#everyone lost here but especially everyone who posted about it going HE DID NOTHING WRONG!!!

[hieroglyphwitch]

im enjoying everyone watching the vga game awards and going “haha silly kid making off hand comments about jews funney” followed by “we regret to inform you the duck (kid) is racist (anti semitic) and i take another sip from my drink and go “what? him? *a gamer*? NOOOOO??? REALLY????”

[buildgrist]

I wrote this last year on Twitter, but since Empty Spaces has sort of abandoned ship, I'll post it here too:

"Funeral"

A woman's whole life changes the first time she sees a combat doll.

First-person, combat doll setting by Twitter user mars_phobos_L1

CW: Harassment, violence, military context, blood, personality changes, conditioning, surgery, unreliable memory

Story below cut:

1.

I washed out of combat training almost immediately, but it wasn’t enough to get me off the hook. I’m sure you all know how it goes – just because you can’t fight doesn’t mean you can’t support the ones who do. If you can’t carry a gun, you can fix a gun, if you can’t fly a plane, you can fuel a plane.

Nothing wrong with that, of course! It’s simply efficient use of resources, and I’m certainly in no place to criticize that, especially not given my current status, so to speak. But even then I wasn’t exactly bothered by it -- I would have rather not been conscripted at all, but maintenance would be safe and interesting and I was already pretty good at it.

2.

The first time I ever saw a combat doll was when I was at the range, trying to get in enough practice to pass my pistol qualifications. I didn’t even know she was there, at first - there was no fuss, no fanfare - but as soon as her handler started barking those sharp, staccato orders I realized what was going on.

I looked over, of course. I know, we’ve all been taught not to make eye contact with the dolls because they might take it as aggression, but how could I not be curious? Can any of you say you wouldn’t be tempted to take a peek?

I hadn’t expected her to not be wearing her mask. All the publicity photos, all the technical diagrams, all the battlefield footage always shows dolls with their masks on, so I assumed that was just their usual state – but no, I was wrong. That was her natural face, with her implant jacks and her surgical scars and her delicate-looking skin. I truly hadn’t expected her to be so pretty…

She caught me looking, of course. Dolls are the apex predators of the battlefield, and noticing a maintenance trainee staring at her was trivial in comparison. She met my eyes before I could look away, and then I couldn’t look away. I knew nothing except her eyes and my heart pounding in my ears, and I had no idea what was coming next… and then she grinned at me.

That grin did something to me, something strange and frightening and wonderful. It felt like lightning running down my spine, like watching a sunrise after being blind my whole life, like finding my way out of a forest I’d been lost in since birth. I was never the same again.

3.

I needed to know who she was, of course. She could pick off targets faster than my eyes could follow, with a perfect bullseye every time. Her handler ran her through everything in our arsenal, and more besides - pistols, rifles, machine guns, throwing knives, on and on - and she was perfect every time. How could I have not wanted to know more after watching a display like that?

Well, apparently, that made me the weird one in the battalion. Everyone I asked about her just shrugged or gave me sidelong glances. Why would they want to keep track of which doll was which, they asked? They were all equally frightening, after all. What did it matter what the shark swimming next to you was named?

It took more than a week - and a couple cases of beer - for me to find out who I’d seen. My buddy on the security team had seen the handler’s name and done some quick research, and he was willing to pass on that information… for the right price, of course.

Victoria. Her name was Victoria, and the next thing he said to me was “be fuckin’ careful around that one,” which didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me at the time. We’re taught to use caution around all dolls, combat or not, why the extra warning?

Because, he told me, there were stories about the Victory-class dolls. They weren’t the fastest dolls or the most powerful dolls, but they were notoriously unpredictable, and dangerous even to their allies. I won’t get into the details right now, that’s not what I’m here to do - but some of your classmates went pale the moment I said her name, so ask them about it later.

But what did that have to do with Victoria? I had to ask, because I used to be a little slow on the uptake sometimes. In case any of you haven’t put all the pieces together: Victoria is the first Victory-class, the flagship, the template upon which all others were modeled – and that meant if there was some fault with the Victory-class dolls, some flaw in their design or their conditioning, Victoria would definitely have it.

4.

Even with all he’d told me, and all I’d learned on my own afterwards, I still couldn’t get her off my mind. Not that I was thinking about her every second, or even every day, but that moment never quite left my mind. I’d lay down and try to sleep, close my eyes, and behind my eyelids I’d see that bare face, that grin, and my heart would start pounding all over again.

By the time we were given our assignments, I knew what I was going to do. I knew what I had to do. I got the cushiest possible position – 8th Supply Battalion, well away from any combat zones, where the greatest danger would be a private driving a forklift drunk. The perfect position to serve out three years of compulsory service and go back to my old life, right?

Except I didn’t want it. I hadn’t wanted it since the moment I’d seen her.

As soon as we were dismissed, I went straight to the commander’s office and asked for a transfer – which they don’t usually do, of course, but he was willing to hear me out anyway, so I told him I needed to be on Victoria’s maintenance crew. Once he was done laughing he asked me what I was really there to ask for, and I repeated my request. I explained to him that I was serious, that I wanted, needed more than anything else, to be assigned to maintenance for Victoria.

He didn’t understand – which is no surprise, because I don’t think any of you do either. Why would I have wanted to be transferred to the only role that had higher casualty rates than front-line infantry, right? Truth be told, I didn’t understand either, and I still don’t. There’s nothing I can point to, no specific reason, just this surety that I belonged there and nowhere else.

Someone needed to do maintenance on the dolls, right? Why shouldn’t it be someone enthusiastic about it, someone fully committed to their role? I don’t know if my argument won him over or if he was just tired of listening to me, but in the end he just shrugged and wrote out my transfer orders: maintenance crew, Victory-class combat doll “Victoria”.

I still remember what he said when he handed me the orders:

“It’s your funeral.”

5.

Just because I’d volunteered for the position didn’t mean I was any less nervous when I first reported for duty! The rest of the crew had already been giving me a hard time - I was the squeaky-clean new girl, fresh out of training - but honestly, they weren’t why I was nervous. That was just some laughs and some hazing, nothing I wasn’t used to by that point.

No, I was nervous because of the six-plus feet of exquisite purpose-built killing machine standing in the middle of the maintenance bay.

The thing is, though.. the reasonable thing would have been to worry that Victoria was going to kill me, right? That’s what you’d be afraid of, that’s what any sensible person would be afraid of! But it wasn’t what I was afraid of.

I’d done my research, I knew the numbers, and I was certain - beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt - that I wasn’t going to survive three years in her maintenance crew. I’d made my peace with that before I ever even walked into the commander’s office.

I was worried that Victoria wasn’t going to like me.

6.

I know that probably sounds bizarre to you - after all, nobody worries about whether their tank likes them, right? - but trust me, it was absolutely the biggest thing on my mind. So much so, in fact, that I decided to introduce myself to her immediately! Why hang around hiding behind the rest of the maintenance crew when I could just walk right up to her and make a good first impression instead?

So that’s exactly what I did. Right into the maintenance bay, right past the rest of the crew, right across those painted lines on the floor… one foot in front of the other, listening to the pounding of my heart until I was within arm’s length of an active combat doll.

I took one more deep breath, accepted that it could have been my last, and gave her the usual introduction: name, rank, and role. She just stared at me, with those intense eyes I remembered so well, and I offered a little bit of extra politeness – just a simple little “I look forward to working with you, ma’am.”

7.

The moment the words were out of my mouth, she grabbed me by the collar and dragged me in, my body pressed up against hers, and as I stared up at her in shock and fear and excitement, I heard her voice for the first time.

“You’re cute,” she said.

There were teeth in my neck before I could even make sense of her words - combat-specced teeth, the kind that can slice through bone - and it was unbearably painful… but also something about it felt right. I was helpless in her grip, completely powerless, and I realized that I’d wanted that all along.

I saw her true face for the first time, then. That flat, blank non-expression she’d been wearing when I walked up to her had simply been another mask, another disguise… and she’d let it fall away. As she licked my blood from her lips, I understood – she was a hunter, a predator, hungry for more and strong enough to take whatever she wanted… and I was her prey.

I suspect your instructor would kick me out of this class immediately if I described what she did next, so I’ll just say ‘she had her way with me and I had no desire to stop her.’ You’ll have to use your imaginations for the rest… or come find me sometime and I’ll be happy to tell you all about it!

8.

Anyway, even though it seemed like I’d made an excellent impression on Victoria, the rest of the maintenance crew was pretty clear that I’d made a pretty poor impression on them. As soon as we were off-duty and the dolls had all been escorted back to their bunker, they made their feelings known in a very direct fashion.

I got off easy, they told me, pointing out maintenance staff for other dolls. One man had a bloody bandage where his ear had been, and another was completely unresponsive – just blankly staring at a wall. In comparison to things like that, a bite and some fucking was downright gentle for a Victory-class doll!

The crew insisted that I’d better not expect special treatment from Victoria to mean they’d give me special treatment too – I protested that I’d never once expected that, but I don’t think they were listening to me by that point. From all the shouts and cursing, it seemed like they were upset that I, the death-wish rookie who walked right up to a combat doll and introduced herself, had been treated more gently than maintenance staff who simply wanted to carry out their duties safely.

I tried to answer them, I tried to explain that all I’d done was to be friendly and polite, that I’d just wanted to treat Victoria with the respect she deserved. They didn’t like that answer.

Nobody told me about this, so I’ll pass it on as a warning to you just in case: maintenance crews aren’t just wary of their dolls, they’re downright resentful of them. From their perspective, the dolls are the thing that stands between them and getting home safely, and they’re not particularly fond of people who see the situation differently.

I, not knowing this, made some helpful comments about the dolls not being our enemy, about our purpose being to support the dolls so they can carry out their Purpose. Shortly thereafter, in a totally unrelated event, I slipped and fell down a staircase – completely by accident, of course.

I’d been hoping that the maintenance crew - and the staircase - had gotten all the vitriol out of their system by then, but it only got worse. Someone had found out that I’d volunteered for the maintenance crew, while they’d all been unwillingly forced into that position, and it was all over. That was all the proof they needed to decide I wasn’t like them in some indescribable way. They might not have been able to explain how, exactly, I was different from them, but they all agreed that I was, and they all wanted to make that my problem.

