#died 10 more times than i did and got a third of the kills i did

[cannibalisticskittles]

the thing about multiplayer games is that sometimes people have very charming or funny usernames, and sometimes you find yourself in a match with "adoll fitler"

[alpaca-clouds]

Something that confuses me about the storytelling in BG3

Honestly, the more I read up on the backstories and everything and on the lore of the Dead Three, the more confusing everything gets.

Because the Dead Three had no only all died in some way prior to the game, they also are technically half-bound to mortal bodies at the point the game takes place, even though they keep their divine powers. Because of the Second Sundering and stuff.

Technically the game actually acknolwedges this at the very beginning through a line when you find Jergal's book. Sure, technically it does not say who it was - but the book notices that there are three that only quite recently have come back to life.

Now, alright, technically the "recent" stuff is a bit more complicated.

Bhaal is the one of course that gives me (and everyone writing on Durge) the most headache. Bhaal was slain by Cyric in 1358 DR during the time of troubles. And sure, canon makes a big point out of the fact that he foresaw this outcome and because of that impregnated so many women hoping to be able to return through the Bhaalspawn he fathered. He then got revived in 1482, just two years before the Second Sundering, and ten years before the events of BG3.

And that makes Durge just very complicated. Because of course the game always speaks of Durge being created by Bhaal, with an implication that Durge might not have been born naturally but crafted by magic. But in that case he would have either needed to be born past 1482 (so be less than 10 years old) or pre-1358 (so be about 130 years old). And yeah, canon Durge is a Dragonborn, who despite their draconic heiritage actually do not live very long. Sure, Durge could be immortal, but... It is still all very confusing.

Then we have Bane. He also got killed during the times of troubles, also in the year of 1358 DR. However, him getting revived did not happen quite that late. He gut revived in 1372 so 120 years prior to the game. He then spent the years since gathering his power once more and reestablishing his old alliances.

Myrkul meanwhile is a bit more complicated. Because, yes, you guessed it, he got slain in 1358 as well, but he managed to get his grabby little fingers onto an artefact (ironically also a crown) through which he kinda continued to exist and was able to have some agency. Though ironically we do not fully know how he got restored from that state. (There is some speculation that in fact it was Ketheric who managed to restore him - maybe knowingly, maybe unknowingly.)

Hence, with Myrkul we do not even know when exactly he returned. He just... did.

Still, due to the Dark Urge being the figure they are... Bhaal's death and very late resurrection is the main thing that gives me a headache here. It does not really make sense.

If it was not with the fact that the text hammers on about them being created by Bhaal himself, it would be easy. You could just say that they are a second or third generation Bhaalspawn. There are more than enough of those around. But the game just keeps focusing on them being first generation in some regard.

Like, sure, if you personally played an elf-Durge or a drow-Durge, that is not that much of an issue. For the elven kin those 134 years are nothing. But again, canon Durge is a Dragonborn, who tend to have a lifespan of like 80 years. So, uhm... It is very, very confusing.

[thisisourlovestory]

Safe and Sound

Finnick Odair x reader soulmate AU

Summary: you are a victor from district 4. The Quarter Quell has just been announced. How will you cope with the turn of events coming your way.

Word count- 2.1k

Please bear in mind that this is my first fanfic. It will be multiple chapters but release dates are uncertain as I am fairly busy and also procrastination is my best friend. I am open to constructive criticism if you have any. Thanks and enjoy!

Prologue:

The moment President Snow said those words I froze. I couldn’t breathe. Because I could be going back in. Back into the arena. My breath came in short gasps and I leaned against the wall. When I finally gathered the courage to go out the others were already there, Annie, Finnick and Mags. Huddled together in the centre of victor's village, Annie’s face red with tears, Mags opening and closing her mouth in what could only be anger. And Finnick holding himself together, just barely but managing it, holding Annie tightly in his arms as if she was the only thing stopping him from breaking. 

I stood on the porch, leaning against the wooden frame of my house, arms crossing my body. None of them noticed me, I was invisible to them. I was the victor they didn't need, I was just a pretty thing for the capitol to put on display every night. Most of the time I stayed away from victor's village and none of them ever made any attempt to get to know me, I guess I just faded into the background for them. It's not really their fault, they didn't expect me to survive my games, no one did, I was just another tiny thirteen year old in the 68th Hunger Games, no allies, no weapons, no food and no hope. Just a pair of worn ballet shoes and a small bag I had nicked to keep them in. I would have died in the bloodbath had a tribute from 10 not stepped in front of an axe meant for me. I remember the blood splattering across my face as he fell onto me, I had pushed him off, grabbed his bag and ran into the forest. 

I barely managed to survive, the frozen wasteland was unforgiving, animals were scarce but there had at least been enough water. At the end of the first day there had been eight cannons, the second three, the third five, the fourth two, the fifth another two. There were four of us left, the others all career tributes who had plentiful supplies and an alliance. I was able to hide from them for five more days before they had found me. Their leader, Arion from district 2, had shot me in the arm as I tried to get away, I fell and my blood painted the crystal white snow red. They weren't smart now that I think about it, they wanted to play with me; that was their mistake. I killed the girl first, hit her over the head with my ballet shoes, the hard box disorienting her long enough for me to slit her throat with her own knife, the cannon sounded and I killed her district partner as well, piercing his heart with the same knife. That had only left Arion.

I avoided him for a few days but he found me again, probably following the trail of blood I left behind. Except this time I was ready for him. I struck first, flinging my shoes through the air, hitting him on the temple, a trickle of blood falling from the cut formed. He reacted quicker than I expected, swinging his sword wildly, but I was small and fast- like a little bird my mother always said- I threw the knife in a practised motion, letting go of the handle, spinning it slightly, my hand following the line as it hit him dead centre in the chest. He had stared at me. In shock and disbelief that I'd been able to best him. The final cannon went off and I had won. I was the victor of the 68th annual Hunger Games.

For a while it was okay, chauffeured around, fussed over and doted on by my stylists, I was living the dream of every child. But it got old, I became used to people cooing over me, patting my hair, asking me questions. And then I discovered that even if you get out of the arena, you never truly win, you always have to give back something of yourself, a repayment of sorts. You get to live and we get you was how it sounded when President Snow made me the offer. Except it wasn't an offer, it was an order; that's how I found myself as a Capitol slave at the age of fourteen, performing night and day for the rich, barely getting a second's rest. Dancing until my toes bled through my shoes, smearing red across the delicate satin. Singing until my throat was raw and I coughed up the same red my shoes now were. 

The only person who ever offered me some comfort was Finnick. About a month after my games had ended I started having nightmares, I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and he would hear me and come over to make sure I was okay. We formed a kind of friendship, me thirteen and traumatised, him seventeen and still carrying on. He would fall asleep watching over me, reassuring me that I was okay, I got out. We fell into a routine and by the time I was fifteen the nightmares were a rare occurrence. Then Annie won and it all changed. She became the priority for him, the priority for everyone, she had been broken in the arena and her mind never seemed to fully return to her. I thought he would come back to me, but as I woke up screaming one night and there was nobody there to hold me while I cried, as another scream pierced the air; a door slammed open and I saw Finnick running across to Annie's house, I knew I had lost him. I had lost the one person who I had loved and who truly seemed to care about me. 

I watched them grow closer to each other. He built her up again brick by brick, unknowingly tearing me apart again piece by piece until I was nothing but an empty shell. He stopped her nightmares, whispering soothing words to her as I tossed and turned, eventually I would wake up, sweating and screaming, eyes wide and frantic as I clutched the knife I kept by my bedside. But no one ever came. I couldn’t blame Annie, she was the kindest person I knew and it wasn't her fault Finnick loved her, it wasn't her fault he didn't love me. 

So I dealt with it. I swallowed the pain that welled up in me and buried every thought I had ever had about him deep in my memory, never to see the light of day again. And it worked, I got on with life, going about my daily routine, dancing, singing, eating, sleeping, then doing it all again. I attended parties in the Capitol, laughing and smiling at people, agreeing with their every word. I wasn't happy, but I didn't need to be, I just needed to be alive.

So that was how I found myself after the announcement of the Quarter Quell, watching Mags, Annie and Finnick from the sidelines. My face blank as they comforted each other, not sparing me a second glance. They had all but forgotten I existed. I waited for them to go inside before I ran out of the large gates separating us from the rest of District 4. I ran along the cliffs, wind whipping my hair into a tangled mess. I reached the edge and stood still, staring out at the roiling ocean, grey waves crashing against the shoreline, foam spraying the cliff face. My heart was pounding in my ears, drowning out the sound of the sea. The air grew cold around me as my chest constricted and I gasped for breath. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. 

Tears poured down my face as I sank to my knees and cried. Guttural sobs tearing from my throat, my chest heaving with each one as I clutched the grass beneath me. Fingers digging into the wet soil, clenching and unclenching in time with the beating of my heart as I tried to ground myself. Gradually, my heart slowed and I pulled my hands out of the ground. I breathed shakily, dirt trapped under my nails as I scratched at the skin on my wrist. I lifted it up so I could see the mark laying there. Stark black against pale skin. Forever inked on my body. A trident and a flower, interwoven with each other.  

