#for the record: this is about someone who died a year and a half ago

[star-anise]

"Don't grieve for me when I'm go—" listen up here asshole. If you wanted to tell me how to feel about your death, you shoulda fucking stuck around. You're not here so you don't get a say anymore. You're not the one who has to deal with the emotional and logistical consequences of your passing. You are the missing piece in my life now, so you have (had) neither the knowledge nor ability to predict the best way for me to cope with it. And frankly, yes, I would have felt better if there'd been some kind of massive event where I could join everyone else grieving your loss and we could say to each other the awful hollow things that can't make it okay but can make it better, and then we could go get drunk about how much we missed you. So frankly, go fuck yourself. I miss you like hell. Hopefully you can take this criticism on board the next time you die. xo.

[isasweetie]

in which you’re forced into having a talk with your ex-boyfriend, rafe cameron, on the boat ride to morocco.

being a pogue and rafe cameron’s ex was not easy. although you dated shortly before he killed peterkin, and you were sure he barely even remembered your favourite colour, seeing him blatanly disrespect you and his friends, and go down a path you tried so hard to prevent him from, was hard to watch. but now he’s picked himself up since ward died. you thought you had another chance to at least be on good terms. sending flowers and a card to tanneyhill when ward died, smiling at him when you’d see him around. it didn’t work, he still hated you and your friends.

fortunately, he redeemed himself ever so slightly by volunteering to take the pogues to morocco. rafe had to find chandler groff, you guys wanted the blue crown. it was perfect.

until jj punched him, that is. he knocked him out cold. with a scolding “jj!” coming from majority of the pogues, including you, jj carries him down into the downstairs washroom and ties his wrists to a pole. they don’t trust him, which is fair. you don’t either — you shouldn’t, anyway.

rafe was down there quietly for a mere half hour until he woke up with a groan from his head hitting the ground earlier, followed up with yelling once he realizes he was stuck down there.

all touching your noses and saying ‘not it’ the minute pope suggests someone going down there to check on him, you’re the unlucky one who said it last. shutting up your protests, john b gently coaxes you downstairs, saying things like, “you used to mack on him”, “this is good, you know him”, “he won’t hurt you,” john b leaves you downstairs once you make it to the door of the bathroom. knocking gently, you timidly ask, “can i come in?”

there’s no answer. you can picture him. wrists tied, brows furrowed, eyes closed tightly as his head leans against the wall and towards the ceiling. his gorgeous stressed face. you slowly open the door, peeking your head in. “hi,” you say gently, timid around the scary and aggressive man you have the curse of calling your ex.

“…hey,” rafe says, voice rough as he shuts his eyes tight.

unsure what to say, you awkwardly stand there and stare down at him. “um, i brought asprin,”

“right, right, like i can fuckin’ swallow it. what, you gonna throw it in my mouth like a.. seal or something?” sassy, his upper lip lifts a bit as he thinks about it and isn’t very fond of the idea.

a second of silence as you figure out what to say. “…um, ill just set it down here,” you say, putting the container down beside him. “sorry about your head.”

“yeah, uh, your little boyfriend can’t control his fists, huh?”

“…not my boyfriend,” you correct softly, though you’re not sure why you feel the need to tell him that. “but no one really.. trusts you, rafe, so you kind of brought this on yourself—“

he quickly interrupts you. “bullshit. you know why that’s bullshit? because i was helping. who got you this boat, huh? me. i did. rafe. i’m the reason that you guys aren’t swimming, or some shit, to north africa. i’m being helpful and understanding, and this is what i get. you think that’s fair?” when you’re stood there in silence at his sudden raised voice, he repeats, “you think that’s fucking fair, y/n!?” he kicks a can in anger.

it’s like you’re his girlfriend again as you sit down next to him instantly instead of running. you get deja vu to the time three years ago when he was high on coke and got kicked out of the house. everyone ignored him except for you. “..um, okay, i’m gonna give you some asprin,” you say softly. “help your head. open,” you tell him, grabbing a pill as he gives you a look but opens his mouth. you pop it in his mouth and he dry swallows. “there.”

you two share a look. you don’t think it’s a bad look by any means. he looks frustrated still, but there’s an underlying gentleness in his eyes, as if he registers you’re still the same girl you were when you two were together. “…and, um, for the record, i don’t think it’s fair that you’re down here. you helped us, thats.. nice.”

the word ‘us’ when referring to you and the pogues makes him feel weird. “i don’t get why you hang out with them,” he mutters as he looks at the ground. “tried so fucking hard to keep you away from them when we were.. together.”

