#even if all I'm running off of is just vibes

[dulcescorderitas]

𝔠𝔬𝔶𝔬𝔱𝔢!𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯

moonlight. bare feet. ripped jeans. stolen kisses in the dark. silver. whiskey. cigarette smoke. freedom. desert roads. bruised knuckles. messy hair. pickup trucks. bad decisions. teasing smirks. running wild. outlaw heart. some poor bastard’s ex. motel beds. nasty little thing. dirty laughter. feral grins. slick thighs. rough hands. hungry mouths. sin-stained sheets. official sex kitten.

she loves to party, and not just the casual night out—she thrives on chaos, the kind of nights that end in smoky motel rooms with whiskey bottles on the floor, bruises on her knuckles, and half-forgotten memories of dancing on bar tops. her idea of unwinding is a bonfire, a pack of wild friends, and a game of chicken with the cops.

her dad was a hunter, and a damn good one at that. he taught her how to shoot before she learned how to drive, and by the time she hit sixteen, she was tracking wendigos in the snow without missing a step. she grew up on the road, learning how to patch up wounds, stitch torn flesh, and carry on even when everything hurt. after he died on a hunt gone sideways, she swore she’d never let herself get that attached to anyone again—until she met the winchesters.

she’s always been interested in both sam and dean, torn between the way sam’s brain works like a puzzle she wants to solve and the way dean’s confidence feels like a fire she wants to dance too close to. sam makes her think about the future, about settling down, about being something more than a hunter. dean makes her feel alive, reckless, untouchable, like she could go out in a blaze of glory and never regret it. the choice isn’t just hard—it feels impossible.

she has an old cassette tape collection that she guards with her life. each one has a different vibe—one for hunts, one for long drives, one for nights where she can’t sleep because the weight of the past presses too hard on her chest. dean respects the hell out of it, sam pretends not to care but knows every track by heart, and she refuses to upgrade to digital because, in her words, "the moment you do, the music loses its soul."

she’s got a tattoo for every major hunt she’s survived. some are sigils inked into her skin to ward off evil, some are little pieces of memory—coordinates of the first vampire nest she wiped out, a line from her dad’s journal, the scarred-over remnants of an exorcism gone wrong. each mark is a reminder that she’s still here, still fighting, even when everything in the world has tried to take her down.

under all the hell she has been through—the sleepless nights, the close calls, the scars both seen and unseen—she still believes there’s something more waiting for her. she clings to the idea that one day, she won’t have to wake up with blood on her hands, that she can carve out a life beyond hunting. maybe it’s naive, maybe it’s just another lie she tells herself to keep going, but deep down, she refuses to let the darkness win. she still has hope for her future, even if she has to fight for it every step of the way.

imagines

meeting

dulce's notes: not the sexiest intro for a sexy !reader but im so excited about her!!! also tonight i'm going to post for cj braxton 🤭

taglist: @iloveeveryoneyoureamazing @legalmente-loca @bluemerakis @whisperingdaze @cherrygirlfriend @figthoughts @sunsbaby @ambiguous-avery @sunnyteume

[followerofmercy]

Oh my God I just realized the reason Arlecchino is Like That is because she's never known a parental figure as anything but an antagonist. Essay incoming:

I saw some really good analysis pointing out that Crucabena's existence was almost certainly a retcon for the Knave/Director of the House of Hearth's unforgivable behavior, and I agree. Nobody's ages make any sense without having to do a mental contortionist act and there was a distinct vibe of the Chasm Hearthlings being particularly brutal.

(That is part of why I don't usually get into super long-running stories. There will inevitably be some half baked ideas that you have to introduce early on for foreshadowing, but then the rest of the story moves in a way where there's a better option, and then you have to find a way to make the new idea work with the groundwork already laid. Personally, I think a footnote saying "We changed our minds - this is the edited version" is perfectly acceptable. A story is a conversation between the audience and author but whatever)

ANYWAY! It feels so fucking weird saying this because while I'm on the "they should be Worse, Actually" train 99% of the time, this is that 1% where I think Arlecchino being on the very very light side of morally gray makes for a way more interesting story than if they had've kept her true to the original idea.

I love evil women more than the next guy but I think the continued operation of the House of Hearth being a spit in the face to the Fontainian government and the Fatui and the idea of how a 'normal' family should look - because none of these kids are normal and that has directly led to their abuse - and that being a good thing is. Idk. Refreshing? I think it's a much more powerful message that Arlecchino was the only goddamn person that actually got results trying to do something about all these abused children. She is actually doing some incredible work in a terrible situation. In a world where these kids’ options are “being trafficked” and “Fatui pawns,” I think “Independent child soldiers operating under the Fatui banner but staying true to themselves” is a pretty damn good alternative. 

It’s also important that the rest of society’s lack of care is directly responsible for the continued existence of the House of Hearth as it is. I mean fuck’s sake, Fontaine has a community of people living in the SEWER. If there was a public orphanage that wasn’t operated by predators, I’m sure most children would be there instead! But no. Nobody wants these kids. And, God forbid Wriothesley decided to do something about being sold. The victim blaming is off the charts. There is no way for Arlecchino to operate peacefully within the existing system, so she made her own. 

So the actual point of this essay: It’s everywhere in Arlecchino’s story, dialogue and actions that she wants her children to support each other, but because of how Crucabena raised her, she can’t really envision herself as part of that family (even if she actually is part of it and the majority of the kids love her dearly.) A parent is something to be feared, eventually killed, and removed from the path of their successor. Everyone likes to highlight little Perurere asking if it’s normal for biological mothers and daughters to argue. On some level I think she knows it’s wrong, but still. Literally all she’s ever seen is a parent as an obstacle to overcome. None of the children in her care had good parents and, if they did, the parents are dead. 

(Also hot take that Crucabena probably thought extremely highly of Arlecchino and gave her special treatment. She felt that Clervie was holding her actual favorite daughter back. I imagine Arlecchino also has very complicated feelings in Crucabena’s role in raising her to be as strong as she is while also being an objective monster, but that’s a topic for another time.) 