It was a soulmark. It appeared when I turned 17, as they did for every other person. The person with the same mark is my soulmate, they could be anyone. But I already know who it is even if he doesn't. I saw it one night and then when I got mine I knew immediately but by that point it was already too late. He was already in love with Annie. I stared at it, it wasn't very noticeable, easy to hide from people; pretty as well I suppose, then again they say it's the most beautiful things that are the most dangerous. And this mark, this tiny little mark held the power to destroy me if the wrong person so much as caught a glance of it. I let out a soft laugh, how pointless it all seemed now that everything I had could be taken from me again. I had worked so hard to build up this facade, pretending everything was fine and with a few words it had all come crashing down. 

I shook my head and stood up, giving a last look to the sea as I turned and walked back the way I had come. People talking about the announcement anywhere I pass, I paid them no mind, holding my head high as my feet hit the cobblestones with sharp thwacks. 

“Who do you think will be reaped?”

“It's such a shame really.”

“We only have three victors anyway.”

I ignored them all, they pretended I didn't exist and I'd do the same for them, it's not as if they cared. I finally reached the small gathering of houses the victors lived in and stood outside the gate. The metal tarnished from years of standing in the elements, wooden stakes seeming to wilt under my heavy gaze. I reached out a shaky hand and pushed the metal forwards, opening it only slightly so I could slip in without making the usual clanging sound. I slowly walked towards the fountain in the centre of the square and sat down on the edge, trailing my fingers in the water as my gaze focused on the centrepiece. A mermaid, carved from marble, her hair flowing in the current, tail curving up to the sky, each scale distinguishable. A steely expression was painted on her face, that of a commander, a leader. An odd message from the Capitol, to show the mermaid as being powerful, to show us as powerful, and yet hidden in the water below the statue, in the basin of the fountain, laid a golden net. A message that we had won, but we would always be theirs and we could never escape. 

My hand ran through my hair as I hummed quietly to myself, my other hand drifting along the water as I sat cross legged on the edge of the fountain. My eyes wandered across to Mags’ house where they had all decided to go. They were talking amongst themselves, Mags placing a reassuring hand on Finnick's shoulder and him muttering calming words to Annie. I felt sick, all the feelings I had locked away bubbled back to the surface because why could it not be me? Why was it her? What had I done wrong? My eyes watered slightly as I tried to hold back tears at the sight of them being so sickeningly perfect for one another. Not that it should've been me in his arms but it would be nice to know someone cared enough to check up on me, help me through the hard moments in life. Once upon a time I had thought he was that person and look where that got me, in deeper pain than I had been before. 

I sighed deeply, taking in lungfuls of fresh air, and started up the steps to my house, the front porch, a few small plants in ornate pots, wisteria growing up the trellis, light purple blooms adding a little something to the otherwise grey picture. I took a last look at them across the square, smiles on their faces as if they had forgotten the news we received earlier. I guess that's what happens when you have people you can talk to, who understand and try to help. I twisted the doorknob, stepping inside, closing the door behind me, leaning against it for support. I didn't notice the eyes that watched me. Or maybe I just didn't want to. 

[carafell]

7th comic infodump post because i dont wanna spam. Enjoy my random thoughts neatly separated with ='s, which neatly symbolize the equal absurdity of each one. Fair warning - I have my favourites.

===

The comic began with 3 different covers, each in a different tone, but all showing the same scene, a girl sitting before her dead parents. First cover is a burning mansion (red), second is a frozen lake (blue). The third one is weird - it looks like some factory and there are blueprints on the ground. Id say it looks Grayish.

I believe those 3 are supposed to represent the Mann brothers and their relationship with their family, mostly their father.

Redmond was probably physically abused by his father, hence the burning mansion

Blutarch was emotionally neglected, thus the blue lake

Gray never had a family at all and was left to fruitlessly make plans and scheme

===

Wait hasnt the Helen like ultimately failed in torturing Zepheniah halfway, because in the end the Mann family had a heir - first Gray, then Olivia?

Even while in her torture chamber he must have known that Gray followed exactly the path he wanted him to follow by killing Blutarch and Redmond and that the line has a heir with Olivia

===

I wish that the general premise of the story was more about Helens and Gray rivalry, instead of her just wanting to torture Zepheniah with Gray being just a distraction to her. She and Gray would make such a cool pair of enemies, and generally TF2 franchise could be SO MUCH if it took itself seriously for once

Like it could be an exemplary, juicy, 1960s retrofuturistic spy movie pastige touching the themes like greed, war, capitalism

===

As much as i enjoyed the whole comic i didnt really like that Gray just "told" Helen about australium immortality. It doesnt make sense, however i understand that he found her in a moment where it seemed likely that she wouldnt care.

But still, its incredibly stupid to just go meet some random person, ask them for all their immortality ingots and genuinely expect to receive them after a week.

===

That ^ makes Grays death a tad more ironic. I think he told her because he wanted to impress somebody with his knowledge, because he just has an ego and wanted to flex how smart he is, and he really did assume shes not gonna care.

Such carelessness was obviously a mistake as she probably packed it up and fled the second he left. Almost 150 years later when TFC heavy asked Gray what are the rocks he refused to answer knowing it could end badly, but again his ego got the better of him because he mentioned that hes almost 150 years old

===

If Helen was able to revive Zepheniah like 10+ years after his death with australium then its 100% possible that Gray was revived too. He did not turn into dust for more than 3 minutes after he died, while Helen disintegrated almost instantly, so its very much possible that he was revived!!!

(Also TFC heavy also has not disintegrared upon dying!)

(Cope of the year award is mine!)

===

I like what happened with Olivia, but its a bit obvious that in canon she probably doesnt think of the time she spent with Gray most fondly.

Still i think that by all standards Gray was a decent dad. Not perfect, he had some Zepheniah in him, but all in all he was good

===

The general tone of the comic is so nostalgic. Its as if valve was trying to tell us something. I sersiously wonder whats in store for TF2 in the future.

===

Honestly i really did like the comic, but the Zepheniah bit was so... macabre. Like damn that panel where hes a fucking god emperor corpse hooked up to a million cables is just straight up bodyborror. Its so twisted and grotesque. Brrr.

Also, i noticed that the cables he had hooked to him had traces of australium in them. They were really big, so perhaps keeping Zepheniah alive was eating like 90% of her supply

In the panel where Zepheniah and Helen disintegrate heavy is holding medic back, almost as if medic wanted to move and do something

===

Why tf did Maggie just leave Saxton lmao

===

Im sorry but if medic did not speak a SINGLE LINE in the comic then we cannot say that background characters like Olivia or Gray didnt get to be more important because the focus was elsewhere. So far the most focus was on fucking soldier lmao

Also im sorry but seriously - why has medic not said anything!! Sfhtgfddd

===

I wonder whars up with Engies dad

===

[witchyleehibernates]

Two-Bit's Games (HG AU)

Two-Bit was absolutely terrified when he got reaped. He’d glared so hard at Darry when he saw Darry open his mouth, because if someone was going to get reaped… he’d rather escape his father somehow. Surviving the arena was not on his mind just yet. Was he worried about his sister? Absolutely, but he also knew and trusted his mom who, like Two-Bit, was a lot more perceptive than anyone thought (he gets the joy of coming home to his father just gone).

At the time of people getting the chance to say goodbye, Two-Bit thought it would just be his mother and sister coming to say goodbye, since he and Darry were on the outs with each other, Darry buddying it around with Paul and all that. His mother and sister do come and say goodbye to him, with his sister (at the time she was 5) crying and clinging to him. Two-Bit cried as he held her (still thinking that he wasn’t gonna survive the arena), and he let his mama hold him and ‘baby’ him a tiny bit, because it would be something for him to hold onto when he went into the arena.

I… can’t tell if I want the games during Two-Bit’s birthday or not, as well, cause like… Hunger Games canon, the games are during the winter? But I also like the idea of Two-Bit’s birthday coming and going while he’s in the arena, and his birthday is June 20th… which would make sense given Dally is brought to 12 at the end of December/beginning of January and his games happening 5 or so months later… hmmm… Thoughts thoughts…

Two-Bit was so surprised when Darry showed up after his mom and sister left, a look of complete distress on his face until he pulled Two-Bit into a hug and just held him. No words were spoken, but the two of them had never needed words before. When Darry pulls away, Two-Bit can see tears in his eyes and he takes off his bracelet and wraps it around Two-Bit’s (Two-Bit cries again and Darry hugs him again, with a very quiet “Please come home”). Two-Bit still has that bracelet and wears it to this day; it’s a thin little silver three link/braided bracelet with a charm that hangs off of it, the charm is a compass. (bracelet looks like this image below, sorta, except it also has a charm on it)

Two-Bit rode that train in silence, since he and the other District 12 tribute did not have a mentor. Two-Bit was stuck replaying Darry asking him to come home just over and over and over again, and it left him tear-y eyed the entire time. He also wished he could have given Ponyboy a hug or something before he was taken away.

Two-Bit’s arena was one third open land, one third rocky cliff side, and one third trees. He managed to get some supplies and hauled ass to the trees for some coverage, though there were a lot of ‘mutts’ inside the tree coverage. Two-Bit was incredibly fast and a pretty good climber. He’d sleep on the edge of the forest through the night and would bait people by doing so. He’d draw/lure them in with the temptation of killing him and then hide as the Mutts came out to hunt the tributes in the trees.

