#finally settled on my analysis tag

[carlyraejepsans]

pardon the papyrus posting but re-flowey and learning the "kill or be killed" mentality, i think part of what made papyrus so interesting to flowey is he, like asriel, rejected the idea with his whole "everybody can be a good person if they really try" (the world and people aren't a stagnant, fundamental way and can change), but even when faced with death directly papyrus held onto his outlook, which flowey found incomprehensible

ehhhh i disagree, personally i think the reason flowey was so captivated by papyrus is because papyrus is the most... "present" character in the game. not only is he extremely fun and alive personality-wise in an average playthrough, he also has the most lines put together out of any character in the game. one of the main things flowey states about how he grew bored of the world around him is that people became predictable and stopped feeling like people. lines of dialogue. strings of numbers.

it only follows, then, that the character with THEE most dialogue, THEE most interactions, THEE most content and information to pry and seek out would be his favorite. if losing his SOUL actively impacted his capacity to love and care for other people (even if not completely, as we all know well), then "entertainment" would've been the closest he could get to genuine care towards another person in his SOULlessness. when everyone else became numbers, papyrus was probably the last one to feel like a real person (until even he fell short. only his idealized memories of chara never failed him, since they physically couldn't. and we KNOW how obsessed he became with them, and with us/frisk and our "unpredictability").

also like. i get that handplates was cool and all, but papyrus believes in second changes and giving everyone a choice to turn their life around, he's not vowed to nonviolence/not killing. can we scrub that from collective fanon characterization? if they don't take that chance, he is 100% going to beat their ass into oblivion. the only reason he didn't do that to us in-game was because he underestimated our strength and died first. noble and positive as it is, his attitude isn't any more morally groundbreaking than, say, Toriel's conviction that no "greater good" is worth someone's sacrifice.

[witchyafterdark]

Consolidated HL Character Profile #2:

— Sebastian Sallow —

Note: Finally, here is Sebastian's version of the complete profile analysis I've done before! I actually started doing his profile before Ominis' but his character information and background became more difficult for me to understand. Nevertheless, I'm happy to post this one for all the Sebastian girlies — and fans in general! 💕

As always, tags and shoutouts are at the very end of this post.

This is a very, very long post. Pace yourself and take your time.

—---—---—---—---—

I. Possible Birth Place

NOTE: These are all speculated places backed with cross-referenced research, and other people’s headcanons. This was the most difficult part of this post, and I am open to other suggestions and ideas.

Before we begin to even tackle all the possible birthplaces of Sebastian (and Anne), there are a couple of important things that needed to be discussed. At the end of this segment, there will be options to choose from based on narrowed down (and specified) locations.

Firstly, we know that Sebastian’s parents were professors who unfortunately passed away before he and Anne developed their magical abilities. Therefore, majority of people in the HL community have an unspoken agreement that the Sallow family (except Solomon) used to live near Hogwarts—if Mr. and Mrs. Sallow were to fulfill their work as professors during the day, and come home to their children at night every single day. They had to live near their place of work because it was indicated that they spent nearly every waking moment in the cellar attending to their academic pursuits.

But wait… where exactly is Hogwarts located?

Scotland is a massive place with lots of towns and cities. In order to narrow down the possible locations of where Hogwarts is situated, I have referred to this source that had studied this whole topic with as much precision as possible that simultaneously pieced together book-canon mentions of the castle itself.

This map shown below is the route that the Hogwarts Express travels from London (at King’s Cross Station) to the castle that oversees Hogsmeade as well. According to the website linked above, standard Victorian steam-powered trains run for 80mph (or 128kph). But under route calculation and terrain consideration, the train would have had the speed of around 65mph if it is to comply with the fact that the students reach Hogwarts by nighttime. And since the entire magical community of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade (and the entire magical Scottish Highlands) are hidden from muggle view, the estimation of Hogwarts’ location is either the Galloway Hills or the West Highlands.

For the sake of congruency between book-canon information and the landscape of the game’s map, this post will settle on the West Highlands instead.

Fun Fact: It was said that Hogsmeade was founded by an Englishman named Hengist of Woodcroft. I noticed that places with the word “-croft” is predominant in Hogwarts Legacy. There’s the Undercroft and Feldcroft, and I think it wraps up nicely alongside the origins of the founder of Hogsmeade himself.

—

Now that Hogwarts’ location has been established, let’s move on with Sebastian’s possible birthplaces.

1. Aranshire

It has been such a long while ago, but I have asked permission from @hogwartslegacypics to reference the post she did before. (Thank you for allowing me to use your work for mine. All pictures used in this segment are credited to you).

There have been deleted voice lines that Sebastian would say or be triggered when you walk with him around this area using the Companion Mod. The quest in Aranshire would have the main character investigate what happened in the village becoming abandoned by its townspeople. This would lead to a house inhabited by Mary Portman, and she was responsible for breeding all sorts of spiders in the cellar of her house.

Furthermore, Sebastian would have a specific voice line once you get inside the cellar. I have tried to activate this dialogue with other NPC’s but it’s only him that says it. There is the possibility that this quest was supposed to be done with Sebastian as part of his questline.

In this video, with the timestamp 59:39, only Sebastian says this line:

“I suppose we know what happened to Mary Portman. She was breeding the spiders.”

It would be both economical and logical for the Sallow professors to have a house near their place of employment instead of boarding with the other professors in the Faculty Tower without a live-in sitter watching their two children. And even if they did hire someone to watch their children, we were never given any indication that the twins were left under someone else's care when Mr. and Mrs. Sallow were still alive. Plus, it would put quite a dent on their finances to rely on childcare services for the whole school year that they'd be at work.

Lastly, giving birth at home is the norm during Victorian times. According to the Victorian Web:

"... for much of the nineteenth century the safest place to be delivered, regardless of social class, was at home by a well-trained midwife. Until the widespread use of antisepsis in the 1880s, male practitioners were more likely to carry infection, using unclean instruments and moving as they did between different types of medical cases and post-mortems to deliveries."

And so, it would make perfect sense that Mrs. Sallow would give birth at the comfort and safety of their home—which would indicate that Sebastian and Anne's birthplace would be Aranshire, or at the very least, near Hogwarts.

2. St. Mungo’s Hospital, London

Another possible place where Sebastian and Anne might have been born is actually at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

I would like to believe that Wizarding medical practices have stark differences from their muggle counterparts, and that the use of magic may have provided the Wizarding world some medical advances long before muggle technological discoveries.

While all of this is just speculation, there is also the possibility of complications with giving birth to a set of twins. Given that most women of the Victorian age preferred home births due to the higher maternal mortality rate with hospital births, there could still be the possibility that Mrs. Sallow had Sebastian and Anne at the hospital.

Both of his parents are professors, and was said to be open-minded folks. It wouldn't be surprising if they are the type of new parents who had read every maternity book they could get their hands on, and may have chosen the option of having medical witches and wizards to aid the delivery of the twins—should any sort of complications arise in the midst of labor.

St. Mungo's Hospital is located in London, concealed in such a manner similar to that of Diagon Alley.

"To enter the premises, one might step through the window of what appeared to be a red-bricked, condemned department store called Purge and Dowse, Ltd. This acted as a magical gateway to the main building, much like the barrier at King's Cross Station to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Although the "department store" building housing the hospital might have been relatively small, this was not an indication of the true capacity of a magical building, the interior looked exactly as a hospital should. One way an individual could enter the building was speaking to an apparently inanimate dummy in the department store."

3. Fort William, Scotland

For Sebastian's last possible place of birth, I had to resort to looking at his wiki page. There was one little thing that I noticed written on his biographical information. There is chance that he is a half-blood.

Given that both his parents are professors, we don't actually have any actual confirmation or evidence that they taught at Hogwarts!

It could be feasible that one of Sebastian's parents was indeed a professor at Hogwarts, while the other one taught at a muggle school. If that's the case, then the Sallow family might have to settle somewhere in the "middle" of their place of work—one goes to the Wizarding community while the other goes to the nearest muggle town.

And according to the map below, the nearest muggle town that was actually the final stop before Hogwarts was Fort William.

Although, just because Sebastian and Anne were born here doesn't mean that they were raised here. It was still canonically stated that Sebastian grew up within the Wizarding community; which is around Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Aranshire, and other hamlets deep in the Scottish Highlands.

Nevertheless, if one really wants to pinpoint an actual location on the (muggle) map, then Fort William is the nearest and most likely place. And yes, the Hogwarts Express Train passes by this beautiful town.

—

End Results:

Sebastian (and Anne) was most likely born in Aranshire, given the amount of evidence we have in the game—alongside exclusive deleted voice lines from the character himself. Then again, the two other options listed above can be considered as well if we entertain the idea of expounding on the tidbits and hints of information we have about him (such as the possibility that he is a half-blood).

—---—---—---—---—

II. Possible Date of Birth

NOTE: If you're not interested in astrology, you can just skip this one, and go to Part 3, 4, and 5!

This section of the post is pure speculation, and no solid proof at all. But we do know that Sebastian should be born between September 1, 1874 and August 31, 1875 if he was to be eleven years-old during the start of his first year at Hogwarts. Therefore, all of the following information is gathered by astrological observations of his character.

(I have a personal tarot and astrology account, @tarotwitchy, if you guys are interested in knowing more about this type of content).

Based on character analysis, I believe that Sebastian is a Virgo Sun, Scorpio Moon, and Sagittarius Rising.

Now, what does that mean?

Let's break down his character one astrological placement at a time.

1. Virgo Sun

— A lot of people think he is a Scorpio Sun. But as one myself, he doesn't quite fit the bill. Instead, based on his actions throughout the game, he represents the hallmark traits of a Virgo Sun. A person with this placement is someone who gets things done. They have laser-sharp focus on things that matter to them, and they will stop at nothing until they've satisfied their own thirst for knowledge and understanding and experience of whichever captivated their whole attention.

— It's because of this "obsessive" behavior that he is tagged as a Scorpio. But in his case, obsession is a manifestation of an unhealthy Virgo; one that cannot admit defeat and accept their losses. It's like beating a dead horse. It's not actually obsession that took over Sebastian. It's his stubbornness. It's his refusal to acknowledge that he is, in fact, not correct in his methods, and disregards anyone else's advice and pleas for him to stop.