9.

I next saw Victoria for post-mission diagnostics two days later. The procedures would be routine, and yet the crew was far more anxious than they had been for our previous visit to the maintenance bay. A doll just back from an operation, having spent only a few minutes being gentled by its handler before being sent off to maintenance, was the most dangerous kind of doll as far as the maintenance staff was concerned: all keyed up on adrenaline and battle stimulants and potentially unsure as to whether or not it was actually safe or still on the battlefield.

The crew all talked like they were off to the firing squad, and I had no idea what to expect as we all walked down to the hall… especially when they all hung back, in ones and twos and threes, lagging behind me while I walked up to the maintenance bay first.

I was the tribute, the offering, the fresh meat tossed to Victoria to sate her hunger - and oh, did she ever take the bait. She ran to me, snatched me right off the ground, and sprinted back to her designated zone as if to convince everyone she’d never left.. except now she had me clutched in her arms, her deadly teeth tracing up and down my neck, that beautiful voice giggling in my ear.

The maintenance team had to conduct their diagnostics around me, in the end. Victoria simply didn’t want to give me up, no matter how they tried to convince her -- and I had absolutely no desire to argue with that. Where could I possibly have wanted to be more than her arms?

In fact, I didn’t want to leave her arms. Even once our duty shift was done and she’d turned me loose, bloody and weary and deeply content, I lingered in the maintenance bay as the others fled for the mess. I knew what was waiting for me there - the same thing that had been waiting for me since I first met Victoria - and I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible.

10.

I hadn’t expected her to notice me hanging around - surely I was unworthy of her attention, right? - and yet, as I lingered behind, she spoke to me for the second time. “Not joining them?”

“No ma’am,” I told her, quietly enough for nobody else to hear. I hadn’t meant to say anything else, but the prospect of having a sympathetic ear was just too much, and the words just tumbled out of me. As she stared down at me with that blank expression, I explained how the crew had decided I didn’t belong, and how they’d been treating me since – the punches, the kicks, the fish in my bunk, the thousand other little reminders that they’d decided to hate me.

Eventually I ran out of words and found myself simply staring up at Victoria. She hadn’t said a single thing the entire time, and her expression was the same unreadable blankness that I’d seen before. While I tried to figure out whether she was sympathetic or simply bored, I suddenly realized that she’d met my gaze, staring into my eyes as if she was looking for something. I couldn’t imagine what she was looking for - and, truth be told, I still don’t know what it was - but I stared back up at her and let her look for it.

I guess she found what she was looking for - or perhaps found an absence of the wrong things - because she simply grabbed me by the arm and practically dragged me right out of the maintenance bay. What was she doing? Where was she going? She ignored my questions, of course, so I stopped asking them and simply walked along with her in silence.

You probably haven’t seen a doll bunker yet, but they’re extremely sturdy – downright overengineered, even. They’re even more heavily reinforced than munitions bunkers, and the only route in and out is through an extremely sturdy-looking steel door. It’s the sort of thing that makes the vault doors in heist movies look like tissue paper… and that was the door Victoria had led me to.

Even though I’d walked to the bunker with her willingly, I couldn’t help but protest a little as she swung the bunker door open. I had been told, upon my assignment, that only handlers and commanders were permitted to enter the doll bunker – all support staff were required to stay out in order to avoid ‘unnecessary manpower shortages’. Not that that stopped Victoria, of course! She simply picked me up by the back of my uniform like an uncooperative pet and tossed me right through the door.

11.

Have you ever walked into a room and found eight combat dolls staring directly at you? Sixteen eyes fixed on you, unblinking, like cats that have just spotted a mouse? Presumably not, but if you’re very lucky - or very unlucky - you might get to someday.

That’s where I found myself as the bunker door slammed shut behind me – gracelessly picking myself up off the floor under the hungry gaze of eight combat dolls. They waited a moment, graciously permitting me to get back to my feet, and then… well, I guess the best way to describe it is to say each one started trying, in her own way, to draw me away from my host.

Not a word was spoken, but carnal offers were made, and one or two dolls began to creep toward me as if stalking prey – and then suddenly they all froze at once. I couldn’t receive dollchat yet, so I didn’t know what Victoria said to them - and even now she just giggles when I ask! - but whatever it was, it was enough to convince the other eight dolls not to steal her guest away.

I spent that night in her bunk. I didn't do a lot of actual sleeping, of course, but the moments I did get... having a combat doll holding me close and murmuring sweet reassurances in my ear was maybe the safest I'd ever felt in my whole life. To be told I'm safe now, that the squad will look out for me, that I'm theirs forever…

12.

I hardly ever left the bunker after that. I would have never left, if I’d had the option, but there were still two things I was expected to handle: work and food.

I was still a member of Victoria’s maintenance crew, expected to be present for those duties, and since the necessary hardware was in the maintenance bay, that was where I had to be too. My first duty shift after being taken to the bunker, I’d hesitated – I was even more uncertain about showing my face around the rest of the crew now, after all! Victoria had just returned from a mission, so she would be waiting for me there, but I still had to get from the bunker to the maintenance bay on my own…

Before I figured it out myself, one of the other dolls took pity on me. She took my hand in hers, as if I was a child, and led me to the maintenance bay herself. It was permitted - after all, she was being escorted by maintenance staff - and nobody dared to say she couldn’t stand by while we Victoria received her post- mission diagnostics and I received an entirely different kind of post-mission attention.

I’m not sure if the crew ever appreciated just how much lighter on them she was when I was around, you know? I don’t know if they even noticed, or if they were too busy hating me. It didn’t matter, though – when we were done, Victoria and the other doll walked me back to the bunker, hand in hand, as if they were concerned I’d stray – or flee, perhaps, but there was already no chance of that.

If any of you ever get invited to a bunker, be aware: there’s nothing for you to eat. There is food for the dolls, although it’s terribly bland, but those meals are measured out to the last bite. Even once the whole squad had fully accepted me as their own, they still didn’t have anything to give me – every bite of food for me was one less for them, and dolls are always hungry.

The only way for me to get food would be to get it from the kitchens myself. I’d have to brave the hallways solo, avoiding any other staff, and throw myself on the cook’s mercy in the hopes that they’d be willing to let me take something back with them – and I’d have to do it two or three times a day! It’d be absolutely miserable, right?

As it turned out, that was practically a nonissue. The kitchen staff recognized me on sight - word spreads quickly, especially when you’re escorted to the bunker by two dolls! - and realized that we could solve each other’s problems: I needed food, and they didn’t want to interact with the dolls. If I could come out of the bunker to receive each day’s rations, rather than the staff needing to hand-deliver it directly to the dolls, they’d be more than happy to throw in each day’s worth of meals for me! Teamwork and problem-solving, that’s what we’re trained for, right?

13.

With food resolved and my duties sorted out… well, one day started to blur into the next. There are no windows in a doll bunker, after all -- there’s no sense of time unless you’ve got a chronometer built in, and I sure didn’t. I slept when they let me, I did as I was told, and every time the rations were delivered I felt a little more like I was walking through a dream.

The kitchen staff stopped looking straight at me, eventually. It wasn’t that they were afraid of me - I was no doll, no battlefield predator - but something about me unsettled them. Maybe my body language had changed – after all, I’d been spending more time around dolls than humans, even I could tell that I was picking up their mannerisms, that I was absorbing the way they spoke and moved and held their bodies.

Or maybe it was something else. Maybe there was something in my eyes. I had prostrated myself before the squad and worshipped them for the goddesses they were. I had licked blood from a doll’s body without ever stopping to wonder who it had belonged to. I had given myself to them over and over, even after my stamina was exhausted and I could do little more than accept their desires.

They had made me theirs - with pleasure and pain, with fear and adoration - but they decided I was ready for more.

14.

I’d tell you it was a day like any other, but I don’t even know if it was a day. It was just another moment in the bunker, a moment of laying on a bare concrete floor, my limbs tangled with giggling dolls who simply couldn’t bear to let their plaything go… and then it wasn’t.

They hauled me up off the floor and pushed my back against the wall, one on each side of me, and the rest of the squad parted as Victoria approached, as the doll who’d claimed me first stood over me once more.

“You’ve been fun,” she told me, “but you can be better. We want you to be better. Don’t you want to be better for us?”

Even after all the time I’d spent with them, I still hesitated. I knew what they meant, and I had learned exactly what it entailed. The surgery, the conditioning, the experience of not being human anymore – but wasn’t I already seen as no longer human?

Victoria saw that hesitation, she saw the fear in my eyes, and stroked my head like a pet. She promised me she’d stay by my side the whole time… and she promised to do my conditioning herself.

How could I say no to that?

15.

The surgeons broke me. There’s no way to sugarcoat that. Even without all the modifications combat dolls get, having an arrhythmia control device implanted in your chest without any anesthetic is simply more than any human can bear and stay sane – so I didn’t. I screamed, I struggled and I let myself fall apart.

Victoria put me back together. She reminded me how much I liked being helpful, and how much I enjoyed being useful. She dug up my memories of how much I loved each and every member of the squad, and she made those memories into the core of my personality so I could never, ever forget again. As for the rest of my memories… well, I told you this whole story, didn't I? But everything before the dolls took me in feels distant, removed from me, as if they're someone else's memories instead of my own. It's better that way – I have a whole new life and a whole new family to love.

Speaking of which, Victoria had a surprise for me once I'd recovered, a way of celebrating me as the newest part of their family. One at a time, each doll got up on one of the bunks like it was a makeshift stage and delivered maudlin, overdramatic speeches about the person they imagined I had been before, and we all giggled along together.

In the end, it was my funeral after all.

16.

There you have it, that's the whole story. That's how I went from being just like you to being who I am now. Your instructor wanted me to share it as a warning, a cautionary tale, and I'm sure for most of you it is. But for one or two of you, if it appeals–

Yes, sir?

Understood, sir.

Thank you for your time, everyone! May fate preserve us! Good luck on your quals!

