#anyway i think information could be gleaned

[sam-montembeault]

Some hockey slop ideas I've come up with that I really wish they'd do:

- Pair short haired dudes with longer haired dudes and see if they can figure out a braid

- Give them a basic algebra problem and ask them to show their work (please provide the scanned answer sheets)

- Make them count to 10 in french. 20 if they're successful

- Stretch block, led by goalies

- Make them do improv but it's hockey themed (so they can actually flourish and not explode instantaneously)

- Bless them with a crawfish boil

- Goalies join practice as players for an hour (godspeed to all involved)

- Make them an obstacle course on the ice to either stick handle or just skate through. This feels obvious

- Show the team's lunch or dinner that they get from their rink chefs

- Aquarium trip :)

- Wingers and defensemen swap for a practice (centers remain in purgatory)

- Name 6 other towns in the state/province the team resides

- Make them all play escape room simulator the video game (doubtful any hockey slop will ever surpass that let's play)

If we have to stick to the "can be done as they walk to or from practice" slop formula:

- "How much would it cost for you to take a clapper to the face if you could wear a goalie mask for it? How much without?"

- "Who on the team could you not win in a fight against due to the emotional cost of beating him?"

- "Contribute one song to a playlist." (yes the point is you'd probably get a horrible playlist with lots of repetition)

- "If the NHL went back to everyone rooming together, who would you hope to get stuck with and why?"

- "Where does the water you drink come from?" (the tap or bottles is not an acceptable answer, I want a location; this is one of those educational ones)

- "Story from when you were a rookie?"

- "How scared, on a scale of 1 to 10, are you to look yourself up on social media?"

- "Snitch on someone." (denial is not an option)

- "What is the weirdest supersition or routine a teammate has?"

- "Do you ever get tired of pasta or does always being hungry solve that issue for you?"

[mollywog]

Hi!

I can't stop thinking about this scenario i'm your complicated universe:

Burdock is now showing off his granddaughter.

Thank you for letting me know: I’m so tickled!! It inspired me to write a small addition.

For context, Complicated is an in-Panem AU where Mr. Everdeen lives and this would have happened anyway happens much sooner.

Shout out to all who suggested names for the Toastbaby girl for this universe!

Haymitch first saw the girl at the Hob when she was just a baby. Burdock was so proud of her, toting her everywhere. Katniss soon outgrew his arms, trailing behind him with her own scrawny squirrels on her belt, until she was striding beside him with just as much to show as her old man.

They’d never mended the old wound, he and Burdock, but he still paid particular attention to the Everdeens. That way, if Lenore Dove’s ghost ever came to him, he’d be able to tell her of her kin— at least that’s what he told himself.

And recently there’d been a new branch added to the family tree.

Haymitch had watched the girl— Katniss, over the last several months as her belly’d swelled near splitting, until he’d worked himself up worrying it’d be twins— but then he’d learned the father was one of Otho’s boys and her size had made sense.

He’s heard she delivered— a healthy little girl, but it’s just luck that he’s at the Hob today when Burdie arrives, his bundle in tow.

He doesn’t see her right away, just the unmistakable pride on his old friend’s face as he introduces her around.

Haymitch has no reason to linger, his business with Ripper complete, but he can’t resist the urge to get a peek of the girl and any information he can glean, so he sidles up to Sae’s stall and sits at the booth. He ignores the old woman’s raised brow, carelessly pulling a fistful of coins from his pocket. Gone is the bribe and the questioning looks as the bowl of something he rather not contemplate slides across the counter. He hunches over the stew, running his spoon through the sludge, straining his ears to catch crumbs as Burdock moves closer.

Bits and pieces of conversations float over the chatter and Haymitch’s chest tightens at the sound of his friend's voice, so achingly familiar and comforting despite all the years, until the girl’s name shakes him out of his revelry.

Olive?

He scoffs, frowning at Sae’s knowing smirk.

Like the food? He supposes it’s an improvement from the tuberous roots for which mother and grandfather are named…

But no, it’s not just a food. He turns the name over again. It’s a color— green— a dark yellowish green like the moss that’s begun to grow over Lenore Dove’s grave stone, though he doubts that’s what the happy parents were imagining when they picked it. Still a nod to Burdie’s family perhaps? But color alone does not a Covey name make. He briefly wonders if there’s a ballad of Olive Mellark.

He really hopes not.

But there’s still something that nags at the back of his muddled mind. He closes his eyes to clear his head, but instead an image floods his memory: the floor of a Justice building on his tour long ago— a mosaic depicting a bird with a bough — no, that's not quite right— a dove with an olive branch.

He breaks into a sweat and his stomach rolls. Unbidden, his eyes seek out the source of his distress; the tiny girl, swaddled in a dove colored blanket, with a muted orange ribbon accenting the scalloped edge.

It’s as if someone has walked over his grave— no, not his— Lenore Dove’s— but aren't they the same thing? They’re a matched pair, mated for life, more married than any piece of paper could make them. And that girl is his kin too. Beloved and endangered if he cannot fulfill his promise to Lenore Dove.

“Don’t you . . . let it . . . rise . . . on the reaping”

He stands abruptly, knocking the stool over in his wake. He gives the girl— no, Olive, one final look before retreating back to his house. He won’t waste another minute; There’s work to be done.

[finnlongman]

Hi, I was reading about Gaelic evolution, today, kind of on accident, and I came across this discussion of o-stem and s-stem verbs(?) (Might have been nouns?) changing their conjugation/declension (i think they were talking about like 800-1200 more specifically, im not totally sure though) except none of the words had any o or s in them that I could see and I was wondering if you knew anything about this

Ah. Stems. If they're o-stem and s-stem they're probably nouns. Theoretically, I was introduced to the concept of stems as an undergrad. Nobody, however, ever thought to explain what the stems were for and why we might need to know them -- I suppose they thought we might have learned this in previous language studies at school, but I did French the usual English way, and thus learned very little grammar and no linguistics. So I treated this as fun but ultimately irrelevant bonus information and spent most of my undergraduate years deeply confused.

Five years later I was sitting in a modern Irish class with a teacher who also taught Old Irish and she was explaining declensions in the context of the genitive case. "This is the first declension, and therefore behaves like this," she said, and looked at me: "Finn, that's like an o-stem masculine in Old Irish."

Me: 🤯 Me: Wait. That's what the stems are for?! That wasn't just fun bonus information??? They actually tell you something?!

So that... cleared a few things up.

Anyway, when I was doing my MA, I had to actually learn them, and have subsequently figured out they can be pretty handy when you're staring at a word trying to work out what case it could possibly be in and whether it should be behaving like that. Who knew. It's almost like a proper understanding of grammatical principles is more helpful than just giving people a textbook from the 1970s and a set of paradigms from the 1920s that were both written with the assumption that the person would have studied large amounts of Latin.

But yes, very often you will look at a word, and it claims to be an o-stem, and you're like, but there's no o here, what is this about?? So what's that all about? Well, I believe, based on the little I've gleaned from hearing people who actually understand linguistics talk about them, that this reflects the word endings in a much earlier stage of the language development -- like, way earlier, we're talking Proto-Celtic, so by the time it's Irish that's already usually gone. For example, fer 'man' from Proto-Celtic *wiros. There's an O there! Or carpat 'chariot', from Proto-Celtic *karbantos. There's an O there too. Now both of these being o-stems makes more sense.

(That said, all the s-stems also seem to end in -os in Proto-Celtic, so what makes some of them o-stems and some of them s-stems when they both contain both of those things, I could not tell you. Frankly, I zone out whenever people start offering me reconstructed forms with asterisks in front of them, so I am the wrong person to ask for more detail on that 😅)

The person who is really into all this stuff is David Stifter, who wrote Sengoidelc, among other things. He's always talking about the linguisticsy side of things! But if all you want to know is why they're called that, I think "there used to be that letter there a long time ago even if now it's gone" is probably the important part, and as for why you need to know what stem it is at all, it's because that decides how it will behave in different cases. Which is a piece of information I really would've benefited from being given five years earlier than I was actually given it.

(In fairness to my Old Irish teachers, I think if they'd realised I hadn't grasped this concept, they would have explained it. I just hadn't even understood enough to realise that I was missing a crucial piece of information, and so didn't know to ask. I was, put simply, not very good at Old Irish in undergrad, and survived purely because our language exams were also literature exams and my essays pulled my overall marks up. This did not work during my MA, when language was a separate exam. I had to (re)learn so much grammar 😞)

[snakes-and-fluff]

I really do think the Milgram team messed up with Mahiru's Trial 1 stuff if I'm being completely honest. Because I know the reaction to her Guilty was "I'm surprised because all we saw was a girl in love." (I can't recall if it was Deco*27 or Yamanaka who said it.)

And yea, that's the problem. Because the whole point of Milgram is figuring out what happened before; what "murder" they committed. All of This is How to Be in Love With You is dedicated to showing how much Mahiru is a massive romantic, and then looking shocked at the end. All the information that can be gleaned from it is that her victim was her lover, and she was shocked by it, or at least didn't expect things to go exactly the way they did.

But what about her voice drama, surely there's more info there? Well, in Love is Mine, she talks a lot... about love... Yeah, there's nothing here, really. She comes across as super talkative and honestly a little strange, but nothing that gives us any clues to her "crime" except a moment where she says that she never wanted to kill anyone, and she was just being herself. She also has the line, "Hmm… Actually, I was hoping you could tell me the answer to that, guard-san… If what I did was unforgivable." Which would be great, if her song gave us any clue as to what she actually did!

