#does anyone recall this lol it only had 2 or 3 chapters I think

[goldenstarprincesses]

am I hallucinating or dose anyone remember this unfinished fanfic that was based on the idea that baby (nyo?) America had an 'imaginary friend" growing up and it just so happened that her imagery friend was the roman empire

[makeste]

Plus One For All

so guys. can we talk about how there’s somebody chilling out inside of Katsuki’s mind who’s not supposed to be there.

hello there Mister All Might Vestige sir. you should not exist, just FYI. you’re not some Nighteye-type plot hallucination. because if you were, you would not be appearing here as Cloud Might, a version of yourself whom Katsuki has never met and has no frame of reference for. ergo he did not imagine you. ergo you are, in fact, real.

which means Katsuki has One For All.

because that’s the only way he could have a Vestige -- which is indisputably what this is -- inside of him. he has OFA. so. where did he get it. how does he have it. and why is it only making its presence known now.

let’s discuss.

okay so I’m going to try and lay this all out as clearly as possible while also attempting to be as succinct as I can. but knowing me, I’m probably going to wind up sacrificing the latter in pursuit of the former. I’ll do my best though. here goes.

1. Heroes Rising is canon.

which is a fact we’ve recently been reminded of not once, but twice -- first with the appearance of Katsuma and Mahoro in chapter 405, and then in chapter 406 with the “Bakugou no Kacchan” callback. the timing of this almost certainly isn’t coincidental. Horikoshi wants this to be fresh in our minds.

mind you, it is extremely unusual for movies, even technically!canon ones, to actually be relevant to the plot. but BnHA may be one of the few exceptions. we’ve already seen movie 1 impact the series both with Star & Stripe’s backstory, and with Deku’s new gauntlets. so there’s precedent, and it’s something I am paying very close attention to.

2. Deku giving OFA to Bakugou is canon.

just in case anyone here hasn’t yet seen or been spoiled for Heroes Rising, that is in fact what happens in that film! so yeah, that certainly seems like an extremely relevant detail right about now.

3. we never found out why and how Deku got OFA back at the end of the movie.

okay so I was looking for a clip to link before we discuss this next part, but I unfortunately couldn’t find one that hadn’t been edited to avoid copyright issues, so you’ll just have to make do with this.

skip ahead to about 7:10 for the relevant part. for the purposes of this theory, we’re just going to ignore everything All Might says here, because tbh he has no fucking clue what’s actually going on and is just guessing wildly lol. however, I do want you to take note of one thing which will be important later. and that’s the fact that, when OFA “returns” to Deku’s body, it’s only his body which starts glowing, and notably not Kacchan’s. the latter just keeps lying there unglowingly. nothing to indicate any kind of transfer is actually happening between him and Deku, in other words.

moving on.

4. OFA and AFO are probably the same quirk.

as summarized here and here. which is relevant because if they are the same quirk, or close to it, then OFA can most likely do anything AFO can do. so file that away for later.

5. AFO was able to split his quirk and give it to Tomura while still keeping a piece of it for himself.

what’s more, he was able to do the same with Garaki/Ujiko’s quirk, and presumably other quirks as well. while it’s possible that this quirk duplication has nothing to do with AFO and is simply something Garaki was able to figure out using ~*~Science~*~, I think it’s more likely that the two of them used AFO’s quirk in some way to accomplish this feat. particularly since Tomura not only received AFO, but a bunch of its stored up quirkdata as well, such as the information stored in Ragdoll’s stolen Search quirk.

6. OFA responds to Deku’s feelings and desires.

or at least this is the case according to Banjou in chapter 213. recall this interesting conversation on how Deku first activated Blackwhip.

he was thinking that he wanted to capture Monoma, and so OFA obediently activated his “capture Monoma” quirk. despite him being unaware he even had said quirk. it responded to his need, even though he wasn’t consciously trying to activate anything.

now then, let’s revisit that scene in Heroes Rising one more time.

7. during the climax of Heroes Rising, Deku was NOT thinking, “I need to give OFA to Kacchan.”

here’s the scene one more time for reference. this time you’re gonna want to skip to about 3:57.

here’s where we are going to get extremely technical, because this scene right here is the key to everything. Deku’s lines in this scene are, and I quote: “a way we can protect [everyone]... there’s just one way...!” but he very notably does not specify exactly what that “one way” is.

until we get to this scene a minute or so later, which spells it out for us very clearly.

two One For Alls. as in, “with two One For Alls, we could win this battle and save everyone.”

that’s what he was thinking at the moment of the “transfer.” NOT, “give OFA to Kacchan.” but, “we need two One For Alls.”

which, I think, may have made all the difference.

8. OFA created a copy of itself to share with Kacchan, so that both of them could have OFA and use the two OFAs to defeat Nine.

let’s recap. OFA is AFO. AFO can clone itself. so it stands to reason that OFA can presumably clone itself as well. and that’s exactly what Deku wanted to do. make a second One For All.

he didn’t know that he could do that. but as previously established in the Blackwhip incident, OFA is more than capable of making its own executive decisions in key moments just like this in order to help him out.

which would mean that what we saw at the end of Heroes Rising was not OFA being transferred from Bakugou back over to Deku. it was actually just Deku’s OFA briefly self-activating (possibly in response to his delirious apology to All Might -- kind of a “no worries bro, you’ve still got your quirk actually, so go back to sleep and stop stressing over it” type of thing). and Kacchan’s OFA doing... absolutely nothing. it didn’t actually transfer back into Deku. it didn’t actually go anywhere.

let me repeat that: it didn’t actually go anywhere.

in other words, Kacchan still has OFA. and has had it ever since Heroes Rising. he just didn’t realize it. and neither did anybody else.

9. Kacchan’s OFA went dormant once Nine was defeated.

okay, so. remember all of this exposition from chapter 304?

basically, if someone who already has a quirk receives OFA, using it will slowly destroy their body until it kills them. the Vestiges learned this from All Might while he was researching the past generations of OFA in chapter 241, incidentally. Heroes Rising takes place right around this same time (immediately following MVA if I recall). so by the time the film’s climax rolled around, the Vestiges would have known that giving OFA to Kacchan could have devastating consequences down the line if they did not take action immediately after the fight.

so they did.

once Nine was defeated, the Vestiges shut the whole thing down. the crisis was averted, and they no longer had need of a second OFA. they have this boy who is way too similar to Deku in terms of his willingness to put himself in harm’s way in order to achieve his goals. and they absolutely do not want any harm befalling this boy. more on that momentarily.

so they go dark. and they even seal his memory so that he’s no longer aware of even having the quirk. they are essentially in sleep mode. and if circumstances hadn’t eventually become desperate enough to force their hand, they might have remained inactive for the rest of Katsuki’s life.

now, you might be wondering to yourself, “why is OFA willing to go to such unusual lengths in order to protect Katsuki?” and well, the answer to that is pretty simple.

10. Kacchan does not have the same version of OFA as Deku.

Deku is ninth gen. Katsuki, however, is tenth gen. which means that his version of OFA has one additional Vestige. a Vestige whose presence immediately explains why OFA is so goddamn determined to protect him at all costs.

:’)

long story short, while Deku’s version of OFA has proven itself all too willing to enable him in his increasingly suicidal mission, Katsuki’s version of OFA is very much a different story, on account of it being under the management of what I’m guessing is the most willful Vestige ever to exist. and said management being just the slightest bit unhinged when it comes to Katsuki’s safety in particular. seriously, you can’t tell me this is not exactly how a Deku!Vestige would behave. “oh hell no. no OFA for you!! and no memories either, because you can’t be trusted, goddammit. we never should have done this. what the hell were we thinking. if anything happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

so yeah. dormant.

right up until they literally couldn’t afford to be anymore.

11. OFA can self-activate in moments of crisis to protect its user.

Sports Festival. chapter 33. Deku vs. Shinsou.

aw yeah. it’s all coming together.

12. OFA reactivated itself in order to save Katsuki’s life.

I would now like to briefly draw your attention to this scene from chapter 405, in which Edgeshot explains how Katsuki was finally saved. please note my man is very clear that he did not restart Katsuki’s heart himself. he was basically just performing quirk CPR up until Katsuki’s own quirk returned him to life apropros of nothing.

“what brought you back... was the power you’ve honed.”

except... that should have been impossible. because Katsuki was dead. meaning he should not have been able to activate his quirk on his own, on account of the whole “being dead” thing.

however, if he by chance had a quirk with just enough of a mind of its own to activate in critical situations in order to help its user. situations like being forced under mind control. or, perhaps, being stabbed through the heart. well then. that would certainly go a long way towards explaining all of this.

and oh hey, when exactly was it that we saw this guy, again?

oh? it happened at the exact moment when his heart was stabbed through? you don’t say. well that certainly is interesting.

in summary:

Deku cloned his quirk in Heroes Rising and gave Kacchan a copy of OFA. owing to the hyperprotective Deku!Vestige inside Kacchan’s copy of OFA, it shut itself down once Nine was defeated, and all of Katsuki’s memories of having OFA were deliberately wiped, or sealed away. OFA itself remained inactive until TomurAFO stabbed Katsuki through the heart, at which point OFA was forced to reactivate itself to save his life. which it did, by forcibly restarting his heart.

that’s it. no idea how close to the money any of this is, but I think it would explain most of the lingering mysteries and questions about what exactly is going on with Katsuki. and I’ll throw in one last observation as well -- Katsuki has a nine in his name (BaKUgou), but not a ten. which I know sort of contradicts what I was saying earlier about him being the tenth gen, lol. but he both is and isn’t. if Deku split his quirk, Kacchan would in theory receive everything that’s currently in Deku’s quirk right now, and that includes Deku’s own power that he’s been adding to the mix. so he’d still have the Deku!Vestige. but he’s also still ninth gen, because he and Deku are sharing that distinction now. or at least I think the argument could be made at any rate.

so yeah. I’ve been obsessing over all of this for the past few days lol. what do you guys think?

[cassynite]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @dujour13!! Thanks so much--I have been focusing more on drawing than writing lately but unlike my writing drawings don't look good till they're done so here's a bit from chapter 3 of Daeran fic (which at this rate is going to get finished before chapter 2 lol).

----

It's the movement from the guards stiffening to attention that alerts Daeran to the figure walking his way. She is still in the armor that she wore at Iz, when she threw herself into the maw of Deskari's trap and emerged alive. Then, she'd looked regal and triumphant and only half as contrite to Sparrow as she should have been. She'd graced Daeran with a nod as cold and remote as he'd ever seen from her, as if he'd just successfully pulled off yet another grand statement snubbing the Mendevian old guard, and not just miraculously come back from the dead and the horrors of the Abyss.

She does not look cold or regal now. Her armor is stained from the battle in Iz, and her pinned hair and her face is spattered with crusted blood. She looks tired, like the sun orchard elixir is only wallpaper over her century and more of living. The expression she wears when staring at him, sitting right outside the war room waiting for Sparrow, is complicated.

"Hello," the queen of Mendev says. Her voice is low, and slightly hoarse. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

She doesn't wait for a response, for Daeran's refusal--and it would have been a refusal, as if he wants to sit next to his honored cousin--but when she does settle next to him, he doesn't rise. He's waiting for Sparrow after all. If the lauded queen wishes to endure his presence until the Knight Commander arrives, he is not going to flee from her presence.

It is several minutes of silence thick enough to cut a dagger through before Galfrey sighs. "I'm sorry."

It takes a second for the words to register as real--but Daeran would never even dare to imagine Galfrey apologizing. It's enough for his self-control to break and to stop pretending she isn't there; when he looks over, Galfrey is already turned slightly toward him, her lips tight.

He finally recognizes the expression on her face: guilt. He doesn't even think he's seen her show something as mortal as guilt before.

"For what, exactly?" His voice is hard. "Sending us to the abyss to what was, in retrospect, almost certainly our deaths? Or something else? I never did forgive you for how you made me cut short my little sorcerer's contest in '14."

Galfrey ignores the barb. "Stopping the Nahyndrian crystals by any means was necessary for the war efforts as a whole. If anyone could have survived it, it was the Commander--and she did. But. I should not have let you go with her. I should not have forced you to stay in the Crusade in the first place. It was...rash. And it ultimately put you in more danger than you should have ever been placed in."

Half a dozen responses form in Daeran's mind--how if he'd really wanted to leave the Crusade, he would have found a way. How Galfrey's petty little revenge had become the best thing that had ever happened to him. How he didn't need her, or anyone, to baby him, and that he was capable of making his own decisions--and had made them already, when it came to so many things about the Crusade and its Knight Commander.

He gives a graceful half-shrug, turning his attention away from Galfrey in a cutting end to the conversation. "I rather imagined you'd be glad to see the back of me. I can hardly tarnish my family's good name and my mother's legacy if I was already where everyone assumed I belonged anyway."

To his surprise, Galfrey lets out a small chuckle. "You're hardly beyond recall. Your mother was a hellion in her younger years as well, you know," she comments.

It's rare for Daeran to be rendered speechless, but he opens his mouth and for several seconds, no words come out. Not once in his life has his mother's memory ever been anything than that of a paragon of virtue. Finally, he says, "Excuse me?"

"Oh yes." Galfrey straightens, some life returning to her expression as she recalls the distant past. "She even ran away from home, tried to renounce her title. Your grandparents were far more traditional in their upbringing, and Silaena apparently chafed under the expectations of her role. She went off when she was--maybe a few years younger than you at the time, really. Joined a traveling theater troupe."

[st-just]

Books I read in January

to prove I wasn’t just staring out the window the whole time/pressure myself to keep up with one of my numerous resolutions

(not counting two web serials, two rpg supplements, and two comic book issues)

1. Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh

Cherryh’s one of those names that’s been vaguely on my list for forever, but thank you to tk for actually recommending her last year and getting me to actually look her up. (I’ve got the Faded Sun trilogy on order at my bookstore to arrive any day, but Downbelow’s what the library had, so-)

So I honestly really, truly loved this book, but for the exact reasons why I can basically not recommend it to anyone I know irl lol. Which is to say, it kind of doesn’t have a protagonist? Like, even beyond there being approximately six dozen different POVs that are jumped between every three pages, there’s just really no central figure to the narrative? Everyone has their personalities, and their positions, and their obligations and their debts, and they do variably extraordinary things, but there’s no one who really warps the world around them, and basically no trace of anyone who succeeds just because they’re a main character.

The book’s horribly unsentimental towards its characters generally, really. Like, not even in a ‘rooting for the villains’ way – there’s two different points where the guy you think is going to be the main antagonist just gets crushed beneath the wheels of history too. Going by the forward, the book basically started out as a way for Cherryh to set the table and explain the setting for another story, and it really does feel it – like an encyclopedia entry expanded into a narrative

..not a complaint, to be clear. Technology and aliens and timescales aside, it’s one of the only sci fi/fantasy stories I can recall ever reading that actually feel like they could be the history of another world, if that makes any sense? (Another part of that is just the complete lack of justice or rightful deserts in terms of where different characters end up. No karma at all, beyond the relatively happy big-picture ending. Really helps with the believabillity)

Also, don’t want to say it’s the only story I can recall ever reading/seeing where a man’s raped by a woman and it’s actually taken seriously by the narrative, but I can’t really think of any others. But then, ‘Josh Talley Must Suffer’ kind of feels like absolute cosmic law by the time you finish.

But yeah, anyway, if this sounds at all appealing, would recommend.

2. No One Will Miss Her, by Kat Rosenfield

Because for unclear reasons it’s much easier to strike up conversations with non nerds irl about murder mysteries and thrillers than sff.

But honestly this was really fun, basically entirely down to how sharp the writing was. Or possibly ‘cutting’ is the better word. It’s the sort of book where there’s exactly two (okay, three) characters the narrative doesn’t treat with just utter, blood-curdling, withering contempt and you end up feeling like the only real problem with the murder was that it might have happened to the wrong people.

I will say that plot-wise the whole thing hinges around a twist so cliche and obvious that I thought of it ten pages in and discarded it as being way too dumb for the book so far. But, well, here we are. Still, thoroughly enjoyable. Though it does also alternate between pseudo-objective-third-person narration in some chapters and the personal testimonial of one of the victims in others, and I should be clear that it’s the first person testimonial chapters that actually make the book worthwhile/fun to read.

3. Lies of Locke Lamorra, by Scott Lynch

Because a friend irl has been badgering me to read it for literally over a year. I hope you’re happy Cameron.

But really this was both an incredibly fun book and not at all the one I was expecting from my very vague pop culture osmosis. Much more Baccano! than Leverage, if that makes any sense. Both in how brutal the whole story is when you get past the first section, and how utterly vicious and nasty the protagonist gets when his blood is up. There’s like..3? Of the supporting cast left alive by the time you get to the epilogue, and also our boy Locke cuts off every one of someone’s fingers then takes out his tongue.

Brutal-torture-and-murder quotient aside, it is a great bit of pulpy fun through not-even-hiding-it fantasy Renaissance Venice. Also, there are heists and cons and schemes. It is hard to overstate how much I love heists and cons and schemes. Kind of felt like a high fantasy The Gentlemen or The Bank Job?

Though I do feel moderately irked that they spend the entire book building up/alluding to how there was a girl in the crew who Locke had a disastrous fling with and still isn’t over, and who was incredibly skilled on the con, and makes a whole game of never showing her on screen through all the childhood flashbacks – and then she just never shows up! I mean I know there’s two sequels and presumably she does in one of them but at that point she better have fucking wings to be worth all the build up.