— Before the whole Scriptorium and Relic debacle, you get to know him as someone who has a great reputation around school. The professors and the librarian acknowledge that he is a bright boy, and a notable duellist. When done right, a person with Virgo Sun shines brightly in perfecting their crafts and honing their strengths. The best part is that they have no qualms about helping others reach their full potential as well (and this is evident with the way he helps the MC perform well in practicing spells and teaching them Confringo. He loves knowing beyond what the school is willing to teach. For him, knowledge is knowledge).

2. Scorpio Moon

— This is what most people think he is. But in astrology, the basest of our instincts and emotional fallback is not reflected by our Sun sign but by our Moon sign. Our Moon sign is our last line of defense when the going gets tough. We fall into the characteristics of this placement when our "public façade" has failed to mitigate whatever issue we're dealing with.

— As for Sebastian, his Scorpio Moon took hold of the reins during the time when he was running on fumes; mentally, emotionally, and physically. In Ominis' only note, he mentioned that Sebastian is not acting like himself. As much as he is severely influenced by the Relic, it is believed that Dark Magic amplifies the wizard's emotional status.

— With Sebastian, he was already emotionally worn out from the knawing hopelessness of his sister's condition and from the verbal assault he endures from his uncle. When you combine all these elements together, you get the unhealthiest version of a volatile Scorpio Moon.

3. Virgo Mercury

— People with their Mercury in Virgo are reservoirs of both knowledge and the ambition to understand more than what they already know. They aren't the type of people to stop searching for answers simply because they already found a half-baked solution to their problems. They go the extra mile, and then some more.

— And as we all know, Sebastian had turned the entire library upside down reading tome after tome on possible solutions for Anne's dilemma. A Slytherin main character would first encounter him pacing back and forth in the common room reading a huge book... on the first day of school.

— Majority of people with this astrological placement report that they just have that intellectual "itch" that needs to be scratched with more and more information, experimentation, research, and discovery. Until that hunger is satiated, they will not stop their quest to find out the truth they seek. We see Sebastian's downward spiral with this attribute. He was willing to go as far as casting the Cruciatus curse just to get his hands on Salazar Slytherin's spellbook.

4. Scorpio Venus

— Men with Scorpio Venuses are those who aren’t afraid with the nitty gritty of interpersonal and romantic relationships. Some people like to keep things on the surface level, not really bothering with really getting to know other people on an intimate level. And yet, Sebastian has shown to be yearning for more information about the people he’s involved with.

— In the game, when the main character was starting to understand their abilities with ancient magic, Sebastian was quick to ask, “what aren’t you telling me?” He’s the kind of person who goes beyond the hi’s and hello’s, and wants to understand his companion’s current situation. This is the hallmark trait of a person with their Venus in Scorpio. Furthermore, he also exhibits the mentality of wanting to always be in-the-loop of his loved ones’ lives, even if he’s dealing with his own problems at the same time. In his mind, your problem is also his problem, and he will not abandon you in your most trying times.

— This kind of closeness can sometimes be overwhelming for people who aren’t used to another person being very personal and up-close with their lives. But this is one of the way a Scorpio Venus shows their love, and this is very evident with how Sebastian is also helping the main character in their quest find out more about Ancient Magic in spite of drowning in his own research on Anne’s cure.

5. Leo Mars

— If Mars in Leo had a textbook example, Sebastian’s face would be on the cover. To name a few examples of how he exhibits some of the qualities this astrological placement has, let’s start with the fact that Mars is the planet responsible with body language. The way Sebastian was portrayed during his cutscenes and with his routine walks around the castle, he has a very confident gait and posture. He naturally carries himself with his own brand of masculinity; not aggressively so, but securely taking up appropriate space for himself.

— Another quality that people with Leo Mars has is that they are not afraid of being under the spotlight. They live up to people’s expectations of them, and they deliver a spectacular show of presence. In Sebastian’s case, he was one of the best duelists of Crossed Wands, and he doesn’t shy away from being the main character’s opponent during Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

— He is charismatic, ambitious, and playfully adventurous and competitive. Then again, Sebastian is shown to be stubborn, dramatic, and prone to anger. These are the characteristic manifestations of Mars in the sign of Leo.

(Not to mention that his favorite spells are fiery in nature!)

6. Sagittarius Rising

— A person’s ascendant has something to do with people’s first impressions of them. There are some astrological analysis of what Sebastian’s ascendant (or rising) sign would be. Majority of them are saying he has a Scorpio Rising. To have a Scorpio Rising, one has to have a demeanor of being unapproachable, have an air of enigma, and being quite intimidating. However, our first interaction and impression of Sebastian couldn’t be further from the truth. He is open, he is approachable, he is playful, and he is chatty. Ominis, on the other hand, has a Scorpio Rising for the same reasons I stated above for this sign.

— Therefore, Sebastian has a Sagittarius Rising. Traits of this sign include having a curious glint in their eyes, being quite effortlessly popular amongst his peers, charmingly clever, and has an intellectual brand of humor.

— Sagittarius is the sign of higher learning. If the main character was a Slytherin, the very first cutscene of Sebastian is with him pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, with a massive book in his hand, and reading and learning what he can about his dilemma. That is a very obvious and blatant display of a first impression of a Sagittarius rising.

—

End Results:

Sebastian Sallow was born on September 15, 1874 at around 1:00PM, during the autumn season.

Of course, all of this is just my personal headcanon but I made sure to back them up with research and imbued them with my own astrological knowledge when it comes to matching his personality and his possible birth date.

—---—---—---—---—

III. Psychometric Analysis

NOTE: I will be linking the sites for these tests should you want to take them yourself! 😊 Have fun!

1. MBTI

— ENTP (Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving)

"ENTP's are known for their rebellious streak. For this personality type, no belief is too sacred to be questioned, no idea is too fundamental to be scrutinized, and no rule is too important to be broken or at least thoroughly tested. This could make them seem overly cavalier or defiant, but at their core, their innate tendency to test boundaries has more to do with their desire for innovation and change."

Sebastian is, quite literally, the poster boy for ENTP. He embodies the trademark inquisitive nature of this type, and he has the signature charm to back it up as well. He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to understand a certain topic he zeroes in on, and he doesn’t shy away from topics that would be considered taboo. As a matter of fact, he thrives in the taboo. Sebastian doesn’t discriminate the information that comes his way; instead, he has his own mental compass and filter that systematizes the knowledge he comes to possess.

2. Enneagram

— Type 8 with wing 7; SX/SP (The Maverick)

“8w7 people are action-oriented and powerful people with a passion for pursuing new opportunities. They tend to be self-confident, sociable, pragmatic and comfortable with conflict. They’re ambitious and independent, preferring to follow their own path. They dream big and have the dedication to achieve their goals. They thrive in environments that encourage their idealism, while granting them the authority to make a difference. They don’t settle for anything; they always seek more. They are also strategic and tough if needed.”

True to the name of this particular Enneagram, Sebastian is known as a rebel and a maverick. He’s the kind of person that questions the rules and authority instead of following blindly. He has his own moral code that he abides to because he is secure in his ability to make the correct decisions, even if we know that he’s going down a dark path. As a rebel, he will stubbornly insist to everyone that his way is the right way because he has already examined the possible courses of action outside the constraints of authority.

This is why he ended up butting heads with Ominis (who thrives in his own systematic order). To Sebastian, no rule is too sacred to break. As long as he sees the alternative outcomes to a specific goal, he will march to the beat of his own drum.

3. Four Temperaments

— Choleric–Sanguine (The Executive)

"The Choleric-Sanguine has a natural drive to quickly get results. They are goal and bottom-line oriented, and can be very persuasive in promoting their ideas and goals. They are easily annoyed when others do not comply with their instructions or direction but it passes quickly; quickly aroused, easily calmed. They are not angry, although others may at times think they are furious. They are impatient and will push others to obtain results and be productive."

This is blend of Temperament fits Sebastian perfectly, especially towards the tail end of his plotline. It’s very evident is his voice lines that he isn’t afraid to push people to their limits and persuade others relentlessly. He jumps into the heat of the battle without much thought, and he expects people to follow suit. He doesn’t appreciate it when his close friends question his motives because that would be an insinuation that they don’t trust his judgments. He is quick on his feet and even quicker with executing alternate routes to get closer to his goals instead of wallowing in his failures.

—---—---—---—---—

IV. Corporeal Patronus

NOTE: An Animagus is a witch or wizard's animal representation of their basest instincts and behavior. A Patronus is an animal manifestation of what makes them happiest. While most people will have the same animal for their Animagus form and Patronus, it's not always the case. We know that a person's Patronus can change throughout their lifetime.

Majority of people in the community have an unspoken agreement that Sebastian’s Animagus is a fox. By extension, his Patronus must take the corporeal form of a fox as well. However, I personally disagree with the definitions that I find in most sources. Therefore, I researched every possible Patronus result in the Wizarding World official test, and painstakingly reviewed their meanings using multiple sources. I have also enlisted the help of my cousin, who also completed her gameplay as a proud Hufflepuff, to determine which amongst all the extensive Patronus possibilities suit Sebastian the best. And after two hours of combing and debating through it, we have decided on the Buffalo.

This source defined this patronus as such:

Few possess just the right strength of character for their patronus to take the form of a buffalo. Those that do are dedicated individuals who are fiercely protective of those close to them, and not in a general way, either. Anyone foolish enough to attempt to harm another under a buffalo’s care is unlikely to come out unscathed. They are fighters, and it’s not uncommon for a buffalo to have their own personal code or way of acting to which normal morality simply doesn’t apply, which can be dangerous even for the buffalo. When all is well, they are placid but often outgoing, with strong personalities and who like having fun with those they bond to. However, going too long without contact with friends or family can lead to a buffalo feeling anxious or sad, and they will usually be at their best when sharing time with others. They are steadfast friends that enjoy being helpful and lending a hand to complete a task, or just making someone feel better. The buffalo is full of many feelings, the strong stature of them showing through a person in this way. They try to appear stoic, but it often backfires and they wear their hearts on their sleeves. They are passionate about everything they do and headstrong. They make sure their opinions are known by all that they concern, because they want to show that they are not weak. They feel as though their emotion and lack of control over it does in a way give them weakness, and it angers them greatly. They have strong tempers that are easy to lose.