[ynsvnte]

EVERYTHING — Lee Heeseung

Genre: fluff, est. relation. Angst.? wc: 556 warnings: kissing, hugging, pet names pairing: bf!hee x Gn!reader

Synopsis: your feeling down but heeseung can fix that. You are his favorite person in the world after all how could he not..?

Sing along at Lispenard St. (Series Masterlist)

Rainy day. Very relaxing to you, you’d say. You always loved it when it rained. Not when it thunders though that’s for sure. You lie down on your bed staring up onto the ceiling, getting lost in your thoughts. But those thoughts are soon cut off when you hear the front door open. You quickly rush out of bed and run out of your bedroom. You make it out and spot Heeseung putting his stuff up, after coming back from work. Quietly, you walked up to him from behind and wrapped your arms around his waist.

“Baby!” He says softly. Getting out of your grasp. To turn around and pull you into a hug. “I miss you..” he said.

“I miss you too..” you said. Heeseung noticed your slight frown on your face. “Hey what’s wrong..?” He asked. You look up at heeseung nodding your head.. “yeah I’m fine why..?” You were confused a bit.

“You face says otherwise my love” Fuck..busted. “Baby it’s nothing promised.” You hope you could get Heeseung to believe you.

“No..baby just tell me..” Heeseung was begging at this point. Wanting to get the truth out. But you won’t let your guard down. Not even if it’s heeseung. You always were never really good at expressing yourself. Especially with words.

“Fine I’m just not feeling my very best..” What do you mean by that? Heeseung was now confused. “What are you saying baby?” He asked. You looked up at and spoke. “It’s just sometimes I think I’m not perfect enough for you…” silence filled the room shortly afterwards. “Like there’s many other women who want to be with you but you chose me.. I’m not as pretty as them..” You put your head down. Heeseung didn’t say anything for a short while. You were starting to get nervous. ‘Please say something..’ shit..now you're over thinking. You were so lost in your thoughts, your thoughts were cut off by heeseung pulling you into a hug. You wanted to cry, but you didn’t. Heeseung still didn’t say anything, since you still weren’t looking at him. He grabbed your jaw with his hand, making you look up at him.

He gets closer kissing your lips, His soft sweet lips. You slightly gasp, but return the kiss back..but it doesn’t last very long, before heeseung pulls away and hugs you even tighter. “Baby, you’re wrong..even if other women want me. It’s not how much I want you.” He finally spoke up. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, sweetheart. And not one person can change that thought..not even you..my love” he sighed before continuing, “I don’t know what made you think that, it makes me sad when you think negatively about yourself because in my eyes you’re perfect. You’re my everything” Well, here are the tears now. Heeseung started patting your back, trying to calm you down.. You don’t say anything, only focusing on calming down.

“Thank you..” you say quietly..heeseung smiles, before grabbing your hand and taking you towards your bedroom. He opens the door and drags you to the bed. He gets on first and pulls you into his arms, cuddling you.

“We can stay like this for the rest of the night, cuddle,” he said.

“Yeah..I’d like that..” and so you did.

Author’s note: worse one I wrote this was a draft for my other Heeseung post but I just decided for this one since Im was lazy to start a new one. IM TRYING TO MATCH THE SONG WELL WITH THE DRABBLES SEND HELP NOWZ (I’m kidding m) Jungwon next everyone I’m not going in order trust 💪🏼

© ynsvnte copyright 2024

[pensat-i-fet]

The (only) one I love (Martin Ødegaard x Reader, ft Rúben Dias)

**After posting this Rúben imagine, I got a request to do something similar but with Ødegaard. And this is what I came up with. There is a little Rúben cameo and...he might not be that great in this story but oh well 😅 enjoy!! ❤️**

Word count: 2887

Masterlist

Wattpad

Jealousy was a very bad companion. It was an irrational feeling that made people say and do very stupid things. No one wanted to feel jealous. And yet…

“You’re going to Manchester?”

“Yes. Just for the weekend”, you said, not noticing the way Martin looked at you. “It’d be fun to see everyone”.

“Sure”.

“You ok? Worried you’ll miss me too much?”, you teased.

“Yeah, that’s it”.

Even if Martin’s smile didn’t convince you fully that it was only that, you let it slide. It was true that you hadn’t spent that much time together lately but you really needed some time away to catch up with your friends and that work trip was a great option to do just that.

Your year studying abroad in Lisbon turned into a job at Benfica, which then led you to your job at City. There, your good relationship with Mikel Arteta made you take his offer of working with him at Arsenal. You were extremely happy in London but you missed Manchester. And especially, the Portuguese boys. You had already worked with Rúben when he still played for Benfica. And once at City, you became friends with Bernardo almost as easily.

The season had been a strange one for you. Arsenal were doing so well but City was always behind, ready to take any opportunity to go back to the top of the table. It was sort of ideal in a way. If Arsenal won, your team won. But if they didn’t, your former team would win. Your friends would win.

Someone who didn’t see it that way was Martin. Even if you had an unspoken rule of not dating players, once you met Martin, that rule banished. You were charmed by his personality the second you talked to him and you already thought he was really cute before meeting him in person, so…

“Let’s go to the match!”

Once you got to the stadium, it was time to separate from Martin. He had been pretty quiet on the ride to the stadium but you didn’t worry much about it. It wasn’t that unusual for him to be like that.

“Good luck, my love”, you said, kissing him and hugging him tightly. You knew how nervous he got before matches and how much your good wishes meant to him.

Despite all the silly thoughts in his mind, your hug made him relax. You were there with him. And he trusted you. There was no reason to be jealous. And yet…

**

Another bad result for Arsenal, while City kept winning all of their matches, meant Martin was pretty upset after the match. He loved being a captain, even if he was still so young. But bad results were harder to digest because of that extra responsibility.

He was waiting for you to be done with work, sitting inside the car, lost in thoughts of what could have been done better.

"Hey!"

Hearing your voice made him turn his body completely to hug you. You barely had time to sit down but didn't mind. Martin needed you.

"Please don't go to Manchester", he muttered against your neck.

"Why?"

He looked up realising he had said that out loud. He couldn't tell you about his jealousy. You wouldn't understand. And it wouldn't be fair to you, because you had done nothing wrong.

"I just…I need you here with me".

"I can come back a day earlier but I need to go. There's work stuff that I need to do there".

"Of course. I'm just being stupid and needy. Stay there as long as you want to".

He shook his head and got ready to drive but you took his hand to stop him.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

"No", he smiled. "Let's go home".

                                     **

"This is ridiculous", whispered Martin, putting his phone down and his hands on his face.

"What's wrong, bro?", asked Bukayo when he saw his captain's actions.

"I'm stupid. That's what's wrong".

"You're not. Did you see something on your phone that upset you? Is your family ok?"

"Yeah, they are good, don't worry. It's just…", he didn't know how to say it without sounding silly so he took the phone and showed Bukayo.

"I don't get…oh. Don't be jealous, mate. She'd never do that".

"I know", he sighed. "That's why I feel stupid. But look at the comments".

Bukayo did and understood his teammate a bit better. So many people talking about what a great couple you and Rúben Dias made. On a previous post with photos of you two, even one of Rúben's friends commented about it…and Rúben liked the post. Martin couldn't stand it anymore. But he couldn't ask you to stop being friends with him. It wasn't fair.

By the time you got back from Manchester, Martin had convinced himself that not looking at any of your posts was the best idea. He was the type of boyfriend who always liked your posts and left some sort of comment. Even if it was just a heart emoji. So people noticed the change but he didn't care.

"Honey, I'm home!"

You didn't even have time to fully close the door before Martin got there and lifted you to hug you.

"Missed me?"

"Barely", he joked before kissing you. "I thought we could go out for dinner. But if you're tired, I can cook or order something".

"Let's order. I'm shattered. I just want to shower, put on my pajamas and cuddle with my favourite boy".

"That's a good plan", he said, smiling and pecking your lips again.

Martin's smile didn't leave his face while he walked with you to your room. But then you took your hoodie off and he saw it wasn't one he had seen before.

"Did you go shopping while in Manchester?"

"No. Why? Did you expect a souvenir?"

He laughed at your joke, still looking at the hoodie. "Where did this come from then?"

"Rúben", you said, casually. "I was clumsy enough to get sauce on my jacket so he gave me his hoodie to wear".

"That's nice of him".

You smiled at your boyfriend before getting inside the shower, not seeing his face. Not guessing all the thoughts that were going through his mind at that moment.

                                     **

The weeks passed and it was time for Martin's most dreaded match. City at the Etihad.

"Hello traitor", he heard someone say when he was on his way to the dressing room. And he knew that voice.

When he turned to look at Rúben, he saw you hugging him and laughing. He would have stared for hours but a slap on his back woke him up from his daydreaming of how he could murder a Portuguese defender.

"Hey, good to see you", said Erling.

"Yeah, same".

But Martin kept looking in your direction and Erling noticed.

"Who's that?"

"My girlfriend".

"Right…I heard about her. She used to work here".

Martin nodded, hearing your laugh he loved so much but that he couldn't enjoy now because of who was the reason you were laughing.

"I better go. Good luck".

"Good luck to you too".

Martin started to walk faster and you noticed him leaving without getting his good luck hug.

"I need to go. See you later", you told Rúben before sprinting after your boyfriend.

The door to the dressing room closed behind him and you knew you couldn't get inside. The players knew you and probably wouldn't mind but you wanted to respect their privacy. So when you saw another player walking towards the door, you knew it was your best chance.

"Aaron, can you tell Martin to come out for a second?"

"It's time for the coach's talk but then we'll go out again to warm up".

"Yes, but I need to go to work myself and I have to tell him something important…".

"Ok".

Checking your phone you noticed you couldn't wait there longer than 5 minutes. But luckily, the door opened again and it was Martin who got out.

"Hey, I didn't get to wish you good luck".

"No, you were too busy".

"What does that even mean?"

"I have to go back inside. The captain can't miss the team talk".

"Are you mad at me?"

No, he was mad at himself.

"Martin…".

"We'll talk later".

None of you could concentrate well on your jobs after that. And every city goal only made the situation worse.

After the match, a lot of City players surrounded their former teammate Zinchenko. But you were surrounded only by two City players, Rúben and Bernardo.