There are other T1 songs that are vague - Amane and Kazui's come to mind. But at least with them, the VDs give more info and coming back with more context after T2 puts them in a whole new light. But rewatching I Love You... doesn't really add anything? There really weren't any hidden clues or hints there?

I have a few friends IRL I've gotten into Milgram but most of them can't remember the character's names so there's shorthand for who they are/what they did. And whenever I have to remind them of Mahiru, the conversation usually goes, "What'd she do again?" And I, head in my hands, can only answer "I. don't know."

Anyway to circle back to my original point: as far as I see it, Mahiru got that Guilty almost solely due to confusion and lack of information (and people ascribing more intention onto her cover song but I can't blame them for that since the main trial stuff is so lacking), and that's a failure on the writing team's part to account for that possibility. They only had three opportunities to give us info (perhaps less, if dead prisoners don't get new songs) and frankly I think they wasted Mahiru's first round.

[dreamingkatfish]

Am drunk enough to ramble about idea. So, I love timeloops and more specifically I love NG+ timeloops. Persona 3, NG+ timeloop. It's occurring b/c the Abyss of Time and just running on idea that Yukari and Mitsuru keep winning the fight to go back in time.

Except, no one but Minato remembers, mostly b/c he'd be fucked over by the whole not knowing why time is looping thing.

And I want a fix-it (it's just what I do) and more specifically I want more unethical science experiments to be the solution. (It's just not something that's done often from what I could glean and I think it'd be an interesting way of going about trying to do a Everyone Lives scenario for P3.) That's the jist of it, under read-more will be current thoughts.

It begins with Minato being, rightfully, confused. With it having him slowly try to work through figuring out why the loop is occurring. Eventually remembering how the whole goal of the initial experiments by the Kirjio Group was time manipulation, he goes to find the old research.

With a lot of looking he learns about the abyss, but still doesn't know how to stop it. Only thing he manages on his own is figuring out how to get other people to remember. I'm thinking there should be limits like has to be able to be aware during the Dark Hour ofc, but also a very mean one of: cannot have been present when time goes back. Meaning only two people he can get to help is Ryoji and Shinjiro. Also means, still no one knows why exactly time is looping. However, with Ryoji present, Minato can get the confirmation that it isn't b/c he fucked making The Seal somehow.

So, progress.

I think it'd be Shinjiro who'd suggest trying something else to stop Nyx. Like yeah, okay, The Seal isn't fucked up. But clearly it's caused some other problem, so maybe try something else. Except what to do instead? Because all they really have is information about experiments with shadows to work with. So unless they want to try fighting fire with fire, it's not very helpful.

They try fighting fire with fire. OR well, actually consider it. Problem is none of them are scientists who spent a large amount of time researching shadows, so now they got learn the science behind that. (This au is all in the name of seeing these three interacting. I hadn't originally intended it to be a ship-focused au, but here we are. (What would be the ship name for these three anyway? Guess I'm gonna invent one for the tags later, lmao.)) (Their time together in the timeloop creates an unshakable trust that the others are their ride or dies. It's the mad science which is where the inherent homoeroticism comes from.)

They ofc know there's no killing Nyx permanently, so what are the options? Idea, balancing it out with life. Life and death are meant to exist in cycles, but by having only Nyx and Erebus for death and no one for life, the balance is thrown off and the cycle grinds to a halt. Mind you, Nyx and Erebus are the personifications of night and darkness respectively in Greek mythology. In it they have counterparts for the day and (well kind of but not fully) light in Hemera and Aether. So, why not simply counteract them.

It's not the most reasonable solution ever. However, I think it's an interesting one to consider. Made more tense by the time crunch they'd be under to get that done before needing to just do The Seal anyway in order to ensure the loop continues so that they would have another chance at it.

I have some dubious considerations for how involved with the unethical science the rest of SEES will be. B/c on one hand, Dead Boys Club. On the other, that's gonna be a fuck ton of work for them to do. There's zero shot no one notices that they're doing things. So very much, hmmmmmmm for the role the rest of SEES will play. (Tbh rest of the entire game's cast really.)

But yes, NG+ timeloop au, now with 86% unethical science.

Sober edits to expand upon details added. Primarily after this point (Though one joke addition in brackets above.)

Re:Shinjiro never sticking around long enough to learn about the rest of SEES getting stuck in the Abyss of Time. There's just no world where he doesn't agree to Ken's request and tries to save him. Sure he could try to talk to Ken before that, but this is Shinjiro and man has guilt carved into his bones that the timeloop starting from after Ken's mother's death isn't helping.

But also that requires him knowing what the fuck to say in that situation while he's not dying. And I don't think he'd know. I think part of what gave his words so much meaning before was that he had the action of him protecting Ken to back it up. But without that, he would look like he's all talk. Which wouldn't help either one of them in trying to move on from what happened.

Additionally, even if it did work out he'd just forget that loop entirely bc the cant remember if present when the decision to go back was made. So, him living would not help matters and he'd only become more inclined to let himself die so that he would be able to remember all of the loops and not start forgetting the progress they made. (The alternative I just briefly considered is him forgetting everything but it made me sad, so it's only him forgetting the loop if he makes it to the abyss of time in the end.)

Also the more I think about a ship with the 3 of them, the more insane I get. The 3 people who (want to) die for the sake of others. The way it would bring only them any degree of peace but emotionally devastates everyone else who cares for them. But also then, 3 boys who were happy to give their lives for others now having to learn how to live and look towards a future they never thought they'd get to see, let alone have.

But also how in all versions of the game, in the male route these 3 are the ones who no matter what choices you make, you can never save. (I know there's also Akinari but his situation is one where there is no universe where any choice could be made to save him. Only advancements in medical science would. Meanwhile, the other 3 could technically be saved, but only really by basically abandoning the story playing out and acting as an outside party to it. Or by being someone other than themselves. And i mean you can see it happen in canon even with the femc route. So, while I love him, his death is an outlier among these 3 even if he also is someone who can't be saved in canon.)

And all I can think about is the post about love in tragedies and how it doesn't save anyone, but it was still there and that matters. It was still important even if it never helped. Which I think does a good job at like emphasizing the messages of the game. And I really love relationships that end up embodying the work they're from. (Also means interestingly I don't care as much for Shinjiro and the femc's relationship bc in that case love does succeed. Which while nice isn't quite as thematically satisfying even though it is narratively satisfying.)

[sokkastyles]

Hi! I hope you're having a wonderful day. I was just thinking about TSR and how although it is obvious that Zuko's motivations are convoluted, a lot of what we can glean from the text on his thoughts can be interpreted in many different ways. It's easy for anti-zukos and anti-zutaras to frame his primary drives as selfish, and although these interpretations can have a little merit (his feelings about giving Katara the opportunity for "revenge" are undoubtedly inextricably linked with his feelings about his own mother and that could be framed as selfish from a narrow minded standpoint), I still think that's a very surface level interpretation of what we're given (and very hypocritical for a lot of them considering that you could dismiss any of his life-changing field trips as selfishly motivated). Anyway, I realized my thoughts on the matter aren't clearly formed, and although I do agree with the way the episode was framed as incredibly Katara-centric, with her feelings about the matter being more important both to the viewer and to Zuko than Zuko's feelings, I wanted to ask your opinion, because I do believe that understanding what he was thinking is extremely important to understanding TSR and the zutara dynamic. Any thoughts on the matter you have would be much appreciated if you have a moment to spare.

Yeah, trying to argue that Zuko is selfishly motivated because he wants Katara's forgiveness, or because he relates to her anger at the man who hurt her mother, is ridiculous because any action can be construed as selfishly motivated by that logic. It reminds me of that episode of friends where Phoebe convinces Joey that any action is selfish, even giving to charity, because it makes you feel good. It's an inherently silly argument and a cynical view of the world that doesn't actually do anything.

I also am not sure what these people think would be the nonselfish option. For Zuko to just keep his mouth shut? Let's look at this logically. Zuko realizes that Katara's mother's murder is somehow connected to her anger at him. As he is investigating this, he also realizes that the person who did is someone he knows how to find, someone who was never brought to justice.

I would argue that Zuko has a moral duty to give Katara this information as soon as he realizes he has it. If he's really committed to ending the genocide, this is the first step, an act of reparation towards a victim of the war.

I don't necessarily think Zuko was thinking about it in that way, but I think he felt, as soon as he realized he had this information, that Katara should know who was responsible for her mom's death. He doesn't tell her what to do with that information or how to feel about it, but it's information she should know, information that was kept from her. And a huge part of finding closure is just in knowing what really happened, and why it happened. I think Zuko's first thought was that at least he could give her that.

[misc-obeyme]

ink and tome would be fitting for satan, but feels boring to do the expected

sooo

forgetful and tantan :3

🐈‍⬛

Hello there, 🐈‍⬛ anon!

Okay well I got a little overly sappy with this one, perhaps. I just think Satan is a hopeless romantic (like me lol), but also he's intense about it. Anyway, hopefully this isn't too cheesy.

Thank you for participating!

COZY COMFORTS EVENT

GN!MC x Satan with prompt forgetful

Warnings: slight mention of how MC comes back in season two of the OG, but nothing spoilery

Satan was not a forgetful demon. He kept a wealth of knowledge in his mind, gleaned from years of collecting and reading every book he could get his hands on. He remembered important dates, upcoming plans, whose turn it was to cook, and whether or not he would need an umbrella that day. Satan didn't forget things.