Even Arlecchino’s constellation talks about her being alone while instructing her children to care for one another. That separation ties into her being outwardly contradictory about rules. In her story quest, she spends the majority of it aware that her children are disobeying her, but as long as she doesn’t catch them, she can’t rightfully punish them now can she? Now excuse her while she makes herself scarce so they can get up to their mischief. She lip services - and by that I mean lies - about the importance of rules. She Actively Encourages her children to disobey her so long as they do it smart, which is a way to teach them how to circumvent the unjust laws of Fontaine and the Fatui without getting caught. If her kids fuck up bad enough she’ll “punish” them before they get actually killed by something worse than her, and if they successfully trick her (with her blessing), then there’s a good chance they’ll live. (Or, yk, if they wanna leave she’ll let them asldfj) 

So, again, I'll keep preaching that Arlecchino's whole MO is that she is setting herself up as an antagonist for her children, and her children's allies, to test themselves against. She actively encourages rebellion against her, unfair rules, the system, the Fatui, Fontaine, etc, because that's how she survived her own upbringing and the only way she knows for her family to protect themselves. She is keenly aware that she is Not Gentle, Not Fair (even if I do neglect that part in my own writing), and that there probably is a better way to do things. That’s why she wants Lyney specifically to succeed her. She cannot envision a perfect Hearth with her in it because she is the Parent, and historically, Parents are obstacles to be removed. 

Arlecchino’s greatest wish as the King of the House of Hearth is to be dethroned, and I think that is WAY more interesting than the abusive, violent tyrant Hoyo teased at first.

[herrscherofmagic]

I already reblogged an earlier version of this but I just *have* to jump in again because of all these other additions I hadn't seen yet!

I think it's the subtleties of worldbuilding in Part 1 that really made it feel different from Part 2, in a way such that even though Part 2 has a higher production quality, Part 1 felt more "genuine" in an odd way.

That's why even thought Part 2 still has some of the same cast in Part 1, it doesn't have the same *vibe*. Because the cast feel like they're there because "they're the main characters" (of Part 1) and "deserve" to be there, not because it feels natural for them to be there.

When I first started Honkai 3rd, I wasn't super into it because the beginning of the game was pretty confusing, and also had a very superhero-y vibe that I'm usually not a big fan of. I don't have anything against superhero stuff, but I don't really go out and actively consume content from Marvel or DC or anything like that.

Growing up, I was often a bigger fan of stories like Halo where you might've had a super "individual" like Master Chief, but they were always a part of a bigger thing, a complex world in which they were one of many moving parts.

However, I actually got back into Honkai 3rd because I was playing Genshin at the time and Dragonspine had just released. I enjoyed Dragonspine's lore and worldbuilding so much that I thought "wait a minute, if Mihoyo has this great worldbuilding in Genshin, then maybe Honkai 3rd had some stuff I missed?"

So that's when I got into reading the Honkai manga and stuff, and then caught up with the in-game story. THAT worldbuilding and backstory made all the difference to me. The actual dialogue and gameplay and story pacing of Chapters 1-6 in-game kinda sucked, the Valkyrie Chronicles weren't too interesting, etc.

BUT the manga hinted at a much bigger story and more complex world with a variety of actors and agents who were each shaping the story in their own way, and that's what compelled me to push on. And it was in the Battle of Schicksal in Chapters 7-9 that the story really started getting "good" in Part 1.

The thing is that for all the jank and poor writing and untapped potential in Part 1, even in the earliest days you can tell the writers had a LOT of cool ideas that they either didn't have the time or resources to execute on. And this is evidenced by how chock-full the game was of little details and lore tidibts.

Exhibit A: Battleship Hyperion

From the very beginning, the adventures of the main cast were set in the backdrop of Battleship Hyperion (and St. Freya). The story began with Kiana et al. being deployed from Hyperion, and a lot of the early story stuff we see had them traveling via Hyperion.

It was always implied that Himeko was the leader of this entire ship, and that it had a whole crew complement off-camera doing work in the background. We never really saw this crew in-game because the game had a very limited number of NPCs to begin with, but the manga showed it at times, and it's implied in the operations of Hyperion like when they use the main cannon to attack the Judgment-class Honkai beast Chiyou.

We even see bits of the crew, with the obvious example being the three crew members in the bridge screen, and my favorite example being the crew we see in the distance during the loading screen:

Exhibit B: Schicksal as an Organization

So, Hyperion is supposed to be a vessel all of its own, right? With a captain and crew? And Kiana and her friends are just a part of its crew complement, right? (Technically they just deploy from Hyperion, they don't make the ship run, but you get what I mean).

Well, if Battleship Hyperion has all these off-camera background characters making the ship work... then what about the other ships in the background of the Armada main menu?

It's a still image so obvi you can't see the motion, but in-game you can see those ship .jpgs moving across the screen.

IIRC this image is actually from a part of the map in the Schicksal HQ Open World, which is set when AE attacked Schicksal HQ, hence the AE mechs here. But the personnel you see are the same as the ones of Hyperion, and you see Hyperion docked in the background. So this image is just a re-use of assets to save resources, but the intention is for the Armada screen to convey the idea of Schicksal being this organization with a whole host of ships and their own crews doing their own missions.

Schicksal always felt like it fit the role of this big international organization because the game showed us Battleship Hyperion and the fact that it's the flagship of the Far East branch, then showed us smaller ships like Helios and then told us that there were dozens of other ships in the Schicksal Armada, too.

The very concept of "Armadas" as a gameplay thing for players to interact with, that functioned as an extension of this worldbuilding. Hyperion was the focus of the main story, but the gameplay of the Armada system always hinted that there could be entire other groups of Valkyries much like Kiana et al. that were also doing their own thing in fighting Honkai.

They wouldn't have had the specific unique circumstances like Kiana and Mei being Herrschers, for instance, but it still felt like we could believe that this special crew was just one of many groups of Valkyries fighting to protect the world.

Exhibit C: Weapon lore

Both AE and Schicksal have collections of weapons we can use in-game, but most of these were released very early on in the story. These weapons often have descriptions that weren't just flowery poetic language, but instead gave specific details about the worldbuilding.

These were subtle things that didn't make or break any big story plot points, but which again further reinforced the idea that there was more going on behind the scenes. Including referencing Dr. Nagamitsu before she appeared in-game (and I think even before she appeared in the VN?).

Here are a few of my favorite examples of the weapon lore:

ME Corp's Project: MEI and the X-10 experiment, Schicksal's St. 1504 and St. 7308 Labs, and World Serpent's Mikoyan Design Bureau. These were all frequently cited in the weapon descriptions and supported the notion that the Valkyrie weapons didn't just poof out of thin air with their battlesuits like the Herrscher weapons, but instead were a concentrated development effort made by these different factions.

A lot of that stuff might feel obvious, like "well, duh! of course someone made the weapons!", but the thing about worldbuilding is that it's always appreciated when you can actually see the hints of it in the story and gameplay.

I could cite more examples of this early worldbuilding; for instance, all the other Valkyrie squads we encounter in the game & manga, from the Immortal Blades to the Phosdjinns, from Squad Snowwolf to the Valkyrie Assault Squad, and so on.

But this is already getting pretty long and rant-y so I just want to sum up what I think the issue with Part 2 worldbuilding is.