A witch or a wizards Patronus has been proven to change over the span of their lifetime, and is influenced by major milestones such as marriage, relationships, or simply being influenced by your parent’s Patronus. However, based on the game material itself, a Buffalo Patronus fits Sebastian the best. Yes, he can still emulate the trickster and cunning nature of having a Fox Animagus. But based on his emotional state throughout the game, this animal’s spirit and its subsequent meaning perfectly reflects why he did the things he has done. He bulldozes his way through things without much contemplation, and he does wear his heart on his sleeves. Sebastian is the type to also care about the problems of his friends and loved ones personally, and will be their pillar of strength when needed.

—---—---—---—---—

V. Wand Analysis

1. Wand Wood

Based on the physical characteristics of this wand and the meaning of the wood, it's highly possible that Sebastian's wand is made from Yew Wood.

According to the wand wood information:

"Yew wands are among the rarer kinds, and their ideal matches are likewise unusual, and occasionally notorious. The wand of yew is reputed to endow its possessor with the power of life and death, which might, of course, be said of all wands; and yet yew retains a particularly dark and fearsome reputation in the spheres of duelling and all curses. However, it is untrue to say (as those unlearned in wandlore often do) that those who use yew wands are more likely to be attracted to the Dark Arts than another. The witch or wizard best suited to a yew wand might equally prove a fierce protector of others. Wands hewn from these most long-lived trees have been found in the possession of heroes quite as often as of villains. Where wizards have been buried with wands of yew, the wand generally sprouts into a tree guarding the dead owner’s grave. What is certain, in my experience, is that the yew wand never chooses either a mediocre or a timid owner."

There have been a plethora of different wand woods that are actually suitable for Sebastian's magical disposition. Most people have hypothesized that his wand is made from Aspen due to its duelling nature. However, I have considered that Sebastian's duelling skills are not emphasized because of the wand he uses. It is through his innate magical skills and strength that made him an exceptional duellist.

I also do not see him joining a duelling club (Silver Spears) as a way to flaunt his wand and the exclusivity of what it entails. He was most likely recruited due to his consistent displays of sheer talent and capabilities in martial magic during classes. Sebastian doesn't seem to be the type to use a personal artifact to bolster his reputation. Rather, he utilizes everything he has with efficient resourcefulness to hone his abilities manually and with hard work. You can take his wand from him and provide him with another, and he'd still be formidable with it. That is the kind of witch or wizard Yew wands choose — just as it chose Tom Riddle and Ginny Weasley.

2. Wand Core

This one is easy to determine. Sebastian's wand is imbued with a core of Dragon Heartstring. According to Ollivander, this wand is powerful yet volatile at the wrong hands.

"As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental."

With how quickly Sebastian reads and practices a lot of things in such a short period of time (and simultaneously juggling his studies along with it), it's safe to say that he is a quick learner. He easily absorbs what he reads and witnesses without trouble, and he is able to put into immediate use what he discovers just moments ago. It makes sense that he is paired with a wand with this kind of core, as he needs a magical conduit that doesn't hinder his fast progress.

Furthermore, it is a matter of fact that he truly is drawn towards the Dark Arts, and he was able to cast all the Unforgivable Curses without any error nor did he fumble with them. It takes a great amount of skill a wizard possesses in order to execute these highly complex, powerful, and very dark magic. This is something that a Dragon Heartstring wand core looks for in its owner; the innate drive and relentless energy to fulfill advanced forms of magic. Sebastian just so happens to tick all of those boxes seamlessly.

3. Wand Flexibility and Length

According to the official source:

"Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair."

Because of that, his wand's flexibility is most likely Hard. This source had explained it perfectly:

"A wand of this flexibility is very difficult to work with and its loyalty is not won easily. Hard wands are great for complex and advanced levels of magic, so beginning wizards and witches may find extra difficulty with this wand when it doesn't perform well for simple magic. As such, this type of wand is best suited for wizards and witches who are gifted, stubborn, and never give up. Owners of this wand also have a tendency to view things in absolutes; black or white. Some people may find them intimidating or difficult to approach."

Majority of Sebastian's wand analysis categorizes it as Unyielding. And while that was the initial decision in this post, I ultimately decided otherwise. With this flexibility, it really puts emphasis on his natural affinity for difficult spells and his tenacity to see through what he started. This kind of wand is not for the timid witch or wizard but someone who is comfortable being challenged time and time again. And of course, Sebastian sees a challenge as a test of his magical progress and curiosities.

As for the length of it, a standard 12 and 3/4 inches suits him just fine. He isn't too cocky about his skills but he also has confidence in himself to get things done.

—

End Results:

Yew Wood, Dragon Heartstring Core, Hard Flexibility, and 12 3/4 inches long! (It isn't a mystery that Confringo is one of his favorite spells!)

—---—---—---—---—

Honestly, this is a difficult one to finish. There wasn’t much to go on with, and every information here was based on very limited information. And most of my posts took a back burner because I feel like I needed to finish this one first. And I had this post sitting in my drafts for more than a year now!

Nevertheless, I am happy with what I produced, and this was given the same amount of thought as the one I had with Ominis. This one’s for all the Sebastian lovers! I hope this is up to par with other character analysis we already have in the fandom.

Tags:

Just a shoutout to my cousin, Marsha, for helping me with this post! I had so much fun doing this at the crack of dawn while we FaceTimed. Without your help, this post won’t be published. Love you to bits, and I’ll see you in December!

@sunnyrealist: I promised, didn’t I? I’m sorry it took a year, though!

@pufflehuffing: I swear, our conversations will always be the highlight of my social media presence in this fandom. This one’s for you, too!

@ravenwind-75: I know you’re an Ominis girlie but I also promised to share this with you once I wrapped it up. Our chats have always been so nice, and I genuinely enjoy being a part of your community.

—

Look at the date when I first created this post. It's been rotting in my drafts for more than a year now... just like the rest of my other posts. 🥲

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

So… I already have like 70 Sterek fic tabs open on my phone (there’s so many good authors in this fandom it’s not my fault!) but I was thinking that despite some fantastic tumblr posts about it I don’t think I’ve actually read a necromancer!Stiles fic.

I went through your fabulous tag page but I didn’t see one so hopefully I didn’t miss it. If you or your loverly followers have any recs I sure would appreciate it!

(And no rush, I seriously have so many tabs but I am greedy)

Hi @arora-kayd! @kevaaronday made this list for you.

Murder, Magic and a Masterclass in Denial by Noxnthea (9/9 | 41,940 | Explicit | Sterek) “No, seriously, I need to talk to you really quick,” Stiles interrupts. “Before Peter gets out here.” 

Derek braces himself. “Okay.”

“I need you to make sure I can be alone with the body for a few minutes.” 

Derek stares at him. “You get that that’s like…a really weird request, right?”

In the three months since Derek left the NYPD and joined the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, he’s gotten used to a lot of things: he’s learned to deal with seeing Peter every day, he knows how to hide his enhanced senses on the job, and he doesn’t mind the late nights and early mornings.

One thing he’s still not used to, however, is Stiles Stilinski.

You only Live Once… or Twice by WonderWolf (6/6 | 32,949 | Explicit | Sterek) “Anything,” Derek’s eyes are determined, boring into Stiles’. 

Stiles huffs a laugh, “Careful there, big guy. Don’t want to be promising anything to every necromancer you meet. Some might ask for your soul or someth—”

“I’ll give you my soul to bring her back,” Derek says, his voice steady and strong with resolve, “if that’s what you want.”

Stiles’ mouth gapes open for a moment before his brain kicks into gear and he stutters out, “N-no, I don’t ask for that. I only ask for money.”

(Or the one in which Stiles is a necromancer who needs help stopping a rogue alpha and Derek is the solution, but at what cost?)

I See Dead People by Asteria_Star (13/13 | 15,318 | Teen | Sterek) Stiles has been able to see Ghosts for as long as he could remember. Having a ghost tell you that you are a necromancer and that the supernatural exists was nothing. What isn't nothing is trying to navigate your best friend becoming a werewolf while trying to hide what you are. 

Features Stiles and Talia having a mother-son dynamic that I didn't know I needed.

Sarcasm, Suspicion and Raising the Dead: A Necromancer’s Guide to Getting the Guy (Your Murderer and/or Your Boyfriend) by Aerica_Menai (1/1  |13,917 | Teen | Sterek) Stiles met Derek’s blue, blue eyes - still striking, even bloodshot from crying - as he slid into the other side of the booth. Immediately, the request came tumbling forward: “Could - would you bring her back?”

“I can - I will - but only temporarily,” Stiles warned.

“Thank you,” he breathed. “Whatever extra time I get with her will be - “ He took a deep breath as his voice broke. “ - appreciated,” he finally choked out.

And that’s when Stiles knew he was in trouble.

formed in the very poetry of nature by frankie_31 (4/4 | 7,984 | Explicit | Steter) Stiles can raise the dead. Stiles can put them back down. But what happens when one of his undead minions stays up?

Peter Hale is back from the dead. Kind of. And he'd like to stay that way.

Burial Rituals by aurevell (1/1 | 4,989 | Gen | Sterek) The necromancer freezes halfway over the fence, stuttering to a halt the second Derek flashes his red eyes. It’s an awkward pose to hold: leg hiked up over the waist-high bars, hands gripping the rail for balance. The fence’s wrought-iron spears dig into his calf a bit as he settles, clearly caught off guard.

“Uh,” he says lamely, his face pale in the scant moonlight. “Shit.”

Derek guards an abandoned cemetery. Stiles is the necromancer trying to break in.

[yuriyuruandyuraart]

BLUUUUUE waaaaa PLEAAASE

GUYS PLEASE PLEASE PL EA S E send her some love for me?? pretty pretty please i'm being attacked in my own home and sadly it's effective<33333

AFTERMARE WEEK: day 1- blackout/illumination

Your presence alone lit up my entire world, but then your absence nearly blinded me. how am i to survive without that light now that you're gone?

aftermare week is hosted by @bluepallilworld

[cococincau]

DRDT Fic Recs

As the month winds around to an end, and as I'm doing everything in my power not to write in my fic docs (read: sarcasm and a cry for help), I wanted to do something to share the wonderful works people have made for DRDT through writing.

This will be a long post so the fics and authors are all under read more. I decided to limit myself to sharing 2 fics maximum per author, otherwise I think I would hit word limit, but know that I absolutely encourage you to check their other works out too. I'll structure this post by starting with the fic title, the author, the blurb, and round it off with what I like about the fic/author overall. NSFW fics will be clearly labelled (please do not click on them if you're not of age), but for individual warnings, please check the tags and notes in the fic themselves. That responsibility falls on the reader's shoulders.

