#even if my thoughts normally center around the same few characters

[zayne-li]

Frozen Blood

Cross posted on ao3

Rating: Mature (for violence and blood)

Length: 3.3k

Pairing: Zayne/MC (not explicitly, but it's implied)

Warnings: Angst, hurt/little comfort, blood, violence, MC goes into shock, character death

Anyway what if dawnbreaker turned into an abomination and we had to do a boss fight against him by ourselves

--

His hand is nearly frozen in your own, and it feels different than the way it normally does when his Evol is acting up. It's not cold like ice, it's cold like death, though he's still breathing, albeit shallowly.

“Zayne,” you're almost desperate as you squeeze his fingers. He may not be your Zayne, but that thought is the furthest thing from your mind right now, because he's right here in front of you, and you have never, never seen him in this much pain. The black crystals spreading from his palm, to wrist, to surely his arms and possibly more beneath the black coat looks almost like frostbite, painful and bleeding because you know that the ice is not external. It's internal. Its source is his heart, and it seemingly can no longer be contained within, trying to scrape and tear its way out of his body. “Zayne listen to me.”

Thus far his eyes have been unable to meet yours, fixed on the ground like he's afraid to look at you. But at your insistence, they flicker up towards you, dark and almost lifeless, with none of the spark you're used to seeing. He says nothing, and instead tries to pull his hand from yours. You don't allow it, tightening your grip, trying to have enough faith and determination for the both of you, because this Zayne… since you found him just a few days ago, seems like he's given up far before he ever met you.

“I'm going to resonate with you–”

“No.” He is firm as he says it, and tries once again to pull his hand from yours.

“It's going to–”

”No.” This time it's more broken, and he sets his jaw, physically moving further away, as much as he can from his seated position. “It's too late. I don’t want to hurt you.”

The blackened crystals beneath his clothes are spreading, faster than before, you can tell by the way he whimpers and looks back away. His breath is visible in the unnatural frigid air around the two of you.

And then… a sharp cry from his lips at the same time as you watch one of the crystals shoot out from somewhere between his ribs. The crack is sickening, wet, and the crystal brings with it a torrent of blood. Zayne doubles over, and in your own shock, is finally able to yank his hand from you own as he curls it around his abdomen, face contorting into a grimace.

Panic wells up in your chest, sticking to your throat as your eyes go wide, and you see another shard burst from his hunched back, the angle making it almost look at though he’s been impaled all the way through. Crimson red drips from the jagged tip, staining his clothes an even darker black, and plopping far too loudly onto the pavement. It echoes in your ears as his breath shudders, crackling in his lungs with every inhale. Labored. It’s like he can’t seem to get enough air.

“Zayne, let me–”

”Get away from me. Now.” It’s almost a snarl, weakened only by the shaking of his voice. His eyes find yours only long enough for him to try and get his point across, like some kind of wounded animal.

Your own breath is growing faster, terror like you’ve never felt tightening in your chest, your vision narrowing down only into this moment, and it’s like you’re frozen. A pit settles in your stomach as your mind races.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t. I don’t know what to do. What do I do? My Zayne would know. He would be calm. Why can’t I…?

You blink hard a few times, trying to calm your breathing, your ears swimming with the sound of dripping blood and another sharp, agonized cry as Zayne lurches away from you, onto all fours, his arms shaking as another crystal tears its way out of his body, this time right from the center of his chest. His breathing starts to sound wet. Did it puncture a lung?

And then, a different kind of horror grips your heart as you hear the oh so familiar sound of his evol, like a bright burst in your vision, though the makeshift dagger of ice looks more like the black shards piercing his body than the brilliant, clear blue you know so well. Zayne sets his jaw, teeth grinding together as he twists it in his grip. He’s holding it so tightly you see a drop of blood squeeze from between his fingers.

He’s pointing it at himself.

“Don’t–Zayne!” You lunge for him as you realize what he’s about to do, grabbing his wrist with both of your hands in an attempt to stop him, which he hadn’t seemed to have expected, and as a result the two of you come crashing down onto your sides on the pavement, his eyes wide with shock and likely more pain from the impact. Almost immediately they squeeze shut as his brows pull together, and the ice in his hand fades away in a puff of frost. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” You want to shake him, you feel sick, this has to be a nightmare, this can’t– this can’t be real.

“I–nnnh– I told you,” His voice still holds that growl that you’re entirely unused to, having never heard the Zayne you know speak in such a tone, “It’s too late, you need…” He sucks in a wet, gurgling breath, and you instinctively move back up onto your knees as his back arches, the sickening crack of bone making you flinch as you watch another crystal force its way through his stomach and ribs. Your vision is starting to blur with tears you didn’t know you were crying, and angrily, you wipe them away. Now is not the time. You need to be calm. Collected. You need to fucking do something.

Anything.

He’s weaker now, and so distracted by the pain in his body that he is incapable of resisting the way he had before when you place a hand on his shoulder and try to resonate with him. Below you, he’s almost seizing, his muscles contracting and releasing as he curls in on himself, like an animal trying to protect its wound. The fingernails on his other hand scrape against the road and start to bleed, though it’s hard to tell with the pool already spreading beneath him.

Where you can normally feel the rising tide of energy from him, raging and at times almost overwhelming as you siphon some of the backlash from his evol, now…

You feel nothing.

Why can’t you feel anything?

Is it… What is this? What’s happening?

“Get away.... Please.” Zayne’s voice has grown weaker. He’s begging you.

“I’m not leaving you, Zayne, why can’t I resonate with you?!” Your fear starts to morph into rage. Anger at him, for not explaining what the hell is going on, anger at yourself, for being too useless to help him before it got to this point, and anger at fate itself, for bringing you both here, to this point in time.

“Because I’m not–”

He never gets to finish that sentence. Instead, his words morph into an unbearable scream of pure agony, the sort of sound you’ve only heard from the dying. It chills you to your very core in a way that snow and ice never could.

Later, you’ll realize that those were the last words you ever heard from him.

As a human.

But as the sound of his scream starts to warp, you realize his body is changing too. More black shards of the horrific crystals pierce through his skin, one after another, blood pooling around his twitching body until his clothes are torn to shreds, and you realize that the very shape of him is being distorted, twisted into something alien. Something you recognize all too well.

Pure shock keeps you rooted there, on your knees beside him as you watch it happen right before your eyes.

The look on his face in that moment is something that will haunt you for an eternity, you think, half covered in the shimmering, rocklike material that is indicative of… Your brain can hardly process what it is you’re seeing.

And then the screaming stops, though it continues to echo in your ears for seconds afterwards still. He starts to stand. First with one heavy hand on the ground, clunking onto the pavement. Then up onto a knee. The crack of bones and the sound of his shallow breath can no longer be heard. The only thing left of him is one side of his face as his form continues to twist minutely. It’s contorted in blank, empty rage.

You scramble back, rolling over to avoid a shard of ice the Wanderer tosses at you as it comes up to its full height. Even taller than Zayne had been. Using the momentum, you push yourself up onto your own feet and run a few steps away, though you don’t want to leave your back exposed for too long. The sound of its heavy feet sound behind you as it takes slow steps forward, and without thinking, you grab for the sword at your side, bouncing against your thigh.

Your mind becomes utterly blank, every thought erased as shock and adrenaline has your limbs taking over without any conscious thought. It’s entirely muscle memory. You’ve done this a thousand times. You know exactly what to do.

“Because I’m not–”

You drop into your stance, legs shoulder length apart, knees bent, sword held in front of you, and duck as the Wanderer aims another ice spike at your head. Okay. For now, its movements are sluggish. Is that because it’s not finished transforming yet?

“Get away.... Please.”

It puts both hands out in front of itself, rocky and grey, glowing blue light showing through the cracks, claws long and sharp, and a torrent of small icicles fly towards you, forcing you to step to the side, and slowly, it continues to advance. The one hazel eye you can still see does not blink, staring at you with an unseeing gaze, the human half of its mouth twisting almost like it's trying to say something. What could it possibly have to say?

“It's too late. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Your heart pounds in your chest, banging against your ribcage. You force yourself to take deeper breaths, realizing that you’re nearly hyperventilating. Underneath your feet is the pool of his blood, splashing as you twist to the side to avoid another attack, forced to bat away one of the shards with the flat of your blade.

What am I supposed to do?

You can’t keep asking yourself that question. You need to act. You know what you have to do.

He’s–it’s getting closer, inexorable, immovable. Its attacks are coming faster now, ice forming beneath your feet as if to trip you, or possibly to trap you, distracting you from the icicles that speed past you as you dance away. The blood on the pavement is frozen. There’s something meaningful in that you realize, but before you can pursue that thought any further, your brain shoves it out of sight.

Right now you need to survive.

One grazes your thigh, tearing your clothes and leaving a razor thin cut that stings more from the cold than the pain. The Wanderer starts to form a blizzard around the both of you, obscuring your vision, and you’ve kept so much distance between you and him–it, that in the swirling snowflakes whipping past, you can barely see it anymore. Is it using the blizzard to camouflage itself? How?

You twist around, trying to remain alert, to catch sight of it, and though you hear it coming, you fail to react in time as one of its freezing daggers embeds itself into your side. You roar. Not from pain, but from frustration.

“If… If I end up doing something that hurts you… Don’t go easy on me.”

There.

You see it, in the artificial storm, a vague shadow, the rocky form covered entirely in snow, helping it blend in. It seems to realize that it's been found, because it roars, an ugly sound, and you match it, holding your sword up near your face, over your shoulder as both of you charge towards one another. Your blow is sweeping, from above your head and down to your opposite hip, catching on its arm as it forms a barrier of ice to protect itself, though your strength is enough to have it cracking off.

There’s no more hesitation. You immediately strike again, stepping back with one leg and then forward again to put more force behind the stab you aim right at its chest, pulsing with a glowing blue light that acts almost as a bullseye. The Wanderer roars in pain and stumbles, And without thinking, you pull back, easily stowing your sword back in your sheath as you realize you’ve been given an opening. Your feet find their stance with ease as you reach for the energy you’re so used to drawing from, familiar as breathing while one arm stretches out in front of you, and the other pulls back as if to shoot a bow. Too late, you realize you’ve made a grave mistake. There’s no one here to resonate with. The Wanderer takes advantage of your lapse in judgment and shoots another volley of tiny, piercing icicles at you, forcing you to roll to the side, but it's also spread a thin layer of ice at your feet, and you slip to the ground, the icicle in your side lodging deeper and causing you to scream.

Frost bursts from the Wanderers palm shoots forward and starts to trap your foot onto the ground, in its ice. The other hand shoots more spikes at you, which you narrowly manage to throw off with the flat of your blade once more. You can’t avoid all of them though, and your skin stings where they manage to graze you, a few embedding themselves into your arms.

It looms over you. Terrifying and beautiful. You can’t get your foot free. Your evol is useless when you’re alone.

And you’ve never felt that more than at this moment.

”Zayne–” You don’t know what to do. His eye flashes with brief recognition, and then it’s gone again. You can’t recognize him. You just wish–

Something whizzes past your head, making your hair flutter with the wind it causes.

The Wanderer is forced back.

There’s another blow.

You’re not sure what you’re seeing, but after a second it registers.

Embedded in the glow of its chest is an icicle.

Blue.

Clear.

Your breath catches in your throat.

There are footsteps behind you. Like someone running. All the while more and more shards of ice are flung almost haphazardly at the Wanderer, and it continues to grow weaker, unable to fight back much with the force of the barrage being forced upon it.

It drops to a knee.

One of the icicles hits it in the head. And then another.

It makes a sound almost like pain, and it’s close enough to you as it starts to sag down further that you’re almost making eye contact with that single hazel eye, though it still seems as if it’s more… Looking past you than at you.

You swallow thickly and reach for your sword with nearly trembling hands, sticky with blood, and before you can falter, you pull it out and scream as you slice through its neck.

The Wanderer lists forward, like it's about to fall on top of you, but disappears in a burst of sparks before it actually does. The only thing left behind are the particles in the air that float like tiny stars, and the brilliant cerulean Protocore at your feet, dropping onto the road right on top of a puddle of frozen blood.

There’s bile in your throat. You can almost taste it.

The footsteps come to a stop, and you don’t realize anyone is in front of you until he’s right in your field of vision, kneeling down and taking your shoulders in large, warm palms.

“Hey, hey can you hear me?” The voice is so familiar…

Your vision blurs and you blink away the tears as you look at Zayne. Intact. Right in front of you.

You must be hallucinating.

You’re too exhausted to care, the strength in your limbs failing you as you almost go limp. He quickly adjusts to hold you securely in his arms, and were you more aware of your surroundings, you might notice him examining you for injuries, his lips thinning as he takes the state of you in.

“... I just need you to nod if you can hear my voice.” He sounds faraway, like he’s speaking to you through water, or a wall maybe.

Though you’re not sure what the point is, you nod weakly, and that at least seems to lessen some of the tension in his shoulders. The hallucination of Zayne moves into a squat beside you and hooks one arm around your shoulders, and the other beneath your knees, lifting you with ease, his expression determined and certainly worried.

He feels warm. You clutch at the fabric of his coat, and curl into his chest, barely aware of wherever it is that he’s taking you. He doesn’t ask what happened, though he’d like to. His first and foremost priority is making sure you’re okay.

“... The Protocore…” You manage, your voice rasping as you blink and realize it's still back there, on the road. Zayne’s mouth twists, you see a muscle twitch in his jaw.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Let’s get you patched up first.”

“Zayne, please.” Your voice is small, and pleading, and it causes him to pause for a moment, looking down at you with a concerned, puzzled expression. He doesn’t know why something that insignificant would matter to you right now.

His arms tighten their hold on you, and he stops in his tracks, taking in the distressed look on your face. He seems to be fighting his need to ensure your safety, and his natural obedience to your whims. You must not have gone far yet, because he turns and only takes a few steps before it comes back into your field of vision. You start to squirm in his arms, and reluctantly, he sets you down. Yes, you’re injured, and in a severe state of shock, but you’re not incapable of standing. Your brain is still blocking any pain that you should be feeling.

