#but one thing that does bring a certain barrier to what I can tell her is that she’s a christian

[diari0deglierrori]

Just a quick poll because.

[vasito-de-leche]

A short (or not) ramble of scenarios and questions for reverse: 1999 self aware. (sorry if this bothers you, I just don’t have enough confidence to post it on my own blog (plus I love your content))

- Okay so first of all, in the main page of the game, when you click on the upper left corner with your level and username, you go to a screen with Vertin looking fly as ever along with some user information.

So if Vertin can see the game’s ui, then she can see the year in which the player has joined the game (2023-2024). I haven’t dived deep into Vertin’s character so I can’t portray her reaction to much, but I feel like she would tell this info to someone close like Sonetto.

Also our motto: I put “When in a rush, say ‘runs in high heels cutely.’”. I’d be so embarrassed if anyone (even fictional sentient characters) saw that. Like im dead.

On that topic, when you mentioned in your Sonetto self aware post that she can sometimes see us, and honestly, I’d be even more embarrassed. Cause like, if any of the characters from games I played, were sentient and could see me, id pray they didn’t see my bad angle. Like imagine looking up to the sky to see, just for a second, the chin of a head as the hands go to scratch their nose. Like the first impressions I would make.

- P2p players. Imagine the player spending money on the game (at the risk of Vertin possibly seeing their credit card number) to help level up or get costumes for their fave characters.

(Some misc. questions)

-what would happen if player didn’t log in the game for a while (a week to a month as best) cause I would ditch some games to spend more time on others

- What does Vertin think of the mail messages that the player gets? Like the latest mail I got was the discord event invitation. Upon closer inspection and critical thinking, it would hint that there would be more players other than us because it says the winners get 60 clear drops (oh and money too)

- If I remember correctly, I think you mentioned about Vertin hearing the player sometimes. So imagine her hearing us trash talk certain character *cough* Constantine *cough*.

(Anyways, I love your content ❤️ especially your fmn headcanons, can’t wait to see more posts!!)

;R1999 - Self-Aware AU (2)

Answering some questions and discussing the Self-Aware AU. A follow up of this post.

not a bother at all, you bring up really good questions and details that are fun to explore! I'm glad you like my stuff, have a nice day o7!

On the subject of Vertin seeing the player's profile.

With the way I intended to portray Vertin within the AU, I don't think she would be affected by the date on the Player's profile!

This is the date you came into contact with her from your perspective, whatever time and space that flows within your world, not hers─the world behind the fourth barrier that she cannot see nor hear nor even fathom, let alone try to make sense of. In a way, it's like expecting ants to care about concepts we made up, such as time. They understand night and day, they do not understand 3PM nor 8AM.

Is it truly proof that time can go beyond 1999, when this is something that only she can see? When it doesn't affect a single thing within her universe by being part of a game menu meant for your eyes only? There's also the fact that she finds out the proper time of the world in the 1.4 update, in Chapter 05.

Her dynamic with the Player is something I like to keep vague, so that everyone can fill in the blanks, but ultimately it is something so complex and private for Vertin─who sees it as a one-sided relationship, since she cannot hear nor see you, unlike other arcanists who may reach the 100% bond─that I don't think she would talk about it with anyone, not even Sonetto! The name on your profile and whatever message you've written there are secrets she will take to her grave. The idea of Vertin being the eyes and hands of the Player, but having no way to truly see or hear them makes for a really fun concept to explore!

And on the subject of messages, let's be honest, if you've written something funny or some modern shitpost, chances are she won't understand it LMFAO so it's okay! I literally just have my socials and "men enjoyer" listed there.

Oh! But since you brought it up, the message section could be a fun, little way to communicate with Vertin, since she can read what's on there!

As for P2P players, Vertin wouldn't see any information from the Player's credit card since that's something that happens outside the app lolol. Like, to me, it directly opens to google play transaction stuff.

On the subject of the player dropping the game for long periods of time.

Hmm, in the first post I said that there might be characters ouside Vertin and her suitcase who may be self-aware, with their own goals and such. But nothing truly "matters" unless the Player is there to witness it. So to keep including these possibilities and details, I feel like there's two options, pick whichever you like the most!

One, time continues as usual within the game─but once it reaches an important date where the plot is meant to kick in with some important event, it simply resets back to where you left it. This is a world that exists outside of your perception, but cannot continue without you.

Two, time freezes entirely within the game─but only for those who are not self-aware. Keep in mind we're talking about long periods of time, this wouldn't happen if you log in every day, or every few days. This is what happens when your phone picks up the fact that Reverse: 1999 is one of the unused apps taking up space in your phone. This is a world that stops existing once you stop looking at it.

In both options, the Wilderness would remain unaffected as it seems to be entirely disconnected from the flow of time and space outside of it.

On the subject of the game's mail.

Since the messages auto-delete and all, I can't check but I'm pretty sure Vertin receives mail too? There were a few ones from a few characters a while back like Druvis III or An-an Lee, and I think the implication is that they were vaguely addressing Vertin?

If someone has screenshots and can confirm this, please let me know!

Either way, the easy answer is that yeah, she knows this is a game, so she could make the assumption that there's more players. She has access to your friend list, after all! And even if you don't have anyone added, the fact that it exists is enough for her to start connecting the dots.

I don't remember saying that Vertin can hear the Player, though! I think I was pretty consistent with her not being able to see nor hear you, to have the Player as some sort of eldritch, unknowable entity. But I also write so much stuff in this blog that it's hard to keep up sometimes lolol, if I've mentioned somewhere that Vertin can hear the player, it was a mistake!

[yesimwriting]

Slow Nights

A/n in a bit of a jason todd mood and i’ve been dealing with the writers block that comes from going through a rough couple of days, so i’m just going with the flow! 

also i feel like the fic world has shifted away from first person, but i was in the mood for it and i write to improve and felt like working on my first person voice😭 pls forgive me   

Summary: There are a lot of risks that come from being a female waitress at a small diner in Gotham. You didn’t realize that one of them would be developing a small crush cautious friendship with the intimidating, broody guy that keeps weird hours and always squeezes himself into the smallest booth near the window with a paper back. 

----

Appreciate the slow nights. That’s what Marta said before my first closing shift, when it was just the two of us and the long window that displayed a nearly empty street. I understood instantly. In Gotham, nothing’s guaranteed. Most criminals--petty or psychotic supervillain--don’t have the decency to wait until nightfall for their crimes. But there’s something about working until 3 AM that’s eerie, like you’re daring some testosterone fueled, ego maniac that’s had a little too much to drink to do rob you. Or worse. 

“You think anyone would notice if we closed early?” It’s not an actual offer, just part of our routine. I ask this question anytime between 1:00 and 2:00 and Marta pretends to contemplate as she wipes down a counter or sweeps or does anything she can to keep busy. Her answer is always something about how Bobby, the owner, has a sixth sense about these kind of things or some other kind of joke that makes Bobby seem like the bottom line obsessed ass he is.

She lets out a small sound at the back of her throat, ending her dutiful organization of plastic protected menus. “I think that boyfriend of yours would.” 

The comment strikes a nerve deep in my stomach. An uncomfortable warmth begins to spread through my face. The fact that she’s straying from her usual joke to poke fun at that amplifies the message. The twitch of her mouth tells me she knows exactly what she’s done. “Oh, he is not--” She’s oddly smug for someone who’s always giving me a warning look when I linger around a certain table too long, a kind of worry that’s so distinctly grandmotherly I can feel the silent warnings against my skin. “He’s a costumer, a regular. That’s it.” 

“Your customer,” her eyes are back on her menus, two of them are stuck together, “Your regular.” She pushes the nail of her thumb between the edge of the barriers. They let go of each other with a soft pop. 

Maybe I always take Jason’s table, but it’s only because everyone else was too scared to at first and now it’s just...routine. Like Marta and I pretending we’d close more than a few minutes early or the way that Adam, my least favorite closing shift partner, never sweeps correctly and always tries to find an excuse to walk me to my car. “Only because everyone else is too scared to talk to him.” 

She hums once, low and disbelieving. “Okay, because you know he--” I frown as Marta struggles to find the words. A part of me wants to tell her she doesn’t need to bother. I know because despite all the teasing, she sees him almost as much as I do. Jason comes in and he’s a living canvas of deep blues and sick yellows and the kind of crimson that has to be fresh. 

That’s what initially broke the ice between us. Marta stayed behind the counter and when I finally walked up to his booth, the first thing I noted was the bloody knuckles and the Jane Austen paperback. He asked for a coffee, black. I brought it to him, along with a damp rag and a few bandaids from the first aid kit in the back. I didn’t think about how weird and kind of silly that was until I was at his table. Taking it back to the kitchen after he had seen it felt even more pathetic so I silently set them down next to the coffee. He barely nodded in acknowledgement before turning to his book. 

When I came back to bring him his check, he looked particularly annoyed as he stared at the pages in front of him. For a second, the potential aggression turned my blood to ice. Awkwardly, I noted the cover and how far into the book he was, so I nervously mumbled the first thing I thought of. “Darcy, right?” He had looked surprised and I quickly jumped to defend myself, “You just um--you look like you’re around the proposal scene and for me, at least, it’s um--it’s equally bad every time.” 

That got his expression to soften a little, enough for him to ask how I had managed to figure out where he was based on his facial expression and how open his book was. After that, it was something else, something that went on until closing and ended with a 20$ tip and a walk to my car. 

 “You’re too smart for that, Mija.” 

Marta’s words bring me back. I nod, the motion hollow. The quick acceptance leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s a betrayal even though Marta didn’t really say anything and nothing she implied was factually wrong. Defensiveness immediately tries to crawl its way out of my throat. There’s a lot I could tell her. It might be so normal for Jason to have his knuckles split that the one time he didn’t, I teased him about it until he threatened to leave early and never come back, but he’s not whatever violence he won’t explain and I won’t ever ask about without a joke barrier for safety. He’s that one smile that makes you feel like you’ve earned something; and the jokes that kind of take you by surprise because you wouldn’t expect someone so physically intimidating to have a sense of humor that lighthearted; and he’s the books he reads, tears through so quickly he almost always has a new cover when he comes in. 

“Yeah,” I mumble, trying to convince myself that this isn’t the betrayal it feels like, “He’s just a regular that’s nice to talk to. It’s not like I ask him to come in or anything.” It’s not like I could, considering I have no way of contacting him. It’s not like he’s a friend I could text. 

The familiar creek of the front door’s tired hinges has Marta raising her eyebrows at me. A customer...around 2 AM...as we’re talking about Jason. There’s a silent understanding between us and the look she gives me isn’t subtle. We both know exactly who it is, so I push myself away from the kitchen counter we’ve been leaning against and grab a pot of coffee before placing a hand on the door that leads to the counters. 

“You ever think the stale coffee isn’t what he comes in for?” 

I still, the words rolling in my chest uncomfortably because the thought doesn’t bother me. At all. I push past the door before she can gage my reaction. 

He’s already in his usual seat--the farthest booth in the back, right next to the window. “Y’know the other day this family came in, three toddlers they could barely keep track of and a newborn in a stroller and the mom trying to get all their orders while the dad filled out the crossword on his phone.” I start pouring the coffee before I’ve even looked at him. “And the part I was most offended by was that he was sitting right there.” 

Jason’s watching me carefully, the curve of his lips gentle, “How dare he?” 

