snakes who will say or do anything to get in their good graces."

Penelope sighed. She knew that was true. All too often she will see a lord or lady try to flatter Eloise to either gain her favor or find a way to get to Anthony through her. And with Eloise so vocal about her passions how often did she give others the exact words they needed to stroke her ego?

Anthony continued, "You observational skills have proven to be good use Penelope. You have not lied to me, and you genuinely love my family as if they were your own. I want to see you flourish those skills, starting at the balls."

"But your majesty-" She was cut off with a look.

"Anthony Penelope. We are speaking as family friends, not king and subject," Anthony reminded her.

Penelope took a breath. "But Anthony I am not yet of age to go. The only way for me to attend if I was married."

"Or a concubine."

Penelope whipped her head around towards Anthony. "A concubine? Me?" Penelope felt her face flushed. There were so many reasons she couldn't be a concubine, one that she'll never say aloud was her love for the third prince.

"That would be your public title, and how you would be perceived in the kingdom" Anthony said. "What I really want from you though is to be part of my inner court, my spy mistress."

Penelope's mind clicked. "Being a concubine would also keep untrustworthy lords away as well since I would be living at the Garden Palace when I wasn't with you. But um . . ." Penelope felt her face flush again. There was one major aspect that comes with the whole concubine territory that would be hard to ignore.

Anthony chuckled. "Penelope I swear on my father's grave that I will never force you or anyone."

Oh he was serious about this. Swearing on the previous king's grave was the strongest oath any member of the royal family would ever make. They would rather die than go back on their word sworn on the late king.

Penelope found herself nodding, ideas flying through her head. "We'll have to find a way to cover my face. If they can't confirm my identity they'll never know 100% if they are truly talking to the concubine. Also if we bring back the royal harem then we can bring others into the inner court, though perhaps we should call it something else?"

"Any suggestions?" Antony asked.

Penelope looked around the room until her eyes landed on a painting of an Iris flower. Benedict must have been working on it. Penelope turned back to Anthony. "The Iris Council?"

"It has a nice ring to it," Anthony said. "Alright Penelope first things first, we need to learn who we can truly trust to bring in. Learn the lords secrets and see if we can potentially bring anyone else in."

After that Penelope kept meeting Anthony for tea until two days after her fifteen birthday Penelope put on her mask for the first time and was presented to the kingdom as King Anthony's first concubine.

-

"It didn't take too long after that for word to spread through to the kingdom and eventually reach the ears of the Dowager Queen," Penelope said. "She stormed home with the rest of the royal family, demanding an explanation from Anthony. None of them would even look at me and I was standing next to him."

Kate's eyes widened. "Truly? None of them?"

Penelope shook her head. "Not a single one. It hurt at the time, but honestly it made things easier in the long run. I got to focus on building my life's work."

"Them refusing to learn our names or even hearing them also helps," Sophie added. "Confuses the lords in our favor."

"Their parent's love story was sacred to them," Penelope said. "Anthony taking a concubine and restarting the harem probably felt like one of the biggest betrayals to them."

Kate could see it. Mary was always talking about how precious love was, and lucky she was to experince it with her husband. The harem is just to extend the bloodline, it must feel so cold and impersonal in their eyes, even if no children have been born from it yet. But still that treatment isn't fair to the concubines. "Do you think that will ever change?"

Penelope picks up one of the files. "Maybe if Anthony takes a queen. But we're not quite there yet."

The light reflected through the paper, Kate could see the outline of a lily.

[kodachromantic]

wrote some braindump abt the hawthorne timeline last night cause when you think about it there are a lot of questions and ideas to put in. idek what happened but all of a sudden dahlia became a very interesting character to me (iris too but dahlia is just kinda surprising)

huge mega spoilers for aa3, also large and likely boring so uhh read more

thinking abt dahlia and how weird things are in the beginning of her timeline before things actually start happening and im trying to think of how to fill the gaps. what age were they taken away by their father? isn't it crazy how the family relation is kinda sorta glossed over for all of this?? mia and dahlia are COUSINS, BRO, FUCKING COUSINS AND PEARL IS HER SISTER LIKE!!!!! BITCH!!!!! there's a 4yr age gap between d/i and mia. were misty and morgan somewhat estranged maybe?? we know morgan lived in fey manor, but was that just bc she was maya's caretaker or would she have lived there regardless? did she leave once the master title was given to misty and then moved back in later? mia could be young enough with some leeway for them to have been taken when they were toddlers and have no memories (if they lived in different houses or something).

dahlia thought morgan abandoned them bc they had little/no power but that brings up a question of when can you tell of one's spiritual power? i feel like it makes sense to just say, you can't tell that young, thats just the reasoning dahlia came up with or maybe what her father told her. age here depends on how many memories you want them to have of kurain & morgan, if any--maybe 2-4 y/o so mia would be 8 at most.