The major problem that makes Part 2 so incongruent with Part 1 is that we have a clear disconnect between the entire setting of Part 2, and the worldbuilding we already had in Part 1. This is because we only have a very small number of characters from Part 1 that actively engage with Part 2's setting at any given moment, and the connection between the two wasn't so clearly established until several chapters in.

Here's the thing: before the reveal that Schicksal brought the Dreamseeker terminal back to the Moon base, for all we knew Helia & Coralie were still trapped on Mars. The game made it very clear at the beginning that Helia and Coralie were exploring ruins and got pulled into the weird "space" that ended up being the simulated Mars civilization.

But at some point, they escaped and they made contact with Schicksal again, and the Dreamseeker Terminal was brought back to the Moon. At that point, they began to treat this as more of an expedition, where they could "log out" and discuss matters with their superiors and get constant support. There were a few subtle hints of this, but nothing too overt until the "big reveal".

So what ended up happening was Part 2 started as this self-contained story with only a trace of Part 1 lore still affecting it. Part 1's story affected the backstory of Helia and Coralie, but ultimately how these two characters affected the story and setting of Part 2 was up to personal decisions based on their past. It wasn't the result of active interference by Schicksal, at least that's what we as the players thought.

So then the reveal happens and now we're regularly seeing Theresa and Mei and Bronya again. Great. There's still a gaping disconnect between all the lore and worldbuilding happening within the setting of Luoxing, vs. the worldbuilding we already had with Part 1.

It feels like they're operating on two different sets of rules, which we know must still be related to the Cocoon of Finality, but ultimately feel like two entirely different stories. And in the background, somehow all of this will end up leading to APHO?

Even if there proves to be lore justification for the differences we see in Earth vs. Luoxing, the problem doesn't change. It's that fundamentally different "vibe" that we can't easily put into words, because it's not just about what characters are on screen but WHY they're on screen and also what ISN'T on screen in the first place.

The early premise of Honkai 3rd is so different from what we have now. And a lot of what we learned about Honkai 3rd in the beginning doesn't help us understand what's going on with Luoxing anymore.

The fact that Schicksal was this big organization with tons of resources and a whole hierarchy and advanced support structure doesn't really mean shit anymore, because we can only see a handful of Valkyries entering the Luoxing simulation at any given moment. We can't even see Durandal leading the Immortal Blades anymore, she has to go in as a lone hero.

We don't get to see Alvitr and Susannah giving assistance from the side, we don't get to see Himeko or Theresa commanding Battleship Hyperion to provide fire support , we don't see AE deploying mechs to provide reinforcements.

So all the worldbuilding about Schicksal and AE as big factions ends up being sidelined because there's no way to make that work congruently with the entirely different set of worldbuilding rules that Part 2 is playing by.

Personally, this is why I felt that the snowy battlefield scenes in the most recent GLB release of the Part 2 story were some of the most "Honkai-like" scenes we had in YEARS. because for once, FINALLY, we had some big overarching "war" going on.

There wasn't just the Seven Shu Superhero Gang, there wasn't just Helia and Coralie and their super idols Bianka and Theresa. No, there was "Definitely Not Helia" and "Definitely Not Coralie" and the handful of normal "Valkyries", who were all said to be part of the same squad, deployed as part of a larger force, and sent to fight in one of many battles during an ongoing catastrophe.

That scene embodied everything that OG Honkai had. The Valkyries fighting together against a supernatural force, the battlefield ambience in the background, the command structure implied in the background, and so on.

This wouldn't be so sorely missed if Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 was spun off into its entirely own unique game.

If Part 2 was its own game, Mihoyo could've gone all-in with making Luoxing the new setting and ignored Earth entirely. Helia and Coralie could've been rewritten as Luoxing natives easily, and all the stuff with the Shus could've been the same. The "home base" setting, the St. Freya of Luoxing, would be the Oxia City Data Research Institute, just like we thought would be the home base before the stupid "Omg we're back on the moon! yay!!!" twist.

I'm still so pissed about that, by the way. Part 2 would've felt so much more natural if we kept the Oxia City home vibes instead of tossing it all away so that we could get more "OG crew fanservice" by putting us back on the Moon. I love the OG crew, I seriously do, I make plenty of fanart about them and have so many fic ideas for them, but Part 2 is being held back by this insistence on keeping these OG characters in the picture, imo.

A standalone-game version of Part 2 would've had its own unique vibes, and it wouldn't have encroached upon or discarded the original vibes that HI3rd had built with Schicksal and AE and Battleship Hyperion.

For instance, the Luoxing Zodiac could've been a perfect set-up for there to be 12-18 Astral Rings we discover and collect (like with Songque harnessing the power of a complete Astral Ring), much like the Elements in Genshin or the Paths of HSR.

"Maoyi Heaven" is the zodiac associated with the Pleiades star cluster, and that's what the Chapters 1-3 Astral Ring is related to. Basically, if we had to make an analogy to the Herrscher Authorities, Songque's Astral Ring would essentially be the "Authority of Maoyi" or "Authority of Pleiades". THAT'S COOL AS HELL, but the story doesn't really make that obvious connection. Because we can't dwell on Songque's power, noooo, we have to hurry up and go fuck around on the moon, guys! yay!

There's the other continents of Luoxing which are hinted at in a lot of texts, but which we hardly hear about in the main story because everything is centered on Ruimu right now. There was even an in-game text about the ancient history of the various continents, which was such an interesting set-up for more lore and worldbuilding there.

And there was also the entire setting of the Sea of Data, which again has been entirely sidelined right now in the story.

Ultimately, Honkai Impact 3rd wasn't a "military game" like Battlefield or Halo, but it still had that sort of back-drop. It was basically "magical girls in the military". That's why Kiana ran around with a pair of pistols, our starting weapons were literally IRL guns, and a lot of the early story featured mechs and battleships and things like that.

That contextualized our main characters as small pieces in a bigger plan, as seemingly ordinary people using powerful tools to fight against evil. What made these characters so amazing was how their unique circumstances let them grow from those seemingly ordinary Valkyries into legendary heroes in their own right.

The Elysian Realm lore managed to preserve some of that feeling with the Flame-chasers, too. Despite all the differences it brought, at the end of the day we still had the same structure of "massive complex organization with advanced research tirelessly works to save humanity" and many of the Flamechasers had humble beginnings.

Part 2 had none of that, and that would've been okay if the way Part 2 was written didn't insist on simultaneously sidelining Part 1 worldbuilding while also trying to desperately hold on to the Part 1 cast. It feels like the Part 1 cast is still here out of nostalgia's sake, even if there are supposed justifications for it in the story.