(Also the theoretical villain never really gelled as a character or made that much of an impression, but that’s less of an issue since both emotionally and plot wise his wizard was the one who actually mattered for 90% of everything)

4. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Because of course when I attempt to acquire some Culture for myself and read some Real Literature, I accidentally go in blind to an alternate history where clones are mass produced to provide on demand organ donations. Your regular reminder that genre is nothing but a marketing category.

But really, this is very much one of those books where trying to seriously interrogate the worldbuilding is just entirely missing the point, it’s all very clearly allegorical (one of the reader’s guide questions at the back was something like ‘readers often express confusion why the clones are so resigned to their fates and never try to run for freedom, why might that be?’ and you can just feel Ishiguro looking exasperated and going ‘yeah, really makes you think’).

The book does first person narration really well, and also has a cast of extremely well drawn, realistic, alive-feeling characters who I would not be able tolerate dealing with for any time at all. Just six different sorts of truly grating personalities. Which given how most of the book is boarding school vignettes mostly means they’re believable teenagers, I guess.

Anyway there’s a couple passages in this that just feel like incredibly obvious topical subtext, except the book came out 17 years ago. Impressive, really.

5. The Councillor E. J. Beaton

In which a morally ambiguous historian/palace scholar/savant with a substance abuse problem navigates deadly high politics through her learning and a natural talent at intrigue for some confused mixture of vengeance for her dead parent-figure, social reform for the oppressed lower classes, and personal ambition.

I’m very sad I didn’t note down who recommended this to me, but whoever you are, you get me.

Though honestly, probably because this is so close to the platonic ideal of My Shit, I did find the execution a bit lacking? Or, like, going off the author blurb this seems to be Beaton’s first novel, and imo it does kind of show in the prose and plotting

Also, like, the main character is an orphan with a locke of glittering silver hair from the fire which killed her parents, who is de facto adopted by the queen as a pet savant after she translates a famous sequence of classical poetry into the vernacular at age 12, and also over the course of the book she discovers that she is one of the rare minority with magical element-controlling superpowers who are reviled and oppressed and her royal foster mother had executed as enemies of the crown, and despite constantly being anxious about being a commoner in a thoroughly aristocratic world and incredibly hierarchical society, this is literally never once a meaningful obstacle to her. It’s all just a bit much, y’know?

Though I do forgive a lot for how thoroughly un-traditionally heroic her arc is. By which I mean the, like, third-last scene in the book is her telling her attendant/bodyguard/personal spy/friend how fucking amazing stopping someone’s heart with magic feels, and despite about a sixth of the book being Lysande either getting high, thinking about getting high, or worrying about her supply of chimera scale, and her steadily increasing the size of her dose through the book, this just never comes to a climax or really becomes an obstacle. (Right after the scene with the heart-stopping she deals with all the stress and grief of the final battle by getting high again). We stan a functional addict enlightened monarch whose going to give people rights and a wellfare system just as soon as she’s securely in power and it’s politically convenient, I guess.

Anyway it also does that thing that’s a lot of modern SFF does where racism/xenophobia is basically only national lines/between groups of vaguely equal power and some distance, and homophobia and patriarchy just, aren’t even concepts, so all the book’s considerable energies of social critique and desire to have flawed societies is spent on absolutely brutal issues of class and social hierarchy. Something something cultural reflection of rainbow capitalism ig. (Also the thing where the hated and hunted tiny minority really do have awesome superpowers and bunch of them really are trying to take over the world with blood and terror, which I’m just not a fan of generally).

Anyway this all sounds harsh but it was a very enjoyable read overall. Though the sheer amount of page count Lysande spends mooning over prince whatisname and how pretty his neck is and how hot it would be to choke him out does just start to become comedy at a certain point.

[niobe-loreley]

Heaven Is In A Shortcake {vii}

it's been so long? huhuhuhuu~ cuz of that 2 chapters incoming!

disclaimer: The Gray Man and the characters are NOT MINE, even the reader. I only own the plot and the reader's character lol. Pictures used in the fic are NOT MINE, only the edited version of the pics (u can msg me if u ze owner); credits to the rightful owners and to canva + weheartit. Addtionally, I am not a Subic/Zambales native, so my apologies for any wrong locations, descriptions, or languages.

Six x F!Reader / Courtland Gentery x Female Reader

warnings: moderate swear words. some filipino dialogues. slow burn. fluff. trust issues. comedy if you use a magnifying glass. culture shock. check some word count.

CHAPTER SELECTION in the ✨Masterlist✨ Chapter 6 - where is this? in the masterlist! Chapter 7 - this is IT [next chapter link will be posted below for suspense and convenice hehe]

word count: 3k (N/N): nickname *Kiara = Claire *Kurt = Court *cover names | reader doesn't know (except you do know #wreckthe4thwall)

“Hoy, (N/N)!”

“Huh?”

“Tapos na shift mo, ba’t ka pa nandiyan?”

“For extra cash?”

After the manager of Ril Steak scolds you for overworking, you start heading to the staffroom. You actually didn’t realize the time, because you’re too busy recalling the rising action of your summer. It's the dispute you had with Court three weeks ago.

“.. Kiara and I are the Road Runner. So don’t go making promises you can’t keep.”

You don’t know why it suddenly pops into your mind. Maybe because it's either filled with books, movies, the father-daughter duo, or anime, and no in between. But you let the memories ride you like a rollercoaster as it's almost reaching this summer's climax— the loop-de-loops.

Rewind back to three weeks ago…

Claire hasn’t contacted you ever since they got back from their 3-day trip. You wonder if she’s starting to heed her dad’s ways of not getting too close to you, but you also wonder if she and Court are fighting because of you. You feel like that’s too narcissistic. It’s easier to say she’s avoiding you. Still, aren’t you just a troublemaker? (Note the sarcastic cooing).

Without a second thought, you’re befriending a foreign teenage girl with a damning cardiovascular system and exchanging books with her like old friends. What’s more is that you’re trying to prove yourself to her father. Since when did you care if anyone thought you were kind or not? He’s not worth shit of your kindness, however, his daughter is a different story.

“(N/N), do you read me? Don’t give it back to him.” Claire says as soon as you open the two-way radio. “I repeat, don’t give the walkie-talkie back to my dad. Over.”

“I read you, Kiara. And I actually concluded before sleeping this morning that I really won’t give it to him. Over.”

"Wow, so steadfast. That's admirable. Over."

It’s Thursday— rest day! You’ve done nothing but sleep from 8 AM to 7PM. Ril Steak was packed last night. Plus, there was a fight, it happened two hours before closing. You can’t wait to tell Claire how you smack a bottle on someone’s head to save your co-worker from being pummeled.

“What’s more admirable is you rebelling. Or did Kurt give back your walkie-talkie? Over.”

“Nah, I’m rebelling. We’re kinda fighting ‘cause of you. Over.”

Yikes. So, you weren’t being narcissistic. Intuition for the win.

“Don’t take that the wrong way, (N/N)! I mean,” Claire pauses to hiss out a profanity. “It’s not your fault. My dad just thinks we’re the only two people on the planet, and talking to flowers is a bad thing. Over.”

You snort. “Luckily for you, this flower doesn’t just talk— she claps back! Over!”

“Damn right, she does!” Claire giggles, “Over.”

You let the gleeful moment pass, counting to three, you sigh heavy-heartedly. “Still, Kiara.. I don’t want you and your dad fighting because of me.” you glance at the miniature ferris wheel on your bedside drawer, “Not when it sounds like you two are all you have left of each other. Over.”

“.. Is it that obvious?”

You smile. “It wasn’t at first. But then, I got to know you two.” and you recline on your swivel chair, “A month is enough to get to know a person.. right?”

Static answers you back, but you know she’s still on the other side of the line, so you continue. “It’s easier to say that I’m doing this out of pity, but I’m not. You remind me of my little sister, Kiara.. but I like you because you’re not entirely like that snot-nosed brat I love very much.” you breathe out a laugh, “You’re a good kid, I’m sure you understand why your dad is being like this. Over.”

“Yeah, I understand, but..”

You wait for two seconds before you press the button. “See? You’re smart and very mature for your age, too. Over.”

“Why do you sound like you’re saying goodbye, (N/N)?— Over.”

“I’m not saying goodbye to you, just to our transmitted talks. Over.”

“I thought you said you weren’t giving it back to him?”

“I’m not. But I am reducing the schedule of our late night talks.” you pause to prepare your mother-like tone, “It’s way past your bedtime, young lady!— Over.”

“....”

“We’ll still see each other every Friday, okay? Over.”

“Promise?— Over.”

Shit.

You sigh and press the button. “Well, unless my schedule changes, or I get sick, or Godzilla emerges from the sea.. then cross my heart, hope to die. Over.”

“Don’t say that, (N/N)!” Claire suddenly cries.

Something squeezes your heart, you wait for three seconds this time, but Claire continues to stay silent. “K-Kiara? What do you mean? Over.” you question worriedly.

Her voice frizzles through, you’re not sure whether it’s static or there’s really a crack in her voice. 

“I’m sorry.. I gotta go. You know, chores.” she begins to sound upbeat, “See you tomorrow night? Over.”

You falter. “Yeah, sure.. tomorrow night. Over.”

“Great! Buh-bye! Over and out.”

Claire turns off the portable radio, glaring down at it, she picks it up to throw it across the room. But she stays still. She knows the consequences of letting someone else into her and Court’s lives, but she only realizes now that she doesn’t fully understand it yet, especially about— what could happen to you.

There’s a weight of another person in the room, Claire looks over to see Court at the opened door, which was previously locked. He gazes into her glassy eyes, guilt etching his face with a frown, and he regards the floor, mulling over on how to comfort her.

“Good night, Six.” she says with a sigh, depositing the radio on her bedside drawer, she lays down on her side.

Court tightens his jaw. “Good night, Claire.” and flicks the switch, swiveling away to exit the room, he grabs the door—

“I’m not mad at you, you know.”

He halts, turning sideways to look back at her, even though the streetlight is the only illumination of her room, years of training in the dark has allowed Court to find her smiling at him through the dimness. “Thank you,” he replies, tensed shoulders loosening with relief. “And in case you don’t know, I’m not mad at you either.”

She scoffs. “As if you could be.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “What’s gotta give for you to take me seriously?”

Claire hums. “Your trust issues, for one.”

“What?”

“To elaborate.. get a girlfriend,” Claire sits upright. “Or atleast, have sex. You’re probably all pent—”

“Good night, Claire.” Court firmly interjects,  stepping out of the room with burning ears.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t run away! I should be the one running away!”

“I said, good night!”

“And I heard you the first two times.”

“Will you just get back to bed?”

Surprisingly, today’s Friday is not busy. Or so you thought. As soon as the clock strikes 11 AM, customers have been coming in relentlessly. It’s been a while since the cafe has been full, some customers have taken the tables outside; luckily, you cleaned them this morning. It was destiny— or rather accidentally sweeping a finger across one of the tables and ending up with a dust-coated fingertip.

The customers start to diminish around 8 PM, Mindy wanted to flip the sign from OPEN TO CLOSED, but you and Muro managed to stop her. When no customers show up for 30 minutes, the three of you decide to eat in the CCTV room, watching a Netflix movie on Mindy’s phone rather than eyeing the surveillance footage.

“Buti naga-adjust na si Lilia,” Mindy suddenly says, taking a sip of her canned root beer. 

It’s good that Lilia is adjusting.

You nod. “Masipag naman kase.” She’s diligent.

“Imagine kung hindi, edi lagot ka kayo pareho nung bata kay Eliza.” Muro snickers.

Imagine if she wasn’t, you and the kid will both be reprimanded by Eliza.

You can’t retort with a mouthful of carbonara, so you kick his chair instead. Muro nearly falls, and Mindy laughs at his attempts to stay upright.

When everyone has had their fill, you’re chosen by roleta (picker wheel) to wash the dishes. You play music from your phone before slipping it in your apron. Mindy hollers for you just as Lutang by jikamarie starts playing.

“What?” you holler back instead of going over to the surveillance room, she and Muro have opted to stay there to continue watching the movie.

“Nandito na sila!” They’re here!

“Ha? Sino?” you loudly ask, looking over to see Mindy peeking out of the surveillance room’s doorway, which is just beside the door to the staffroom.

She makes a face at you. “Edi sino pa ba?”

Muro suddenly, yet carefully, sidles past her. "Ako na d'yan, (N/N)." I'll handle that, (N/N).

"Fine," you sigh and wipe your hand on the drying cloth hanging near the sink.

"Bakit? May nangyari ba?" Mindy questions. Why? Did something happen?

Your brows knot puzzledly. "Ha? Saan?"

What? Where?

"Ano ba?! Ba't ka ganyan, haa?!" Mindy smacks you upside the head when you pass by, "Malamang tinatanong ko kung may nangyari ba sa'yo at sa mag-ama! Panay buntong hininga ka kase tuwing name-mention sila tapos humahaba mukha mo parang kabayo!"

What are you doing?! Why are you acting like this, huh?! — "I'm obviously asking about the father-daughter duo! You're always sighing whenever they're mentioned, and then your face would stretch like a horse!

"Bakit may mangyayari sa'min?! 'Di naman kami gano'n ka-close na makakapag-usap araw-araw!" you shout, rubbing the back of your head. "Tuwing Friday nga lang nagki-kita… Nabatukan at nainsulto pa ko."

Why would anything happen to us?! We're not that close to talk everyday! — We only see each other on Fridays… I was even smacked and insulted.

You exit the kitchen with a smile. "Hey, you guys!" you greet in a large yet high-toned voice as they take their usual booth.

“Ha, Sloth!” Claire laughs, wagging an approving finger at you.

You tip a finger-gun at her appreciatively. “I see you are a woman of culture.”

“Magandang gabi, (Y/N).” says Court with a nod. Good evening, (Y/N).

You’re astonished, after the dispute you two had, you have been believing that you two aren’t on speaking terms anymore. “M-Magandang gabi,” you reply, mentally cursing yourself for stuttering, and you pretend to be busy behind the counter.

After the father-daughter has settled their belongings in the booth, or more like, after Claire dumps her sling pouch on the seat, she’s skipping to the counter with Court trailing behind her. You take their orders, remarking several nutritional values that you know about certain meals from time to time. And there's something different about these two tonight.

“No one bought your strawberry shortcake today?” Court inquires as he waits for the receipt. Claire is already hovering by the game shelves.

“Huh?” you blink.

He gestures to the display case, eyeing the whole strawberry shortcake on the second shelf, and you glance, mouth forming an O as you finally understood. “Well, if you mean no one bought one whole strawberry shortcake, then yeah.” you smile and hand him the receipt, “But I actually sold five slices today.”

“Oh, good for you, then." he chuckles, glancing down at his shoes.

You grin. “Thanks! Would you two like me to serve some slices for dessert?"

"Oh, no, I.." he trails off, rubbing the side of his neck, he looks at you for one second and then at the display case."I was actually going to buy the whole cake."

"Really?" you stammer dumbfoundedly.

"Yeah, for Friday movie night.. Kiara wanted to watch the books she borrowed from you, but she also added a comedy movie or two in the list." he paused to breathe out a laugh, "She said that TFIOS and Paper Towns are too much heartache to watch in one night."

"Indeed, indeed, they are. I suggest you prepare your tissues as well."

"Kiara already has them in the living room."

"Well, aren't you ready to burst into tears later!" you teasingly regard Claire when she steps up beside Court.

"I am so ready!" she fist-pumps.

"You better call me tomorrow about it." you say with a playful frown.

"Of course!"

"Um, is it alright if we just take the cake later?" Court asks and deposits the exact payment on the counter.

You nod. "Sure! I'll just box it up once you two start eating."

Before their dinner is cooked, you play a game of DOS with Court and Claire, because they're not familiar with the rules (actually, the whole game). You teach it to them and end up playing.

"This game is rigged," Court frowns when he draws another card from the pile. "I'm not getting any number lower than five, so I'll pass."

"Who shuffled the deck?" Claire asks, putting down a red 2 and blue 2 atop the green 4, she then slides the cards to the discard pile before placing a new card down.

"Hey, don't blame me—" you dramatically place a hand on your chest, "—I shuffled like a casino dealer. You're just unlucky, Kurt."

When Muro calls you to serve the meals, the game ends with no losers or winners, though Claire was close as she only had three cards left. You had five, while Court had eight. You leave the father-daughter duo to eat and begin packaging the strawberry shortcake with a stupid smile on your face. You don't even realize until Muro points it out, which earns him a kick to the shin.

It's not that you're going crazy, you just thought that Court and Claire would be all stiff and awkward tonight. Considering the last time you spoke with Court, plus the call you had with Claire last night. But instead, they're acting normal. While you're still racking your brain on whether or not to stop interacting with them, or at least lessen it.

And playing DOS with them is the way to go— your inner self remarks with a derisive sneer, and you sigh defeatedly as you don't have any rational retorts in your arsenal.

You approach the father-daughter duo five minutes after they're done with their meals. "Here's your cake!" you hold up the box by the ribbon and a hand on the bottom.

Claire takes it the same way. 'Thank you!" she beams and peers into the small plastic window, shaped as a fleur, on the box cover.

"I'll see you two out," you grin, striding ahead. 

The bell chimes merrily when you push the door all the way open. You step aside for Claire and Court to exit. "See you next Friday, (N/N)!" she waves at you.

"Good night," Court murmurs as he passes by.

"Bye and good night, you two! Safe driving!" you reach for the door, and something moves in your peripheral vision, it clutches your wrist just as you grab the door.

The handle is sharply cool against your palm, while Court's hand is warm around your wrist, which appears so tiny being enveloped by his fingers. "Kurt?" you ask, quizzically regarding him.