I look up, setting the pot on the table next to his cup. Even though I can practically feel Marta’s gaze on us, I can’t help but indulge in this part of our usual exchange. The moment in which I let myself really look at him, examining each part of his face for new or healing bruises or scratches carefully. 

There’s only one particularly notable mark, but this one is intense, right beneath an eye that’s clearly swollen. “Right?” I force my eyes to focus on anything else.  “We should put up a sign.” 

“VIP treatment,” there’s a shift in his tone that I feel more than hear, a precursor to some comment that toes the line between friendly and something else, “You saying I’m your favorite?” 

He tilts his head slightly, eyes watching my expression with a carefulness that’s tangible. That’s part of how he plays into the space between casual and flirty, through the small things. “Well, you are my best tipper.” 

Jason frowns, pushing himself a little further into his seat as if physically moved by his offense. “So that’s all I’m good for?” 

I roll my eyes, ignoring the dangerous warmth settling in my chest. “You never stop me when I start talking about books, so I guess you’re good for that, too.” 

“You guess?” 

Scoffing, I let my attention fall to the seat across from him. It’s not like I sit with him every time he comes in, if he comes in during daylight hours it’s usually impossible. But nights are different...

Marta’s words come back, a little heavier now. 

Jason takes a quick sip of his coffee and looks over at the space in front of him. “...You guys busy?” 

There’s something there, trying to hide in the way the sentence comes out. The glue that holds us together is the unspoken-ness of all of it. He never mentions the bandaids and wet rags I bring when he needs them unless he’s making a joke about it. And I never bring up the regularity of his presence. 

“Oh, yeah,” I joke, moving to sit across from him, “You should know how busy 2AM is for us by now.” I tap my nails against the surface of the table. “We might have to move you.” 

Jason lets out a small sound that’s somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “Thought this was my table?” 

I shrug, trying my best to not seem too amused. “You were getting too comfortable.” He keeps one hand on the table, relaxing in his seat as he waits for me to continue. “Can’t have you thinking I like you or anything.” 

He inhales, letting the silence between us linger. There’s a fragile quality to the space between words that has me focusing on his physical appearance again. I did miss something. Not a bruise or a cut, but the bags beneath his eyes that seem deeper today than they usually are and the shadow tainting his expression and the fact that he hasn’t even mentioned the book he brought in with him. 

“I believe you.” 

I roll my eyes at his sarcasm because I’m supposed to. There’s no place for that kind of worry, no where for it all to go. He’s just someone that comes in for his coffee. Just someone that keeps me company during closing and sometimes makes a boring afternoon shift more entertaining. “Shut up.” 

Jason doesn’t immediately jump to push at what’s clearly a hollow response. The silence eases itself back into existence. Normally lulls like this make me feel flighty or like I need to say anything to make sure I’m not the awkward one. But there’s no stiffness that I feel the need to fight against, it’s just us.

Even though Marta’s definitely only pretending not to watch us as she wipes down the counter that I already cleaned, it really is just me and him, and when it’s like that, it’s easy to talk. Sure, we wrap the layers of heavier stuff in layers of teasing fluff and bad jokes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. 

“That eye makes you a little hard to look at.” 

He scoffs, his lips pulling downwards. “Ouch. That hurt worse than the punch, sweetheart.” 

My nose wrinkles. “Did not.” 

“Bruised feelings are--” 

I groan before he can get the rest of his words out, “Do not say ‘as bad as a bruised face’.” 

Jason’s mouth stays partially open, like the second half of his sentence hasn’t realized that it has no where to go. There’s something kind of funny about easily over 6′, looks like he belongs in some kind of alley Jason glaring at me like an offended goldfish. “You’re mean.” 

“And you’re cheesy,” I counter, leaning a little closer as my forearms relax on the table, “I’m just saying you need to take better care of your face, it’s one of your better qualities.”

Oh no. The realization that I’ve made a mistake doesn’t settle until the words are already out of my mouth. Jason’s relaxed posture as he reaches for his coffee makes it clear that he’s noticed, too. I blink, pained at the realization that there’s no where to backtrack to. 

He takes a long sip of dark liquid before setting the cup between us. “One of my better qualities?” 

The nail of my thumb presses into the wood of the table. “Okay, I said ‘your face was one of your better qualities’, it’s not like I called you hot.” 

Jason smiles in a way that’s so damn knowing, “I know.” 

“Then why are you smiling?” 

He shrugs, still too amused, “Maybe I missed you.” 

That’s...new. Sure, he’s been gone for a few days but that’s nothing crazy. It wasn’t even the longest stretch of time he’s disappeared for. All that matters is that Jason’s here more days than he’s not. All that matters is that he eventually comes back and things always feel like he never left. 

Part of the reason that it works so seamlessly is because we never talk about his absence (with the exception of me making a joke that must have been cheating on me and him swearing he could never). I never mention that when he does come back, he usually has more marks on his skin than usual...or the fact that I worry. 

“Maybe I missed you, too.” It feels like a confession, a weight peeling itself off of my chest. “Even though you’re a total dork.” 

“I’m the dork?” 

“The ‘one black coffee’ order is trying way too hard for you not to be.” It’s an argument we’ve had before. Black coffee with no additives in the middle of the night, like he’s working at being mysterious even though he cracks open as easily as whatever book he’s reading. 

He sits up a little straighter, an argument that likely insults my coffee order clearly ready. The squeak of the front door’s hinges steal the spotlight before Jason can get it out. 

I turn my head, looking past the booth and down the aisle. A group of four guys have already stumbled in. I instinctually stand. One of the guys is laughing, slurring out some story I can’t make out as his friend tries to push off of his shoulder as he sways. The shortest starts to laugh as well, punching his friend in the arm as he gestures vaguely towards me. Great. 

“We’re closing.” Marta’s voice is firm as she makes her presence clear. 

“You close at 3:00,” the tallest one challenges her, stepping further into the space, “That’s what it says on the door...and...” He makes a show of turning over his wrist and checking his watch, “It’s only...2:53.” The number comes out so slurred it twists in my stomach. He shuffles towards the counter, a look that’s too sharp to not feel sober taking over his expression, “That’s not a problem, is it?” 

“It’s fine.” My lips press together after the sentence, hoping that Marta feels safe enough to stay out of it. “I’ll seat them.” 

I grab a few menus from the hostess counter that Marta stocked for the morning shift. I lead them to the first table that’s angled away from the counter. Marta’s jumpy and not always good at hiding it. Besides, I like the thought of anything shady happening farther from Marta. She has some issues with her right knee and she refuses to get it looked at. If things ever came down to running... 

I force the thought out of my head as I set a menu down in front of the seats. 

“Thank you, love.” The tall one--when did he get so close. 

I nod once, attempting a polite smile that hopefully hides my nerves as I try to side step around him. The back of my arm hits something firm. “Woah.” Something squeezes my shoulder and my entire body turns to stone. “Pretty thing like you shouldn’t be so jumpy.” 

The taller one angles his body to the left, subtly blocking off my original plan of escape. Part of Marta’s face is blocked by the man’s shoulder, but I can still make out her concern. Her lips part and I want her help as much as I dread it. 

“Hey, babe--” Jason. The strangers, weirdly aware for how inebriated they seemed earlier, take their time looking at Jason. They take him and the implication of his presence in quickly. I’m released at a speed that I can barely register. Even the tallest one takes a step back to give me the space to breathe. “You almost done?” 

Even though the babe clued me into his strategy almost immediately (Jason’s nicknames choices are usually more creative), it takes a second for my thoughts to catch up with the rest of me. “Yeah, after them we should be good to go home.” 

Jason takes his time looking over at each of the strangers in a way that could pass as casual if it wasn’t for the lock of his jaw. Maybe if I wasn’t used to him, used to the way he looks when we debate plot points and recommend music to each other, his expression would seem less distinct. But I do know him, know the way he tends to shrink in on himself when little kids are running around the diner so he doesn’t seem overly intimidating. 

“Take your time,” he finally manages, attention falling back to me. I’m so distracted by the tension melting in my stomach that I barely register Jason moving towards me. I don’t know what he’s doing until his arm’s comfortably wrapped around my shoulders. Something in my chest jumps. I don’t think we’ve ever touched before. “I can be here all night.” 

He’s so warm. “Shouldn’t be long, babe.” 

“Hm.” He gives my shoulder one last, assuring squeeze before stepping back. He doesn’t go far, sitting at the counter instead of his usual seat in the back. Less than a foot away.

Jason’s proximity gives me the confidence to go through the whole waitress bit, “Can I get you guys started with something to drink?” 

The tall one looks over at his friends, awkwardly clearing his throat before saying, “Could we just get some waters to go? I’d hate to keep you past closing.” 

I now get the concept of scary dog privileges better than ever before. “Yeah, we can do that.” 

The excuse to get behind the counter, back to Jason and Marta is unbelievably relieving. I’m there in almost an instant. Marta’s already pouring water into to-go cups. 

“You okay?” Jason’s voice is low, eyes so soft it’s hard to believe that a second ago he was intimidating to anyone.

I nod once, “Yeah.” And I really am. The group was menacing and they got a little close than most creepy guys do, but it’s not the first time a group of guys found entertainment in terrorizing a waitress at the end of a long night out. “Drunk assholes are just a...work hazard.” 

My attempt to brush off the incident doesn’t seem to work. Instead of easing, Jason’s jaw locks again. “That happen a lot?” 

I shrug, kind of regretting saying anything. It’s not like I’m constantly in danger, but waitresses are easy prey. They have to be somewhat nice to you and they’re stuck in place. And we’re in Gotham, any type of assault case is low on the authority’s priority list, which makes it low risk. “You’re here most nights, Jay, you know it’s usually empty.” 

He nods once, the motion stiff. His unasked question sits between us: what about when I’m not here? I don’t want to get into the whole thing, so maybe it’s a good thing I have to go back and give the guys their waters. It’ll give me a chance to regroup an go back to something lighter. Those guys and all this tension have taken enough of our reunion away from us. 

I look over at the counter and the styrophone cups are gone. The one time I want an excuse to walk away from Jason is the one time Marta goes out of her way to leave us alone.

Marta re-enters the space behind the counter. “They paid, they’re leaving.” As if on cue, the door’s signature squeak overlaps with the last syllable. “And we’re finally closed.”

“Finally.” 

With no warning, Jason leans over the counter and grabs a napkin off of the stack kept next to the soda machine. “You have a pen?” 

What? Before I can ask where the sudden urge to draw something came from, Marta wordlessly hands over the pen attached to her apron. That level of acknowledgement from her throws me through a loop. Technically, she’s not even working anymore so the pen thing was completely voluntary. 

Jason accepts her offer slowly, as if worried that there’s a chance he’ll startle her and force her to either run off or stab him. Marta does give the energy that she could either way. 

“What are you doing?” He doesn’t even have the decency to look up at me in acknowledgement. “Are you trying to draw their faces from memory in case they need--” 

Jason slides over the napkin wordlessly so that 10 evenly written digits face me, two dashes dividing the numbers into two segments of three and one of four. A phone number. “This is--” 

“If anyone like that shows up again, you can text me and I’ll...I’ll be there as soon as I can.” 

The confirmation that this is his phone number hits me straight in the chest, and the reasoning behind the gesture forces the feeling to linger. Here’s Jason, always careful to never reveal too much about himself and he’s...he’s trusting me. I turn my head enough to look at Marta, who just nods patiently. That’s different. 