"Who's going to win the league, then?", laughed Bernardo. You had been joking about it all season.

"I don't care", you said and they were surprised by the way you reacted.

"Don't be a sore loser", said Rúben, putting his arm around your shoulders. And when you looked up, you saw Martin looking at you two. And finally, finally, you understood why he behaved the way he did sometimes. Why he had behaved the way he did before the match.

Focusing on work was the best option for you and that's what you did. By the time you got to the plane, you hadn't talked to Martin and you planned on doing that when you got home. The last thing you needed was to make a scene in front of your bosses.

"Are you going to talk to me or just acting like a child is enough for you today?"

"You don't get it".

"I do, Martin. I do now. You're jealous of Rúben, which is the stupidest thing…".

"Is it stupid? Ask him if it’s stupid! I trust you but I don't trust him at all".

"So I can't be friends with men then?", he was being so ridiculous…you couldn't believe it. He wasn't like that normally.

"You're friends with my Arsenal teammates and it's fine. You're friends with Silva too and it's fine. But Dias…he likes you. Don't deny it".

"If you trusted me as much as you say you do, that wouldn't matter".

Martin noticed you didn't deny his claim. And he really hoped you would.

"I do, but it's hard. Put yourself in my shoes for a second".

Seeing his defeated look took some of your anger away. So you took his hand and walked with him to the sofa so you could sit and talk.

"Why is it hard? Explain it to me".

And so he started to name all the things that had made him jealous in the past, worried you'd laugh at him.

"And then they have to play against Madrid and you want them to win too, writing about it on social media".

"So? Why can't I support City in the Champions League? I won't next year when you play it".

"I played for Madrid. People talked about how my girlfriend was talking about wanting them to lose".

"They treated you like shit. People can't expect me to like them…".

"I guess", he sighed.

"What else?"

"Do you read the comments on your posts?"

That surprised you. Did he? You never did because being a woman in a male centric industry meant you got a lot of abuse on social media. So the best thing you could do was ignore all comments.

"No, why?"

"So you don't see how people ship you and Rúben every time you post about the other or when you interact in the comments"

"That's so stupid. I post a lot with Bernardo too. Why don't they ship me with him then?"

"He's in a relationship".

"So am I".

"Yeah…they don't care about that, apparently".

"Do you get comments about it?"

He nodded, picking up his phone and going to the last photo of you he posted. You read the comments and couldn't believe it. All the cheating accusations under your comment were bad enough. But all those comments about you and Rúben being a better couple…

"You should have told me earlier".

"And look like the idiot I am? I told you, I trust you. But it can be too much. He's taking my league title but he can't take you too".

"He won't".

You understood. And most importantly, you believed him when he said he trusted you.

After your talk, you two cuddled on the sofa. He needed you to be there for him and you needed to reassure him.

Between the match, the travelling and your argument, he was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. You moved him gently so his head could be on your lap and took your phone out and took a photo of him. He looked adorable.

Because of the argument, you hadn't had time to go through Instagram after the match. And you didn't know why, but you felt the need to go to your tagged photos.

One of the first you saw was of you and Rúben hugging. A City fan page had posted it and Rúben liked it. You were about to move to the next when the caption caught your attention.

"Please City, bring her back to the team so these two can be together. Dream couple! 😍"

Rúben like that? You definitely needed to talk to him but you couldn't tell Martin. He didn't need to see more comments like that. He was right when he said it was too much. You could only imagine how painful it would be to see those types of posts about him and another woman.

Looking down at him, you felt the need to do something. And so you opened the Instagram app again and posted the photo you took of Martin sleeping with his head on your lap on your stories.

"The (only) one I love 💕"

[svtjinny]

fears of the above : cjy

in which choi juyeon realizes she shouldn't have attended today's going seventeen filming, especially when she has an extreme fear of heights and was chosen as the last member to go bungee jumping. warning : jinny suffers a panic attack takes place during gose ep 38 word count : 1.2k please note that this isn't how all panic attacks are or happen. i am writing this fit to my own experience and this is not the same as anybody else's panic attacks.

At this moment, there was nothing Juyeon could do except regret. Regret playing scissors, regret pushing her hair out of her face, regret even agreeing to come to today's shoot. The only things going through her mind were the words "Why did I say yes?" and how insanely tall the mount is from the ground when you're the one standing on it. Not even her members words of encouragement could get to her at this point.

Just half an hour ago, Juyeon was down there, laughing and playing around with the boys. She was happy, enjoying her time. That was until she was tasked with taking her sweater off without moving her hair with her fingers before, during, or after. Of course, she lost. The second she heard the enthusiastic "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!" coming from Seungkwan's stupid button, she began to dread even agreeing to Chan when he excitedly told her about their plans to go bungee jumping as an episode and that "she absolutely had to come!"

Things only got worse when she kept losing in the jumpers' game of rock, paper, scissors. She felt like a fool when she played scissors instead of any other option against Hoshi's rock. The dancer jumped in relief while Juyeon stood there, frozen. It was then Chan and Mingyu knew they were forgetting something, something important.

Back to present time; Eyes, at least thirty pairs Juyeon assumed, were staring at her, ranging from her worried members to the camera men that had cameras pointed right up to the tears about to spill from her eyes. Choi Juyeon, the member of Seventeen that couldn't handle a simple jump off a platform. Choi Juyeon, the member of Seventeen that would be known for her overwhelming fear of heights from the second the episode aired for the public's eyes. Choi Juyeon, the weak member of Seventeen. She could hear the thousands of SNS posts and articles already.

There she stood, lips flat-lined and eyes already watering just from looking at the water below her. Everyone near her stared expectantly, as if they were waiting for her to just break down and quit. Juyeon didn't understand why there were still cameras pointed directly at her face when she was probably about to have the worst panic attack of her life.

"Hyung, I don't think she's 'just scared' anymore. Don't you see her? We can see her shaking, and we're all the way down here." Dokyeom whispered to Jeonghan, who was seated next to them. Jeonghan nodded, agreeing with Dokyeom's words. Whenever the men asked if she was alright, the nearest staff member simply told them "she's just scared, she'll get over it eventually." But this was their sister, and over time they realized something was wrong.

"Wait, you need to get her off there." Chan suddenly sat up from his position on the grass, as if he remembered something extremely important. "No can do, kid." A staff member told him, but Chan responded with a harsh glare before continuing his statement. By now, the other twelve members were looking at him, curious about what he had to stay. "I mean it, now. Juyeon's not just afraid. She's scared of heights. Like, super scared. Terrified." He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling deeply. Now they all freaked, jumping up at the younger's intel.

"A-Are you serious? I can't get off? I can't do this. I'll pay. I'll do anything. Just- just get me off, please." The worker shook his head at Juyeon's words, repeating the same "you gotta jump now that the harness is on and tightened, ma'am" he told her before. Juyeon was sobbing now, legs feeling like jello. And yet there were still cameras pointed at her. Everything felt like it was too far away for her. But it all seemed to be closing in on her too, in a way. The adults around her looked bored now, like they had dealt with this already and didn't want to deal with it again.

Juyeon shakily grabbed the handrails, trying to calm herself down. The chaos in her body was similar to what was going on below her; thirteen boys worriedly asking the staff members what they could do to help.

"Come on, seriously. You can't force her to jump."

"Do you not see her? She's having a panic attack, get her off."

"You can't just let one of us go up there or something?"

By now, there was a whole team of staff members alongside the boys trying to get the youngest down. But somehow, nothing was getting through to the stubborn team of workers. "She's gotta jump." they told the group, standing protectively at the lift.

"Please, I can't do this," Juyeon sobbed, a hand over her face. "I just want to get off!" But she couldn't hear a response, if there even was one, for the ringing in her ear served as a blockage of sorts. The girl was on the ground now, shaking vigorously. Finally, something clicked in the staff members' minds that she wasn't just joking around to get off. It began to become a mess up on the platform, too. Which didn't help at all, might I add.

While the group was wondering what to do, Juyeon sat, still shaking and sobbing, trying to find a way to pull the harness off her body. She just wanted to get down, back to the safety of the ground and her members. Then, she heard something. Like something, or someone, was calling her name.

"Jinny! Juyeon! Can you hear me? It's okay, honey, I promise." As she was processing the person's words, Juyeon felt a set of hands on her own and another attempting to undo whatever hooks and ties were done on her harness to take it off. When she looked up, she saw the faces of Seungcheol, the owner of the hands that held tightly onto hers, Jeonghan, who was currently working with another employee to undo her harness, and Joshua, who was rubbing a comforting hand on her shoulder while trying to talk to her.

"Come, come, stand." said Jeonghan, who somehow was able to work through the tightness of the hooks on the girl's harness and was trying to take it off of her. She complied, wobbly standing up. "I'm scared." were the first words to leave Juyeon's mouth. When the weight of the equipment was finally taken off of her, Juyeon immediately leaned into Seungcheol. "I'm so scared."

"We know. Please don't hide stuff like this anymore. I'm serious, 'Yeon." The use of her nickname just made the girl cling onto the oldest tighter, her head dug into his neck, allowing the man to sit down. "If you ever feel like you don't want to do something you can just tell us," Jeonghan added, squatting next to where Seungcheol and Juyeon sat. "None of us want you to become like this because you felt like you were forced to something you didn't want to." Joshua nodded along with his words, still rubbing Juyeon's back.

The three of them stayed like that for the next few minutes until Juyeon could calm down. Eventually, Juyeon raised her head, wiping her face with the sleeve of her wool sweater. "I'm sorry," she said, standing up. "I made you worry. I'm sorry."

"Don't say that, Yeonie. It's not your fault. Let's just get back down, yeah?" Joshua said, offering the girl his hand with a warm smile. Seungcheol and Jeonghan followed the pair. "Hey, we should totally get ice cream after we leave." The second oldest told them, a slight smirk on his face.

from xia ! : hi i kinda hate this lowkey

[originalgenshinscenarios]

Another part of the harbringer series! The ask got pretty long, so I've decided to make it into a separate post

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Jean's ex-harbringer S/O getting into a fight with Diluc

Reader here is gender neutral

You were pretty used to being locked up at that point. It's also not like you couldn't just get out, even with the increased security your previous escape route wasn't blocked at all.