He releases your wrist when he meets your confused gaze. "Sorry, I was," he cuts himself off, sighing, and he gathers his courage for a second, all the while he doesn't stop looking at you. This makes you blush until he says, "I was wondering if you'd like to join us?"

The blood in your cheeks runs cold. "Huh?"

Claire hops beside him. "Really?!"

"If she wants to," says Court.

"Please say you do, (N/N)!" Claire grabs your arm eagerly.

You're flabbergasted. "Bu-But I can't go, I'm still working until 10:30."

"We could wait. Is that a yes?" Claire prompts.

"No! No, no.. I mean, I don't want to impose." you say, glancing at Court.

"You're not, because I'm inviting you." he declares reassuringly.

Just say NO— a simple word of refusal with two letters and one syllable, that's all there is to it. Because you're trying to heed Court's advice of not getting too close to them, right? So— WHY THE HELL IS COURT THE ONE INVITING YOU TO THEIR HOUSE AND YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT IT?!

He started it, so you should end it.

You sigh. "Alright.."

"Alright?! Yay!" Claire exclaims.

“What?— Wait, Kiara!”

She marches back in the cafe and sits on the table near the game shelves. “Can we play while we wait for your shift to end?”

You whip to Court with a glare, and he abruptly halts from entering the cafe. "What the hell are you doing?!" you whisper in a low, hissing tone.

"I think I'm stopping from going into the cafe..?"

"This is not the time to be wise, smartass."

"I'm not—"

"Listen, I don't even wanna know what you're really after. But Kiara shouldn't be caught in the middle of this, Road Runner. You’re always insinuating that I shouldn’t be too close to the two of you, but then you’re pulling a stunt like this! Here I am trying to make promises I can keep..”

Court is stunned, with how venomous your words and glare are, it’s as though you’ve practically bitten him and discharged poison into his system. He watches you stroll away, shoulders squared, yet you smile at Claire while passing by her. It’s an understatement to say that he wasn’t thinking straight when he asked you to join their movie night. He’s still trying to process why he did it, but the consequences of his actions are pouncing on him too fast.

Glancing over his shoulder, he eyes the street with suspicion. He hides his wariness behind a blank facade, closing the door as he steps back in the cafe, he starts pondering on the reasons why everything seems upside down when it concerns you. And as he ponders, a few things keep sticking in the crevices of his brain—

Claire likes you. 

And he’s starting to like you (as a person). 

It’s absolutely hard not to like you.

A/N: oh goshhhh he's starting to like you teehee sparks are starting to fly around the air

The portal to Chapter 8 will open momentarily, kindly wait :> no more! IT'S OPEN <333

✨TAGLIST✨

@kat-thepoet @queenofhellhasrisen @sierrasixswife @vallyb @lyuir [want to be in this awesome list? Check out the fic's Masterlist on how to join!]

[mrpenguinpants]

hellooo this is not a request but what do u think of the new upcoming character (he'll probably get release like... at least after 2 years ig TAT) Dainsleif?

Major spoilers for Kaeya’s Character Story and Khaenri'ah Lore. 

TLDR: I like the potential Dainsleif has plus his design is really nice. He might be a catalyst or sword user with empowered auto's or he might be similar to Zhongli that uses field effects and has a delete button for his elemental burst. 

I have many theories on who Dainsleif is and that he is either some type of traveler/god/homunculus and he has the element of ash or quintessence. The opposite of dendro and nature. I'd like to believe that the lore of Khaenri'ah relates to his story and his attitude (since he's from there originally) and it's a desolate place with no archon blessings so the people themselves had to develop their own methods to survive, hence the art of alchemy Khemia. When Dainsleif get's introduced, mostly likely towards the very end, we might find out why Scaramouche said the sky and the stars was a gigantic hoax and the truth behind Kaeya. 

---

ANON. YOU. YOU GET A COOKIE. I LOVE TALKING ABOUT STORY AND CHARACTER LORE SO MUCH.

Please, if any of you wanna talk about this I’m totally on board. I love Dainsleif and I’m so upset he’ll probably be released towards end game so yeah two years at least;; 

Okay, so level with me. I’m about to bring out the whiteboard for this. I tried to format it so it was easier to digest but this is pure word vomit and I went overboard again. 

What do u think of the new upcoming character Dainsleif?

I’m very excited. I think his design is beautiful and I want those lore bomb drops. 

Firstly, I can’t wait for him to drop. I’m always a sucker for lore and he’s been dropping hints from the start since he narrates all the character’s collected miscellany. He does remind of me Dimitri from FE3H but I’m excited for more Khaenri’ah lore. 

I have some theories about where the story will go with him and  Khaenri’ah but those are some major spoilers so I left a read more tag if you’re interested. 

Tumblr won’t let me upload his splash art but just google it lol.

Which weapon will he use? 

Catalyst or Sword. He might have empowered autos like Diluc and Razor or he might apply a mark like Childe. 

I can see him being a castor since his right arm is glowing. But he might also be a sword user that uses empowered auto’s like Diluc and Razor. Since the name Dainsleif was King Högni's sword during the battle of Hjaðningavíg. According to the reliable source of wiki, whatever wound the Dainsleif sword cause could not be healed. 

I think it would be cool if his auto’s apply a stack/mark (similar to Childe’s riptide mark), and after 3 auto’s the mark is consumed and the enemy gets dealt heavy damage. Or maybe you can apply debuffs like “defense down” or maybe even a blind, based on the number to stacks you have on the mark. 

What vision will he have?

A hydro vision or a custom one (similar to a delusion). Or he doesn’t have a vision at all and uses alchemy or is secretly a “god”.

As for vision, he might be a hydro character since his splash art appears like he’s coming out of a ball of water. I’ve heard people say he might be cyro also, which wouldn’t be extremely off if visions actually correspond with their user. 

Or he might be introduced with an entirely new element (perhaps a new type of alchemy?). His star is a dark blue too so he might have the element of black mist/dust or ash/shadows as a potential power. 

In the Albedo trailer he mentions:

"But I know it well. It hails from Khaenri'ah: The Art of Khemia. Soil and chalk, the universe and earth, pure dust and the birth of life.”

Perhaps this is the vision/power that Dainsleif has? Maybe even the creator or maybe he even taught Albedo’s Master how to do Khemia. I don’t think he really encompasses the Geo vision (I will seriously write an 11 page essay on how vision’s correspond with their holder). We don’t know a lot about Dendro but I think he might be related to it. But just like Khaenri’ah, he’s reflects the opposite. Instead of “birth of life” and tree’s, he’s the “death of life” and ash. (wow doesn’t that sound deep lolol sorry I don’t really know how to explain it). The way he talks in trailers, he says “mortals” a lot but does vouch for them so it makes me wonder if he might actually be a god. 

Also his title is the “Bough Keeper”. A bough means: a main branch of a tree. This makes me believe that he can either do something similar to what Albedo showed us and can create life or he does the opposite and creates ash. Honestly, a part of me believes he might just have generic moveset’s like everyone else but let me dream lol. 

Or he might not even be a vision holder since we don’t see him holding one, but we only have this angle and art to go off on. He might even use stars haha. If anyone remembers, during the falling star event, Scaramouche says the sky and stars were a gigantic hoax. I would not be surprised if the world is actually upside down or the “sky” isn’t even a sky at all. More like a sheet over Teyvat or some kind of illusion. 

Or another theory, perhaps Dainsleif is the god of time since he says in Travail during the Traveler chapter:

“Defeat me, command me to step aside, show me that you are worthier than I to rescue her. Then, the threads of all fate will be yours to re-weave“

It would explain how he knows so much about the other characters and what happened in the past since he brings up “the war” a lot. I’m assuming it’s either the Archon War or something before that. 

Or mihoyo could shred my thesis paper and Dainsleif has nothing to do with this and he’s some random guy from Khaenri’ah with plot convivence. 

---

I just want to mention at the bottom of this, but the classical elements are water, earth, fire, air and (later) aether. I find it funny that the male MC shares the name. 

“Aether, also called quintessence, is the fifth and highest classical element. It’s a material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.” 

“It permeates all nature and is the substance composing the celestial bodies. The essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form,”

Or this is just a hint to the traveler’s power since the traveler is the only one that can use all the elements. 

Possible moveset?

He might use stars or air/anemo in his moveset. He could be a very good dps with a lot of trapping potential. Or he might be a field effect support like Albedo, but can still do a lot of damage. 

Imagine Dainsleif uses stars haha, throwing them to do damage like Ningguang’s rocks. The splash art of him shows two stars in the top left. He might have a teleport (similar to Keqing + Mona dash), or maybe he could even have some sort of telekinesis with his right arm. I’m just getting Xayah from league of legends vibes where he can throw the star, it places itself at max range, then he can recall them and the star does damage on the way back. Similar to how Keqing’s elemental skill works but instead of teleporting to the stiletto, the stiletto comes back to you when you press e again. (Sorry I play on keyboard). 

The opposite of nature is void or cosmos so that could be relating to his power as well since the only animation we get of him is in Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail (I’m just gonna say Travail) and this black mist comes from his hand and he says: 

“"We will defy this world with a power from beyond.”

Could be interesting hehe. He might even be a field effect character like Albedo. He doesn’t really strike me as the guy that likes fighting but in the Albedo trailer he says: 

“I am content to watch most crises play out from the sidelines. But if Albedo were ever to make a single wrong move...I could not let myself ignore it.”.

Seems to be that Dainsleif is pretty powerful or at least has some type of influence. It could be interesting if he’s similar to Zhongli and has a giant delete button for his elemental burst haha. Or he has some type of imprisonment power like Mona’s burst. Or as I mentioned earlier, it would be fun having telekinesis but this is just me taking liberties haha. 

(and yes I totally understand that I’m forcing the story to support my theory BUT IGNORE IT OK.)

Black Mist/Dust and Ash/Shadows?

Uh I gave up on these summaries lol 

I touched on it briefly but I say black mist or shadows since I believe that Khaenri’ah is probably not a good place to live originally. Similar to how Mondstadt was in the past, it is probably surrounded by some type of barrier (hence the mist or even the sky) that both traps and makes sure no one get’s in or out. Khaenri’ah is quite the opposite of most regions besides the whole “no archon” business but in “Travai”, when Dainsleif brings up Khaenri’ah this shows up:

It seems like a star to me in some hidden pocket in the sky and what not. This is what I would assume Scaramouche saw (possibly, we have no idea) and therefore there are people and an entire region that’s in the sky. But why would  Khaenri’ah be above Celestia? Since you can see Celestia in Teyvat. I would like to think that Teyvat is either upside down and Khaenri’ah is actually below everything or this pocket in the sky isn’t even in Teyvat and is similar to how you reach spiral abyss. You have to go through this circle in Cape Oath and you get sucked into this worm hole thing and you make it to Musk Reef. Where we saw Scarachmouche and he tells us the sky is a hoax. 

This idea kinda supports my idea that Teyvat is either upside down or the sky isn’t real since how could Dainsleif know who all these people are (since he narrates all the 5 star character’s trailers). Either the man is just really smart and travel’s around a lot but he’s aware of who Zhongli is, an archon from 6000 years ago. This makes me believe he is either a god himself or if he is also a homunculus. Or he’s in the third category and perhaps he’s also a traveler like the main character’s.

I don’t believe he’s an archon but it would be interesting if he was a potential candidate for becoming the Khaenri’ah archon. Since I believe vision holders (human) can become archons and rise to Celestia but Dainsleif refused or he was capable of becoming an Archon

“A human with a Vision is an allogene — one with the potential to reach godhood; however, it isn't clear if having a Vision is a requirement, or simply makes a person more likely to meet the qualifications to reach Celestia.”

But going back to the state of Khaenri’ah, I’d like to think that since the art of Khemia is from Khaenri’ah that would mean that they had to learn how to make their own food and life since they didn’t have an archon to bless their lands. Barbatos had swept the snow and land away in the region of Mondstadt but Khaenri’ah doesn’t have that luxury. Naturally, I would imagine that there are some downsides of Khemia when it was first being practiced, hence the ash. But ash isn’t a bad thing, in fact you can use ash to amend soil and boost your lawn. 

But obviously having a vision would be a whole lot more useful since it’s literally god given talent/blessing so if you have a vision, you might be able to break out and go to the “above” world of Teyvat. If you have a vision you’re seen as being blessed by the gods and you might be able to ascend to Celestia itself. I believe that Khaenri’ah is secretly the abyss and doesn’t see the sun so it’s always dark and it’s hard to grow anything so the people of Khaenri’ah had to find ways to make their own food, hence alchemy. This could be why Dainsleif is so adamant about humanity and questioning the Archons and visions. 

If we are going on the theory that Dainsleif is actually a normal human, then I’d like to imagine he was one of the people that prayed for a vision or some type of blessing and finally got it. But an incident happened and he lost his faith or resolve in the Archons. He mentions it a tiny bit in the Diluc trailer but this is just me spit balling. 

Also, Kaeya’s talents also mention about an abyss and void before the change. I don’t think abyss was made to relate to the abyss order and more the actual definition of abyss but it’s still interesting. 

What is Khemia?

Well I don’t know and I don’t know how accurate google is but let’s try and go through it together. I have no idea if what I’m about to type is offensive since I do not have a history degree and I’m pretty much paraphrasing what google tells me.

---

So Khemia, is an Egyptian sacred science. When Egypt was occupied by the Arabs they added “al-” to the world “Khemia” and “al-Khemia”. Al-Khemia means “The Black Land” and is now seen as a possibly origin of the world alchemy. 

Not gonna lie, I did not know al-khemia meant the black land so idk if my hindsight is 2020 or it was just super obvious for my monkey brain. 

As for the world “Chemeia”, it was used to designate the art of metal-working, specifically changing base metals into gold and silver. The Arabs later prefixed it with “al” and the world “alchemy”. Alchemy came to signify the art of chemistry in general. However the word "Chemeia” was probably derived from the Greek word “chemi” which means “black”. This could be because: 

In the sense of "dark" or "hidden", since the Dark, Hidden or Divine Art was the only name by which this science was known to the ancients.

However, the word chemistry might have had a Chinese origin.  It may have been derived from the Hakka term KIM-MI or the Cantonese term KEM-MAI, which signifies "gone astray in search of gold" or "secret of gold". 

Assuming it’s from Egyptian origin, the ancient Egyptian word khēmia means the transmutation of earth, thereby the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale. According to some etymologists, khēmia or “preparation of black powder” ultimately derived the name from Khem or Kēme, Egypt, the land of black earth. 

---

So if we are going with the Chinese origin, I’d like to think that this is a hint towards the story and people trying to find the “gold” or perhaps a vision. This could explain why Kaeya was sent to Mondstadt to hopefully require a vision and come back. 

What is the lore behind Khaenri’ah then?

So, why do I think the people of Khaenri’ah are looking to be saved or want a vision so badly? Well, time to go through the entire Khaenri’ah lore with you lads. 

The Khaenri’ah lore goes as this:

At least 200 years ago, the Eclipse Dynasty threw the kingdom into chaos (meaning it was the last Dynasty).

The people were cursed and transformed into monsters.

Mondstadt’s Knights and Grand Master Arundolyn went on an expedition to Khaenri’ah to fight off the monsters.

In the present,  Khaenri’ah is still struggling against the effects of the curse. Kaeya was sent to Mondstadt as their last hope and for the sake of the “ancient plot”.

1. For those not aware, China’s time periods were separated into Dynasty’s (sort of). The Chinese characters of “Eclipse Dynasty” are [古国黑日落] or "The Ancient Civilization of the Black Sunset". There is probably some type of history or connection to this since Zhongli’s voicelines are full of them but this post is long enough and I don’t know if people want to or care about hearing Chinese history but um let me know? Cause I’m really into that and I will gladly write about it.

2. We’re not completely aware if the people transformed into Hilichurls or were apart of the Abyss Order. But since the last dynasty was literally called Eclipse I would like to believe this supports my idea that Khaenri’ah isn’t someplace you can easily reach and you have to entire a fucking worm hole to get to. I’m in love with the idea that Khaenri’ah is the spiral abyss or at least part of it, that Childe fell into when he was a younger. Perhaps even the spiral abyss is where he landed since time technically doesn’t pass in spiral and it’s just a wave of enemies. I would 100% not be shocked if we have to enter the that wormhole to get to Khaenri’ah or something similar. 

3. Arundolyn was a previous Grand Master and while he did not possess a Vision, he was naturally gifted through intense training. He was formerly one of the Four Winds and had the title of “Lion of Light”. So Khaenri’ah is possible to get to and someone from Mondstadt has done it, but without a vision. The Traveler also doesn’t carry a vision so it might be interesting to see. Kaeya didn’t get his vision until he was 18? 17? When he had a falling out with Diluc. 

I would like to think that perhaps the Archon’s betrayed Khaenri’ah or someone fucked up in their pursuit to develop Khemia to it’s fullest potential or wanted to make their own vision, hence the delusion and how it transforms Childe into a foul legacy form. The Dragonspine lore could point to how Celestia has the power to seal away Khaenri’ah. This also might have been where Dainsleif lost his resolve (assuming he’s a human and just happened to get some sort of power or is really good at Khemia he saw the past or fate or whatever lol)

“Murals, Record of Serial No., and other lore bits in Dragonspine indicate that those who dwelled there attempted to fight against Celestia but lost. As punishment, the Skyfrost Nail was dropped, and the area was turned into a frozen wasteland.

Therefore, people with visions cannot enter Khaenri’ah because of the Archon’s and people that receive visions (which I still think is highly unlikely if you’re in Khaenri’ah) might be able to break out. Think of spiral abyss as some sort of “purgatory” except to enter Khaenri’ah you go down. To get out, you start AT FLOOR 12 and make your way up. Similar to Kid Icarus and how the hardest level was at the beginning and as you went up, it slowly became easier. 