/end rant

My face when I do not want to play hi3 because it's fundamentally not the same game i fell in love with anymore but every time i see it on my dash I immediately want to reinstall it,, LET ME GET OVER IT AHHHH

[seiya-starsniper]

for the angst prompt!! "why does this feel like goodbye?"

im laying my heart down for you to trample on it

Vi I hope you like weird sci-fi vibes because this is what my brain wanted to write today 😅

--------------------

“You need to leave before this whole place explodes!” Hob yells, gesturing frantically towards the cargo bay where the escape pods are located. “Now, Dream!”

“I’m not leaving without you!” Dream yells back, frustrated. “We’re a team! Partners don’t leave each other behind.” 

Hob barks out a laugh. “Better late than never, I guess,” he says grinning like his birthday has come early. “You know I’m the only one with the self-destruct codes. And there’s still people on the ship. They need someone to help them escape safely. I’ll catch up later once everything’s ready.”

“Hob, don’t lie to me,” Dream warns. He may not be as familiar as Hob with the ship’s mechanics, but even he knows the distance between the control panel and the cargo bay is too far to outrun the self-destruct timer. It was built as a last resort and the person who sets it off is meant to go down with the ship.  

“I’ve always got a trick or two up my sleeve, Dream,” Hob replies, giving him his signature wink. “I’ll find my own way off the ship before it explodes.”

Dream doesn’t believe him. He’s known Hob too long to recognize the false bravado behind that smile. Hob doesn’t have a plan.

“If you truly have a plan to escape,” Dream growls, stepping closer to Hob, “then why does this feel like goodbye?”

The sad smile he receives from Hob nearly knocks Dream off his feet.

“I never could fool you, not really,” Hob says. “ You’re right. There’s no guarantee that I’ll make it off the ship in time. But I’m going to do my damnest to try, and I need you to trust me, okay?” 

Dream wants to yell, wants to scream that this is a terrible idea. Wants to drag Hob off the ship with him, the consequences be damned. 

Instead, he wraps his arms around Hob and pulls him into a kiss.

Despite the circumstances, they don’t rush as their lips brush and Hob’s tongue eventually slips into his. Dream groans as their bodies press together, and by the time they pull apart, they’re both breathing heavily. 

Dream levels Hob with a serious stare. 

“Promise me you’ll escape. Swear it.” Dream demands.

“Holy shit,” Hob breathes. “I - yes. I’ll find my way back to you. I promise. Keep your communicator on. That’s how I’ll find you.”

Dream steals one more kiss, then dashes off to go gather the last of the crew to escape. 

The ship explodes fifteen minutes after their escape pod launches. 

Dream clutches tightly at his communicator, hoping against all odds, and waits.

–

Dream’s communicator has been silent for 26 months.

Specifically it has been 26 months, 10 days, 8 hours and 45 minutes since he fled the explosion of The Leviathan, a ship whose crew had been overrun by enemy forces. Dream managed to escape with the last of their team, but Hob…

Dream refuses to give up hope. He’s been separated from Hob for long stretches of time before (but never this long). Hob is resourceful, they’ve survived so many near-death experiences together, survived a literal planet explosion together with nothing but hope and Hob’s stubborn refusal to die.

So Dream waits. Hob said…he promised he would come back to Dream. They’d kissed on it. Dream’s lips still tingle when the memory washes over him.

Dream sighs when his stomach begins to grumble, and he places the device down on the nightstand, and walks out of his room to eat with his crew in the mess hall. 

In the darkness of the room, there is a crackle of static, and the communicator screen lights up.

--------

Send me an Angst Prompt!

[loumauve]

a little more disorganised exploring

[sskk-manifesto]

Next time we should just skip over ep 3 and do a chapters 84-87 reread

[parachutingkitten]

I'm hearing all your points here, and I definitely agree with most of them. I think the main thing here is that, regardless of what comes next, the first full two seasons of the show have done a very bad job at setting up this supposed arc (which they've potentially been trying to set up this entire run time), so however it ends, it is going to be a poorly written arc, because the set up was kind of botched. Even if season three shows us some actual flaws in Lloyd's mentorship, it will be behaviors we see begin AFTER it has supposedly already driven Arin away. I don't see a way to retcon your way into a great arc about Lloyd's failures as a teacher, because currently the show gives us no tangible failings, even though we've already seen the supposed fall out of them. It's backwards.

The one time I think we actually see Lloyd do something you *might* be able to perceive as genuinely hurtful is when he refuses to go after Jay- and even then the narrative has multiple people on our team taking his side and thoroughly explaining the logic behind it. We're supposed to be disappointed sure, but they can't even stomach framing this as Lloyd making a bad call.

I think part of the problem is that having Lloyd fail as a teacher and mentor for his students for longer than an episode's length of time, means that all the little kids who look up to your main character are also going to be hearing and absorbing flawed lessons from him in that time. There's nothing you can really do to stop that, he's been the face of the franchise for too long to not have kids idolize him, so unless you're making a reboot rated for teens, you just can't have the narrative commit to him using advice or methods that are fundamentally flawed for a prolonged period of time.

This is part of the reason I THOUROUGHLY believe the narrative will not be giving any leeway to Ras's methodology. Ninjago has never been a show for gray area, and I really don't see it starting here. The narrative goes out of its way to tell us Ras is hiding the truth about the merge, and manipulating facts to a disingenuous degree. In the very few words we get from Ras about his plan, it sounds more like he wants to resegregate the realms rather than get back what the merge took away (could be totally wrong about this, this is just vibes), and he literally shatters the good out of people as part of his plan. I don't think they're going to try and find balance with that.

The delegation plot is not one I think would fix this problem. It doesn't really have set up either, and as you said, wouldn't answer my initial frustrations in the most satisfying way- but if any arc we get at this point is inevitably going to be half baked, I would prefer it be one we haven't seen him do before. And Lloyd cracking under the pressures of his lineage isn't exactly new. You could lean into Lloyd isolating himself and his responsibilities in season three and get just as good a humility plotline as you would a potential Wu plotline. Both have a one off episode focusing in on the concept, and some vague hints otherwise thrown around here or there. Neither would end in a good full series arc, but one of them would definitely be my personal preferred option.

Also, I don't know that my theoretical wish fulfillment arc would necessarily focus on a need to take care of everything on his part, but rather the idea that he ties his self worth to his ability to do these things, to be a Master. He has low self esteem because he is expected to be a Master, but feels he can not do it. Him delegating that responsibility alone certainly does not solve that resolve that issue, it would probably just make him more depressed, but proving he can be a master doesn't necessarily do it either. You would need the arc to focus more on the disentangling of those two concepts- his ability to teach and his self confidence. Sure, him realizing he does have what it takes to be a master would validate his confidence, but him realizing that being a master is not a measure of his worth is, I think, a higher realization than that, and a more permanent stabilization for his confidence. And letting go of the master position all together in good spirits would be ultimate proof that he has moved past that attachment. You'd have to do a lot in between his starting point of unconfidence and his eventual giving up of the role, but it would track long term, assuming you don't mess it up.