And yet when he was with you, it sometimes felt like he had forgotten every tidbit of information he had so meticulously acquired. Even just seeing your smile made him forget his own worries, filling him instead with warmer and softer emotions.

The first time you went back to the human world, it was like a piece of him went with you. Satan struggled to fill that part of himself again, concerned about how much of him you already held.

You came back completely unannounced. Even when you landed on his head, Satan didn't actually mind. He was just glad to see you. Glad to have that missing piece of him back again.

You hadn't been back in the Devildom for long and already Satan found that he couldn't keep his eyes off of you. It was as though he needed to drink you in, to get his fill of you.

You noticed, inevitably. The two of you were alone in the library at the House of Lamentation, each of you sitting on one end of the sofa. Satan was turned toward you slightly, watching as you turned the pages of your book, his own forgotten in his hands. You looked up at him suddenly and caught him staring, your eyes meeting his.

You smiled and laughed a little. "Are you okay? You keep staring at me like you're not sure if I'm real."

Satan blushed and closed his eyes. "You arrived so unexpectedly, that's all," he said. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm still amazed that you're even here at all?"

You put down your book and moved closer to him. You clasped your hands in your lap and looked down at them. "You didn't forget me?"

Satan snapped his book shut, a flare of something like anger but not quite singing through him. He took your hands and you looked up at him again, startled.

"When I'm with you, you're all that I see," he said, his voice low and intense. "And sometimes I forget myself. But when you're gone, part of me goes with you, making it impossible for me to ever forget you. When you're gone, all I can think about is how much I want you to come back."

Satan was not a forgetful demon. When the years of studying seemed to be so easily overwhelmed by memories of your face and your voice, he was content to hold you safe in his heart instead. He remembered the sound of your laugh, the feeling of your fingertips on his skin, the scent of the human world food you sometimes made, and the deep warmth that filled his chest when he looked into your eyes. No matter how much time passed, Satan knew he would never forget you.

cozy comforts | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[jumpywhumpywriter]

On the note of Shadow throwing someone off a skyscraper to casually glean information from someone, are there any other unhinged things she’s done for the sole purpose that she just does not care about the implications (I don’t think that’s the right word. Like the human response to be averse to potentially causing harm to other humans? That makes it sound worse ignore that I think I meant no morals lol)?

Also, somewhat unrelated, the first thing that popped in my mind after reading that story was the dude being overly prepared from overthinking and proceeds to glide away like a flying squirrel in a glide suit. For the life of me, I can’t give that mental scene justice, and that probably wouldn’t happen in actuality knowing Shadow, but that mental image has been giving me life for the past few hours lol

ANYWAYS hope you’re having a wonderful day/night and are taking care of yourself and staying hydrated and all that jazz :]

-idk

(At the bottom of this answer I wrote a special mini-story about the wingsuit by the way)

There are actually several different stories/situations where Shadow does questionable things to get what she wants (whether it be information or she just reeeeeally enjoys scaring someone) and she is genuinely confused when Thomas tells her that's what shes doing is a bad thing or that it's immoral and not ethical. Or she DOES knows what's she's doing isn't moral, and just doesn't care. That happens sometimes too haha.

But here's a quick list of my favorite 5 short scenes I've posted so far where Shadow is at the least moral stage of her character development journey (there are also some fun morally-gray stories that I haven't gotten to post yet but are coming in the future) 👇

#1: Shadow Doesn't Want to Save Little Girl From Trapped Car (THIS ONE'S MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE of Shadow being morally-gray and Thomas being the moral one who's trying to force Shadow to 'be a better person' and be kind ((you can probably imagine how well that goes over with her))

#2: Double Hostage Situation - The Ultimate Uno-Reverse (Thomas is being held at gunpoint here to try and get Shadow to surrender... but Shadow has someone the person holding Thomas hostage wants too, and she leverages that power to the max, resulting in an awkward double-hostage standoff situation)

#3: Questionable Methods of Interrogation (Shadow wants to use violence to get information from someone, but Thomas doesn't have the stomach for torture, resulting in them arguing about the best way to handle the prisoner Shadow caught)

#4: Sadistic Hero vs Terrified Robbers (Shadow having the time of her life hunting down criminals in dark alleys and toying with them)

#5: Revenge is Sweet... but the Aftertaste is Bitter (Shadow brutally kills her old torturer in this one because Thomas isn't there to guilt-trip her into sparing him. Warning for the heavy violence in this one -- Shadow takes her sweet time making the kill)

Also, the idea about the man overthinking and having a glide suit on is HILARIOUS! I couldn't help indulging in a "what if" scenario, so I wrote a short funny scene just for you (it turned out WAY longer than I expected)

*This takes place right after Shadow drops him off the skyscraper*

Maknus's heart leapt to his throat when he felt Shadow let go of him, sending him plummeting down at the mercy of gravity. But, little did she know -- he was prepared. He was an overthinker, and as was his nature, his mind had already thought up every possible outcome when he first learned Shadow was after him. And considering the fact that she could fly, one of his brain trains considered being dropped from a high height as one of the ways Shadow might try to scare him into talking.

So, like any sane human would, he'd made sure to wear a wingsuit to work today as a precaution in case Shadow appeared and captured him -- which she did.

And now, as he fell off the skyscraper, he hastily ripped off his jacket, grabbing onto the designated handles of the wingsuit he'd worn underneath to spread the webbing out like a flying squirrel and desperately hoping it would work.

He rolled over in the air so that his front was facing down, and the webbing caught the wind, to his immense relief, slowing his descent and sending him gliding away.

Landing would be tricky, but at least he wouldn't end up splattered on the concrete in a mess of blood and gore. All he had to do was aim for some trees or a body of water and--

Crap. He heard wingbeats approaching, and groaned inwardly when a flash of white feathers appeared in his peripheral vision on his left, coming closer.

"Huh. Clever," Shadow remarked, gliding effortlessly next to him. "Not quite clever enough to let you get away, though. But you must have some serious anxiety issues to be this prepared for an encounter with me -- were you expecting to be dropped off a skyscraper today or something? You are ridiculously prepared."

"I just -- I overthink things a lot, okay?!" Maknus shrilled.

Shadow barked a laugh of disbelief. "You're telling me overthinking made you bring... whatever the heck you call this strange device with you to work today??"

"I mean, yeah?" Macknus squeaked uncertainly. "Hey, it worked, didn't it? I'm not falling anymore."

"This is... certainly not something I've seen before," Shadow mused, and dipped her right wing to steer closer and slightly up, so that she was gliding a foot above his back. "Fascinating invention, I'll admit." She curiously tugged at the webbing of the wingsuit, making Maknus wobble unsteadily.

"Can you please not do that?!?" Macknus panicked, fighting to regain his balance in the wingsuit.

Shadow rolled her eyes with a smirk. "I'm supposed to be interrogating you, remember? Not doing favors." She drifted down to glide next to him again, but veered closer so that her wing gave the edge of the wingsuit a light shove, causing Macknus to flail around in the air as he almost started falling out of the sky.

"You know, natural wings like mine are much more stable than that flimsy human-made creation," Shadow laughed cruelly, watching impassively as Macknus struggled and panicked before finding his balance again.

"I--I'm still not going to tell you anything," Macknus stammered. He couldn't keep the fear from his voice -- he was terrified.

"Oh?" Shadow raised an amused eyebrow at him, making sure he clearly saw as she unsheathed a small fighting blade from a sheath on her arm. "I'm willing to bet that funny-looking suit of yours isn't immune to getting holes poked in it. You forgot to consider that part, didn't you? Poor human."

Maknus swallowed hard. Because she was right – he hadn't thought that far ahead yet, despite his overthinking tendencies.

"W-Wait! Wait! Okay, you win! J-Just... don't kill me, o-okay?" Maknus quickly caved.

Shadow smiled wolfishly, her expression fully predator. She flipped over in the air so that she was gliding on her back, drifting underneath Maknus and his wingsuit -- and slashed her blade right through the webbing on his right side, ripping a long gash through the fabric.

Maknus immediately felt the loss of support as his whole body dipped in that direction, and he sucked in a gulping gasp of panicked air.

But before he could scream, Shadow grabbed his arm, her wings beating on either side of him as she kept him aloft.

"Here's what's going to happen now," she said calmly, "we're going back to the skyscraper, and if you still don't want to talk... I'll drop you from the roof again. Good luck gliding your way out of it this time with that huge hole in your suit."

Maknus's heart plummeted to the soles of his feet as Shadow escorted him straight back to the skyscraper she'd dropped him from the first time.

But she didn't need to do it again -- Maknus started talking right away.

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Honestly I think people's tendency to do this sort of all or nothing thinking is silly. I've yet to write things down concisely but since finishing the game I like playing around in the sense where I pick one or several flashback lights (or other 'facts' mentioned in the game) to be true and see how that affects the pre and post V3 story. This in turn really gives you more playroom to interpret and understand certain aspects of the story and characters. Sorry, I'm not sure how to word it. Like yeah, what if Makoto really did make a new Academy? What if the world didn't end, but the virus is fact? What if V3 was fictional, but that doesn't mean the 'peaceful outside world' we were presented is real? Not only does that make fandom play more enjoyable, it also makes you really think about things beyond taking things at face value like I've sadly seen many fans do.