I pick up the napkin like it might dissolve into nothing between my fingertips. “So basically I call if I have a problem, and you come and beat it up.” 

“Basically.”

I stare at the number again, studying the surprising neatness of the line they’re in like it can reveal something new about the person that wrote them. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the gesture feels heavy. “Thanks.” 

Jason briefly angles his chin downwards in a subtle version of a nod, “Don’t mention it.” He probably means that literally, so I just set the napkin back down and fold it neatly. “Anything for my fake girlfriend.” 

“Fake girlfriend of two minutes.” 

He leans a little closer, “A natural two minutes.”

I don’t even try to disguise my probably too smug laugh, “For you, maybe.” 

“You caught on a little fast.” I narrow my eyes. “Leaned into--”

“I think the person that gave you that black eye also gave you brain damage.” The jokes are easy to not to mind when they’re about him being obsessed with me, not the other way around.

Jason presses his lips together in what could be either an attempt at sulking or scowling, it’s hard to tell with his eyes that soft. “It’s like being punched again.”

“Dramatic.” I fight to keep my expression flat as I step back from the counter. “I’m gonna change and grab my bag, then you can walk me to my car.” 

He scoffs, a brief puff of air that’s pretending to be more annoyed than it is. “Someone’s bossy.”

I turn towards the door that leads to a small break room, “Fake boyfriend duties.” 

The door to the break room shuts before he can say anything else. I put the napkin Jason gave me into my bag before changing out of my uniform and into sweats. Normally, knowing that I don’t have to work for two days is nothing but relieving. It’s still a relaxing thought, but something about it also makes me feel like I’m stuck. Maybe it’s the fact that Jason just came back and the next time I work will be a lunch shift--which is, for whatever reason, the shift he’s least likely to crash. 

I won’t see or talk to him for a few days, and that’s long enough for him to disappear again. More days, more weeks. 

Forcing those thoughts down somewhere deep, I roll my shoulders before grabbing my bag and shutting my locker. We still have the moments that take to get to my car, and that’s all whatever friendship we have is...tiny moments. 

“Okay,” I announce my return to the main area, “You ready?” 

He’s already standing, the book we never got to held loosely in one hand. “I was waiting for you.”

I hold my hands up in defense even though this is far from his most annoyed response. “Someone’s moody.” 

He sighs, taking a step towards me. I barely have the chance to pull my bag off of me before Jason hooks a finger around it’s strap. He swings it onto his shoulder easily. the walk to the parking lot is short, but Jason always takes my bag. I’m not sure how it started, but like most of us, it happened on accident and stuck. 

“Moody?” 

The word is repeated back to me with an offense that’s punctuated by a hint of surprise. It’s a fair reaction. Now that I’m thinking about it, the word feels like it’s underserving him. It’d be easy to take in Jason’s general vibe and sum him up as mostly angsty or just another tough guy born on the streets of Gotham.

We reach the door. “Eh...you’ve got layers.” 

He almost smiles, “Really?” I can feel his smugness growing and I’m glad that I’m in a position to open the door and step away from it. My hand moves forward. Jason shifts, angling himself in a way that leaves me still. He’s not blocking my escape, not really, but the implication of how close he’s standing is enough to make me still. “What are they?”

The air in my lungs jams itself in my throat mid breath. 

“I’m ready to lock up if--” Marta stops halfway between the tables and the door. Something about her expression makes proximity that felt innocent moments before off. “If you’re ready to go.” 

“Uh--yeah,” I hum, placing a hand on the door, “I’m--yeah, I’m--” I push the front door open as if that will prove my point, “We’re good.” 

Marta nods slowly, “Okay.” 

I walk out and Jason follows. After a second, Marta appears behind us. She mumbles a general goodnight instead of pointedly tacking my name onto it before getting into her car and driving off. 

Jason opens my car door for me. I get in, take my bag back, and turn on my car even though Jason’s still standing there and the door’s still open. “Your tire pressure--” 

I shake my head dismissively, ignoring the symbol that’s lit up on my dashboard. “I’m getting to it.” He gives me a look and I sigh. “I’ll go this week, mom.” 

“Funny.” He leans closer to my car with no warning, head peaking in to examine my dash. Nosy.

“Relax, I got my oil changed.” 

He eases a bit at that, moving back to where he was before. “After I told you to for a week.” 

“It was not a week.” It did come close, though. It was getting close to the end of the semester and my car wasn’t a priority. Plus, Jason’s lectures about it were a little entertaining and gave me another piece of information to file away about him. “Maybe I liked your car rants.”

“Yeah?” 

I shrug, relaxing into my seat, “You knew a lot of technical words.” 

The corner of his mouth turns up slightly, “So that’s what you’re into?” 

“You wish,” my return is a little slower, the early stages of drowsiness finally getting a chance to catch up to me now that things are calm. 

Jason frowns, eyes lingering on my expression. I guess I don’t pass his inspection because he says, “You should get home.” 

I nod, hoping no disappointment is visible on my face. “Yeah, it is kinda late.” My hand finds the handle of the car’s door. “See you around, dork.” 

Jason throws me a look, half glaring, “Night, loser.”

With one last look, I shut the door. I turn my attention to the steering wheel. Just drive. A part of me wants to linger, to maybe say something else. But there’s nothing else. 

In an attempted compromise, I reach into my bag and pull out the napkin. The numbers aren’t as easy to make out in the dark, so I have to squint to type them into my phone. This is normal. I mean, I might have a reason to text him later and if he doesn’t know that this is my number, he might ignore it or miss it or--

Ugh. Before I can over think it, I type a short text: it’s Y/n. Even though there’s no way for that to come off as weird, I’m glad I have an excuse to shove my phone back into my bag and not look at it for at least 15 minutes. 

----

This bag should be called the black hole, because the moment you need something, it’s swallowed into an abyss. I’ve found multiple sticks of gum, a handful of change, and a chapstick I thought I lost weeks ago, but not my keys. 

I sigh, picking up my phone so that I can use the flashlight. Before I can swipe to get the option, my attention shifts to the recent notifications. Two texts my phone has labeled as being from maybe: Jason. The first his just his name. The second is a longer message saying that I already knew that, because he’s the one that gave me this number. It’s a distinction that’s so specific and particular it’d feel a little awkward coming from anyone else. 

I let myself think about it for a second before swiping the message open. I type out a reply before erasing it. Another moment of deliberation passes before the words come to me. I type it out and hit send in the same breath. You’re lucky you’re pretty. 

I drop my phone back into my bag and shift around the contents. The void must have taken another victim, because it’s finally spit up my keys.

----

A/n i could see myself making a part 2 to this where this reader meets redhood and doesnt know its jason bc i was originally going to make this longer, but idk! 

[sparxemberflame]

Fuckin'... Aabria Iyengar.

I am... In awe. I am delerious. I am chomping at the bit. I just... Fuck!!

So. Past two weeks/episodes Especially. Watching/listening to Burrow's End and Worlds Beyond Number back to back is an Experience. Having 2 seperate shows that contain Brennan Lee Mulligan, Erika Ishii and Aabria, in my ears telling me different stories 2 eps at a time is an absolute blast (shoutout to Lou, Jasper, Isabella, Rashawn, Siobhan and rest of cast and crew on both shows too you're awesome! Not the focus of this little outburst.)

Anyway it's GREAT. Highly recommend both shows and there are parallels I'll get into elsewhere, elsewhen. But.

This is an Aabria Iyengar specifically fucking Stan post.

You have made me feel so many overwhelmingly cool, awesome and intimate emotions and ideas that I can hardly begin to explain them. For some reason the only fucking thing that comes close is this. Silly but sorta deep thing about my favorite snack (shout out to snack gang) a Ferrero Rocher:

Aabria,

Shall I compare thee intricate weaving of characters and narratives to a Ferrero Rocher?

I shall. For this is no poem or any such writing of iambic pentameter. It is at best a floundering simile.

You have a way of creating characters and stories which much like a certain confectionary treat when unwrapped contains such an immense blend of texture and flavor. Each instance containing a wholly unique configuration of features bound together in perfectly imperfect unity. Not wholly smooth round but spherical oozing with points of uniqueness sticking out all over.

But yet if you dig just a bit deeper. There's this. Shell. Not a Barrier as it might first seem. But an Obstacle. A Challenge of sorts. Put there not to deter you but to provoke a moment of reflection. I think of Suvi and her refusal to process or be truly vulnerable in most situations. I think of the intricate power-structures of Last Bast and the Hint of this Wall that something Richer. More interesting, more honest and lovingly crafted lies Just Beneath.

This shell. Which you'll find is litterally Wafer-Thin. Should you ask the right question. Follow the right narrative thread. Bite into it with your teeth.

That curiosity is. Always and forever rewarded. With a richness of flavour and care that feels like a hug, like understanding, like being, at last: Home.

It is easy to get lost in that and yet even in this sea of what I can only call love. You find it. The Core. The hazelnut. A moral. Or a question, or a consequence. Something to once again think about and bite into.

And you realise. Once you've finally reach it that this core. This secret. Was Always Obvious. It was Sprinkled. All atop the very first layer. Litterally poking out. Each and every goddamn feature sticking out. Every chopped up uniquely distinct feature.

Was made up of the same material. Was the Core The Whole Time. Visible to the naked eye. But now having experienced the whole show. The whole treat. It is gone.

But its nourished you. The treat nourishes my body. The way Aabria tells stories nourishes my very soul.

Thinking back on many stories told that core in plain sight is often about Family or Love and the relationships between. Far from an uncommon subject in stories. But something about it. Something about the unique way Aabria does it in not just one but seemingly every story and character she creates. Its fantastic, its familiar and it... I can't describe it any other way than that it fills me with elation, jubilation and a deep sense of belonging and the implications therein drives me absolutely insane.

It's with my hat off, eyes sparkling in adoration and my heart full that I say:

Thank you Aabria Iyengar for telling these stories, for bringing these characters to life. They have changed me and many others forever and have and continue to drive me to create my own stories and campaigns for many years to come.

[dropintomanga]

Medalist - The Best Manga (Almost) No One Is Reading

“I want to strongly believe I can do it. I hate how much I know about the no-good side of me. I want to be more like the girl Coach Tsukasa believes in. I want to be someone I can believe in!”

Sometime last year, I was overhearing talk from manga bloggers/reviewers about a certain under-the-radar Kodansha title that deserves more attention. I later found out that it was licensed in the U.S. and also won several awards in Japan. This manga is about a sport that I’m not knowledgeable about (but has gained a lot of attention due to a anime series I’m sure people know called Yuri!!! on Ice!!), figure skating. This past week, I got to read the 1st 4 volumes of Tsurumaikada’s critically-acclaimed Medalist and finally saw what I was missing.

I don’t know a damn thing about figure skating, but I sure as hell know a great manga when I see it. And Medalist is just that.

Medalist focuses on the journey to become a competitive figure skater in Japan through the eyes of a child and her coach. The main character in question, Inori Yuitsuka, is a 5th grader who’s noted to be bad at everything in life so far except ice skating. However, she skates in secret as she has little access to skating rinks and she’s also considered to be “too old” to start competitive training. It isn’t until she meets her future coach, Tsukasa Akeuraji, that her life changes. Tsukasa had aspiring dreams to become a pro figure skater, but wasn’t able to due to starting at a later age. He becomes depressed over life due to not achieving anything significant in his figure skating career. When Tsukasa meets Inori, he realizes that she’s the same as him and decides to help her realize her dreams of becoming a pro figure skating medalist no matter what.