Zayne watches on in confusion, brows furrowed as you bend down to pick up the blue Protocore, looking at it like it’s something delicate and precious, held carefully in both of your palms.

“Okay… We can go.” There’s not much emotion in your voice, but you refuse to relinquish it as you lean into Zayne’s side, one of his large palms wrapped around your waist in case you need his support as you both head towards his car, parked not far away.

He doesn’t ask… Not yet… But the eerie sight of that Wanderer has the question lingering on the tip of his tongue as he gently settles you into the passenger seat and then reaches into his backseat for a first aid kit. Zayne efficiently and tenderly cleans and dresses your wounds for you, the Protocore glowing ominously between the two of you, and more than once he finds himself glancing at it.

... Who was that?

He’s afraid he doesn’t even need to ask to know the answer.

[thevegandarkelf]

Flattery: Daryl Dixon & Fem!Reader

Prompt: Themed Lingerie

Era: Alexandria, pre-Saviors

Word count: 600 words

Warnings: No use of y/n, suggestive themes but no smut

I'm finally dipping my toes into the world of Character x Reader writing. This is my first time writing in second person/x reader format, so please go easy on me or I'll cry. I'm posting this before I stare at it for too long and change my mind.

A massive thank you to @dixons-sunshine for proofreading, helping with translating Daryl's dialogue into Daryl, giving me tips, and encouraging me to do it/post it. I love you sm 🖤

“Daryl? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Cocking an eyebrow, you looked past your shoulder at him, your new boyfriend’s eyes quickly averting once he realized he’d been caught.

With winter setting in and temperatures beginning to drop in Virginia, the two of you had been sent on a run to a nearby department store, your goal to find coats, boots, blankets, and whatever sort of winter necessities you could get your hands on. Amongst all the cold-weather attire, you’d found a little something hot for yourself.

“Dunno what ya talkin’ ‘bout,” he mumbled, his normal sun-kissed complexion becoming one akin to a fresh tomato.

Your gaze dropped to the material in your hands, your fingers dancing over the satin cups, and a small smirk crossed your lips. You were holding a set of Christmas lingerie—a babydoll style two-piece. The red cups and mesh of the flyaway bodice were bordered with a fluffy white trim that trailed down the center with a red thong to accompany it.

“Ah, I see,” you teased, your cheeks beginning to heat up as you held up the garment, “this why?”

You’d only been together for a few weeks, the farthest you’d gone in terms of anything physically being a heated make-out session with little hand exploration. You’d been itching for things to move further but not wanting to push any boundaries. Daryl was clearly skittish and uncomfortable in the realm of sex and romance. However, unbeknownst to you, he’d been itching for the same.

He pictured the mesh flowing around your hips as you twirled before him and the thong sliding over your thighs and falling to your ankles. His signature small smile appeared as he pictured your eyes glossed over with lust and thought about what every inch of your soft skin felt like in his work-worn hands. He was reveling in this sweet little daydream, and you’d caught him in it.

“It’s ok, Daryl. I’m flattered.” As you walked back to him, you purposely swayed your hips a little extra, drawing the archer’s eyes to them for just a moment. Yours fell to your feet, that sweet heat returning to your cheeks again.

“Flattered?” He sounded surprised by your choice of words, like you couldn’t possibly be flattered by his longing gaze and the lewd thoughts you knew he was having. Despite having finally made your relationship official after months of going in circles, he was confused by sparkle in your eye he’d caught a glimpse of when you first looked back at him.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve been…thinking about it too,” you assured, lashes fluttering as you brought your gaze up from the floor to meet his ocean eyes, “hinting at it for a while now. Hasn’t it been kind of obvious?”

The silence from him was loud, deafening as it practically echoing off the white walls. That alone was an answer enough for you.

A sweet giggle emanated from the depths of your chest, the sound like music to your man’s ears. “Okay, maybe not so obvious. I adore you, but you can be incredibly dense sometimes.”

“Grab the coats,” Daryl instructed, clearly flustered as he haphazardly gestured to a box on a nearby table. He was beginning to turn red again, somehow an even darker shade than he had before. He grabbed a box from off the floor and was quickly heading toward the front door. “Talk when we get back.”

“Talk…right…” you mused, a chuckle slipping past your lips as you stowed the lingerie away in your bag, “I’m sure that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

General taglist: @raddydaddydude @lovenormandixon @angeldemoncrowley @negansbestie

GIF made by me

© thevegandarkelf 2024. I do not consent for my work to be shared, translated, adapted, posted, or copied to this site or any platform without my explicit consent & evidence of said consent.

[o-sachi]

Superimposable - Drabble for WinBre Week!

ᯓ chemistry too hard for you? good thing you have someone to help you out... ᯓ character; hayato suo (wind breaker) ᯓ tags; college au, floof, friends to lovers (kinda), gn reader, no y/n, has chemistry jargon and concepts (basic explanations at the end if you're curious lol)

[🐟]: for day 2 - school life prompt! @windbreakerweek

"Suo, there's no use. I'm doomed. I've accepted my fate," you say as you plant your forehead on the hardwood table.

You've been in the university library for quite some time now, yet your brain won't absorb this damn chemistry lesson. Who even cares about how molecules are structured?

As pessimistic as you are, your designated tutor was still able to keep a friendly smile on his face. Sure, you were unlucky to not be born a chemistry genius, but at least, you were lucky enough to be friends with someone who is.

Suo Hayato is a close friend of yours and the person who gets the highest marks in your chemistry class. Every. Single. Time.

"You just have to use your imagination. It's highly important since you want to figure out the configuration of the molecule."

He points to a line in the book—reading it and squeezing in a short explanation in between. Despite his many attempts... it was simply impossible.

Suo quickly notices your fleeting attention and decides to close the book. He had something better up his sleeve. "Alright, you have trouble understanding configurations, right?"

You nod slowly—clearly showing the exhaustion that has been building up all this time.

He smiles softly. "Okay then. Let's start from the beginning."

He pulls his chair a bit closer to you. If you were to move just an inch—your shoulders would rub against each other. Normally, such a trivial touch would be nothing to you... but it was Suo Hayato. People would do unimaginable things to be in your position right now.

"First, you need to be able to find the chiral center of these structures. And in order to do that—you need to know the concept of superimposability."

He takes your right hand and places it flat on the table. "Look," he says while placing his bigger hand on top of yours. "They don't line up do they? They're mirror images, but they don't line up perfectly."

"So they're not superimposable?" you ask and he nods. "But what if I turn my hand?"

Suo chuckles softly, fully expecting you to ask that. He takes your hand and flips it over so that your palm was facing upwards. And like earlier, he places his palm over yours. A little more and you could intertwine your fingers with his.

You gulp down—hard. "Don't they line up now?"

"Yes, but are they mirror images?" he poses the question and he removes his hand from yours. "Your palm is facing up while the back of my hand is. So they're not the same."

Suo speaks up again. "So if the mirror images of the molecules are not superimposable, it has a chiral center."

Scratching your head, you tried to make sense of his words. It was clear and unclear at the same time. You were close to getting to that summit of understanding this thing. But there was something missing.

"Then what are superimposable things?"

Suo looks up, as if in thought. In truth, there were so many superimposable things around you—papers, rulers, cellphones. But he thought that would be too boring to make this lesson memorable.

He turns to face you better which prompts you to do the same. You had a feeling he was about to do something. Although, nothing would ever prepare you for what he was to pull next.

"Pretend you're looking into a mirror," he says while pointing at his face. "So we have mirror images now, right?"

"Right."

"What else do we need for images to be superimposable again?"

"They have to line up?"

He hums, satisfied with your answer. But what kind of teacher would he be if he doesn't properly show you, right?

To be fair, your lips did line up perfectly. He let you feel the softness of his lips on yours for a few seconds—making sure you understood what all of this meant. It was quick, but sweet. The small peck rendered you immobile and all you could do was get lost in the pleasant surprise.

Pulling away, he flashes you that same subdued smile. "Wow, they do line up huh? So would you say lips are superimposable or not?"

When he talked like this it made you feel... things. "They're super... imposable..."

His smile widens, glad that you successfully absorbed the concept. He went on with his lecture, excited to teach you more. But it seems like his methods left you stunned and unable to go on any further.

o-sachi © 2024 pls do not translate/copy/reupload my work on other platforms.

a/n - some explanations under the cut

Let's go over the terms:

Configuration - basically how the molecule exists in a 3D space, their rotation and how its components are postioned relative from each other

Chiral Center - atoms with four different groups bonded to it and are mirror images that are non-superimposable

Idk if y'all will understand with just this explanation but yes. (ty socratic)

Superimposability - mirror images that line up

Like this basically (ty Chemistry Stack Exchange)

This is like the very miniscule tip of the organic chemistry iceberg. So reader and Suo have SO MUCH to go over lol. Anyway, orgchem is fun /srs. So was writing this hehe.

[s-b-party]

Nous & Mythus: A Cycle of the Known & Unknown

****Honkai star rail version 1.6/crown of mundane and divine spoilers ahead****

After getting another update to the Simulated Universe & w/ Dr. Ratio coming soon, it’s a good time for me to discuss about these 2 Aeons & give my thoughts/analysis on them!

So who are these two?

They are Nous the Erudition & Mythus the Enigmata

We’ll start off w/ Nous so what does erudition mean? A synonym we can use is knowledge although that might be a bit oversimplified

Erudition often has the meaning of extensive learning whether it’s from books, practice, lectures, etc. The implication is that an erudite person or thing has a LOT of knowledge; think of a person who’s well-rounded but also has extensive knowledge in the many fields/subjects they have learned about, they can be considered erudite (this is reflected in how Erudition Pathstriders function in terms of gameplay, normally their specialty is dealing AoE dmg to multiple enemies at once as opposed to just a singular target)

Nous takes the form of an astral computer, they are a machine w/ many dangling wires visible & a red “eye” in the center, very much mechanic all around; as for their symbol it seems to speak to their concept quite well

If we look at the background, the cylindrical shapes can be interpreted as scrolls which are often associated w/ learning & knowledge; in the center, the abstract shapes seem to make an eye (their gaze perhaps) but I think it could also be taken as a flash of light which could represent “enlightenment” which we often think of as a sort of critical point in one’s journey in obtaining knowledge

Is it possible that the center is meant to symbolize the moment when Nous reaches their own enlightenment?

To name a few of their more well-known factions, we have the Genius Society & Intelligentsia Guild, both of which have members whom we’ve already officially met in the game: Herta, Screwllum, Ruan Mei from Genius Society and Dr. Ratio from Intelligentsia Guild

Seeing as they’re 2 different factions following the same Aeon, that means there’s something differentiating them, presumably their approach to knowledge

You can tell based on the name of the Genius Society what exactly they focus on (geniuses) which is a bit of a contrast to what the Intelligentsia Guild focuses on which is the dissemination of knowledge meaning that they believe everybody should have access to knowledge

The Genius Society doesn’t seem to share their knowledge that easily which we can see based on how some of the members tend to work alone, one even became known for killing some of the other members despite being in the same organization (#4 Polka Kakamond), Ruan Mei often sticks to herself when it comes to her research, etc; as a result it’s a contrast to how easily knowledge flows within the Intelligentsia Guild which even goes as far as to view it as currency in their motto

Although we’ve pretty much met only one character associated w/ the Intelligentsia Guild officially & despite how much of an asshole he may be, there are aspects related to Dr. Ratio that are in agreement w/ the belief of the Intelligentsia Guild

The name of his banner is Panta Rhei/Panta Rei which is usually associated w/ Heraclitus & it often translated to “Everything Flows”; Heraclitus was a philosopher whose focus was on the movement & changes that the universe goes through which sounds similar to how the faction wants to make knowledge easily accessible (therefore making knowledge flow through the universe)

Ngl the convo between him & Screwllum at the end of the continuance quest had me lost for a bit but I got the gist of it; to sum it up Ratio ended up rescuing the researchers who got teleported by Duke Inferno, Screwllum was wondering why Ratio would just stand back & observe when he could have prevented the situation from being dragged out any further since Ratio had the Phase Flame; Ratio explains that the best thing when dealing w/ ignorant people (in this case, the researchers in the space station including the people in the chat who were gossiping about the situation) is to stand aside & observe bc according to him foolishness is the most difficult thing to cure; Screwllum deduces that Ratio was attempting to make the employees realize that they shouldn’t be idolizing geniuses so much; Dr. Ratio is in a way similar to Alhaitham; they both think that geniuses shouldn’t be made into such a big deal or overly revered; in both cases the reverence of geniuses creates a gap between people based on intelligence

Another aspect which I find both funny and fitting is that Dr. Ratio as a 5 star will be available to EVERY player; as it is implied in the livestream, it’s his way of spreading knowledge to the mediocre; as much as he can be very arrogant & rude, it’s interesting to see that he still upholds the belief that knowledge should be available to everybody, not just to geniuses, in his own unique way

4. The last aspect of Dr. Ratio that I want to touch upon is the combination of his title & name: his full name is Veritas Ratio, veritas meaning “truth/truthfulness” & ratio meaning “reason” in Latin; the title doctor comes from the Latin verb docere which means “to teach/instruct”

This may be a stretch but hear me out: when put together, the name (not necessarily the person) Dr. Veritas Ratio gives off an impression of someone who is either qualified to teach others about “truthful reasoning” or a teacher who is truthful & rational (it might not sound like it but this kinda falls in line w/ Screwllum describing him as candid). Something I noticed is that based on what we’ve seen, not many people in the Genius Society go by the title of Doctor; what I’m trying to get at is that there is something to be said about Ratio having the title of someone who is qualified to teach while members of the Genius Society usually do not really seem that interested in spreading knowledge to the masses or teaching them