To disclaimer a bit that I have no qualm with people taking the 'All-Fiction' reading at its face if they like the pregame concept (I've seen some fun ideas like the meek Kokichi who wanted to become a good liar, that's a favourite I've seen anyway) or like, whatever other reason. It's just- yeah!! It's absolutely not the only possibility for canon nor is it particularly satisfying to those of us who want to play with canon context as opposed to like, imagined character-to-character progression to the canon, even if those can make for great stories on their own

*cue me going off in 3... 2... 1...*

And speaking of affecting pre and post V3, the dire consequences probable for any/all of the pre chapter 5 Flashback Lights being true- the mixed-motive videos involving characters, especially- knowing that dr2 used a distorted past as a motive, is just too juicy to pass up?? Especially if that involves characters who were otherwise trusted acting in untrustworthy ways, and this is gleaned in hindsight? Imagine if there was later content - a novel perhaps - to expand upon the world we dismissed as fiction and little by little we have to reckon with the consequences if we search it out, like how Dr0 told us of how the Tragedy came to be?? And DRV3 will never look the same again?? Especially if all this was gradually steamrollered by an unsuspecting Makoto opening up new hopes peak and that started to go spectacularly awry not least due to the collective tensions against Ultimates and-

-Just. FRICK!! The possibilities enough to drive one crazy

At least the hindsight part is how it's most meaningful for me, imagining the world itself - beyond the dystopian security tech Nanokumas, wwoah geez a lot to unpack - is so much harder to do, and can get extremely messy (probably because I'm at an overload with all the information-misinformation combo buuut also because of conspiracy themes nonsense) so like, a lot of work to do there.

...Oh! This reminds me of how Dr:Togami is apparently layered in this kind of cerebral shit that makes you think outside the box as to what the fresh hell is going on and pick apart false narratives, so all of these potential alternate if-not-x-then-y sorta threads you mentioned here, could be pulled together just like that! (I hope I'm understanding right- I need to actually READ DR:Togami but uh.)

[i-want-my-iwtv]

Lestat, why didn't you simply lie about your time before you met Louis? Marius told you not to expose the secrets but he didn't stop you from telling "stories". And you have told plenty.

Hello! Sorry for the delay on this. I used to really love taking asks for Lestat (and I still do!) and I tried, but I can't summon him to answer this topic with a palatable attitude, so you're stuck with me 😅

(FYI this response is for my VC opinions outside of the AMC show, I'm referring to the canon characters or '94 movie)

[^X my edit, not a screencap!]

@codenamecesare's fic the Secret History is one of my absolute faves, in which Lestat told several different stories about where he came from, so Louis in disgust wrote it all off as lies and didn't bother repeating any of it in IWTV! So I highly recommend you check that fic out 💖

Ultimately, I think Lestat loved them too much to lie to them, even for fun, as a "story." In TVL, Lestat says to Armand, "I never lie, at least not to those I don't love." He says it after telling Armand that Les Innocents is going to be destroyed, which I assume was the truth as he knew it. So Lestat claims he doesn't lie to ppl he doesn't love. And I think we can assume he didn't love Armand at that time!

Anyway... I think Lestat knows that telling even a small lie leads to chains of lies, and it would be hard to keep track of the "facts" of these stories... and Lestat might've felt like even in lying, he might accidentally let something slip he didn't want them to know. Even informing them that a vampire's hands can be cut off and reattached later is technically a "truth" that could endanger them by reference to Nicki, even if it didn't name the specific vampire. Another vampire sneaking around could pick it from their minds and use it against them somehow. Or maybe Claudia might try to try it for fun? The possibilities for harm are endless!

(Hit the jump for more, cut for length.)

Plus, the stories could have motivated Louis and Claudia to leave Lestat just as much as the truth might have. Nicki knew most of the truth, Gabrielle knew all of it, and both of them left Lestat 😭

Keeping in mind that even tho Lestat was being a controlling POS*…. he was also right that Louis and Claudia would be obvious targets to any other vampires. (Of course part of what made them such juicy targets was their ignorance, Lestat, but never mind.) So, given that it was a real danger (especially to Claudia) he really might've been unwilling to risk that they'd glean anything from whatever he said, even lies, and just kept completely mum.

*I think part of why Lestat was so controlling towards Louis and Claudia is somewhat in the direction of how we control children for their protection, you'll grab an arm at bruising pressure if it stops them from waving open scissors in another person's face... it can be hard to calibrate the amount of control force to avoid the potential danger, and especially for Lestat, who had suffered so much loss before Louis and Claudia, couldn't bear to lose them, too, so he may have erred on the side of overdoing it 😭

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

Write about 5 very different dates throughout their relationship.

Carlando - The creator au 🩵🧡

Norrix - Equestrian AU 🧡🖤

Thank you ❤️

Excellent choices, anon!

I'm gonna put the Equestrian AU dates in a different post, because I couldn't resist info-dumping the backstory just a little for the Creator AU and this got . . . uh, pretty long in the process. I wanted to make sure there was enough context to understand their feelings and motivations at various points, because things really do get complicated for them in this AU. In their defense, being on opposite sides of a bitter war and on important secret missions for their respective sides when they first meet is bound to make things complicated as hell.

As usual, if anything doesn't make sense, that's probably because I either haven't fleshed it out fully yet or it's based on lore pulled straight from the movie that I didn't think to explain fully. Feel free to ask questions about anything!

Anyway, let's get into the dates:

Carlando - The Creator AU

The first date

Carlos is assigned to an infiltration mission by his superiors: slip into pro-AI territory, blend in, get close to his target, and try to find intel on the leader of the AI movement through them. His target: Lando Norris. Believed to be in some way related to the Creator of AI.

He successfully gets in and gets close to Lando's group, under the guise of switching sides, and tries - really tries - to not get attached to him. He is on a mission, he can't get distracted. Hell, it's already stressful enough being surrounded by just as many simulants as real people. He doesn't understand how people can view AI as alive just like them . . .

But no matter how much his mind tells him "don't you dare fall for the enemy, no matter how handsome and perfect he is," his heart insists on not listening. In his heart's defense, Lando is probably the most captivating man he's ever met.

Lando is in a similar boat. His status as the true leader of the AI movement is kept extremely quiet, for his own safety, so he knows that Carlos didn't come to their specific group because he knows who he is. And he sure isn't about to blurt it out to someone who was very recently on the anti-AI side, someone who theoretically sees some of his closest friends as nothing more than wires and computer code. All of his friends are equally alive, no matter who or what they are. So he's not about to get cozy with the new guy. No matter how captivatingly handsome and charming he is.

But against his better judgment, and the advice of his friends . . . he starts to fall for Carlos. How could he not, when Carlos is kind, funny, gentlemanly, and absolutely stunning?

They spend weeks orbiting each other, pining and trying not to make it obvious. But even though they should be enemies, or at least not trusted allies yet, they can't help falling for each other.

Lando is the one who makes the first move. He invites Carlos to a local club, just the two of them. Carlos agrees, and he tries to tell himself it's because he wants to earn more of Lando's trust so he can glean information from him, but that's honestly a lie. When he's with Lando, his mission becomes one of the last things on his mind. He agrees to the date because he wants to know if Lando feels the same way about him as he does.

And neither of them are disappointed. They kiss on the dance floor, like there's no one else in the world but them. The war could have ended right at that moment and they wouldn't have cared.

They head home late and spend the night in bed together. As they fall asleep, they both wonder if this is a good idea. They're both hiding secrets, though the other doesn't know it yet. This whole thing between them could end very badly.

But neither of them wants to give this up. Now that they know their love is real, they want to hold onto it. For as long as they can.

They wake up in the morning, share a kiss, and pretend like they both don't know that they're really star-crossed lovers.

2. Home date

It's been a few months since Carlos and Lando first started dating, and the group more or less trusts Carlos now. He is still technically on his mission, but keeps stalling it by telling his superiors he "doesn't have enough intel yet." Really, he just doesn't want to hurt Lando by continuing with his mission. It's just as well he has no leads anyway - he still hasn't found the Creator yet. At this point, though he doesn't want to admit it, he's starting to hope he never does.

He hasn't told Lando that he's really on a mission for the anti-AI side. He knows that Lando trusts him, and keeping this lie breaks his trust. But he's so scared that if Lando knew the truth, it would break them apart, even if Carlos truly loved him. Carlos knows it's selfish to keep lying just to keep Lando, but he can't bring himself to speak the truth. If his time with Lando is destined to be temporary, then he wants to hold onto him for as long as possible.

Lando still hasn't told Carlos that he's the Creator, either. He really wants to, but he knows, logically, that he can't. His identity is shrouded even from his own people, because he knows that if they knew his face, their borderline worship of him would give him away to their enemies instantly. He wants to tell Carlos, but there's always that lingering doubt, that fear that one more person who knows the truth might be one too many. There's a whole war effort riding on him - sharing his identity risks not just him, but everyone who follows him, too. And that's a lot of lives to risk.

So both of them are dancing around truths that they know can't stay hidden forever. That doesn't stop them from going on dates, though. Or trying to, at least. Because right before their fourth dinner date, Carlos goes and catches himself a cold.

Lando immediately re-plans their date, making it a sleepy day in with lots of snacks, a pile of movies, and all the cuddles they could ask for. Carlos tries apologizing for ruining their original plans exactly once. Lando shuts him up with many, many kisses. They both agree that a calm, lazy, sweet date is much more fun than going out to a fancy dinner. There will definitely be more dates like this in the future.

They cuddle all night and well into the next day. And when Lando catches the same cold the next week, Carlos pampers him like a king.