The art in this series is incredible. The figure skating scenes are well-done, but what really shines are the character interactions. Inori won the Magademy 2023 award for best female character and I can see why she won. She’s a kid who’s trying her damn best to challenge her insecurities via her passion for ice skating. I can’t help but be moved when Inori says something important to get her point across.

Tsukasa is a relatable character to those who feel lost at their hobby. As someone who feels like they started “late” for a competitive interest where it’s best to start young, I get where Tsukasa is coming from. This applies to my now-daily interest in Japanese mahjong. I’m well-past the general demographic (18-34) for the game in the U.S. as I started playing at the age of 38. There’s obviously certain barriers (mostly life responsibility-related), but I recently experienced the joy of helping a beginner get through a game in-person. I think, like Tsukasa, I want to at least help the next generation of mahjong players get started and find their paths to become better players.

Inori and Tsukasa’s relationship is amazing and well-written. Every great athlete needs a coach to bring out the best in them. However, if the coach/athlete relationship is based on how much an athlete wins, it will not go well. This becomes complicated when it comes to coaching children. With the exception of Inori being a 5th grader, Medalist focuses on aspiring 3rd grade figure skaters who are, for the most part, level-headed. But they all have personality quirks that can get in the way of achieving greatness. This manga does a great job in illustrating the coach/athlete dynamic when it comes to very young children. It’s something I don’t see in most media.

One of my favorite moments is in Volume 2 where Inori boldly tells her mother that she will get 1st place in a preliminary showing at a major cup and attempt techniques that appear to be hard for her. Inori’s mother didn’t really approve of Tsukasa getting her daughter into the world of pro figure skating at the start. But once she saw Inori look like an absolute gem in the making on the rink, she laments that she never thought of Inori’s feelings out of a fear of being hurt inside. I don’t know about any of you, but in my experience, my mother told me not to push myself so hard because of my mental limitations. She has told me not to try super-challenging jobs due to my depression. I think maybe she was trying to make sure she didn’t get hurt by my struggles and look like a bad parent to others. Part of it was also my own fault since I looked at the labeling I was prescribed a bit too seriously. 

So yeah, seeing Inori’s mother know that Inori can actually do something meaningful with her life got me emotional. I do feel that some parents are really overprotective over their children and what they should be doing in life. I don’t blame them because failure over things that aren’t the norm will always be scary. Plus, not every dream will come true. Yet I know what every child wants from their parent is to believe in their ability to become whatever it is they want to be/do and that they’ll have their support no matter what. I wish more parents opened their eyes enough to see that.

I could go on and on about Medalist, but I’ll stop here. This is a fantastic series to read for anyone interested in relating to ambitious children and being there for them in realistic ways. Medalist is a bold story that details what it takes to create a winning environment for children, parents, and the communities around them. 

[mochilorddrakeinferno]

(another spm thing haha I should actually play the game at some point also I read your entire dimentio doc and I LOVED IT) why do you think Luigi is the ideal host for the Chaos Heart?

Oh, glad you liked it, thank you! As for your question, it's a good one, but... I don't know if I really have a great answer on it. Let's start with some important information about the Chaos Heart. Its name in the original Japanese is the "Love Power of Chaos". This is significant because it tells us a lot more about the type of thing it is. Throughout Super Paper Mario, it is repeatedly emphasized that the power of pure love is capable of... well, just about anything. Reviving the dead, restoring the *beyond* dead, bringing worlds back from non-existence, even defying fate itself.

But that power isn't a purely positive one. Love at its core is passion, it's caring about someone, it's a bond between hearts. But that care isn't always mutual, benevolent, or healthy. Obsession is a kind of love, unhinged devotion a kind of care. But it's a different kind of love, something corrupt. Chaotic love. Where pure love is a thing of light and restoration and possibility, chaotic love is a negative power, associated with destruction, darkness, inevitability, and madness. So when Peach and Bowser completed the worst marriage ever, that is why the Chaos Heart was born.

(Side-note: The fact that he would later try to marry her again in Super Mario Odyssey does suggest it's a one-time occurrence that wouldn't happen if they got married a second time, which in turn probably means the specific circumstances of the wedding in SPM and/or the Dark Prognosticus's prophecy played a part in things, but to what extent is unclear.)

Now, the other thing about the Chaos Heart is it's weirdly parasitic in behavior. We know from Count Bleck's tattle that it grants certain powers (presumably related to dark magic) to its bearer, as well as placing a protective barrier around them. But unlike the Purity Heart, it needs a host to continue existing, disappearing if they die and fleeing a mortally injured host. It makes sense that the Chaos Heart would get along with Count Bleck. He's a man haunted by overwhelming grief, swimming in the exact sort of chaotic love from which the Chaos Heart was made. Dimentio's ego could suggest a self-absorbed form of chaotic love is at play with him as well. But then where exactly does Luigi come into this?

Some theorize that he's a perfect host for the Chaos Heart because he wasn't actually Luigi at the time, he was Mr. L. This doesn't really work, as Dimentio only refers to him as "man in green" in the Japanese version of that scene, with Mr. L's name just being invoked in the English localization for some reason. There might be some merit to the idea that he wasn't truly Luigi at the time, but by that metric, he also wasn't... anyone. In Japanese, Dimentio specifically says the Dark Prognosticus predicted Luigi's *body* was the "perfect vessel" for the Chaos Heart. This, along with the fact that Luigi spends his entire time as part of Super Dimentio with his mind overwritten, weirdly kind of implies that his mind and so his personal connection to chaotic love might be irrelevant to what makes him a good host for the Chaos Heart.

However, since that matter is rather unclear, it's worth looking into another popular theory that does touch on the actual mind of Luigi and what chaotic love he may feel. Namely... the universe is not always kind to our plucky plumber in green. He's far less popular than his brother, often the butt of circumstance's jokes, and often disrespected by those around him. Some believe that this has created a repressed jealousy within Luigi for his brother, such that even though he loves his brother deeply, there is a wellspring of chaotic potential beneath it. And... this is a good idea to explore in fan works, there's a lot to dive into, fascinating interpretations you can make of Luigi's character through that lens, but from a canonical perspective, it's just not very supported.

For one thing, you never see it explored in the game. Super Paper Mario features one of the most confident showings of Luigi we've ever seen. Luigi never expresses dissatisfaction in his relationship with his brother, and he isn't even really mocked or negatively compared to Mario, at least not in any way that's given much thematic weight. Heck, even as Mr. L, who's lost all his memories and been hypnotized into a whole new purpose and identity, he still develops a brotherly connection through Brobot. And looking to other games, we continue to see their brotherly bond as not only positive, but aspirational.

Starlow comments on how much they trust each other. On Star Hill, wish is to be a great plumber like Mario. In Dream's Deep, we see his thoughts and feelings toward his brother laid bare, and they're all supportive and positive. Mario and Luigi's relationship may not be perfect, no relationship can be, but from all indication those two are about as close as you're gonna get. The closest we ever really get to a hint of a negative side to Luigi's perception of Mario is in Luigi's diary in PM64, where he says it's unfair that Mario went on an exciting journey alone. In other words... he's upset that he didn't get to go along and spent time adventuring with his bro. Hardly a statement of resentment. So the resentment theory analytically seems to fall flat as well.

This leaves only two real options of which I'm aware, and they're kind of the least narratively satisfying ones. One is that it's just a mystery and we don't know why, and the other is that it's true because it's what the Dark Prognosticus predicted. He's the perfect host because destiny says so. There is quite some evidence that the Dark Prognosticus itself is the reason many of its prophecies occur, and indeed that it may be what forces them to, but for a case such as how suited a person is to being the vessel of a very specific kind of dark power... well, like I said, it's not especially satisfying as a conclusion. So this is kind of a roundabout way of saying I'm not sure there is a definitive answer here.

[wordsbyarwen]

hello! ive been keeping up with your writing for a while and i was just curious, do you have any plans to continue stone in your water? no pressure ofc, just wondering :)

If it takes another 6 years it will be completed, yes.

The more complicated and slightly more serious answer (although i am very serious about finishing the fic) is that as we wind closer to the end, i find it more taxing to make sure all the pieces are in place to bring the story to a close without leaving any ends hanging. There are also a lot of emotions going on that need careful consideration given certain recent events - so along with navigating their new bond and sorting out how to address some other issues - as well as the just bringing it to a satisfying close in general (i know what's going to happen ultimately, but weaving the story around it is blah), things have just been going a bit slowly.

plus tbh i though writing in past tense for the Hades & Persephone au would be a good exercise and now i keep giving myself psychic damage every time i try to write in present tense again.

anyway here's a (very long) segment from the next chapter, where i explain Rita taking over as Headmistress and Tissaia and Vilgefortz seizing control of the Chapter

Yennefer is not the only guest at the meeting, of course. Rita's warm presence alone is enough to tell Yennefer that her ponderous thoughts this morning were accurate: Tissaia is stepping down as Rectoress.

"You seem weary, Tissaia. Have you come to vacate your Chapter seat as well?" Artorius drawls when the announcement has been made, voice dripping with feigned boredom.

"Yes, the running of your little school is hardly reason to call another meeting so soon—particularly after you were so quick to depart the last one," Stregobor complains. "Why have you gathered us here?"

A flare of annoyance from Tissaia shoots across their bond, and Yennefer furrows her brows slightly. She wants to bite back—she’ll only be able to take so many of Stregobor’s disingenuous comments—but she holds her tongue and focuses instead on reassessing the barriers around Tissaia's mind.

All seems well. 

"Quite the contrary, Artorius," Tissaia is saying, ignoring Stregobor’s interruption for now. “For too long I have been torn between the duties of two different stations. Henceforth I intend to dedicate my full attention to the oversight of the Brotherhood. I think we can all agree that these are trying times indeed, gentlemen; the Brotherhood needs guidance.” 

A breath of silence—and then, from nowhere, someone laughs. 

Vilgefortz, Yennefer realises when he clears his throat to speak. "Well said, Tissaia; after all, it was the efforts of our mages which kept the Nilfgaardian horde from crossing the Yaruga. Might I be so bold as to suggest that the Brotherhood requires not only guidance but… a new direction, even?” he muses. A beat. He makes a thoughtful noise before continuing, “The Archmistress has my support.”

[...]

“I knew it was a bad idea to fill Vanielle’s seat with this—this sword-slinging whelp,” Stregobor grumbles. In her mind’s eye, in the disturbance of chaos near his seat, Yennefer sees him wave his arm dismissively.

The absolute gall, saying this in front of the man! Yennefer has little love for Vilgefortz, but she finds herself distracted once again by musings of how Stregobor has maintained his seat in the Brotherhood’s leadership for so long when all he does is provoke the people around him. 

Terranova hums quietly in amusement. “In all fairness, they were right. The Blackclads arrive after all—and two days early at that? Had Tissaia and Vilgefortz not rushed to defend Sodden, we’d already be neck-deep in a war we were too complacent to stop.”

“Back to the point, gentlemen,” Tissaia begins in the ensuing silence. “Now is the time for unity, not for infighting.”

Not one to be drawn from his protestations so easily, Stregobor makes a disgusted sound before grumbling, “I still don’t understand why you could not have put this in a letter.”