That's why you were surprised when Jean gave you the opportunity to take a walk when everything was still so on edge.

Well- the knights were on edge. General public wasn't anyhow informed of what you had done.

Meeting everyone again felt weird... Like nothing changed. Well... Besides a few rumors on why you were gone and all that nobody even suspected that you've done something horrible so recently.

Everything was fine until he came along eventually. You remember that he was there during your attack on Mondstadt so of course he knew what your past "true colors" were.

You never liked him, and his comments about Knight's incompetence even if under his breath were just angering you to an ultimate level.

Especially since you saw Jean's reaction, almost like she was ashamed of her decision. But it's not like her choice was random and without a reason! It took a lot of time before she decided to give you another chance so it wasn't her letting you go a week after the arrest.

It was also clear that he said it to provoke you and nothing else.

So, of course you had to let him know that his salty mindset is just plain wrong. And if he wanted to fight it you were damn ready for it.

Jean gave you a glare, which was telling you that it just wasn't worth it. Still, your anger won against that disapproving look.

Before anyone got the chance to separate you, you managed to form that barrier which was making it impossible for anyone to stop the fight.

Diluc was evenly matched against you so it's not like the fight was short. But it did end in a draw.

When you two were finally separated, Jean was mad. At both of you. But more at you.

She apologized to everyone who was inconvenienced by your little brawl in your name.

"Just what were you thinking" she said with a sigh "Don't you understand that doing things like that will only prove that he's right..?" With that the rest of your walk was quiet.

She had a lot to think about, but so did you. At least she hoped you did. But one thing was clear, once again she lost some of her trust in you.

~Mod Lisa

[millylotus]

Another Void & Gold Post!

I'm going to cure Elaine & Doug of this weird Joker bullshit if it kills me & I'm making it a whole thing about why they're so difficult to cure

---

Duke has been trying for years to both find & cure his parents, but for some reason nothing can fix them. All the other victims have made some recovery but they just wont.

His mom is doing the worst, she barely responds to outside stimuli, the only noise she makes are giggles & laughs. He can't even look her in the eyes anymore, they've gone so dull, lost that luster that Duke remembers her for.

His dad is a bit better, he reacts to more aggressive stimuli, always asking for help for his wife, begging for someone to look for his son. Asking for his sister & her family, sometimes even his long dead parents. His desperation & pain make it so hard for Duke to sit there & listen to him speak.

Duke just wants his parents back, but nothing seems to be working. He was almost going to resign himself to this being all they could be when some new information came up.

Bruce had been looking into the "why" & he stumbled upon it. There was something inherently different about Elaine's very being, she was human yes but a different kind then what would be normal on this Earth. Doug by close association with her had taken on a few of those traits.

So the theory of Elaine not being from this dimension was brought up as very feasible. There where of course some difficulties across the board.

Duke getting desperate to find some kind of information about his mother before she came to Gotham. And the only person who could have possibly known her is Gnomon, her ex [husband?] & Duke's bio dad.

So Duke's sitting in the visitation room of a meta-human prison staring down Gnomon, who looks like he doesn't give much of fuck.

---

G: So you've finally come to visit, finally come to ask about me? D: Yeah no, I just wanted to ask about mom, not exactly here for your sob story. G *sighs*: Yes of course, Elaine must have kept some things from you. Especially considering how ill equipt you where when fighting me. Did she not want to talk about her past with you, even now that you know about me? D: More like she couldn't. G *eyebrow raise* D *deep breath*: Mom & Dad have been thoroughly Jokerized for a couple years now. Everyone else has made a proper recovery but they haven't. The doctors have come to the conclusion that something is fundamentally different about mom. We think it's dimensional. And you're the only person who knew her before she showed up in Gotham, so you'd know the best. *tense silence* G *mumbling*: Well you're not wrong. G: Elaine & I aren't, under a technicality, from this world. D: So you can guess what's wrong with them? G: Not with any accuracy, not unless & I see it up close. D *groan*: You aren't even set up for parole yet, & I'm not letting you out. G: Child it was never about anyone letting me out. It was always about when you & Elaine would muster up the courage to come talk to me. I can leave whenever I want. And if what you say is true, then you're Mother & Douglas are on a bit of time crunch at the moment. *D glares at G, who is smirking* D: I don't like this. G: I'm not about to hurt you Duke, I've done all I wanted on the getting your attention front. D: How do I know you're not lying G *serious*: Elaine was my first friend & love, you are my son, and you both deeply care for Douglas. Any harm I may cause to either of you three or anyone else you care for, for that matter, would only grant me your ire. And I do not want that. D *sighs*: I'll see what I can do.

---

So science, not my strong suit, but a small passion of mine. Still not going to go in amazingly thought out depth of it

Gnomon is able to pinpoint the reason Elaine & Doug are taking so long is because the Joker venom used on them had traces of Nth metal

An off shoot of Elaine & Gnomon's previous home dimension of The Sphere/The Collective, so their immune systems where having a hard time differentiating between the invading Nth metal & Elaine's own energy

As is it has been a long while since Elaine had rejuvenated any of her powers

The simple fix was to reintroduce Elaine's energy still within The Collective

A whole adventure to The Sphere happens as a sort of Father-Son bonding trip for Gnomon & Duke. Something that I'll probably have fun hashing out later in another post. But in the end they get back, synthesis the cure & get it to Elaine & Doug!

Elaine snaps out of it first, quickly followed by Doug, a tearful reunion between child & parents ensues

Jay's there by his family, also getting hugs & tears

Bruce explains some of what's been going on

Gnomon's off in hall being a bit awkward

And that's how Elaine & Doug are healed! Hip-hip hooray :D!

[misteria247]

A bit of a ramble/vent cuz I need to kinda get it off my chest-

So I'd went to North Carolina's Outer Banks a few weeks back for this singles retreat/Christian camp thing for adults and they've got a Discord server right? I've been interacting with people on and off there, being more open than I usually am to try and establish actual friendships with people who I've actually met face to face and to step out of my comfort zone. And most of the time it's nice, having this place where you can fellowship with others. But some days......I'm reminded pretty quickly that I'm not really like them.

There's just little moments. Moments where I have to mentally go "Oh yeah, they're more stern on this kind of thing huh." And have to backtrack a bit. Like the other day when the Sonic 3 trailer dropped and as y'all know once I'm excited about something I tend to uh go off the rails sometimes. I did the post on here and decided to share my excitement with these people on this server. Because if we're gonna be friends they've got to know the real me ya know? So I go on there and start my rambling, excited and kicking my feet and chewing drywall like I usually do. And it's then I realize that......some of those people had no clue what I was talking about.

They were nice don't get me wrong, everyone's pretty nice there but as I was talking and delving into my love of video games and such I was met with amused confusion from some. One guy even jokingly sent a gif of Frodo saying "it's some kind of Elvish I can't make it out" cuz he was obviously lost on what I was rambling about. I didn't take it personally but it just.....it really made it obvious that I'm not exactly the kind of gal who can fit into this group fully.

Then there's my lingo of saying stuff like I stg or God I wish, and yesterday this girl bless her, seemed to think I was saying it in a disrespectful manner and she was super nice about it and me being me, of course apologized for making her feel uncomfortable despite being completely confused. Cuz the last thing I want is to do that to someone. Especially since they've been nothing but kind towards me. But at the same time it just reminds me that I'm in a way not like them. We may believe in the same God, and we may love his creations and want to follow his laws but that's where the similarities end.

In a way, I can't help but feel like an outcast whenever I'm me. It's silly to feel like this I know, and I shouldn't be feeling like that because these people have been nothing but kind towards me. And yet......every time I run into these little, miniscule things, it's glaringly obvious that I'm different. The way I do things and the way I act is different from this group. I originally went to this camp in hopes of finding a possible husband for the future, yet now as I sit here thinking about it I can't help but wonder......if I did find the one God made for me in this group......will I have to stop being me? Will I have to tone down the person I am, in order to fit into this group better?

It's scary fam. Because I've grown to like these people despite only knowing them for a short time. Going to this camp, it changed something in me. It made me more comfortable to be sociable towards others and be more welcoming. Which is insane for me. Yet these little things also are bringing up dead insecurities. Insecurities that I haven't had since I was a child/young teenager. Insecurities that because I'm different that I don't belong, that because of my personality and way I go about life, it makes people not want to be around me. That it makes me annoying and overbearing.

Which is ridiculous because right before I left Carolina to go home, a good chuck of people asked me if I was planning on coming back to their spring one and even expressed wanting to see me again. They clearly found something in me that makes them want to see me again in person, to continue getting to know me. But these little things.....even though they're of no ill will or of a cruel nature.........they make me wonder ya know?

Honestly I'm just a bit of a confused mess ngl lmao.

[pestilentbrood]

Very Brief Clans Overview

Figured I should have a sooort of explanation post so people don't get too lost regarding lore things, especially because I hope to actually draw out more Lore Important Things at some point or another hehe.

This is just a quick breakdown of each clan in development so far. The titles of each will have a link to their tag on my blog if you'd like to view posts pertaining to That Clan!

Starting, of course, with:

The Incompetence

Nestled in a gorge along the Scarred Wastelands' shores, the Incompetence is a ragtag bunch of losers led by an arrogant fae named Patience. Said fae is hellbent on the idea of Fate, claiming he is the universe's specialiest boy of all time, and any that follow him are special as well. The dragons who come here do so under the assumption they are not fit to survive in the Wastelands' treacherous landscape. They are the weak, old, and battered. Surely they are not meant to see another day in this cruel existence, and they will die solemn, bitter, and alone. ...But due to some miracle, they've all gone on to live peacefully here. Together. Alive.

Perhaps there is something to our wacky leader's obsession with Fate...

[many more clans below!]

The Loyalty

And these are the antagonists.

The Loyalty is an old clan with a history spanning back centuries. Born out of nothing but unadulterated respect and servitude to the Plaguebringer, the Loyalty is a ruthless place that has only worsened over time, and any who disrespect them will meet the cruelest of punishments.