Finally, when you finish reading them, please do leave a kudo, some comments, bookmark the fic. I assure you: it'll absolutely make their day.

carnot cycle by rulanarinrush (G, Charwhit) Charles tries to talk to Whit about Whit's tendency to bury his feelings and not deal with them. post ch2 trial au.

Officer, this author right here is the reason I had to limit myself to 2 fics maximum. As I was scrolling through, trying to decide what fics to choose, I was in a dilemma. This Xanace fic is good, but so is this Areivid, and then there's the Verohus... Point being, rulanarinrush writes very, very good DRDT fics. If you want to find a specific ship in this fandom, they've probably written it. Their entire profile is full of high quality drabbles, fit for some fast reading while you admire just how much characterisation and analysis is stuffed into the fic.

Anyway, I ended up settling on carnot cycle as one to recommend. Charwhit is one of my favourite ships while I retain the opinion that Charles is so hard to write. This fic nails it, capturing that eerie atmosphere of wanting to help a friend but not knowing how to do so. You can see their mentalities incredibly well in this. This is the flavour of Charwhit that I love.

todestrieb by rulanarinrush (G, Creator Chose Not to Use Content Warnings, Verohu) Hu attempts to convince Veronika to stop egging people on. Negotiations break down.

Warning: while not NSFW, the fic does have a character be not-explicitly stated to have a boner near the ending.

Wow. If this fic isn't everything so appealing about Verohu. The veneer of civility, the very drastic ways their philosophies differ, the theming of the self. This is very much how I can see them interacting in canon, Hu trying to maintain peace in her own way, Veronika dismissing those attempts entirely. The way that the negotiations indeed break down. Simply put, that's so hot.

Still Traces by CopperPrawn (M, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Leviace + Xander) Ace knows he needs to die, but his body keeps acting on its own. He can’t control it. He can’t control anything. So he keeps on running, until the fog closes in.

While this is a fic that this is still in progress and I know that may put certain readers off, I cannot recommend this fic enough. A Silent Hill AU isn't something that comes to mind immediately to do for DRDT, but my god, I didn't know this is something I needed so intimately in my life until I read CopperPrawn's fic. The prose is so beautifully described, the characters are perfectly written, the tension is embedded so deep into the text. And the way the POVs are played with? Chef's kiss. Please check this fic out, literal dopamine.

[NSFW] Rail Runner by CopperPrawn (E, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Leviace) Life is a racetrack. It’s a never-ending circle where Ace repeats the same mistakes over and over and over again, unable to slow down, unable to stop. But at least there’s one person standing on the sidelines — and even though he isn’t cheering, the fact that he’s there is enough.

I was already a Leviace shipper when I read this fic, but if I wasn't, I think this fic would have converted me. By god, the dynamics between Levi and Ace here, absolutely entrancing. One thing CopperPrawn does so well is capturing the character voices. Dialogue instantly stands out, it feels both realistic and charming, but again, the prose is filled with characterisation. Third-person limited POV is the usual go-to by authors for fanfiction, but this author utilises it in a way that shows off every stylistic feature while giving us a very intimate look into Ace's psyche. And when it's used for NSFW? Honestly, some of the best sex scenes I've read in a good while.

i’m something very far removed and i keep going by 140 (T, Creator Chose Not to Use Content Warnings, Areden) It’s not going to be a pretty death. But it’s going to be hers. Or: Eden gets hanahaki over a girl long gone.

This is as much an Eden character study as it is an Areden relationship study. And it is so beautiful. Fitting for a hanahaki AU, the prose is flowery, but not anywhere close to that kind of purple prose criticism. No, it's compact and filled and brimming with this spot-on characterisation. Every word matters in this. It hits you with so much wham and tragicness that it makes you remember Eden's choice to be positive. The world is cruel, nothing is ever perfect, but even living in that reality, you can make your existence your own.

Exposure Therapy | DRDT AU by Tied_Ash (T, Creator Chose Not to Use Content Warnings, Verocharles) “Who was the one who comforted you during your panic attack?” Veronika asked softly. “Y… You were,” Charles answered. “...But-” “And who’s the one with more psychological experience?” “...You are.” "That's right." ——————— AKA: Veronika found out Charles has hemophobia instead of Whit.

Now this is a pairing that I've never really thought about before. And you know what? Tied_Ash has shown me the light. I've clearly been missing out. The bad end AU we didn't know we wanted but needed, oh my god please keep enabling Veronika as she enables everyone else, including making Charles process his phobia in increasingly worse ways! Also, the way this author writes dissociation, I love it.

from way up in the rafters by finestcigar (T, Creator Chose Not to Use Content Warnings, David & Teruko) David dreams of falling again that night. (In the wake of the second trial, two survivors have a talk.)

In my humble opinion as someone who's obsessed by David Chiem the man himself (/j), finestcigar has to be The David writer on AO3. I 110% recommend their other fics too, but this particular one stands out to me in the way that the two IDGAFs actually GAF, resulting in very disastrous ways of thinking for them. The author has a gift for prose. The final line of the fic? David's not the only one being haunted, I'm being haunted by the number of times I reread this fic on end.

[NSFW] Let Me Give Your Heart a Break by Pegasus143 (E, Huvid) After their icebreaker game, Hu invites David to her room.

Waiter, more Hu and David fics please! Huvid is a ship that I think really needs more recognition. The ambiguity between lies and truth, personas and the real self, genuine emotions and manipulation... the author bridges and blurs the lines between them perfectly. This applies for both Hu and David, they're getting something out of this interaction that they're not quite saying, how someone can say something that can mean something but be seen in a very different way. Voice kinks are not something I actively seek out often in fics, but you know what, I think after this I might just go look for them now.

i feel like, um, just leaving here by sEb_AsTiAn (T, Leviace + Arturo) Levi Fontana and the morning after. Is it even the morning? How long was he unconscious, recovering from near fatal injuries? How long has it been since… since he died?

There's currently a lot of room for speculation after Chapter 2's cliffhanger, and fics are such a great way to explore what could be. And really, it's fun to point out just how wrong Ace's mentality that no one will remember him is. Look no further than this fic, as Levi and Arturo grapple with the ways Ace have changed them, trying to sort out their emotions, with Levi struggling to understand his feelings about Ace while Arturo is forced to confront the possibility (and reality) of being able to save other people for once in his life. I loved their characterisation here, and until Chapter 3 releases, this is, in my mind, what happens between them.

Painting The Roses (Red) by yermie (Not Rated, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death) “Well, wasn’t that a thrill? Another murderer punished for their crimes!” MonoTV’s screen showed a winking emote with its tongue stuck out. “Anyway, enough crying over spilt— well, spilt blood. I thought I’d get in nice and early this time with your next motive.” — As the Second Class Trial concludes, a new motive is promptly offered to the students of Hope's Peak Academy - Blood Money.

I think most people have come across this fic already. Still, I need to recommend it. It's such a good case fic with what could possibly happen in Chapter 3 following the motive parallels with DR:THH. Blood money is honestly such an interesting concept and a creative execution of the motive, the entire fic had my eyes peeled for what would happen next. Given when it was written, I have to applaud the author for being able to discern characterisation so well that it still reads possible even after knowing what we do now after hiatus.

oscillating like the grandfather clock by Anonymous (T, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings, Whit & Eden + many other relationships) Time has a way of losing its meaning while retaining significance. Inspired by art from @/shira_ceres.

So, the timeloop theory. Love it or hate it, it's still such an intriguing possibility. This fic takes the concept, incorporates it in such a playful and enjoyable way through formatting and POVs and non-linear narratives, and absolutely hits the nail on the head of what's so appealing about it. Whit's and Eden's characterisation here paints so well the journey of how they got here from their past and into the killing game, and as you're watching splices of their life in progress, you feel so well the inherent tragedy of their lives. I am so endeared to Mastermind!Eden and Traitor!Whit now, it just fits so well.

What it means to be a good person by Anonymous (Not Rated, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings, Areivid) In this world, Eden is the one who takes the fall. Arei is left behind to figure out how to live without her only friend in the killing game.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't include at least one Areivid fic in here. My biases in ships and characters are very much showing throughout this entire list, but I tried my best to limit my Areivids because it would just be this ship otherwise. But, if I had to choose just one singular Areivid fic, it has to go to this one. Anonymous, whoever you are, I love this fic as much as I would my child. It's such a perfect exploration of what would happen if Eden was the one killed instead of Arei, how the world would move if the latter was still alive. The way she so keenly impacts the people around her, how she herself develops from this. It's a tragedy how Arei was killed little moments after she decided to change, it's a tragedy how Eden, so nice and soft and dedicated to seeing the good in the world around her, was snuffed out so easily. Life's a series of tragedies, and it's up to us to decide how we go on from there. This author's writing is so beautiful, I am drawn into the universe that they create.

[asterythm]

on the ending of in stars and time:

an essay from someone who couldn’t sit with it at first, & a love letter to the fic that brought me here anyway. (…spoiler warning for in stars and time, naturally, but you knew that!)

if siffrin isat has taught me one thing it's that vulnerability is cool, actually, and being forthcoming and generous with love when there is love to be shared is how the coolest kids do it.

so. hello isat nation of tumblr dot com. i'm here because even after cutting out several chunks to shorten this significantly, i busted through the ao3 comment section character limit and still had more to say, so i needed somewhere to put it all that would let me go longer.

i’m pretty sure this post is for, like, three people, one of whom is me. but look, it’s been moved here to the webbed site so if you wanna read it anyway i won’t stop you!

=====

i think what it is, ultimately, is this: the ISAT canon ending was beautiful. it was an objectively well-written ending with so much love and hope and thematic satisfaction.

it also left me, for a period, with a deep and unshakeable sense of dread.