“i know,” you whisper, your gaze dropping as well, to his tied wrists. you feel awful. “trust me, your warnings still play in my head when i’m with them sometimes,”

“you remind me of sarah.” he says. you’re not sure what that means.

“you hate sarah,”

“nah, nah— i don’t hate her. hate who she’s turned into,” he adjusts himself. “she makes me sad. i’m sad for her, alright? she had so much potential.“ he shrugs. “but there’s no saving her. she’s in too deep,” he looks back up at you again. “i think there’s saving you, though,”

“…this is weird, rafe,”

“how?” he asks.

“because in the years we’ve been broken up, you’ve never talked to me about this. feels like it’s a… trick or something,”

“it’s not a trick,” he assures, voice still rough. “look, i’m out half a mill, i’m tied up in a bathroom, i’m probably gonna.. die or something. i got nothing to lose, may as well tell you my concern,”

“um, i appreciate it,” you say gently, unsure how to respond. “and i’m gonna go back upstairs.”

“hey— no, woah, woah, woah,” he stops you quickly. “stay. okay?”

“i should go up and help with dinner, though—“

“no, stay. i— i want you to stay, okay? i don’t wanna be down here alone, and i want you away from the pogues,”

he doesn’t wanna be alone. you feel bad for him all over again, nodding gently as you sit back down beside him. you always were so good for rafe.

you’re not sure how long you’ll be down here with him. maybe until it’s late at night and he’s asleep. so gently, after about five minutes of silence, to ease some of the tension and pass the time, you murmur a, “truth or dare?”

rafe just smiles.

[shower-phantom-ideas]

Batman figures out Dannys secret identity but the thing is that hes not in the system. Like any system. His face isnt a match for anyone in any database anywhere??!?! This needs investigation. So someone bumps into him for some dna. Which turns out wasn’t even needed because he got stabbed while defending Damian so we got fresh blood samples now baby! But nothing. Not even a relative or anything.

What they do learn is that he just started appearing on cameras a little over 6months ago but before that? Nothing. And he doesn’t seem to be any older than 15 (hes 16 and a half fuck you batman) but how could someone so young be so hidden in the system. Hell even in paper records they can’t find anything in him.

Maybe Bruce can vent to his Justice League friends…. No who am I kidding man would rather die then that. Probably Red Robin (yum) who gets to vent to his friends. Anyway I just need Clark added to the mix because I want him to think Danny isnt human. Boiz heart isnt going fast enough. If it’s going at all. Holy shit Bruce is that a ghost?? Ahh a ghost! … ok wait I hear a beat phew not a ghost. But he might need medical help.

Oo maybe now we have something. A reason hes not jn any record. He might be a testtube baby. Look at how scrawny and guarded he is. Aww B he might have been some sort of labrat. Oh we gotta help him out. He hardly gets any social interactions so it totally makes sense. Look at him B he doesn’t even run from Joker (I hardly know her). We have to protect this poor lost child.

Oh lord now the batclan is spiralling with crazy theories about him.

Do you think Danny would know too? Like maybe hes watching all the nonsense unfold. Or hes trying very hard to convince the bats that no hes just a normal human 16 year old. Like he ho la di da look at me just a normal kid doing normal kid things.

[schmergo]

Today I learned a fact that kinda blew my mind, and I'm almost astonished I didn't know this before as someone whose chief interests include zoo animals, the U.S. Presidency, true crime, and D.C. history. What an opener, right? How could those topics possibly combine?

Well, buckle up and get ready to hear how negligent National Zoo leadership potentially could have killed a US President or started a local epidemic. Spoiler alert: They didn't. But only because luck was in their favor.

First, the part that I DID already know. In 2004, Lucy Spelman stepped down as the director of the National Zoo after a spate of controversial zoo incidents, including a string of unfortunate (and often preventable) animal deaths, misleading and missing zoo records, and other signs of negligence. The AZA even "tabled" renewing the National Zoo's accreditation for a year until they made some significant improvements. Spelman was also a vet and some of the cases she was accused of bungling happened at her own hands, not just under her supervision. It was a major disgrace for a zoo that was meant to represent the nation's capital.