4. I like the idea that Khaenri’ah is a land that either doesn’t have vision holders or the people that do have visions aren’t seen the same way as other regions. People are are actually cursed by the Gods or people that require visions leave Khaenri’ah because they now have the power to. In Travail Dainsleif says this:

"Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity. We will defy this world from a power from beyond”

Naturally these are his ideals and I’d like to believe that Khaenri’ah is actually split on this. Some believe in Dainsleif ideals while the other half doesn’t. If we’re going on the theory that Khaenri’ah is actually the abyss then the abyss order makes a bit more sense. 

Plus the idea that Lumine/Aether (I think the story is just going to stick with Lumine being the “villain ”) working for the abyss, it could be because their twin was separated by an unknown god. Aether was asleep and plagued by nightmares with his sister saying “it was too late”, perhaps he lost his memory since he doesn’t know what he was late for? Maybe this is what she meant since I’d assume the story has you going from place to place and the Archon’s stepping down like in Liyue and the Tsaritsa collecting all the gnosis. 

Why is the Tsaritsa collecting all the gnosis?

“She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her. Her followers only hope to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last."

I can imagine that Tsarista or the Cyro archon is collecting all the gnosis because she believes in the Khaenri’ah attitude and is apart of the ancient plot or is trying to protect them somehow since she isn’t an evil person based on Childe’s voicelines:

“Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. And because she made an enemy of the world, I had the chance to become acquainted with you.”

Or maybe even more interesting, she was actually a citizen of Khaenri’ah since the Tsaritsa wasn’t apart of the original seven but this is a huge stretch. Maybe she’s collecting all the gnosis to finally break the seal on Khaenri’ah? Plus the people of Sneznaya strike me as “I don’t care if you’re blessed by the gods or have a vision, if you can fight then you’re good in our books”. Plus the people of Khaenri’ah are probably pretty mad at the Archons so when the rebellion does come I’d assume the Tsaritsa wants them on her side. 

What happened to Kaeya?

Now Kaeya’s character story goes into how he met Diluc and Crepus. It’s hinted that it was on purpose since Kaeya’s father left him there specifically. 

"One afternoon near the end of summer a decade ago, my father and I passed by the Dawn Winery."

This matter-of-fact description hides a carefully constructed lie. Kaeya has never once spoken the truth about what happened that afternoon:

"This is your chance. You are our last hope."

Kaeya would never forget the look of both hope and hatred in his father's eyes as he uttered those words.

Now you can interpret this as many things, either collecting all the gnosis and obtaining a vision to hopefully come back to save Khaenri’ah could be what he meant or he want’s Kaeya to stop the Abyss Order from literally setting Teyvat on fire. You can probably sympathize with the Abyss Order if we are following the theory that they are actually the mutated monsters of Khaenri’ah citizen’s during the Eclipse dynasty but it’s also like, how about we not set the world on fire ya know?

But interestingly, the reason why Kaeya’s father left him with Diluc’s family is because they have a long history of participating in the rebellion against Decarabian 2,600 years ago and Vennessa’s rebellion against the Aristocracy. 

What will happen when Dainsleif get’s introduced?

So, I’m fully on board with the “Kaeya being the secret prince of Khaenri’ah” theory. I like the idea that Dainsleif is Kaeya’s servant or trusted advisor but I think that’s mainly rooted in the ship. Dainsleif strikes me more as someone who observes and only steps in if he has to because it might affect fate or whatever.

“I am content to watch most crises play out from the sidelines. But if Albedo were ever to make a single wrong move...I could not let myself ignore it.” 

I don’t think Dainsleif is the King of Khaenri’ah that Jean mentions in her hobbies voiceline but perhaps he was related to them somehow. Maybe the first King or the King that Jean mentions was real and Dainsleif was his friend or the God that helped him become King, then the Eclipse Dynasty happened and everything went downhill. Since I believe in Kaeya being a secret prince from  Khaenri’ah, Dainsleif would still be somewhat loyal to the Kingdom or perhaps he had lost faith after what happened and how so many people got corrupted and turned into monsters. 

I was talking about this with my friend but what if genshin pulls an fgo and “kills” Kaeya? Similar to FGO where Leonardo “died” in a car accident and when we visited a shop, there was just a hologram. What if genshin’s story kills Kaeya in a cutscene, and we can no longer use him since Kaeya was a free character, only to return as - THE 5 STAR WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR - the prince of Khaenri’ah.

When will we see Dainsleif?

According to the “Travail” the order of appearances is this: 

I believe part 1 is finished with Zhongli and dragonspine was just an add on for Albedo. But this makes me believe that Dainsleif and Khaenri’ah will be after we go to Snezhnaya. Also side note, the music for Natlan slaps hard. 

---

But yeah, I kinda went a bit off track and started talking about the story haha. I really love lore so if anyone has any questions about other characters or want’s to discuss the genshin story I am all ears^^. Also, if any of this becomes true in two years time I WILL BE BACK TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO. 

Or genshin prepares to rip this post apart and none of it is true. If you actually read my word vomit I appreciate you and you get a free cookie. If you’re wondering where I’ve been, it was writing this haha. 

[embyrinitalics]

I really love “Antumbra” and have read it a few times already. I found the premise and the world building to be so interesting and unique. I was wondering if you could talk a bit about what inspired the world you created in that story?

Ahhh you are so kind, thank you!!! 🥺 Honestly writing that was kind of a whirlwind, and I don’t remember a ton. But maybe talking about it will dredge up some stuff 😂

So this was a fic request...

...And looking back at it now I think it was clearly meant more as “everything stays the same, but Link was raised in Kakariko Village,” but my brain completely went somewhere else with it, and I can’t remember why. 😆 Maybe the “does she ever find out about her shadow”—which was probably more like, she doesn’t realize the connection between her shadow and Link, but, again, my brain was doing weird things—got me thinking that she literally didn’t know he was there.

Anyways, I can’t recall anything that like inspired the idea specifically but I did love the idea (still do) that Link is tied to Zelda in deep ways beyond his control, and that their relationship is inevitable, which is a common thread in pretty much all my stories 😁 So pushing that concept to a physical/magical connection is definitely a me thing to do.

A couple things I DO remember:

I did not have the whole story planned out when I started it, like, at all. I think I probably had ideas for the first four chapters or so and then once I had the Yiga idea it spiraled into something else completely, which is why the first half and the last half read pretty differently.  

I was looking up things related to shadows for titles, and came across the Wikipedia article for umbra, penumbra, and antumbra. Antumbra is “the region from which the occluding body appears entirely within the disc of the light source. An observer in this region experiences an annular eclipse, in which a bright ring is visible around the eclipsing body.” In the story, Zelda is the light, and I liked the image of Link standing in the foreground as a shadow surrounded by light. I reference that image twice in the story, I think, and I’m also pretty sure I use the word “antumbra” incorrectly both times. But I like it so I don’t care. 😂 So. That’s where the name comes from.  

I wasn’t planning on going to Kakariko at first, so there are some inconsistencies when we finally get there. Like in the first chapter I say they hold him on the stone steps and there’s moonlight, but when they get there later on it’s way underground so where was the moonlight coming from? And I had a very hard time writing scenes down there that weren’t directly in the village/by the waterfall because I didn’t have a clear vision for the antechamber in my head. (The houses were all supposed to look Kakariko-y but be made out of the Shrine material. Did that come through? I feel like that didn’t come through lol) And like the room where she meets the Elders—yeesh, still haunts me. What is it? Like a tiny cave? A colonnade? I hope other people’s imaginations are better than mine because I have no idea what was happening there. I just needed her and the Elders to have two seconds of privacy.  

I wrote the Unbonding scene pretty much entirely to I Am The Only One by Ursine Vulpine and Annaca, and that is The Officially Official Song for that scene, so if anyone needs mood music for it, there u go.  

I remember my goal for writing each installment was to have one progressive thing happen. So in 1, he meets her. In 2, she figures out he’s there. In 3, she learns his name. In 4, he talks to her. In 5, she sees him. And like I know that sounds super basic and “duh,” but. It was how I set my pace and the first time I tried it in a staircase pattern like that, so. That was a cool learning experience!

So I realize coming here to the end that I have COMPLETELY NOT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION AT ALL because you asked about inspiration, but honestly, I have no idea what inspired this. If I had to chalk it up to something, I’d say the word “Shadow” in the ask really stuck and then it just became a word association thing. Like the whole having a mercy-killing Guardian, and Seers, and the Peace, and the mark on the eye for when they went crazy—totally just me making stuff up on the fly for no reason and pretending like I had a plan.

😎 Gets ‘em every time.

Thank you so much for the ask!

[plasticnightmaredoll]

So, the "Justice League" finally got its own movie, eh? Oh, that thing from 2017 was just trash. It's gone. We don't need to look at it anymore.

But in all seriousness, it's great people called out for the Zack Snyder cut of the movie and actually got it! And, yes, it is a vast improvement over the Joss Whedon cut.

Now, my feelings about the DCEU have been pretty divided:

I actually did enjoy "Man of Steel" and found Superman to be relatable and likable for once (I'm not a Superman fan and don't come for me)

"Wonder Woman" was very entertaining and easily the best entry for me in the movie series so far.

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was a hot mess. Lots of good ideas but it was executed poorly. It felt kind of cheesy at times, especially that whole "Save Martha" thing. Jesse Eisenburg is not a convincing Lex Luthor. Ben Affleck is not a good actor and is a terrible Batman/Bruce Wayne. He's not as bad as George Clooney, but he's not much better either.

"Wonder Woman 1984" was a massive glow-down. Poor quality writing, Maxwell Lord was a weak villain, Cheetah was laughable, and the ending was so goddamn corny! Not to mention, it took ages for anything interesting to happen, and what was the deal with Steve Trevor possessing another dude's body? I mean...what?

Haven't seen "Suicide Squad" in its entirety but I do know and have seen enough to decide that it's a huge misstep. Haven't seen "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" either but I have some interest in it so perhaps someday.

Haven't watched "Aquaman" but probably will eventually but I'm just not very motivated to see it. I like Jason Mamoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry, but...I don't know. The trailers didn't really grab my attention.

The 2017 Joss Whedon version of "Justice League" was terrible -- worse than "Batman v Superman," worse than "Wonder Woman 1984." I thought the movie moved too quickly, lacked proper character development, and had some bad CGI (I mean, Mustache Gate, am I right?)

Onto the Synder Cut for "Justice League!" Spoilers ahead, of course:

These are really a collection of thoughts, opinions, and observations I had while watching the movie. I have only seen the 2017 film once and honestly don't want to watch it ever again, not even to "refresh my memory" of some details.

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf was such a pitiful villain in the Whedon Cut. The CGI for him was terrible, and he looked like some weird dude in armor. His personality and motives were paper thin as well. He was a throw-away, token villain, and the only things memorable about him was his name and voice.

In the Snyder Cut, not only was Steppenwolf's CGI much more refined, his character design was imposing. His armor seemed to be alive, too, always shifting slightly, this way and that, which was an impressive sight. His motives, while nothing too deep or extraordinary, gave him a little more depth: he pissed off Darkseid and had to make up for it, and was clearly afraid of what could happen to him if he failed.

The name and voice obviously were still memorable but combined with the other improvements to his character, they were icing on the cake.

That being said, I don't think Steppenwolf is as intriguing or even remotely sympathetic as Loki and Thanos in the MCU.

Darkseid

Was Darkseid even mentioned in the Whedon cut? I can't remember and I don't want to watch that shitty movie again just to find out. However, I don't recall Darkseid making an appearance or even being spoken of in the 2017 version. Now, I haven't read DC (or Marvel) comics, so I don't know a lot about the guy, but he is supposedly one of the more iconic villains.

His motives are pretty simple, though: command and conquer. There isn't a lot of depth so far in the movies but he does pose a much larger threat than Steppenwolf did. You could tell Steppenwolf was intimidated by Darkseid, who was about as cold and menacing as they come. He's a complete villain in that regard, having no emotions and only seeking power for himself.

He looked great in the Snyder Cut. He was actually really fucking scary-looking. He made the beefcake Steppenwolf look like a puppy.

I'm glad that Darkseid made an appearance, even if he didn't fight the Justice League. It alludes to a much broader story, as well as foreshadows an epic boss fight down the line -- assuming the Snyder Cut is popular enough to convince the studios to make a direct sequel and not just abandon things in favor of some sort of soft reboot.

Superman/Clark Kent/Henry Cavill/Mustache Gate

Let's get this out of the way: Henry Cavill is hot af.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, hooray for Snyder for getting rid of those nasty reshoot scenes involving Henry's CGI'd mouth! Can't say I missed them, you know? I mean, in the 2017 Whedon Cut, you could always spot reshoot scenes based on whether or not Henry's mouth looked normal and totally strange.

I think the 2017 movie had Superman grab Batman by the neck and ask, "Tell me: Do you bleed?" I'm relieved that was removed from the Synder Cut because it added too much of an evil tone to Superman, and we could clearly tell he was most upset with Batman upon being revived.

One massive problem with the 2017 movie was that it made every member of the Justice League look like bumbling idiots without Superman's help. It was downright embarrassing and unrealistic. I mean, you're telling me that Wonder Woman, a goddess, can't take on Steppenwolf? Or Victor Stone, a cyborg with incredible abilities? Making Superman key to winning isn't the problem, it's how it was done in the 2017 movie. He's already OP but that shouldn't mean his comrades have to be useless in comparison.

Superman was allowed to be OP in the Snyder Cut without making his team look incompetent. Like in the Avengers movies, everyone in the Justice League had a purpose and all of them worked together to defeat Steppenwolf. Superman obviously was key to winning, but, again, it wasn't like he was the only capable one during the battle.

I did like the black suit. It's kind of ominous but also very cool at the same time. But is it also foreshadowing something? I don't know...I haven't read the comics so I really don't have any idea lol.

Batman/Bruce Wayne/Batfleck

One glaring issue I still have is Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor at best and he's a terrible Bruce Wayne/Batman. I mean, they couldn't have found anyone else? Someone with, like, good acting abilities?

Martian Manhunter

This whole time -- THIS WHOLE GOTDAMM TIME -- Martian Manhunter was hiding in plain sight! General Swanwick, who I remember from "Man of Steel," IS Martian Manhunter. I didn't see that coming. I mean, I knew Martian Manhunter would appear in the Snyder Cut but I didn't know he'd have an alternate identity, let alone that of an existing character in the DCEU.

As much as I did like seeing him, I am glad he didn't play a big part because the movie already has plenty of characters as is, and introducing yet another one could have slowed things down and taken away from developing the plot.

The Runtime/Pacing

I mentioned already that the Whedon Cut felt rushed and needed much more time to develop its characters and plot. While I had doubts about whether or not making "Justice League" four hours long would be a good idea, it turns out that it was just what the story needed.

Character development was actually existent, and Cyborg/Victor Stone received a detailed backstory, and Flash/Barry Allen got some extra tidbits added to his character's story/background as well.

I actually thought Victor was a fascinating (if a bit tragic) character in the Whedon cut and was disappointed that he just sort of, like, popped up and fought alongside the other Justice League members with the tiniest amount of depth.

Despite an epic 4-hour runtime, it didn't feel slow, nor did it feel like any scenes were "filler." Every scene had a purpose and kept the story moving at a steady, comprehensible pace. It felt more like a 2.5-3 hour movie, honestly, which is a feat since pacing can often be one of a film's biggest issues ("Avengers: Endgame" also accomplished this feat with its 3-hour runtime feeling more like 2-2.5 hours but with no negative side effects of that). Breaking the movie into chapters, including an epilogue was a tad strange because it's not a very common thing, but I think it helped break up the epic 4 hours into separate, manageable but still cohesive pieces. Also, they helped easily transition from one portion to the next smoothly without any awkward cuts.

The Flash/Barry Allen/Ezra Miller

Barry still amused me in the Whedon Cut. He brought some good-natured humor and charm to the movie, preventing it from being too brooding and intense.

I think Ezra is a talented actor and does well in the Barry Allen role but he is, unfortunately, a problematic person. I mean, if he gets recast, he gets recast but hopefully, they pick someone else who has some acting abilities worth noting (i.e. Not a Ben Affleck type of actor)

The Final Battle

It was a huge improvement over the 2017 cut, as everyone was key to winning the final battle, not just Superman. It is meant to be a team of costumed heroes defeating a villain, not just one OP member of the team outdoing everyone else.

That being said, I felt that the final battle was a little bit anti-climatic. I don't know what it was but I just thought that it would be longer? I expected more to happen? More fighting? Not sure how to describe it, but I do feel like it wasn't as impressive as it could have been.

The Epilogue

A dystopian future involving an evil Superman and Joker somehow working WITH Batman was just...crazy. I mean, evil Superman, I can believe, but Joker and Batman working together (even reluctantly) is quite a sight.

Based on what I've been reading, this nightmare Bruce has could be setting up not one but two sequels for "Justice League." I would like to see how things will play out even if things get kind of dark. I'm getting the impression that Darkseid will kill Lois Lane, thus breaking Superman emotionally and making him compliant. That is unless Bruce intervenes in this timeline and prevents that from happening...but at the expense of his own life. Oh dear...

I definitely enjoyed the Zack Snyder version of "Justice League," and would definitely watch it again and again and again. I already have forgotten the majority of the Whedon Cut, and after seeing Synder's version, I think the 2017 movie will be rendered null and void. I hope it is just expelled from the DCEU canon entirely. That, and we get the "Justice League" sequels, preferably from Zack Snyder (Say what you want but I think he is a pretty good director for the most part and seems to really care about this work).