how long did iris live with dahlia and their dad? how old were they when their father remarried? i'd kinda put this at around 8-10 years old just as a feeling. how long was iris around until she was taken away? did bikini know her origin? did she speak to morgan? oh god imagine bikini alerting morgan and morgan is either pregnant with pearl or just had her and rejects iris coming back in a cruel twist of fate (i think im using that right? lol) bc although morgan didn't abandon them bc of their lack of spiritual power, she now doesn't want iris back because of it

okay 14 years old now, post fake kidnapping. wiki says valerie found dahlia and took care of her. so dahlia was considered legally dead bc terry was arrested for her murder. i think i forgot valerie forged all the melissa foster documents and just assumed dahlia did those herself or even just didn't have documents?? i mean it says "unable to get her original papers" so i didnt think of valerie making any new ones. and then post/during fawles trial, she's just given her info back? i mean edgeworth knew who she was. nothing really happened?? it was just, yep that stuff was weird but here's ur id back. do u think her dad thought she was dead, did he believe in the story or knew it was fake? do u think he gave a shit??? does dahlia live with valerie afterwards? she was 18 at the time of the fake kidnapping, so 18-22 years old taking care of her (valerie died at 23, dahlia would be 18 when valerie turns 22)? or did she go back home to her dad like "whoopsies" and her dad just does not care i dont even know what happened to the diamond after. i guess the two were able to pawn it and get the money that way rather than from the dad and that's how valerie looked after dahlia?? either they lived together or valerie set up dahlia with a living space and sent her money or she just lived independently with valerie checking in. it feels vaguely like ema like "who took care of this child and where did they live"

the idea of valerie taking care of dahlia and somewhat being that parental figure for her but it's too late for dahlia for that sort of kindness to change her path. she was also probably too close in age so dahlia would be like "whatever bitch" as you can tell dahlia & iris have become very interesting characters to me over the past few days lmfao

wait thinking on it maybe dahlia did know they were cousins. she knew morgan was her mom, she saw the last name fey and mia's magatama, thats not hard to put together

------

thats the end of what i wrote lol, i've been trying to write a comic idea out for the past couple days in the evenings abt dahlia and iris and i kept getting into roadblocks, first just the idea of writing and how daunting/hard it is, but then later the timeline and how it'd work and if my ideas for it even fit. so i had an idea for them to talk about their father briefly but then remembered dahlia jumped off the damn bridge & melissa foster and it got me down a rabbit hole. so now i'm either going to rethink that section or just plow through like fuck it and maybe change my idea for the timeline at a later date. who knows if it'll even be made w the pace im going lmfao!!!

i do like that bikini/morgan interaction tho i think i'll try and make that. if anyone reads this at all first of all hi teehee second of all if you want to do that idea literally feel free i wouldnt be upset in the slightest. lil egotistical of me to assume someone would want to tho LOL

[its-queen-panda-bear]

so I noticed that you have at least two dc ocs, mind sharing all the ones you have? i really enjoy seeing everyone else's ocs that they come up with

I would love nothing more than to show off all my DC ocs because I am genuinely so obsessed with them!

The first one I made, I've already yapped about before but his name is Ambrose Constantine and he's the son of John Constantine. He started off as being his dad's sidekick/apprentice, then a member of The Outsiders, and then later on in life became Death itself (it's a very long story)

Next one is Robert "Bo" Allen. He's the son of Barry Allen and Iris West, and he originally came from Earth 63 (DC vs Vampires universe) but unwillingly was sent to a different Earth where he now resides. In his original earth, he took up the Flash mantel after his dad's and Wally's death, but since they're now both alive, he goes by Bolt and works as a personal bodyguard

Billie Drake-Kent is the clone/daughter of Tim and Kon. She was Tim's 100th attempt and came out of the tube roughly at 2 months old. When she was 2, Tim became Joker Jr and killed the original Joker. He never recovered though and threatened Billie's life, forcing Kon to take her far away from Gotham and never told her about what happened to Tim, leading her to believe that he was dead... until she was about 14 and found out the truth after Tim kidnapped her. She then briefly became Cass's first Robin, which lasted for only a year before she took on the name Solarflare

Holliand'r aka Stormfire is my first ever villain(ish) DC oc. She's the daughter of Blackfire and Dor'ion, although her dad died before she was born. When she was a child, her mom misfired a blackbolt during a fight between her and Starfire, which ended up hitting Holli in the face and leaving her blind. When she was 19, she snuck away to Earth behind her mom's back in order to prove to herself that she wasn't worthless and could take care of her own by taking down Starfire all on her own. She hasn't succeeded... yet.