3. Beach date

It's been well over a year since Lando and Carlos' first date, and they're happy. Their group has moved locations, deeper into pro-AI territory and well away from the front lines. The secret reason behind this is so the Creator can work on his next project, a new kind of AI that could help them win the war, in a safe location. They hunker down in a tiny cluster of houses on a quiet, isolated little stretch of beach. One of these houses is Carlos and Lando's, and they make it their home.

Carlos has told his superiors he needs to "go dark" to avoid getting caught while he snoops. In reality, he never plans to contact them again. He isn't going to betray Lando or his people, even if he doesn't fully agree with their point of view. He is happy where he is, happier than he's ever been. And he isn't going to give it up, not even for the war.

Lando is planning to tell Carlos who he really is, as soon as he finds the right words to do so. He may be the Creator, but that doesn't mean he's been magically gifted with eloquence. His friends have already told him to be careful, but since they all trust Carlos fully now, they're willing to help Lando find the right way to tell him. And he hopes to do it soon, before their family starts to grow.

He and Carlos have started talking about forever, and they're both starting to believe that maybe, they can actually have it. They're looking into having a child through a surrogate. And, on their next date, Carlos finally pops the question.

They're on the beach, playing in the waves and basking in the glow of the sunset. When they sit on the shore, Carlos takes Lando's hand and asks him to marry him. Lando can't say yes fast enough.

They hold each other close well into the evening, long past sunset. Their friends finally call them in to please come inside before the tide comes back in.

They exchange rings a week later. Everything feels perfect.

4. To say this one didn't end well would be an understatement

It's about nine months later. Their child is going to be born any week now. They're going to be surprised by the gender. Everything feels wonderfully domestic.

Carlos hasn't heard from his people in months. He thinks he's finally safe from being found out. He plans to tell Lando the truth, one day. But for now, he just wants to be happy with his family.

Lando is planning to tell Carlos the truth, too. Soon, maybe even this very night. He wants Carlos to know the truth before their child is born. He doesn't think Carlos will react too negatively, but even if he does, Lando doesn't want to lie any more. He feels like he's done enough of that. He thinks it's already a miracle Carlos hasn't found his work - their house isn't exactly that big, and his latest project is pretty incriminating to his identity: a simulant based on embryonic tissue. One that can truly grow, just like a human. He's based the simulant on the DNA samples they used to make their child, so it will be like their child has a little sibling. He didn't even get the idea to try it until the first time he saw their little one on an ultrasound, quietly growing. The simulant won't be ready until long after their first child is born. He can't wait to tell Carlos that their family will be able to grow even more, because no matter what this simulant is like, whether his more experimental new codes work or not, this will be their child in every way that matters to him.

So Lando plans to tell Carlos, about who he is, and about a little sibling for their first child. He wants Carlos to hear all of this from him first, not from finding out by accident.

So they have a nice night in, just laying in bed, eating snacks, and listening to music. They figure they deserve a quiet, calm night before a baby comes into their lives. Lando thinks about how to tell Carlos what he wants to share. Carlos thinks about the new life he's found here, and how he wouldn't trade it for anything.

That calm doesn't last long, though. And the reality of the war finally catches up to them.

Late that evening, anti-AI forces move in. They're following a tip from another spy, pointing them towards this beach. They believe the Creator is hiding here. And they don't plan to let them get away.

When they realize what's happening, Carlos' first concern is to keep his family safe. He tells Lando to follow everyone else to the evacuation boats and to make sure that their surrogate and child are completely safe. Then, he takes down a soldier and tries to use their radio to call off the raid. He hopes that maybe his status as an important spy will get them to listen. But it seems like they're fully committed to this operation, and he can't stop them.

And he doesn't realize that Lando hadn't actually left the house yet.

He turns around to find Lando looking at him with a broken expression. Lando feels betrayed, and then guilty, because he shouldn't feel betrayed when he was lying to Carlos, too. But he can't believe it . . . the man he loved, the man he trusted, was still tied to the enemy. He'd been getting ready to reveal his identity to someone who might have turned him in and doomed thousands, if not millions of his followers.

He can't handle this all at once, and flees in tears.

Carlos runs after him, trying to explain, but even he knows it's useless. His lies had finally caught up to him, and Lando had every right to feel betrayed and scared. The family they had been building is fracturing right in front of his eyes.

Lando gets to the evacuation boats, with all of his friends, their surrogate, and the research for the new simulant on board, and flees across the water. He wants to hate Carlos for betraying him, and a part of him does. But another part of him still loves him, and he knows that it always will. He will always love the Carlos he knew - the one who made him smile and laugh, and who cherished him. He wants to believe that was the real Carlos. He thinks it might be. But right now . . . he doesn't know how to untangle everything. And he can't stay. He has to go.

Carlos runs onto the beach in futility, knowing full well he'll never catch up to the boats. He wants to beg Lando for a chance to explain, even though he knows full well that he could've stopped lying at any time, and this is his fault. Soldiers come and try to escort him away, but he resists. He doesn't want to accept that he's losing Lando.

So he's still on the beach when the missile fires.

And he watches his whole world go up in flames.

5. The "last" date

It's been years. Both of them have changed a lot. And yet, at the same time, it feels like nothing has changed at all.

Carlos has found himself in the thick of the war again, after years of saying he wouldn't go back. In his care is a child, a simulant who can grow like a person, and who can manipulate any technology around them. He's felt an unexplainable connection to this child ever since he met them . . . and now he knows why. Because this is, in a way, his child. Lando built this very simulant, and based the it on their own DNA, the DNA they'd used long ago to try and start a family. Even though their family had been torn apart in one horrible night, the seeds they'd planted had still grown.

Carlos has found himself in the same group he'd been with all those years ago, and rightfully, they don't fully trust him. They are thankful that he brought the child to them safely, but few are willing to forgive him for his prior lies. Carlos can't blame them.

He has intel that he can use to finally end this war, by taking down the biggest anti-AI battle station in operation. It would give the pro-AI side a legitimate chance to win the conflict. And after everything he's been through on this journey, he actually wants them to win. His former allegiance has been shattered by too many lies, and he wants to support the ones he wanted to build a life with so many years ago. And, finally, he sees why they see AI as alive - because in a way, they really are. His child is living proof of that.

And those people include Lando, who, it turns out, was able to survive that attack on the beach. Carlos wonders if he's hit his head and started hallucinating when he finds out. It can't be possible . . . right?

But it is. Lando did survive, though that's not to say he escaped unscathed. He was pulled from the water, among burning bits of broken ships, by his people and taken to a facility deep in their territory, where he could be treated and kept safe. It took him a long time to recover from his injuries, and he still struggles with his memory and mobility, but he is still the same kind, funny, caring person he was before. He's still Lando. And he's still the Lando who loved Carlos - maybe still loves him, even though he knows he probably shouldn't. But he can't help but believe that what he and Carlos had was real, no matter how badly things ended. And he still wishes he could go back to that time.

Carlos and Lando talk a few times in passing, but Carlos never tries to ask for more. He feels like he doesn't deserve it, because of how he hurt Lando before. He doesn't think his own desire for forgiveness should be put above Lando's comfort. As his mission approaches, he resigns himself to never having true closure. If nothing else, he will ensure that their child is safe when all is said and done. Even if he can't be there, he wants Lando and their child to be safe and happy.

He is shocked when Lando asks to talk with him properly, the night before he leaves for his mission. It's a risky mission, one he genuinely might not come back from. The thing that makes it worse is that he has to bring his child along, because only they have the ability to disable the station with their powers. But Carlos has already vowed that he will make sure their child comes home safely, even if he has to sacrifice his own life to do so. He agrees to talk to Lando, because honestly, even if Lando only wants to tell him that their relationship is dead and gone, he wants one last proper conversation with him.

It shocks him when Lando doesn't tell him their love is gone. In fact, it seems like for both of them, it never really left.

Their date isn't so much a date at first, more so just a discussion and reconciliation. Carlos at least wants Lando to have closure from him after everything that has happened, and Lando wants him to know that even after all this time, even though he knows he should hate him, a small part of him still loves him. Apologies are shared on both sides, and they both agree that had things turned out differently, they would likely be happily raising a family right now. Neither of them blames the other - they were in an impossible position, two people who should have never fallen in love, and they both know that they should have done things differently if they hadn't wanted things to turn out this way.

The thing about love, though, is that you can't always just turn it off like a switch, and that's what Lando and Carlos both experience. Even after everything that has happened, they want each other. So they agree to spend one night together. Carlos leaves in the morning - they may never have another chance. And if this really is their last time together, they want their time to end positively.

They emulate the quiet dates they used to have, putting on a movie in the background and just cuddling. After the second movie begins, their child finds them and joins them, and for a time, they pretend they're a family like they always wanted to be. Maybe they could still have this . . . it feels like they could still work. But they both know fully well that Carlos' mission . . . well, they might not have a lot more time.

So they make use of the time they have. Carlos and Lando laugh and banter like they used to, and their child joins in. Whatever happens tomorrow, they know that even if it was a long, hard, bumpy road to get here, this family, this moment they're all sharing together, it's real. They all fall asleep together on the couch, happier than they've been in a long time.

Carlos wakes before the others, well before the sun rises, but doesn't say a word. He knows that once everyone is awake, he will have to go. Just like it was before, he knows his time with Lando and their family is going to end.

So he commits this moment to memory, and savors it for as long as he can.