:)!!!!

now enter @faedemon's "None Forward & Two, Two, Two Steps Back" (hiya, fancy seeing you here), a two-chapter alt act 5 in which siffrin finds a New, Worse way to break the loops.

despite being, as mentioned, a notably worse outcome for everyone involved, this alt end managed to cut straight to the heart of that dread and settle it — and not in the sense of "oh, i like this alt ending better", or “oh, the canon ending looks better in comparison against this worse alt ending”, so much as "oh, thanks to this alt ending i am finally able to sit in a place where it no longer feels like the canon ending, as a beautiful outcome which felt impossibly lucky to get, is the only outcome in which life can go on — and my ability to accept it, and the game as a whole, is elevated for it."

which!! i mean!! i don’t know that that’s exactly what you set out to do; None Forward is explicitly a tragedy!! and one, as your tags say, written because the canon ending didn't ring true for you.

but I realized that the thing that was stopping me from enjoying ISAT’s canon ending was that ugly hard core that was still so, so scared after the canon ending of every way we (that is, siffrin + i as the player moving in that incredible ludonarrative lockstep with him, holy moly the harmony in this game) had not yet grown to earn it. 

=====

(I’ll take a sec here under the cut to say that when I played ISAT, and then for much of the month that followed, my main reason for engaging with it and its related content at all was that it was a piece of media that came fervently recommended by my incredibly dear friend @iconocat , who it had massively, violently impacted and whose media recommendations in general I trust more than anything.

so i played ISAT, and it was incredible. but even though it's a piece of media that just about hit on every point on my list of Things That Set My Brain On Fire, it failed somehow to. well. set me on fire — at least to the extent I was expecting it to. I still enjoyed myself in the few weeks afterwards of running through fan content and intentionally plunging myself into media analysis, but I was never convinced that I would be engaging with ISAT to the extent I was if it wasn't for the sake of trying to intentionally hack my brain to the point where I could share with my friend something so important to her at the same level of genuine investment. 

I’m telling you all this because, legitimately the same night I posted “nothing but a dull ache” (ie, if you're not charlie faedemon and are somehow caring to read this anyway, the epilogue oneshot I started feverishly writing the morning after reading None Forward), I realized through my rambling in my friend’s discord dms that reading None Forward was the moment the fire finally caught. I spent a month burying myself in ISAT content and asking myself “Is this natural yet?”. after None Forward, the answer to that question finally became a sure, wholehearted yes.)

=====

so anyway, back to the essay.

don't get me wrong. it's really, really nice, to read a story where the moral is less “you should have asked for help", and more “there are people who will unselfishly give the gift of a love that saves even when you cannot save yourself".

but that whole ending also was only able to happen because 1. they broke in a way no one should ever have to break, and 2. everyone involved got lucky.

which, in media, happens all the time!! it is not inherently dissatisfying for a narrative to wrap by saving you with luck and love in the nick of time!! in fact it should be incredibly satisfying, after the unambiguously-negative downward spiral into Director Siffrin who had begun to learn what to say and do to make his family behave exactly the way he needs them to, for a stroke of unpredictable luck brought about by factors entirely out of his control to finally be what sets him free.

but like... I think it's because the story is set in a situation where it's no longer true that luck and randomness is a factor by which anything significant can change.

we're hammered over the head with it: until and unless you do something to alter the course of events, they will not be altered. when you are the only dynamic element the world is reacting to in an otherwise looping course of events, you don't get to rely, anymore, on the idea that at any moment something could happen to save you. you have to assume that nothing will happen unless you make it.

and siffrin?? siffrin's literal motto was "stick to the script"!! they spend the loops with a mouth that kept closing tighter and tighter and tighter until i got to act 5 and watched them implode. and then I’m saved, and I know I haven't earned this. I get to the end and I'm still not telling them anything!! I wasn't supposed to get the good ending!! but I get away with it anyway with open arms and acceptance and unconditional love, and it's. kind of nauseating?

how am I ever supposed to learn and grow, if I didn't manage to change my behaviour even then under the threat of Eternal Looping Torment, and still got the good ending anyway? how can I prove there was an alternative way I could have broken free if things hadn't turned out so lucky in that one terrible act 5 loop?

I can't. and that's terrifying.

(aside: I’m speaking in the first person here to emphasize that the thing that got in my way is not because I don't believe siffrin is deserving of this love — quite the opposite, I think the driving force behind the good ending is that siffrin went scorched earth and saw he was loved anyway — but because this is a game designed to frequently encourage the player to deeply feel what siffrin is feeling throughout its course and. well. as a thing to happen to a fictional character it's beautiful. as a takeaway for the player, it's... harder.)

and that's where None Forward comes in. (i’ve already written thousands of words in comments and epilogue fic declaring my love by now, but i mean. im hoping you won’t mind just a liiiittle more.)

None Forward shows a devastatingly written, all-too-believable version of what might have happened if siffrin didn't get lucky, and the loops continued, and they kept clinging to the script and refusing to Look At It and successfully stagnating and stagnating and stagnating as they were so determined to do. and it's bad, it's worse, it's way way worse — but there's no reliance on outside factors. it comes completely from within siffrin and loop, the only dynamic pieces in the world, finally breaking out.

it was the terrible, nightmarish unfairness of the loops brought to their natural, just-south-of-inevitable conclusion.

and yes, it's a terrible, unfair conclusion, but the loop still breaks.

in a roundabout way, it... gives me so much hope. if the outside factors were different, if the stars did not align just right to allow siffrin's family to get there on time to save them, if siffrin never learned to open their mouth, which by all means seems like the likeliest course of events... they'd still get out. worse for wear, and separated by a gap unbridgeable, but out.

there is a future. there is freedom.

=====

to speak more specifically on dull ache, if you'll forgive the indulgence, just since this was originally meant to be in a reply to the author in my own comments section:

I think I so desperately needed to write it with a focus on the family siffrin left behind because I wanted to prove, if just for myself, that in that barely-dodged alternative there still could be a future for everyone. (isabeau's just happened to be the voice in which dull ache came to me, but the point was to create an epilogue for all four.)

for the rest of the family, who was not quite so deeply ravaged but was still left in a bad way at the end of None Forward, and for whom randomness is not pretty much unequivocally good just by virtue of being better than the alternative like it is for siffrin and loop (more on that in a sec), I could see it mattering more to set specific pieces up precisely, and I could actually imagine the pieces I could set up that could have a meaningful impact in the immediate future.

so. y’know. I set them, in the way I happened to want to. granted, with some extra... divine indulgence, but siffrin's departure from their family's perspective at the end of None Forward was definitely Wrong but not so obviously wrong that I could believe that without it they wouldn't otherwise either (a) go hunting him down to force out the truth, which felt Worse, or (b) just "accept" that it was as simple as Siffrin not actually caring about them/brushing them off and thus intentionally fade him into the distance in their minds to deal with it. which felt like the WORST POSSIBLE THING.

you'd think it might make more sense to have done this for siffrin and loop, instead. they're arguably the ones who need it most, after all, so why not build them up from rock bottom as a sweeping show of "things get better"?

but... i think it doesn't need to be written to have faith that it will happen: the very fact that Siffrin is about to set out on a new journey in a reality where everything is a dynamic player just. immediately gives me hope all by itself. random lucky things that save you are so much more believable and wonderful when random lucky things in general are happening all the time, and you have all the time in the world for them to happen.

and anyway, I don't think this is the kind of future you’d write satisfyingly as a sequence of events at all. to heal from this is something that will take an incredible amount of time and nonlinear progress. 

until one day, through a series of disconnected small quiet gloriously-random lived experiences, without knowing when it happened or being able to trace it back, you realize, oh —

somewhere along the way, you came to know how to live again.

[wolfofcelestia]

Welcome! Now that this blog has been fully converted into a Zayne loveblog, I've finally decided to make an actual introduction.

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓰𝓮𝓻

My name is Elara (she/her). I am an adult and will be posting adult content. Minors, blank blogs, art theives, and toxic people will be blocked

Most of what I write here will be about fictional boys voiced by Satou Takuya

Most of my analysis posts are usually very stream of conscious-y because I never stop thinking about this stupid ice man

Sylus will also appear on my blog. He's settled in as my second favourite so he will be around too

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓻

I write when my brain allows me to. Most of what you'll see here are short clips of dialogue, headcanons, scenarios, and scenes in the style of LADS's social media posts. These snippets tend to be comedy, fluff, smut, angst, and occasional dark content

Got a request? Feel free to drop an idea in my askbox. No guarantees it will get filled, though

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓨𝓾𝓶𝓮𝓳𝓸𝓼𝓱𝓲 💙❤️🩵

This blog is my self-indulgent yumejoshi (self-insert) safe space, with my F/Os being Shokudaikiri Mitsutada and Rei.

I am extremely sappy and sentimental. Also extremely thirsty. I am parched. Dehydrated. I just have a lot of feelings for these boys. If you have a problem with that, feel free to block or unfollow me. You don't need to be in my space.

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮

Thanks for stopping by and reading this far! There's more information about my name and Rei under the cut below for the curious.

Feel free to have a look around and interact with me whenever you like! I’d love to hear what you think of my ideas.

All of my writing can be found in my blog directory.

Quick tags:

─── ･*☆･ﾟ Zayne, Dawnbreaker, Foreseer, Master

─── ･*☆･ﾟ Scenarios, Headcanons, Poems

─── ･*☆･ﾟ Vampire AU, LADS Soundtrack, Zayne Tier Lists

─── ･*☆･ﾟ Hunter's Diary, Glint Photos

─── ･*☆･ﾟ Zayne Favourites, Sylus Favourites

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓸𝓵𝓯 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓪

A rough translation of my Saniwa username: 天狼星

This is the star Sirius, which roughly translates to "heavenly wolf star" in Chinese/Japanese.

I wanted a daimyou-style title for my saniwa self-insert, so it turned into Wolf of Celestia.

Don't be fooled by the name, though. I'm actually just a smol wet puppy burdened with feelings for boys who don't exist.

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼

“Elara” is the name of one of Jupiter's moons. In Greek mythology, she is a mortal princess with an unfortunately lame story. But I liked the sound of the name so I kept it.

The pronunciation on wikipedia is EL-ara. I also accept el-ARA.

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓪𝔀𝓷

You may have noticed that I call him Rei in some posts and Zayne in other posts. Sometimes even in the same post, like this one. This is a very deliberate choice.

I first learned of his existence from Satou Takuya retweeting one of the promo videos for the game before it was released, so even before Day 1, I knew him as Rei. (And I was downbad for him without even knowing a thing about him.)

He is still Rei to me and always will be, but for ease of communication, I call him Zayne.

Long story short,

I call him Zayne when:

I'm referring to his character in general

I'm writing something meant for the rest of tumblr to reblog or engage with

I call him Rei when:

I'm referring to "My Rei", the Rei in my game, and the F/O of my yume ship.