While originally a respectable bunch, the lot has grown merciless over the past few decades, with worse and worse dragons taking the mantle of leader. Our current leader is Cletus, a vindictive aberration dead set on making the Loyalty as vicious as possible.

All I'm saying is, steer clear of the Wyrmwound. There are beasts under there.

Wandering Threads

The Threads are a traveling group of veilspun led by Nootka. The swarm acts as one massive family, both literally and metaphorically (because nearly everyone involved is part of a big polygamous relationship), and honestly they're just having a great time.

Well, like, save for one horrible encounter with the Loyalty that happened recently. But don't worry about it.

Shadows of Doubt

You wanna commit thievery and have it go so wrong we start replacing our blood with liquid gold? Well come on over to the Foxfire Brambles and join us Shadows! ...Uh. I mean. Actually, don't worry about the liquid gold blood thing. Only Penumbra did that. Gloom, the other leader, is very normal in comparison. And disregard the infestation of bug fae. We're pretty normal here.

We just like to commit theft for these two silly siblings. Don't even worry about it.

Acolytes of the Arcanist

A mad-scientist prophet in the Starwood Strand has decided that the Arcanist's goals of reaching the heavens and controlling the universe sound really great, actually! Why don't we do that together? Through the limitless bounds of science, we will reach the stars and own them ourselves.

And won't you join us? The stars in your wings shine so... beautifully... :)

[REDACTED]

Everyone in this clan is canonically dead by the present day. All you need to know about it is that we tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it didn't even matter. Arcane and Light just can't get along for more than two minutes.

(we started a civil war not clickbait gone wrong. etc.)

The Adherence

Nolan is NOT the leader of the Adherence. I just don't have the leader(s) yet. So for now he's representing this place. Which is fitting enough, honestly.

The Adherence is a city of pearlcatchers that is currently flourishing somewhere in the Sunbeam Ruins. Don't ask me where, exactly. I just know it's in there. They run a very strict society where only light-inborn pearlcatchers can garner any amount of respect. Should you be born of a different flight, or worse, a different breed... You may come in, but you'll get a lot of scorn for it.

Unless you're an imperial. Then you're out of luck. Except for this really nice, not at all suspicious guy named Nolan who is offering you a peaceful sanctuary if you'll just follow him this way.

Excessive Library Damage

Ok, that's not the name of the clan. It just doesn't really have a name. Not yet.

Anyway, this is a crew of Aethers that crash-landed into the Wastelands, managing to break right through the surface of Sornieth's soil and into an ancient, abandoned library. Likely filled to the brim with incredible history of Sornieth that has been long since forgotten. And countless priceless artifacts.

...Oh. Nevermind. Oh, it's... it's all gone.

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

SMALL GROUPS WHO AREN'T REALLY FULL-FLEDGED CLANS (YET, IN SOME CASES) BUT ARE STILL WORTH MENTIONING:

Twisted Waters

A pirate dies. Then she un-dies. It turns out the eldritch creature in the ocean, who is interested primarily in spiting her husband, has chosen this pirate to become queen of an underwater kingdom. And that pirate MUST get EVERYONE in the kingdom to love the eldritch beast unconditionally.

Because while the Tidelord may have abandoned you, Twist never will <3

Snow Shower Town

There's like multiple different plots happening here. But what's important is that this is MOSTLY based in a small town within the Icefields, wherein a bunch of dragons of varying flights are chilling and hanging out while trying not to die in the regular blizzards.

Also there's like. An ice witch nearby, but you can ignore her, she's totally not important.

William's Day Out

AHH. The Horrors...

William is a normal guy. The haunted baby is a normal baby. Lutka is a normal guy. The four siblings are all normal. Don't worry about it. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THE WISPWILLOW GROVE. I mean what who said that

Girl's Night

Hey, what happens in girls night stays in girls night, okay?

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

EXTRAS

Out in the Worldedge Wetlands there's a very sad old man and an old woman who goes "take better care of yourself, old man" and he goes "no i'm depressed." There are vaguely understood nature clan(s?) nearby.

I have in mind a group of Coatls who live in the shadow territory somewhere, but it's VERY loosely defined.

Freaky undead thing hanging out in the rubble of the Hewn City is freaky and undead (NOT an emperor this time)

There's a wanted criminal wandering around in the wastelands but you can ignore him. The person who matters is the Woman he has convinced to join his cause and has since begun eating people

And that's all for now! check back for inevitably 1 million updates.

[aro-attorneys]

God. Second attempt at writing a sort of coherent Good Omens Season 2 rant/review/thoughts. Whatever you want to call it.

First, things I really enjoyed:

Pre-fall Crowley scene. Though this was not liked as much by some other critical Book fans. I understand from canon-conflicting perspective, but TV and Book Omens are separate in my head (sorry Neil Gaiman I can't buy the Same Canon thing)

The flashbacks scene (especially the one with Job and the Resurrectionist, the zombie one was kinda bad though)

Aziraphale getting to use the Bentley

Ok that's all that stood out to me of what I really liked. Time to complain!

God I'll just...start with The Kiss. I saw spoilers for it before I got a chance to watch it and immediately felt disappointment. I do like the Ineffable Husband ship, but I liked it as this...vague thing they kinda had going on in the back. They absolutely did not need an angsty one-sided confession scene with a forced kiss. Everything about it felt so inorganic too. I was trying to be open to the possible (different/romantic) chemistry they might have in s2, but it never happened. Instead there was Nina and telling Crowley he's in love with Aziraphale. Even though nothing really indicated that? To the public they could just be friends?

They did make more "gay jokes" (like they did once in season 1, which I did not like, it was very amatonormative which goes against the vibes those two have). Did not like those. Felt forced.

I have made posts before about the lack of aro and qpr representation in media and Yes that does play into why I did not like this ending of the season. It felt like this possible representation was forcibly taken away from me. I get to be sad about that. It's technically a separate argument but I'm throwing it here anyway.

Aside from That, the vibes of season 2 was...not really Good Omens? I really love the season 1 adaptation on so many levels. It is not perfect and there is valid criticism to be given, but overall it catches the absurdist comedy and relevance of everyone at play Very Well. Both the book and the show have this "ah it's all coming together" thing that's executed so well. I agree Crowley and Aziraphale got more of a main character role in the Show vs. The Book (where the humans and nonhumans are equally important/get similar screentime). And they amplified this in season 2. This post-book "canon" seems to focus a lot on Crowley and Aziraphale, which feels Wrong. They don't work on their own like they did in the Book/s1. It was their interaction with Earth and its Humans that made them shine in the end. Giving them their own problems to deal with was incredibly uninteresting. This is probably why the flashbacks stood out to me more. ...Yeah, I think it boils down to them not being as interesting on their own.

(of course when fans draw Book Omens Ineffable Husbands it's a different thing altogether, but art or comics usually don't have TV-style drama)

I feel I should say something about Gabriel and Beelzebub? It caught me by surprise that I just laughed when I saw it unfold. It was just very weird idk. I will miss Beelzebub though, I loved their trash gender vibes (then again, the new actor did not sell the vibes as well as the previous actor).

This season made me dive a little into the Book Omens fandom again and made me realise how much I missed the Book. I read it back in 2017 and a lot of fine details are lost on me. I want to read it again for sure. I see a lot of mixed reactions from Book fans on this season. Oftentimes criticism of different kinds, sometimes someone who did kind of like the season.

Overall I hate it when a screen adaptation takes a fandom over. I have to see incredibly bad takes on the Ineffable Husbands every day since the show came out.

In short: it was mostly not as interesting/memorable and I am pissed off about the kiss scene that I have to see everywhere.

[spacedhead]

homestuck reread #7: a5a2 part 3

this is so fucked up.

but hey check it out. vriska went goat mode

okayyy merry christmas and happy new year to everyone reading. never too late for a happy new year

look at roseee shes serving so hard rn. but unfortunately she is talking to doc scratch. which is something one should never do. especially if one is a light player he really loves to torment light players for some reason

look at how cool jade looks here i would wear the shit out of this outfit if it wasnt approx. 1 trillion degrees in my location. keep slaying girl

what a thing to say. i know what he is talking about and yet i still barely understood what he meant

yeah WHATEVER . most important character my ass. we dont care . booooo. boo

why is jade sprite so sad shes being such a cry baby. honestly normal jade is based for this. jade sprite is just crying and crying for NO REASON. what is even the problem!!!!!

very fucking interesting indeed.... what a funny thing to say. that is VERY FUCKING interesting......

woah he looks so cool i love art i love images. also he looks like has the windows logo on his face... sponsored? hello?

okay so i guess the mayor is having a bad dream. this is pretty scary man... i wonder if its like the ring that he has affecting him in some way. i dont know what it means....

oh? vriska is here now

dawwww shes so EEPY!!! that being said, the next page is [s] wake, and i really fucking hate this one. so im NOT EXCITED.

ARADIA!!!! SHE DID IT!!!! im so happy for her and nothing else happens in this animation so i might as well not watch the rest of it

:(

sigh. man this sucks

look at jade go. she looks so awesome! like a super hero. iron man. tony stark . stucky. i could do this all day . blargh

ok so now im playing another game thing. kanaya and jade just had a conversation about how they have the same role in the two different sessions and how theyre more similar than they thought. also theres some future jade present karkat past jade password shenanigans going on. i loooove when time travel makes no sense and is super confusing. that isnt sarcasm btw. and that wasnt either. also, they updated the sprites in this one so they look way better and sweeeeeeeet. that was 8 e's btw. she isnt even here to appreciate my efforts.....

this is like scott pilgrim to me. theyre about to go at it!!!! who you guys got money on? me personally i bet sollux 3-0s him and doesnt lose a stock

easter egg

anyway yeah guys i was just kidding sollux was no match for eridans insane hope powers. really wasnt even fair to begin with

yeah and now eridan snaps and becomes an incel. sadge. why do people even like this guy?? WHATEVER HES MID HOPE HE DIES SOON RIP BOZO

my honest reaction to eridan to only knocking out the guy he had an actual problem with, but killing two women who he liked and respected

on top of that, gamzee has officially lost it. MAN EVERYTHING IS FUCKING SPIRALING MAN TAVROS IS DEAD KANAYAS DEAD FEFERIS DEAD SOLLUX IS KO'D GAMZEES CRAZY. surely nothing else goes wrong

yeah

karkat....:(

oh.....hey john....nice to see you..... maybe you can lift my mood a little...