Next is Ramona who is the daughter of one of my friend's oc, Sibella, and, unfortunately Slade Wilson. She doesn't have a great relationship with either parent as one hates her and the other kidnapped and blackmailed her into working with them (you can which is which) She spent a few years working as a mercenary alongside her dad, before eventually escaping his side to strike out on her own. She's now currently more of an anti-hero as she fights to take down corruption using the skills she learned from Slade

Last but not least, is Sunday Monroe. She is my other villain oc she is a semi-undead Talon in The Court Of Owls. She comes from a very wealthy and influential family in Gotham that have been members for generations. She willingly underwent an experiment with a new serum that enhanced her senses and abilities with an increased healing factor, but it left her in a weird in-between state of not being exactly dead but also isn't quite alive as the serum is constantly trying to kill her but due to her healing factor, it can't

[nell0-0]

Just had an idea for your 'Emmet reunites with Ingo is funny ways' fic. (You don't have to write it, just a scenario you can imagine)

Have you ever heard of the theory that Elvis never died but became a fast food worker in a different state? They constantly laugh at it in the book Good Omens but it's a real theory.

Well imagine: Emmet has decided that he wants some junk food, maybe it's a bad day and he needs a pick me up or it's a good day and he decided to treat himself. He going to get quite a bit so that he can binge watch train documents until early morning cos its one of those days, he might even order more if Elesa is invited.

He goes into a small time fast food chain (maybe he's in Unova and it's one he used to visit or maybe he's in Sinnoh and it's recommended) and at the counter he's face to face with Rei/Akari and Ingos in the back flipping burgers.

It's 2023, inflation hasn't made it easy to house a time displaced full grown man. Even though they could make some money battling, they don't want Ingo to be in the spotlight as a professional battler just yet as he's only just gotten used to some modern things.

Thankfully this fast food chain is known for taking on anyone regardless if they are qualified and the food and equipment is simple enough for Ingo to use, helps that it isn't really popular too. Rei/Akari works with him to help him adjust and to help with any food rushes.

So yeah. There Emmet is, standing in front of his adopted nephew/niece and his long lost brother handing him a tray of a dozen fries, burgers, nuggets and a slushpuppy while in an apron and goofy hat.

Omg anon, what would your reaction be if I showed you one of my wips with this idea. It's been months since it's been a things in my phone's note app and I had completely forgotten.

LOOK AT THIS (far from complete but oop-):

The seat felt uncomfortable under him, but Emmet didn't have any other option than endure it, self imposed suffering as it was. He had promised Iris he would take her out to eat wherever she chose if she managed to regain her title as champion. Defeating Rosa, after all, was no easy feat. Not only was she one of the region's heroes, but also a regular at the Battle Subway. Emmet knew first hand how difficult, how fun and challenging, it was to fight her.

And finally, after a year and a half of frustrated training sessions and manic strategizing, Iris rose as champion of Unova once more. Enduring it was.

That didn't mean he wasn't enjoying himself, though. Emmet usually had some time set apart for socializing with family and friends at least twice a week, so it wasn't a matter of social battery. Just the wooden seats.

He could understand from an objective point of view why this particular restaurant had them. it was aiming for an 'old era' feeling, with high barstools, wooden furniture and walls, gentle light coming from paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling... There were also sepia photos filling the walls to the brim with pictures of extinct pokemon and historical figures, of which Emmet only managed to recognize profesor Laventon. If he looked more closely, maybe he would distantly recognize more from his time in school, but he had no interest. He had a set schedule, a point of arrival already in sight.

To have a fun night out with his favorite (and only) cousin.

Why this place, he had asked Iris. To try something different had been her reasoning, of course.

The restaurant wasn't as bombastic as the usual Nimbasan ones, not even Unovan. A fairly new restaurant that focused on 'traditional Sinnoh' cuisine. He usually wouldn't trust such bold statements in Unova of all places, yet all reviews of people who came from Sinnoh had seemed surprised in a good way.

Emmet's preferences had always been to traverse the same tracks over and over again. Always the same. But it was Iris who was asking, and for family Emmet would go a long way. Especially since...

Must have been verrrry fun to battle Rosa again. Emmet wondered when the girl would show up in the Battle Subway, since now she had the free roam being champion didn't allow her. Emmet hoped Rosa chose the Doubles. He would see her regardless, but he verrrry much hoped for the Doubles line.

Emmet was sure Ingo would have been delighted to see Rosa challenging the Battle Subway again. He sighed. Damn it, he had been avoiding the thought of his twin so well lately, too. It hurt to be glad about it, but Emmet was so, so tired of the constant agony. He was sure Ingo would forgive him, just this once.