Maybe Lloyd just shouldn't be a master.

He's clearly not very good at it. He's been trying it since season 5, and his first real students both take FOREVER to make any progress. Sora takes a whole season to unlock her powers, but apparently isn't taught spinjitzu in any of that time- the literal first thing we see taught to any of our characters in the original show. Arin somehow makes backwards progress with Lloyd, and then after doing like three poses with his friend seems to get it instantly.

Like... seems like he's just not very good at teaching. Maybe he should hand the position over to Kai, he's got a natural knack for it, a lot more experience, and a much higher success rate as far as I'm concerned. Master Kai for the win.

[weirfq1]

with all these gaston crackships/rarepairs that are coming out lately it would be so fucking funny if he had a flig with all the main characters (ambar, nina, simon... hell luna too if you want) and they all know it except matteo

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Malice (Dad Squad)

Fair warning, this does have TotK content but none of it is spoilers. It's all literally stuff from the trailer. But anyway, I had fun writing it. :)

The lurch was absolutely nauseating.

Rusl shivered on his hands and knees, dizzy and disoriented and so unbelievably ill. He'd never been pulled in so many directions at once at such an unimaginable speed. He could barely make out his surroundings, having been torn from the jungle where they'd been wandering.

Taking steadying breaths, Rusl kept his eyes squeezed shut to reorient and not throw up. He remained stiff, not daring to move until the wave of nausea had passed. As his mind slowly stopped spinning,

The grass beneath him was damp, littered with little stones, which was the first thing he noticed. The stones felt... unnaturally shaped. Running a finger along it, he felt the curved edges, the too straight lines framing it.

Cobblestone. Cobblestone with grass growing through it, so withered and worn it was barely there anymore.

More ruins?

Exhaling, Rusl slowly opened his eyes. It was a dismally dark day, wherever they were. Storm clouds brooded overhead, he could tell by the lighting and the damp. Beside him, Abel was laying on the ground staring up at the sky, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. The Fierce Deity was crouched just a pace away from the pair, apparently reorienting faster.

Rusl wasn't surprised.

The Ordonian leaned back on his knees and feet, a trembling hand reaching for Abel's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Headache," Abel muttered before sitting up. "I'll be fine. But..."

The Fierce Deity rose to his full height, helping Rusl to his feet. The blacksmith stumbled a little, dizzy at the speed at which the deity lifted him up.

Rusl's companion opened his eyes, glancing around before gasping. "This is--this is just outside of Castle Town! How did--did that item bring us here?"

This was Castle Town?

Rusl looked around again, horrified to see the ruined remains of what should have been a sprawling city. He'd seen pieces of ruins, leftover outposts, a destroyed wagon here and there, but nothing of this magnitude.

Spirits above. He swallowed, suddenly thankful that the Twili invasion hadn't reached this level of destruction.

"But how did we--?" Abel cut himself off abruptly, and Rusl was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed it too.

What was that aura? Why was there ominous mist emitting from all around them, oozing out of the ground like steam from a boiling lake?

The Fierce Deity hissed, collapsing to the ground, a hand clutched to his face.

"Fierce...?" both men made their way to him, hands hovering over him uncertainly.

The deity was trembling, in obvious pain with his sharp teeth bared and eyes glaring into the earth. His hand on his face slid up to his hair, fingers curling around it in a desperate attempt to alleviate whatever was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Abel asked.

Fierce curled in farther, shriveling from their attempts to touch him. "It's the mask."

"What mask?" Rusl questioned.

As the Ordonian tried to figure out what in the blazes was happening, Abel's eyes roamed forward towards the city, and beyond it, to the castle.

"This mist..." he muttered. "It's the same as..."

Rusl looked between Abel and the Fierce Deity, wondering what in the world was happening and how they could fix this. "We need to get him out of here."

"Kill him." Fierce suddenly snarled, pulling away when Rusl tried to reach for his shoulder. "I'll be fine. Get him."

"Who? Who are you talking about?" Rusl asked, growing far more nervous than he cared to feel. He was usually fairly adaptable and had seen so many things that had little explanation in his life, but seeing a war god writhing in pain was beyond unsettling, particularly since he was his friend.

Abel rose, eyes dark. "It can't be..."

Rusl was clearly missing something, a connection that both of his companions had made. Nevertheless, the priority was to help the Fierce Deity, not worry about whoever they were talking about.

Abel clearly didn't seem to understand that, gripping his sword with enough ferocity to make his knuckles white. He marched ahead.

"Abel, what are you doing?" Rusl called. "We have to get Fierce out of here!"

When he got no response from the world weary traveler, he looked back at the deity, who insisted through gritted teeth, "Go with him. I'll be fine."

He looked distinctly not fine, but watching Abel walk into a heavier dark mist made Rusl equally unsettled. The Ordonian sighed. "Get away from here. Find somewhere safe to lay low. I can help you--"

"No," Fierce hissed. "I do not require help. Abel does."

"Fierce--"

"I will retreat as instructed," the deity acquiesced shakily. "But help him."

Abel had almost vanished into the darkness. Rusl bit his tongue, standing stiffly, filled with dread and annoyance. "Fine."

Drawing his blade, he hurried after the former knight, feeling cold dread sink into his bones the closer to the castle he got.

Abel's world was a desolate place, filled with mausoleums for villages, but this place had to be the pinnacle of it all. Rusl didn't want to get any closer. Had those guardian creatures really caused such destruction?

Despite his misgivings, the Ordonian did manage to catch up to Abel, who was slowly descending a stairway into the damp depths beneath the castle.

"I don't understand," Abel said softly as Rusl approached. "There are no guardians here. There's... no sign of anything."

"I'd say this mist is a pretty clear sign," Rusl pointed out, grabbing Abel by the wrist. "As is our friend's ailment. We should go back to him. There's something wrong about this place."

Abel pulled out of Rusl's grip sharply. "I know. It..."

The two men stared at the dark abyss below. Abel's face glowed with equal parts determination and dread. He was just as scared as Rusl, but rather than listening to his gut instinct, he ventured forward.

Rusl sighed. This man was beginning to remind him of Link.

Rusl had been to many a place that gave unnerving auras, but that had always been milder sensations. A feeling of being watched, an innate sense of danger to the area that would linger near dungeons. This... this was something entirely different.

This, for lack of a better word, felt demonic.

Pulling out a lantern, Rusl lit the wick and glanced at his companion. "If you're insistent, we should at least have a means of seeing where we're going."

Abel nodded in thanks before continuing. Rusl sighed and followed him down the stairs.