Tissaia does not quite sigh aloud, but Yennefer is well-familiar with the pinched expression she associates this feeling of irritation with. “Aretuza produces nine out of ten of the mages who serve as advisors on the Brotherhood’s behalf,” Tissaia snaps. “One would hope this Council has significant interest in the future of the school.” She puffs out a breath before continuing in a more casual tone. “Of course, your personal lack of interest hardly surprises me, Stregobor: as much time as you spend peacocking around Thanedd, it’s a wonder your boys even recognise their Rector’s face.”

“<i>Now—</i>”

“Remind me,” Tissaia continues over Stregobor’s interruption, “when was a Ban Aard graduate last chosen for a court assignment?” A moment of tense silence. No answer comes. “Then I trust you have no other protestations regarding the discussion of Aretuza’s future in this hall.”

Growing more irritated (and more unbearable) by the minute, Stregobor makes a sudden noise of frustration. “Margarita Laux-Antille has no interest in politics!”

“That’s the first thing you’ve got right since calling this meeting to order,” Rita interjects blandly, speaking up for the first time.

“Ha! You see—!”

“But, while I have no interest in playing at intrigue as you do, I assure you I am more than capable of staying abreast of the political landscape here in the North and abroad, as is necessary to guide Aretuza and its students. Besides, we have experts for a reason,” she adds in a lightly scoffing tone. “You take for granted that Tissaia has long been part of this Council. I take precisely as much interest in the political sphere as the position of Rectoress necessitates.”

“And it is for that reason that she is here,” Tissaia continues smoothly, cold steel underneath her placid demeanour. “In future, I will act as liaison between the Council and Aretuza. For now, I move that we review the current status of our relations across the Northern Realms. After all, the Headmistress should know precisely where the Council stands—should she not?”

It is not, in fact, a question.

[skybristle]

ok. finally my big gc post i've been hyping up. im sorry theres so much context bullshit here my fanon is complicated and this is Very me-specific, i don't think this could ever work in canon. bear with me though.

First: magic system . long story short, there are divine planes of magic, the 'source' of each type of magic's power and usually what the god of it has direct control over. another important thing about them [particularly the celestial planes, which is a distinction you thankfully don't have to care about] is that they can hold souls 'hostage' from the flow of life. this will be important later. particularly, the world of dreams has most of the main celestial body magics, plus some other rudimentary stuff, including the sunlight realm, a daydream facet of the whole world of dreams. normally, a god will by default have the 'birthright' to their realm,,, however sometimes spirits can get minor or even major godhood if they know what they're doing. it's both incredibly painful and simply unreasonable to expect a mortal body to be able to take the inflow of divine magic. [and yes, even though the ancients are immortal, they still Classify under mortal, they don't have any divinity asnd they just got a shitton of magic in their things]

and secondly: city of wizards. i mentioned it, but the world of dreams Does have a sun facet, and there IS a sun goddess, sunshine! [my lovely girlfriend @princess--bongwater 's oc].. i've always wanted them to be connected, but i haven't really figured out a way to make it work since i didn't want gc to straight up have a divine blessing that would set her apart from the other ancients. you see, uhm, a certain Incident happened in the city millenia ago where tldr moonlight got cursed by some twink, the city fell, and the dream barrier [divine in origin since it's technically moonlight's magic, so sunshien can't break through] and eclipse, their adoptive mother, tells sunshine to run before hell completely breaks loose when it all begins. sunshine, locked out with a vieled city only being able to see her twin chained up in the abyss of the dream realm, with an assumption her mortal mother is dead or will be by the time she's able to return,,, wanders off to the mortal realm. and, in a mortal diguise, that's where she's been, unable to face the dream world let alone her own personal godly duties, fucking around in bars getting slammed and shit. so. she's really out of the picture. the throne of the sun has been empty since a time beyond memory

NOW. golden cheese. i imagine a lot of the ancients came from the general place they founded their kingdoms [besides white lily and pv probably], and i've always seen gc as a thief wandering between villiages and oasis' on the sands prior to meeting hb / the others. it's a very disjointed soceity, with only one unifying trait: the worship of the sun goddess.

once she's settled in as the pharoah, the worship of the sun is still very much there, even if gc has kind of become sort of a godly figure among her people. she personally doesn't consider it much, having originally lived a harsh life and never being given sol's grace. until shes on her knees, sobbing, crying, clutching the staffs of her dearest friends and her people over the ruins of her kingdom, over the dried blood in the fractured golden tiles. the wind whistles in her ears. this is the first time in her life the desert sun has felt completely scorching. and, in the deepest depths of her grief, she finally prays to the sun. for anything . [she doesn't know that's what all of the bodies before her were spending their last moments doing]. she cries and sobs to the heavens as her talons are digging so hard into her other hand they bleed. she has no other choice. the heavens are silent

well, golden cheese has never exactly been a cattle waiting for rescue. fine then, sunshine, be that way. she has to bring them back. her finest treasures, all of them. the gold burning her eyes doesn't matter. so she soars. up and up and up. her lungs are burning with the thin air. her wings are pounding in her ears and she can see nothing but light, and she can't tell if it's what she's staring at or her soul jam overflowing with the power of her grief and denial. but she keeps going.

her talons clutch the sun, finally [this is a little metaphorical, she's actually seizing the divine realm, lol dw the literal sun is ok] and as she finally falls back down she holds it close and channels all of her power into it and even if it's fighting back she's wrangling it like a jackal and she'll fucking win. she has to. there's no other choice now.

before she smashes into the sands, it fianlly takes her there. a blank slate. a little messy from hosting daydreams and not being attended to by its god, but it's workable. it's oddly dim, i guess there's no sun here anymore.

perfect. with just the right timing, she grabs the souls here from the hand of death and takes them away.

the 'digital' kingdom is, yes, a lot of technology, but its also a melting pot of magic and souls and code and it's very,,, hectic. thankfully, her people weren't big mage-types, and she mainly assigns the souls of former mages similar powers using the fakeness of her world. just trying to look at this thing using their magic sight would give them vertigo if they were using Actual Magic that's real. i should also add she had to personally bury each one with her own two talons. sure, the cheesebirds helped, but there's only so much they can do. her closest friends to the tiniest babies to her wisest elders. and,,, i mean,,, she's sitting on the throne of the sun. she *is* the sun goddess. but while she is sitting in the vacated land of the sun she betrayed, her soul jam is supporting a lot of it, and she's actualyl despite her ego actively fighting against the transformation into a god. the divinity is seeping into her, but its absolutely *agonizing*, i imagine the 'sun deity' transformation in her skill is absolutely brutally painful, and even if her soul jam cam help her bear the weight of this whole charade, it's not very,,, fun. it's just such a captivating hc to me. she usurped the goddess of the sun to keep up this lie. in fact, that's why the digital kingdom is always night, a false sun can't illuminate it. and there's a timer ticking. stop being delusional and face the music of what really happened, or get eaten from the inside out by the reminder of what she stole. i wonder which she'll choose. a lot of my thoughts with this hc r just visuals. ill have to draw smthin later

[tmwcs]

OMG REI!! CAN YOU DO A SIMILAR PIECE OF YORU LAST POST AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU THINK THE ENHA MEMBERS IDEAL TYPES ARE??? PLLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAASE! I AM DYING TO ASK YOU!

Sure.

Again, i don't know any of the members and this is not by any means factual as I am merely expressing my own thoughts and gut instinct on what my opinion is in regards to the member's personal/ideal type.

Jay:

As I stated in the last post, I think he would be into a very well mannered woman who carries alot of self respect. I don't get the vibe that he would be into looks too much, maybe like 40% appearance and 60% personality. I can see him being into types that are simple, and elegant types that wear little makeup, maybe has some or very little surgical alterations (i dont think he really cares too much about that, but i dont think he'd be into the ones that over do it and do alot to completely change their whole entire look). The people that come close to mind would be like Jisoo, IU, Rose (with natural colored hair) etc. Now, this is my own opinion, but i do see him being the type to more than likely go with a Korean woman, which is why i listed those three above as examples. If he does go with a foreigner, I feel like it would be an American woman but someone he already knew from his childhood or like an Asian American. Idk why, i just get that vibe.

Sunghoon:

Again, as I stated in the last post, Sunghoon would (like Jay) want a very well mannered, proper type of gal. I think he would be 50/50 on looks/personality. I heard he listed Irene as his ideal type, which tells me he likes the type that fits majority, if not all, of the korean beauty standards. IMO, i feel like he'd would only go with a korean woman, and wouldn't be open to date foreigners, merely out of comfort and preference. he comes off as the type that would be very traditional and i just get this feeling he'd be into a an Irene look alike (not to be confused with an ulzzang or 얼짱) like a nice girl that is simplistic and doesn't wear too much makeup, wears nice clothes, and is very easy going. I feel like he cares alot about what his parents think, and that may influence his preference and standards. Considering how immensely supportive they were in his figure skating days, I feel like he has a strong bond with them and like most Asian men, they love their mothers very much and sometimes will tend to go with a woman if she has gained their mother's approval (not saying it's right but it is a thing people...) I can see Sunghoon (not necessarily being the type to rely solely on his parents approval) but i can see him being the type to really be attracted or want someone who is presentable and he feels comfortable to bring to his family. I feel like he comes from a very traditional upbringing and family background.

Heeseung:

So with Heeseung, i can see him being the type to date foreigners, but if it came to settling down in a very serious relationship (like marriage) i get this vibe that he'd most likely marry a korean woman. there is a sliver string of my gut instinct that thinks he'd consider or would marry a foreigner, but he'd be selective on the type of foreigner mainly because of the language barrier. basically, if she speaks english with some korean or is fluent, i think he'd be willing to make that work. Idk why, but again, most asian men love their mothers so much, and i feel like if there was a girl that had some minor attribute that reminded him of his mother (one that makes him nostalgic) like the sound of her voice when she says certain words, or the color of her hair, or the way she smiles, i feel like he really would cherish that since we know how much he loves his mother.

i feel like that heeseung wouldn't really care about looks so much. idk why, i just get this vibe that he might have preferences and some standards but it's pretty flexible. in fact, i actually see him as the type that eludes the 'less is good' aspect. so less makeup, less flashy clothes and jewelry, and i dont think he'd really care about plastic surgery but to be honest, i feel like he'd be the type to really appreciate a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and maybe only had some minor surgeries (like the common ones that they do with their eyes and nose, considering he himself has had some work done. lets be honest now) for some reason, i get this vibe that he'd be into an older girl, likes someone who is mature and carries a sense of classiness and sophistication that only comes with age (IU comes to mind alot whenever i think about this, like her personality).

I also think he'd like pale skin, but also would like a nice olive, tan complexion, and likes a girl with natural hair colors that compliments said complexion. i really do. and if they have a good personality, that pretty much seals the deal for him. someone who maybe looks like IU, Jisoo, Yuna, or even Danielle from new jeans (i know she's a minor, i'm not implicating anything, i'm just using her features as an example) fresh faced, and elegant type of beauty. as for foreigners, I could see him finding someone like Barbara Palvin, Kendall Jenner, Catriona Gray or Kaia Gerber (idk why but i get this vibe that he likes the mature and almost sexy type looks when it comes to foreigners) I feel like (again...imo) i feel like he has a soft spot for Filipina women because...well...Philippines is one of the top three countries that heavily supports kpop, has one of the largest fanbases for kpop, and he has alot of fans from there so i just think..yeah...he has a soft spot for them. if you're Filipina and carry some traits of Catriona Gray (whether its the hair, skin complexion, style, or the bold lips).....yeah...that's a done deal.