"Heeeeeeyoooo, Nimbasa to Emmet! Are you there?"

"I am Emmet. I am here. In front of you."

Aaaaaand that's about all I have written out. From there it would go on a funny reunion with chef Ingo, waiter Melli and a Karen. Melli vs Karen the ultimate showdown. Poor Ingo.

Lmao, I wanna get back to writing fanfic so bad, but I really really shouldn't right now.

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Massacre Chapter 3

Takano don't make a creepy face for one panel challenge: Impossible

Seriously, this is the kind of face I would imagine a sadist doctor would make when giving someone an injection.

Satoko has some incurable sickness. Irie said it's a foreign substance and removing it could result in an extreme reaction in Satoko. Irie said the disease is at level three.

Takano, show us the stuffed animal!

The Rorschach inkblots were made public domain in the US in 2009. From what I can find, Japan's copyright laws give works a 70-year copyright after the time of publication. The inkblots were first published in 1921.

The original copyright of Massacre volume 1 in Japan is also 2009 with a translation done in 2012. So if Momoyama wanted to, she probably could have used an actual Rorshach inkblot.

A call from Tokyo, you say? Tell me more Irie.

Rika says the world will end in two weeks. Does she think time stops and rewinds or does she just not care about the world if she dies in it?

For the record, these are parallel timelines. The world continues to exist even when Rika dies.

That 50,000 yen came out of Mion's pockets? I mean, in 1983, that would have come out to a little over 200 USD, but that's still a lot of money for someone Mion's age.

Of all the things that are impossible for Rika to predict, it's whatever Mion has them play during normal club activities. Is Rika saying Mion has the sort of whimsy that makes her impossible to bind to fate?

Hanyu, shut up.

In Atonement, Keiichi realized he caused tragedy by not trusting his friends, and Rena realized she caused tragedy by not reaching out to them for help.

Rika kind of accidentally took the advice they learned here. She told Keiichi what was bothering her and then he helped her. It's not as grand as what happened in Atonement, but Keiichi once again smashed destiny.

Convincing the store owner to let them play a different game is such a small inconsequential thing but it is important this happened.

There were a series of experiments done in the 1960s which would form the basis for the concept of learned helplessness. If a dog was trapped in a room with an electrified floor and prevented from escaping, the dog would eventually give up trying to escape even when the mechanisms preventing them from escaping were removed.

The only way to help them overcome this behavior was to show them that they could actually escape by literally picking them up and showing them that they were fully capable of escaping on their own.

It's such a small thing, but Keiichi showed Rika how to change destiny in a small way. And it's helping her break that stranglehold on her heart.

I kind of wonder if each timeline works in a sort of Schrodinger's cat sort of way. Events in every timeline are equally likely to happen at first, but small actions gradually define what will end up happening.

If Rika hadn't told Keiichi about the games, he would have just followed along with the script that destiny gave him and I'm certain he would have given the doll to Rena again because that's what he's supposed to do.

But Rika telling him what was going to happen brought out the Keiichi from Atonement who declared they would tear every devil script to shreds.

Keiichi finally gave Mion the doll he's wanted to give her since the end of Cotton Drifting.

Keiichi knew what Rika wanted him to do. Even though Rika and Hanyu are the only ones who recall what's happened each arc, it seems the memories and wishes the others have made over all these arcs are reaching back to themselves.

Atonement was where all of Keiichi's wishes to find the truth, to make amends, and not let the world fall to ruin finally burst through. And while he didn't keep his memories, those wishes are still etched in his heart. And I think they only are manifesting in him because Rika is willing to believe destiny can be averted.

And now Rika sees the next two weeks as an opportunity to change her destiny. She's smiling earnestly for once.

Nipa Beam!!

back

[the-frankenmost]

Alright so, I don’t talk about my canon openly very much, but I think there’s at least two people who want to hear about here so I’m just gonna ramble.

I don’t remember a lot before Gloomsvile so we’re not getting much of a “backstory” here :/ sorry. I do remember that it was only Mom though. I was a total momma’s boy. Len was very obviously the favorite though. I don’t really want to get into that here. I had (and still have) ADHD and Autism. Can’t comment on Len too much because memory is still very fragmented, but he definitely was not neurotypical. I was a very sensitive little guy while Len was the more rough and tough boy. Mom would call me a cry baby a lot. Len and I were twins, we weren’t born conjoined. I don’t remember how we died which is probably a good thing. Len loved creepy crawlies, I did not. He’d play with worms and I’d just be there freaking out. Still really don’t like the squirmy type.