This isn’t to say that the Genius Society is entirely incapable of teaching, they probably could if they wanted to (keyword: wanted), it’s more so their motivations & values that differentiate them from the Intelligentsia Guild

Getting back to Nous, both factions do reflect specific sides of the Aeon: both are interested in expanding their knowledge but the Genius Society overall seems to be removed from civilization/society or at least a bit distant (matched by the quote describing the knowledge seeker as having a cold core) while the Intelligentsia Guild has a more cooperative aspect in terms of having a network of intelligence which can be seen in the meaning behind Nous’ signal which is explained in the entry of the Genius Society (although the signal is more so reserved for geniuses, it’s still an attempt at having a group of people work together to find the answers to the universe)

Now that we’ve looked a bit at Nous in detail, I’ll talk about Mythus; as the Aeon of Enigmata, they represent the concept of mysteries that can’t be easily perceived & their form is quite interesting to look at

Their name is related to the word “mythos” which usually refers to the stories & arts that help demonstrate values, beliefs, & attitudes of societies

*I found out recently that apparently the word myth is more of a pejorative term for mythos bc it’s more often than not used to describe stories as false or not true so there is controversy around that*

Overall they look like a jellyfish w/ the main body being faceless & legless while their tentacles/tendrils dangle out; some parts of their body have a unique effect on them that resembles oil spills or the surface of a bubble which is probably meant to be the fog that accompanies them; the staircases that come from their body seem to never end & even fade out into the darkness of space

Their symbol is very similar to their form; you can see the jellyfish w/ tentacles flowing down & in the background there is a ring of rectangles that overlap each other which may be referring to the stairs that appear in their art

The usage of the jellyfish is interesting; just like how the ocean can carry them along, the jellyfish can symbolize flow & movement, perhaps it’s to establish how mysteries simply exist in the universe without push or pull from outside forces

I can see them using the jellyfish due to its connection to one of the biggest mysteries of the world: the ocean (or at least the deeper parts of it); if we think about it, space is like an ocean of stars and unknown things so I think it’s kind of fitting using a jellyfish form to represent mysteries but it might be a stretch

Now a few known factions that follow Mythus are the Riddlers & History Fictionologists: both are pretty straightforward in terms of their agenda which is to enshroud the universe in mysteries

The Riddlers create mysteries by altering texts & words while the History Fictionologists create mysteries by eradicating evidence of past events aka history itself

It is interesting seeing how these factions actively create mysteries sometimes to the point of destruction (of texts, history, etc) even though the existence of Enigmata should be able to exist as long as Mythus exists bc Aeons themselves are manifestations of concepts; in some cases, Aeons can die while the concepts they identify as may still persist to the current time

So how do Nous & Mythus even relate to each other in the overall world building ? Their identifying concepts might appear as opposites of each other (known vs unknown) but I think there’s more to it than that

There is a readable item written by Fu Xuan called “Glimpses into the Beyond” where she explains that Nous doesn’t necessarily provide answers but they provide many questions & that “answers may only be found by oneself”

We also hear of Nous doing calculations & trying to solve the mysteries of the universe & since the Enigmata exists, Nous doesn’t have all of the answers due to the existence of mysteries

I think that while they do know a lot about the universe & can represent knowledge, they can also represent the learning process/the journey for knowledge

Something interesting is that Nous in Greek philosophy refers to the ability to process & perceive information so if Mythus is meant to be the representation of the things that can’t be easily perceived, does that still apply to Nous themself when they’re both Aeons?

Also where does that leave their dynamic? They’re enemies of sorts bc Mythus is trying to destroy certainty left by Nous but this is also a relationship where Nous is essentially searching for the answers to the universe’s mysteries aka what Mythus encapsulates, making Mythus their “goal” I guess you could say

Life will always have people who desire to gain knowledge & it will always have things that have not been discovered/figured out; there is one particular thing that I do wonder about amidst all of this: with Mythus wanting an uncertain future, I wonder how this will spell out for one of the most important concepts in many HYV games: fate

I guess we’ll have to wait & see if they’ll connect this to fate in the future 👀

*I hope you guys enjoy the first lore thread of the new year! :3

[chipchopclipclop]

i have finished death mark 2...... thoughts.....

general thoughts is the overall story was.... BAD. LOL.

I'll start with the good. The interactions between Yashiki and alot of the returning cast i really liked, the writing especially in the first few chapters. An example being alot of Yashiki and Daimon's chatter, especially the whole weight of saving lives things that comes back at the end, alot of it was quite sweet and heartwarming similarly between him and other mark bearer characters.

^^^ BEST CG EVARRRRR....

I liked the choice of Hiroo and Mashita being the two that come in when he's at his lowest, their curtness and refusal to take his attitude was really refreshing, felt really like what he needed at the time lol. In that same vein i enjoyed his characterization alot in the early-mid game, and how it develops. He's such a sensitive guy lollll and it comes through well with how much he cares but near the latter chapters it kind of.... sours.

Though there were a few new characters i liked his interactions with, Abe and Maruhashi specifically i found endearing of the new cast, Alot of them just Die. Or theyre Hime and Michiho AKA the bane of my fucking existence with this game.

They are the two pushed front and center and it is truly its worst aspect, as characters they're shallow personality wise and though you could say that about others in the cast, them being in love with Yashiki on top of it makes it so much worse.

They barely have any scenes where they actually properly interact and feel like they bond at all but for some reason im expected to believe they're suddenly in love with him?? -and in the end they were also dead the whole time, and not even themselves. So it wasn't even real, and somehow any of this is meant to hold any weight to the audience...?? explaining it as the ghosts being desperate for him instead doesnt really make it.. any more compelling (lol the scene at the end where hes like maybe they just wanted those beautiful normal school days they spent by me.... when did that happen yashiki)

I understand Yashiki is probably saddened by the deaths of two young girls but they're treated with so much more weight and gravitas than anyone else in the cast and its so unearned, especially when alot of the other ghosts are somehow way more compelling in that aspect.

He also becomes borderline ooc around them like in what world am i expected to believe he emotionally dumps his burdens on the two highschool girls he barely knows because of how sad he is when hes got like how many other people he knows FROM THE OTHER GAMES he could do that with...????? (AND BASICALLY DOES... ALREADY...?) and it lifts his heart like truly wtf was i reading. HE WOULD NOT FUCKING SAY THAT.JPG

Chapter six is really where it falls off the cliff with this, after hanging out with Hiroo, Mashita and Yasuoka and solving that case they just dissapear from the narrative for a day so he can......... hang out with michiho...?? i couldn't even enjoy murder yashiki in this game because of how ludicrous it felt that the rest of yashiki's companions just dissapeared to make it happen, and no one calls or anything lmfao. I cant imagine how much more compelled i would have felt if he was dealing with that situation with any of the other three around instead of HIME. LIKE I AM ACTUALLY SO INCENSED ABOUT THIS SCENARIO BEING RUINED SO HARD WHEN IT COULD BE SO GOOD BUT I DIGRESS (RIPPING MY HAIR OUT) (CRYING BC I LOVE BLOOD AND HORROR)

Even the first two games weren't as bad as writing women as this!? EVEN IF I HAD TO SEE MASSIVE TITS ON SCREEN THEY WEREN'T TRYING TO JUMP ON YASHIKI AS WELL AS A CENTRAL PLOT POINT (lol kakuya) congrats exp you have outdone yourself with the misogyny.

To continue on the topic of new characters, it feels like so many of them were given so little screen time to make you actually care about them. For how prominent Abe is he barely actually does anything, and Maruhashi instantly dissapears when shes no longer a red herring. On top of this game basically killing off any other character that appears, its hard to get invested in them as characters at all.

You have no opportunities to actually effect their fate as you do in the other two games, so there's even less attempt to immerse you there. Horikoshi comes the closest behind the other two but its because her case with Hanako was easily the strongest and most resonant of the game (lgbt win). Its not even like this is the first time Yashiki saves the lives of kids and bonds with them after, especially with the caveat of being a teacher, like how did you fuck this premise up so bad.

They either needed to commit to more scenes and writing in general to attach you to the new characters or just not have any returning ones show up so prominently if they're not also going to further interact with them.

The overall mystery suffers for it, and while i like the twist of the doll being helpful in this game actually, it is so easy to guess michiho and hime are the departed, and i already didn't even like them so it doesn't hit at all emotionally. Like, i was not feeling very betrayed or anything lol.

Further critiques -> though running around is very fun, the horror in this game really didn't at all compare to the others with the loss of that first person perspective for alot of the exploration, sad.

I also feel like we got more horny shit than we did in NG which is also like lol one step forwards two steps back. Even the gore wasn't as good............... kind of mid in every regard there. I did like the mushroom and scissor stuff, but the bugs and mold ended up just kind of ..... eh...

Mary continues to be the best antag in these games, she slayed and she continues to keep slaying. The sisters were really kind of a letdown in the end, especially since i think i could have enjoyed it if they pulled them off better.

As for my yaoi cocaine score though thats a 10/10 they made yashiki and mashita meow and hiss like cats in this game for some reason, i genuinely think that shattered my mind a little.

I also can't believe they gave us these two panting in unison asmr as well so you could make your own [REDACTED] if you wanted. The departed getting jealous mashita was standing next to him in that one confrontation too like she's calling him a homewrecker..... lol...... also the part where mashita jokes abt him keeping the gun and if you make yashiki go 'then i will 😇' and him immediately backpedaling like okay i was kidding. give it back. very moe very powerful.

I feel like the entire time mashita was on screen he was basically acting as yashiki's brain to keep him from getting too lost in his emotional attachments, truly everyone needs a bitch wife to keep them sane.

TL:DR this game could be so good (average) if it wasn't so fucking badDDDDDDDDDDDD easily the worst entry in this series...... dont buy it unless its on sale for 4 bucks (this applies to every game) or just watch in on youtube lol.

anyway. beautiful yashiki collection. I CANT BELIEVE MASHITA DIDNT GET A BAD END CG ACTUALLY < / 3 BUT YASHIKI'S IS REALLY GOOD < / 3 SMALL WINS < / 3

[pyjamaart]

Year 4 of submitting art for the SiIvaGunner Art Gallery!! >:]

For the fourth time now, I can proudly present my entry for this years SiIvaGunner Birthday Gallery! I had to put up with a lot of obstacles this year, like starting in June when I normally always started in early May, my parents and my brother visiting during the exact time frame I wanted to work on this, a crippling addiction to playing Dragon Quest Monsters and many more.

But as you can see, I really locked in at the end and finished it exactly one day before the deadline (17th June).

Now to explain my vision for this piece: I'll have to admit, since starting my new job in February, I didn't have any time to keep up with the loads of SiIvaGunner rips that are uploaded each day, since I always listened to them at my old workplace while I took care of my mountains of scientific journals. At my new job, I don't have anything to do with journals anymore. I mostly talk to students at the counter all day. Can't really listen to YouTube videos when someone wants something from you every minute. I also do a lot of things related to facility management in between (our library buildings are practically falling apart in some places...), so even when I'm not at the counter, I have way too much stuff to do to listen to rips. Sigh. Sometimes, I miss my old job.........

But I'll try my best to catch up some time in the future. At the very latest in September. My first vacation days in 7 months... Anyway, let's get back to the image at hand:

In the foreground, there's obviously my beloved dynamic duo of besties: Woodman and Nozomi. Woodman has been missing from the channel for 1 and a half years. Please bring him back. I miss my wife, Tails...

For this piece, my theme was centered around my favorite SiIvaGunner joke from the past few months (or has it been years?): The raft ride. I wanted something fun and summer-y, so I decided to put all the characters I drew in cute little sailor outfits. For Woodman, I just drew him in something simple that I thought of myself, which complimented and incorporated his usual armor.

Next we have Nozomi, who dons her outfit from μ's fifth single "Wonderful Rush". I had a few water themed outfits to chose from with her (and Honoka, for that matter), but I chose Wonderful Rush for Nozomi since it just fit with the aesthetic I was going for.

Next to those two is Coraline from the 3DS street pass game "Ultimate Angler", which is also prominently featured on the channel. For her outfit, I just modified her usual attire a little to fit in with the sailor vibe. I also turned her sun visor around because I could for the life of me not figure out how to draw it properly at this angle. Uhhh... I mean, I turned it around because I thought it looked cool.

I hope you can see that I had an absolute breakthrough in Gimp. I think I already talked about it on my Buck fanart, but I finally discovered layer modes. After 4 years of working with Gimp. Spectacular, I know. If you don't notice it here, you'll definitely notice it on the next image in queue for the robot master quest I have going on. I can already spoil you who it's gonna be this time: Tornadoman! I honestly couldn't believe what I was drawing. I think I was possessed by something for a few hours. It was honestly a little scary. But I think you'll see what I mean once you see the actual image, it's really different from the usual stuff I draw.

Getting back to the topic of this picture, let's talk about the background now. I decided to draw a little ship with lots of familiar faces making up the crew.

The ships captain is Honoka, who is standing on the very left of the deck. I took her outfit from μ's single "Heart to Heart!", which also fit into the aquatic theme quite nicely.

Right next to her, under a rainbow flag that's fluttering in the wind above them, is Aquaman. My beloved. Since I drew him into last years birthday gallery image, I decided to do the same this year. I also put a little starfish on his hat because I think it looked cute ;)

Standing epicly and mysteriously on the top of the boat is Meta Knight. I don't know if you can see it when it's zoomed out so far, but he's holding some kind of folded map in his right hand. Maybe they're looking for treasure??

And on the very right of the ship are Tito Dick and Robbie Rotten, reenacting that one famous scene from the Titanic movie.

After that, we shift our focus to the left of the image, where we can see Fluttershy flying over the island from Tomodachi Life.