The farther they went, the sicker Rusl felt. He broke into a cold sweat, shivers racking his body. He'd never had such a visceral reaction to anything - even the Twili barriers that infected his world, despite their wrongness, hadn't made him physically ill. They'd felt more like the sensation of being in the dark, an overbearing heaviness and fear of the unknown, whereas this felt like a violation of body, mind, and soul.

He honestly didn't know how Abel wasn't at least reacting to it. Even the Fierce Deity had been affected. It had crippled him.

Spirits. It had crippled a war god. What were they doing down here?!

"Abel," Rusl tried again. "We should go back."

"What happened to your cheer for exploration?" Abel asked in a monotone, not really asking so much as distractedly challenging. He was far more focused on what was ahead than his companion behind him.

"I have a sense of self preservation," Rusl replied. "We don't know what we're walking into."

"It's like the Calamity," Abel muttered, more to himself than to Rusl. "But it's... I don't understand."

"The Calamity?" Rusl repeated. "The destruction of your land?"

"The Calamity isn't just an event, it's a monster," Abel explained, walking ahead despite his ominous words.

"So... we're walking towards the monster that destroyed the entirety of Hyrule," Rusl supposed with a raised eyebrow, continuing to follow his friend.

Abel huffed, stepping hesitantly as they seemed to reach the bottom of the stairway. "I don't hear any guardians yet."

"Those aren't the Calamity?"

"No. The Calamity used the guardians."

Rusl looked around warily, lantern raised. "So we're potentially looking for a beast that is stronger than guardians. And a single guardian can annihilate both of us."

Abel's shoulders stiffened, and he shook his head. "Dammit, Rusl, I don't know. This... this mist surrounded the capital on the eve of the Calamity. But... then the Calamity happened. Nothing is happening here, except that our companion is falling ill because of it."

"We should be trying to help him," Rusl reasoned.

Abel turned sharply. "This is me helping. He... he said..."

"He said kill him," Rusl repeated, a little disturbed at the words.

Abel grew very still and silent.

"Do you really think we can defeat something that is incapacitating a war god?" Rusl asked solemnly, trying to get through to the knight. "I had an entire resistance to assist me in my journey to save Hyrule, and inevitably it was Link who did the most work."

"Yes. Link. A child." Abel hissed. "We left the fate of our nation in the hands of children and expected them to--"

There was the sound of a foot scuffing on a rock and both men immediately froze. It came from somewhere ahead, vague and distant and bouncing in the chilly air, steadily making its path to them. It moved rhythmically, steps on stone, growing ever quieter.

Someone else was down here.

Someone else was down here and they were walking further into the abyss.

Abel stepped forward, sword at the ready. Rusl followed, armed and on edge.

Who else was down here? Had they heard the two men arguing? Was it just Rusl, or was the mist getting thicker?

The pair walked through some unusual corridors, and though Rusl's lamplight wasn't the best, he could make out odd shapes and figures in the stone. Abel glanced at it in passing, noting it and moving ahead. Neither man spoke at this point, ears peeled for any indication that they had caught up to whoever else was down here.

For such a foreboding place, there was certainly a strange lack of monsters. Rusl didn't know if he should find that reassuring or not.

Finally, the two men descended further and emerged into a large underground cavern of sorts. A strange light shone ahead, dulling Rusl's lamplight to that of a mere stub of a candle. The pair paused, uncertain and leery. Rusl's eyes settled on a strange swirling pattern of light that emitted from a... severed arm? The arm was perched on a half rotted corpse, almost as if it were pushing the corpse to the ground.

As if this place couldn't get any creepier.

Notably, though, Rusl's eyes caught movement. Up by the mummified body were two other figures, their voices lost in the echoes of the large space. All he could make out was that one was a female and one was a male. The male had a sword with an uncomfortably familiar shape to its hilt.

Rusl squinted in the darkness. It was hard to tell from here, but something about the swordsman's blade... he tried to focus more on it but couldn't, not at that distance with the dim light. The Ordonian turned to his companion and saw Abel transfixed at the sight.

"Is... this the Calamity?" he whispered. Was the foe already defeated? Was it trying to recuperate its strength? Who were the two in front of it?

Abel didn't answer. Voices grew louder, a strange sound emitted from ahead of them, and Rusl jumped, turning to look at the scene ahead of him to find that the corpse was moving.

There was a flash of light and the entire room shook. Rusl grabbed on to Abel's arm, pushing both of them against the wall to brace themselves as the entire place seemed to crumble in a flash of red, hellish light.

Abel dove forward, and Rusl yelped, pulling him back and trying to fight his vicious energy.

Abel was frantic; he didn't even seem to notice Rusl was there anymore. Instead, a scream tore out of his throat, desperate and pleading and terrified.

"LINK!"

The ceiling collapsed, and they were sealed into darkness.

[juney-blues]

99% of conversations on anarchism about here are hampered by people having no clue what anarchists are talking about when they refer to "the state", including, it seems, the anarchists themselves.

[shittygothbitch]

Omg I haven't bitched about the shitty first date here yet. I only ever bitch in the tags so check em

[camels-pen]

(i haven't read Whole Cake in a while, and i never really watched it, so bear with me)

I'd love to write a fic with Usopp on Whole Cake. it'd be sooo fucking long and i'd need to refresh myself on the entire arc, but god i'd probably be so satisfied when it's done. specifically for having brought a single moment in my head to life, but we'll get to that.

On Zou, he insists to be taken along on the Sanji rescue team and has worked himself up with a whole bunch of very good reasons as to why he should go there instead of helping in Wano, but of course Luffy just immediately accepts with a "yeah sure"

With Whole Cake, I think he'd be flipping between having fun as part of the idiot trio/quartet (Luffy, Chopper, Carrot), and being terrified with Nami. There wouldn't be that many differences in the arc as a whole, though; some things would be easier/better and some things would be worse- I don't necessarily think Usopp's presence would be overall an advantage or disadvantage, just different. Like, major events would stay mostly the same, but little details would change and maybe those little details would build to a far more drastic change-

for example, maybe one of Big Mom's kids considers themself a great sniper and wants a match with Usopp, or is motivated to work harder because Usopp is around and they want to take him out and boast about it. Maybe it means Sunny takes more damage than canon, or maybe Usopp's help means less damage to Sunny. (idk if i'd really do smth like this, but it's just an example)

skjdhf fuck i'm really not equipped to try and figure this out when i don't remember shit from Whole Cake aaaa

I do know that, despite his penchant for talking and rambling, I'd probably have Usopp be dead silent after his initial shock when Sanji fights Luffy. Everything about that is the same, except Usopp is just watching Sanji the whole time- not panicking, not moving, and not speaking. He doesn't say a word the entire time, doesn't even make a sound, and that, along with Luffy's words and Nami's begging, stick with Sanji.