I honestly want to see a fight between the Justice League and Darkseid because I think that's what we're trying to build up to, and seeing as how Darkseid is one of the legendary villains in the DC comics, I would be extremely disappointed if this doesn't come to pass.

Also, as much as I like Batman/Bruce Wayne, seeing him sacrifice himself to save the team, including Lois and thus Superman's sanity, would be something else. It would bring everyone even closer together, for one, and I think that the negativity shared between Batman and Superman in the past would be completely forgiven. I'm not saying there isn't forgiveness now, but dying to save Superman's wife would change everything....if that makes sense? Does it make sense? I'm terrible at explaining my thoughts sometimes.

[toruhalo]

Psychotic (3/?)

Pairings: Ledger!Joker x Female OC

Wordcount: 1622

Warnings: blood and injury, self-destructive thoughts, threats, manipulation?

previous chapter: 2

A/N: I hope people still read this lol and idk if it’s even good but writing Joker makes me happy

Tranquility. The dense humid air sweeps through the forest floor, leaving behind droplets of water in its wake. She can feel the nearby leaves brushing her calves and fingertips as Violet observes her surroundings. She feels comforted, as if she was surrounded by people who cherished her. In the distance rests a foggy view of a waterfall, glowing green from underneath. Vines begin to entangle and caress her as she walks towards the source of the light.      

"Violet?" the voice whispers.       

"... You okay?"       

She elevates her head from her hands to see Sharpener looking at her with furrowed brows. She blinks to regain her eyesight and leans back in her chair.      

"I-I didn't realize I fell asleep. Sorry..."      

Sharpener chuckled, "It's okay, if my story was so boring you could've told me."      

Violet smiles and begins to daintily pick at her food in her tray. Her thoughts begin turning to the dream she just had. The environment she recalled made her ache to witness it once again, as it conveyed a feeling of belonging. A feeling Violet isn't familiar with.      

"Blonde Barbie, two o'clock," Sharpener snickers.      

Violet looks up at the cafeteria counter to instantly see the one and only Doctor Harleen Quinzel. She quickly grabs two trays of decent looking food from one of the workers and makes her way out of the room. Violet huffs and takes a bite out of her bland, discolored lasagna. She knew that Joker was currently having a session with Harleen, so was she getting lunch for the two of them? A date?     

"Woah there, what'd that spork do to you?" Sharpener slides the plastic utensil from her deathly grip. Flecks of blood followed the movement and pooled in her palm. Sharpener grimaced and handed her his leftover napkin.     

"T-thank you. I wasn't thinking," she mumbles.     

"Clearly..."     

The two fell into mutual silence while the rest of the cafeteria continuously grew louder. Violet's thoughts instantly began to swarm her mind while mindlessly finishing her lunch. She recalls the time Joker reassured her that he was only using Harleen for his own gain, but as days passed she began to consider, what if he was lying to gain her trust? She didn't know him very well, but she suspects no one does. Why would J like her out of all people, if he could even like anyone that way.     

“You gonna tell me why you got so angry when you saw that doctor?" Sharpener inquires.     

"I-I don't l-like her very much."     

Sharpener laughs, "I can tell that much. Is she your psychiatrist?"    

"No... She's my fr-" Violet stopped herself. Was J even her friend? What was he to her? A silly crush at the most, she thought. "Someone I-I talk to is her p-patient."     

"Hmm. And here I thought I was the only one you talked to..." Sharpener jokes. "Who is it? You don't have to tell me, I wouldn't care much."     

"The J-Joker," Violet mumbles. She figured it might help to talk about him to someone else, other than Doctor LeLand who clearly doesn't perceive him in a good light.     

Sharpener furrows his brow, "Are you sure it's him?" Violet nods. "Huh. You're the last person I would think who would have enough balls to even look at him, let alone hold conversations with him."     

 Violet freezes and slowly picks up her tray. "And y-you're the last person I would think to say t-that to me." She stands up and makes her way to the trash cans, leaving a stunned Sharpener behind.

    The bed frame squeals loudly as Violet harshly sits down on top of it, not even bothering watching the guard lock her cell door, as she routinely does. She could feel her eyes start to burn with fresh tears as she tried calming herself down. Yet to no avail, one leaks as she's overwhelmed from her deteriorating self-worth. The more she thought, the more she agreed with what Sharpener said. Joker was the one who started talking to her, Joker was the one who prompted the conversations. She had nothing to give to J. She was worthless, and she can't even talk without stuttering. Her parents were right about everything; she realized. J had to be manipulating her, she couldn't think of another reason why he would talk to her so much.     

The sound of a door creaking open swayed her out of her manic state. She shifts to unfortunately see Joker standing in her cell, same as the day he lied to her about Harleen. He smiles slyly and holds up an ID card of an Arkham employee in his stained hand.     

"Here's the secret to the magic trick. Figured I might as well, uh, show ya."     

Violet quickly wipes away her tears and turns her head opposite of him. She could already feel his attentive gaze burning a hole in her head, which made her heart rate increase from merely thinking about it. As she didn't respond, Joker took a seat next to her, tapping the card against his palm in frustration. She could still feel his eyes roaming her and even heard his breaths coming out of his nose. He suddenly huffs and stands up, walking to the toilet sink combo in the corner of the cell. He promptly tears off toilet paper, wets it in the sink and walks back to the low bed. J stops in front of Violet and crouches on one knee, causing them roughly to be the same height. Violet's heart is now pumping furiously in her chest now, and she's sure Joker can overhear it from how close he is.     

Still refusing to look at him, she jumps when he grasps her injured hand and turns her palm upwards. Joker glides the water soaked toilet paper onto her hand, gently cleaning up the dried smeared blood.     

"You don't, uh, belong here, doll. You and me both. We belong out in the city of darkness. Causing chaos. We can't be restrained. We're like, uh, wild animals. If we're kept inside a... cage, we'll itch to get out, so we can live." He threw the bloody wad of toilet paper over his shoulder and grabbed Violet's other hand in his own.     

"That's why I'm getting us out of here. I can see it's, uh, eating you up inside."     

 "Why me?" Violet whispers.     

 Joker laughs through his nose, "Because, my porcelain doll. You have yet to live up to your full potential." He slowly retracts his hands from hers and stands back up. Violet already feels cold without his rare touch. "We'll, uh, talk more tomorrow."

    Weeks pass until the two decide to put their escape plan into action. Violet had forgiven Sharpener the day after he insulted her, as he sincerely apologized. Now, she was trying to convince Joker to bring him with them during their escape.     

"He can't come," Joker almost growls.     

"W-why not? He's nice to me and he's been in here a w-while."     

  "I don't care if he's the nicest guy in the world. He's not coming."    

"What if he a-agrees to work for you?"     

J sighs and cracks his neck. Violet continues to look at him with her puppy dog eyes, never looking away. Joker chuckles and leans towards her, entangling his hand in her long hair.     

"How about... I, uh, come meet him...and decide for myself. Would you be happy then and, uh, stop nagging me?"

Having J with Violet during lunchtime is a strange sensation. Him being next to her, causes all eyes to be on them at all times. He's a notorious criminal, who has never stepped foot in the cafeteria. That would make anyone stare at him. However, Violet seems to be the only one affected by it. J is humming to himself while eating her pudding, not bothered by the dozens of gazes on himself and his companion.     

"Aren't ya... gonna eat that?" He points at her breadstick.     

"I-I don't like to eat when p-people are staring."     

 Joker hums and sets his pudding cup down.

"They're harmless. Just a bit... looney," he chuckles. That doesn't seem to ease her worries, so he stands up at the table. "If you, uh, keep staring at us like the creeps you are, I'll, uh, cut your tongues out of your mouths in your sleep," he exclaims with malice.     

 Instantly, everyone looks away, no set of eyes are locked on the pair anymore. Violet smiles and picks up her breadstick she was craving.     

"T-thank you," Violet says before taking a bite.     

"...It was becoming, uh, irritating."     

Sharpener finally shows up at the table, setting his tray down next to Violet's. His brows are furrowed in confusion at the intruder, nudging Violet to get an answer.    

 "O-oh, hi Sharpie."     

 "Sharpie?" Joker questions.     

Sharpener coughs and sits down, "I guess that's a nickname of my nickname."     

J turns back to his pudding and eats a spoonful. Violet can tell Joker doesn't like Sharpener already, but it won't hurt to try harder.     

"S-sharpener has e-experience of working for someone. I-I think he could be h-helpful to you, J," Violet takes a deep breath after finishing her sentence.     

Joker eats another bite and talks with his mouth full, "For who?"     

"Sal Maroni. He died in a car crash, so I lost my job and eventually ended up here."     

J laughs and swallows the last of the pudding, "How, uh, unfortunate... But, I work very differently from Mister Maroni."     

"I've noticed... But I don't care who or what my boss does, I just do what they ask of me."    

Joker looks at Violet between the two men who's staring at her food, "If he screws me over, I'll screw you over, dollface."

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 282: Aizawa Defeeted

Previously on BnHA: Oh my god do we even care about that at this point. Tomura made a speech; Gran Torino died; Deku lost his shit and tried to strangle Tomura to death with his bare hands; Ryuukyuu came back from Wherever She Was and tried to grab Tomura but he punched a hole through her giant hand; and now he’s grabbing his Quirk-Be-Gone bullets and is ready to cause some mayhem okay?? That about sum it up?? Is anyone even reading this?? CAN WE JUST GET ON WITH IT I’VE WAITED AN ENTIRE WEEK.

Today on BnHA: Well I guess let’s start with what doesn’t happen: Bakugou doesn’t lose his quirk. HE LUCKED OUT!!... for now, anyways. Because, thanks to a near-impossible-to-predict series of events (seriously, raise your hands if you had “Aizawa gets shot but goes full World War Z on his own ass” on your bingo card), Tomura has seemingly regained his regeneration powers, which means that his other quirks are probably back online as well! So we’ll see how that all goes. Anyway so in the meantime Shouto’s back, looking very mad that everyone temporarily forgot he was a main character. And Gigantomachia is back as well! Or almost, anyway. Also, you’ll never guess who broke another one of his arms! Go on, guess. But at least he still has the arm, though, which is more than we can say for certain other people’s limbs. Poor Aizawa is literally on his last leg. He and Tomura really got off on the wrong foot. He chopped his leg off, is what I’m saying. It’s that kind of chapter folks.

you guys I’m losing my whole fucking mind. I straight up deleted the tumblr app off my phone for 24 hours so that I wouldn’t be tempted to log in and risk potentially being spoiled. and I’m happy to say that it worked! so here we are now, completely spoiler free, and let me just say that if Horikoshi decides to cut back to Gunga Mountain now, I will either cry for hours or abandon the series forever and go do something more productive with the rest of my quarantine like learning how to play sad songs on the guitar

all right. here goes

so we’re opening with Deku, who is currently comprised of 100% rage and 0% mercy, and is doing that thing where only the whites of his eyes are visible. and basically he’s just thinking “I’VE REALLY GOT TO HOLD ON TO THIS GUY AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN’T DO ANYTHING ELSE HOMICIDAL.” which is a solid game plan, but perhaps not so easily accomplished

-- oh my god this poor kid is still in denial, I can’t. why are you doing this

is there even still a Gran Torino to tend to at this point? after Tomura bulldozed a hole through his torso, and you went and finished the job with your own fucking attack? sob

but I guess the law of Tragic Shounen Mentor Deaths mandates that Gran’s should be at least as drawn-out as Nighteye’s was, though. so he’s probably only Mostly Dead, which is still Slightly Alive if I remember my Princess Bride correctly, and I think I do

so now the rest of these stooges are finally catching up with us here

yes, my friends. a bullet. WELCOME TO MY LIFE FOR THE PAST FUCKING WEEK. anyways I have a LOT of pent-up energy here just fyi. there may be a lot of unnecessary screaming in this recap

FUCKING WYOMING SMASH Y’ALLSSSS

I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT JUST HAPPENED SOB. DID HE JUST HAMMER FIST TOMURA’S HEAD INTO THE GROUND. DID HE SNAP HIS FUCKING NECK AT 100%. IN AN IDEAL WORLD HE WOULD HAVE JUST CHOPPED TOMURA’S ARMS OFF WHILE SOMEHOW MANAGING TO AVOID BREAKING ANY OF HIS OWN BONES IN THE PROCESS, BUT I HAVE A FEELING THIS SITUATION WILL NOT BE RESOLVED IN ANY KIND OF MANNER ONE WOULD CONSIDER “IDEAL”

(ETA: fun fact: this attack did absolutely nothing except make things approximately 100x worse. but you tried Deku. you tried.)

THE FUCK KIND OF PORTENTOUS BULLSHITTING TITLE IS THIS. OH MY GOD, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT EMOTION I’M HAVING RIGHT NOW, IT’S JUST A LOT OF LOUD THOUGHTS

anyway so if you’re just joining us, Tomura just pulled two bullets out of his pocket, the good guys finally noticed, and then Deku did a smash and everything exploded. the radius of this attack actually looks wide enough to have potentially involved Aizawa, who probably does NOT want to get any debris in his eyes right now, and also Gran, who probably doesn’t particularly want to be hit by another deadly attack for the third time in the past ninety seconds. anyway so I guess what I’m trying to say here is WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT YOU LITTLE GREEN LUNATIC

AHHHHHH

he got the one!! the one that was in Tomura’s right hand!! but what about the one in his left ahhhhhhh

(ETA: lmao at Kacchan being the one to blow up the same bullet I was so sure he was going to be shot with. saw the writing on the wall, huh kid? what do we say to the god of foreshadowing?? ‘NOT TODAY.’ ...except that we’re still not actually out of the woods yet so you still better watch yourself lol.)

...

based on the font here, these are Tomura’s thoughts. which he is thinking immediately after getting the lower half of his jaw very painfully cronched by the VERY homicidal sixteen-year-old still clinging to him. anyway so Tomura’s thought processes are as inscrutable to me as ever lulz

and Deku’s arm looks broken again, yaaaaay. but at least it’s his left arm and not his right! so that’s nice. now they can match

[SHRIEKS]

HE YEETED IT. IT HAS BEEN YEETEDED. HE DID A YEET. [sobbing] he DiD a YeEt oH my GOD

DID IT HIT SOMETHING!?!?!?

my reading process here is as follows: 1) scroll down exactly one panel. 2) scream even though absolutely nothing has happened yet. 3) WRITE THAT DOWN 4) REPEAT

DKSFJLKHSDLGKHLI

DID IT HIT HIM!?!? DID IT GET HIM IN THE LEG SOB ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS. JUST LIKE THAT?? BOOM GUN BULLET LEG!!?

YOU GUYS IT REALLY HIT AIZAWA AND NO ONE DID A GODDAMN THING?? it wasn’t even drawn out or anything??? it just HAPPENED, within like four pages??? NO SLOW MO?? NOT EVEN A REACTION PANEL WHAT THE FUCK

son of a bitch I would so dearly like to grab Manual and RockLockRock’s heads right now and just conk them together real hard. YOU STUPID FUCKS sob YOU HAD ONE JOB!!! IT REALLY WAS JUST ONE!! AND YOU WERE SHARING IT!! SO IT’S MORE LIKE HALF A JOB!! AND YOU STILL COCKED IT UP IN ABSOLUTELY NO TIME AT ALL OH MY GOD

(ETA: they should blow this panel up and make it into a t-shirt and make Manual and RLR wear the shirts every day for the rest of their lives. half a job, you guys. please go away I cannot even look at you right now.)

FUCK MY EVERYTHING

(ETA: I still can’t figure out if this horrific angle is due to the earlier damage from the Noumu, or if Tomura really just flung the bullet THAT hard. honestly I’m surprised it didn’t just slice right through him with that kind of velocity. “no thanks because then I wouldn’t get to write a scene where he chops his own leg off” oh okay well when you put it that way, Horikoshi.)

if I recall correctly this is the leg that he said was “twisted”, no? yeesh. might just want to chop it off real quick, then. s’not like it’s doing you any more good. does anyone know if zombie rules apply or not with this sort of thing?? shit

?!?!

“THANKS”?? okay what. did it hit him or not??

-- oh my god WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. WAIT

I WAS -- I WAS JOKING I -- FFFFFFFFKJK

jesus fucking christ. when I said “might just want to chop it off real quick” literally FOUR PARAGRAPHS AGO, I can tell you that the one thing I did NOT expect was for Aizawa to be all, “you know what, that’s a good idea”, and then YOINK OUT HIS TRUSTY HERO SHANK AND GO FULL 127 HOURS ON THIS BITCH. "LALALA WE’RE GONNA DO IT RATIONALLY TEEHEE” like excuse me, the fuck

anyways. I don’t even know what to say. thank you Aizawa’s leg for your sacrifice, and for always supporting him. literally. oh my god I came here ready for my son to enter a new phase of character development, and for the manga as a whole to enter a new phase of glorious, glorious angst. no one told me I’d be sitting here making puns instead. what a fine, confusing day

anyway though let’s just fucking hope it worked. and side note, if Aizawa Shouta really did chop off his own fucking leg just now and somehow STILL managed not to fucking blink, I think we might as well just go ahead and hand him the Biggest Badass In The Series award right now because no one is ever going to top that. nope. not happening

it is truly a testament to Shigaraki Tomura’s unfathomably mysterious sexy villain energy that he still somehow manages to look hot with only half a face

also no one in this manga actually feels pain, do they. not Deku, not Aizawa, not Tomura, no one. no wonder none of them have any self-preservation instincts to speak of

um

did someone just randomly explode just now. at this point it might as well happen, right

oh it’s the shockwave from Deku’s Wyoming attack, apparently. how nice of it to have a delayed reaction for absolutely no reason

anyway so Deku’s being flung back, but he’s grabbing onto Tomura again with Blackwhip. but oh shit you guys, if Tomura escapes Deku and Ryuukyuu’s clutches and still has any bullets left in his pocket, we may still be able to salvage this Bakugou quirk situation after all. would be nice to be able to actually do something with all of these “happy quirk losing day” balloons that I ordered

(ETA: actually, believe it or not I honestly like this better. Tomura using AFO was always the more dramatic option anyway. and now that we’ve done the bullet thing everyone has presumably let their guard down again, which, good.)