And that's it for this image folks. I hope I'll finish my Mega Man Fully Charged art before the weekend ends, so stay tuned for that next! And after that, we're going right back to the robot master grind. ;)

Until then, this has been Jenny Pyjamakama, signing off. ;)

[tmariea]

What If I Told It In My Dreams

Fandom: MDZS/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/The Untamed

Pairing: Xiyao

Characters: Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao

Rating: M (There will be a second chapter of this, and this will Increase at that point)

Summary:

To the best of Lan Xichen's knowledge Jin Guangyao had not been a sleepwalker before the war. Not once while on the run had he woken to see his companion’s slight form - the same one now silhouetted in the faint moonlight from the open door of the Hanshi - wandering about their camps or rooms.

Jin Guangyao sleepwalks his way to the Hanshi, to his er-ge's bed, and straight into a love confession neither of them were expecting out of a mundane visit to the Cloud Recesses.

Read on AO3

This fic is result of meing being possessed by this post, and a very fun back-and-forth brainstorming conversation with @dumbbo-yyy. 'This will be fun and short and sweet!' I said, 'this will be good practice before getting into Xiyao prompts for the gotcha4gaza' I said. Well, most of these things are true, but hope you enjoy 5K words of silly and sweet goo before an eventual smutty chapter 2 to come - rating and tags will be adjusted accordingly at that point, but for now all you'll have to look out for is a flash of Lan Xichen's Horny Thoughts(TM).

When Lan Xichen woke in the middle of the night to the sound of the Hanshi’s door opening, his first reaction was to call Shuoyue to his hand.  He felt this was a reasonable reaction; everyone had been more on edge since the war, and to the best of his knowledge Jin Guangyao had not been a sleepwalker before it either.  Not once while on the run had he woken to see his companion’s slight form - the same one now silhouetted in the faint moonlight from the open door - wandering about their camps or rooms.

“A-Yao?” Xichen asked, his voice rather rougher with sleep and more confused than normal.  He sent Shuoyue back to her stand with a flick of his hand and his qi.  “Is something the matter?”

A-Yao didn’t reply.  Instead he crossed the room to where Xichen was still lying half propped up on one elbow.  He placed a hand on the bed so he could lean closer.  Xichen was very aware of the way the bed dipped to the side of him, the warmth of A-Yao so close, the way he could just barely feel A-Yao’s breath ghost over his face.  He scarcely dared to move.

Xichen was not ashamed to admit to himself, but perhaps he would be ashamed to admit out loud, that he had dreamed of this at least a few times before. A-Yao would seek him out some time in the evening, or even later at night when he should have been asleep.  He would breathe out, “Er-ge,” or if Xichen’s mind was feeling particularly forward, “Huan-ge,” and then climb into his lap or over him in bed and kiss him, every hot and lovely line of him pressed up against Xichen.  Things would inevitably progress from there and Xichen would wake up in desperate need of a good long while in meditation or an early morning dip in the cold springs, all the while reminding himself that the sound of A-Yao crying his name as he finished was not a thing he got to have.  Or sometimes, he would not need either of those things at all…

Despite certain similarities, that did not seem to be what was happening now.  All of his senses were far too sharp, for one, and he really wasn’t sure his mind would make up something quite like A-Yao saying, in a much more light and affectionate voice than usual, “Goodnight kiss for Zewu-jun,” just before kissing him right in the center of his forehead.

“A-Yao, what?” Xichen managed to force out around the sudden and all-consuming squeeze of his heart in his chest.  His skin was tingling where A-Yao had kissed, and a delighted, if also slightly confused, shiver ran down his spine.

Instead of replying, A-Yao said, “Goodnight kiss for er-ge,” and kissed the same spot again.  This time his hands also came up to cradle Xichen’s head, thumbs running back and forth across the place that his forehead ribbon would lay if he were not dressed for sleep.  That plunged Xichen into an entirely different kind of wanting, the kind where his ribbon was A-Yao’s to touch, his to keep.

It already was, but up until this moment Xichen had not been sure it was something A-Yao might even want, for all his own personal longings.

He’d barely had time to catalog, much less actually sort through, any of those feelings, before A-Yao straightened back up and turned to leave without another word. Xichen stood from the bed, feeling as ungainly as when he was young and still learning how to grow into his long limbs, and took a few large strides across the room to catch A-Yao with a hand on his upper arm before he could walk back out the door.  “Please, A-Yao, is something the matter?  You are acting… unlike yourself.”

When A-Yao didn’t turn to look at him, or make any other acknowledgment that he’d even heard, Xichen took his other arm and gently turned him himself.  A-Yao moved without any sort of resistance.  His eyes were open and looking forward, but they did not appear to be seeing.  

For one terrible moment of stomach-dropping terror, Xichen thought that somehow his younger sworn brother, his A-Yao, his heart, had been turned into a puppet.  He yanked at the collar of A-Yao’s under-shirt, pulling it down far enough to see that his neck was still unblemished in the moonlight.  It was impossible anyway, wasn’t it?  There should have been no remnants of Yin Iron anywhere near Gusu to trouble them.

“A-Yao, are you… asleep?” Xichen asked finally, as the last possible option.  This time, he did not expect an answer.  “Let me take you back to your rooms.”  He placed one hand at A-Yao’s back, between his shoulder blades, and took his hand with the other, to guide him down the short set of steps leading up to the Hanshi.  How he had managed to navigate up them without tripping or making noise the first time Xichen was not sure.

By the position of the moon in the sky, the shichen was zi.  Cloud Recesses should be quiet and mostly empty, but Xichen still took them along lesser used pathways behind buildings and through wooded gardens just in case.  A-Yao would not appreciate being seen in this state of undress.  

It did have the unfortunate side effect of giving Xichen plenty of time to think on his suddenly heightened awareness of A-Yao beside him, of every place they touched.  His hand between A-Yao’s shoulder blades, and the way he could either spread out his fingers to cover much of the span of his back, or how he could let it slip lower to rest at the curve of his waist.  The loose hair brushing across the back of his hand, soft and lovely and so tempting to run his fingers through.

A-Yao’s hands, Xichen was more acquainted with.  He had been so bold as to run his thumbs soothingly across them the first time that they met, after all, trying to communicate wordlessly that he deserved far more than the scorn heaped upon him by the young cultivators around him.  And then, when Xichen had been injured and weak with fever on the run from the Wens, those hands had tended his wounds with competence and gentleness.  Since, he had watched A-Yao’s hands on teacups and on swords, held forward to bow, and in controlled, elegant gestures as he explained some brilliant idea. This didn’t mean, though, that Xichen had any tolerance built up against the wanting inspired by A-Yao’s touch.  Right now his hand was limp and relaxed, but Xichen could imagine the sensation of those smaller fingers lacing through his own.  Could dream of A-Yao lifting their hands to his lips to kiss Xichen’s with a secretive smile on his face.  It was for the best for both of them, perhaps, that they were walking uninhabited paths of Cloud Recesses, as Xichen felt his ears flame at the idea.

Reaching the walled courtyard around the guest quarters was a relief from Xichen’s own mind, but did present a new problem: although Cloud Recess was back to it’s old quiet, isolated self, everyone felt more comfortable with an increased watch after the Sunshot Campaign.  The disciple at the gate looked alert for a Lan at this time of night.  Objectively a good thing, although it meant they would require another route in.  How A-Yao himself left without raising notice was a question he suspected he may never get an answer to.

“Apologies, A-Yao,” Xichen said, and hooked an arm beneath his legs to lift him.  The way his relaxed head and neck drooped backwards was too disconcerting, so Xichen arranged the man in his arms so that A-Yao’s head rested against his shoulder, and his arms draped around Xichen’s neck.  Then, he had to take a moment just for himself, to revel in the feeling of A-Yao pressed to his chest, the perfect comfort in that pressure and weight.  Xichen’s precious burden and his feelings secured, he jumped silently over the fence.

They landed alongside A-Yao’s pavilion, in the shadows between it and a tall pine tree.  In the courtyard, no one lingered outside of their rooms, although it seemed a few might still be awake by the diffuse light from behind window screens.  Xichen made sure to step carefully and stick to the shadows along the building, until he could slip through the door to A-Yao’s room.

Inside, he crept through the dark, aware that if he were to kick over a table all his caution would have been for not.  The bed itself, he could see as his eyes adjusted, was well rumpled, as if before A-Yao began his nighttime wanderings he had not been sleeping restfully.  Xichen didn’t have the hands to rearrange the bed neatly again, so on top of the blankets it would have to be.

Except, when he set A-Yao onto the bed and made to stand, he was stopped by the arms around his neck.  It seemed at some point that A-Yao had clasped his hands, and would not be so easily dislodged.

“Please, A-Yao, I need to return,” Xichen murmured to him.

A-Yao made a noise in his sleep, a displeased sounding one.  As if he had heard and understood.

Xichen contemplated his options.  Coaxing A-Yao’s arms away would be easy enough, or he could slip his head out from between them, but the thought was suddenly unconscionable.  A-Yao hadn’t been sleeping well here, and the dark circles beneath his eyes had not gone unnoticed either, so Xichen suspected he was not sleeping well at home either.  He could not bear to disturb him when it seemed, in a mirror of Xichen’s own wishes, A-Yao wanted him to stay.

He could lay down right here next to A-Yao and fall back asleep.  He was sure sleep would come to him very easily, even though it wasn’t his own bed, with the comforting warmth of A-Yao beside him.  But then, what explanation could be given for the sect leader having spent the night in his own guest quarters?  No, it had to be better to bring A-Yao back to the Hanshi after all.  The two of them had taken breakfast together before, or gone for walks in the early morning, on days when A-Yao was awake early enough to keep Lan hours.  Although Xichen now had a suspicion that it may be after nights when he had not slept at all.  That would do - he would just need to wake A-Yao in time in the morning and no one would be the wiser.

Back out through the door they went, then, and over the wall to retrace their steps through the gardens.  This time though, Xichen held A-Yao the whole way.  A-Yao had not released his arms, and so the thought of putting him down had barely even crossed Xichen’s mind before it was gone.  

They made better time that way, as he didn’t have to be as aware of all the hazards that A-Yao could not see and may trip over.  Before long, he was sliding open the door to the Hanshi, and then laying A-Yao down for a second time, on his own bed.  He immediately missed the weight and heat of him.

Xichen sat down beside A-Yao, leaning down so as to not tug on his own neck.  He ran a hand up and down A-Yao’s upper arm soothingly, and said, “I promise I will stay.  Will you let me go?”  A-Yao made another set of sleepy grumbling noises, which Xichen found unbearably cute, but then surprisingly released his grip.  He left his arms stretched out across the empty space of the bed, as if he was reaching for Xichen even still.

Xichen slid into the empty side of the bed, and carefully draped one of A-Yao’s outstretched arms across his own chest before he could get caught in thoughts of what they each would or would not do in the daylight, the lines of propriety he was choosing to cross in the shadowy, unreal time between dusk and dawn.  Some small, unnoticed tension leaked out of Xichen’s body at the weight.  A-Yao, for his part, made another noise and cuddled closer, his head shifting until it nearly touched Xichen’s, and the arm across Xichen’s chest tightening just enough to be holding rather than laying limply.

Xichen let out a shaky breath through the sudden squeeze in his heart, and turned his head so he could kiss A-Yao on the forehead in a mirror of the kiss that began this all.  “Goodnight, A-Yao,” he whispered into the small, warm space between them, such an intimacy that it seemed the words were swallowed by the silence of the house.

He wasn’t sure if he would be able to sleep, through the onslaught of feelings that A-Yao here in his bed like this caused in him, but Xichen was out almost the moment he closed his eyes.

Jin Guangyao startled awake sometime in the small hours before dawn to the sensation, of all things, that he was too warm.  That barely even happened in Lanling’s hot and stifling summers, much less when visiting Cloud Recesses.  Next he realized that he was in the wrong bed, and the source of the extra, unexpected heat was another person in it next to him.  In this moment perhaps more than any others, he was grateful for his body’s instinct to freeze and assess when startled, as he breathed through a jolt of fear.  

This was not the brothel.  

He was many years away from the risk of a patron finding their way to his bed uninvited. 

By the pervasive scent of sandalwood and pine, he was still in Cloud Recesses, and a quick assessment of himself showed he was unbound, uninjured, and still clothed.  His instincts had kept his bedmate from waking as he did - despite the way one of his arms was slung across a broad chest and his knees tucked up between his body and the person’s hip - which would afford Jin Guangyao the chance to carefully draw himself away and see who this person was, and then slip away with them none the wiser.

Even still he had to clench his jaw to help concentrate past the rapid, fearful beat of his heart as he gently leaned back from where their heads rested on the same pillow, only a cun away from Jin Guangyao pressing his forehead to their temple.  The man’s face came into focus, the serene sleeping features of Lan Xichen.

There had been fury waiting in the wings of Jin Guangyao’s heart, hidden behind the fear.  He was grateful to be lying down in the face of his sudden light-headedness as both feelings drained away.  

So then, what had brought him here?  He didn’t feel sick or in pain, at least no more than usual, so this was not a case of a sudden illness in the night and er-ge staying by his side at the healers.  Nor had he fallen asleep in the Hanshi; Jin Guangyao had a distinct memory of walking back to his own guest quarters after taking tea with er-ge last night.

That left one option.  More than once since the war, Jin Guangyao had fallen asleep in his own room and woken sometime later standing in a garden or colonnade or empty hall echoing with the silence of deep night.  He’d taken to locking his door, but had foolishly, hubristically, thought that here in Cloud Recesses he might have less to guard against.  He wasn’t even sure that had been a conscious thought, which was infinitely worse.

And where had that thought brought him?  To er-ge’s bed.  As if his sleeping mind knew what he wanted most, and discarded all of the barriers he put up against it in his waking life to bring him right here.