(Usopp is thinking of his own fight with Luffy in Water 7, he's partially wondering if this was what it was like- if it was this painful to watch from the sidelines- and partially knowing he doesn't have to say a word, because he knew, like he knew back then, that it didn't matter what was said. It wasn't quite the same, but he could tell in the way Sanji moved, in the way he spoke and held himself, that he was putting on a front, trying to be brave in all the wrong ways. Usopp didn't say a word to Sanji because there was nothing he could say that Sanji himself didn't already know. Should've known. And his quiet, direct stare, was more than enough.)

the singular moment i really wanna write, is a scene where Sanji is apologizing for dragging them into his mess- either during the big meeting in Bege's castle or some other time- and Usopp's like "I'll do what you can't, you do what I can't, right?" and Sanji pauses, a little confused, until he remembers Enies Lobby and a stupid mask and cape and-

and tears are gathering in his eyes now, fuck, but he laughs a little. It sounds wet and his face is itchy and they're surrounded by tentative allies, but he- he laughs again and he says, "Fuck, you remembered that?"

Usopp shrugs, a little smile on his face. "They were some wise words from a wise man."

Sanji laughs a third time. "You think I'm wise?"

And they banter a little more before Bege tells them to quit it since they're on a time constraint or something. Quietly, Usopp will ask, "It-it helps. On bad days. And I figured, 'what's a worse day than this?' Ah, not that you getting married would ever be bad per se-"

"Usopp," Sanji says, looking more relaxed and settled. He smiles fondly and grabs his friend in a one armed hug, crushing him to his side. "Thanks."

And yeah, don't remember much beyond that, except the whole "hiding and then busting out of the cake" bit, which would mean Usopp in a cute little tuxedo or smth- maybe with a fedora aaaaaa <- loves fedoras- helping out with the fighting and eventually sailing with everyone to Wano.

He would be so distressed about fixing up Sunny now that the whole thing with Whole Cake is over. Maybe there'd be a gag about him promising Franky to take good care of Sunny while they were gone and being confident, after being Franky's tinkering partner and learning from him over time, that he could handle minor repair work much better than he did the first time around with Merry. And so when he finally takes in all the very-not-minor repairs he has to do, he's certain Franky is gonna strangle him for not keeping his promise. Probably also try to write in some nostalgic 'repairman Usopp' vibes from pre-Water 7.

Also something something, Sanji, wanting to do more for the crew bc he still feels guilty about Whole Cake, decides to take it upon himself to help Usopp not fall into a whole anxiety spiral about the ship. In turn, Usopp ends up helping Sanji not feel so guilty- usually by handing his own words back to him on a silver platter. And, yknow, having the two of them bonding and being buddies again like they so rarely get to be in canon nowadays qwq

[licorishh]

sobbing incoherently I WANNA GO HOME

(ignore lvl 20 kaveh)

cries.

[coolauntlilith]

Every now and then I replay the first episode of VLD and I wonder why I thought it be a good show lol

[acourtofquestions]

No. No, it couldn't have been a dream The escape, Rowan, the ship to Terrasen—

A dream. An illusion. Her escape from him, from Maeve, had been another illusion.

Had she said it? Had she said where the Keys were hidden?

Then a cool, cultured voice purred, "All that training, and this is what becomes of you?" Not real. Arobynn, standing on the other side of the altar, was not real.

"Even Sam held out better than this."

Fenrys snarled.

You could get out of these chains, if you really wanted," Arobynn said, frowning with distaste. "If you really tried."

No, she couldn't, and everything had been a dream, a lie.

"You let yourself remain captive. Because the moment you are free..." Arobynn chuckled. "Then you must offer yourself up, a lamb to slaughter."

Only hearing the King of the Assassins, unseen and unnoted beside her.

"Deep down, you're hoping you'll be here long enough that the young King of Adarlan will pay the price. Deep down, you know you're hiding here, waiting for him to clear the path." Arobynn leaned against the side of the altar, cleaning his nails with a dagger. "Deep down, you know it's not really fair, that those gods picked you. That Elena picked you instead of him. She bought you time to live, yes, but you were still chosen to pay the price. Her price And the gods'?"

Arobynn ran a long-fingered hand down the side of her face. "Do you see what I tried to spare you from all these years? What you might have avoided had you remained Celaena, remained with me?" He smiled. "Do you see, Aelin?"

She could not answer. Had no voice. Cairn hit bone, and—

Aelin lunged upward, hands grasping for her thigh. No chains weighed her. No mask smothered her. No dagger had been twisted into her body. Breathing hard, the scent of musty sheets clinging to her nose, the sounds of her screaming replaced by the drowsy chirping of birds, Aelin scrubbed at her face.

The prince who'd fallen asleep beside her was already running a hand down her back in silent, soothing strokes.

A dream. Just a dream.

She twisted, setting her feet to the threadbare carpet on the uneven wood floor.

"Dawn isn't for another hour," Rowan said.

Yet Aelin reached for her shirt. "I'll get warmed up, then." Maybe run, as she had not been able to do in weeks and weeks.

Rowan sat up, missing nothing. "Training can wait, Aelin." They'd been doing it for weeks now, as thorough and grueling as it had been at Mistward.

She shoved her legs into her pants, then buckled on her sword belt.

"No, it can't."

A gathering storm to the north had forced their ship to find harbor last night—and after weeks at sea, none of them had hesitated to spend a few hours on land. To learn what in hell had happened while they'd been gone.

The answer: war.

Everywhere, war raged. But where the fighting occurred, the aging innkeeper didn't know. Boats didn't stop at the port anymore— and the great warships just sailed past. Whether they were enemy or friendly, he also didn't know.

Aelin scowled. "What." It wasn't so much of a question as demand.

His gaze was unfaltering. As it had been when she'd returned from her run through the misty fields beyond the inn and found him leaning against the apple tree. "That's enough for today."

"We've hardly started." She lifted her blade.

Rowan kept his own lowered. "You barely slept last night."

Aelin tensed. "Bad dreams." An understatement. She lifted her chin and threw him a grin. "Perhaps I'm starting to wear you down a bit."

His canines gleamed. "You need to eat."

"I need to train."

She couldn't stop it-that need to do something. To be in motion.

No matter how many times she swung her blade, she could feel them. The shackles. And whenever she paused to rest, she could feel it, too—her magic. Waiting.

Indeed, it seemed to open an eye and yawn.

She clenched her jaw, and attacked again Rowan met each blow, and she knew her maneuvers were descending into sloppiness.

Knew he let her continue rather than seizing the many openings to end it.

She couldn't stop. War raged around them People were dying. And she had been locked in that damned box, had been taken apart again and again, unable to do anything.