I love how Tomura apparently hasn’t noticed that Aizawa’s just amputated his own leg? to be fair he’s probably distracted by all the explosions and such

also gotta love how Deku’s arm-breaking attack seemingly just made everything worse for no reason. and also how Manual and RockLockRock are once again just standing there doing absolutely nothing

SO NOW GUESS WHAT’S HAPPENING

I MEAN IT! GUESS. BECAUSE YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE LOL

OH WELL OKAY THEN

just like we all saw coming!! ...

so is this Endeavor’s attack?? Bakugou’s?? either way, hot damn. fortunately for Tomura he is apparently operating under the same guidelines as the U.S. Federal Reserve, in which mutilated bills may still be exchanged at face value if more than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present. basically as long as roughly half of him is still vaguely Tomura-shaped I assume he’ll be fine

(ETA: in hindsight I should have immediately been able to identify this as a Shouto attack based solely on how murdery it was lol.)

OH MY GODDDD

KRANCH?!?

OH MY GOD LOL WHAT. LOL. REMEMBER EVERYONE’S THEORIES FROM LIKE TWENTY YEARS AGO LOL. SHOUTO WHAT THE FUCK. DID YOU STOP FOR DRIVE THRU

AND MEANWHILE DEKU’S BACK ON THE SCENE GIVING ARGUABLY EVEN LESS FUCKS THAN BEFORE, IF SUCH A THING IS EVEN POSSIBLE. SO FAR THIS CHAPTER HAS PRECISELY ZERO THINGS THAT I ACTUALLY EXPECTED IN IT, WHICH IS VERY IMPRESSIVE

IT ALSO HAS A LOT OF SMASHING

a LOT. of smashing, guys. feels like... 60% smashing, 20% severed legs, 20% Kranch

-- oh no oh SHIT oh shit oh shit

(ETA: um so I really can’t tell how far that wound extends and whether or not Aizawa still has his right eye, shit.)

first of all how did Deku get here next to Aizawa when he was just over there with Tomura, what. and second, I think Aizawa just blinked, oh shit. probably on the verge of passing out after CHOPPING HIS OWN LEG OFF which STILL hasn’t been acknowledged yet?? did I just completely misinterpret all of that back there or what

(ETA: there was seriously so little attention called to this that I scrolled back up to confirm it probably like half a dozen times. apparently Horikoshi thinks that THE MOST BADASS THING TO EVER HAPPEN IN THE MANGA should be completely downplayed. whereas if it were me, there’d be an entire two page spread of JUST THE LEG. WITH MUSIC PLAYING. EVEN THOUGH IT’S A MANGA.)

YEPPPPPPP. fuck

look at him though. he’s so happy. this is why I can’t stay mad at you no matter how deranged you get you little maniac

so is quirk-stealing back on the menu then or what. don’t think I’ve been lulled into any kind of false sense of security by any of this lol

-- ARE WE SERIOUSLY CUTTING AWAY

so Todoroki really went after them ALONE. the better to put his dad right back up at the top of the Lose Your Quirk Sweepstakes finalists. well... second-to-top, maybe. like I said I will not be lulled

yuh-oh

why do I feel like the odds of Gigantomachia arriving to herald the end of this chapter just shot up DRAMATICALLY

so the next page is almost entirely just a list of cities that the news anchor is telling people to evacuate because they’re in Machia’s path. along with a bunch of dead heroes lying around everywhere, and Ochako being all ominous

(: weren’t they, though? heh. this is going to be so, so bad (: (: (:

-- fuuuuuuuuuuu

aaaaaand that’s it. hahahaha. okay then let’s summarize

Bakugou defied all expectations and kept his quirk (FOR NOW)!

Aizawa cut his own fucking leg off and it WASN’T EVEN REMOTELY ACKNOWLEDGED FOR REASONS I CAN’T UNDERSTAND (R.I.P. AIZAWA’S PRECIOUS LEG. YOU ALWAYS PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD)

Kranch showed up after 157 years and is probably wondering why the heck I keep calling him “Kranch” now. THINGS CHANGE WHEN YOU’RE MIA FOR A WHILE MY LITTLE STARBUCKS CHRISTMAS CUP

Deku broke his arm for the 78th time

Tomura regenerated but seems to think Aizawa’s quirk is actually gone for good, which I’m pretty sure it’s not. so if they can keep him from destroying everything long enough for Aizawa to turn it back on again, we might possibly still survive this

and lastly, Machia is about to kill all of these stupid people frolicking around outside of this fitness club who are probably so proud of themselves for not being glued to their phones 24/7 because they prefer to LIVE LIFE IN THE MOMENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. well that’s on you my friends. at least it’ll be a quick death. ffff

[richmond-rex]

🌹🌹 - If I’m not too late!

Oh, you’re definitely not late! I was here thinking to myself which excerpt I could post without giving too many spoilers away, and I remember I wrote the first chapter of a character study about Cardinal Beaufort on the days before my thesis’ viva—I needed to decompress and I couldn’t possibly try to write my usual fics and characters because nothing would come out right. But I had no emotional attachment to Henry Winchester whatsoever besides a mere curiosity and for once I wanted the challenge of writing a devious, cunning character. The fic is entitled Four Kings, Five Scenes and each chapter was supposed to portray the cardinal during four different reigns: King Richard II (ch 1), King Henry IV (ch 2), King Henry V (ch 3), King Henry VI (ch 4) and King Henry VI again (ch 5). Obviously, I realised that no one would want to read this story lol. It really was the stress of the moment that made me write the first chapter. Well, since I’m not going to publish it anywhere and the chapter is fairly small compared to my usual chapter length (5k or more), you can read it here below the cut! Tagging @nuingiliath because she might be interested as well.

OLD TEMPLE, HOLBORN

Late September 1398

“Tell me what I ought to do, brother.”

Henry Beaufort, newly-appointed Bishop of Lincoln, rolled the episcopal ring on his finger—amethyst flaring under the sunlight—and let out an exasperated, long-held sigh. He could see its tracking ascendence in the air, the way the dust specks caught in the sunbeam would spiral and dance. Though old as its very name suggested, Old Temple was still one of the finest episcopal houses in London, bought for the exclusive use of the bishops of Lincoln after the Knights Templar decided to move within the borders of the City. A dusty residence it might be, but it was still one of the various privileges acquired after Henry’s consecration, or perhaps more importantly, his legitimisation. Everything was coming together, and yet, all hung at the brink of destruction.

“You are the eldest of us, John,” Lincoln replied, voice softening. “It is for you to lead us once Father is gone.”

His brother turned from the arched window, face twisting into a frown. He looked lost, utterly and completely lost, the tip of his red chaperon thrown over one shoulder as if the very fabric was trapping him in place or threatening to coil around his neck and squeeze out his breath.

“You’re the family’s clergyman.” He entreated, stepping closer. “Tell me, brother. What would God have me do?”

It was Lincoln’s turn to frown. By then the morning had given way to noon and the bishop had just finished donning his purple robes, a gold-threaded stole hanging from either side of his neck. It was almost time for Lincoln to resume his administrative duties concerning his diocese—let not anyone claim Henry Beaufort had earned his mitre by bribery and favouritism. He ran a hand along his tonsured head—he still had to send for his zucchetto hat to be brought to him—and paused in that pensive state, partially choosing what to say and partially assessing when he should schedule another shaving.

“God would have you love your brother—” He clasped his hands before his stomach, magnanimously. “—and obey your king.”

It was the first opportunity the two Beauforts had to discuss Bolingbroke’s banishment from the kingdom. It was an urgent matter: Henry Bolingbroke was Duke of Hereford and Earl of Derby, and—that was the most important piece of information—their father’s rightful heir. He was to inherit the large possessions and prodigious fortune that belonged to the Duke of Lancaster, the richest man in the realm—or so it had seemed, at least until the moment King Richard sent him into exile. The king had not mentioned his Lancastrian inheritance but as all invisible things, it still had its own weight, it still cast its own shadow. Lancaster himself was no less worried for the omission of the matter. It hung heavily, unresolved, in the air. 

His brother John, lately elevated from his earldom of Somerset to the marquessate of Dorset, resumed his speech after a brief moment of consideration.

“I say Bolingbroke is a good Christian, brother. He has vowed to defend the faithful and I know he means well and true.” 

John would know, the two of them had gone crusading together. While John, Bolingbroke and Swynford were bonding over tournaments and military expeditions, young Henry had his head buried deep in manuscripts and missals. For a time it had been a fancy of Henry’s to imagine himself a Knight Templar fighting for the kingdom of Christ in the Holy Land: the armour, the tabard and the red cross, entire armies under his command as a Grand Master. A child’s fancy, yes, for the Templars were no more—yet there Lincoln stood, at the very place those brothers had once called home. There was a rightness to it, a taste he could feel at the very tip of his tongue. Lancaster might have arranged for the trio of brothers to be admitted into the Confraternity at Lincoln’s Cathedral but it was he—Henry Beaufort—the one chosen to command the entire diocese now. 

His brother John didn’t even seem to notice his state of reminiscence. He kept talking, his words coming to Lincoln’s ears in all of their ardour again.

“—I didn’t speak for Uncle Gloucester at the time and now it weighs on my conscience! Worse, brother, I condemned him! I called for his very arrest!”

“Woodstock was a traitor of the realm.” The bishop deadpanned. “It was your duty as a peer to call for his arrest. You know that as well as I d—”

A boy holding his purple zucchetto was just about to enter the room. The bishop dismissed him with a sharp turn of his head, shooed him away with a glare and a quick motion of his hand. The boy scurried away, his hurried steps echoing on the flagstones. Lincoln frowned, pressed his lips into a thin line: his own brusqueness had displeased him. He should be nobler in his actions, loftier, gentler even, a true shepherd of Christ. As he turned, he saw John had already stepped back to the window. Once again, he didn’t seem to have noticed any commotion around him.

“Be as it may, this time is different.” John restarted. “Our brother has done no wrong against the king. There is only one explanation for this—” John stopped short before he went further, checking himself at the very last minute. He didn’t utter the word, but it hovered just above them, somewhere over their heads. Retribution. Vengeance for the time Bolingbroke joined the Lords Appellant and rebelled against cousin Richard. One by one those rebels had been crushed.

The glass panels tinted his brother’s face with green, spots of red covered his face as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Shocking blue, poisonous red, a liquid green so fresh one could almost drink. 

“It was cruel to make him fight Mowbray to the death, but there was still honour in it. There’s no honour to be found in exile.” He closed his eyes. “He has six children, Henry.”

This time the bishop’s reply was swift. “Father will take care of them. As will we if it comes to such an end. We shall support the family as we always have.”

John, still looking very much disheartened, acceded with a small nod. “You know,” he smiled weakly, eyes growing distant like a far-away ship. “I used to look up to him when I was little. All I ever wanted was to be like Bolingbroke, a true son of Lancaster.”

The sensation was familiar to the bishop himself, only his brother still seem to hold to that boyish memory as his heart’s truest wish, even now that his aspirations were supported by law: standing there at the bishop’s residence, John was dressed in Lancaster blue and white, their father’s SS livery collar hung over his shoulders, the S-shaped links crafted in pure gold and held closely together. 

A sting of bittersweetness washed over the bishop. What if… what if the king had Bolingbroke attainted? Surely, King Richard was unpredictable those days—no one had been quite able to placate his moods ever since Queen Anne had died—but if the king did attaint their brother, neither he nor his children would be authorised to inherit Lancaster’s lands and title. Perhaps… perhaps King Richard would choose to pass them over to Lancaster’s next legitimate male heir, in that case, his brother John himself.

“Dear brother, why do you choose to dwell in such sorrowful thoughts? Father loves you best.”

John turned to him sharply. “You cannot know such a thing!”

Oh, the plain irony of watching his brother’s face turned into a scowl that mirrored exactly the one their father was famous to possess! John had Lancaster’s same strong nose, as did the bishop himself, yet now at his anger, his brother had turned into the very picture of John of Gaunt. It was oftentimes that natural children would have their sire’s face if not his name, as if it was an underhanded way of nature to compensate for their social ostracism.

“He does.” The bishop repeated in a firm voice. He clasped his hands, a position that gave him reassurance in difficult situations. “Recall that Father has done everything in his power to make us his true children. He appealed to Parliament and His Holiness the Pope Himself, he moved mountains to secure our charts of legitimisation. All this time, he has extensively defended our cause to the king. Now, that same king has banished his heir from the land and the Duke of Lancaster poses no resistance. Why do you think that is?”

It was not exactly true, but it was what his brother needed to hear. Lancaster had, in fact, negotiated with the king to the best of his abilities, a piece of information that the bishop suspected his brother John knew already. The Marquess of Dorset was, after all, well-placed within cousin Richard’s circle. A more credible point against the bishop’s claim would be, however, that the Duke of Lancaster rarely ever showed his true emotions, fatherly or otherwise. It would be impossible to say whom he loved best.

“If Father will not risk his head over this matter, John—John, my beloved John! Heed my words now. You should not risk your own!”

John looked at him with such heaviness it bore into the bishop’s own soul. Henry walked over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“You have a good heart, John. It is loyal and true and it bears testament to your character, but it will get you killed. Remember who gave you your earldom of Somerset, who made you marquess of Dorset, knight of the Garter, who married you to that illustrious lady, the king’s own niece. He who appointed you as Constable of Dover—”

“—Warden of the Cinq Ports, Admiral of the Fleet in the North and West, Lieutenant in Aquitaine, I know, I know!” John took a long breath. “I know. The king, our cousin.”

King Richard himself had fastened the earl’s belt during John’s girding; the king himself had draped the velvet cloak across John’s shoulders. The ceremony had been clear enough: the earl’s power derived from his authority and his authority alone.

The bishop retrieved his hand from his brother’s shoulder slowly, pulled it back inch by inch until it was safely resting against its twin counterpart, flat against his stomach. 

“Father has been unwell. When the Lord deems time to call him to His side again, who will look after us? Remember our brother Tom, so young and not yet a peer. Remember Joan and her children. Remember Mother.”

“No. No, brother, you speak true.” John conceded with a nod. “I can’t endanger your safety nor leave any of you unprotected. I cannot defy the king.”

There was resolution on his face, yet there was sadness as well. The bishop still sought a way of soothing his brother’s heart. “Let me be the one to speak for our brother. Cousin Richard already knows I’ve had my whole diocese pray for him. I stand safer as a prelate than you do as a courtier.”

In a second, his brother gripped his shoulder, displaced the stole hung around the bishop’s neck with a heartiness that surprised him. As though they were mere, simple children again, John smiled in truth at last.

“You have always been the wisest of us, brother. Yet,” He looked down,chuckled. “Yet sometimes I still remember that boy who vowed to God he would become pope.”

Bishop Beaufort felt his lips quirk up—a genuine, delicious thrill elicited by the memory—and so, accordingly, he lowered his eyelids in modesty. “All wisdom comes from our Holy Mother, the Church. All grace from God the Lord Almighty and His Son, Christ the Holy Lamb.” His prelate answer given, he glanced up again. “Sometimes I caught myself thinking of that boy as well, dear John, yet times have changed.”

John raised an eyebrow, apparently befuddled. “Have they?” 

“Yes,” The bishop replied, no longer speaking of the ambitions held for a long time inside his heart. “If for the better or for the worse, only the future will tell.”

_______________________ *notes: it’s said that John Beaufort, while still suporting Richard II at the time of Bolingbroke’s invasion, might have played a double game. When he was captured by his brother’s forces and the Percys called for his execution, Henry IV is supposed to have said: “I beseech you do him no harm, for he is my brother, and has always been my friend; see the letter he sent to me in France.” Henry IV later made John Beaufort his Lord Chamberlain.

Henry Beaufort remained close to his brother John up until his last breath. The bishop stayed by his side at St Katherine’s hospital while he was dying. Henry was made executor of John’s will, a mark of deep trust, if not also affection the brothers had for each other. It may explain why Cardinal Beaufort vouched for his nephews, his brother’s children, so fiercely in the coming decades.

[entireoranges]

Gut reaction responses

I did this a few years ago. Hell perhaps maybe a few times! But I’m a sucker for these things.

Shipping Challenge Pick 3 of your OTPs, without looking at the questions. 

1. Jaime/Brienne 2. Luke/Penelope 3. Chakotay/Kathryn

1. What made you ship 3? The teamwork. The support. The touches. The looks.

2. Is 2 canon? Yes! It was a small vindication, but it happened.

3. What is your favorite moment between 1? Which moment isn't my favorite of their interactions?! When Brienne jumps to his defense at the trial, she was taking a risk speaking up, and Jaime looking at her like she hung the moon.

4. If you could put 3 in any scenario, what would it be? They went their separate ways for a few years after returning to Earth and then run into each other at some random meeting or get together. The hidden feelings are still there and they decide to peruse it.