─── Usually used in personal posts about my sappy feelings, not really meant to be engaged with

I'm referring to the character who is voiced by Satou Takuya and speaks Japanese.

─── Usually used to comment on SatoTaku's voice work specifically

─── ･*☆･ﾟ: 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼

In my scenarios, I usually put dialogue and emphasized words in certain colours

MC is red because… put simply, that’s my colour

Zayne is always blue

Foreseer is always purple

Master is always green

But because tumblr is mostly in dark mode and I’m too lazy to add colours that aren’t on the default options, Dawnbreaker is usually red

Because if he were to choose a colour, it would always be hers

The only time Dawnbreaker isn’t in red is when MC is in the same scenario. In those cases, Dawnbreaker is the default text colour, relinquishing his colour to her

Because he would choose to be empty if it meant he could stay with her for just a little longer

That's all for now! I'll keep this updated if I need to add more links or information.

Final note: Yes my whole aesthetic is space and stars. Yes, my main is 10000% Rei LMAO I am so sorry Seiya

Dividers by saradika-graphics, cafekitsune

[dee-the-red-witch]

This originally posted here a few days ago for members, but I wanted to also release here as audio- for one, it has some beautiful quotes and poetry in there, and for another, it's more where I'm really at- disconnected, discombobulated, spun around and trying to figure out which way to go next and what of the million things I need to be moving forward on, but hopeful and feeling better despite all of that. Text of the original post to follow:

Transition Notes Part Five: Final Girl? Monster?

This got started a few months ago as two different posts in my drafts. I'm including these bits here because they're relevant to a chunk of what I'll be talking about. Shame patreon doesn't give me dates from when I start a post, just the date I last looked at the edits, which for both was a few months ago. I'm just gonna label them "Earlier" for the one post, and "quotes" for the other, since the second post was largely me shoving quotes together for a later analysis. Also a "Now" tag for the current additions. Is it a jumbled mess? Yes. But that's also very much where my brain is at this point, so it makes a kind of sense. Plus, it unintentionally flows, so I'm going with it.

Earlier: My hair touches shoulders constantly now. I've never had hair this long in my life, and despite the curl, it is constantly in contact with my shoulders or my upper back depending on how I sit, and it's amazing. I'm also in crisis and have been for a few months. Getting regularly paralyzed by executive dysfunction while being trans (and having some of the concurrent Life Events that happen when you're trans) seems to have that effect. And so help me, though parts of this are going to sound like me complaining about my life, I'm not just jotting stuff down to vent or get sympathy, but hopefully more so other folks can learn from it.  Quotes: The monster is a liminal creature embodying the very boundaries humans have overreached. The identification of something as monstrous denotes its place outside and beyond social norms and values. Such extraordinary warnings or reminders proceed from divine power to humankind when they have transgressed, or are about to transgress, the limits of what humans are supposed or rather allowed to do. -Daniela Carpi, Monsters and Monstrosity

Now: I'm moved. I've been living in my own apartment for over a week now and settling in. It's... different. Better. Safer. I still end up breaking down in tears on a daily basis over feeling alone, or grieving what I left, or realizing and just starting to come to terms with some of the trauma I'd been living with and covering up, or just for making the choices I had to for my own survival. This is a better place. I feel safe here. I'm worried as hell about everything I sacrificed to get here and how I'm going to be able to keep it. Quotes:

"They made a monster of Medusa as well. Hated how loud her trauma was. Couldn’t believe she had the audacity not to take it lying down. They made a war-ground of her body so she made one of theirs." -Trista Mateer, Aphrodite Made me Do It

Now: I know I'm going to be called a monster for it by people at various points. I've already seen a few of the people my ex is still friends with come right up to it without actually saying it. People will choose the narrative they want, the people they stick or agree with, and just who to demonize in any given situation. I can't help any of that. All I could do was take actions that could easily get seen as being monstrous, while at the same time, being one of the only paths I could secure to staying alive. You're either the monster or the final girl, and sometimes the one looks like the other. But y'know, when I wrote this months and months ago on tumblr:

I didn't think I was writing it about myself at the time.

Earlier: I knew my odds when I came into this. Too many trans stories of heartbreak from friends as they cut people out of their lives, lost relationships and more. I knew how common it was. I wasn't expecting all of it myself, but it's where I'm at. Final Girl mode. The realization that you're very likely going to have to be walking out of the movie alone at the end right before the credits.  Now: I knew the odds going in. It had been one of the facts that haunted me and kept me from coming out before. A conservatively placed 70% of marriages where one partner comes out as a trans woman after the fact end in divorce. Often very badly, with the woman in question finding herself homeless, alone, and dying on the streets without resources or any kind of network to fall back on. I came out thinking I was safe from that after my oldest kid had had a fairly smooth go of it. Turns out, I was wrong, very wrong, like a lot of people are. I ended up with three very real choices- wait and try to make it work, and see the all too stereotypical story play out. Wait until my surgeries were done with, and likely end up with massive complications and health problems because I'd still be having to push myself like mad to take care of and support more people than just me. Or get out and get out as soon as I possibly could. Obviously, I went for the last option. So, why write this? Because I know at least half of you are cis or unfamiliar with the transfem side of the experience. Because people need to know that this stuff happens, still, even in today's somewhat more accepting climate. Because I needed to exorcise all this before I felt like I could move on to newer things. And the biggest, the number one thing that I want anyone to take from this? Because I wouldn't undo any of it. If I could somehow snap my fingers, re-boy myself and make no-one the wiser, slip the denial blinders back over my own eyes and all... I wouldn't do it in the slightest. This is what I'll be moving forward from, even if I am currently hurt and just scrambling forward, I'm still moving and surviving. And I will make it out through all of this in the end.

[ljesak]

🌲pinned🌲

im Maki, a 21 year old hobbyist artist from serbia currently majoring in compsci ! I have a bunch of interests, main ones being art (visual and writing), philosophy, sociology, media analysis, biology and video games as a storytelling medium

✦ main fandoms: warrior cats, elder scrolls, fallout, furry

✦ i engage with various other things too but these are the biggest!

✦ when it comes to art i enjoy portraying atmosphere and emotion, subjects are varied as im interested in too many things to settle on only few! I do wanna make more oc content, though and finally branch out into humans

✦ i enjoy a plethora of movies/books/shows/games etc. but it felt bloated to include them all here

✦ art is under #art tag !

my characters: https://toyhou.se/ljesak (art with them is tagged with their name, ex. laurie)

✦ other socials and commission info: https://ljesak.carrd.co/

I open commissions sporadically, my messages are open for inquiries

more about art/stuff i like!

video games: fallout nv, what remains of edith finch, disco elyisum, the talos principle, witcher 3, skyrim, firewatch, SOMA, beginner's guide, baldur's gate 3, outlast franchise, cyberpunk 2077, citizen sleeper, fran bow, undertale, outer wilds, the unfinished swan,, there's def more but those are the favs i rmbr so far. i want to get into dragon age and mass effect

webcomics im currently reading and enjoying: What Lurks Beneath, Lackadaisy, Oren's Forge, Golden Shrike, I Hope So, Tofauti Sawa

shows: bojack horseman, atypical (except the 4th season that one was awful), midnight gospel, dungeon meshi, atla, dragon hunters, arcane... i did watch many shows but i remember these personally resonated. i need to watch more shows in general but they are quite a big time investment

films: most of miyazaki's work, favs being princess mononoke and spiried away, WALL-E, coraline, ratatouille, I'm thinking of ending things, the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind... and more. i tend to prefer animation over live action as it's more expressive (obv not always the case)

again i did watch more movies id consider good but not personally meaningful enough to mention

books: i mostly read philosophical texts and fiction!! my fav authors are probably meša selimović and chomsky but i really need to expand my horizons with books, I'm least experimental with them, so its classics mostly unless i get a good recommendation

music: mostly indie folk/rock but i do listen to most genres, fav artists rn are Lord Huron, Daughter, Wickerbird, Slowdive, Warpaint, Arcade Fire, Wilsen, Aphex Twin and more!! i rlly love ambient music too so a lot of the games i mentioned previously have gorgeous soundtracks

will probably edit this periodically as i remember more things !!

[plenilune]

tagged by @ghstbird~

last song: it's one of those grey days in the almost-winter when I'm going back and forth between the Stranger's Watching Dead Empires in Decay and Cate Brooks' little EP Winterfest all day. have also been listening to a lot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor while reading and walking around.

last movie: not exactly intentionally but also following threads I just did in three days Stalker (1979), Fury Road (2015), and Angel's Egg (1985) and I am thinking Many Things about lone wanderers and water and the world after the end of the world and belief and unbelief and also, ambient music. don't know why I decided it was Waste Land Wnovember but honestly, based.

last book: oh god I'm reading like eight things right now... last one finished was Stephen King's The Gunslinger, which Corey has been trying to get me to read our entire relationship and idk why it took me this long, it's absolutely for me. (though maybe Not for the me of ten years ago? hmmm.) the library has like one copy apiece of all of the Dark Tower books for some reason so I have bought a beautiful battered 80s paperback of The Drawing of the Three secondhand and passionately await its arrival.

also I'm shouldering my way through Frederic Jameson's Postmodernism: The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism chapter by chapter. it is dense to absorb but actually very clear and it is making my brain shoot out little sparks whenever a passage finally settles. also Samuel Delaney's Dhalgren (again, lots of men with no names wandering waste lands and devastated cities for me lately, Who Could Have Predicted This).

last tv show: made a hellish pact with @endquestionmark and @weekenddracula which means I'm rewatching Firefly for the first time in like fifteen years. Analysis To Come,

last thing googled: "fluffy winter crows" shut the FUCK up did you know they grow little downy pantaloons to keep their legs warm DID YOU KNOW THAT

looking forward to: my next batch of library holds coming in. was going to be very bleak and say "next year, even though Things Will Get Worse, because at least my job at the grocery store will stop being turbo insane in that special holiday way" but it's not really like me to be that fucking bleak, I'm just very, very tired. hanging out with Corey's best coworker and her partner soon! going to see Hundreds of Beavers at the Esquire with a pal! I love Christmas really I just assume everything is going to be miserable and exhausting at the moment because retail has had a good crack at breaking my spirit. honestly, looking forward to my next proper morning off so I can re-bake the plum-pear linzer cookies I have from a favourite farmers market bakery in the freezer and do my proper tea service ritual with warm jammy linzer cookies for breakfast.