[tropical-fruit-mx]

Rick and Diane's backstory ala TTPD

I think it really is my calling to write about how Rick and Morty characters relate to songs that Rick and Morty bros hate

Anyway, I want to ramble about Diane because I wish SO bad we had more information about her and Rick's canon relationship. I've seen a cool AU about her and Rick being teenage runaways together. (Side note I LONG to get a real flashback episode to Rick's teenage days since the tiny Rick episode gave us no actual sense of him as a teenager. Idk I just want to see how he developed his intelligence and if he's always had violent tendencies of it that only started after Diane died.)

But I was listening to this song while I was on a walk and kind of realizing that this song sounds like it could be Rick and Diane's backstory. Because I think Rick was always somewhat of a rebel and always rubbed people the wrong way, but Diane looks so agreeable and sweet. I can imagine her having a very proper upbringing, maybe to a more upper class family but still managing to fall in with some blue haired kid from the wrong side of the tracks. (Very Pretty in Pink)

I love picturing them as crazy committed teenage sweethearts as described in the song, Diane's family hates Rick, although the song lyrics are vague about why exactly. We can glean that he is "crazy," reckless ("I'm tellin' him to floor it through thе fences/No, I'm not coming to my senses"), and probably took Diane away to party and hook-up ("He was chaos, he was revelry/Bedroom eyes like a remedy").

I can imagine Diane being from an upper class country club kind of family, very obsessed with their image and how they're perceived in their social circle. What we learn from "Fear No Mort" is that Diane is very spunky and sharp. She's intelligent with an advanced degree and simply does not take any shit (per her argument with Rick at the ice cream shop). She's clearly a little headstrong (which I think is part of why she works so well with Rick, they like butting heads with each other and arguing about silly things) so of course she's very caught up in the idea that being with Rick is what she wants. "[She knows] he's crazy, but he's the one [she wants]" and she's very unconcerned by her parents and friends conceptions of Rick.

The idea that she's causing an uproar in her parents community by dating some rebel 100% does not phase her but it definitely eggs her on to be more chaotic about the whole thing. The lyrics "I'm havin' his baby/No, I'm not, but you should see your faces" and "I'll tell you something right now/I'd rather burn my whole life down/Than listen to one more second of all this bitchin' and moanin'" are so Diane coded. I think that Rick is very minimally involved in this whole thing because it's not his scene but Diane is forcibly involved by her parents' friends and her equally uptight extended family vehemently protesting their relationship.

Which is of course the catalyst for Diane running away (imagine this art as the night they escaped, maybe Rick got into a fight with her dad or brother or something and now they're smoking at the bus stop laughing about how dramatic the whole thing was).

But y'know "We came back when the heat died down/Went to my parents and they came around" so I imagine that maybe later when she and Rick are married and have Beth her parents come around to the idea of them (and are probably very endeared by having a granddaughter).

So yeah, happy day dreaming Rick/Diane shippers, I hope you enjoy projecting about my favorite teenage disasters to Taylor Swift music.

[strawberrystepmom]

Hi kendy! I hope you're doing well. I would like to have one of your romance compatibility readings if that's alright for Dazai and I? Since BSD is set in a world similar to ours but not exact and we're not really given a year i used the year the manga came out and subtracted dazai's age to get a birth year (it was the best way i could figure to do it) But he had to be extra difficult because apparently his moon sign still needs a time of day because his can either be aries or taurus(Help me figure this one out please?). His venus is Taurus. My moon is Sagittarius and my venus is Aquarius

I hope this was a good way to go about this, if you have a better way i welcome it since this is more your wheel house!

(I'm semi ignoring that this method actually makes him older than me because in all my head canon's i'm the older of the two of us.)

hiya rossi!! i hope some of this resonates with you <3

that is usually how I calculate birth dates anyway so we are all good there! for the sake of this exercise, I’ve given him the birth time of 6:18 PM which gives him a Taurus moon. we will keep age out of the equation and just speak in facts to keep your headcanons intact.

He has a fairly Taurus influenced chart which makes for a, generally speaking, really interesting person. Taureans tend to sort of be Renaissance men for lack of a better term. It’s important to them to be fascinating, aware, to seem cultured to some extent. They shine when they get to speak in poetic riddles and sip wine while watching you figure it out. That certainly sounds like someone we know, doesn’t it? 

Dazai also has heavy Gemini influence thanks to his sun/mercury if we go with this configuration. Gemini is very curious, a lot of them tend to work well in investigative industries because they are great at gleaning information. Taurus venus is a very loyal placement, even more so when it finds a comfortable space. 

I think that Taurus really is his saving grace in a lot of ways when it comes to the heavier Gemini aspects. On this chart he also has an Aries Mars which is unfailingly abrasive even if it doesn’t mean to be so I will caution here and tell you that there may be times he hurts your feelings without meaning to. It isn’t that he’s insensitive in the grand scheme of life or your relationship, it’s that Aries communicates in fiery, honest bursts often and that can come out wrong. 

Your Pisces sun is, of course, sensitive but I think people don’t always realize that Pisces is far less sensitive on the face than it seems. We’re pretty tough as people and you have some decent grounding/analytical placements surrounding it which helps. Sagittarius moon keeps things light, keeps thoughts moving so you don’t get stuck in the muck your head may cook up for you on occasion. I also really feel that this would protect you a bit from some of the harsher blows of Dazai’s direct nature. You can remind yourself he doesn’t mean any harm by it, it’s just him.��

I will also say there may be some minor disagreements in how you see the relationship playing out over all with the Taurus and Aquarius venus pairing here. Aquarius likes freedom of movement in a way that can sometimes grate on Taurus nerves. Taurus likes to know This Is Where I Belong and there can be a little bit of shaky ground while Aquarius gets comfortable. I don’t think this would be a long term issue with either of you, especially since the communication is likely to be decent about where you both stand, but just keep it in mind. 

An activity I would recommend for the two of you would be to write each other letters. I know that sounds so simple in concept but a lot can be left unsaid when you’re busy turning over mysteries in your heads and it gives you both an opportunity to be honest, passionate, and loving toward the other. And you’ll have it forever, something sentimental Pisces sun and Taurus venus both like.

[pcril]

* ◟ : 〔 PARK HEESOON , CIS MAN + HE / HIM 〕 JISEOK SEOJUN , some say you’re a FIFTY FOUR YEAR OLD lost soul among the neon lights. known for being both COMPASSIONATE and UNFORGIVING, one can’t help but think of PINK PONY CLUB by CHAPPELL ROAN when you walk by. are you still the OWNER, RETIRED ASSASSIN for THE BORDERLINE HOTEL, even with your reputation as THE WATCHMAN? i think we’ll be seeing more of you and TIME STOPPING PAST THE THRESHOLD, ACTIONS & IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES, UNSPOKEN TRUCE BETWEEN CUPS OF TEA, although we can’t help but think of WINSTON ( JOHN WICK ) + ROY MUSTANG ( FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST ) + HUTCH MANSELL ( NOBODY ) whenever we see you down these rainy streets.

ENTER THE WATCHMAN .

tba - i'm lazy & will fill out the #vibes later. update: i never did fill out the vibes :)

PUBLICLY KNOWN FACTS:

Name: Jiseok Seojun

Appearance: Typically tidy with his upkeep. Sensible fashion that can also be utilized to his advantage if ever in a tight situation. Does prefer to side with comfort ( though still fashionable ) when retiring at home. Yes, this includes a row of robes and slippies.

Proud father of two children ( WCs will be sent.. later, but definitely open to plotting! ).

Also a proud owner of a white cat named Dubu.

Has sick ass tattooes in various places :o)

Has done hits intentionally!

WHAT'S BURIED UNDERNEATH .

Birth name: ███ ██████

HISTORY HIS HEART KNOWS ( PRIVATE ) .

Corrupt or not, ██████’s always taken business wherever able. The line between good and bad have never been more than a guideline to trace over and bend. Of course, that’s always made things more complicated than playing one side but it’s always made life interesting — well worth the endless hoops and loops he’s had to contort through.

All until one particular case.

The couple that hired him were well feared; their influence ran strong far and wide. So when contacted to help find find their son and kill those that had a hand in the disappearance.. he had no inclination of declining. How could he with such a big catch?

What he found months later is still hammered deep in the layers of his conscious. The mark was by no means someone that initially warranted sympathy. Then again, neither did he. Seasoned as he was with such requests, ██████ should've seen it coming. Though, to the other party's credit, the trap was quite elaborate. Definitely made the escape beyond harrowing.

To make matters worse, ██████ struck gold with information he wanted nothing to do with. All of which were turned over to his clients to execute punishment as seen fit. And despite the knowledge gleaned from very sensitive details, he was left to live in favor for being so thorough.

Sometimes he wishes that courtesy hadn’t been extended.

HISTORY BEING WRITTEN .

Seojun retired soon after ( for the most part ). Had his documents redone. Assumed a new identity and left his perch in South Korea. He knew what sort of field he was getting into when pursuing hospitality. Yet he did it anyways. He works alongside meticulously chosen crew, runs a tight ship day-in and day-out, and deals with any issues that happen at the Borderline Hotel.