He’d made two allies during the games, laughing and joking with them (they were both younger than him by 2 years), and it helped keep the two kids calm. Two-Bit looked at them and could only see Ponyboy, even nearly calling both of them Ponyboy several times. Another group of tributes figured out that Two-Bit was easily enough distracted and managed to distract him long enough to kill the two kids and Two-Bit lost his shit. Those last four tributes ended up dead by Two-Bit’s own hands, and he cried as he tried to save the two kids, though one had already died, and the other died in his arms.

When Two-Bit made it home from the games, he wrapped Ponyboy up in such a tight hug because he truly was distraught by those kids’ deaths (districts 10 and 11), and in his nightmares all he could see was Ponyboy in their place despite Ponyboy being younger. He also wrapped his sister up in a snug hold because he’d heard that he’d upset the capitol (using their mutts as his weapon and making a mockery of the capitol by joking with the boys from District 10 and 11) and he’d thought that the Capitol was going to hurt his family.

[glassbead-xx]

So I’ve been thinking about Jujutsu Kaisen since it ended, especially since I have feelings about the last arc but really liked the last chapter, and that’s when it hit me

Too much text, also spoilers

Jujutsu Kaisen shines when it’s just about the characters

I have many complaints about the series and how it fared post-Shibuya, especially because I still have lots of questions and missed opportunities that we’ll never get the chance to see resolved, but whenever it shone, it did brilliantly

Pre-Shibuya I called the characters some of the best in recent memory, hell Yuuji, Megumi and Nobara are in my top 10 of trios of all time, and would’ve been higher if only they hadn’t spent that much time apart, they are easily my favorite part of the story

How Yuuji wanted to die a good death like his grandpa told him and instead got to live so he can make memories with Megumi and Nobara

All that stuff in the ending about Yuuji trying to get Sukuna to live because he’s just that good, only for Sukuna to nope out because he chose Uraume instead, the one person that actually loved him

Megumi losing everything, and then fighting back because Yuuji told him how lonely he would be without him, especially because he still thought he had lost Nobara at the time, and also Yuuji’s reaction when Nobara came back, that was beautiful

Just the relationships that matter in this story

Gojo coming to terms with his best friend becoming evil and finding the strength to kill him, only to see him become Kenjaku’s vessel hurt so bad

Yuuta not wanting to get close to people because of Rika and then getting stronger and having him love Inumaki, Panda and especially Maki is so precious I love them so much

Maki and Mai having their differences but coming together in the most tragic way possible because yes, the system is shitty but they’re still sisters, they’re twins, and a part of Mai will always be with Maki

Mechamaru selling his soul for a chance to be with the Kyoto kids, with Miwa, only to have that chance ripped away a fight later

Just Nanamin, all about him and his influence in Yuuji

Sukuna taking over Megumi and then Gojo having to fight him, the body of the boy he raised and that he loves so much, and lose his life to him too

The moment that still gets me is when Geto tells Riko that she does have a choice and she makes it, going back home, only for Toji to shoot her the moment she was about to take Geto’s hand

The story is about love, platonic and romantic, the good and the bad, just love

Post-Shibuya the series was a mess, too many characters were introduced and aside from Higuruma, Takaba and maybe Hana, none of them did that much. Yuki was wasted, so were the Kyoto kids and Utahime, and having Nobara out of the story for more than half of it and giving an interview that made it clear she was dead for realsies, only for her to come back less than five chapters till the end was a choice

The thing I enjoyed most was the Zenin stuff, and once Maki and Noritoshi’s fight with Naoya was over it wasn’t the same for me

Gojo’s death was a choice, I wouldn’t have minded if it was done with a little more grace. The scene on the station, Yuuta and Sukuna’s reaction and Yuuji’s promise to remember him and do right by him get me, but I can’t give it too much thought because it feels like the author only did for shock value and because he hates Gojo, which he did by the way

The fights sometimes were too complicated, and that last arc, especially after Gojo dies, was rough, some decisions were eeehhh (having Tsumiki die like that really)

(Also, world building in the third to last chapter, are you for fucking for real)

Overall, it was meh, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it

I started reading Jujutsu Kaisen in late 2018-early 2019, way before its anime announcement, I never thought it would be so popular, but I’m glad it is, because my problems with the story aside I get to share my love with these characters with many people

Also, JJK 0 is now my to go Christmas movie and the ending, Sakayume, that song is beautiful, I remember listening to it nonstop for days after watching the movie, I think it was in my top 10 songs in Spotify that year

So for all its flaws, yeah it’s ok 💙

[nevereverthem]

Gotham : Season 1 Episode 3

Earlier than I thought, here I am watching the third episode of the show.

Honestly, I can't wait to see what happens with Oswald because dude kidnapped a guy to ask for ransom... that he did not get. 🤣😭 I'm still not over the mother not believing it AT ALL.

My silly little crush wants to see Alfred so much! 🙄 I'm also all for having Brucey in his emo phase as I like to call it. I know that's not it, but just the 10 seconds frame of Bruce listening to metal-ish singers while doodling on a piece of paper was 🤌.

Selina is going to save her ass, but that sucks for the other kids though! She is one of the main characters, of course, but the other kids got their ass sent upstate! Don't you forget about that. 🥲

Anyway, here we go.

"There's a war coming..." Aaaaahhhhh! Honestly, starting the episode with Oswald's voice as a 'previously in Gotham' sort of thing, warms my heart. 😌

Gotham's streets... A bus... Oswald Cobblepot in a freaking pullover! Man is gonna be wearing a suit most of the time in the future. Let's enjoy these precious moments of him in casual clothing. 😌 The SMUDGE BLACK MAKEUP!! I know the man's got dark undereyes from exhaustion, but still.

Dude sees : Kids stealing a wallet from someone's back pocket. A cop taking money from an old asian guy. A man stealing a woman's bag. Prostitutes proposing their services to a person in a car... And all that Oswald is thinking is "home, sweet home". 🤣🤣😭😭

Okay, the story starting with a rich guy (Ronald Danzer) who did some shit. He's out on bail and plans on paying for his freedom and sneaking out to escape any problems. Like dude! That is sadly a great representation of how it works in real life too... 🙃

Balloons! And did you see that pig mask!? Foreshadowing I guess!? 😏

Oh MY! Cuffed to a balloon and being pulled up in the air!? That's so cool & terrifying at the same time. 😱

💥 INTRO TITLE 💥

Not the same punch as Oswald stabbing someone in the neck, but we'll settle for it.

Jim! 😍

"No body. We're calling it a murder?" I mean... If the guy went up until there was no oxygen available and died... I suppose it is. 🤷‍♀️ We'll see. Or, if he went that far up and then fell... He probably died from the fall... somewhere. So, it would be a murder.

For once, agreeing with Harvey. The man kinda got "what he deserved". I mean... It's a bit strong... But he probably ruined lots of people's lives so...

Bill Cranston... Switches so fast to being angry to having a hypocritical smile on his face... Dude. X) Okay, so the guy does interviews by beating people down with a little statue? I... 🙃

Hey, that's what I said! Two people killed themselves because Ronald Danzer ruined them...

Oh! Jim bringing up the Mario Pepper case! Ah!

Selina! 😌

Did she really steal Harvey's PEN!? 🤣🤣

Selina "I can see in the dark" Kyle. x) Kitty cat Kat

I don't know why, but Jim and Selina facing eachother with both hands on their own hips just makes me laugh. x)

Selina cuffed to a staircase. Legit... She's using the pen she stole to free herself from the cuffs? Damn! Plus, payoff!

Jim in the sewer. Yuk! Shoes in dirty water.

"Son of a bitch! She was telling the truth." 🤣 (Reminds me of Dean from Supernatural iykyk)

"Oh, Detective!" in Selina's sing-song voice. 🤣🤣 How she throws him back the cuffs in the sewer!

Jim's groan of frustration. 🙄

Fish! Oh no, Lazlo got beaten hard damn. 😮

Fish directly telling Montoya and Allen that Jim killed Oswald. Bitch! 🤣🤣 I mean, great move though. That's technically what happened, although he didn't actually do it. I love when the 'bad guys' tell the truth and it does serve their interests.

"Jim Gordon pulled the trigger, but who gave the order?" Yeay! Mama tryna bring Falcone down!!

"I just want justice for little Oswald." 🤣🤣 I would believe the earth is flat more than that blatant lie! 🤣🤣

Speak of the devil... 🙄

Oswald counting coins... What did he do with the guy he kidnapped? For real, are we ever gonna know? I suppose he killed him, but I would like to get some real answers. 😅

Pocket knife. 😭😭 For food at least...

"Hey, Cobblepot! You're supposed to be dead." Fuck! I wasn't expecting that.

"I'm afraid you have me confused. My name is Dimitri-" Still, the way he talks... 🥵 Plus, did he try to pull off a fake accent? x)

Oh no! Each time Oswald pleads not to be killed is... 😮

"I couldn't stay away. Gotham is my home. It's my destiny. You don't see what's coming. I do. Gotham needs me. I'm its future." Dude sounds like a cult prophet. 🤣😭 He's right though. Foreshadowing at its MAX. x)

Ouch! Achilles tendon! 😮 Killed. By the way, how Oswald manages to get rid of guys who should have physical dominance over him always impresses me.