[awkward-tension-art]

Puppet on a String Chp.7 (Fives x Reader)

Chapter 6. Chapter 8.

Stuck

CW: Fives x Reader, Reader is a medical practitioner, angst, swearing, Death mention, Running from authorities, Mentions of dead characters, Inhibitor chip arc, self-blame, Nala Se being cruel,

Tag list (Thank you!): @spicydonut25 @amazonian-bae @notgonnaedit @tentakelspektakel @bimboshaggy

You didn’t have time to mourn before Nala Se was demanding your arrest. The both of you were  thrown into a quarantine room under droid observation while Shaak Ti discussed with the Chancellor what to do with the tumor.  

“I’m sorry, Fives.” your voice was barely a whisper, “I’m sorry.” 

He sighed, interlocking his fingers with yours, “It's not your fault, mesh’la.”

You swallowed, raising your free hand to stroke his cheek. Gently, you turned his head to face you so you could give him a tender kiss.

Just as the two of you broke away, the door to the quarantine chamber hissed open. Shaak Ti stepped inside with Nala Se behind her. In the Jedi’s hand was the tumor. She didn’t comment on your closeness with the ARC trooper.

Your lover perked up, “General, what did the Chancellor say?”

“Supreme Chancellor Palpatine wants the tumor and all of the intel gathered sent to the Grand Republic Medical Facility on Coruscant.” She answered calmly, walking passed the examination table to an open case behind the both of you.

The clone nodded, “So then I'll be going to Coruscant as well?”

She placed the tumor in the case gently before turning, “You were not a part of the Chancellor's request,” Her lavender eyes settled on you, “You, Doctor, were, however. He’d like for you to go through all the data collected. He admitted he is no scientist, and would like you to break the information down for him.”

Your eyes widened, the Chancellor requested you? Immediately, you were anxious, “I…oh..yes! I’d be honored to.” Truthfully, you’d really hate looking like a moron in front of him.

“Thank you, doctor.” She nodded in appreciation, “We must discuss everything before we part, as there is still so much we do not know.

“Perhaps we would know more if these two had not taken matters into their own hands.” Nala Se snarked with as much emotion as she could put into her cold voice. 

Your hackles were raised, but Fives snapped first, “Listen! We were trying to save our friend!”

The Kaminoan whirled her small head to meet the ARC troopers eye, “And yet perhaps by removing this tumor, it was you who killed him.”

“False,” You broke into the argument, “The tumor’s necrosis had spread to healthy brain tissue. If I had been allowed to perform the necessary treatments sooner, Tup would still be alive.” 

The Jedi frowned, “So you blame us for your friend's death?” She sounded surprised by such a revelation. Maybe even a little hurt. 

Your silence was your answer and you looked away from her. 

She sighed, “We will know more soon. I want this specimen and all the data prepared for transit to the Jedi Temple. Doctor, you will speak with the Jedi council about your findings and diagnosis.”

Your eyes went wide and before you could speak, Nala Se cut in, “The Chancellor said the tumor and data was to be sent directly to the Medical Facility on Coruscant, not the Jedi Temple.”

“And it will get there, but after the Jedi have run an analysis on it first.” Shaak Ti’s steady voice was unwavering. She was finally on your side. 

Too late, you thought bitterly.

“I protest. I must personally deliver the tumor to the Chancellor as ordered.” The Kaminoan scientist argued. 

“You can protest all you want. My word is final.” The Jedi shot her down quickly. 

The doors hissed open again and another Kaminoan stood in the doorway with two armed guards.

Kindly, The togruta put a hand on your lover's shoulder and gave him a small smile, “You have one more physical to pass. If you are cleared, you will be sent back to the 501st.” She reassured him, “As for you, Doctor, we need to discuss what to say to the Jedi Council.”

You looked to Fives and he nodded with a small smile, “I’ll be back.” He squeezed your hand and let go to follow the other scientist. However, before he left, he looked back at you. 

You returned his smile but stopped, noticing his eyes narrowed at something behind you. You were about to speak before he stepped towards you and gave you a rather…passionate kiss, taking you off guard. 

“My my…” Shaak Ti sounded like she had a smirk on her face.

Nala Se let out an exasperated huff.

Once he pulled back, he had a proud smirk, “I’ll see you later, mesh’la.” 

The door closed behind him and you cleared your throat, “Uh…um…shall we…discuss things, General?”

The both of you left the quarantine room, and began to walk through the sterile, white halls of Kamino. Nala Se was behind you as you walked.

After a few moments of silence, Shaak Ti spoke up, “I apologize for my inaction,” She said as she stared ahead, “I trusted Nala Se’s judgment. But I should have been open to yours as well.” The calm General put a hand on your shoulder, “However, I find your tenacity and determination over your patients admirable.” 

Oh…Jedi were rather humble. 

“I don’t mean to blame you,” You mumbled quietly, “I’ve just…so many clones don't have an advocate for their health. Tup needed a voice, and I just wish my voice had been enough to save him.”

“Your voice was enough.” She answered, continuing to walk, “As a Jedi, I am supposed to look at the different possibilities in any given situation. Find a solution that doesn’t cost lives. This time, I had gotten too complacent in Kamino’s protocol. And for that, I am sorry.”

How the hell are you supposed to stay mad at her?

“I…” You sighed, unsure if you should speak to her about your worries. 

She seemed to read you easily, “There is still something on your mind.”

That wasn’t a question. She clocked you.

Should you…tell her?

Fives trusted her. Enough to kiss you in front of her, it seemed. And you trusted Fives…

One glance back at Nala Se and you shook your head, “Nothing. Just…thinking of Dr.Mila.” you lied, “She could have saved Tup…”

The togruta didn’t seem convinced, but she nodded, “She was a talented doctor. One who was taken from us far too-.”

Her words were cut off by an alarm triggering. The hallways were flooded in nothing but crimson light as Kamino went on lockdown. Shaak Ti grabbed your wrist, “Stay close.” She commanded you, and you did so. 

Nala Se turned to the droid and spoke something, though it was too low to hear properly. The droid gave her the case and floated down the hall where you had just come from. The little robot was shoved to the side by two guards running towards Shaak Ti. 

“General, the ARC trooper had attacked his escort and run with a surgical droid.” The one on the left stated, “We think he's trying to escape Kamino.” He wore a kama, most likely an officer. 

“What? Why!?” You asked before the Jedi could, “Fives wouldn’t do that without reason.”

“It doesn’t matter. We need to find him.” Nala Se snapped. 

Shaak Ti agreed with a nod, “He’d most likely go to the main hangar. Come on!”

You ran with the group, following them to the best of your ability. The Jedi and her officer were taking the lead, making several sharp turns and going through too many doors to get to the hangar.

The last door opened to the main hangar and you were instantly smacked with the smell of the stormy ocean outside. You paused to take in the surroundings when the officer shouted and pointed, “There they are!”

Without thinking, you ran forward, followed by Shaak Ti, Nala Se and the other guards. 

“Fives!” You called to him as he ran up the ramp into one of the Kamino transport ships. 

He paused to look at you, brown eyes wide and worried. Before he disappeared onto the ship, he mouthed something to you. 

The tumor.

Your steps slowed as the engines booted up and the spheric ship kicked to life. It lifted quickly and burst forward, flying out of the hanagar. You didn’t watch, instead, your eyes were on the case that was still in Nala Se’s hands. 

Shaak Ti and the others ran past you, getting outside to watch the aircraft leave the compound. “I want him brought in alive.” She commanded her guards, “Have that ship tracked.” 

Without thinking, you dashed forward, “I’ll protect this!” You ripped the case out of the Kaminoans hands. She instantly tried to argue with you, but you opened it before she could say anything.

Empty.

“Where's the tumor, Nala Se!?” You slammed the case closed and whirled to glare at her, “You were in charge of the case! You’ve had it since we left the exam room!”

Fives must have seen her take it. That’s why he ran.

Your outburst got the General's attention, “The specimen is gone?” 

“The clone must have stolen it!” The Kaminoan tried to reason. 

“That’s impossible, we had eyes on him the entire time!” you shouted back, “The only way the tumor is missing is if you purposely switch the cases!”

“I did no such thing!” The Kaminoan huffed, “You must’ve taken it! I demand this Doctor be searched!” 

“These petty arguments need to stop!” Shaak Ti snapped, finally losing her patience, “I want these two separated. I will question them myself.”

Your hands were behind your back and you were thrown into another quarantine room without another word.  You paced, angry, impatient and uncomfortable once you were alone.

Fives was out there. The man you loved was out there, on the run. 

Your lover needed you. He needed support. You had to help him! But you were stuck in this room, waiting to be questioned like a criminal.

What the hell were you supposed to do!?

As you paced back and forth, it became clear that you were trapped. You knew the guard at the door was standing steadfast and unwavering. His rifle was most likely in hand, poised to kill if needed.

You were stuck, unable to help the one you love.

All because of fucking Nala Se!

You were about to give up when you heard a shifting noise above you. You looked up, tense and ready when the vent cover jerked and moved. From the inner workings of Kamino, Fives leapt down followed by AZ-3.

“Fives!” You barely repressed your shout into a whisper. Your arms were around him in a tight embrace before he even blinked. His clothes were soaked and you could smell the ocean on him. But right now, you didn’t care.

His warm lips peppered your face in greeting, “Mesh’la! I’m so glad you're ok.” He pulled back to hold your face, “You're not hurt, are you?” The ARC trooper let out a relieved breath when you shook your head. 

“What the fuck happened, Fives?” You finally asked him, “I know Nala Se switched the cases, but why'd you run? If you spoke to Shaak Ti-”

“I think she’s being manipulated,” Fives responded, “Nala Se is hiding something. I think you’re right. She's responsible for the deaths of your colleagues. She’s responsible for your attack.” Your lover sounded so certain of his words, “No, we need to investigate ourselves.”

You nodded, grabbing his hands in your own, “I’m with you, love.” 

The ARC trooper gave you his signature grin before kissing you again. Once he pulled back, his eyes were on the door, “First, I need a change of clothes.” 

You smirked, “I have an idea.”