I was in elementary school during these fraught years and I remember devouring articles about this in the newspaper, riveted with shock and dismay. Some of the deaths were just bad luck, but others were obviously negligent. The most infamous case was two red pandas killed by rat poison shallowly buried in their enclosures as a slapdash solution to the zoo's pest problem. A young zebra died of starvation and hypothermia after Spelman ordered the zebras' feed be cut in half, an orangutan was euthanized due to a recurrence of cancer that didn't exist (she actually had salmonella), a lion died after being administered over twice the usual amount of anesthetic, and more. I remember the names and details of these animals from when I first read these cases 20 years ago. But the one I'm talking about today is that of Nancy the elephant.

Nancy was a 46-year-old African elephant whose health had been steadily declining for several years. She suffered from a bone infection in her foot that seriously affected her mobility and quality of life. She had lost a lot of weight, she was fatigued, she even lay down at times. Nobody could be blamed for deciding to euthanize the obviously ill animal.

But they could be blamed for what was discovered in the necropsy after she was euthanized. While she did indeed have a diseased foot, the bone infection was only "moderate." Why, then, was she so obviously unwell? Her lungs had been destroyed by the effects of untreated tuberculosis. It was the tuberculosis, not the sore foot, that most contributed to her decline in health.

Here’s the scary part: nobody knows how long she'd had it because she hadn't been tested for tuberculosis, a known concern for zoo elephants, in TWO YEARS. All this despite the fact that it's MANDATORY for all zoo elephants to receive a tuberculosis test once per year-- and in fact, it was a National Zoo staff member who pushed for that reform in the first place. And the elephant was on Prednisone for her foot issues, which zoo staff noted in her records made her more vulnerable to illnesses like TB. In fact, none of the zoo's elephants had been tested recently, which meant any of them, including one who was pregnant, may have had tuberculosis, too.

There are documented cases of humans catching tuberculosis from elephants. Now, Nancy the elephant had bovine tuberculosis, which seems to be less contagious to humans and which elephants haven't so far spread to humans... BUT it has spread to humans from black rhinos, a fairly close relative, so it seems likely that elephants COULD spread it. It can also take a while for TB for incubate (and can also be latent without symptoms), especially for elephants, so the elephants OR keepers who were around Nancy were at serious risk for TB.

NOW HERE IS THE PART THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL TODAY:

Spelman actively tried to COVER UP the situation, potentially putting many more people at risk. The elephant house was closed to zoo guests, but they were only told it was for "renovations." (The actual renovations, incidentally, were to improve ventilation so that illness would be less likely to spread.)

A BBC news crew that came to film the elephants was asked to keep a healthy distance from the elephants for their emotional health and the crew's safety-- the explanation given was that the elephants' group dynamics had been thrown off by Nancy's death. Spelman instructed zoo staff not to mention the TB situation to the BBC crew and, if asked why Nancy died, they were to respond that it was for multiple reasons and that the official test results weren't all back yet.

And here's the most shocking part of all, the part that made me GASP out loud. Spelman still personally gave some special VIP behind-the-scenes tours of the elephant house during the months that the elephant house was closed, a time when the remaining elephant inhabitants could potentially still develop active TB.

One VIP who received an elephant house tour was PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON and five family members!!!!

BILL. CLINTON. THE GOSHDARN PRESIDENT.

While zoo staff says that the tour was deliberately distanced and nobody got close to an elephant, there are photos of Bill Clinton's nephew about a foot away from an elephant's trunk. You know, their nose. The part they can spread disease with. So, uh, definitely in the danger zone there.

Hillary Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, was on the tour and he said that nobody in the party was warned about TB risk or asked if they had any medical conditions that might (a. make them susceptible to communicable disease, or (b. be contagious to the elephants. This is especially egregious because according to zoo guidelines, all behind-the-scenes tour participants MUST be asked these questions-- not just when there's a very real possibility of a TB outbreak at the zoo.

Fortunately, none of the zoo's other elephants OR keepers ever tested positive for tuberculosis. But it was certainly a close call! And imagine what would have happened if a US President caught TB from a close encounter with an elephant thanks to poorly managed zoo staff.

Presidents meet a lot of people. In fact, this zoo visit happened only 2 weeks before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, which Clinton attended. He very well could have started a TB outbreak there. Heck, TWO US Presidents could have been infected!

Now THAT is something I will be thinking about for a long time!

[pigfacedbitch]

Chiron's Secret

summary : Percy finds something particularly odd in Chiron's office.

word count : 0.7k

type : imagines

pairing/s : apart from canon of the riordanverse characters, none. reader is only mentioned briefly, and dates someone outside of camp half-blood.

warning/s: a bit creepy or touching (?), it depends on you.

here is my masterlist!