5. Favorite line said between 1? "It's yours; it'll always be yours."

6. Did everything you want happened between 2? If not, what did you want to see? I at least wanted to see them kiss!

7. If you had to pick a favorite, 1, 2 or 3? Tough call! I only have myself to blame though. Jaime/Brienne.

8. Would a crossover work between the three? No. A fantasy show if had to place in our realm likely would be late middle ages, if not earlier. A modern show. And show like 150 years in the future. Unless Chakotay/Kathryn time travel and even then they'd only really able to do one of the other two...except if something went wrong LOL.

9. What’s 2 shipper name? Garvez.

10. Favorite episode/chapter of 3? I can't recall the name but the when where they flash (or just her?) flashes through different periods of time on the ship in season 7. Though it's a bit sad he acknowledges the feelings and then stresses they never cross the line. It showed his desire of wanting too...

11. Does anyone In Real Life know you ship 2? Yes, and I believe my hubby liked them; though he didn't think it would happen.

12. Do you also ship 1’s actors? Not really. Will admit to reading some fics, but I've never truly thought of them in that light.

[slurpingsoba]

I saw that I had this post in my drafts so I decided to finish it. It was supposed to be part 2 to this post, but it ended up mostly being an analysis of All For One’s relationship with Shigaraki. And Shigaraki’s hands.

I wasn’t necessarily trying to write meta, but it just kind of just happened. So if you’re interested in reading this, go right ahead!

1. Debunking The Origin of The Hands

In chapter 222, we find out that Shigaraki's hands belong to his deceased family members.

However, as I already said here, the hands are uniform. This is especially suspicious considering that Shigaraki had a sister around his age. Wouldn't her hands be smaller than the average adult hand?

Also, why would the hands be left behind if the rest of the body decayed? I mean, what the fuck?? I can’t really argue if the hands were actually decayed or not without knowing the complete mechanics behind Shigaraki’s quirk, but it doesn’t make sense. Anyway, Shiggy’s quirk is something to discuss another day.

Even if the hands were real, there are only three logical ways in which the hands could have been preserved.

The first way, taxidermy, involves attaching skin onto some sort of frame (in this case, the hands). Keep in mind that taxidermy is typically done with animals, and not humans, though. Because Shigaraki's hands are gray and do not appear to be covered with human skin, I think it's safe to rule out this method.

The second technique, embalming, is commonly used for corpses. It seems like a plausible way to preserve the hands at first, but embalmed bodies start to decay after 10 years. Based on his age, Shigaraki owned the hands for over a decade, so the hands would have decomposed already by the start of the manga. Therefore, the hands weren't embalmed either.

The third way is something I just learned about five minutes ago. It's called plastination, a process in which body parts are preserved by replacing water and fat with plastic. This method seems the most reasonable, but the preserving process is ridiculously long, so I don't think the hands were preserved this way either.

Point is, there's no way that the hands that Shigaraki wears actually belong to his family. So why would All For One go through the trouble to make fake hands for Shigaraki?

Well, that question has an obvious answer: to manipulate him.

2. All For One's General Manipulation of Shigaraki

We all know All For One is a dickhead. And we also know that All For One appointed Shigaraki as his successor because of his relation to Nana Shimura. While I cannot say that his relation is the only reason he was picked as All For One’s successor, it’s definitely the biggest reason. 

(Two other speculated reasons include Shigaraki’s resemblance to the original One For All user, and the fact that Shigaraki was “born twisted”. Based on what we know post-222, I doubt that Shigaraki was “twisted” before he met All For One. Also, I don’t think we know enough about All For One’s brother to compare him to Shigaraki.)

*Editing note: As I was reading, I noticed that Shigaraki’s behavior in the Kamino arc makes a lot more sense when taken in context with Chapter 222. I reference Kamino a lot in this because of that.*

The Kamino arc explains a lot of All For One’s motivations for manipulating Shigaraki. For instance, All For One states that he wanted to corrupt the Shimura bloodline to get back at All Might. All For One does this to emotionally wound his rival, knowing that All Might would see Shigaraki’s turn to villainy as his fault. 

As All For One’s successor, Shigaraki is tasked with defeating the current One For All user. By making All Might feel responsible for Shigaraki’s evil acts, All Might will be reluctant to face off against him in the future. Of course, this would make it easier for Shigaraki to kill All Might, and thus succeed in completing what All For One started.

Now we know why All For One manipulated Shigaraki, but we don’t know how.

Well, it is a known fact that All For One is a master manipulator, as said by All Might here:

After being alive for so long, let’s just say that All For One knows how to use people to his advantage. He knows how to break someone, and reform them into something that is useful to him. 

Let’s go over how All For One was able to break Shigaraki.

First, I’m going to go ahead and assume that All For One made Shigaraki kill his family. I think it’s obvious that he planned the event because otherwise, it would have been a bit too convenient for him.

The following information is a short summary of chapter 222.

The aftermath of his family’s death leaves Shigaraki emotionally vulnerable and without anyone to care for him. He’s young, scared, confused, and presented with a problem that All For One has a solution to; Shigaraki is in need of a hero, and All For One is willing to act as his savior. But, All For One did not rescue Shigaraki to save him. He purposefully planned to kill off the Shimura family in order to acquire Shigaraki.

Later, All For One presents the hands to Shigaraki in order to make him feel remorseful. Disgusted even, with himself. The hands trigger a flashback, and Shigaraki pukes as a result. Shigaraki’s extreme response to his memories makes me believe that All For One either messed with his memories or conditioned him to react negatively to the hands. I think the first option is more likely, and that the second option is a byproduct of it.

Anyway, the next panel is important in discussing All For One’s manipulation of Shigaraki.

All For One takes a kid reeling from a traumatic experience... and tells him how to channel his feelings of regret, sorrow, anger, etc., into something useful for him. Hmm, this sounds familiar. It’s exactly what All Might said All For One does to manipulate people. He destroys them (in Shigaraki’s case, emotionally), robs them (of a family), uses them (to continue his reign of terror), and dominates them (by making Shigaraki dependent on him). 

Speaking of dependence, Shigaraki is shown to be very attached to All For One at the beginning of the manga. This is especially unsettling considering that Shigaraki mostly communicates with All For One through indirect means. I’ll go more in-depth with that idea under my next heading.

Before I move into my next point, you know how All For One said he was going to teach Shigaraki “where to direct those raging emotions”? He sure as hell did.

In fact, I think All For One did it a bit too well.

3. All For One’s Manipulation: Hands Edition

The hands make Shigaraki feel at peace and simultaneously sick to his stomach. That’s not worrying at all!

He feels nauseous because he remembers what he did to his family, but he also feels calm because the hands remind him of All For One.

Let me elaborate.

When All For One gave Shigaraki the hands, he was providing his successor with something to find relief in. As little Shigaraki reached out towards the hands, he did so to feel comforted by them. The hands’ effect on Shigaraki is similar to All For One’s gesture here:

All For One makes Shigaraki feel as if someone cares about him. Physical affection is something that is foreign to Shigaraki, and the only traces he gets of it are from All For One. However, All For One doesn’t want Shigaraki to feel loved; he wants Shigaraki to feel isolated and resentful. In order to achieve this, All For One distances himself from his successor, and leaves Shigaraki with nothing but the hands in his wake.

*Editing note: forgot to mention this, but All For One’s distancing was strategetic. The period between All For One taking Shigaraki in and the beginning of the manga is mostly unknown, but there are still assumptions that can be made about it. 

The first major distancing probably occurred when All For One was mortally wounded by All Might. Seeing All For One in a critical state would make Shigaraki feel angry towards whoever hurt his master, thus fuelling his hatred for the Symbol of Peace. The second major distancing would be when All For One was put in Tartarus. I know it doesn’t seem planned, but All For One knew exactly what he was doing. Both instances of forced distancing were caused by All Might. Think about it. How would Shigaraki would react to the man who has kept his savior away from him? Not positively, that’s for sure.

Although the major distancing wasn’t necessarily intentional, it still helped All For One shape Shigaraki into a villain. Instances of minor distancing were likely intentional, but they’re either undisclosed to us, or mostly left to us to infer. The best example I could give of this is All For One’s roundabout way of communicating with Shigaraki.*

As a result, Shigaraki finds himself emotionally attached to the hands. After all, they’re all he has left of his family, and they are also physically the closest that Shigaraki can get to feeling All For One’s “love” after he distances himself.

Twisted, I know. Now, All For One still directly influences Shigaraki without being in contact with him. Take this example from chapter 21:

All For One tends to communicate with Shigaraki through electronic devices. There’s only one instance I can recall where All For One is in the same room as Shigaraki, and that’s during the Sports Festival arc. Or Kamino, but I’m not counting that because their encounter wasn’t deliberate.

The lack of direct communication between All For One and Shigaraki only adds to the growing divide between them. Shigaraki becomes more secluded, and, without proper guidance, he develops into a hateful person. But that’s exactly what All For One wanted, as explained here:

I find it interesting that the translation says that All For One has gone to a place that Shigaraki’s “hands can’t reach”. I don’t know, the constant hand references make me think that I’m on to something here lol.

Shigaraki as a recluse, for the most part, is only affected by All For One’s teachings. He has learned to accept distance in physical, mental, social, and emotional forms, to the point that he shows little interest in connecting with others.

His detachment (specifically emotionally) is revealed through his hands. He doesn’t understand his own emotions and All For One’s motives, and he’s unable to relate to society as a whole. So, he clings onto the one thing he does know: the rage and despair All For One planted into his heart.

An example of this is when All For One is jailed after the end of the Kamino arc. You know what Shigaraki does immediately after losing his master?

He hugs his hands, just like he did when he first received them.

He’s grasping onto the idea of something unachievable; that is, closeness to All For One when he desires guidance. Shigaraki needs All For One’s advice in order to pilot his own goals, because without All For One, who exactly is he?

As I was saying, Shigaraki does not completely understand himself or All For One (as shown below). 

So he’s unable to coherently express his motives for being a villain (as shown in the rest of chapter 69). Deep down, I don’t think he has any profound reasons except for the false ones All For One rooted in him.

Continuing, the hands have made fewer and fewer appearances as of late. This indicates that Shigaraki is starting to understand who he is, what kind of person All For One truly is, and the genuine nature of society.

Since the My Villain Academia arc, Shigaraki usually only wears the hands in combat because that’s when he feels it’s necessary to channel his inner rage. After all, he was taught to direct his bad feelings towards his enemies, regardless of who the enemy is.

Shigaraki doesn’t wear the hands around the League because he feels like he can be himself around them (hence, he felt comfortable telling them about his past). He wants to feel close to his friends allies, so he’s attempting to limit the distance between him and the League. And I think that’s great! He is freeing himself from All For One’s brainwashing because he is growing as a person and learning more about himself. He has a small group of people who he can relate to and confide in, and he’s slowly uncovering the truth about his past. 

He’s healing his emotional wounds!

However, I have no idea what this could mean for Shigaraki in the future. Will he overcome his trauma? Or will he continue to wield his trauma as a weapon? I have no idea, but hopefully, we find out soon enough.

4. A Quick Summary

Shigaraki’s hands are important in understanding his character. Besides being physical reminders of Shigaraki’s past life, they also represent Shigaraki’s connection to All For One. The less Shigaraki wears them, the weaker All For One’s influence is over him. 

This ended up being long, and honestly, I don’t know why I wrote so much. But if you happened to read the entire thing, feel free to comment on anything I brought up in this post. I could literally talk about Shigaraki all day (as you can already tell), so I’d love to discuss anything Shiggy related with y’all!

[terramythos]

TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 3 of 26

Title: Shriek: An Afterword (Ambergris #2) (2006)

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Genre/Tags: Weird, Memoir, Historical (like... in a fictional world lol), Horror, Fantasy, War, Mushroompunk (yeah), Postmodern, Female Protagonist, Disabled Protagonist, First Person, Unreliable Narrator.

Rating: 7/10

Date Began: 1/19/2020

Date Finished: 1/29/2020

Shriek: An Afterword is a pseudo-memoir by a woman named Janice Shriek about the troubled lives and relationships of her and her brother Duncan Shriek in the strange, fungus-riddled city of Ambergris. While Janice believes Duncan is dead, he's apparently found her manuscript and makes extensive edits and commentary throughout the story. (This is indicated in parenthetical sentences, like this one.) 

The closer I get to the end, the closer I get to the beginning. Memories waft up out of the ether, out of nothing. They attach themselves to me like the green light, like the fungi that continue to colonize my typewriter. I had to stop for a while -- my fingers ached and, even after all that I have seen, the fungi unnerved me. I spent the time flexing and unflexing my fingers, pacing back and forth. I also spent it going through a box of my father’s old papers -- nothing I haven’t read through a hundred times before... On top, Duncan had placed the dried-up starfish, its skeleton brittle with age. (I kept it there as a reminder to myself. After your letter to me -- which, while reading this account, I sometimes think was written by an entirely different side of your personality -- I wanted to remember that no matter how isolated I might feel, separated from others by secret knowledge, I was still connected. It didn’t help much, though -- it reminded me of how different I had become.) 

To qualify my rating, I have to be honest. This book is officially separated into two parts, and I found Part I -- which makes up about 60% of the novel -- pretty boring. On the other hand, Part II is brilliant, and everything coalesces beautifully in this second act. Is it worth it? I thought it was, but I understand anyone who tries and gives up. 

Even though Shriek is technically a standalone, I would strongly recommend you read City of Saints and Madmen (#1) first. Both Duncan and Janice are key characters in two of those stories (The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris and The Transformation of Martin Lake, respectively), and there are references and connections all over the place. I’m not sure if Shriek does a great job introducing Ambergris to new readers, so people starting here will be pretty lost without reading the first book.

Just to clear the air, I really liked this book... overall. As I said, the first half-or-so of the book was pretty rough, but the second half redeems it in a lot of ways, even justifying certain writing/plot decisions that didn’t gel with me at first. However “it gets good eventually” is not really an excuse for the rough first half. Hence the mediocre rating. I was close to giving this book a 6/10, but I found that I appreciated the first half much more by the time I got to the ending, so that bumped it up a little. Maybe I’ll enjoy this book more on a reread when I can see the patterns and know where they’re leading ahead of time. 

Before I dive into my issues with it, I’d like to discuss the strong points of this novel. 

At a base level, VanderMeer is a great writer. He has a mastery of the English language that always delights me when I read his stuff. So even when I struggled to like this story in the first half, his wordplay and prose were entertaining and thought-provoking. 

I loved the format. The story basically has two protagonists, since you see things from Janice’s point of view and then Duncan’s interpretations-- but it’s in a very postmodern way, not just a perspective switch like most novels do. Duncan’s commentary often brings much needed humor or heartbreak, depending on the situation. 

In particular, any scene in which Janice and Duncan interact directly is brilliant. Janice recalls a scene, but her memory is faulty (like anyone’s), so sometimes she forgets what they talked about, or interpreted an interaction in a certain way. Then Duncan dives in with his own commentary, supplying information Janice didn’t include or forgot, or correcting something she said, or offering an alternate interpretation... these scenes were fascinating to read and some of my favorite parts of the novel. 

There’s a lot of fun revelations and Easter eggs for people who read City of Saints and Madmen. In particular: 

My favorite story in the first book was The Cage, which is a work of fiction  within the universe of Ambergris by a man named Sirin. In particular there is a very creepy and distinct monster that plays a pivotal role in the story. However, since it’s technically fiction within fiction, that monster and the events didn’t really happen in canon... right? Imagine my surprise in this book when Janice encounters and describes a very similar monster. This struck me as odd, until I got to epilogue/afterword at the end... written by Sirin, and everything clicked. He got the idea for his “fictional” monster from Janice’s account in this story. He doesn’t state this outright, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense. I loved that. It was like putting a puzzle together and it would have been so easy to miss. And there’s the extra horror that something like that really exists in this world. There was other stuff like this but this one stood out to me, and I’m sure there’s other things I missed. 

This mostly concerns the second half, but the war sequences and memories are horrific and brilliant. It's very World War II-esque with a unique twist to it (the awful fungal bio weapons one of the sides uses). In particular, the war is introduced with a chapter about a ceasefire opera staged in the broken city... without spoiling it, it’s an excellent and intriguing self-contained story. 

And the horror chapter about the Festival, which is conspicuously absent in the rest of the story? Just so goddamn good. VanderMeer strikes just the right chord with me when it comes to horror. It’s always fresh and intensely creepy. 

If you told me this during the first half, I wouldn’t believe you -- but I ended up loving the characters and finding most of their relationships fascinating. This is a heartbreaking story and it really hit home by the end. 

With that lofty praise, what’s my issue with Part I? The simplest way I can put it is that the struggles Duncan and Janice face are so mundane. They would maybe be interesting in a generic work of fiction, but here they felt out of place. For example, Janice’s arc concerns her rise to fame, which leads to success, which leads to lavish parties and orgies, which leads to excesses and a drug addiction, which leads to a suicide attempt, which leads to rehab, which leads to a diminished life of poverty. Yes, these can be interesting and harrowing problems in the right context, but the strongest point of these books is the setting, and there was nothing that tied these events to Ambergris. You could easily go through and change the character/place names and it wouldn’t seem off. 

Duncan is a little more interesting in this regard, because his is a story of obsession. In particular, he’s obsessed with the gray caps (strange humanoid mushroom creatures that haunt the pages of these books), and it takes over his life until he becomes totally discredited as a historian. But even he falls into this trap when he becomes a college professor and has an affair with one of his much younger students (Yikes! Though it is treated as creepy within the story, at least). That takes over most of his character’s emotional core from that point. 

Said student -- Mary Sabon -- is a core antagonist in the story. Janice in particular obsesses over her and her personal vendetta against her, and honestly even with the second part I was never really sold on this or cared about it all that much, so I was disappointed it took up so much of the story. 