STOP CALLING WOMEN CRAZY. even if this one might be a little crazy .. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT

ALALALALLALAAL thats what vriska looks like shes saying. do you see it i see it personally

man now i gotta be equius in this game. lets see how this goes...

SHES SO REAL I LOVE HER. nothing bad will ever happen to her

okay well i reached the end of the game and also the image limit for this post. so ill continue this next time. but i just gotta say

that it was actually pretty good. like go figure the equius one was pretty engaging. equius is very protective of nepeta and it was very sad when he was like "let me take this chance to say goodbye" and nepeta was like "um okay but i will see you soon." like. yeah i guess you will.... :(

i actually liked both of them in this one isolated game . sad for whats gonna happen in the coming pages

[consult-sherlockholmes]

I posted 3,242 times in 2022

That's 3,242 more posts than 2021!

1,215 posts created (37%)

2,027 posts reblogged (63%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@consultjohnwatson

@atamh

@myeyesblurry

@anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek

I tagged 2,826 of my posts in 2022

Only 13% of my posts had no tags

#roleplay - 2,329 posts

#sherlock roleplay - 2,128 posts

#rp - 2,097 posts

#sherlock rp - 1,688 posts

#sherlock - 1,668 posts

#johnlock roleplay - 1,647 posts

#bbc sherlock - 1,602 posts

#sherlock holmes - 1,574 posts

#john watson - 1,406 posts

#sherlock bbc - 1,382 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i still did nothing wrong but people tend to disregard other people for such things thats why i dont want you to go around telling everyone

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

As everyone keeps doubting that I can actually cook, here it is.

And the bacon is vegan, as fried pork products can contain carcinogens like nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines, and I do not want John to consume such toxins and potentially shorten his lifespan that way.

The whole flat might have been filled with smoke after I finished cooking and the kitchen in disarray, but I still prepared a fine meal, which is the thing that actually counts with cooking.

117 notes - Posted October 10, 2022

#4

I've got a leg now! And I'm keeping their heart! This ones the first girl I've killed, 35 years old! Dont know her job!

-Murderous Anonymous

Good for you that you have a heart now, because you probably weren't in possession of one before. A thing I also regularly get accussed of, but who cares. So your prefered victims are males? Why? Any particular reason for that? @di-greglestrade we got another one. Looks like he is slowly building up to collecting a whole human consisting of different humans.

121 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

#3

How did you delete your emotions

Put all your emotions into one folder, and then right click on it and click delete. Or pull it into the recycle bin and then empty it, on older operating systems. Press Control+Alt+Delete to terminate the emotional process. Reboot the system and it should be cleaned from all emotions. Installing an emotional firewall can help to prevent another emotional infection. If corrupted data of emotions remain, you need to do a hard reset of your system. But all data will be lost during that process, so treat this as a last resort with caution.

167 notes - Posted May 11, 2022

#2

What's your favorite poison and why?

Finally an interesting question. There are many answers to this, depending on the used definition of poison and for what it would be intended for. Whether I find a poison interesting enough is mostly determined by how fascinating it’s biochemical mechanisms are, but also if it’s nondetectable and rare, how clever it would be in a murder. 

Some more common poisons can have very fascinating biochemical properties like cyanide, which inhibits enzymes neccessary for aerobic respiration and suffocating a person on a cellular level. But they are more commonly used in murders, making them more easily traceable, less creative and thus less interesting then. Just obvious. I prefer rarer poisons, less obvious. The more cunning and sophisticated, the better. Toxins which you can barely detect, unless you know what you are looking for, but most people are idiots and won’t think about it. Perfect murder. Unless you consult me of course.

And especially natural poisons are the most toxic, like Botulinum toxin which was used in some of my cases. Especially neurotoxins like this work in fascinating ways, Tetrodotoxin from pufferfish, shutting down nerve cell communication, slowly paralysing and shutting the body down by respiratory failure. This poison is especially cruel because the victim can still be conscious and lucid, even if they are completely paralyzed, unable to talk or move, to do nothing except to suffer and wait for death approaching. 

Another very potent and very rare poison is Polonium-210, killing by acute irradiation, no antidote and it takes days to show effects, giving the murderer enough time to get an alibi or leave the country. Of course the trail of radiation can lead to the killer if not handled correctly. Very fascinating poison, but difficult to acquire, which is why it’s only knowinlgy used by secret services, but there might be more cases where it was never detected. As you can see it’s difficult to pick favourites with such diverse acting mechanisms of poisons and their interesting ways to kill.  

However, if you meant favourite poison in a more recreational way, then my clear answer is cocaine. Which also has cardiotoxic effects so it can be used as a poison resulting in overdoses, but it’s subjective personal effects are much better than to use it to kill someone, I assure. A more poisonous drug would be fentanyl, very strong opioid resulting in respiratory depression, 120 times stronger than morphine, difficult to dosage. Though I prefer morphine for personal use. But even nicotine can be considered a poison if overdosed. But it’s all just subjective defintions, to quote Paracelsus  “What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison.”

251 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Slay

Oh, I wish. I would love a slaying for a case right now.

278 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[slutneto]

Bfmfjfnfj for REAL like. I think part of it is bc Shiv took a really huge blow with Logan's death so everyone's like how can Tom be an asshole now of all times. But here's the thing. Her dad dying doesn't erase the shit she put Tom through, which is more than just cheating on him (already horrible), and it irks me so much that they downplay Shiv's abuse towards him. Like yes he's an asshole and selfish, but you don't need to pretend like Shiv has done nothing wrong to justify your anger. Like. Shiv's abuse is so layered and constant especially during the first season, practically every scene between the two she's dismissive and mocking with him. And it's not like we're saying Tom isn't equally fucked up in how he behaves with her especially in how he's so pushy about getting her pregnant. And that's the thing, they're both horrible towards each other and we don't need to water these characters down to Victim Woman and Evil Man to enjoy them. Please stop!!!! Also I feel like people jump to Shiv's defense over made up arguments from made up people??? At least here on tumblr I've never seen the "tomgregs who hate Shiv" everyone's always whining about. At most I see posts saying she's not perfect and then people complaining about sexism in fandom LOL. Also also, last ep with the ear flick scene made a lot of people uncomfortable and rightfully so imo, it was meant to, but the virtue signaling is getting a bit too much gjmdjdk and equating an ear flick with domestic violence is a BIT fucked up in my opinion.

In any case I hope the writers aren't planning on escalating this and that it was meant to read as Tom just reacting to Shiv not backing off, bc if they take the Tom-Logan parallels to the extreme I might have to check out lol. I'm scared bc they have shown us Tom's violent side with Greg, and with the dynamics shifting... Idk.

This is going to get me cancelled for sure but fuck it, right?

I like Shiv, but only when she is without Tom? They are just fucking terrible with each other. Shiv uses her sexuality as a weapon, or perhaps a tool to hurt Tom. Perpetually. With cheating, with the open marriage, and trying tom to participate in it, etc., in early season one and late season three by hurting him during sex the first physically, the other mentally. I don’t think it as refreshing and ground-breaking or even entertaining as some fans, but hey, to each their own, tomgreg also has mental and physical abuse in there, to some extent.

I don’t want to defend Tom in anyway, because you are right, he is no saint, but we talk used (before season 4) talk about the pyramid of abuse in succ, where Logan’s abuse of his children was getting passed on to other people via his children, and just how fucked up that was, and how this needs to change, why are we suddenly so against Tom calling Shiv out on her insecurities and pointing out he has been hurt by Shiv? It’s true? Yes, she has just lost her father, but you are right, their issues started way before that.

To me, the ear flick was did not equal to domestic abuse but stayed on the same level of childishness as Shiv relentlessly trying to step on his shoes because she was feeling bad for herself. Tom deciding to take direct action against the source instead of this usual move of weathering through abuse and then taking it out on Greg in most insane ways imaginable is, at least to me, quite interesting. We don’t talk about it and what it might mean enough.

The fandom seeing any critique directed at a female character and saying it borders on fans being sexist is nothing new, but it is worrying here, where, textually, the point of this character is to be flawed and fucked up? We joke about them all being our poor little meow meows but surely critical thinking has not been lost along the way? The whole point of this show is to question how much of the kid’s actions can be blamed on Logan, and how much of it is the kid’s fault. If we decided everything is Logan’s fault, then the kids are nothing but his reflections, his agency in the world, with no autonomy, all of their actions can be traced back to Logan.

I am not sure I enjoy this season at all, which is super odd, because we are now halfway done? The writers did say we will get to find out if tomshiv were ever anything real in the second art of the season, which is good because my POV on this changes daily. Yeah, Tom used his relationship with Shiv to breeze through the ranks, but he also seemed genuinely in love and therefore hurt by Shiv’s actions too? Yes, Shiv has been historically abusive, cold, and dismissive, but she seems to care about Tom from time to time. But is it enough? Idk.