The last time they had slept like this had been when they were in hiding together.  Single rush mats or hard, small beds; threadbare blankets that left them both shivering horribly, it had only been… sensible to share.  Jin Guangyao didn’t think he’d had as good of a night’s sleep since.  Not in Nightless City under Wen Ruohan’s ever-paranoid eye, or in Jinlintai amongst it’s unique crowd of vipers.  He took all of those questions about the last time he’d felt safe enough to relax and sleep without worry and shoved them to the back of his mind.  He’d always known what it meant to do what was needed, that was no different.

This though, this was not needed.  It would not advance his reputation or his plans, may in fact actively harm them were anyone to find out and decide to gossip.  (He might be safe from the Lans.  Might.  Jin Guangyao knew better than to trust even rigid rules when pitted against human nature.)

And yet.

And yet.  He had shifted the blanket down off of his shoulder without thinking about it, and now he was the perfect temperature.  Warm and sinking into the bed, surprisingly soft for his expectations of the Lan clan.  Er-ge’s breathing was quiet and even, bringing Jin Guangyao’s into pace with it, and stilling much of the storm that was always stirring in his heart or mind.  If he let himself forget for a moment all of the reasons and admonishments, he could let his head fall forward, lean against er-ge’s temple the way it almost was when he woke.  He could linger here, in this quiet, timeless moment suffused with the smell of sandalwood incense and fir trees, and with a wanting so gentle it nearly didn’t hurt.  Just long enough to fill his heart with something that could sustain him for a little while when he needed to leave.  He could do this and still slip away before er-ge and the rest of Could Recesses woke.

He remembered dozing for some time, stretches of peace without thought interspersed with indulgent awareness of comfort, and soft robes beneath his curled hands.  And then, he was waking to the feeling of er-ge rising from bed, and cursing himself for letting his guard down a second time within the same night.

Something made Jin Guangyao stay still and keep his eyes closed.  He let himself lie sleepy and relaxed in er-ge’s bed, as he listened to him move about the room.  The sounds of rustling fabric as he dressed, a comb through his hair, and then his footsteps were returning to the side of the bed.

Lan Xichen leaned over and kissed his forehead, right where he painted his cinnabar dot.  With his lips still close enough to brush Jin Guangyao’s skin as he spoke, he said, “I will be back with breakfast momentarily, love.”

Jin Guangyao had years and years of iron control to draw on.  Years of holding himself still, and smiling, and subservient, or whatever other emotion another person expected of him.  Years of speaking with perfect care, always choosing the words that would show himself as a refined gentleman, that would only enhance his reputation.  All of it deserted him in an instant, as he opened his eyes and reached out to grasp at the sleeve of his er-ge’s robes.  He asked, “Do you mean it?”

Er-ge jerked just the tiniest bit in surprise, and some distant corner of Jin Guangyao’s mind wanted to smile at catching him, always so perfectly upright and graceful, off guard.  “Huh?  A-Yao did I wake you?  I am sorry.”

Jin Guangyao ignored that question in light of repeating his much more pressing one.  “Did you mean it?”

Now er-ge just sounded confused rather that surprised.  “Mean what?  That I will return with breakfast?  It really will just be a moment, but you can sleep longer if you wish.”

Merciful Guanyin, was he going to have to say it?  But no, he had years and years of practice keeping it behind his teeth, all the way back to when his er-ge was only Lan-zongzhu and there had been an impulse in his fingers to sign off every secret letter, “In case I never see you again, I fear I have fallen in love with you.”  It kept him from being able to say it now.  Instead, his hand flexed a little tighter in the fabric of er-ge’s sleeve, and he said, “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”  He’d intended it to come out a bit tart, a bit teasing, but the slowness of early morning diluted his tone down far too close to pleading.

Er-ge’s eyes softened, and he sat back down on the bed.  Jin Guangyao was hyper-aware of how their hips nearly brushed, the blanket between them pulling tight across his waist as it was caught beneath er-ge.

One of er-ge’s hands reached out, as if to touch Jin Guangyao’s face, but then stopped at the last moment.  Instead he laid it over the hand on his sleeve.  “Does A-Yao want me to mean it?” he asked.  He did a much better job at a teasing tone, but underneath was a steady earnestness, that promised if Jin Guangyao said no, he would step away and get breakfast.  They would eat and drink tea, perhaps walk the paths on the mountain, and the conversation would drift in other directions, never to find its way back again.  If that is what he wanted.

He did not want that vision, not at all.  He wanted his er-ge’s love, wanted to be able to love him in return.  Even if it did nothing to advance his plans, to advance his reputation.  He swallowed hard, and turned that iron control in a different direction, towards making himself speak.  “I want you to mean it.  Please, er-ge.  Please mean it.”

Er-ge’s face lit up, like he’d set off a firework beneath his skin.  “A-Yao, my A-Yao, my love.”

Jin Guangyao felt his cheeks heating, and resisted the nonsensical urge to say ‘you can’t say things like that!’  He was the one who had asked for it after all.  Instead, he ran his hand up from Xichen’s arm to his shoulder, and tugged lightly before ordering.  “Come back here, then, and kiss me.”

The way er-ge’s eyes darkened was very interesting; he cataloged that away for the future.  And then, he didn’t think anymore at all because a pair of soft, warm lips were pressing to his own.  Jin Guangyao let his eyes slip shut and wrapped his other hand around the back of er-ge’s neck.  

It kept him from going very far when he pulled back, and searched Jin Guangyao’s face.  He must have been satisfied with what he saw, because he smiled so brightly, and tipped forward again, this time to rest their foreheads together.  Even more than the kiss, the feeling of the metal cloud piece of er-ge’s ribbon against his skin made him gasp.  “My er-ge.  My Lan Xichen,” he tested out into the bare inches of space between him, his voice curling around the words possessively, and heard er-ge’s breath hitch.

And then er-ge was kissing him again, once, twice, three more times.  Each just that bit firmer than the last, enough to start to bring up the heat in Jin Guangyao’s blood, before he pulled back.  Jin Guangyao was just about to work himself up to a pout when er-ge asked, with a truly incandescent joy in audible in his voice, “Would A-Yao mind if breakfast was delayed?  I did not get the chance to properly appreciate holding you.”

Well, now, how was he supposed to complain about such a sweet request like that?  He found himself shaking his head, while the arms still around er-ge pulled him in closer in answer.

Er-ge planted one knee on the bed, so he was momentarily looming over Jin Guangyao, which he filed away for more exploration later given the swoop in his stomach.  Then er-ge swung his other leg up too, to the other side of Jin Guangyao, and tipped himself in an undignified sprawl onto the empty, opposite side of the bed.  The corners of his mouth were drawn up in delight and amusement, seemingly at his own antics, and his eyes crinkled up.  The near-laughter on his face carried over into his voice as he said, “Come here,” and reached out an arm to drag Jin Guangyao over on top of him, so he was laying with his back to er-ge’s chest.

And, oh.  Jin Guangyao breathed out and felt as if all of his muscles and bones had deserted him with how easily he relaxed into that hold.  He tipped his head back so it was pillowed on er-ge’s shoulder, and his eyes drifted back shut almost without his own accord.  His body reminding him with a vengeance that he’d had an interrupted night of sleep and this was still earlier morning than he preferred, and then throwing in, just for good measure, that he was now warm, comfortable, and safe.

“I’ve dreamed of doing this,” er-ge said, wrapping his arms across Jin Guangyao’s chest and belly, and pressing a kiss against his temple.  “I will be content for as long as you might want to still sleep.”

Jin Guangyao didn’t fully sleep again, but he did let himself drift as the sun slowly crept up over the windowsills and across the floor.  He could feel the rise and fall of er-ge’s breathing against his back, and a hand rubbing gently up and down over his side.  But, he wasn’t accustomed to lazing for particularly long, no matter how blissful the excuse.  Eventually he stretched a little to indicate that he was fully awake again, and reached out to take one of er-ge’s hands and lace their fingers together above his stomach.  He could feel er-ge’s delight in the sharp breath against his back.

“Good morning, A-Yao.”

“Mn, good morning,” Jin Guangyao said, and then asked one of the questions that had been on his mind.  “Er-ge, how did we end up here?”  He lifted his free hand to indicate the bed, the Hanshi, all of it.

“Do you have no memory of it?”

“I have a suspicion about what happened, but will er-ge tell it for me?”  Jin Guangyao hoped that he hadn’t made a fool of himself in some way, but there was a touch of anxiety swirling low in his gut over the answer.

“I am not sure what happened before this, but A-Yao came to the Hanshi last night while you were still asleep-” yes, just as Jin Guangyao had feared “-ostensibly to say goodnight, and to give me a… goodnight kiss.”

Oh dear.  If er-ge was stumbling over his words even after they had exchanged more kisses, he must have behaved egregiously.  He kept his body relaxed against er-ge’s chest with a force of will, and asked in a lighthearted tone, “Hopefully I have been able to provide better kisses while awake?”

Er-ge laughed lightly at himself, and shook his head.  “A-Yao only kissed my forehead.  But it was unexpected.  Before that, I wanted to believe that this is what we meant to each other, but I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t want to show it,” Jin Guangyao whispered.  “It was…”  He thought of promises from sect leaders.  Of tower stairs.  Vicious rumor mills that had said things about him and Nie-zongzhu even when Nie Mingjue had never looked back at him with the same kind of heat he recognized in Lan Xichen’s eyes.  Rumors that were more than happy to look at all his accomplishments, his cultivation, his status and attribute them only to the bedroom at the slightest hint…  The way much of that was still there, would always still be there.  The way that this one wanting had never been meant to grow so large as to put at risk all the others.

“Mn,” er-ge hummed gently, and tightened his arms in a silent acknowledgment.  Jin Guangyao breathed out all the tension from his chest and his muscles at not having to say it out loud.

“So then,” he brought them back to the topic at hand.  “What occurred next?”

“I walked A-Yao back to his rooms, but we had to go over the wall to avoid the guard.”

“That seems like a flaw in your guard rotation, er-ge,” Jin Guangyao interrupted, with a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Ahem, well.”

He turned his head so he could glimpse er-ge’s thoroughly pink ears, and took advantage of the proximity to shift just a bit further and press a quick kiss to his lips.  “I’ll stop, I’ll stop.”  A part of his brain peeled off to consider modifications that could be made from his old Nie rosters to work for the Lan, but that was a concern firmly for later.

Er-ge stole another kiss before he continued, “When I tried to return you to bed, you ah, wouldn’t let go.  I decided it would be easier if I brought you back here.”

“Easier how?”

“We often take breakfast, or morning walks.  It would raise less questions.”

Jin Guangyao could admit that the logic was sound, even if it had given him a moment’s panic in the middle of the night.  Well, full story told it did not seem as if he had behaved too egregiously, and certainly couldn’t complain about the end result.  Even still, he sighed, and said, “Ah, it is as I had feared, then.”

“Does A-Yao find himself sleepwalking often?”

“Sometimes, recently.  More often when I am restless or have something on my mind.”

“And did you sleep well here?”  Xichen sounded just the slightest bit hesitant, and hopeful.  It was sweet, unbearably so.

In revenge for that feeling - or perhaps as a reward, he couldn’t quite decide - Jin Guangyao stretched luxuriously, letting one arm land in such a way that it curled around the back of er-ge’s neck.  “Hm, wonderfully,” he said, letting the words stretch lazily across his tongue.  It was the truth, too.  Even his intermittent dozing had left him feeling more rested than he had in days.

Er-ge nosed against Jin Guangyao’s neck, newly in reach, and said into the hollow behind his ear, “Well then, A-Yao will simply have to share my bed any time he is in Cloud Recesses.”

“Er-ge!”

“I had meant for sleeping, but A-Yao can of course share my bed in other ways if he would like.”

There were still things Jin Guangyao would need to think through - what they would be to each other, what they would appear to be to the world.  How this would fit with his other ambitions, or possibly even rewrite them.  But for now, for now he tilted his head to show more of his neck, flexed his hand against er-ge’s skin, and said, “Yes.”

[dani-says-stuff]

Your Very Own Attachment

❥ Back to the Control Center

❥ Nate Hardy Masterlist

❥ Link to Part 1: Robert the Doll

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Nate Hardy x fem!medium(?)reader

Summary: You notice things in your home quickly become strange after your return from Key West

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: creepy stuff, hauntings, some language, Robert the Doll, probably inaccurate spirit box, inaccurate depiction of attachments, inconsistent capitalization, my trademark disregard for run on sentences and perfect grammar

Dialogue Key:

Y/N

Nate

This is what it looks like when they are using Estes method

━─━────༺✧༻────━─━

It had been a few weeks since you and the boys went on the investigation, having the chance of meeting the infamous Robert the Doll. To say things had been strange since then would be an extreme understatement. 

Things started off small, with a strange feeling here and chill there, but things quickly began to escalate as time progressed. 

━─━────༺✧༻────━─━

You were in the kitchen, making dinner while waiting for Nate to come home when you suddenly heard the door swing open. You'd assumed it was just Nate returning home, so you called out to him not giving it much thought. 

After a second or two without receiving the usual response of 'Hey babe, I'm back' or something of the like, you pulled your focus from the tomatoes you had been cutting to peek around the corner. 

"Nate?" you spoke up, brow furrowed, "Are you ok? Did something happen?" 

He didn't respond, all you could hear from your position was a quick hum before footsteps were heard stomping up the stairs. 

You quickly rushed back to the kitchen, setting the knife down before moving to climb up the stairs after him.

You called his name once again from the third step from the top, upon hearing your shared bedroom's door slam shut. 

"Nate?" you knocked on the door, trying the handle only to find that it was locked, "Nate, please open the door you're starting to worry me." 

You tried again and again, voice getting shakier as the minutes passed with no verbal response coming from the room. The only noise answering your calls was the occasional grunt and the sound of shuffling within the room. 

Your mind was clouded with so much worry for your partner who was acting so far out of character for his usual happy self, that you didn't notice the front door open for the second time that evening. 

"Hey babe! I'm-" the brown-haired man cut himself off as he entered the home, taking note of the kitchen light on and the sight of the pot overboiling on the stove. He rushed over to turn down the burner before trying to find you.