[frihetstyrke]

soooo i finally have an explanation about why I felt like 9-1-1 was jumping the shark aaaaaand it may not really be that...

after at least two days since the last chapter, after rethinking the events in the whole season, after reading all of your analysis and interpretations AND several talks with my husband (he helps me organize and articulate my thoughts... autism...) turns out that:

it might be the pace of the season ... yeah, to me it feels like too many things happened too quickly... felt like the events didn't really have time to develop... like... they were repeated patterns (and don't get me wrong, I know we love our parallels) that could have been better explained with more detail but since we only had 10 eps we got everything crammed and like pulled out of q top hat...

so there!!! apparently I still like the show, but hated the pace... maybe a rewatch will kind of settle everything? will let you know... but what about you?

[qilingxiong]

i.

It's only on the third day of passing neverending yellow-green fields wavering in summer heat, windows down in this pickup truck that must be decades old with its glossy paint and chrome and proud growl of an engine, that Wu Xie finally asks Hei Xiazi where they're going.

"There's a map in the glove compartment," Hei Xiazi says, tapping cigarette ash out into the wind, other hand on the steering wheel. "You said your English is good, right? Read it and find the towns we've been through."

Wu Xie fishes out the map, tattered and deeply creased, apparently kept without use. A pen is always with him; he circles each town or city whose name he recognizes, memorized from the flickering signs of motels or general stores they've stopped at, or welcoming boards along the highways that are probably intended to be cheerful but only bear worn-down facades of optimism in their neglect. Analysis kicks in next, attempting to piece together the logic from the locations he's marked. The pattern he finds is—

"There is no pattern." Wu Xie looks up. "We drove east after going south, but you're just stopping in random places."

"Congratulations, you get a prize," Hei Xiazi says, semi-deadpan, hair flown loose from its knot whipping into his face. "Can't have your future actions be predicted if you don't know what they are, either."

"But that means you don't know when we're going to stop," Wu Xie says. The wind bites at him all of a sudden, despite the temperature outside. He pulls his flannel more closely around himself.

Hei Xiazi, still wearing only a tank top, tan lines at his wrists fading out of contrast, shakes his head. "Keep moving and we'll figure out the rest later. We don't know how far behind they are."

"Do we really have to be this paranoid?"

"You haven't even been able to see your enemy, or what it is. Do you want the monsters to catch up to you, or would you rather be safe than sorry?" Hei Xiazi flicks his cigarette butt out the window.

Wu Xie thinks of the shadows, the closest way he can describe them, that he'd seen on the last night in his own home, and shuts his mouth. He settles instead for noisily stuffing the map back into the glove compartment.

"So if there's no end to this, why would you help me?" Hei Xiazi, as far as Wu Xie has gathered, is a man who's lived from job to job, whatever's in between not enough to keep him still. "I don't even know when I'll be able to pay you, if that's what you want." The money on his cards has been going toward gasoline, food, the motels they can find that are cheap but clean and won't care about faces or what's left of Wu Xie's accent before the fact that he can pay.

Hei Xiazi snorts. "You didn't think about this earlier?"

"I wasn't in the mood to be asking questions." And Hei Xiazi had told him not to, anyway, those few nights ago when Wu Xie woke up to half of his house in flames and something at his door, swallowing the light, and in the smoke had appeared Hei Xiazi, duffle bag in one hand and the other grabbing at Wu Xie's wrist, ordering him to run.

He'd bit his tongue, one of the rare occasions where fear had well and truly drowned his curiosity, and followed. From foot, to car, to across a border, and now to this truck.

Hei Xiazi reaches for the box of cigarettes in the cupholder. "Light me another one, will you?"

Wu Xie grabs the lighter from the inner pocket of Hei Xiazi's leather jacket, fallen to the floor, and touches it to a fresh cigarette. "You didn't answer my question."

Hei Xiazi just sighs, blowing thin smoke out and away, so Wu Xie continues: "You're just a work friend of my uncle's and you barely know me. Why would you care this much about saving me?"

"Know you?" Hei Xiazi leans back and laughs, softly, dog tags clinking against his chest. "Maybe I don't really know you, but I know about you. I know you're naive, and you've never had to pay the price for learning too much. I know you looked into secrets about your uncle's work that you shouldn't have. I know you still don't understand what you saw and you're desperate to find out, but you dread looking back. And most of all, I know you don't want to die. Is that enough?"

He glances at Wu Xie. "You don't want to die, do you, Xiao-sanye? Tell me now, because it'll save me a lot of trouble if this isn't something you want to fight for."

"I-" Wu Xie stares at him. "No, I don't want to die," he says, quietly.

"Good." Hei Xiazi jabs at the volume dial on the dash. Rock music blares out from the speakers, from whichever cassette was left in there from the box of tapes in the backseat. "Glad we're clear on that. Communication is key."

"For the third fucking time, why are you helping me?" Wu Xie reaches for the dial, turns the music off again, glares. This time Hei Xiazi doesn't react, staring ahead at the road, lined pavement flying past in the lenses of his sunglasses.

"If I said it was boredom, would you believe me?" he says, after a minute.

In this moment maybe Wu Xie almost could, listening to the level current of Hei Xiazi's voice. How old is he? If he were a stranger Wu Xie would place him in his mid-thirties, perhaps, but the impression of a man in black and sunglasses smeared across the borders of his memory reaches too far back for Hei Xiazi to be exactly as old as he looks.

At what age can you possibly begin to treat running for your life like this with indifference? With amusement? Wu Xie is twenty-six, and the world is huge. The world is mysterious. The world is fracturing and he's trying not to cut himself on the shards.

"No," he tells Hei Xiazi. "it can't just be boredom. But it's not money, either."

The corner of Hei Xiazi's mouth tilts upwards.

"You're smart." He pauses to take a drag from the cigarette. "Believe what I said anyway. You're better off like that."

"What's that supposed to me—" Wu Xie starts, before Hei Xiazi cuts him off, waving a hand dismissively.

"Believe that, or make up your own reasoning because I know you'll die without it. Either one will do." He adjusts his sunglasses in the rearview mirror. "But what matters, for you, is that you trust me to keep you alive regardless. Trust me completely, or else I won't be able to. Can you do that, Xiao-sanye?"

The evening Hei Xiazi tossed their bags into this truck, retrieved from a seemingly innocuous lot in an industrial suburb, Wu Xie caught a glimpse of the box concealed beneath the panels of the bed. If Hei Xiazi wanted him dead, he'd have had the tools and chances to do it at least several times over already.

Wu Xie nods.

Hei Xiazi smiles, wide enough to catch a glimpse of a crooked tooth, and turns the music on once more.

The road rambles on.

[wizardheart83]

last sentence from 10 most recent works tag game (like two weeks after being tagged)

(Brave Like Flowers) And so she did.

(To Rest Under Stars) He sang his thanks to the Kindler as he finished his patrol.

(A Lover's Plea) Lover, give me if you will, Hours to lie beside you still.

(The Knave's Rhymes) This was Wonderland, and the only enduring truth in that place was that she and her friends could find a way through whatever waited around the next corner.

(The Knave's Vows)  Only Alice saw him gesture with his hands to indicate that he’d do no such thing.

(What Ship Would Bear Celebrian) In fading times, in falling times, war waging in the east, What ship would bear Celebrían across the sundering seas?

(A Long Journey Home) The journey was done. 

(To Rest Watchfully) He looked forward to the day when he could meet his brothers and sister anew, to ask things he’d always wondered, and to tell them of things that only Arondir had guessed.

(Amidst the Falling Leaves) They settled into the hollow and watched the leaves fall as they tangled together in the warm darkness, full, and ready for all the winters to come.

10. (What Eru Sees) He smiles.

Analysis : A lot of my last sentences are forward looking. Some are short and sweet and final. 3 and 6 are poems, and both kind of restate the title which is fun. 7 and 9 are obvious but I smiled at them.

If you read this and noticed something I'd welcome your observations. if you want to find the fic

it's probably here Plant_Murderer - Works | Archive of Our Own

[mapsareforbraindeads]

SUMMARY: The assignment wasn’t even that complex, really. It was an analysis of Kira and why failed his “divine mission” in the end. Hikari understood everything perfectly. He would never settle for anything less than the highest scores he could get. So why was Kira— arguably the most well-known mass murderer in modern history— so hard for him to understand?

@deathnotetober day 24!! i had an absolute BLAST with this one! i love my death note fankids so much and i'm happy i finally was able to write something about them. i have a horrible migraine right now so i haven't looked it over yet so just be patient with me

tagging @buffporcupine because you said you'd read day 24 and i'm holding you to that

[commaclear]

ahem-

in the kindest way possible, i must ask; what the fuck is wrong with the people in your inbox-

i..lore?? theres lore?? theres fighting and flirting and-???

can i get a rundown of the going-ons, i must know whats happening

- <3

No need to be kind, my anons are fucking insane. And yeah, there's lore (don't ask me how it happened cuz even I don't know, I'm just here for the ride). We've basically got a whole ass soap opera going on.

You can see the full story for yourself under the "my own personal soap opera" tag, but here's a dramatized summary:

It all started with the two QAAs, quackity analysis anon and quackity apologist anon.... They found each other through their mutual love for quackity and were married on the same day. It was a beautiful ceremony, everyone shed a few tears of happiness on that day. No one suspected how wrong it would go.

We thought their love would last forever, but quackity analysis anon's wandering eyes and restless groin could not be contained. When quackity apologist anon discovered their spouse's infidelity, they left the inbox heartbroken, and quackity analysis anon proceeded to try to romance pretty much every new anon that followed.

When quackity analysis settled their feud with wilbur semi-defender anon, beautiful new love bloomed on the battlefield. But again, because of quackity analysis anon's inconstancy, it couldn't last. After the dust settled from all the heartbreak and betrayal, they found a solution. Polyamory. And for a while, things were good.

We should have known the peace wouldn't last. One day, an apparently new anon calling themselves "the cooler qaa" appeared in the inbox, and quackity analysis anon and their spouses immediately assumed this new anon was a usurper and viciously attacked them.

But it wasn't a new anon. It was quackity apologist anon, finally returned from their long journey of self-discovery. They had become a bad bitch and had come back to the inbox to make a name for themself separate from their ex-spouse. And good god, they had a dramatic return.

Meanwhile, ****** anon looked down on all the drama in disinterest. They much preferred to stay sequestered in their tower concocting such evil schemes as the "btp dream au" and the "htid she took the kids au" among other angsts so horrible even I came to fear them.

Other anons have since joined this fray of heartache and heartbreak, but I'm sure you've seen that for yourself.