His teeny-tiny walk! 🐧

"Can I have a tuna sandwich please?" Aw, he can be so soft... when he's been so violent ten seconds before. Bro! 🙃 I love the callback to episode 1. The first time he slits the throat of a stranger to steal his sandwich. The second time, he kills a bad guy, takes his money and actually buys the sandwich. 😌 Can someone draw Ozzie eating a tuna sandwich? 🥹 I just love seeing characters do every day activities. 😌

Waynes' manor! 😍 Okay, I might just like little Brucey ☺️ and crush hard on Alfred. 🙄

Alfred teaching Bruce fencing? Aaww.

"En garde." Aaaahhhh! I know it's the actual term for the sport practice, but each time a character says a french word, I just melt! 🫠 I am french, so just hearing my language makes me somehow proud! And boy... I'm wet. 🤣🤣 Kidding, alright. But it's AWESOME!! Plus, that's Alfred who says it. 🙄🥰

And how is the actor so good at manipulating that cane (used as a replacement for the foil)!? I'm so impressed!

By the way, that scene must have been so much fun for Bruce's actor at the time. 😌

Alfred apologizing to the armor he accidentally hit. 🤣

*Alfred hitting Bruce on the thigh or butt, not sure* "That's gotta hurt." BITCH. 🤣🤣

How did Bruce got the police file of his parents' murder? Okay, he said it wasn't hard. I suppose he just payed them. But how? I don't know if he has access to his money on his own. He's 11. Doesn't he have to get Alfred's authorization or something because he is his legal guardian? Anyway. 🙄

Bruce "If I find a clue, I am" Wayne. 🥲

Jim scrapping mud from his shoes with a paper knife? x)

Montaya straight up asking Jim about him killing Oswald. Not wasting time with innuendos. Effective.

"I didn't kill him." Which is the ACTUAL TRUTH! That's the best part. x) He is both praised and condemned for something that he did not do! I like that SO MUCH! x)

Oswald searching for a job.

"You don't even have the right shoes." Him directly looking down behind at one of the staff's shoes and grinning evilly... Is he planning on killing for SHOES now!? 🙃🙃

By the way "Here, you're on your feet all day." Me, thinking about his bad leg. 🥲

Jim and Harvey arguing about the whole situation of the Waynes' murder...

"For the last time Gordon, let it go."

"Or what? Am I gonna be the next person taken out to the pier to get a bullet in the head?"

AH! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

OSWALD!! You actually really... The shoes. 😭😭

"What size are your shoes?" Blabla "What a coincidence!" 😭😭 His laugh. 😭😭

I CANNOT.

That reinforces the feeling that I have about the fisherman's sandwich scene... That was not Oswald's first murder... Surely not... And if it was... Dude's taking a long way down... 😭🙃

Right now, I'm just thinking about Oswald telling his story to Edward, like the very first steps he took into his villain career... That would be something. 🤣😭

The interview.

Oh, 4 balloons... Who are gonna be the three other supposed-to-be victims then? 🤔

"47$?" - "You're a disgrace to drug dealers." Okay, chuckled a bit. 🙄🙃

Cranston!? OMG, I did not even recognise the guy. 😱 Honestly... I don't really mind... We saw him once... But I don't think he really deserved the balloon thing... Man... That's tough...

Attached by the ankle is worse though.

In the night with a lot less witnesses too!

ALFRED! 😍😍 No, I won't shut up.

Bruce reading the newspaper. Yeah, totally doing that at 11. 🙃

Bruce, GIMME YOUR BREAKFAST! 😋 The lil' flower though. PLEASE!

"What's the new program? Trying to see how long you can go without eating anything? If that's the case I should save myself the trouble of making it." 🔥 DAMN! 🔥 I love how he doesn't miss a moment to shoot! x) By the way, Alfred... You can make breakfast for me. 🙄 Breakfast in bed? Breakfast in your bed... in OUR bed... 🙄

Alfred is trying SO HARD. 🥲😭

Gun holder, the gun, the tie, Jim's gaze straight into the camera aaaahhhh!! 😍 Man's going into battle!

Barbara! 🥰

"[newspaper talk] It says he killed a cop. You're not in danger, are you?" GIRL! Your man is a cop... in GOTHAM. He is in danger every second of his life!

"Everyone has to matter or nobody matters." -Jim Gordon. That did something to my heart. ���❤️‍🩹

Barbara calling Jim a "hero" because he caught Mario Pepper for the Waynes' murder... That hits hard...

Jim talking about the fact that the balloon man's targets are dirty public figures... And Harvey going "Basically any elected official should stay indoors." is so legit. 😭😭

"Listen, one thing I know is how to find someone." Harvey chatting with prostitutes... I mean, he's not wrong! They can have a lot of informations. Tough job it is! Then he beats a guy down... Typical Harvey. 😅 Stopping to get food. TYPICAL HARVEY! That was the fastest summary of his character. x)

The SHOES. 😭😭 Oswald...

Him realising that he's been hired in a Mob boss owned restaurant! 🤣🤣 His FACE. 🤣🤣 Sorry Ozzie, but you deserve it a bit. "Don Maroni!"

"Great opportunity indeed." Oswald... I can't with him. x)

Harvey got so much informations about the guy they're searching for... Okay, I have to admit that's a damn skill! Respect.

DAMN! Harvey 'woman-handled', thrown around. I appreciate that. Sorry. 🙄

Lazlo being actually worried about Fish is so cute. 🥺

What!? Bitch is getting rid of some girl I didn't understand... AND Lazlo. I... 😭

Barbara. Oh hi Montoya!

Montoya HAS THE KEY!? DAMN!!

OMG yeah, Barbare is smoking... weed I suppose. Okay okay... 🤔

Talking about Jim...

"When we were together I did lie to you." I KNEW IT!! Former lovers! Aaaaahhhh

She's talking about being sober for a year etc... What she did blabla... What did Montoya DO!? 😮

Failed attempt at a kiss. I saw that coming. RIP.

Barbara being with another person (Jim) who might also be lying to her... The pattern is repeating itself... Girl must be feeling so down.

OMG the balloons are gonna pop? It's gonna rain bodies? 😭😭 Imagine you're going about your day and then a dead body falls from the sky... 😨

Totally what happened. The woman who died though. RIP for real... 🙏

A church guy being the third victim? Not surprised... 😅🙃

Maroni talking about Arkham!! I'm so excited!!

Obviously, Oswald listening in the background...

New name : Paolo. He's really trying, but he gets it wrong. x)

He's lying about being Italian on his mother's side, "the side that he claims", but the truth is that he actually does love his mother. Half lies. x)

Maroni just gave him money out of the blue?

The little talk about starting from nothing and making yourself by working hard etc... FORESHADOWING!! 😌

"Gotham is the city of opportunity." Hum... Shouldn't it be 'Gotham is the city of crimes'? x)

"Honestly sir, I didn't hear anything at all." "Atta boy." YES!! That's actually the ONLY way to react when you are asked if you heard ANYTHING! 😌

"Go take care of your mother, Paolo." That would be so sweet... but you know... x)

The walk! I like the fact that even when we just see his upper body, Oswald's actor actually always does the walk! I mean, that's part of the character so you HAVE to do it, but like, you notice it, you actually do notice it, and I love that about him! 🥰🐧

The guy actually hiding in the former juvi facility. Meh, can't be smart about everything. Gotta catch the guy 9 minutes before the end of the episode ya know. x)

Is it a TRAP!? Like for Harvey, or Gordon? 😮

Oops. Harvey's been caught.

Harvey pleading his case to the killer saying that he's thankful, that he's doing them a favor. Great defence. 🤣🤣

Oh my God... The killer's talk though... He's so right... Public figures almost never pay for their crimes... So he did justice himself... I feel that man...

Jim's conflicted because he knows that the man's right...

FUCK!! The whole man's speech!! This is the premise of Jim's morality path... Damn it!

NNNNNOOOO! Harvey cuffing the guy to the balloon was a fucked up move! Jim grabbing the man! Please I hoped he would, but damn he's flying in the air with him now. 😭😭

Jim didn't want to let go and begged (ordered?) Harvey to shoot the balloon instead! THANK GOD! Jim, you're doing so good there. I know you're gonna go somehow dark later, but for now... freaking thank you!

The landing on the top of the pickup must have hurt though. 😅

Falcone!!

OMG Natalia was Falcone's "girl"... 😮 That's the one Fish ordered to get into an "accident". 😭

Arkham again... Damn.

Btw, Fish's makeup. 🤌

Damn. Who's the guy's last target?

Bruce's "He killed people too. That made him a criminal." Okay, let me get this straight. I don't condone murder, but I get the idea that sometime you need to be a bad guy to do good. Imagine if killing that guy now would prevent a hundred innocent people to be killed. Killing is not something right to do, but in that context, you kill one to save the others, you know? What I mean is... It's a tough subject, but if killing one person saves a lot of others... And I mean one actual bad person against kind of good people... and I don't really mean "good people", just people who actually did not do terrible things, you know. I don't even know if I would be capable of doing something like that, but the self righteous belief that killing is bad in every context... I don't think it's true. Anyway.