All of this would be one thing, but there’s all sorts of tantalizing hints about more interesting things. The gray caps probably have some ulterior motive that no one knows! There’s this crazy eldritch Machine hidden underground! Duncan is sort of turning into a mushroom! But these are only teased before the story pivots back to something comparatively uninteresting. Rather than encouraging me with the cool foreshadowing, it just got grating because it meant there were more interesting events and stories going on that I didn’t get to see for some arbitrary reason. Janice also rambles and goes back and forth quite a bit. This is clearly intentional (after all, you learn in the end this is a mostly unedited draft -- at least in the fiction of the story), but even so, it can be hard to follow at times. 

Part II justifies a lot of this because these hints do pay off. You DO get to see a lot of the interesting stuff in detail at this later point of the story, and it’s not always what you expect. There’s overt and subtle dramatic irony and contrast between what characters go through in the first half versus the stranger, more profound traumas of the second half. You learn Janice is suffering from some severe PTSD and it explains a lot of the manic style in the first half. But again, is it worth 245-ish mediocre (to me) pages? I think that probably depends on the reader. I had a problem with it-- but clearly a lot of people don’t, based on reviews I’ve skimmed. Many put the book down and don’t finish it, but that’s true for any book. Hell, lots of people preferred the first half, so who knows. 

Ultimately, I’m glad I read this book. For me it really does come together in an amazing way toward the end, and I found myself really caring about Janice and Duncan. If you read City of Saints and Madmen and want more of the characters and the world, then definitely give this a try. But it is a pretty niche book as these things go, so I can’t recommend it to everyone. 

Anyway, I’ve come this far -- so I’m going to read Finch, the final (for now?) installment in this universe. 

[the-potter-analyst]

Chapter 2 - Dobby’s Warning

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text word of the day: Control

When looking for how control is used in this chapter, I was mostly concerned with Harry and his lose of control. On the flip side, this also means how others are exerting control over Harry. As soon as the chapter begins, Harry completely loses control over the situation: While he was basically forced to be quiet in his bedroom, it was Harry’s own decision to follow through with what the Dursleys asked of him, yet all that goes out the window when Dobby shows up. Harry has control over his self, but not so much with a magical stranger that unfortunately makes a lot of noise. And Harry constantly tries to take back control by trying to soothe Dobby or quiet him, which doesn’t work out in the end. Then things continue to spiral out of control when a) Dobby refuses to give back his letters and b) destroys Petunia’s pudding, and then c) the Ministry sending a warning via owl and causing chaos, which d) makes the Dursleys aware that Harry can’t actually use magic outside of school. Harry essentially loses what little control he had over the Dursleys, tipping the balance further in favor of them. 

The hosts of the podcast pointed out that basically everyone is trying to control another person in this chapter, which very nicely summarizes my thoughts lol. Something I hadn’t noticed was the parallel between Dobby blocking Harry’s letters and Vernon keeping Harry from reading his Hogwarts letter the year before. They’re the same actions, but with different intentions and seemingly different reactions from Harry. While Vernon had done it out of fear and malice, Dobby did it with good intentions. Interestingly, as soon as Harry found out that Dobby had his letters, he immediately made a grab for them which makes me think about how Harry had immediately formed a plan to get his Hogwarts letter after realizing letters would keep coming. Harry is indeed a boy of action.

As a kid, I think I just saw the Dursleys as “evil” like any other one-dimensional antagonist, but as an adult, I’m absolutely disgusted by what they do to Harry. After discovering that Harry is powerless to do anything, they put bars on his window, put a cat-flap on his door to put food through, which isn’t enough for both him and Hedwig, and they only let him out to use the bathroom twice a day. Like. what the actual fuck??? That’s shit people pull on prisoners, and even that is inhumane. Doing that to a child is so much worse. 

And can we also talk about the Ministry?? What kind of shoddy system do they have where they can’t even tell who had cast magic. And how can they not know the difference between house elf magic and underage magic?? Because it’s not as if any magic that’s cast around an underage wizard/witch notifies them, since that’s just impractical in wizarding families or when a child is with an adult in general. And arguably what Harry (accidentally) does to Aunt Marge in book 3 is far worse than using a hover charm in an empty room, and that incident had no repercussions. So what the heck. “Enjoy your holidays” my ass.

I said previously that I would pay more attention to Harry’s dreams, and he had a very interesting dream at the end of the chapter. At first glance, it’s just a nightmare based on what has been happening to him, but looking into it further reveals something incredibly deep. Harry dreams that he’s in a zoo with people goggling at him and Dudley rattling the bars of his cage, which made me think about the Dudley’s birthday in book 1 (ironically also happened in chapter 2) when Harry interacts with the boa constrictor. Yet this time, Harry is in the snake’s place. I actually didn’t further analyze this before listening to the Sacred Text episode, but I was really excited that the hosts talked about this dream and also made this connection. If anyone recalls, that chapter’s word of the day was loneliness and the hosts had said the vanishing glass was a metaphor for the connection Harry and the snake created together, and now, Harry is the snake. I think that perfectly sets up a theme of this book, namely his discovery of having some of Voldemort’s powers. This dream is a manifestation of Harry’s worst outcome: him giving up, no strength to fight back, and becoming a spectacle. As I reiterated last post, Harry is very resourceful, so he’s afraid being maltreated and abused and isolated to the point of losing that fighting spirit. He also hates being a spectacle for people to gawk at. A fear he had in the previous book was not meeting the expectations set up for him because he was famous and he had plenty of anxious thoughts about students pointing and laughing at him, much like what happens to him in the dream.

On a more cheerful note, Harry is such a sweetheart. His immediate reaction to a weird creature being in his room is greeting it. I love that even though he wanted to ask “what are you,” he thought no no that’s rude 😂. 

Small things:

Harry, my dear child, please don’t compare your own abuse to Dobby’s. They are both equally cruel and inhumane. 

I’ll have to pay attention to Lucius Malfoy actions with the diary more closely, because I thought he tried to sell it off first. But he was apparently planning on giving it to a student for months?? 

Dobby thinks he’s smooth by saying the plot isn’t about Voldemort per se lmao, but in reality it still is if it’s about Voldemort returning to power

How tf did Harry jump six steps of the stairs and still manage to land catlike??? What ninja juice is he drinking 

God bless Ronald Weasley 🙌🏾

Previous: Chapter 1 - The Worst Birthday

Next: Chapter 3 - The Burrow

[weasleywinchester]

Unexpected Meetings and Risks Taken

Chapter 1 The Meeting at Baker Street

Chapter 2 The First Case

Chapter 3 His Name is Greg *swoon*

Series Summary:

Jamie Luna is an American in London. She’s managed to get herself stuck within Mycroft’s web and is sent to watch Sherlock’s every move. What She’s not prepared for is the love and friendships of a life time.

Chapter Summary:

Jamie Luna has just had to most romantic date that even had a little sizzle... and now she gets to go to work. Sherlock said to be a 221B asap, he’s on a case and needs someone else’s presence besides John. But how long before Jamie gets to see Greg again? It may be just around the corner...

Couches are not as comfortable as one expects. Well, Sherlock’s couch isn’t anyways. I roll onto my side, watching Sherlock pace back and forth across the flat, talking about his latest case. He seems to be having a mental breakdown. 

“He’s not.” John states from his chair as he skims today’s (well, yesterday’s) newspaper. I stare at him, hoping to burn a hole in the side of his head.

“What do you mean he’s not? Of course he is! LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE JOHN!” Sherlock shouts. John glares up at Sherlock and tries so damn hard not to roll his eyes. 

“I was talking to Jamie. About you. That you’re not having a mental breakdown. ” John cracks the newspaper and continues reading. 

“Why do I need to be here Sherlock? John says you’re fine. I think you’re raving mad because it’s THREE IN THE FUCKING MORNING!” I yell as I throw the blanket over my face. 

“You didn’t seem to mind being awake when you floated in here earlier” I poke my head out to see Sherlock cocking his eyebrow at me. I roll my eyes over to John, who has both his brows raised in questioning. 

“You came in with your makeup done to perfection, that’s not out of the ordinary but it was a little more heavy than normal. You have on a tight, short leather skirt suggesting you want male attention especially since you thought to forgo any tights. Your red- um no- orange top suggests a somewhat professional gathering, perhaps old colleagues, but the buttons could be undone further if you happened across someone that met your checklist. Your lips are stained dark pink suggesting that you had lipstick on but didn’t bother to reapply or, more likely, someone else removed it for you.” Sherlock spins on his heel to stare down at me on the couch.

“It’s called a lipstain Sherlock, it’s meant to fade over the course of the night.” I drag the blanket back over my head. Sherlock frowns and turns to John who shrugs his shoulders.

“Have you told Mycroft I’m mad?”

“I’ve told him that your brain is reeling on a case, but the only drugs you’ve taken are three nicotine patches.”

“Two” John corrects.

“Three. He put one on his other arm when you were making tea.” I mumble through the blanket. 

“Well, be thankful he hasn’t gotten a hold of any weapons yet.” 

I poke my head out and open my mouth to respond but I would rather not press for details, my job was to report on Sherlock’s current well being, not to unravel his past. Sherlock continues his pacing and problem solving and I must have nodded off at some point because John is gently shaking my shoulder.

“Jamie, Sherlock is out for a walk. Said he’d be back later.” John whispers. I crack my eyes open, glaring at John for not waking me when Sherlock left. 

“Here’s a strong tea, extra sugar; now hurry home and do what you need to do before he calls. Don’t you grumble at me missy! Off you go, hurry before he has a break though in this case.” John peels me off the couch and practically pushes me out onto the landing. 

I steadily make my way back to my own flat, walking instead of taking a cab. It’s about midday, the sun is out but it brings no warmth. I quickly undress as I walk into the flat and jump right into the shower. I try to recall the details of the current case as I scrub my body clean but I can’t remember anything after the exhaustion set in last night. Before that… I can still feel his hands on my body. The way his mouth moved against mine, how he smelled musky but not too strong, how I wanted him to explore every bit of my body... OH MY GOD! Did he call? I didn’t even check my phone when I left baker street! I rush out of the shower quickly throwing my hair in a towel and running to my phone. Of course it’s fucking dead! I jam the charger in and finish drying my body as I mentally beg my phone to resurrect faster. The logo flashes on the screen and then my phone buzzes three times. 

Messages from last night:

Mycroft: Good. Make sure he stays that way. Don’t let him out of your sight. 

Sherlock: Went out. - SH

Messages from this morning:

John: Sherlock’s back. Laying on the couch, hasn’t said anything in 20 minutes. Be ready to meet us somewhere soon :)

I sigh as I crash onto my bed. Nothing from Greg! I guess he does work for Scotland Yard so I can cut him a little slack. Maybe he wasn’t interested. I push the thought out of my head and get ready. The cute little coat I wore out last night was not cutting it earlier; so I grabbed my oversize tartan wool coat out of the closet. I think I’ll take my time doing my makeup today, never know who you’ll bump into when you’re running after Sherlock; or working for Mycroft for that matter.  I just finish filling in my eyebrows when my phone lets out a few dings.

SH: This address. Hurry - SH

JW: This address. See you there!

(?): Hi Jamie, had an amazing time last night. Maybe we could do dinner tonight? - Greg

HA! He texted! I happy dance and nearly trip over my two feet when another ding sounds.

Greg: New case just came up. Rain check for breakfast tomorrow?

Awww man. I have to wait until tomorrow??? That’s just not fair! I reply as I make my way out the door:

To Greg: I had an amazing time too <3 Sounds perfect! Let me know where :D

To John: See you there! Maybe I’ll get to cross the tape this time!

To Sherlock: Hurrying!

I quickly shoot Mycroft a message with the address of the crime scene and reread Greg’s message so I can over analyze it (as one does). I look at mine again as well. Oh… no… I put a heart?? Will he think that’s weird? We kinda  went on one date… and I’m sending hearts. I gotta remember hearts, the cry laugh emoji and the phrase “lol” do not need to be in every message! 

I arrive rather quickly at the crime scene, they’re just now taping off the area, although it is much later in the evening than I expected. I take my post at the edge of the tape near an ambulance that has pulled up. It’s the perfect spot to hear their conversations as well as anything coming through their radios. I give Donovan a little wave, but she purses her lips together and goes back to talking to one of the officers. I make small conversation with some of the medical workers, very friendly people. 

After about 20 minutes I can hear Sherlock yelling throughout the apartment building. I blink and see a black blur come flying out the door and into a cab. I walk towards it but it’s already pulling away, leaving me standing in the middle of the road. He left? He left! What the fuck am I supposed to say to-

“Left us here, did he?” John says behind me. I turn to him and shake my head.

“How do we follow him John?

“We don’t for now. He’ll be back at the flat in no time.” John gives my shoulder a squeeze. 

“Jamie? Jamie Luna?” Someone behind us shouts. John and I both turn and my jaw hits the pavement. It’s Greg! We meet him at the edge of the tape, he lifts it for John and I to cross under.

“Jamie, Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade. Although I assume you already know that.” John says, the Cheshire grin on his face growing wider by the second. “Greg, Jamie Luna.”

“Yes, we’ve met. Good to see you Detective Inspector.” I can’t help but smile like an idiot. The title suits him, as does the suite...

“We have indeed. Where’s Sherlock gone?” Greg asks, his question directed at John but his eyes never leaving me.

“Off to think we presume.”

“We?” He glances between John and I.

“Remember when I said I was basically a nanny?” Greg’s mouth falls open astonished. “Ya I get to follow Sherlock everyday, text his big brother where he is and get paid loads of money.” I squish my lips together and brace myself, not sure if Greg will think I’m crazy or not.

“Bloody brilliant! Didn’t think anyone could one over Mycroft.” The three of us share a laugh, the silence no longer awkward. 

“Well I best be off, have a date in a little bit. Greg, mind walking Jamie home? Her flat isn't too far.” John says, his voice a normal tone but his eyes are full of mischief. I give him a little glare before turning to Greg.

“It’s alright if you can’t, you’re obviously working.” I point my words at John.

“Of course I’ll take you home, just give me a few minutes to wrap up here.” He gives me a lopsided grin. I shake my head in agreement because I do not trust any words that will tumble out of my mouth. He shakes John’s hand goodbye and goes back to talk with Donovan.

“Do you actually have a date this bloody early?” I glare at John.

“I might.” He grins at me, gives a slight bow and catches the next taxi.

I waited around for half an hour; but since Greg let me into the taped off area I decided to poke my nose around. I saw the paramedics take a body out of the building, but it was in a bag so I couldn’t see anything. I got to talking with the CSI photographer and a few other detectives about possible events leading to this accident. 

“Ready Ms. Luna?” Greg whispers into my ear as he puts his hand lightly on the small of my back. I nod and quickly tell the people I was talking to goodbye. “I hope you don’t mind if I just drive you?” 

“Oh how horrible! You’re going to make me sit for the short car journey instead of making me walk all over London like my boss?” I laugh. He flashes a brilliant smile and I have to remember not to melt into a puddle. We chat about the case, well about Sherlock’s deductions. He may sound raving mad but Greg tells me he’s more brilliant than half of Scotland Yard. He pulls the car up to the curb, both of us sitting in silence for a few moments.

“Would you like to come in for dinner?” I squeak. I glance at him, his mouth is slightly ajar. Moving too fast? Assuming too much… No. He drove me home of his own free will, and he keeps smiling at me like that... it can’t just be in my head right? “There’s a homemade deep dish pizza calling our names...” I sing-song. 

“Pizza with a beautiful woman? How could I say no?” He reaches over to push my hair off my shoulders, his thumb light grazing my neck.

“Well, ok then” I breathe out. He gives me a little smile, his thumb moving back and forth along the side of my neck. Wait… he said yes! I jump out of the car and race to my door. I quickly unlock it and begin picking up the clothes I peeled off earlier and throw them into the dryer. I race back to the front door and try to conceal the fact that the tiny sprint I just did has left me short of breath. 

“Well this is posh...” Greg mentions as he looks around. I haven’t been living in my flat very long so a lot still needs to be decorated. 

“Yes, Mycroft said it would be better if I was in the general vicinity of Sherlock. He also assured me that if I moved to 221B I would most likely never get a good night's sleep.” Greg chuckles at that, I imagine working with Sherlock as much as he does gives the same effect. I quickly heat up the pizza and set the table. Last night I made a mental note on what beer Greg was drinking but the food delivery was set for tomorrow. 

“I don’t have any beer, but will wine do?” I shout from the kitchen, trying my hardest to reach the darn wine glasses. I feel his hand rest on my hip, his body lightly pressing against my back.

“Yes love.” He answers right next to my ear as he stretches to grab the two glasses. He sets them on the counter in front of me. His arm snakes around my waist and he nuzzles his nose into my hair.

“Miss me Detective Inspector?” My voice comes out more even than I though possible.

He hums in agreement, brushing my hair off my shoulder and laying a gentle kiss on the base of my neck. I take a deep breath and twirl around so now our noses gently brush each other. He presses his lips gently to mine, my heart threatening to leap out of my chest.

*DING DING DING*

“That would be the pizza” I mumble against his lips, my eyes still closed. 

“Guess we will have to finish this later.” he gives me a quick peck and grabs the pizza out of the microwave. 

We settle at the table, and raise our glasses.

“To unexpected meetings.” I say, tilting my glass towards Greg.

“And risks taken” he adds as we clink glasses..

Martin GIF from @sannapersikka Hope you don’t mind! You have the perfect collection of Martin gifs

Pic from: https://pin.it/7hkAX6X

______________________

I HAVE A TAG LIST?!?! Here it be:

@fangirl-iz