While it was normal for you to get sidetracked while completing a task, for you to forget about a running stove for that long was definitely unusual. 

Once the loud bubbling of the water subsided, a new sound flooded his ears, quickly making his blood turn cold.

From all the way downstairs in the kitchen, he could hear you pounding on the door and pleading-sounding close to tears-begging for him to open the door. 

"Babe! Y/n!" he yelled, running the same route as you, bolting up the stairs. "Y/n are you ok? Is everything alright? What's going on?" 

You weren't crying yet, but the tears quickly rolled down your cheeks when you heard your boyfriend's panicked voice coming up the staircase behind you.

 If he was coming up here now, what the hell was in your bedroom?

You shuffled away from the door in shock, the noise continuing from inside. Your frantic pleas immediately exchanged for a terrified silence as you backed away down the hall, eyes pinned on your bedroom door until eventually your back hit a chest. 

"Y/N?" Nate called, wrapping his arms around you and looking ahead, attempting to see whatever you were looking at, "Y/N whats going on?" 

You shuffled around barring your face into his chest, finally getting a semblance of calm in his presence as you balled up your fists holding onto the fabric of his shirt.

He hushed you softly and rubbed your back as you cried, continuing to stare down the hall to your room. 

"Baby?" he kissed the crown of your head after a few minutes, "Hey, I know it's hard, but I need you to tell me what's going on."

"Somethings in there." you spoke, words muffled against his chest.

He tensed, gripping onto you tighter at the words, "Y/n, baby, what's in there?"

"Dunno" you cried, "thought it was you. It went up the stairs and locked the door." 

He pulled you from his chest, albit reluctantly, and looked down at your reddened complexion in a serious and determined manner, "I'm going to go check it out. Wait by the stairs, ok?" 

You nodded, quickly shuffling behind him. 

Just as you said, the door to your bedroom was somehow locked.

He slowly reached up to the top of the doorframe, grabbing the spare key you kept up there. While it was obvious whatever intruder was in there wasn't detered by the sound of you pleading for the door to be opened, Nate didn't want to chace startling them now. 

The strangest part, was by the time he unlocked the door and stepped inside, it quickly became obvious that no one had been in there.

He took his time checking the closets in the room and any place someone couldve hidden, but not a soul was found. The state of the room had also made it clear that nothing had been moved at all, depite the noises both of you had heard from behind the door. 

━─━────༺✧༻────━─━

After a few more days of strange occurrences and strong feeling of being watched, you decided to find out for certain what the hell was going on.

Your first guess, was it was Sam or Colby's fault.

Both of them had attachments in the past and they'd been coming over to you and Nate's home recently, so maybe whatever spirit they brought along had decided they liked your clean home much more then theirs. 

This theory was quickly disproven by a call between both of the boys, which created a much less appealing situation.

This wasn't anyone else bringing something to your home, it was you guys who brought it into your own home. 

━─━────༺✧༻────━─━

One day, after spending sometime at the boy's house, Nate decided to bring back a spirit box to find out what had decided to stick around in your home.

This was how you found yourself in the dark, blindfolded in the rocking chair in your living room, wearing a pair of noise canceling headphones. 

"Is there anyone here who wants to speak with us?" Nate spoke, watching you as you rocked slowly back and forth. 

"We know you're here, you've made that pretty obvious." the bitterness he was trying to keep out of his voice slipped in through his words. 

He knew you were supposed to be repectful to ghosts and spirits, but his patience was running thin with this one.

You were terified to be left alone in your own home and lost sleep most nights when in your own bedroom. He noticed that the only time you seemed to sleep peacefully, was when the both of you would leave the room and sleep on the couch while playing a movie. The way this spirit seemed to be messing with you was angering him, watching as it played games and heightened you anxieties in the place you were meant to feel safest, angered him. 

"Why are you here?"

Fun.

"Its fun? You find this fun?" he seethed.

A few moments went by without a response.

Yes.

"Why?" Nate spoke, watching as you shuttered, rolling out your shoulders as if they were sore, "Who are you?"

A few minutes passed 

A.

"A?" he asked, tilting his head, "Is that your name?"

A.

"Well... why are you doing this A?"

Not.

"You're not doing this?"

No.

"Then who is?"

A timer set on his phone went off, signaling ten minutes.

There was technically no time limit, as this was your house and not a location you had limited time in, but the both of you decided to only go in ten minute incriments to avoid any bad affects from being under for too long. 

You pulled the blindfold from your eyes, blinking for a moment to adjust to the dim lighting, "What's up? Did we get anything? Did something happen or was it just time?"

Nate shook his head, "Just time. Didn't get much though" he recalled, "just that whatever it is thinks this is fun, and their name might start with an A." he shrugged.

You perked up, "Wait, A?" you looked around the room before returing your eyes to his, "Was their name A? Like did they only answer their name was A?" Nate nodded slowly, brows furrowed in confusion. 

You quickly shoved the headset and blindfold into his hands, "It's Anne, from the Artist's House in Key West." 

"Are you sure?"

You smiled, "Positive." and with that, Nate pulled the blindfold over his eyes.

"Hello Anne, are you here?"

Yes. 

You smiled warmly, looking around the room hoping that if you looked at every corner, at some point you'd be smiling at the spirit, "Thank you for speaking with me again Anne. I'm guessing all of this stuff hasn't been you then?" 

No.

Been watching.

"You've been watching it?"

Help.

Helping.

Trying to.

"You've been trying to help by watching it?" you asked, stringing the words together 

Exactly.

You smiled again, "Well, we appreciate that very much Anne-"

Failed. 

The spirit box cut you off,

No.

Failed.

"You didn't fail, you're talking to us now." you tried to reassure the spirit, "Do you know what it is? Is there anything we can do?"

Doll.

Your blood ran cold. 

Doll.

"Anne, do you mean its Robert? Is he here?" 

No.

Just one.

You strained your mind, thinking back to the research you all did for the video.

Just one? What does that mean? 

Then it hit you.

Just one, just one of the spirits in the doll. 

"Is it just one of the spirits? Not Robert, just one of the spirits attached to him?"

Yes.

Watched it.

Simple one.

"Its a simple one?" you asked, "You mean it's not a stronger spirit?" 

Yes, simple.

Seen it.

"Ok, so I should be able to just do a cleanse and salt the windows and it'll be ok?"

Should.

You smiled, glancing all around once again, "Thank you so much Anne, we really appreciate your help." and with that, you brought Nate from the trance, knowing exactly what you had to do next. 

━─━────༺✧༻────━─━

Just like last time, after following what Anne had told you, everything seemed to be fine and quickly returning to normal.

Turns out, you may have an attachment, but it was a very sweet attachment who seemed to be choosing to use her time to play 'spiritual guard dog' for your happy home, rather than be trapped within the sorrowful cycle of memories plaguing her own.

[somethingpersonarelated]

Another No More What Ifs Analysis

Okay, so... between wanting to analyze this and Our Light, and the kpop posts that I'll be doing that overlap with this. This blog will turn into Persona Music Analysis hour. Long post. Heavy spoilers for P5R, Proof of Justice, and Mementos Mission. BEGIN!

Let's begin with some context for the song. I think this is crucial to understanding why it is associated with Akechi's character. If you're familiar with this, you can skip to the lyrical analysis! The best analogy is that Beneath the Mask is to Akira as NMWI is to Akechi, in my opinion. Proof of Justice was an OVA released with the P5 anime (in May 2019) a couple months before the release of Persona 5 Royal in Japan (October of the same year). This OVA is centered around the relationship between Akira and Akechi. Specifically, Akira's grieving process as he goes through the places where they used to meet to find clues about the phrase "Proof of Justice" which was written in the Leblanc crossword. The Jazz Jin, as noted by Muhen here, is a place where Akechi would typically go alone. He also notes in confidant rank 4 that it wasn't necessarily a place that he was keeping secret, but that he never brought people around there since it was his personal space to reflect. As we'll examine, the content of the lyrics is too specific to not be related to the story, and there aren't any other characters or themes I could think are as associated with the song as Goro Akechi. Just wanted to clear this up first, as for some it's not entirely clear why the song is specifically Akechi's (since it's not explicitly stated, and the lyrics are hard to catch while you're playing through normally).

Lyrical Analysis

people come and they go some people may stay with you though I am all alone tonight and I kept on asking myself questions

The very first line is one of the easiest to dissect. Goro, since the death of his mother, has had few stable figures in his life, whether it is his parents, family, or friends. This also extends to his line of work as a celebrity detective, as he is kept so busy that there are very few people he sees on a regular basis, at all. He notes in the second confidant rank (if you choose to ask if he has no friends) that he doesn't have people that he chooses to spend time with. [I chose this option on my last play through and remember it but I can't find the dialogue anywhere].

The doubt that grows in this verse comes from the second line. He is taken by surprise that there is someone he is giving thought to for more than a couple seconds at time. Someone he is... to some degree choosing to spend time with even though he is doing it for the mission. At first, to investigate the Phantom Thieves identity to prevent them from interfering in his revenge plot, and then to lure Akira into a death trap. Tying it back to the first line analysis with the third and fourth line, this dissonance has put the first example of his doubt in this song.

Conceited I was at time I never really doubted myself But tonight got me thinking about it all if I am the fool or what not

There is a self-awareness that Goro always has about his personas (in the metaphorical sense). Goro kind of knows that he's arrogant and it was not ever something that bothered him. Even his character flaws will not get in the way of his plan, even if those flaws are just his humanity peeking through. There's a longing in Lyn's delivery of the last two lines here. He's stumped as to why he feels this way and the inner conflict makes him pause more than he is comfortable with.

"If I am the fool or what not." This line, is literally perfect, the double meaning is just ugh! We'll see this idea again near the end of the song, but I want to take an opportunity to talk about it now. For two years, Goro was the only Persona-user he knew, so he had no reason to believe anyone would ever stand a chance against him. Not only is he angered at himself for allowing Akira to get close to him and cause these doubts but he's also questioning what his role was.

I do not regret with my choices I'm rather proud ooh I know I won't change anything because I can only be me so

I had already written parts of this analysis like two months ago but I saw a post written by @vashtijoy here on how Mementos mission has a sneaky reference to this song. So check that out! It's something I never noticed.

Before Shido's palace, there's an acceptance of the circumstances in this line, that he has to do it regardless of what he may think because he has a goal. Throughout the third semester, we see an Akechi that is alive and tried to deal with the consequences of his actions before Maruki took that opportunity away from him. But he does not show remorse for what he did, that it was the only path he could have chosen with the information he knew.

How can I be so sure? at a crossroads I'm afraid too But I can't let fear get the best of me Someone once said burn my dread babe

This verse... this verse makes me wanna cry. I cannot even lie to you. The direct statement that there is fear behind the fact that he doesn't want to kill Akira and the acknowledgement in the last two lines that one of them has to end up dead. That he is also acknowledging that Akira must also be fearful, by playing with fire through continuing to lead the Phantom Thieves. The doubt is consuming him in this verse. The crossroad offers two choices, one where he sacrifices himself for Akira and one where Akira no longer is with him. The reference to Persona 3 really carries the weight here with this theory. I would explain more but I only spoiler tagged for P5R so we move.

Who knows what tomorrow holds? just wanna live my life the way I want what fills up my soul is passionate music that makes me want to sing

The first line, to me, reads that he's given up on allowing himself to think if there's another way to resolve his doubts. That there's another path where neither of them die and that it can't exist. He wants to live freely, which is what he thinks is assured once his revenge plan is complete. In another world, maybe it was one where both of them could be together without this chasing them. The last two lines I don't have a particular opinion about, but I think they add to the fact that Goro has given up entertaining other possibilities.

my story will be starring me just like yours ooh ooh who knows when will it end what matters most is how you bring joy to life so

I think about confidant rank 8. It feels written all over this line, and we come back to an idea that was present with "If I am the fool or what not." I think there's a bit of that 'hatred' that he talks about, that he's resentful that Akira story will end differently than his own. He's waiting for the day to come and resolves by centering himself, that once his goal is achieved, that he will achieve joy for the first time in his life. Refusing to acknowledge that Akira was showing him companionship that brought him happiness for one last time.

The Theme of Doubt

One of the things I have had trouble defining is what the doubt Goro is referring to is, or why the doubt is there. It's one of the things that is left in the air. Speculating here a little more than I usually will try to: the doubt stems from the fact that Goro is enjoying his time with the protagonist and is unsure what that means. In terms of what he is doubting, I'm not sure, I don't think he is referring to his plan, but rather the fact that Akira is caught up in it at all. His resolve to complete his plan never changes, but he wishes he could choose to leave him out of this. This tracks with a line stated by the SIU director which implies that some of the cruel actions carried out by the conspiracy/antisocial force by Akechi are not entirely his idea. He still carries them out without hesitation, but he never thinks of them himself. One of the reasons I wrote out this analysis was to see if there were any opinions on what this part of the song meant since I have trouble wrapping my head around it myself.

Goro, in base game and third semester, never shows any form of doubt or regret to the protagonist directly, only brief flickers and implications from dialogue. But this song is layered with it and bashes you in by telling you that it is what he is struggling with most when it comes to executing his plan. It's what nags at me even though I've tried to analyze this song a couple of times on my own.

IN CONCLUSION: I obviously hate goro akechi. (lying is fun)

[askourweavetalecharacters]

Welcome!

How did you stumble across this thing!? I thought this would be undiscoverable… I digress.

Welcome to the Official WeaveTale Ask Blog!™ Here you can find some WACKY stuff from EVERYBODY'S favorite & most iconic UNDERTALE AU, WeaveTale!

…

You… you have no idea what the hell a "WeaveTale" is? No, no, don't Google it, you won't find it right away… NO, it's not the organization "WeaveTales," that was a total coincidence. Let me explain.