[avcnturine]

　too many goddamn " if " clauses　/　an examination of sunday's interrogation

believe it or not, this is a writeup i actually wanted to do from the very first moment i hit this scene in 2.1 and swore it'd be one of the first things i did if i got aven in gh. LOLOL. anyway it's here now. i got to experience 2.1 a second time on stream shortly after the first, which allowed me to look at this scene again in the new light of hindsight with the knowledge of all the bigger picture stuff going on that isn't revealed to the player at this point.

the desire to do this breakdown was spawned by seeing the scene that second time and asking myself: where does aventurine tell the truth and where does he actually lie? and knowing what we know he knows at this point, what do each of his answers say about him?

so we're going to go one by one and just see if anything interesting comes of it.

◟ ♠　CONTEXT OF THE INTERROGATION

so first we have to establish what is going on in the story at the time of aventurine's interrogation, factors that are immediately impacting it that the player isn't yet aware of but which get revealed later:

ratio has by this point " betrayed " aventurine to sunday and has revealed that the cornerstone inside the briefcase was topaz's, and that the " aventurine " stone was in the money bag all along. ( whether it's genuinely intended as a betrayal [ unlikely, given later dialogue ], something staged between the two of them [ more likely ], or a trust fall situation where ratio didn't actually know aventurine's full plan but was essentially yes-anding him to the best of his ability and hoping for the goddamn best [ personally what i hc was happening ] ) 　

the aventurine stone that sunday at that moment believes he now genuinely has is actually jade's cornerstone, which to an untrained eye is said to look identical to aventurine ( aventurine is sort of like a " fool's jade " among gemstones, which is really fun to think about vis-a-vis aventurine picking that for name for himself but that's a meta for another day ). aventurine's actual cornerstone is broken up and mixed among the actual money / gems in the money bag. it is never made clear whether ratio knows this part of the plan too or if he either 1) also couldn't tell that the jade stone wasn't aventurine, or 2) could tell when he brought it out but was adlibbing to play along with what he assumed must've been part of aventurine's plan 　

sunday asks aventurine: "the fact that you can decisively forsake the box you asked for, what exactly is stored in it?" aventurine does not answer, at which point sunday places him under harmony's interrogation. this moment tells aventurine that sunday already suspects that he's duping him. but at this point, he doesn't know to what level sunday is aware of the trick——just dupe level 1 ( that it's topaz's stone in the briefcase )? or has he also seen past dupe level 2 ( that the jade stone is a second decoy )? either way, he would be able to assume that sunday has not yet seen through to dupe level 3 ( that the aventurine stone is among the gift money ), otherwise sunday would not have already by this point agreed to give him back the money bag. sunday is highly meticulous and a control freak, but he's not a 4D chess kind of guy or a liar, which i think aventurine would've gleaned through interactions with him by this point, so he'd probably reason that it's unlikely that the other is bluffing about that. conclusion. based on all of this, from the moment that sunday locks him under the harmony spell, aventurine knows that: 1. sunday strongly suspects that the aventurine cornerstone is not inside the box 2. it is unclear if sunday believes he knows where it is and is just trying to get him to admit it or if he doesn't and wants to get that information out of him however! we'd reasonably be able to imagine that aventurine would believe it to be the former ( that sunday believes he knows where it is and is just trying to get him to admit it ). the reason for this is because during this whole scene, there is a cloth on the table in plain sight between them that looks like it's covering two cornerstone-sized, egg-shaped objects. i don't think it's out of the realm of imagination for aventurine to notice this and guess that it might be the two cornerstones that have already been removed and laid there ahead of time. ( but wait, rai! the briefcase can only be opened by the stonehearts and other top ipc executives and aventurine doesn't know at this point that ratio has " betrayed " him. that's true. but i would also argue, based on the conversation at the tavern between aventurine and ratio before this where it's made clear that ratio has already met at length privately with sunday and has been sent by sunday to come fetch him, aventurine might already suspect that sunday might've already tried to arrange something with ratio by now, who i think aventurine would know is able to open the box. there's some small moments in their exchange at the tavern that seem to already point to aventurine suspecting that ratio is in cahoots with sunday or has been pulled to sunday's side, so i don't think this is a baseless idea. ) if this guess is correct, then aventurine would also know that sunday knows there is nothing in the box ( unless he put something else in it ), but he Might still have been caught by dupe level 2. aventurine can't be sure of this either, however, because the shapes are covered, so until the moment they are unveiled, the possibility that one of them might be the broken aventurine still exists. this is the heart of the gamble.

at this point, sunday does his harmony thing, which notably reads as: "so that he will not be able to fabricate lies and make false vows." he then next in explanation says: "under the light of Harmony, all wickedness is revealed."

i do headcanon that aventurine, while having come into this negotiation expecting that there'd be major gambles about to go down, did not know about sunday's ability or expect him to put in under a harmony death counter. i believe his "what did you do?" here is genuine, as is his disgruntlement later when he's having to re-sort his plans under the new limitation of this harmony migraine and death counter.

this means that, if he's to take sunday's word at face value, aventurine should believe here that he cannot lie. whether this is the case, and thus possibly influences some of the answers he gives at least early on, is honestly something we can only guess, but i do think it's an important factor to note as potentially impacting his responses.

aventurine also asks here whether he can refuse to answer, to which sunday says "you can try, and we'll see if the Harmony rejects you." so he additionally knows there is a level of risk he'll be taking if he he decides to either withhold answers completely or to conceal by omission.

so with that, let's get into it.

◟ ♠　THE INTERROGATION ITSELF

——— Q: Do you own a Cornerstone?

okay, so off the bat, an interesting note about this one is the choice of the word "own". in cn, sunday uses 持有 "chi you", which is very similarly nebulous in meaning and can imply different things depending on the context of the moment ( another good localization would've been "possess" ). do you "own" a cornerstone can be understood to be speaking in general or it could be understood to be "do you have one on you in this exact moment". in the context of a scene like this, it's interpreted to mean in the broad, general sense——"are you the owner of a cornerstone"——and i think it's how aventurine is, either consciously or unconsciously, interpreting it. but there is arguably some wiggle room for interpretation, which i think is interesting, especially given that if he had explicitly been asked if he presently possessed a cornerstone, " yes " would've been a lie.

either aventurine interprets this to mean generally, or he's hoping that it's meant generally and thus he can safely answer yes. either way, he answers " yes ", which can be interpreted as truth and could technically also be interpreted as lie if you stretched the meaning of the verb. nothing happens.

——— Q: Did you hand over the Cornerstone to The Family when you entered Penacony?

sunday's question here does not specify which cornerstone he's asking about, which could be used as a theoretical loophole to the question. in the context of the question before it, it's likely implied that this question is also asking about the cornerstone that aventurine is the owner of, but this is not explicit in the question itself.

aventurine answers yes, which, regardless of which cornerstone sunday would be asking about, is the truth.

——— Q: Does the Cornerstone your handed over to The Family belong to you?

aventurine answers yes, which is the truth.

——— Q: Is your Cornerstone in this room right now?

sunday here switches to specifying aventurine's cornerstone. aventurine answers yes, which is the truth.

——— Q: Is your memory free from any kind of tampering or deletion, encompassing but not restricted to the techniques of the Garden of Recollection?

this question always struck me as odd, potentially a trick one on sunday's part, and possibly an indication that making sure aventurine had a fair interrogation was a low priority for him from the start since how would... aventurine remember in order to be able to answer honestly, if he'd had his memories tampered with by the garden of recollection?? unless sunday believes that harmony's influence forces aventurine to answer with objective honesty even if aventurine himself doesn't remember——but that's obviously not the case ( since obviously we know aventurine lies at some point during this or else he wouldn't have been stuck with the timer ) and i can't imagine that sunday... isn't aware of how his own abilities work, LMAO. so this question seems like one that's intended to work as a bit of a trap.

anyway, aventurine answers yes. and as far as he, and we, know, this is the truth.

——— Q: Are you an Avgin from Sigonia?

likely litmus test question from sunday since aventurine would have little reason to lie about these. but from my perspective some of these unrelated questions are the ones that get interesting for aventurine specifically. fun aside that sunday is the only one in the cast so far to specifically identify and refer to aventurine as avgin rather than generalized to sigonian.

aventurine answers yes, which is the truth. and says "you even know about that?"

——— Q: do the Avgins have any ability to read, tamper with, or manipulate one's own or another's mind?

aventurine says "no. is this relevant?" which it definitely is HAHA. the game cleverly never gives us a definitive yes or no answer on whether avgins really can hypnotize or not, though it generally leads towards suggesting no. i do think that " ability to read / manipulate " another's mind can be interpreted interestingly loosely though, especially since the power of suggestion, while not a hard ability in like the x-men sense, is certainly a kind of skill / ability and definitely one that the avgins are finely honed in, with part of that toolbox absolutely having to do with how easily-distinguishable they are. it's part of how aventurine's force of persuasion works: if you already believe you might be under his spell due to preconceived bias, then that's kind of already half the work of convincing you that's been done for him. in the same way that tricking yourself into thinking you're sick makes you actually sick works.

anyway though that's a tangent, and suffice to say the game ( and sunday ) probably means more of the x-men kind of ability. to which, as far as we know, aventurine is telling the truth.