Jake:

I feel like Jake and HS are similar in their taste in women. And i also see him preferring korean women out of comfort, but if he met an english speaking woman that carried some or all of the attributes he likes, then he would be down (just like HS). I feel like he and HS are very very similar when it comes to their preferences and ideal types, so it's almost the same, and i also think he might be more attracted to an older girl, but if he met a young girl that carries the personality traits he likes (like that sophisticated and classy attitude) then he would eat that up. Idk why but when it comes to the legal line in enhypen, i see them liking the very mature types. I feel like Rose (looks wise) and Danielle (again, looks wise) are the types he is fond of, but i also think he has a wide variety when it comes to his preferences with foreign women. because so many foreign women are drop dead gorgeous (and i mean like...all over, every country has the most beautiful women i swear) i think the aspect of seeing a woman who is, again, comfortable in her own skin and hasn't had alot of surgiers (no slander against koreans but south korea is the plastic surgery capital of the world and it is very common over there) i feel like the members really find it refreshing when they see a woman who only enhances her looks with some simple makeup (and from what i've seen in all of the fans during these fansigns and fancalls....there are alot of beautiful girls out there, i dont know how these guys keep their cool...no wonder they get so flirtatious).

Like HS, he likes the simplistic types (no heavy makeup, no flashy or costumey looks, etc) as much as people love the ulzzang look, like karina, i really dont think the guys would be into that bc lets face it, those ulzzangs (while beautiful) have lots of makeup, filtering, and surgeries to achieve that look. again, less/simple = good. for the members, i feel like they prefer a simplistic and simple, elegant type of beauty and if you do wear makeup, wear flashy clothes, or get surgery, less is good. (in my opinion that's the vibe i get).

Jungwon:

I feel like Danielle (i know i used her for the third time now) but i feel like her image and features fits JW's type, also IU's visuals. I get this vibe he is more into Korean women, so that's why I feel like he'd be either into a full korean or maybe a half korean like Danielle or Somi before she dyed her hair and adapted the very bold makeup look. I personally think of him being very into the type that are (again) less is good, so simple makeup looks, loose jeans or sweat pants with hoodies and butterfly hair clips that pins your long hair on the back. I kind of get this vibe he's similar to Sunghoon in regards to splitting the personality and visual appearance down the middle, holding them both equal in value.

Sunoo:

So Sunoo is the only one where i don't get any vibes that he really cares too much about looks. If you look presentable, have some sense in fashion and have wide eyes, and an awesome personality, i feel like he'd be into you. if you're smart, know how to take care of yourself and can take care of him, if you're both a giver and taker, and know how to give back and remind him to take, i feel like he'd be really into that. Sunoo gives me humble vibes, i feel like he is a very humble person and would really like someone who is just the same, very humble and kind....super kind.

Niki:

Since this is SFW content, i'm going to include Niki. I get this vibe that Niki can find two appeals attractive. one being the cute appeal, if you have the very youthful and cute, soft look and appeal, he'll like that. but if you also have the very mature, sexy and fierce look, i think he'd like that too. the thing that will seal the deal is the personality, if you're personality is not to his liking, he wouldn't even entertain the idea of bonding. I personally get this feeling he's a little bit (just a tad bit) more into the cutesy appeal. I dont have any examples of real people to use for Niki since i dont really put too much thought into him (for obvious reasons) but i will say that I can see him being heavily reliant on looks because he is at the age where young men are starstruck by visuals, and i do think since he has fame (and ever since i've known about enhypen, he seems to be the most popular of the group...there's something about the youngest in each group that gets people fanatic about them) i think he is cocky (not in a bad way) and is obviously not at all serious about anything other than his career (which is understandable since he is still so young.)

[brachtheidi]

Certainty

There is no urgency anymore

One can not take the steps and be complete

There is an ongoing process to it all

THere is no final destination

The road to healing is challenging

It brings forth an uneasy way

A way that is not defined

or surrounded by barriers

There is no set path

As there is no set destination

The heart of the traveler

Knows the way.

The heart must be followed

on the individual journey of life

The path varies for all that travel

The path can lead to many places

My place and my destination

is different than yours

My path includes lots of battles

I must see them through

I must see them as they are

They are things to get over

Things to help me grow and be better

They are the obstacles on my path

My journey and my steps

THe way my life needs to go

I chose which foot to put forward

I chose which way to go

Society tells you a certain way

But when your path does not line up

it is trivial

Trivial for all the people watching your life

Which path will she take?

What growth will she encounter?

How will it change her?

Who will she become?

The wonder and unknow present themselves

The curiosity of what will happen

Where will she end up?

Where will she go?

There is no certainty anymore.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Await Further Instructions (2018)

Unfortunately, Await Further Instructions was released in 2018 when its message was neither shocking nor revolutionary and certain elements of its horror now have unintended meanings. It means you’ve almost certainly seen a better version of this story elsewhere. Despite this, its effectiveness while it plays is hard to deny.

After distancing himself from his family for three years, Nick (Sam Gittins) agrees to bring his girlfriend Annji (Neerja Naik) over for Christmas dinner. Things do not go well. The couple decide to leave the next morning but find that a barrier now encircles the house. No one can leave, the internet is down and their telephones cannot send or receive calls. Suddenly, a message from the authorities appears on the television. Though father Tony (Grant Masters), mother Beth (Abigail Cruttenden), Nick’s sister Kate (Holly Weston), her husband Scott (Kris Saddler) and Grandad David Bradley) insist on following the TV’s instructions, Nick and Annji are unsure whoever is sending them has good intentions.

Imagine bringing your significant other to meet your family for the first time and having your worst fears confirmed: they’re still narrow-minded, stupid and racially biased. Christmas is ruined. It goes from bad to worse when you realize you can't leave. In this film, it's not a snowstorm keeping everyone inside. It's something else. Stuck in the house with everyone already on edge, resentment and paranoia build and are amplified by the mysterious text that appears on the TV. Now, our protagonists are stuck in a mental asylum. Everyone else is crazy but them. Is the right choice to pretend like they're one of them or try to talk some sense into everyone else? What this movie does right is put you in the shoes of Nick and Annji. The racism Annji faces is obvious but it’s not ham-fisted. It’s a mispronounced name from mom, an assumption from dad or Kate and side comments from Grandad that tell you this is a bad place to be. You don’t like Nick’s family. Even mom, who has a chance of changing her ways, is such a doormat that you resent her even more than Tony, who is trying to be this big man by forcing everyone to follow the TV’s orders. His insistence on being a leader while taking orders from someone who - as far as Nick, Annji and we can tell - has no real authority and no proven good intentions towards the family would be hilarious if it weren’t so frightening. Every time the message on the television changes, “Await Further Instructions” tightens its grip around your throat.

You’ll be scared. You'll sweat. The picture’s message about not following orders blindly is good… but this is also where things get muddled. We never - not for a second - believe whoever is sending messages through the TV is the government. There’s something sinister going on. What that is, I can’t say without giving too much away. Ultimately, the movie is about holding onto your beliefs even when authorities (in this case, the television or the "government" sending messages through the TV) tell you to do something you know is wrong. To some viewers, that might include not vaccinating your children, which is an unfortunate message. As for the TV thing? It’s a little too late for that. For this kind of message to work in the 2010s, it needed to be people’s cell phones giving them the instructions, or QAnon conspiracy-theory loonies feeding bad info. Things get even wobblier when our questions are finally answered. Not all of it holds up. It doesn’t mean it isn’t chilling but this needed another pass through the keyboard. It’s almost as if writer Gavin Williams didn’t know what to do with the ending until it came time to submit it to the studio.

A story's flaws are always amplified when they come in during a movie’s last act and unfortunately, Await Further Instructions drops the ball at the worst time possible. Is it enough to toss away the whole thing? I don’t think so. The tension built up as the family turns on each other, the discomfort Annji and Nick feel, the fear as the trickle of revelations come in are all expertly done. I don’t expect anyone who sees Await Further Instructions to be compelled to watch it more than once or call it a favorite. That’s ok. (November 27, 2020)

[nd43polyneins]

hi i was awake at 4 am typing more details for a fjorester mermaid AU that I am too exhausted to fully write

Fjord, Son of the Serpent, Prince of the deep, merman and heir to ukatoa

he’s been told he will one day grow up to be a mighty serpent like his father, but right now he’s just a small fry.

Actually just a surface dweller that was shipwrecked as a small child and transformed into a merman.

relationship with Father is Bad, obviously.  Ukatoa is just using him but Fjord has only known him as his father.

Avantika his betrothed

Desperate for the approval of the serpent, willing to do anything he asks

Doesn’t really care about fjord one way or another but is determined to marry him for Ukatoa

Vandran his mentor/caretaker 

because ukatoa is a giant serpent who can’t be bothered to take care of his tiny Son

Often translates for the serpent because I can’t be bothered to type one word sentences for every interaction fjord has with ukatoa

 Ukatoa king of the deep

giant snea snake coiled around a spire of stone

plans to flood the surface so he can be king of the whole world

takes shipwrecked folk and transforms them into mer creatures to serve him

plans to use fjord as a sacrifice to bring on the end of the surface world.

Fjord naturally has Daddy Issues because his dad is a big snake who doesn’t love him

Vandran knows the truth but is afraid to tell Fjord because big snake will kill him

Avantika also knows the truth but doesn’t care because she hopes to be Daddy’s second in command

Fjord has vague memories of the surface from when he was a child, and dreams of it occasionally

ukatoa tries to convince him that the surface world is cruel and dangerous, that he should never go up there

Vandran warns him that going to the surface could be dangerous (for other reasons)

Fjord surfaces in the middle of the ocean and is OBSESSED with the sky/stars.  

He’s convinced it’s another ocean.

Once he’s been to the surface he goes up a lot

Discovers all kinds of cool shit up there

the surface world has a strange quality to it that he can’t really describe/doesn’t have words for, but it’s beautiful and is full of some strange magic the deep sea lacks.

Avantika finds out about his surface trips and is a bitch about it.

Literally everything up there will one day be underwater if they succeed so who gives a shit.

One day while swimming close to shore he sees a boat for the first time.

On this boat is Jester, who is trying to run/sail away from home.

The weather turns sour, her boat capsizes and she is thrown into the ocean

Fjord rescues her, returns her to the shore 

rescue via underwater kiss to give her air

bringing her up on shore is hard for fjord (can’t breathe once he’s removed from water) but he has to save her

Congratulations fjord you’re now obsessed with this girl.

Jester meanwhile is obsessed with the merman she swears she saw before she lost consciousness.

Her tutor/friend Caleb tells her she probably imagined it, but no she’s certain.  She saw a hot guy.

She spends all her time down at the beach drawing this hot guy

these drawings are only kind of accurate

Eventually Fjord gets brave enough to come closer to her

There’s a language barrier, he doesn’t understand her and he doesn’t seem to speak, but Jester still talks enough for the both of them.

She communicates with him by drawing pictures/miming/pointing.  She still talks the whole time but fjord has no idea what she’s saying

She shows Fjord a drawing she did of him and he’s so enthralled with it he tries to take it with him but of course paper does not last underwater and he’s devastated.

good thing she has hundreds of drawings of him she can show him.