Alfred with his APRON. 🫠 Make me dinner too. 🥰 Please. 🙄🥰

Alfred witty remarks. x)

Bruce is EATING, finally dude.

Jim, home, must be full of bruises, damn. The man struggles to sit down. He didn't break a bone because it's a tv show, hum. 🙄

Barbara concerned again. 🥲

Seeing Jim's face... It's like he's really been 'moved' by the balloon man's speech. It's like an electroshock. I feel like he's about to tell Barbara about Oswald. 🤔 (he did not, oops)

"I want you to know that you can tell me anything." BRO! She's giving you a chance to come clean. I mean, technically you are clean, but ya know.

"This city's sick. Sick in a way I hadn't realised." For real though. 🙃 Harvey told you in the first episode. 🙃

"Doesn't matter" That's the 'last target'? Disappointing, but I get it. That also genius 'cause basically the guy only had 4 balloons, but there's way more people that would 'need' to be cuffed to it...

Jim's speech on people, justice, the law... 👌

Barbara wants to believes him so bad! Girl's crying!

OOOOHHHH, the knock knock knocking... Tell me... I think I saw that... That's him right? HIM!?

OSWALD!! 🎉 In a SUIT!! I told YOU!! (Btw, did he buy a new suit with the money Maroni gave him ? Or did he take his suit to dry-cleaning to get rid of the blood stains? Just wondering 🤔) He wanted to look good for Jim. 🙄 Let me fantasize. x)

"Hello, James. *huffs* Old friend." AAAAHHHH!!

He's already calling him 'old friend'. 🙃🙃🙃🙃 I guess throwing you into the water, instead of shooting you, makes him somehow closer to a friend than an enemy, but... 🤣🤣😭😭 The AUDACITY!! x)

Jim's face. Oswald's smile. AH!

Jim had a freaking day... and it's not over. 😭

FUCKING HELL. MY GOD. I... AWESOME.

I don't even know what to say... Just... My brain's not working anymore...

[Okay, a tiny bit disappointed that we didn't see Edward this time, but I know there is going to be a lot of him in the future. So that makes up for it.]

1. Alfred did not say "bloody", not even once, in the whole damn episode!! 😮 I'm utterly disappointed!! 😔 But I still like him, of course. 🙄🥰

Late additions, two hours later, when my brain decides to function again :

Like, comment, loose your shit with me... It's your choice!!

2. Barbara will at least be relieved that her boyfriend is NOT a liar (not really yk) nor a murderer. Because here he is : Oswald Cobblepot, flesh and blood!! 😌

3. The fact that Barbara is BI, BI, BI! 🎶

Looking forward to the next episode!! 🫶

[locking-the-tomb]

Third Read Notes & Soundtrack

I wallowed for about 14 hours after finishing my Nona reread and decided to start over again and write myself some summaries during The Wait.

Gideon the Ninth Chapter 1

In which we learn Gideon is a goob but we love her.

Gideon is escaping. She stole a security cuff key but left the cuff on until the morning of. She's taking her sword, her "shoes" - later called steel toed boots- , and her smut mags. Her clothes are all synthetics. She has enough hair to brush. She knows about chocolates and fancy hotels, somehow ... from mags? From Wake/mom's niche is 22 flights of stairs up to the landing field, which is still at the bottom of a deep tunnel. There are lamps on but they're low. She's kicking apart lumps of "rubble" but that's not further described. She eats porridge from a plastic bag then throws the bag over a rail somewhere. There's a balcony area. Skeletons with red eyes go to pick snow leeks.

There are white castle doors at the bottom, "three bodies wide and six bodies tall". She talks about the figures carved into the area above the doors and remembers screaming as a kid about them creeping her out. I wonder what they are, maybe related to the killed generation? How much trauma from a two year old survivor of all the kids dying?

Muster call (20 Bells) calls back the skeletons.

That's when the Marshall/Crux stomps in to accuse her. Gideon says, "say my shuttle exploded, I died and it was such a shame". 😳 (Crux thinks great idea, will do) Introduces Frontline Titties of the Fifth. He calls her chattel. He wears a big knife over a shoulder.

He gives an impressive number of threats. Gideon wasn't bothered by Crux's threats. But then he invoked Harrow and her "palms prickled". He leaves and Aiglamene enters. Gideon says she's tried to enlist 33 times. Aiglamene has a badly repaired missing leg and a scarred face.

Gideon lists what's happened when she's tried to leave before: jammed in lift, turned off heat frostbite in three toes, poisoned. She clarifies that she's indentured not a slave and claims she's not of fiscal use there. She says she will "you can quote me 'do my duty to the ninth' ". Gideon goes on a rant about "your lady" with a host of great insults, then gets slapped.

"Nobody had ever loved her in the ninth". Aiglamene was the reason she got to have a sword and training. "I'm naturally demeaning". Aiglamene walks away and Gideon falters a bit but sticks.

"Nav was a Niner name". Mentions the prison as a bubble halfway up in the atmosphere. At the end of the chapter we get the limited story of day-old Gideon being in a bio container plugged into the suit of a braindead woman who had fallen in a suit down the shaft 18 years ago. None of the Ninth necromancers could get her ghost to do more than scream Gideon three times then she fled.

"They chipped her, surnamed her, and put her in the nursery". I don't think they mention the chips again, interesting. She was kid #201. Where did the kids come from? Had they been harvesting gametes and growing them? Because the "old" people going into the doors were heavily outnumbered by skeletons. Then two years later it was just her, Harrow (who still hasn't been directly introduced as other then Lady), and Ortus. By 10 she "knew too much and that she could never be allowed to go". Of course. Because that's when Harrow had opened the tomb and her parents had died. She had started trying to escape when she was 4.

Thoughts. What's up with all the plastic? Isn't plastic from petroleum? How would Pluto have petroleum?

[landofzero-archive]

Absolute - The Pure Land 7

(Location: Michigan Townscape)

(10 minutes later. On the street near the scene of the fire.)

Jun: GODDAMN!

Damn it, I can’t see anything through the smoke and the crowd!You’re a bit taller than me, right, Ohiisan? Can you see anything~?

Hiyori: What do you mean by that? We’re not that different. What, do you have a complex over being shorter than me?

But it seems like no matter where you are in the world, people gather together when something happens. I guess that’s just human nature.

—Ah, Jun-kun, Jun-kun! Your Ohiisan just got a great idea!

You put on a flashy performance right here right now and catch all the onlookers’ attention while I rush onto the scene! How does that sound!?

Jun: There’s no “how does that sound!?”, you’re still being super reckless towards me!

Hiyori: So are you doing it? Or not?

Jun: Aah jeeze, fine I’ll do it okay!? I’ve trained for emergencies like this~!

Ibara: —Cough cough, please don’t cause a scene, alright?

I want to make it out of here before anyone notices, so it’ll be troublesome if you stand out.

Jun: Ibara!?

Hiyori: Are you okay? As expected, snakes really are stubborn animals!

Ibara: Um well…… Perhaps Uncle was making fun of me, but he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and threw me out the window while saying, “I’ll handle things from here.”

We were on the third floor, so I would’ve been seriously injured if I hadn’t used a tree as a cushion.

NEGI: “What about Uncle? Is he safe?”

Ibara: …… Yes. Probably. If they’re someone who could take his life with an attack of that intensity, then they would have already died many times over.

More importantly, as much as I would like to help Uncle, I don’t wish to bring harm to any of you—

I don’t want to also be picking chestnuts out of a fire. (1)

For now, let’s evacuate! Yes yes, don’t just stand around and get moving!

Jun: Haha. As soon as he got out, he started directing us.

Hiyori: But that’s exactly what makes him Ibara, isn’t it? What fine weather♪

It’s good that you’re safe. I truly mean it.

NEGI: “……  I’ll stay behind. I’m worried about Uncle.”

Ibara: I understand how you feel, but it’s no use. If I leave you in a dangerous situation, he’ll not only get angry at me later, but he’ll also kill me.

That’s much more dangerous and terrifying. Do you understand?

NEGI: “………

…… Yes. It’s a shame, but a ‘helpless little girl’ won’t be of any use here.”

Ibara: I suppose it’s about having the right person in the right place.

…… Even though I told you all to stay at the hotel, it seems His Highness Hiyori and Jun were searching for His Excellency on their own.

It looks like NEGI-shi was taking care of those troublesome people.

Jun: Jeez, how did you find out!?

Ibara: I was also searching around town for our missing persons, so naturally that kind of information would make its way back to me, right? Is your brain even working properly, Jun?

The tent village at Absolute that you guys were in is considered an untouchable area, so I don’t know what exactly you were doing, but—

………

Hiyori: ? Is something wrong, Ibara? You suddenly covered your mouth and stopped talking—Ah, did you get sick from inhaling the smoke?

Jun: That’s super bad! Wh-What should we do in this kind of situation? Mouth to mouth……!?

Ibara: …… Be quiet for a moment. I think I’ve connected the dots.

NEGI: “Wawa? The building is burning down and collapsing, I don’t know what you thought up but how about we talk while we evacuate?”

Ibara: Right. I spent a lot of time staring at a map of this town yesterday, so I’ve memorized all the escape routes. So, allow me to guide you.

Everyone, please follow me.