Came to Gloomsville in search of more and stayed because, Ruby, duh. R.I.P Actually hit it off In Gloomsville and the neighboring towns. I remember the first time we made it into the paper, Ruby threw a big party and Len and I ate too much and got sick lol.

One time Skullboy thought he was related to a long line of Rock Stars and tried to get us to let him join the band. I’m named Frank for a reason (jk). Shut that shit down quick. Dude sucks at music. I think Iris AND Misery had had crushes on us for a while but that was extremely short lived. I don’t think anyone in that house was straight

(-Poe & Skull Boy) but I was probably the last one to come out for reasons we’ll get to later.

This is where the memories get more frequent and also a bit more sensitive. Read ahead at your own risk please.

Len and I had a medical emergency one night and for some reason the only solution the doctors could think of was to separate us, we were so far gone when they had us sign a waiver so neither of us could comprehend what was happening. Woke up in my own hospital bed in my own hospital room. Good lord the fear I felt that afternoon. Apparently Len had been freaking out way worse because he’d woken up like two days before I did. Shit was terrifying. You’d think “oh well now you get to experience privacy!” Fuck that I want my brother. I don’t remember exactly what had been wrong but both of us needed several different transplants, I got a new stomach. With that came new stomach issues. Could no longer have a lot of favorite foods or I’d get really sick. Len got off easy, I’m happy for him. We both got new dicks because we’d shared one. God bless that decision holy shit.

It was shortly after the emergency separation is when my mental health started to decline and I had that big meltdown that Skull Boy found reason enough to break my nose. In all fairness he’d thought I’d shoved Ruby when really I’d just startled her pretty bad. Not much better in my opinion. She didn’t deserve that. The guilt is what drove me to go hide in the woods surrounding the house. I’d originally planned to cool off and then lock myself in the garage for a while but fate had other plans for me that night. Took a tumble all the way down that huge hill the house sat on. I tried to find my way back home, I really did I promise. But I’d been so exhausted and was so lost I’d ended up in the neighboring town in the complete opposite direction of the house. I was lost in those woods for so long I’d kinda lost it a bit. My brain convinced me that there was nothing for me back home and that they didn’t want me there anymore. Kinda exiled myself at that point. Some guy found me collapsed in the snow and took me to him place to fix me up so I wouldn’t die out there. Definitely would have if he hadn’t found me. He’s the one who gave me the train ticket and the deed to the farm in Pelican town.

The train ride took days to get to Zuzu city. I slept the whole time anyway so don’t remember much. Lewis met me at the station and escorted me to the bus to the town. Passed out on the bus and woke up in the hospital, again. Getting real sick of that. Harvey thought Lewis had brought him a corpse at first so when I’d woken up he freaked out. Comforting. People would come visit. They were so nice. Got released from the hospital and Lewis and Robin showed me to the Farm. I miss the farm to this very day. I’d give anything to go back. Got the place all cleaned up with Robin’s help. Hid in the old cottage, refusing to come out for a month or so. Finally decided to try planting the seeds Caroline had given me to start the garden. Was very cynical about it until the little baby seedlings popped up. Immediately was hooked. I’d sit on the steps leading to the patio and just talk to the little guys. Random chicken showed up on my property one day and that’s when I’d met Jas, Vincent and Charlie. Jas was fascinated while Vincent was dragging her away from the farm screaming and crying that I was going to eat them. Only came outside to water after that. I’d catch Jas snooping around the property. She reminded me of Ruby so I’d get sad. She’d leave little flowers from the fields surrounding the ranch just south of the farm. Those flowers kept me chugging during that period of time. Eventually decided I wanted to keep Chickens for company so I made my way to the ranch. That’s when I met Marnie and Shane. Marnie had Shane help me with building the coop and the run. Didn’t say much. Marnie took it upon herself to keep pressuring him to come help on the farm after a while. He’d never really say much to me. We all know where that ended up.

Shane and I would talk more and more with each visit. Jas would come help too. I got fairly dependent on their visits. As Shane and I would talk more we’d get closer. We officially started dating about six months after I’d first got there. I was happy for the first time in ages, and so was he.

Things carried on as they were for two years until the big Stardew County fair. I was cleaning up my little booth when I heard a familiar voice shouting my name. I don’t know how or why they’d decided to attend this fair of all the other fairs and festivals but they’d found me. Len quickly went from sobbing in relief that I was alive to throttling me. Oh ho ho he was pissed when he found out about Shane. Had to pry him off of him. Poor Shane was so rattled. We had a big sit down talk with everyone. Skull Boy couldn’t even look me in the eyes. I could tell he blamed himself for my disappearance, and that made me feel terrible. Ruby never gave up on looking for me.