Through Jester’s art and her attempts to communicate with him, Fjord learns about COLOR

the strange quality of the surface world that he couldn’t explain was color, which he can see clearly but doesn’t really exist in the deep ocean due to lack of light.

he literally didn’t have words for it but Jester teaches him some using her paints

Jester is the color of the sky and the water and he loves that about her.

he hates the color yellow 

because it’s the color of ukatoa’s eye, he just didn’t know it was a color before this

Fjord starts to learn other surface words from Jester, they are able to communicate (poorly)

it takes her a bit to figure out his NAME is fjord and that he’s not referring to the body of water he comes out of to see her.

She gives him trinkets and talks to him while she draws and shows him her sketchbook

she absolutely interrogates him about what his dick looks like 

he does not understand lol

cue shape of water hand motion

Fjord accidentally uses a surface word (probably blue) to describe something and Vandran Knows What’s Up

Ukatoa finds out, punishes fjord by temporarily taking away his ability to breathe underwater

he says it’s to show him what living up there is like but in reality he’s just turning fjord back into a surface dweller for a moment

fjord doesn’t understand that if he was on land like that he COULD breathe

Snake Daddy demands that Fjord forget about the surface world, Fjord says he can’t, ukatoa punishes him again with pain

Fjord tries to swim to the surface again, Ukatoa’s control of him is strong

he has to mentally fight his way out of it

leaves him exhausted and delirious

swims to the surface only to be caught in a fisherman’s net and dragged to shore

Fishermen keep him tied up because holy shit they caught a merman

Jester hears about the catch and drags her bestie Caleb down to the market to find her hot boi

holy shit there he is, it’s her first time seeing all of him at once and he’s BEAUTIFUL (and very large/snakelike)

He’s fucked up and bleeding and in a trancelike state because they’re just barely keeping him wet enough to breathe

Caleb is like “holy shit that’s a whole fish person you were right”

jester is like “YEAH I TOLD YOU NOW HELP ME BREAK HIM OUT.”

Heist time, stealing Fjord away in the night and bringing him back to her castle where he lives in her bathtub lol.

don’t tell mama shhhhhh it’s a secret

They bandage him up as best as they can but he’s still really fucked up

Caleb gives him a charm that lets them all understand each other, tells jester they need a healer to help treat the fishman

jester brings in Caduceus, who heals Fjord but in the process discovers his True Nature (that he is not a fishman)

When Fjord is told this he thinks they’re lying because he only remembers being a merman

but what about your DREAMS fjord????

Jester begs caleb to help her transform fjord back into a surface dweller.

please transmutation wizard give this hot boy some legs

he manages, but he can only transform him for short periods of time.

also he’s still green

Fjord gets to experience WALKING 

and WEARING CLOTHES

Holy shit the surface has a lot of cool shit

also a lot of mean people who are shitty about him being green

but jester holds his hand the whole time and maybe it’s not so bad.

he kisses her (for technically the second time) and realizes he’s in love with her

wakes up one night coughing up water

the sea is calling and he needs to go back, he can FEEL ukatoa pulling him back

jester is devastated that he’s trying to leave but he can’t really explain to her why he has to

she wants to come with him to confront his abusive dad

caleb please make me a fish for a day :<

he thinks he’s sneaking off without her but she joins him at the last minute and he feels so good about it she’s so pretty omg

he takes her to the deep ocean, she gets to meet avantika and vandran

conflict??? this is the part im unsure about

Fjord learns The Truth, Avantika tries to kill him to fulfill the prophecy and fjord has to kill her (with jester’s help)

somehow she and fjord manage to beat ukatoa and reverse the curse placed on everyone

they all go back to the surface

happily ever after, fjord still loves the ocean but now gets to live on land as he was meant to

marries jester, who is a princess so now he gets to be a Real Prince

Caleb makes them amulets so they can be mers any time they want lol.

THEY SMOOCH THE END

[skylarmoon71]

Aaron Hotchner (Criminal Minds)- Chapter 23

Hotch drops you off after the little party.

You could tell Rossi was devastated by the loss of his vase. After frantic apologies, and a lot of liquor. He got over it.

Maybe.

You have a feeling when he’s sober, he won’t be as calm.

Dropping onto the bed, you close your eyes. Trying to process everything. The team knows about you now. Not just your father’s transgressions, but everything. It almost feels like an illusion.

You reach over, pinching your arm.

“It’s real.”

Closing your eyes, you release a heavy sigh. All appears calm, but then you feel that shift. The one that is usually followed by an appearance of a certain telepath.

“Your life here is good.”

He steps out from your window. For some reason, this time is different. Before your instinct was to attack, or defend. But now when you sit up, you can’t show the rage you’ve always felt when you looked at him.

“Pity is far worse than hate. I much prefer that look you wore before." You stand.

“Why are you here?”

There’s that look again, he’s holding something back. There is a debate on whether he'll tell you or not.

“You love Aaron Hotchner, don’t you.” 

Hearing him say his name always makes you uneasy.

“What does that have to do with you?”

“If you had a chance to make him happy, would you take it?”

You aren’t sure of his angle.

“What are you talking about?”

You can never read him. It drives you mad.

“Before, you could barely alter even a fraction of your power. But after that dream, something changed. It triggered something. I can feel it. I’m asking you now, if there was a way to help Hotchner, to bring happiness to both him and his son, would you take it.”

“Of course!”

Manchester smiles, almost like he expected the answer.

“Follow me.” He turns, and you don’t truly understand.

“Hey! Wait, what do you mean!!”

You run towards the window, and you’re startled at the light that blinds you. Something grabs your hand, and you’re pulled right out. When your feet meet solid ground, the blue area is all you see. You’re no longer inside your bedroom. You turn frantically, searching for a door, or an exit. All you can make out is an endless stream of blue. It’s like you’re underwater.

“I knew you’d be able to cross.” Manchester is now standing right in front of you.

“D-Dad!! What is this, where did you take me!” If this was some mind game, he was misled if he thought you wouldn’t put up a fight.

“I call it the veil, but I’m sure each traveler has a different name.” He doesn’t look concerned in the slightest.

“What we’re capable of, it isn’t just of the mind. We’re telepaths, but so much more. After I lost your mother, I kept replaying that moment. How to make it right, what would I do if I had a chance and go back. Change the outcome."

“Do you mean like…time travel?”

It sounds crazy, but with him, it was better not to question.

“In a manner of speaking. How I understand it is we live in these pockets. They each possess a reality. Past, present and future. People like me and you, we’re able to tap into the past. Empaths can enter the future. Regular people, they live in the present. “

“So you expect me to believe you can time travel.”

He doesn’t say anything, just reaches out. His hand is pressed to a wall that you can’t see, then there’s that flash again. You brace yourself. When your eyes open, the view in front of you leaves you speechless.

“Mom…”

She’s right there, it’s like you’re watching through a screen. All you need to do is reach out. So you do. You touch the barrier, trying to push through, but it doesn’t budge.

“Mom! MOM!!! Why can’t she hear me!!”

“Because it’s a memory. You can’t go to her, you can’t stop what happened. Believe me I tried." You turn back. This scene, you remember it vividly. You were both in the kitchen. Making dinner for your dad when he comes home.

“Blood relatives can’t intercept. No matter how much we want to help, we can’t. I’ve realized it must be some kind of law. It’s the only thing keeping this all in balance. With me it’s even harder.”

When his hand touches this barrier, there’s a completely different reaction. The entire scene turns dark, and it crumbles right there in front of you.

“I’m so corrupted that the veil won’t even let me connect with the barrier. All of my sins, they came with a price. This is it.”

“Why show me this?”

You didn’t understand why he would go through the trouble of revealing such a power when it was impossible for you to save the one person who meant the world to the both of you.

“Because the veil prevents us from interfering with the realities of our kin. The bloodlines are what separates us from them. But there isn’t a barrier from friends, coworkers..lovers..” You don’t fully get what he’s hinting at, but then you back track.

This all started when he ranted about Hotch. Your nightmare was a trigger to your power because you were afraid to lose Hotch.

He brought you here because he wanted….

“I can save Hailey..for Hotch..”

Manchester says nothing, and he doesn’t need to.

Now you fully understand.

[eka160]

Post Itachi Reveal (SasukexFemale OC)

This is the next arc. As with the other arcs, there are gaps in the outline but it's enough to follow the story.

Bone Graveyard

It's Chiasa who Sasuke talks to in the bone graveyard about the same things he spoke about in Canon. (Except for the discussion about implanting Itachi's eyes; Tobi will bring that up later.) She does talk to him about not trusting Tobi and the Akatsuki and Sasuke agrees.

He asks Chiasa if she can divine if there's any truth to what Tobi told him. She's able to divine the people who can do that; some are dead, others are in Konoha, and then there's Kisame. That's why when they meet up with Tobi and Zetsu, Sasuke says that he wants to speak to Kisame. (Tobi asks him why, Sasuke says it's because he can help verify what he was told). Tobi tells him that he's on his way to the land of lightning to capture the 8 tails. “Is that so?” Sasuke says. But Tobi encourages this-much to Chiasa's suspicion. He says that it will be easier to have a discussion with Kisame because the Konoha villagers would just outright attack Sasuke and leave no room for discussion.

So Sasuke and Chiasa set out. Meanwhile Tobi and Zetsu discuss what they talked about in Canon with the addition of wondering why Sasuke is so sure that Kisame can verify the truth of what he was told. They deduce that it must be because of Chiasa. They express their alertness over the possible hindrance that Chiasa could be.

Via the hologram jutsu, Tobi reveals to Kisame who he is and tells him that Sasuke and his companion are on the way. He expects Kisame to not undo all of what he has stirred to life in Sasuke. Kisame says he won't but internally he thinks of Itachi and decides that he’ll just be truthful with Sasuke.

Killer Bee Fight

Kisame fights Killer Bee and appears to lose. Sasuke and Chiasa come across him ‘dying’. (Sasuke pushed Killer Bee back with a massive fire jutsu. While the flame barrier is easy for Killer Bee to evade, he watches silently, analyzing the new situation.) Sasuke tells Kisame that he was told the truth behind his brother. He asks Kisame if this truth is real. Kisame’s response is not about the coup-since Itachi never told him-but about some words Itachi once said that seem to make sense now.

Whatever Kisame says (I haven’t thought up the exact words yet) greatly affects Sasuke and leaves him certain that it was the truth Tobi told him. Kisame ‘dies’, Sasuke’s anguish is reignited, and Killer Bee starts to question him. He wants to know if Sasuke and Chiasa are allies of Kisame-and thus the Akatsuki.

Chiasa says they aren't but Killer Bee doesn't seem convinced since Sasuke seemed to talk to Kisame rather familiarly. Sasuke-whose emotional wounds have just been reopened again-says that he’s rather irritated right now and if Killer Bee decides to start something, he doesn't think he can hold back. Sasuke egging Killer Bee on because he wants to vent his rage is basically what starts the fight.

The fight against Killer Bee is at first just Sasuke solo (Sasuke just jumps into the battle and initiates the first attack). Unlike in Canon, Sasuke keeps up with Killer Bee’s swordplay. As Killer Bee dons his tailed beast cloak and goes from 1-5, his dangerousness increases. By this point Chiasa joins the fight.

Killer Bee grows the 6th tail. The increase in level is incredible and Sasuke has to save Chiasa from an attack. From this moment she decides to prolong her eye of divination so as to always know where Killer Bee is, even though this power wasn't tailored for brawls. (But she thinks this is the better solution when compared to another one). They watch astounded as Killer Bee takes another level up by growing the 7th tail.