[elendsessor]

pictured here is a comment i got on a post i made on one of my sideblogs. now this actually kinda motivated me to go and look into something for no other reason than “yeah sure why the hell not.”

and thus i went down a mini rabbit hole.

this is referring to a post about smt 4, but i think they just mistyped smtv instead of iv—

the picture in question shown is this concept art for blasted tokyo:

now this pic mirrors that of where jonathan is in all the little dream/vision/whatever you wanna call them sequences prior to choosing a route. however…

the head of what i believe is supposed to be the statue of aquila or some other structure is different. blasted tokyo is full of rubble on the surface but none match the head from what i can remember (i may be wrong). even then, the guy pictured isn’t jonathan. next thing to question is “what if it’s jonathan’s beta design?” or if any other art for blasted tokyo matched the mystery man.

to the left is beta jonathan and to the right ends up being for the remaining underground districts and for pluto castle (home of the best boss in the game) + weird shadowy figures. again nothing matches up. there’s a really cool exterior shot that i don’t think is ever in the game tho. closest other character i could think of is kiyoharu.

originally though he was intended to wear the same outfit everyone else does (which contextually makes more sense and is something they should’ve stuck with).

so who is this guy? the answer is god knows. best guess i have at this point is an original design for either 1. a law hero similar to 1 and 2, since 4 was a bit back to basics compared to the previous two mainline entries or 2. one of the original concept designs for flynn/the mc. in a lot of the concept artwork displaying what represented the player, they mostly never resemble flynn. some end up just being random designs meant for npcs, armor, or were scraped concepts altogether. a good portion of them are just area concepts. 4 has a ton of world building and i would argue is more based in that than any of the other games.

in just the concepts for tokyo alone that’s the case. mikado concept art isn’t any different.

a lot of background concept art (such as for the weapons dealer, exterior shots of a few dungeons, rooms with npcs in them, etc) end up getting used for locations you can’t walk around in, since the free roam stuff is 3d modeled save for a couple assets. there’s no rough sketches available for most of the areas even in the art book, and that can definitely be the case for character concepts too. sometimes it’s easy to forget that an entire team works on art and not just a couple people, especially in 4’s case given how there’s a few guest artists. there are likely many concepts and pieces of art that have never been seen or are completely lost. any unnamed unknown character shown in these bits of art were likely meant to exist at some point and yet never did.

though gonna be honest this was just the perfect excuse to go looking through concept art again. (quick shoutout to veskscans since she’s uploaded scans of 4’s art book to a google drive (which is linked on her blog). many of the area concept artwork and early character designs are easy to find but smaller scale scenery not so much. she’s a goddamn hero.)

[ginnsbaker]

This chapter was so juicy omg lets get straight into it

Agatha literally embodies me 😂 everything shes said i’ve either said or thought. From her saying she never had faith in reader’s relationship with yelena to calling it a rebound. She’s exactly right and i’ll come back to those two quotes a little later. The other thing about sparky being a mastermind is something I genuinely thought earlier on i was like aw damn the dogs bringing them back together but I didn’t say anything and now i really wish i did cos same agatha same 😂

Im gonna speak about wanda briefly here and then I’ll come back to her affer. But in that whole conversation with agatha she’s very mature about the whole thing considering reader kissed her. She’s not getting excited about it out of respect for readers relationship(that’s already over but she doesn’t know that yet) shes also being cautious because of what happened last time with reader.

Im glad Valkyrie apologised and that wanda didn’t string her along honestly did not want another reader yelena relationship for lack of better words.

Vision is gone thank fuck for that he will not be missed.

Natasha. Quite possibly one of the saddest parts of the series. Nothing hurts quite like a friendship breakup between best friends. I said it last time and my views haven’t changed. Nat is supposed to be readers friend, while I completely understand why shes angry it makes sense yelenas her little sister and i get it but reader is also her friend. It a complicated situation because its very difficult to be neutral. Reader shouldn’t have cheated full stop. However, if we’re being realistic some could argue reader has been emotionally cheating since the start considering the love for wanda was always there. But back to my point this relationship should never have happened to begin with or at least not when it did. Yelena shouldn’t have pursued reader and reader shouldn’t have dated her either especially not without having the therapy that is so desperately needed. Im not blaming yelena or saying nat’s reaction is wrong because i truly understand both sides its just really sad that this is how its ended. Im not sure what your plans for nat are for once i genuinely dont have a clue.

I think its very ironic that at the start of this wanda didn’t really have that big a support group but now thats kind of the reverse because reader now has no one. I also think its very like idk what the word is “impactful” i guess that now reader’s lost everyone but wanda is still there for them.

Back to wanda. Idk how to feel because we know what happened to wanda last time they entered this sort of arrangement and i really don’t want it to again because she has made so much progress. On one hand i feel like she won’t let herself go back that far but the ones we love can be our weakness sometimes. And on the other hand it seemed different this time less aggressive like the way reader cushioned wandas head. But one thing I didn’t like was reader leaving with no aftercare i saw someone else say it and I definitely agree. PSA to everyone aftercare is so so so important okay? Good. And i also don’t like Wanda missing therapy because of this arrangement it feels like a step backwards (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in terms of story writing cos like i said last time recovery is not a linear path and its really validating that you’ve included that)

And finally pietro. Oh dear god the anticipation is killing me. Ive been dying for chapter 17 and its almost here. He knows why wanda missed the sessions (or at least suspects) and i think hes got a picture of wanda in the hospital or maybe after he found her (im not quite sure who found wanda after she overdosed I don’t remember but uno what i mean💀) and hes gonna send it to reader maybe saying back off

I swear im in love with your brain youre incredible I can’t wait for chapter 17

-🧃

Reading your comments/thoughts is always a favorite habit of mine whenever I post an update. Like, srsly dude, I look forward to it.

There's something you highlighted that I did not even intended in the story: I think its very ironic that at the start of this wanda didn’t really have that big a support group but now thats kind of the reverse because reader now has no one. I also think its very like idk what the word is “impactful” i guess that now reader’s lost everyone but wanda is still there for them.

I guess that happened naturally. I mean, when you're maintaining a positive vibe in life and taking care of yourself in general, suddenly there's room for people in you life who also want to share the same outlook in life. You attract good energy. You're able to take care of relationships around you because you're in a good place. I guess that's what happened :)

Yes, aftercare is really important. R is neglecting herself, wasting away, so she really is incapable of thinking about another person's needs at this point.

My mind?? Look at your mind! Look at what you'll think Piet would do O_O

Once again, thank you! I super enjoy reading your points!

[willing-but-not-able]

So, I have a playlist of no commentary longplays to help me sleep and I've recently added Phoenix Wright DD and SoJ (since no one has the other games in a full longplay) and that got me wanting to talk about Phoenix Wright and some of my favorite things, small issues and big issues with the games.

I have played every game (that's localized) so I wanted to start this little series(?) with my disappointment with Dual Destinies.

There will be a spoiler warning for all these posts just in case someone hasn't played the game, so here's that warning.

It's no secret that everyone in the fandom pretty much hates Dual Destinies. You're either annoyed at the strange/weak plot or tired of how hand-holdy the games were.

For me, I didn't mind the game holding my hand except for that consult button because if the game had a good enough plot I can see why they would have added features/dialogue to help players.

Playing this game as a kid, there were some cases I'd be stuck on for days and I can easily see how interest would be lost if you got severely stuck in a case.

So, the hand holding wasn't too much of an issue.

My problem was Athena.

Now whether you love or hate her, I can't bring myself to like Athena because of how her plot was dismantled from her very inception.

When first playing DD, I knew Athena was gonna be a character that wouldn't be very fun to watch. Unlike Edgeworth or Apollo (before SoJ), I could tell Athena was gonna have a "one game plot" and that she would disappear right after.

However, she didn't and this is the issue with Athena.

Athena has no more plot.

The writers essentially boxed her in a corner by giving her "I need to save my friend" as her main plot. When she should have "I want to save anyone who's been wrongfully convicted."

Especially with the climate in the Justice System irl, being riddled with holes and other loopholes that get innocent people locked up and guilty people free, it would have been perfect to have Athena--and her ability--to be focused on saving people who truly are innocent but were convicted anyways. An appeals kind of game, so to say.

However, that didn't happen and instead her entire goal when she was first introduced was to save Blackquill.

Now, don't get me wrong, Blackquill is one of my favorite characters, but it's simply because I like his design and personality. As a writer, his inclusion isn't my favorite thing ever.

He's a plot device for Athena and once he was "solved" what happened to Athena? She lost her plot.

SoJ pretty much proved that with what is arguably the worst case in PW history.

Turnabout Storyteller was a long haul to get through. Not only did it feel like a game of unwinnable tennis, but it also felt like I was going through a tutorial for the second time. This case also is a perfect exemplification of why Athena is now ruined.

She has no room to grow. No hardships attached to the courtroom and not even a difficult case to work with. When Athena's "Blackquill" plot was solved in DD she has nothing else to carry her and winds up becoming an aimless character.

She's just there to replace Apollo or Phoenix.

Unfortunately, I actually hate that she is this way because it would have been really cool to see a character who can actually tell if people are being truthful or not and we could have circled back to Kristoph Gavin and found out what he was hiding and why.

Instead, we get Athena's black Psyche locks and that fell flat on its face.

I wanna rundown why that didn't hit as well as it should:

We just met Athena and have no record of her history. Even if she tells us, it's just that-- something we heard. Even with the tragedy of her mother, we didn't find anything out about that until several cases later when it's impact isn't gonna hit as hard.

Why the death of her mother isn't as impactful as it should be lies with the game itself. A bombing in a courthouse happens, the leader of a village is murdered, the death of a lawyer takes place, and someone is on death roe. There are just way bigger things going on.

Yes, the death of a parent is severely heartbreaking, but that's the only reason we feel for it in the game because it is traumatic to lose a parent.

To explain what I mean, it's similar to stories you hear on the internet of people who have suffered the loss of a loved one or family member. Yes, we're upset and our heart goes out to them, but once we get off our phone the impact of that event no longer concerns us. This is why writers need to know how to impact a reader/viewer (or in this case a player) so we feel the same gut wrenching feeling the character is feeling. We shouldn't chalk it up to "oh, that's really bad, so I understand why she's sad."

If it were me, I would have liked to see Athena with a "trilogy" of her own since Apollo is kind of beyond saving at this point.

For Athena, she should have had Turnabout Storyteller as her first case. Without Blackquill, of course, and gone through a case where someone is frozen with fear seeing the death of someone they considered a parental figure. Then, through all the Turnabout Big Top's she would end up with a firm disposition. "I have to save the lives of those who are crying out their innocence." Then, in her second (or in my opinion) the third game, we're introduced to Blackquill and their relationship. The friendship they had and the end it's about to meet. If we got even a little bit of characterization from her, it would have made saving Blackquill all the more satisfying. Athena could have easily carried three games with her ability and her background, but instead it was boiled down to one game and forgotten in the next.

Phoenix Wright games always have very interesting characters and I find myself thinking about them a lot, so this was just one, but I'm sure you'll find me talking about someone else sonner rather than later...

~Thanks for reading~