Jun: Yes. We’ll always follow Ibara~♪

Ibara: Thank you for that. I appreciate your trust.

Truly……

Anyway, I assumed His Excellency and the other one were somewhere inside a building or underground.

However, in summary, the underground is a large place so I thought it would be difficult to comb through it thoroughly.

Unlike my Uncle, Shaka-shi isn’t a professional criminal. His real job is being an idol, after all, so I’m sure he’s feeling very anxious by now—

There should be a number of security measures in place. In other words, the tent village at Absolute that no one can enter.

He’s also likely hidden underground where no one can see him.

Jun: A criminal? In hiding? What are you talking about? That Shaka-san guy was kidnapped by someone just like Nagi-senpai was……?

Hiyori: Hahaa, does Ibara suspect that Shaka-san is the “true culprit”?

The idea of the person who was thought to be the victim actually turning out to be the culprit has been a staple of mystery plots for a long time.

Ibara: When you think about it that way, a lot of things click into place. I think Your Intelligent Highness understands.

Hiyori: “If you don’t understand, you’re an idiot,” huh? You’re pretending to sweet talk me so you can stir the pot, huh, Ibara♪  

Ibara: Anyway! I’ll be rushing to the Absolute tent village!

Whether the reasoning is correct or not, we can’t just do nothing!

Jun: We’re coming too, y’know~? You’re not going to stop us, are you, Ibara?

Hiyori: We did a lot of interrogating at the tent village yesterday.

Since we know the area and have made some acquaintances, I think you’ll be able to search for Nagisa-kun more efficiently than if you were to go in alone, right?

Ibara: ………

…… There’s no other way. Now then, please come with me.

I’ll feel more secure if I’m there to monitor you, rather than letting you do whatever you want without my knowledge. Fine.

TL Notes:

A phrase based on the fable “The Monkey and The Cat” that essentially means taking a risk for someone else’s sake. While in other countries it generally has a negative connotation that someone else is profiting off of you putting yourself at risk, in Japan it can be seen in a positive light.

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[thenixkat]

another not-godzilla

pls feed Kafka he's too skinny now

he's not even broad anymore, someone pls feed Kafka. Like he had to regenerate a lot in the past few weeks he needs some more rations pls his waist is so narrow i hate it

oh that's a scar on asshole dad's forehead not just him frowning constantly

that's rude as hell. I do not care for teh gamer boy

yeah Kafka's not really ok with everyone talking about killing him for parts or using him as a living weapon… this is why ya shoulda been better at hiding yer secret identity sir. You could have transformed when no one was looking

rude ass hell

also ignoring why Kafka went berserk (ya know repeatedly getting his limbs ripped off by someone he was under the impression was trying to kill him) Kafka pls dont thank the person who just threatened to turn you into a suit

oh hey a hive of kaiju ants

i dont like this guy. he's rude. asked a subordinate for a loan to buy more junk and toys, is an influencer

huh ant kaiju are rare to see on the surface but folks run into them underground

Kafka wants to be recognized for his ability as an officer and not a kaiju weapon so he's trying to fight without fully transforming but like sir, try that after you've convinced folks yer more useful alive than as spare parts also yeah had a traumatizing time the last time he fully transformed isnt rocking with it at the moment

not the transformation failing. Kafka's kaiju side said 'nah, you didnt want my help last time'

not the cordyceps

also the ant kaiju spray acid like real ants

ah the fungus has a brain

right i have bee seeing brains in split kaiju wild that their brains are not important organs

how does using the Numbers weapons shave years off yer life? what are the ghosts of the kaiju that got made into them taking revenge

ah yeah 100% Kafka is scared of losing control that's why his transformations keep failing gets a pep talk from rich girl that's more or less 'we're too fucking badass for you to kill us if you lost it, so dont worry about it'

what happened to my guy's claws? also he finally figured out how to smile with that face

ah Kafka learned some tricks from the bug's joyride

Kaiju do have telepathy!

no. 9 tells other no. 9 to pls hold its learning about a new strong enemy right now

the influencer has kaiju eyes b/c biomodding soldiers is fine, kaiju-human hybrids from the wild arent tho

so its not future sight just literal mind reading

damn that's the first 'well done' rich girl got from her shitty dad since her mom died

apparently the ant swarm and two no. 9s were a diversion. B/c no. 9 the third planned to have teh shitty dad for dinner hahah

also how did that mother fucker sneak into yer base? damn yall are not ready for intelligent kaiju damn that man was nice to his daughter for teh first time in a decade and then got ate mind you his daughter is like 18 at best ah i assume no. 9 probably ate like a janitor and got in that way

also no. 9 has certainly been eating its Wheaties

huh so its just stressful to use

shitty dad acknowledges that he's been a bad father

rip to shitty dad, he tried to his best but uh he can't regenerate

shitty dad became dinner

no. 9 really was only here for dinner and decided to dip

Kaiju no. 9 what does a kaiju era mean? are you planning on getting rid of the ability of humans to fight back against the kaiju so they can do what they want? like its not like there's many sapient kaiju running around most of the fuckers seem to just be wild animals doing wild animal shit

ah the thing where Kafka started not being able to turn completely back human

human looking at least

have yall tried feeding him cause look at that you can almost see the poor man's abs

these are not good working conditions. Also just bc he stops being able to look like a human doesnt mean he'd stop thinking like a human necessarily

no. 10 regained consciousness in captivity. It's core is too damaged for it to regenerate. It had a blast fighting the vice captain and tells him if it's gonna become a weapon for anyone it wants him to use it

being… you are a head, a small piece of spinal cord, and like 2/3rds of a core the fuck are you gonna fight with??

ah it means it wants to be made into a weapon and that teh vice captain use it to fight. Bc it really really had fun fighting him and wants more like that good news the vice captain made a new friend and it has agreed to be interrogated bad news it still would like to eat him and the possibility of it trying to take over his body if he wears it is not zero

oh hey we've got the reveal that no. 9 is no. 10's parent

to be fair yall havent run into many sapient kaiju that are willing to use their shapeshifting to the fullest extent. and no. 9 is just creating more kids

how tho? How the fuck does heat and pressure at fault lines deep underground make substances that mutate nearby animals and plants (how did the animals and plants get that fucking far into the fucking Earth in the first place) into aliens. B/c you cannot convince me that kaiju arent aliens with their fucking biology that we've been shown

what do you mean in order for a human to use one of the Numbers weapons their cells have to be compatible with the kaiju that the weapon was made from? What kind of superior genetics eugenics shit is this? How are human cells compatible with kaiju cells anyway and why are yall not concerned that human cells can be compatible with kaiju cells

like zoonotic diseases? also should yall not be concerned that some humans are genetically compatible with kaiju cells or is that ok b/c you pick teh super soldier

another not-godzilla but this one has tentacles. There's a lot of not-godzillas in this, yall cant do a not-Mothra or a not-Ghidora for once?

idk about anything else but I think if a human's cells are compatible with kaiju material (i dont get how it works and it seems weird and iffy) but that should mean they can get turned into a were-kaiju the series continuously points out that Ichikawa is a teenager and yet the fandom is so fucking horny for that child it is genuinely disgusting

hmm and we're gonna saddle this teenager with an increased risk of dying young in this already dangerous job b/c apparently lacking in supersoldier badasses who can solo high tier boss monsters

oh hey a somewhat responsible adult tells Ichikawa to turn down the supersoldier offer

also fucking noodle ass human beings unfortunately, Ichikawa is an extremely loyal friend and takes up the offer

there's a neuro link into the weapons ok so the shit is giving people brain damage when they overclock

[died-but-not-dead-propaganda]

Leonard Church Propaganda

he died 10 episodes into the story and comes back as a “ghost” and spoiler-y stuff but he dies again and comes back again multiple times

HIS WHOLE THING IS BEING DEAD BUT NOT DEAD OK he is the most dead guy ever. he spends the first five seasons being a ghost and still managing to die repeatedly. he’s technically a robot but he’s an ai copy of an ai copy of a guy and BOTH OF THOSE GUYS ARE DEAD. HE IS SO DEAD ALL THE TIME BUT NOT BECAUSE HES ALIVE. he is in a constant cycle of dying but not being dead. half of blue teams kill count is just caboose repeatedly killing church on accident. he can’t die so hard that he won’t let his dead wife die either until the THIRD ITERATION OF HIM finally lets her go because he realizes he doesn’t even know her at that point he’s so many degrees of separation away from the original allison. and then he TRIES TO DIE WITH HER BUT STAYS ALIVE BECAUSE HE’S ETERNALLY CURSED TO LIVE. his death count is literally in the double digits he DESERVES a place on this tournament. most alive dead guy ever. ok thank u for ur consideration if he doesn’t win I will burn this webbed site to the ground /j

Iterations of church have died and come back multiple times. In season one he gets shot by a tank and comes back as a ghost. in like season six (it's been a while) it's revealed that he was not a ghost but an AI the whole time and then sacrifices himself. and then a copy of his ai self comes back. it's a meme in the fanbase at this point that church dies and comes back and after the ai copy (epsilon) died they had to devote a whole sub-plot to "WE SWEAR HE IS NOT COMING BACK AGAIN. HES GONE." anyway part of me is still suspicious that they lied about it and there's another part of the alpha ai out there somewhere but like, it's been like five years and i'm starting to think they got us for realsies this time

This dude has died like seven times. It's unreasonable the number of times he's died. Like it's kind of insane. He had a bunch of time travel clones at one point that all died. He sacrificed himself because he was convinced he WOULDNT die because he thought he was a ghost (he wasn't) and couldn't disappear again (he could and did). His SECOND VERSION OF HIMSELF (ai cloning sort of) ALSO DIED. ALSO by sacrificing himself (this time he actually knew what was coming though). The way he died the first time was by getting shot by his own best friend who killed him with a fucking tank. Then the sacrifice. Then the sacrifice again. Not to mention all the other times where he went missing/fucked off somewhere. And also the time that the Epsilon version of him tried to self destruct in another guy's brain. Jesus fucking christ this dude has problems. Please include him. Please.

the original leonard church (the director) made an exact copy of his mind as an ai (the alpha) that he tortured, which in turn made a copy of itself (epsilon) to cope with the trauma, so in total there are 3 Churches.

death count: the director killed himself. the alpha died when he was shot with a tank, then he possessed someone else's body and got shot in the head, then he possessed a robot that exploded so hard it melted all of the ice on an entire planet, then he got erased from existence by an EMP. then he came back as Epsilon who went on to also get erased.