Sasuke tells Chiasa that he’ll lead and she'll back him up. Chiasa has no issue with this. The duo fight against Killer Bee and the fight seems to be over when Sasuke puts Killer Bee under his genjutsu. Both Sasuke and Chiasa are tired. Sasuke dispels his Sharingan and Chiasa expels her divination sight; prolonging its use like she just did was like not blinking for a long period of time. It's in this moment of vulnerability that Killer Bee attacks Sasuke with the lariat, just like he did in Canon. Like in Canon, Sasuke is in need of healing.

Even though her powers aren't primarily about healing, she can still use her fuinjutsu to do it. She seals Sasuke’s injuries, even though-as she internally notes-that’s only the first half. Just like in Canon, Killer Bee explains how the genjutsu was broken. Not having the time to finish healing Sasuke, Chiasa recognizes that it's up to her to finish this fight.

It's then that she decides to use the ‘other solution', which is the Sage Mode. (The reason she didn't use it at first is because-as she explained to Sasuke a long time ago-the Sage Mode seal that her clan had been in the process of developing was incomplete and dangerous if used too long.) With the power of Sage Mode, she fights one-on-one with 7th tail Killer Bee. She manages to get him to use one of his lightning jutsu which she absorbs. Killer Bee thinks the reflected jutsu will be even more powerful in her new mode and that's true. But Chiasa reveals (internally through narrative) that while an obvious benefit of Sage Mode is larger attacks, she had decided to use it another way.

Her Sage Mode specialty deals with time. *This is to differentiate her from Jiraiya’s previous SM battle and also from Naruto too who will acquire it eventually. When she reflects the lightning attack back on Killer Bee, it's revealed what she meant by her specialty being time. This is the introduction of her endless attack (the power to use attacks that will continue for what's pretty much forever once performed. It’s achieved using fuinjutsu and an incredible amount of chakra).

Now that Killer Bee has been dealt with, she quickly hurries back to Sasuke and proceeds with the second part of healing. She unseals all of the body's natural healing. But the fight with Killer Bee is not over. He acknowledges her and Sasuke’s power but confidently states that they will die here. It's then that he transforms into his 8 tailed beast form (he does this because in his fully realized tailed beast form the endless attack will have a minimal effect on him now). He is at his greatest power and speed; his tentacle (which Chiasa is able to dodge in Sage Mode) blasts several mountaintops off, and he blasts a tailed beast bomb at Chiasa. She is able to absorb it but this process inflicts the greatest amount of pain she's ever felt. It's so bad that she can barely find the strength to release it but she does.

Switch to Sasuke’s narrative: Sasuke regains consciousness. He’s horrified to realize that Chiasa has been protecting him all this time and how beat up she is. His rage is uncontrollable. It activates the amaterasu of his MS and the inferno that he creates makes the canon one look like mid sized flames. (It just feels more dangerous as Amaterasu should feel). It’s melting the mountains all around them. Even the water is succumbing to the black flames. It’s a symbolism of Sasuke at his most chaotic anger. He’s fully intending to kill Killer Bee.

But he’s shocked out of his rage by Chiasa as she gets him to realize that he created an uncontrollable inferno. Chiasa looks angry at him. She yells at him saying something like ‘If you don’t stop this now, who knows who else will die!?’ And just like that, he’s snapped back to his senses. He’s never seen Chiasa angry with him. Even when they were strangers, she was merely wary of him. He doesn’t want her to be angry at him. This one feeling unlocks the power to control Amaterasu, just like he’s able to do in canon.

The landscape is now a charred mess. Seeing no body, both Chiasa and Sasuke assume that he was killed in the inferno. Looking gravely at Sasuke she gets him to promise that he wont ever do something so reckless like that again. After he makes that promise, she reveals that she’s dying from her wounds fighting 8 tail Killer Bee. Sasuke is anguished and Chiasa apologizes for this. She says Sasuke can’t take back his promise. And then there’s a heartfelt goodbye that’s cut short as she fades out of consciousness (adrenaline was the only thing keeping her up).

Sasuke is desperate for her to come back to consciousness. He doesn’t know what to do. He feels so powerless. It’s then that Zetsu reveals himself (he was secretly following them and recording the fight as he’s prone to do). Zetsu tells Sasuke that he can save her life. Sasuke quickly snaps at him to tell him how. Zetsu then tells him about the power of the sharingan known as Izanagi.

Sasuke sacrifices his sight in one eye to save her.

Akatsuki Hideout

Chiasa is resting (There’s a sentimental scene previous to this that I haven’t thought up yet that goes over Chiasa’s first awakening) and Sasuke is talking to Tobi. He’s preparing to have Itachi’s eye implanted to replace the eye that is now blind. Tobi asks Sasuke what he’s about to do now that he believes the truth about Itachi. He asks if he plans to kill Danzo and the elders. Sasuke says that not only will he kill the elders but his vengeance will fall on all of Konoha as well. His reasoning is the same as it was in canon.

Something new I’m adding is that they talk about Sasuke using Izanagi for Chiasa. Tobi says that he’s surprised Sasuke would give up his sight-not knowing that he could regain it at the time-for her. She must be very important to him. Sasuke says nothing to this but he does have an uncharacteristic softness to his expression. Tobi-picking up on this-asks him if he thinks Chiasa might be a weakness for him that may get in the way of his plans. To this, Sasuke says something that’s a callback to the “proposal” he made to Chiasa when he asked her to join him. “Where I go, she will go. Her place is by my side, always.” Tobi’s shocked to hear such a blatant confession of Sasuke’s feelings. This irritates him as he finds Chiasa to be a potential hindrance.

As Sasuke’s eyes are closed as he waits to get his brother’s eye implanted, he thinks about Chiasa first and then Itachi. It’s in this darkness (his eyes are closed) that the narrative reveals that Sasuke loves Chiasa. As he thinks back to the memory of her almost dying, a phantom anguish surges through him. His fear of losing her was more overwhelming, more intense than anything he had ever been through. Without her, Sasuke knows his world would collapse into an abyss of loneliness and rage. A world without her was unbearable. He had always been driven to pursue power because of a need for vengeance, but now that drive was fueled by something even more potent: the need to protect Chiasa, to never feel so helpless again.

His thoughts then turn to Itachi. Initially he didn’t want his brother to see the vision of vengeance he planned to create but now Sasuke wants to see the world through his brother’s eyes, to feel the pain he endured. He feels his brother sacrificed everything for a village that didn;t deserve his loyalty. Itachi bore his burden alone and now it’s Sasuke’s to carry. He will avenge Itachi, he’ll make everyone pay.

[cagedchoices]

You sharing the ocean imagery made me emotional. STOP. (That is a joke please continue but oof, OOOF)

What does Caleb feel now when he looks at Oceans in the end of season 4 and does it compare to his original self in season 3

wkrgjgsdhgsdh i'm sORRY (as a joke). i stumbled upon it and it resonated so much i hit myself in the feelings if that's any consolation.

ocean symbolism is honestly a wildcard in itself because it's often used to represent the ever-changing nature of life, but it can represent a sense of stability in that it can look like it has resisted change or control for years. the same choppy waters and stormy seas that claim ships and sailors for breakfast can be the most calm and tranquil spots on earth in the right conditions. and i think that sounds an awful lot like a certain guy we know.

season 3 caleb comes back to the pier in los angeles throughout his life. he tells dolores when she brings him there that he and a friend once spent the day drinking beer and wishing they could sail away on a luxury yacht. an idyllic runaway fantasy for someone who wants to leave behind all of the trouble in his young life and live a better one. the next time he goes - that WE know of at least - is a wildly different situation... his best friend, the person he believed he saw the world most clearly through, is dead. caleb is sitting over the other side of the barrier in the most precarious of positions.

(and a ton of people missed the point in my opinion, because they assume that he actually jumped to his death as part of that whole 'caleb has been a host the entire time we've known him' theory and i'm just. eh. i think it's more likely that he talked himself out of it because he wanted to hold onto hope that things would get better, even though he had his doubts. that's just me though!)

but then those two times dolores brings him there - one time above, standing on the pier with a a really pretty sunset shining on the water and characters and everything... and the other below, where it quickly becomes the scene of a murder on a murky morning - also represent the cycle of life and death.

season 4 caleb, by the time things come to an end, is in a much more peaceful state of mind despite the harsh circumstances. he's also on a pier in new york and by the end he's a host, and what he tells his daughter when he sends her off without him: "your father died long ago. whatever i am, i've died before. this isn't so bad." seems to be his way of understanding and accepting what he is. to some degree, he accomplishes something human caleb never managed to - he lets his loved ones go. it's still a bittersweet goodbye, but it's necessary given how caleb has grown and changed.

[prism-empurress]

Risstastic's Gathered Medley #2 ----

PegaKitty; The Loving.

This girl is a winged wonder, supposedly being one of the first 'pegakitties' in the world. A combination of cat and flight. She needs to work on her landings, though... Goofy, full of love to give, but her judgement is often clouded. Sometimes she takes things literally, though she's working very hard on remedying that. She also tends to literally have her head in the clouds...

Shy at first, but once she warms up to you, she'll tell you all about her favorite things. Sticker collecting, blowing bubbles, playing games, baking sweets... jumping from one hobby to another in a matter of weeks. Her whims are unpredictable.

Though she's earned wings, she's not exactly out of the pupating stage...

A student -- the ONLY student-- under Lady Greenfyre and Nicholas' tutelage, it's a bit troublesome to get her to focus unless she's motivated by a prized item, due to her mental struggles. But as she learns of certain skills, she's able to navigate around these struggles, though they don't completely vanish... PegaKitty, (yup, that's what she calls herself) is without a doubt, one of a kind. She's friendly, outgoing, always soaring to new heights...she just needs one small push in the right direction.

It's no secret that she resents herself for her setbacks. Often times her eyes will be puffy. "Oh, me? Don't worry about me. I'm fine. What are we learning today?" PegaKitty's favorite thing to do is to bring smiles. She prides herself on her healing and protective abilities, though there's always a risk of her healing doing more harm than good... this is still being studied.

Her weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, but she's not very skilled at using it. Arrows tend to miss their targets, but by pretending to be a stealthy sniper, she can successfully hit targets from behind or far away, if undetected.

She doesn't like using weapons very much, choosing to wield her element of light instead.

Not only does she have healing abilities, she can throw light projectiles at enemies that also reduce their defense. When the party's health is low, she can throw up a barrier to protect and heal everyone inside of it.

When PegaKitty is first introduced to the party, she aims to make a good first impression by carrying cookies in her inventory. These cookies are homemade, and more importantly, made with love. Consuming a cookie increases your bond with her, and recovers a small portion of HP.

If you keep PegaKitty in your party, she'll associate your presence with going somewhere. Or you could just tell her to run an errand for you. Either way, her eyes will light up! If you audibly groan when she's near you, or plain don't like being in her presence at all...she'll pick up on it quickly and leave you be.

"I don't wanna bother you..." Should your attitude towards her continue to be negative, she'll avoid you wordlessly, closing up like a moon lily in daylight.

Become enemies with her, and she'll sabotage or ruin your quests. Now where did she learn to be so petty...?

If PegaKitty joins you on an outing, she'll skip giddily and frequently ask you what adventure will be happening. "Can we go look at flowers??" If you hang out with PegaKitty enough, and understand her struggles, she'll give you sentimental objects or accessories that you can't get anywhere else. They don't give you any buffs, but they're a testament to your friendship. Who knows? Such an object may come in use in the future...

PegaKitty aims to be the light that shines on the darkest of days...