WeaveTale is one of those AUs that alters the direction/events/story of the original game. Think of what Handplates or Endertale did, but on crack, and potentially several other stimulants. Essentially, at some point before/during the events of the original game, a massive, dimensional scale calamity occurred that mashed, threw, ripped apart and fused ~90% of all timelines in their universe. This event is known as "the merge." Many, many bizarre things happened collaterally in the aftermath; past characters were brought back to life, new characters rose from the ashes, etc. Namely, anybody & everybody now has the ability to traverse through the barren husks of timelines, frozen in time. This means that multiple of the same character can be in one timeline at once. That is very, VERY important, so keep it in mind for later.

The worlds inside of the timelines remained relatively intact (aside from some layout changes for some reason), however the vast majority of the inhabitants were violently thrown across time and space, ripping them away from the ones they know and love. Unfortunately, in such a scenario, most character's psyches dwindled fast and hard, spiraling rapidly into madness. It's a genuine rarity to come across more than a handful of rational, coherent individuals. They all USED to be normal… but they lost everything.

… but what if characters from the same timelines found each other? What if characters found solace in befriending individuals from different timelines? What if… it didn't have to be so hopeless?

WeaveTale is centered around a found family who met and bonded after the merge, having nobody other than each other. Some are characters from UNDERTALE, others are entirely original. All timelines in this universe, while having the same characters & events of the original game, have unique and varying backstories for all characters who inhabit them. No two people will have the exact same origins, even if they're literal identical copies of one another.

3 of my closest friends and I have crafted WeaveTale over the past 6 years through a Roblox UNDERTALE roleplay game (the one by siqk). Initially beginning in late May/early June of 2018, it's blossomed into something beyond what our wildest dreams could have possibly predicted. We're very, VERY passionate about this, so we're more than happy to spread the word of this silly little family. Speaking of…!

───────────────────────────────

THE (MAIN) CHARACTERS

SNOWEY DREW THEM ALL, CHECK IT OUT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In this blog, you'll be able to ask my characters and my friend Snowey's characters absolutely ANYTHING you want to. Fair warning: The family dynamic and relationships are fucking WEIRD.

(Here's a question that EVERYONE responded to. It sums up all of their personalities pretty well.)

MY CURRENT CHARACTER LINEUP

(NOTE: These characters may not be the only ones to appear. I have ~89 characters. Most of them are total jokes and incredibly minor, but there's a select few who I may bring in for some cameos. The main lineups also may expand over time, assuming this blog gains ANY traction whatsoever. Also, if you stumble across a post with a character(s) not listed here, such as one like this, feel free to ask that character questions as well! These are just the main-est of the mains.)

PUNS

Puns is the nickname of my Sans. He comes from one of the few timelines that was untouched by the merge.

He's a lot more "grown up" than UNDERTALE's Sans, now having actual responsibilities and whatnot.

Funnily enough, despite his nickname, I don't think Puns ever tells any jokes…

CHARMX

Charmx is the nickname of my Chara, who comes from the same timeline as Puns.

Yes. Charmx. I stole Karl's old username. Back in 2019, I called her "Charmx" as a joke, and for some reason it stuck as a legitimate nickname… sorry Karl.

Charmx was brought back to life by the merge, her aging permanently stunted. Imagine being twelve FOREVER. And not even being able to DIE! Christ…

She's Puns's adopted daughter, having not seen the Dreemurrs in a long time. She's also the adopted sister of Chara Comic (who is played by Crow and isn't currently included in this particular ask blog), and the sister to Shitpost, who we'll get to in a bit.

DAVE

Dave is a demon from hell. Yes, you heard it right, THAT hell. He's 16 thousand something years old, and his purpose in hell was to punish rapists and the like.

Having gotten bored one day, he thought it would be hilarious if he possessed a random Asriel and used him as a vessel to fuck with people. Satan, thinking it was a terribly stupid idea, punished Dave by trapping him in the Asriel's body. Here's exactly how that went down. Dave definitely regretted his decision for a while…

He used to be, well, a huge dick. Entertaining to chat with, but still a dick. After befriending, befucking, and bedating Shitpost, he mellowed out a lot and is now a very friendly, happy guy.

GA A STAR

…

Uh… how do I… explain this…

So back in ~2017 or so, I was playing Vexchan's UNDERTALE roleplay game, and I thought that the 3D Gaster morph looked absolutely ridiculous. Comical, even. So naturally, I wanted to make a Walmart brand version of Gaster using the morph as a joke. I think that, originally, I was gonna name him "Gumpler" or "Gooster" or something along those lines. However, the filter for the roleplay names in that game was fucking ATROCIOUS, so it got censored. And then the next idea I had got censored. And the next. And the next, and the next, so on & so forth. Finally, in my rage, I slammed my fingers down onto my keyboard and mangled together "ga a star," the ONLY name that worked. I went with it, and it stuck.

At some point in late 2018, I decided it would be fun if I brought over a couple old characters of mine from Vexchan's RP over to WeaveTale, which included Ga a star and also Dave. Because there isn't a terrible Gaster morph in siqk's game, I had to compromise and use the Riverperson morph, as a lot of actual Gaster roleplayers did back then due to there not being a Gaster morph in that game at all. So now Ga a star wears a cloak (not shown in his sprite), which is… uh… "enterable."

I don't know how to describe Ga a star as a character. He initially began as a joke, and has evolved into… a stranger joke. But he's part of the family, and I couldn't imagine him not being there. Do not expect coherent responses if you ask him anything. He takes over me whenever I play him or write as him. It's The Lard.

PAPYRUS

Puns's brother. Need I say more? It's Papyrus!

No, seriously, there isn't a catch. He's literally just a regular Papyrus, who I play as accurately as I can.

He's a cool guy.

SNOWEY'S CURRENT CHARACTER LINEUP

SHITPOST (Yes, that's her "actual" name.)

Shitpost is a very, very fascinating… total dumbass. I call her that in the most loving way possible.

Initially made back in 2018 as Snowey's self insert, she has changed DRASTICALLY from what she once was, now being a completely unique, awesome character.

She's Dave's girlfriend, having started dating him back in 2020. When Shitpost is around, Dave's braincells are cast down to the seabed with all the other forgotten things. He loves her a little too much.

Shitpost is also the adopted sister of both Charas. Puns isn't her dad though; they're just good friends.

OK MAN

Having been based on a Roblox glitch in 2018, Ok man is… some dude. We don't know much about him.

He looks like the typical Roblox noob; he's yellow, green and blue. However, he has a big "ok" on his chest, "written" in black. That's how he got his name. Ok man.

Ok man is weird, stubborn, mysterious, and sometimes annoying. And I fucking love him. He's a strange man, and I love having him around.

He throws one hell of a punch…

FLOWEY

Much like Papyrus, he's literally just Flowey. There isn't much of a catch.

Snowey plays him really well, too.

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With all of that out of the way, I feel I've gotten the point across pretty well. I don't really know how these ask blogs even work, honestly… but I think I've got it.

Here's some relevant links:

Incorrect WeaveTale Quotes My Deviantart Account (contains in-universe journal entries & other stuff) Snowey's Deviantart Account Crow's Deviantart Account Chara's Tumblr Blog Chara's Twitter Charmx's Twitter Puns's Twitter Dave's Twitter Ga a star's Tumblr Blog Ga a star's Twitter Papyrus's Twitter Shitpost's Twitter Ok man's Twitter Demirramon's Textbox Generator

[thekimspoblog]

For the record, I did finally see "American Fiction" a few nights ago. I am recommending you watch this movie, so I don't want to spoil it too much, but I wanted to share my thoughts.

When a slice-of-life movie is done well, I can really enjoy it, but if that aspect fails, a movie can become very cloying and tedious. In this case however, it was done well. "American Fiction" is a very cozy, very digestible movie that just follows this one family through the highs and lows of their summer. There are multiple subplots which have little to do with eachother, let alone the main story, but that's okay; it feels more realistic that way and the subplots are quite charming in their own right. The dialogue expresses familiar sentiments from other movies, but in a way that still feels fresh. In a sense, the trailer almost feels like a prank on the audience; white moviegoers were promised a mean-spirited satire on race relations, and instead what we got was 90 minutes of black people existing comfortably with minimal conflict. But if you're disappointed, that's on you. Setting aside the politics altogether, it's just refreshing to - every once in a while - watch a quieter movie about normal people being kind to eachother. Nobody has to die in order for a drama to be good... well... almost nobody.

The A-Story is basically just a rip-off of Spike Lee's "Bamboozled". Like I said, the story we saw in the trailer really only made up less than a third of the plot. And if you're upset about the bait-and-switch, "American Fiction" succeeded at what it was trying to do, but... also if you really wanted a movie about a writer pushing the envelope of prejudice for personal gain, you can still just go and watch "Bamboozled". For that matter, "Bamboozled" was already vaguely the same plot as Mel Brooks' "The Producers". I guess my main question is what it says about the psyche of white people, when you compare "American Fiction" to a movie made 24 years prior which had basically the same premise. Does it represent improvement, that a film can make the same social commentary without resorting to the same extremes to get the point across? Or have we grown more sensitive; is "American Fiction" a more toned-down version of the story simply because you could never make "Bamboozled" in the PC world of today? I hope it's the former. You probably couldn't remake "Bamboozled" today, but more importantly, "American Fiction" couldn't have been made in the 90's; the imagery of Monk's book was so commonplace back then, I don't think it would have occurred to white audiences that anything was even amiss. On the other hand, I think the white people in "American Fiction" are somehow more cartoonish; I remember a few moments while watching "Bamboozled" where I went, "Oh shit! Ok, I have said/done/thought stuff like that IRL", and I never had that moment watching "American Fiction". I call the movie "digestible" and "cozy" because I was able to get through the whole thing and not once did it feel like the movie was attacking me. But again, even if your movie sets out to make white people uncomfortable, that's still centering the story too much around our emotions; "American Fiction" had the more important goal of simply telling a story where black people are allowed to be happy.

The cringe comedy is extremely funny. This is the main reason I'm recommending the movie as lighthearted fun. Half the jokes boil down to "Jeffery Wright is annoyed" (and IMO that itself is enough to sustain a film), but there were also some lines of dialogue which completely caught me off guard. The movie is still more CUTE than it is FUNNY, but for a "cute" movie I was laughing almost all the way through. The other film I'd compare "American Fiction" to is "Dan in Real Life", and I definitely prefer this one, both in terms of likeable characters and quality of dialogue.

Spoilers ahead! I liked how the story had three endings, and like "Clue", the audience is left to pick which one they want. I still won't be spoiling what happens but I did want to talk about this part: It's fine that Ending A was never explained in detail; Monk has made his feelings about the situation pretty clear at this point; anyone with two braincells to rub together can use their imaginations and guess what he would have said at that podium. Ending B is pretty obviously the correct answer. Not only does a "rom-com" ending fit with the tone of the rest of the movie, but I think it gives the best resolution to what the story was actually about. I said none of the racist characters made me embarrassed about my own behavior, but that doesn't mean I didn't see Monk's personality flaws as a reflection of myself. "Tortured artist realizes at the 11th hour that his judgmental attitude has been isolating him from the people he cares about" is a theme I very much relate to, and it's the kind of story I've been wanting to write for years. Ending C was a little bit predictable, but still worked as the climactic punchline. It was the moment the story went from feeling like an unintentional ripoff of "Bamboozled" to a more direct parody of it. Ending D causes the rest of the story to become confusing, but it at least retroactively excuses some of the more contrived/cliched moments which happened at the beginning of the film.

So yeah. In conclusion, good movie, little forgettable but pretty damn funny. Go see it. Jeffery Wright is a DILF and I could watch another 90 minutes of him meandering around the beach, staring soulfully out at the ocean.

[jimothy-g-brooks]

My D&Derivative [Alignment]

Part I

Instead of the normal 3x3 grid, I have this, a circle that implies a morality system that loops back in on itself. The primary "pure" alignments are the labelled colors there along the cardinal points, Blue, Green, Red and Purple, roughly coordinating with Good, Neutral, Evil and Complicated. However, I'll be sticking with the color names, as the normal alignment names are rather loaded. Using color names lets me control the narrative. There are no truly "in-between" alignments, but each "pure" alignment has a pair of border alignments: Cyan(<-Blue->)Indigo, Lavender(<-Purple->)Rose, Pink(<-Red->)Orange & Yellow(<-Green->)Aqua.

The colored labels in the corner are the ends of axis used for the alignment system that when mapped out may form a 2x2 grid turned on its side. I preferred a circle, because it accomplished a few things. I thought it was prettier and more unique compared to the grid. I thought it made the idea of each alignment blending into one another easier to visualize, going around in a circle. It brough home an idea that there is no middle ground in the center of an empty circle, you have to pick a side or, more succinctly, a point at the edge of this circle.

Selfless vs Selfish represent motivations, goals and drives, are you trying to broadly help all others or are you only interested in helping you and yours. Competence, capability and comprehension aren't accounted for in this system: It's broadly assumed that the goals you are pursuing are being achieved and your purported selflessness or lack thereof isn't just wishful thinking.

Callous vs Careful isn't disengaged from motivation but it is concerned more with action. Another if somewhat extreme way to put it is Maximizing Harm vs Minimizing Harm. Though the exact form that will take will differ, especially with "Careful", on whether you mean to help others beyond your own connections or just help yourself and your own. If you're of a Callous variety, someone who carelessly or purposefully leaves pain and suffering in your wake, whether your intentions were good or were selfish might be purely academic, or they might make all the difference.

When you go about trying to selflessly help others, do you care about collateral? Are you the type to ruthlessly slaughter every bandit and bandit-adjacent person in the forest to keep a region full of strangers safe? When you capture the slavers' collaborator, do you skip straight to torture to get him to tell you where the children are? What awful things are you willing to do some people to help some other people? And do you do it all because you genuinely trying help, genuinely believe this evil will result in a better good for the world?