Well it’s. It’s complicated okay. So hold on alright.

So Dr. Leonard L. Church was initially this guy who was the Director of Project Freelancer (PFL) and he liked to fuck around with AI because the Halo lore is like the background setting for RvB. Anyway the Director made an AI copy of himself, and called it “Alpha”. Well, the Director wanted to have more than one AI for his experiments so he could give them to his Freelancer Agents (all named after the 50 states), so what he did was he tortured Alpha until Alpha split itself into fragments; essentially he gave an AI so much trauma that Alpha developed DID. (Forgive me, even though I have friends who are systems I still know very little and am still learning about proper/respectful terminology). Well anyway one of the fragments of Alpha, Epsilon, was given “memory”. So Epsilon remembered all of the torture Alpha underwent, and when Epsilon was implanted in Agent Washington, Epsilon tried to kill himself, inadvertently almost taking Washington with him. Epsilon was removed and put into storage, and PFL fell apart. The Alpha, under the protocol “AI must not fall into enemy hands”, was sent to a secure location, and was reprogrammed to have his memory of the Project and everything with it removed. He was then implanted in a human, and was told he was Private Leonard Church of the Blue Army. (Side note; the Red and Blue armies are made up simulation armies designed to test Freelancer Agents in the field. The Reds and Blues do not know they are simulation troopers; they think the war is real.)

This whole shit slowly gets revealed throughout the course of the series, but yeah. Anyway. Church (Alpha, important distinction you’ll see why) dies a few times as a running gag in seasons 1-6. Then, at the end of season 6, he dies permanently to an EMP. But, the plot of season six involves our main characters rescuing the Epsilon storage unit, who eventually regains the identity of “Church” as well, as Epsilon was a fragment of Alpha initially, but there are a few tweaks. Alpha and Epsilon are different in a few ways, but they’re both “Church”. So it’s technically a revival. But if that’s too vague and too complex, in season one Caboose (Blue Team Rookie) blows up Church with a tank and then Church comes back as a ghost. It’s funny.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for wanting to punish those who got away with killing my parents?

When I (23M) was a boy, I lived next to some laboratories. However, after an experiment went horrifically wrong, my home was blown up and I lost my parents. I would later find out that, of the 3 researchers involved, the assistant died, one of them hid away to let himself obsess over what went wrong while the third managed to walk away with more money and political power than he knew what to do with.

I was adopted by a lovely lady whom I miss dearly since her death a few years ago. However, I am grateful to have access to her full fortune since it allows me to focus on achieving my goal. By which I mean, revenge.

I've worked hard over the past decade to put the pieces all in place. The underground replica city, giant machine of destruction and kidnapping of scientists might seem excessive to an outsider but trust me, they're all necessary. I've even tricked the researcher who was obsessed with his project into thinking he's the one calling the shots in our partnership.

The man who got money and power after murdering several people is our current prime minister. But just wait until he sees what I'm about to do, just wait until it's all rubble and flames in his name. He'll never wish he chose corruption then!

And yet... here I am, masquerading as some random kid's adult self to fool a university professor into believing my fake city is the future version of the one he knows. I don't know why I invited him. Maybe so he could talk me down? I'm not sure anymore. I just know that he saved my life once by being the voice of reason when everything else was chaos, there's a chance he can do it again. I can sense him closing in on me and the truth. It's only a matter of time. I may need to activate the final stage of my plan sooner rather than later in that case.

So am I the asshole for wanting a corrupt man to finally see some consequences for what he did 10 years ago? I believe all the people whose lives he ended or ruined deserve to see justice.

[maggie32432]

Rafael Barba Imagine - Wrong Place Wrong Time (Part 2)

 You are a detective for NYPD’s SVU under lieutenant Olivia Benson. In Season 17 Episode 10 you are abducted as a hostage with Olivia and Rafael is outside the scene. 

Dodds and Barba march into the van where Tucker is with Fin and Carisi. The third criminal in the group has been taken into custody and is being interrogated in the van actively. "The last you heard. What's going on to Kailyn?" Barba asks Tucker and Tucker sighs, "This may be a little too personal to you," Fin says and Rafael shakes his head, "I need to know every detail of what is happening to her," "Joe. The main man is using Kailyn. The gun is apparently against her head as we speak," Rafael's hand goes over his mouth, seemingly thinking but actually just trying to hide the immense fear running through his body.

Barba turns to Ralph, the criminal, and says "Hello, Ralph. I'm Assistant District Attorney Raphael Barba. You need to tell me everything you know right now," "Me and my sister Roxie only got into this because our mother needs a new hip. She doesn't want to hurt anybody that's all on Joe," "So Joe's his real name?" Barba asks, tone much more serious than anyone had ever heard before, but Ralph stays quiet, "Ralph look at me. If anyone dies in that house you and your sister are on the hook for felony murder. You help us or I will ensure that you both are gone," He practically spits at the criminal.

Kailyn's POV

"The last time I spoke to him we were fighting...we never even got a chance to-" Olivia already knows who I'm trying to talk about, "Kailyn, you will get a chance to tell him," She whispers to me as I feel the metal of the gun dig against my hair. "I told you no talking," Joe spits at me before using the gun to hit me hard over the top of the head, just like he did with Liv. As the gun connects with my skin, I immediately feel instant, throbbing pain that sends me to the ground.

I glance up as Liv tries to help me, and I feel the cold sensation of blood run down the side of my cheek. Liv has dried blood on her head now and I can feel my own blood soaking into my hair. Voices become fuzzy for just a few moments as Joe and Roxie scream at each other.

I watch him answer a call from Ed again and they seem to discuss letting someone named Ralph back inside the house with the money. "If you don't let him in here blondie dies," Joe says into the phone, then I hear Tucker say, "You don't have to kill anybody if you don't want to," Joe looks at us for a second with a smile before handing the phone to Olivia, "I think they really want Ralph in here now," She says, trying to stay calm but even her voice is shaking now as she continues to help me back to my knees. "We can't do that right now," Tucker says, "He's telling the truth. We're not allowed to send civilians inside," She says to him.

"Alright then. I'm done talking," Joe says, putting the gun against my head again and I can't help but whimper this time, and I'm sure they heard it over the phone. "Joe. Joe listen to me, take the gun away from Detective McCann. We can talk this out," "Didn't you hear me, Ed? I'm done talkin"

He turns away from the phone and starts arguing with Roxie again, and I can tell she's just as afraid of him as the rest of us are. "Alright Joe, listen. We will bring your money in to you, but you have to let one person out," Tucker says and Joe hesitantly nods, "Fine,"

I don't move from my place as the exchange begins to go down. The people around me start becoming a blur as I think I see Dobbs come in at some point? All I know is that the father makes it out and Joe gets his money.

"How's it looking in there?" Fin asks Dobbs after getting the father safely in the ambulance. He manages to avoid eye contact with Barba, "The children are okay. Liv seems fine...but Kailyn...she's losing a lot of blood from her head. When I went in there she was in a daze, not even on her feet,"

Rafael puts his hand over his mouth, making it look like he is pondering, but actually to hide the fear. The terrifying thought of her laying there bleeding out as a madman holds a gun against her head.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Queen of Dreams by Kit Rocha

3.75/5. Releases 8/6/24.

Vibes: FFM, grumpy/pretend grumpy/sunshine, coming to terms with oneself, dark/light

Heat Index: 8/10

Now that Sachi and Zanya know their true identities--the embodiments of Creation and Destruction, respectively--the challenge is staying alive and harnessing their abilities. What Sachi's dragon god husband Ash wants most is to protect both women; but as the Betrayer lures Sachi into his clutches, he must work with Zanya to harness her dangerous abilities so that they can rescue (and fully awaken) the woman they both love.

This is the direct sequel to Kit Rocha's Consort of Fire, which introduced Sachi and her handmaiden/assassin/longtime lover Zanya as she was forced to marry Ash. Who not only turned out to be great, actually, but more than willing to accept Sachi and Zanya's relationship. Actually, he embraced it, falling in love with Sachi and becoming quite intrigued with Zanya... who was equally intrigued with him, if conflicted because, you know, she was supposed to kill him after Sachi seduced him.