Everything eventually went back to normal. They’d come visit fairly regularly. Len would just show up unannounced sometimes but I liked it. Shane didn’t. Shane and I eventually got married and this is where you’d think it was happily ever after. I wish that was the case. I really do. I don’t remember the exact amount of time between that and my eventual, untimely death. It wasn’t long enough though. I was so happy. I had my friends back. I had my brother back. I was married with an adopted daughter, though Jas continued to refer to me as “ Uncle Frank” I didn’t mind though. I’d told Shane I was going to the mines and he practically begged me not to go because I’d previously gotten hurt down there, but I’m a hard headed, stubborn idiot. He knew he couldn’t stop me so instead he came along. I don’t know what happened down there, as I’ve blocked it out but something terrible obviously. Shane carried me all the way to Harvey’s, but it was too late. There was nothing anyone could do.

And now I’m here. Anyway, it’s 2am so I’m going to sleep now. I’m certain there are typos but I can’t be bothered. Goodnight.

[lightning-will-bovino]

Life of the smallest Bovino

Many stories had different interpretations of Lambo's parents and his blood family. Including the Ten-Year Bazooka. So I would like to give my own headcanon and twist.

Lambo is technically a bastard(/out-of-wedlock) child thanks to his paternal side. The man accused the wife of cheating, not knowing that she was pregnant. The man was taking word of mouth from a close female friend of his that the wife was "cheating".

In Italy, it takes a year to officially divorce so Lambo was born during trial but was kept a secret. It wasn't hard for the woman to keep it a secret since her belly and thankfully her belly doesn't show. Sadly she died during childbirth and Lambo is under his Grandfather's guardianship (the Don of the Bovino Famiglia). The man never knew about his son and married his female friend (the same one that said the wife was cheating, so yeah, the woman was set up.) Lambo knew of this when he came of age (18) and knows he has half-siblings. Lambo's reaction? He doesn't care and it prefers it stay that way.

When he was around 5, a mysterious purple bazooka showed up one morning, next to Lambo with instructions and blueprints. They were both written in Japanese but blueprints and instructions were written by two people. While the Don and the heir candidates were reading the letters, Lambo used the bazooka. Oddly enough Lambo was in a new Mansion while a party was ensuing. People rushed towards him and the first one to come close to him to kneel in front of him was a brown hair man. That's when he meets the Don of Vongola, Sawada Tsunayoshi. (He didn't know that was Tsuna until a decade later.)

The man was nice, a silver-haired man was loud, and a tall man with black hair and a nice smile was laughing. The brunette picked him up and assured his Grandfather, who was in a wheelchair, that there was no worry. The next few minutes were chaotic. Someone else yanked him out of the arms of the brunet into a squeezing hug, he screamed and yanked on the person's fingers. During the yanking, a green light shone brightly causing the person that manhandled him to drop him. Chaos ensues, and during that time Lambo returns back to his Grandfather's office. His Grandfather is hugging him while crying until one of his cousins comes into the office to inform everyone it's time for lunch.

During this time, Lambo was taught Japanese both in writing and talking while the Don followed the instructions of the letter and having his scientist to look over the blueprints. He told his Grandfather everything that happened when he traveled to the new Mansion, including holding a funny ring that was shining brightly with a green light with a seashell and a thunderbolt as its design. (All his experience was told to the CEDEF which made Iemitsu decide to have Lambo as a Guardian in exchange for Lambo to be protected.)

Months after, Lambo Is sent to Japan. His other cousins teased him that he couldn't beat Reborn and Lambo took that seriously.

The instructions had not only the address of Sawada and Irie but also how to get in contact with the head of CEDEF. To also have the Bazooka fully stocked and have Lambo keeping it close since it's being charged by his Lightning Flames (similar to a box weapon).

When the future was rewritten, the letters, blueprints, and the original bazooka disappeared, leaving behind a copy of the bazooka the scientists were able to replicate.

The real reason why the Don of Bovino cried when he got the news of Lambo being the Vongola Guardian was because seeing his grown version of his grandson, who is the spitting image of his daughter, wrapped in bandages and half-blind broke his heart. Knowing that his future change is enough for him.