Note : I am currently fixated on a character from another series; to those who will get it? I love you so much. 🥹

It started with a stupid dare.

They were hanging around the campfire when Leo, bless him, suggested a game of Truth or Dare.

Naturally, Percy, who lacked any sense of safety or caution in his body, chose dare.

Leo's challenge was simple: sneak into Chiron's office and find something embarrassing to share with the group. Easy right?

Plenty of campers had done the same and came out unscathed. Percy had faced gods, monsters, Smelly Gabe, surprise pop quizzes; breaking into an ancient centaur’s office? Child’s play.

Besides, some over enthusiastic children of Ares set the armory on fire so Chiron was busy.

The office was unlocked— Chiron trusted them, which, honestly, was his first mistake. Seriously, does he even know them?

Searching for something amusing in a mostly mundane office proved tricky. The room held nothing particularly scandalous— just the usual: a computer, a boom box, a record player. Nothing that would make for a great story.

Until he found himself rummaging through one of the cabinets that's filled with scrolls and stumbled across something unexpected— a scrapbook.

At first, he assumed it was just a collection of camp memories. Chiron’s office was already filled with framed photos of past demigods on his walls, after all.

But then he saw the picture.

Him and Annabeth at Montauk, years ago, sitting on the beach with the sunset behind them. Their first real vacation, free from chaos. He didn’t even remember anyone taking that photo.

Weird.

Flipping to the next page, he found another one— Nico and Will by the campfire, smiling at each other like nothing else in the world mattered. The night they were officially dating.

Then Clarisse and Chris, sparring in the arena, grinning through their duel.

Frank and Hazel at Camp Jupiter, Hazel laughing as Frank transformed into some ridiculous dolphin in the fountain.

Grover and Juniper, her listening intently as he played his flute by the meadows.

Then (Y/N) and her boyfriend, leaning against a blue jeep, his arms draped over her shoulders while pressing a kiss to her cheek. Looked like after a lacrosse game, judging from the boy's maroon jersey and gear.

Percy’s stomach twisted. The further he flipped, the more couples he found.

"What the fuck?"

It didn’t stop there. Beside each photo, there were notes.

New Rome for college. How the hell did Chiron know about his plans for his relationship with Annabeth?

Staying at Camp Half-Blood and going steady. Which is exactly what Will and Nico are doing.

Going to Comic-Con to meet George Lucas and Hayden Christensen. (Y/N) had once mentioned that to Percy in passing, because apparently, her boyfriend was a huge Star Wars fan.

And then there were the ones that stung.

Died as heroes. A picture of Charles and Silena, her arms wrapped around him while he worked on a machine with his siblings.

Split up after the Battle Against Gaea. Jason and Piper, sitting in a Parisian café, smiling over desserts.

It was sweet, in a way. These pictures captured relationships of the people he cares about, but something about it felt... off.

Why would Chiron do this?

Then he saw a list. Names, some checked off, some underlined. Some written down before the people themselves had even realized they were together.

He looked for his name; Percy Jackson with Annabeth Chase as predicted.

AS PREDICTED?!

Percy slammed the scrapbook shut and let out a nervous laugh.

Nope.

Nope, nope, nope.

Slowly, he put the book back where he found it, suddenly aware that Chiron apparently knew everything.

Chiron— their mentor, father figure, the wisest, kindest, most patient man (did he even count as a man? okay, half-man) Percy had ever known.

He was not supposed to be some secret omniscient romance spy.

Yeah, no. He was done.

Percy didn’t even bother playing along with the dare anymore. He just left, more baffled than he’d ever been in his entire life.

Back at the campfire, his friends turned expectantly.

“What did you find?” Leo grinned.

Percy sat down, looking vaguely haunted. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Cue the teasing, the boos, the dramatic groans of disappointment.

But Percy barely heard them, his gaze fixed on the golden flames.

Chiron knew things.

And that was… terrifying? Flattering? Disturbing? He had no idea.

And frankly?

He never wanted to find out.

[paperstorm]

Meetings and Partings

Rating: Mature Warning: Owen Strand's Death Tags: future fic, grief/mourning, emotional hurt/comfort, found family, romance, canon compliant, non-explicit sex, mentions of cancer

Summary: 20 years later, after time and life have drifted the 126 apart from each other, they reunite in Manhattan to attend Owen’s funeral; to say goodbye to the first departed member of their family and remember why they became a family in the first place.