It was great to see these three as a united front this go around, even if Sachi did spend a lot of time physically apart from her lovers. At least they were on the same side! The world spun in these books is so interesting, and I'd be happy to read more of it. Ash and Zanya are both such compelling characters; though she's a lot angstier than he is (which is saying something, as Ash isn't without his angst) there's this teasing that they're two sides of the same coin, just as Sachi and Zanya are... Albeit in different ways. They're both monsters that really get each other.

Which is why, for all that I enjoyed this book, I was a bit disappointed with how Sachi-centric the triad remained. Don't get me wrong--I really do like Sachi. She's bratty and fun, and I love that a girly girl princess archetype was allowed to be spoiled and decadent and quite sexual... and loving and sweet and powerful. However, I would personally say that Sachi has the least going on in terms of personal growth in both books. And that's fine. Ash and Zanya just have a lot more conflict and darker temptations in terms of power, and more disturbing pasts. All of those things just make them naturally, more interesting to follow.

And to be clear--I don't expect these books to dial back Sachi and Zanya in favor of Zanya and Ash. Although I believe that these women love Ash and he loves them, Zanya and Sachi have known each other way longer. Their relationship is really the crux of these two books. I don't want to cast either woman aside and het up a fundamentally queer relationship.

However.... Sachi is literally physically separated from Zanya and Ash for a lot of this novel. And before she goes, Zanya is so conflicted about hurting Sachi during sex, what with the destructive powers that she doesn't have a hold on, that their sexual relationship has died down a good bit. And Sachi actually tells her, "Ash is super down to fuck you, and I totally think you should get yours". She TELLS Zanya to explore that relationship.

And... they get somewhat closer, I guess. There are teases. But while I do believe Ash and Zanya forge more of a bond, I never felt like the emotional or physical climax of their arc really occurred. Maybe that would feel more okay to me if there was this very clear, full-hearted three-person arc ONLY. But just as Ash and Sachi's relationship developed in the first book, and we've seen the heart of Sachi and Zanya's relationship throughout both... It felt important that we got to the third aspect. I just don't super think we did. I felt Ash's attraction Zanya growing into love, and Ash is in general a very caring character who is a bit more honest about his feelings. I felt Zanya TRUSTING him, but it fell short of the sense that she... got to the place that I think we were supposed to believe she got to at the end of the book.

Which frustrates me, as I do think this dynamic was begging to be explored, and was full of chemistry. We were left at the end of the last book with this idea that Ash knew that Zanya needed to be loved and held. I thought this book would explore that, and I especially felt like it would after Sachi was separated from the other two.

For me, it's less this need to explore Ash and Zanya on their own, and more this desire to see Zanya fully loved and adored on the same level that Sachi is. Additionally, it seemed to me that Sachi kind of got all this praise for being sooooo amazing throughout both books that... Again, I like Sachi! But it became a bit much. Like. I know.

It sounds like I'm just dogging this book out, but I promise that I liked it! I'm definitely going to read more of Kit Rocha. However, and this could be more of a personal preference thing than a right/wrong thing--when I read a triad romance, personally, I like to see all aspects developed. It just felt like Zanya and Ash's dynamic got the short end of the stick.

The Sex:

Obviously, this book was quite hot. There isn't as much actual sex on the page as there was in the last book... which again, kind of frustrated me, as I thought we would get more Zanya/Ash stuff... But the sex that's there is well-written and exciting. There's one scene towards the end that.... oof. It's memorable, and honestly worth the entire read, I'm not gonna lie.

Again--for all that I have my critiques, this is a good book, and if you liked Consort of Fire, you should obviously read it. We seemed to have reached the end for this triad, but I'd definitely read about more characters in the same world. And I want to check out other polyamorous romances by Kit Rocha; I'm curious about how they handle different dynamics. Either way, I'm reading more from them, and that's a win in itself.

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[willa-cole]

Workaholic

Lams (Alexander Hamilton x John Laurens)

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3rd POV

Alexander was studying in Kings college library (Does it have one? Idk y'all don't judge me I'm just dumb) when Angelica Schuyler,the volunteer librarian,walked up to him."Alexander you've been here for five hours it's closing time" she said."Oh come on Angie please I've stayed past closing time before..." said Alexander. "Alexander... It's already past closing time I would've kicked you're workaholic ass out an hour ago if it wasn't for Eliza begging me to let you stay!" "Don't yell we're in a library..." "ALEXANDER IT'S EMPTY" "Jeez someone's on her period..." "... THAT'S.IT.OUT.NOW!" "Okay okay I'm leaving...But if I fail the exams it's your fault" "ALEXANDER HAMILTON THE EXAMS ARE IN EIGHT MONTHS GET OUT" Yelled Angelica and Alexander obligated.He look at his clock which read 11 p.m. 'It's too early to sleep...Guess some more work won't kill me' (Burr will :D) He said and walked up to his dorm which he oh so happened to share with his buddy (Yeah...Buddy *wink wink*) John Laurens...

John POV

I look at the clock and it reads 9 p.m. I guess waiting for Alex won't kill me...(Not making a pun on that cause I don't want to pay for therapy) I took Alex's book about the third U.S. president Daveed Diggs and started reading...

*an hour later*

It's 10 p.m. which means the library is closed...Which means Alex should be here...Why isn't he here yet? God I wish he wasn't such a workaholic...And he also makes it hard to care...You see I'm in love with Alex (you could say he's got you...HeLpLeSs) but it's so obvious he is straight...At least he's an ally though... That's good enough for me...I keep reading his book on his bed and accidentally fall asleep

*insert door opening*

I slowly wake up and see Alex,I read the clock and it's 11 p.m. "Where have you been I've been worried sick!" I said "I was at the library and...Is that my Daveed Diggs book?" "I thought you died and you wanna talk about Daveed Diggs?" "...Yes..." "Gosh Alex you have done all assignments for the next six months and have studyed for the exams...Which are eight months away!" I say trying not to yell "I wanna be prepared and...Did you next SIX months...OH MY GOD I MISSED A MONTH!!! LAURENS I'M GONNA FAIL I NEED TO STUDY" "Alex no" I say (Guess John could say no to this ;)) "Why do you care anyways it's my life!" He said "CAUSE I LOVE YOU" I yell. Alex stares at me with dumbfounded eyes "S-sorry I me-meant as a friend hehe..." I tried covering my confession up. "John...I don't love you" my heart drops "But I do have a like you...I. A more than just a friend way" Now it's my turn to stare,he notices my actions,comes closer to me and brushes his lips against my own and I kiss back..."Please work less it worries me" I say... "I guess for you I'll try not to be a workaholic..."

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Okay so this is my first one shot but I think I did pretty well what do y'all think? You can also leave requests below :)

[thanos-is-a-grape]

Just seen gotg vol3 for the third time and here are some of my thoughts, these are just my thoughts, so pls disagree politely if u have different opinion on this matter.

Spoiler alert, dunno if it's necessary now that everybody seemingly have seen the movie....

- It was great overall, like everybody been saying, although i think Adam could do a lot more in the story. Literally just watched the damn movie to thirst for the golden god.

-My main complain is that the lack of screentime he got, and i know, this movie is supposed to be a final goodbye to the og guardians and therefore should be focusing on their story. BUT, golden boi could have been more useful when they were trying to defeat the high evo, also this is a character everybody's been waiting for for ages and has been teased for YEARS for god's sake.🤦🏽‍♀️

- For example, Adam could've lost his sh*t when Ayesha died and put the blame on high evo, and now that he has the same goal as the guardians; to kill the bastard in purple, he joined the team. And i know, he's pretty much a baby at this point therefore he can't understand much emotions, but i mean come on, Ayesha was his mother figure, her loss had to affect him to a certain degree.

-next, since this is Rocket's story, i wished groot could have more significant role in his background/origin story, and/or the main story. He's his closest pal in the og team after all. Although it also makes sense if groot only have a small role in Rocket's arc bc this is not the groot from the first movie.

- Marvel, my man, what are you doing with making another queer character a literal kid? I understand when it comes to Tommy, Billy, & America bc young Avengers project is nowhere in sight at the moment, therefore their character can grow to young adult once their role is gonna be significant.

- But Why is Phyla not a grown a$$ woman she is supposed to be?😔 (She is also probably has no connection to Mar-Vell or Kree & Titan in general, considering Mar-Vell has been ruined in captain marvel, therefore i will silently cry to sleep knowing another potential has been lost in the mcu).

- Speaking of Phyla, i think it would've been better if instead of Phyla, they introduced Heather/moondragon first? like, wouldn't it made more sense if they had to rescue a bunch of kids from the ship, one Drax ends up bonded with (let's pretend it's bc she reminds him of his deceased daughter), is a young Heather? She's also Drax's daughter in the comic. I think it would also made Drax so much more than just a 'comic relief'.

I'm gonna piss everyone off with my personal rating, but this movie is a 8.5/10 for me, taking one point mostly for how they did Adam dirty and for not giving him his 70s hair and making him wear that ugly ass armor. But Rocket's story is such a tearjerker, and Nebula's arc is beyond perfect, so millions of thumbs up to this film.