[cherchersketch]

I will be the Matriarch in this Life / I will Master this Family

ahhh she’s so cute. I usually can’t wait to fast forward to the fully grown version but I’m really enjoying little Firentia and her antics. (and the poor ML because she’s still dumb. hahaha)

Summary Our main girl, Firentia, accidentally dies from overwork and is reborn as a daughter in a powerful family but because her mother was a commoner, some of the other members look down on her ;x; Though she tries her best, and is acknowledged by Grandpa on his deathbed ;x;, the asshole cousins still kick her out after her Dad and Grandpa die.  And of course they’re useless so the family gets ruined. But wait, she gets into an accident (again) and reawakens as her 8-year old self. Time to use all the future knowledge to manipulate people prove herself and become the head of the family (oh also accidentally win over the second prince I guess lol)

Tropes   - Truck-kun Carriage-kun strikes again   - who run the world? GIRLS   - OMG the Tudor fashions are so *chef’s kiss*   - died and came back to life to MASTER THIS FAMILY   - just throw these asshole relatives away

FL - Firentia Lombardi

 - employers love her: the 8 year old with 30 years of work experience  - 10 steps ahead of everyone (being from the future helps)  - gaslight gatekeep GIRLBOSS  - abandoned child comes back to life to be superior to her trash family WE LOVE TO SEE IT  - 100% oblivious to ML’s love  - what do you mean I’ve drastically changed the past the ML and that one lady I saw next to him from a distance will definitely still belong together

Daddy - Gallahan Lombardi

 - i love him  - precious cinnamon roll has never done anything wrong ever  - smarter than he looks (once he finally gets braver ;w;)  - papa bear

Ojii-sama - Lulac Lombardi

 - daddy’s daddy  - actually a great guy how did he get 2 useless sons  - actually acknowledges when people are great, regardless of background  - hope he lives longer in this timeline since there’s less stress ;w;

yea there’s also an ML lol - Perez

 - the couple progression is basically like if we extended the childhood portion of Author of My Own Destiny  - precious cinnamon roll   - the guy always falls in love first ;w;  - when will FL notice my ~feelings~  - just throw his whole family away  - of course he had a ~traumatic childhood~ (technically still in his childhood)  - him eyes glow when him ANGRY

when will we see them again

Rating: Yes PLEASE READ THIS if you’re ok with the fact that it’s been 100+ episodes and they’re still children. hahaha Status (as of 2 Mar 2023) Ongoing~ This is gonna be a loooooong series

Same Same but Different   - Iris: The Lady and Her Smartphone   - The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess   - I’ll Save this Damned Family!

[touyubesposts]

The Pixar Youtube theory, Part 1: Escape with Markiplier

Hello! The first two I would like to tackle are the With Markiplier series and Escape the Night, and hopefully, next, I can tackle Iris and Sander's sides, talk about Dad Feels and Genloss, try and cross the talking points between them, and at the end I’ll make a post on how they’re all connected and what I think the timeline would be.

Note: I don’t know everything, this is just a theory, tell me if I’m wrong or if you like it!

Let's start with something big;

The houses. In Escape the Night season One, Two, and (arguably) Four are set in houses. In the first season, they contained the evil, trapped in the 1920s, but it sunk its way into Joey. In the second season, they broke a seal to allow them to leave the house, stuck in the Victorian era, and Joey dies and is revived by the crown of oblivion. And the fourth season is the afterlife. Or, I guess, an afterlife, set in a museum, where Joey decides to open Pandora’s box and gets trapped inside.

Now let's look at Markiplier Manor. It is Mark’s estate that he grew up in that has spirits and evil living in the house. Every time he dies, he comes back and gets closer to the entity. The entity then helps him come up with a plan to kill all his friends because the entity wants to leave the house.

Right off the bat, just looking at these two series, we see some obvious similarities. House is evil, has weird spirits roaming inside of it, and makes the people who own it murder their friends. And nobody leaves the house the same. They are still affected by this magic when they leave whether they’d like to admit it or not. Remember this, I’ll come back to it.

Every single time someone new is invited to the chaos, it always comes in a little invitation. Whether written by him or by someone pretending to be him, it always comes in a letter. And what do we get before ‘Who Killed Markiplier’ came out?

Exactly.

Evil house, invitation, good people turning into bad people, and death. In Joey's, there is a lot more beating around the bush, but it gives us a lot of information on how the world works. This leads me to my next point.

The idea of time not being linear, hoping through universes, and getting stuck in loops over and over again. Their dimension-hopping and teleporting back and forth between time all comes... from stones. In Mark’s Space series, you, as the player, replay events, restart over and over again, teleport to different times, and teleport to different universes. And it's all thanks to the warp crystal, this little, blue, glowing crystal tower. It was also used to power the warp core, which caused time loops and paradoxes, and the warp device, which allowed teleportation to different universes.

And now let's look at Escape the Night. Specifically, at the very end of season four, where Bretman and Colleen used ‘The cosmic sphere’ to open a portal and escape purgatory. And what is in the center of this device?

A little blue crystal tower.