Rowan struck, so fast she couldn't track it. But it was the foot he slid before her own that doomed her, sending her careening into the dirt.

"I win," he panted. "Let's eat."

Aelin glared up at him. "Another round."

Rowan just sheathed his sword. "After breakfast."

She growled. He growled right back.

"Don't be stupid," he said. "You'll lose all that muscle if you don't feed your body. So eat. And if you still want to train afterward, I'll train with you." He offered her a tattooed hand.

But Aelin said, "People are dying. In Terrasen. In-everywhere. People are dying, Rowan."

"Your eating breakfast isn't going to change that." Her lips curled in a snarl, but he cut her off. "I know people are dying. We are going to help them. But you need to have some strength left, or you won't be able to."

Truth. Her mate spoke truth. And yet she could see them, hear them. Those dying, frightened people. Whose screams so often sounded like her own.

Rowan wriggled his fingers in silent reminder. Shall we?

Aelin scowled and took his hand, letting him haul her to her feet. So pushy.

Rowan slid an arm around her shoulders. That's the most polite thing you've ever said about me.

Elide's eyes widened. Widened further as he opened his mouth, and took a bite. His swallow was audible. His cringe barely contained. Elide reined in her smile at the pure misery that entered the Lion's tawny stare. Aelin and Rowan had been finishing up a similar battle when she'd entered the taproom minutes ago, the queen wishing her luck before striding back into the courtyard.

Elide hadn't seen her sit still for longer than it took to eat a meal. Or during the hours when she'd instructed them in Wyrdmarks, after Rowan had requested she teach them.

It had gotten her out of the chains, the prince had explained. And if the ilken were resistant to their magic, then learning the ancient marks would come in handy with all they faced ahead. The battles both physical and magic.

Gavriel met her stare, and Elide again restrained her laugh.

She felt, rather than saw, Lorcan enter. The innkeeper instantly found somewhere else to be. The man hadn't been surprised to see five Fae enter his inn last night, so his vanishing whenever Lorcan appeared was certainly due to the glower the male had perfected.

Indeed, Lorcan took one look at Elide and Gavriel and left the dining room.

They'd barely spoken these weeks. Elide hadn't known what to even say. A member of this court. Her court. Forever.

He and Aelin certainly hadn't warmed toward each other. No, only Rowan and Gavriel really spoke to him. Fenrys, despite his promise to Aelin not to fight with Lorcan, ignored him most of the time. And Elide ... She'd made herself scarce often enough that Lorcan hadn't bothered to approach her.

Good. It was good. Even if she sometimes found herself opening her mouth to speak to him. Watching him as he listened to Aelin's lessons on the Wyrdmarks. Or while he trained with the queen, the rare moments when the two of them weren't at each other's throats.

Aelin had been returned to them. Was recovering as best she could.

Elide didn't taste her next bite of porridge. Gavriel, thankfully, said nothing. And Anneith didn't speak, either. Not a whisper of guidance. It was better that way. To listen to herself. Better that Lorcan kept his distance, too.

Whether the others knew what propelled her, they hadn't said a word. Aelin sheathed Goldryn and loosed a long breath. Deep down, her power grumbled. She flexed her fingers. Maeve's cold, pale face flashed before her eyes. Her magic went silent.

Fenrys sat in wolf form at the edge of the nearest field, staring out across the expanse.

Precisely where he'd been before dawn.

She let him hear her steps, his ears twitching. He shifted as she approached, and leaned against the half-rotted fence surrounding the field.

"Who'd you piss off to get the graveyard shift?" Aelin asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Fenrys snorted and ran a hand through his hair. "Would you believe I volunteered for it?" She arched a brow. He shrugged, watching the field again, the mists still clinging to its farthest reaches. "I don't sleep well these days." He cut her a sidelong glance. "I don't suppose I'm the only one."

She picked at the blister on her right hand, hissing. "We could start a secret society-for people who don't sleep well."

"As long as Lorcan isn't invited, I'm in."

Aelin huffed a laugh. "Let it go."

His face turned stony. "I said I would."

"You clearly haven't."

"I'll let it go when you stop running yourself ragged at dawn."

"I'm not running myself ragged. Rowan is overseeing it."

"Rowan is the only reason you're not limping everywhere."

Truth. Aelin curled her aching hands into fists and slid them into her pockets. Fenrys said nothing didn't ask why she didn't warm her fingers. Or the air around them. He just turned to her and blinked three times. Are you all right?

A gull's cry pierced the gray world, and Aelin blinked back twice. No. It was as much as she'd admit. She blinked again, thrice now. Are you all right?

Two blinks from him, too. No,

They were not alright.

They might never be. If the others knew, if they saw past the swagger and temper, they didn't let on.

None of them commented that Fenrys hadn't once used his magic to leap between places. Not that there was anywhere to go in the middle of the sea. But even when they sparred, he didn't wield it. Perhaps it had died with Connall. Perhaps it had been a gift they had both shared, and touching it was unbearable.

She didn't dare peer inward, to the churning sea inside her. Couldn't.

Aelin and Fenrys stood by the field as the sun arced higher, burning off the mists.

Aelin shook her head. Another dream, or hallucination. "If she's on our heels with this army, I'm just ... trying to understand it. Her, I mean."

"You plan to kill her." The gruel in her stomach turned over, but Aelin shrugged. Even as she tasted ash on her tongue.

"Would you prefer to do it?"

"I'm not sure I'd survive it," he said through his teeth. "And you have more of a reason to claim it than I do."

"I'd say we have an equal claim."

His dark eyes roved over her face. "Connall was a better male than—than how you saw him that time. Than what he was in the end."

She gripped his hand and squeezed. "I know."

The last of the mists vanished. Fenrys asked quietly, "Do you want me to tell you about it?" He didn't mean his brother.

She shook her head. "I know enough." She surveyed her cold, blistered hands. "I know enough," she repeated.

[cuntwrap--supreme]

So the owners at my new job are flat earthers who don't think women should have autonomy. Which explains so much of why the wife, when showing me how to do stuff, kept referring to her husband for basic things and why she had this "I'm being held hostage" vibe. Today, I found out that, through whatever fundy religion they're a part of, they won't let their son be on his own until he's married. Last night, his mother kept asking me if I had a boyfriend, what I look for in a man, etc., and had mentioned at some point that her son (3 years older than me) is also single... And everyone else working there is a man, and I always put "female" on job apps so I don't not get chosen for employment. So I'm, like, wondering now if I got hired to date their weird, cringefail son? One of the other employees said it was weird I got hired because they only hire men (I assumed due to their idea that anyone they think is a woman can't make decisions on their own). Weird situation. Weird vibe. But they also let me take food for free and don't make me clock out for breaks, so I'm like.... Do I leave or stay?