——— Q: do you love your family more than yourself?

here we come to the question that's probably most interesting to look at for aventurine and also the one i hate the most because hoyo can't stop defanging their characters to make them more likeable to the players hahaha

aventurine's body language is interesting to look at here. while i always advise analyzing his nonverbals with a heavy dose of salt because he's so practiced at curating those to deliver a particular message, i think this one is interesting regardless of whether it's genuine or deliberate. hearing this question, aventurine's eyes widen slightly, caught off guard by the unrelated personal question out of left field. he then sets his expression, his head lowering slightly, and the out-of-camera lower body animation implies that he folds his arms, all of which point to: a certain defensiveness, readiness, and implacability about his answer, as he unflinchingly says " yes ".

this can be interpreted in a variety of ways that fundamentally come down to personal headcanon, so i won't get into the full details of mine here. only that what i believe is that aventurine is intending to tell the truth here, but that he also recognizes that saying " yes " here gives sunday potentially invaluable information about him, his motivations, and the ways he thinks. that said, i also personally believe that aventurine's relationship with the idea of his family is not a cut-and-dry one and that this " yes " answer he gives, while possibly honest insofar as what he believes about himself, may be somewhat out of touch.

it's also worth noting that this is a crazy question for sunday to ask because how do you even objectively measure whether someone loves one thing more than another when those benchmarks and criteria inherently vary from person to person and situation to situation? but i guess we're sort of assuming that the Harmony has some sort of objective truth-seeing measuring scale for something like that, i don't know man.

——— Q: all the Avgins were killed in a massacre. am i right?

sort of another question where i'm like.......... this was intended to be a trick question, wasn't it.

aventurine's answer of " no " here indicates that he's both savvy enough not to get caught by the trip-up, but also that he still very much identifies himself as avgin despite being so far removed from the culture and livelihood of his upbringing for at least and likely more than half his life at this point. this is in line with what we see of him throughout other cutscenes as well, where he frequently identifies with avgin ways of thought and existence and continues to navigate the world through the lens of that upbringing.

——— Q: are you your clan's sole survivor?

aventurine answers " perhaps " or " possibly ", which is as close as he can really get to a truthful answer, since again who really knows for sure? sunday needs to stop it with the trick questions :joy:

the behind-the-head backshot frame on aventurine here also one of our early indications as to the solemnity behind that answer.

——— Q: do you hate and wish to destroy this world with your own hands?

another out of left field metaphysical question, which once again seems to catch aventurine ( this time more noticeably ) off guard. he answers " i don't know " with a headshake. which makes sense. big question to ask a guy out of the blue to give you a yes or no answer on under pressure. it seems that in this question and the previous one, he's leaning on what he'd asked sunday earlier about what would happen if he refused to answer——and, by association i'm assuming, if he gave incomplete or vague answers. with the previous question, i believe that his answer was truthful insofar as he could answer truthfully ; this question is more difficult, but i do believe that " i don't know " is probably the actual only answer he was willing to give at that moment because neither " yes " nor " no " would have been more or less truthful than each other or any other answer. he takes a gamble here.

——— Q: can you swear that at this very moment, the Aventurine stone is safe and sound in this box?

so, up to this point, aventurine has seen that he's answered truthfully and nothing has happened. he's also been able to navigate the wording of a question in order to allow himself to answer advantageously in a way that could be understood as truth, and nothing has happened. and he's also been able to answer ambiguously and give non-answers, and nothing has happened. this final question is, of course, the crucial one at the heart of this interrogation. remember that aventurine at this point knows that sunday suspects the answer to this question is no——and, gauging by the two covered objects on the table within view, aventurine might even guess that sunday has already replaced whatever was in the box or that there's nothing at all in the box.

fittingly, there's a long pause. aventurine either takes a while to think through the layers of bluff and risk, the factors, and the right hand to play or he makes a good show of taking a while to think through it hahaha——before, with a smile, saying " of course ".

i want actually to point to his expression as he seems to think about his answer. he closes his eyes and sighs, then both his lips and his eyes flutter again after he opens them like the expression of someone who's second-guessing and steeling themselves in preparation for a lie. given what aventurine knows and suspects that sunday knows at this point, i think this is a finely curated reaction since sunday's eyes are trained right on him. the subliminal message this gives sunday is " this guy's going to boldly lie ", and aventurine knows that and proceeds to do just that.

this is the moment where aventurine tests the last boundary of the harmony spell and is the only time during the interrogation where he fully tells falsehood, knowing that he is telling falsehood, knowing that sunday almost certainly knows he's telling falsehood.

◟ ♠　WHY DOESN'T AVENTURINE TELL THE TRUTH?

so if he suspects that sunday knows, why doesn't he give a different answer that would potentially save him from whatever ramification of the Harmony is coming down the line for him?

i think there are multiple reasons:

aventurine is willing to take the risk. he's seen by this point that he can speak freely under Harmony's spell, that he's not forced to tell the truth. even though nothing has happened to him thus far for giving less than the objective truth, i don't think he's naive enough to believe that sunday's threat is necessarily empty, but i think he's willing to lie and see what is at the other end of the threat in exchange for achieving his own goal. basically, he's willing to take the blade to the stomach in order to stab his opponent too, whether it turns out that blade is real or ends up being an empty threat. 　

answering " no " or some variation thereof would not have been likely to give him what he wanted in that moment, which was to ascertain what sunday really knows. if he'd said no, it's much more likely that sunday would have just taken his admission and used it as the leverage it was to get aventurine to do whatever he wanted in exchange for attempting to deceive him. however, by continuing to profess innocence, aventurine forces sunday to show that he knows he's deceiving him by revealing the empty briefcase and then unveiling the two cornerstones on the table.

aventurine then makes a good show of hesitating when the briefcase is pushed over to him: putting on a display of uncertainty now as to what he'll find inside after all of sunday's doubt and questioning ; looking up at sunday ; looking over to ratio. he knows that sunday believes himself to have the upper hand here, and he does well at playing towards it. it's helped by there being at least some element of truth to the act——since he doesn't know for sure if he still has sunday caught or not until the moment the cloth is lifted.

the briefcase opens, empty. aventurine's reaction is well-executed because sunday at this point thinks aventurine expects to see the topaz cornerstone in there. so if we assume that aventurine already partly-expects to see nothing, the look of surprise coincides with what he knows sunday hopes to see. this then allows sunday to say "is this what you're looking for?" and——what aventurine was working up to——unveil the two cornerstones on the table.

at this moment is when he's sure, upon seeing the topaz and the unbroken jade, that everything's worked as intended and he'll walk away with the money bag, and his broken cornerstone in it, after all. i believe that the wry smile we see here on aventurine's face in the background when the two stones are unveiled is a truer glimpse at the relief he feels at this moment, while also carefully crafted as an expression that could still be understood by sunday as one of bravado-chagrin to have been outed and outplayed.

[msfbgraves]

Why does Terry want Daniel more involved with the running of the mob? Terry definitely likes tradition, and being an Alpha and the head of both the mob and his home—and he certainly loves Daniel being his submissive, though spicy, little omega, and being a houseomega too. So why would he want Daniel to take non-traditional role and be more…assertive in “the business”?

What does he want Daniel to do anyway? I find it hard to believe Terry would want Daniel to go on raids or undercover to other mob territory. He hates having Daniel out of his sight or a “safe spot” like their home!

In short, he wants Daniel to advocate for him. That boy is in the top Italian mob family, knows an insane amount of gangsters, has the old man's ear, his classmates are mated to very influential people, through the omega outreach with the newly immigrant omegas he has information on the up and coming crews, his sister is doing something in international espionage. He potentially has so much information he could use and he's mostly like "Nope". John Kreese wasn't entirely wrong that Terry was being honeytrapped. He expected, and he didn't even think he'd have to articulate that expectation, that he could use the Italian mob for his own ends. But Daniel won't speak for him and he couldn't overwhelm Michael or the Don. Daniel abhors using people and Terry will use what and whomever he has to. So when after six years of marriage he wasn't really getting anywhere things got really ugly. He wanted the boy and the connections, indeed he thought the boy would be a liaison. But he refuses to be and something like that is very hard to force; especially since omegas are, of course, not culturally supposed to do any business, not openly. Yet Apollonia is far more willing to be strategic in who she'll let Michael meet by associating with their mates. Daniel could be a powerhouse of far more connections even, but he abhors it.

Terry and the Don do find a workaround, in that Terry will sniff out potential new competion and either will make them work for him, with Italian help, or neutralise them, also with Italian help. Michael is put in charge of going legit while Terry works with the Italian mobsters that don't want to stop doing violent business. And of course Terry sniffs out opportunities from whatever the new omegas and girls tell them in their outreach groups. He doesn't need all the details to form a clear picture. But if Daniel would be more willing to strategise it would be much simpler.

Ultimately, Daniel does get a little bit more involved, using whatever he gleans to subtly help Terry win at business, like with creepy officer Jones or the Indian rival boss. But to him cousin Frankie is cousin Frankie, and whatever his business is, whomever he's connected to, Daniel doesn't care and he certainly won't ask.

This does keep him safer than he otherwise would have been, which is why Terry reluctantly accepts it. But if he'd just play the game more openly there would be so much money to be made. If his Danny could make the Don make a phone call the way Amanda sometimes does for Terry... Why is the boy so stubborn?!

Meanwhile Daniel thinks his work raising multiple pups while making sure Terry has an actual home should be more than enough. And if he weren't shrewd if he wanted to be, Terry could accept it. But he is, and instead he makes more work for Terry...! And technically Terry can't complain about it because nobody would admit their omega mate was important for business. It's maddening! But alas, his boy has no ambition while the beta brother has too much of it. Business wise, Terry got a bad deal - doesn't John Kreese know it! Still those eyes ... Dat ass... That sweet, utterly kind heart...

He'll have to make do, Terry, but it is a point of contention.

Other than yes, he has the perfect, spicy, obedient and darling little mate who he would do anything for. But here, sweetheart won't budge.