This. This one little detail is huge! They look the exact same, they do the exact same things, and they both need to be attached to something to be used properly. And, when attached to something different, it does something different. When attached to the box in Heist, it gives you whatever item you want or need, assuming it takes it from a different time or universe. When attached to the warp core, it's supposed to cause the ship to warp to where it needs to go but caused a time loop in the process. When attached to the warp device, it teleports you to random points across the multiverse. All of the devices work, but it acts erratically and unreliably. But when attached to the cosmic sphere, it projects a portal that you can then walk through. No weirdness, no unpredictability, just exactly where they needed to go.

(My working theory is that the warp crystal needs to be in the cosmic sphere to work properly. If it isn’t, it will be unpredictable.)

The crystal was taken from the afterlife, purgatory. A place completely identical to this one, but slightly different. Darker, scarier, a place filled with spirits and evil, Dark entities.

Kinda sounds like Mark’s upside-down, don’t you think?

But the real question is which one comes first? Well, let's look at what time period each ETN season came from. The events of what happened in the show are linear to how they come out, but the dates of what happens change the timeline completely. Season 2 was the Victorian era, which was between 1837 to 1901. Season 1 was in the 1920s, very cut and dry. And season four was mainly set in the 1940s, but can go completely across time. We know this from the things collected from the different time periods. (Irrelevant for this post, but season three is set in the 1970s.)

And Who Killed Markiplier, according to Google, is set somewhere between the 1920s and the 1950s, meaning the order of events would’ve been S2, S1, WKM, S4, S3. God damn time fuckery, making my job hard.

In season one, the original manor, they ‘contained’ the evil, meaning it couldn’t leave the house. Or we thought it couldn’t leave the house until we see Joey leave the house being corrupted by this evil. Meaning that the evil needs to inhabit someone so it can bring others in. The longer in the house, the worse the effects get. The same thing with Mark’s manor. Two, unnamed, evil entities leave the house through both Celine’s body and your body.

What I’m trying to imply is that, maybe, Mark’s manor is the same house in ETN season 1. “But Devon,” I hear you asking, “How does that make sense? Mark would have to have owned the house at the same time as Joey for that to make sense, considering Mark grew up in the house and Joey ‘inherits’ it at the very beginning.” And to that, I say, “Consider the pockets of time.”

If Joey exists in this pocket of time and then leaves to go back to the modern world, that means the person that owns the house no longer exists. At least, not at that time. Mark was 28 when he made ‘Who Killed Markiplier,’ Meaning he lived in his own place for a while. Since Mark grew up in that time and that house, and since Joey abandoned that house in the 1920s, that means the exact events that happened in that house happened around 1948 at least, which puts us squarely in our timeline.

If Mark’s Manor and Joey’s estate are the same, then that means that the evil and the entities are the same beings. Just like how the warp crystal and the cosmic sphere are the same stone. However, I would like to add one last thing.

Cc! Mark has said that the entities not only trick C! Mark into doing their bidding but also convince Mark that it was his idea the whole time. That idea was to have Wilford kill him in a game of Russian Roulette, have everyone turn on him and kill him as well, and then him and the entity could take his body and get out of there. And I’ve noticed that death description fits two deaths in escape the night season one.

The death of Timmothy DeLaGetto, also known as ‘The Mobster.’

And the death of Arthur.

For those who don’t know, Arthur’s entire role was to manipulate the evil to do what he wants. He was ‘The butler’ of the house, convincing all of the other past owners to feed into the evil so he can do what he wants. It feels like he’s not just working as a butler for the owner, but a butler for the evil. He gets found out, the remaining guests free his brother, the brother then shoots the other two residents of the house along with Arthur.

If I were to guess, Arthur doesn’t like being dead. So after Joey leaves, the bodies get cleaned up, Mark and his family move in, and Arthur is forced to watch Mark, Damien, and William grow up in front of him. Arthur gets replaced with Benjamin, Mark falls in love with Celine, Celine after realizing the house is evil (Because she’s a seer) leaves the house and runs away with William, Damien becomes Mayor, Mark feels worthless and alone and kills himself.

Arthur talks to Mark, Arthur convinces the evil to bring him back, Mark comes back, Mark kills himself, so on and so forth. The entity that works with Mark being Arthur makes sense. He would know that killing Wilford like that would work because he’s seen it work. Once with the mobster and once with him. All he did was combine the two and convince Mark he came up with it.

When Celine comes into the picture, he’s ecstatic because he gets the chance to not just get his own body, but a more powerful body. A body that could do what his and Wilford’s couldn’t. Talk to the beyond and commune with other entities. So he changed the plan and had Mark kick out Celine and Damien from their bodies, forcing them to take yours when they die. But not without taking some evil on their way out.

But, of course, this is just the beginning. This isn’t the last time we see the evil. The evil spreads, and my god does it spread.

(Author’s Note: Joey needs better friends both in and out of canon.)