While the other alignments can be self-explanatory, the Purple alignment can be harder to pin down but hopefully the above question-prompts help sell the mindset. It should be not outside the realm of possibility for a Blue aligned and Purple aligned character to work together towards a common goal, possibly even operate in the same group long term, albeit with some friction. They both want to help people.

Purple and Red might work together for a little while, if Red can focus on hurting the right people and not attract Purple's ire. Otherwise, Red is exactly the sort of person Purple is looking to hurt. Green and Purple are exact opposites and possibly have the most friction, the least reason to interact. At best, Purple might think of Green as a bystander and, at worst, a small minded petty cowards. Green would consider Purple to be a sanctimonious lunatic who's great crusade is rivalled only by the great body count that crusade leaves behind.

Part II: Greater & Lesser alignments and associated Outsiders

[apompkwrites]

Hi hi! Remember the school au I made for the Lil Sheep and never mentioned again? Lmao, I have been working on it, but most of it is me screaming

The school does have dorms, and I wanted to base it on something like how Noble Bell College, Night Raven, and Royal Sword are, however, I'm not 100% sure if I wanted to base it off of other stories or keep it generally centered around the Seven.

I have some ideas for other stories that the dorm could be based on and some ideas for it being based on the Seven. If it's based on the Seven, then the dorms would be centered around the background characters, after all the Lil sheep in the game would be background characters who the main character probably wouldn't interact with much, and their whole arc in their school would be all of the Sheepies learning to accept that they are their own person and have their own lives, they don't need to revolve around their parents, siblings, or other's around them to survive and they aren't just background or one-off characters, they're their own people independent of whatever story they're tied(this is a newer idea, so it isn't that fleshed out)

Meanwhile, if it was based on other stories, I thought of basing it on ballet and opera stories. I have been flirting with this idea a lot, and I like it since it separates the Lil Sheep and gives them their own story, not just their brother's story. While I am pretty set on this idea, it's not 100%; I do have some possible stories to base the dorms off of, though, and even some ideas for some very silly events that would happen and I even have a few tidbits for it before the background character idea came about and here it is

I honestly have no name for any of these dorms all I know is that Shroud's dorm is based on Giselle by Adolphe Adam and Jean Coralli and I put Data recording for talent because I can totally see Lil Flame blanking when writing that down because they never considered themselves talented at something and since data recording is something that they do a lot of they just put it down and I put Piano down for hobbies because of my previous hobby headcanons

I made it so that all the dorms have been split into two sections and these two sections have two different leaders, just to make it easier for the house wardens to manage and because I don't want to make another school for the "good guys" of the stories and thought it would just be easier and they have two vice dorm leaders to assist the two dorm leaders

also, I did a very silly thing when deciding their student id number

The headmistress handpicked all of the black sheep which everyone considers odd since she normally gets her butterflies to do her and the school doesn't have a magic mirror however the dorms seem to quite literally have a mind of their own, I mean the dorm picks the dorm leaders.

It's unknown on what basis the dorms pick their leaders on, as it just happens randomly the first week back at school after the previous leader graduates. The choice can be found in a painting with all the dorm leaders in the main hall and in the dorms there is a line of portraits of the previous leaders stopping only at the current two. No one has ever witnessed the process of the paintings being made they just appear overnight with a letter accompanying it announcing their choice, and there is a ceremony acknowledging the choice so that the whole school knows, this same process happens with vice-wardens too.

The dorm assigning process is actually also done by the dorms, the Headmistress puts on the main building walls the names of all of the new students and on the first day of school, the freshmen are told to go find their name and dorm placement.

the two sections were actually a choice made by the dorms itself as the day that the dorms picked it's chosen leaders the Headmistress found that instead of it picking just one it picked two, and the Headmistress figured out what it was trying to say rather quickly.

also an interesting thing about Shrouds dorm, it was the first dorm in 50 years give or take to have only one dorm leader when the choice was made. This was because the dorm didn't see anyone fit for the position of second dorm leader. That was before they got a transfer student who midyear appeared in the painting in the main hall, sitting next to Shroud with their head on Shroud's shoulder with the other dorm leaders surrounding them. it was a shock to the whole school since this had never happened before, but was a massive relief to Shroud and the two vice-house wardens who were taking most of the work for the missing leader.

at this point, I've just decided that might as well use the other stories instead of the background characters idea lmao

also as a side note, the Headmistress hand picks all the students but does so in the form of her butterflies, she very specifically instructs them however for whatever reason when she chose the Lil Lambs she appeared in person, everyone is under the impression that she leaves it up to her butterflies when she really just micromanages the shit out of it

anyways enjoy these crumbs of a idea from me lmao

hi hi! ofc i remember the lovely school au :DD

glad to see you bestow another crumb unto us <33 love that lil shroud is our main focus (my lil baby :DD).

and is that a doc i see :O is. is there more :OO

we love the lil sheepies getting their own school where they can grow without being in the shadows of their brothers :)

[sukimas]

I want to hear your Elibe opinions. Blazing Sword was my first Fire Emblem and I thought, "cool, there's depth here- Etruria never shows up directly" and hooty ho, when I learned about Binding Blade...

Hmm, well...

Ultimately I think they're just Not That Deep both in terms of mechanics and in terms of plot, characters, and worldbuilding. Like, supports are all fine and good, but FE8 is really where the GBA support system shines; FE7 and particularly FE6 have extremely short supports in comparison. I remember when Engage came out and people were complaining about the short supports there... Some of them were even Elibe fans! I also don't think that most of the supports have enough depth to warrant the praise they get. Some characters have quite good ones (Roy, Garret, Niime) but for the most part they don't really add anything to the character and any lore they come up with could have shown up in a chapter instead.

That's the other thing- I think that people think Elibe has extraordinarily deep lore because it shows up in easy-to-consume morsels that are readily available on the wiki in supports and not slogging through chapters and village dialogue. Much of what is spoken about in supports would show up in a village in FE4/FE5, but villages have essentially lost their function as loredumps here. Quite a shame. At any rate, even the information that is conveyed is either shallow or derivative. Ilia gets a lot of praise for the way it develops its pegasi, but it's really just Thracia again; equally, Etruria is just the kingdom of Archanea played straight. Lycia is the only really interesting bit; it's a federation of small lordships that is not the ruling power of the continent. Sadly, it doesn't get much development either- Ostia, Laus, and Pherae are the only ones with so much as a hint of political or economic development. You might think it's complex- wow, there are 14 entire marches here! But when they aren't allowed to participate in plot or inciting events, it doesn't really matter. Three Houses has a similar problem where there are a lot of smaller lordships that don't really do anything, though not to the same extent.

The characters themselves also aren't that deep. Sorry. Jugdral certainly doesn't give many characters time to develop, and some only get a couple of lines (the Chalphy knights and the Gen 2 kids spring to mind)... however, Elibe's characters, for all their chatter, really don't bring a lot to the table in most cases. FE7 is better about making characters unique as people, but I really don't think Dieck adds to my experience of Binding by existing. Additionally, while generally speaking, most people who have one good talk conversation in Genealogy or Thracia can make an impact, even the good characters in Elibe take several novels' worth of text to convince you that they're interesting people.

I won't dally too long on the plot of either- I think that they're fairly boring. Lyn's story is the most interesting part of FE7 by a long shot, but it's annihilated by her Wallace support, so who cares? Idunn is probably one of my least favorite final bosses, scooting in just behind Rhea. Moving on.

I don't think the gameplay of either is very good. I personally don't think FE needs to be centered around skills per se- in fact I find the Skill Emblems on the 3DS similarly restrictive to the GBA games. Rescue is neat, but with the level of threat bosses pose (and with no indoor dismount) it can trivialize a lot of maps. Enemies are generally either over or undertuned by a significant extent- sometimes both in one game, as in Binding Blade Normal mode. Map design is subpar, offering few side objectives and little incentive against lowmanning except to protect your useless lord. Reinforcements are not good map design. Notably, the previous combat-mediocre lords in FE had other utilities (especially Leif), but whatever. Hector also counts as a useless lord- just because he doesn't die doesn't mean he actually is worth your time to train. The gaiden chapters in Binding Blade are poorly telegraphed- the only prior game to contain gaidens had the music change to the You Fucked Up theme when you missed the requirements. This game does not do that. Oh well! Unlike in the game that Binding is a ripoff of, it gives no indication that you actually need to collect the legendary weapons and keep an assload of random characters alive to get a good ending. FE7 is certainly less offensive to the player's time, but it unfortunately suffers from being legendarily boring. Hand axe. Skills would make it more interesting- and better map design certainly would, as Sacred Stones shows despite its overall ease- but it's hard to really make these games good.

I also feel like Binding Blade is somewhat mean-spirited, but that's a hangup for another post.

Overall, they're not terrible games- certainly not anti-recommendations like Fates or Awakening or New Mystery (or, as I'm beginning to develop the opinion of, Three Houses) but resoundingly mediocre, and the amount of praise they receive makes me resent them more than I otherwise would. They're a fine introduction to Fire Emblem, but once you've played more than a couple of games in the series, I would say you're not missing out on anything by playing Sacred Stones instead.

[yzashaven]

can i get like the full story cause i dont wanna join the server but im curious on whats going on?😭😭😭

you won't really see the full story on the server since we talked about it in a private channel HELP but anyway i'll try to explain it from my side and what i've seen/noticed!

so basically it all started with the "copying" accusations on fal's (@scara6) account; i also noticed that @/diorlumx was posting the same stuff. i thought that maybe it was what i thought it was, one of them copying the other. i scrolled a bit on luma's account and did find some similarities. after some time, luma messaged me to ask if i was friends with falーto which i answer yes and after a few hours they told me about it and how she was copying them (which is false)

around the same time, i was talking with fal about it and later got some confirmations that she was NOT copying luma, it was the other way around and the "proof" they sent me was more of a collection of coincidences. such as having the same pfp which is COMPLETELY NORMAL no need to make a big deal out of it 😭 another thing, even though luma clearly stated on "someone copying them" on their blog, what they told me was that they never said anything of the like

while we were at the discord server, they were acting a bit strange when we talked about scara or xiao (the server is literally centered around those two) we all talked for a bit then sooner later, they left the server; i asked them why and they said that they felt jealous about how we talked about those two LMAO like as if they were claiming that scara n xiao are ONLY THEIRS

as for the "bullying" i was literally just talking to them about it and being honest about how they clearly needed a reality check along with help. because how the fuck does one become possesive about A FICTIONAL. CHARACTER. THAT EVERYONE IS ALLOWED TO ENJOY? 😭 self-shipping is 100% okay but don't cross the lines by doing shit like that and also causing unnecessary problems instead of simply talking it out

[linkspooky]

Hello! Do you take ask about X-men too? I really love your meta on Jean, Carrie and Shigaraki, I was wondering on your thoughts on Rogue and her character arc, can be any version of her since she's my fav

My X-Men knowledge is limited and stops a few arcs after Kitty Pryde joined and Dark Phoenix happened. However, I will do my best to field your ask since you said any version of her.

X-men Evolution Rogue is my favorite version of her, though admittedly it is vastly different from the comics. Comic Rogue is more of a charming southern belle, not a goth type outcast and loner. What X-Men evolution does well in this version is portray Rogue's power as something that makes her life worse in all aspects. There's a post going around that's like "there's a huge difference in your mutant ability being the power to control storms, and a mutant power that can kill someone by touching them."

Rogue's power has destroyed all chances she has of a normal life, but she also does not exactly fit in among the X-men. To begin with it makes her a target for grooming by her adoptive mother mystique. The show even starts her out as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before joining Xavier's academy, something that makes her deeply untrusting of them even after she is brought into the fold.

I used a picture of Rogue and Kitty Pryde because Rogue is used as a shadow archetype to both Kitty and Jean in the show in many ways, Jean is the main female leader team, the popular girl in high school that's too nice for you to ever get jealous of. Jean inhabits the position Rogue desperately wants both by being by Scott's side, but also by having a power that's actually useful and being a trusted member at the center of the group. Rogue pretty clearly wants to be where Jean is, but she also never really takes it out on Jean which is what makes the female characters in this show so interesting they can have complex relationships without resorting to getting catty.

Speaking of catty, Kitty Pryde. Most likable of likable characters. Kitty and Rogue are two sides of the same coin where they are the younger members, and newer recruits. Even in the comics that's Kitty Pryde's whole character conception, they put her on the team to give the perspective of an actual high school student suddenly joining Xavier's academy. Kitty however, unlike Rogue has a power that is mostly harmless and at times incredibly useful. She is also someone who is integrated into the group, whereas Rogue for a long time remains the outsider. There's actually an entire episode dedicated to this with the famous dance scene that still goes around in gifs. Basically Spike is just trying to make a film and asks Rogue to dance, and then when her dancing is still he suggests she touch Kitty for a fraction of a second to absorb and copy her dancing skills.

They are actually pretty similiar even if at times they argue, it's just Rogue's powers have influenecd her life in a way where it's gone in a much different direction until now. X-Men Evolution also does a more serious job at analyzing Rogue's powers, such as the episode where all of the people she's touched and copied remain as fragments in her head and she almost loses herself to it.

Rogue is the shadow archetype in the show, but she is still heroic unlike other shadow archetypes which usually turn into more negative and villainous foils which goes to show the strength of her character. She's moody, detached, traumatized from her mother figure's grooming but also her entire arc is coming to terms with these things. She has not had a normal life, nor is she a normal girl, but she can live with all of it.

Rogue's crush on Scott is a pretty big aspect of the show, and you know not even in the comics but I kind of like it because like I said Scott is like the epitome of what Rogue thinks she desires. It is once again Rogue desiring to be someone she's not, more like Jean, more like Kitty, rather than just accepting herself. Which is why towards the last season when she finally lets go of Scott, and starts to interact with Gambit more it feels like she has moved towards growth and self-acceptance because she's no longer wanting what she can't have and instead is more content with her place in the world and can get along with another outsider like Gambit.