-

“Hi baby,” TK says.

Carlos’s crinkled eyes shine and he reaches for TK as he steps inside, folding him into a tight embrace. He smells just like he always does, masculine deodorant and laundry soap and his sweet natural scent, and TK burrows into him. They’ve only been apart a few days but it’s longer than TK ever likes to be away from him, even when times are good. So many people in their lives have affectionately teased them for how clingy they are, how even after so many years together they’d rather sit and do nothing beside each other than do almost anything with anyone else.

Carlos is his best friend, he always has been. TK laughs along when they’re teased and knows it comes from a place of love, but it’s truer than even they know. He always wants Carlos within reaching distance and never feels quite right when he’s too far away.

They hold each other just inside the doorway for so long that TK wonders if seasons change around them, Carlos stroking the back of his head with his nose pressed against TK’s ear. Eventually, Carlos quietly says, “I’m turning 50 this year. Am I still ‘baby’?”

Smiling, TK kisses Carlos’s neck and tells him, “You’ll always be my baby.”

Carlos presses kisses to the side of his face and then leans back to look at him. He holds TK’s face in his hands, brushes his thumb over his temples where his hair has gone grey.

“You wanna graduate to a more mature nickname now that you’re an old man?” TK jokes.

Carlos smiles back at him, bright as the sun despite the shine of melancholy still in his endless dark eyes. “No. And I’m not old, yet. Not like you.”

Laughing, TK tilts his chin forward to ask for a kiss and Carlos, as always, meets him in the middle. Their lips brush and then their foreheads connect, TK’s hands curling around Carlos’s thick waist and keeping him close.

“How are you doing?” he asks softly.

TK sniffs. “I don’t know. We knew it was coming. It wasn’t sudden and tragic in the way that your dad was.”

“Or your mom.”

“Or my mom,” TK nods. Life has been good for long enough that sometimes it’s hard to put himself back into a time when the hits rarely seemed to stop coming. There was a sweetness to it, mixed in with all the tragedy, because he and Carlos got through it hand-in-hand. That doesn’t mean TK’s welcoming the return of loss to his life. He takes an unsteady breath and whispers, “But he was still my dad.”

“I know,” Carlos soothes.

Read the rest on AO3

Author's note:  I attended a funeral a few weeks ago for someone I have known since childhood who died of cancer, and one part of the lovely service really struck me – a recorded conversation between her and her son about her famous Caesar salad recipe. It was a family favorite and something she made for over 40 years for all types of occasions, and a recipe she’d passed on to countless people – her children, her friends, her siblings, and who knows how many people they all passed it on to in return. Her son spoke of the power of a legacy, even when it’s something as simple as salad dressing, and how we all touch people’s lives in unintentional ways and leave a mark on this earth that’s bigger than we even know. Half because the Tarlos brain worms are real, and half because writing helps me process things sometimes, I spun up this little story as both a tribute to her and also to these incredible characters who have left marks on all of us who love them <3

[resident-idiot-simp]

Look ok one of my other favorite AU's is sirens/mermaids. I don't know if we want them to both be it or one or whatever. But I just need to state this for the record because I have thoughts and opinions.

Wade's a mer sure but like the kind of mer who can turn human. So he's a member of the ship/crew as far as anyone is concerned. But either Logan knows (found him one day and took him in) or he finds out (something goes wrong and Wade saves him)

Anywheres their relationship is good and everything but Wade always wants to do everything in his other form because it's more natural. And Logan is a kinky fuck

So I don't know what should be funnier Logan knew before whatever catastrophe or he didn't know. And then of course the relationship.

I have no idea what would be funnier or better. But how were the mechanic work Is it just being submerged in water I feel like that's the best one.

If he didn't know I feel like it would be Logan almost drowning because despite being on the water at all times he hates it. And Wade just cannot allow him to die. Maybe they were aboard the X-Men ship or something and Wade takes him away. They create their own crew a better one become pirates or something.

And then every few days or so they sneak off and their crew is wondering what the deal is (The deal is fish sex).

Maybe Logan's mutated so Wade doesn't feel so alone in being different... Maybe that ends up being their whole crew misplaced misfits

They have sex daily without question but both desire it in a more baseline instinct driven way too. They need to fight, claw, and bite I've another and Logan has to learn real quick to like the water. Because Wade will half drown him maybe it's some suppressed instinct to kill and maim.

(Fish (like)/aquatic creatures be fucked up)

One day one of the crew members follows and thinks genuinely that Wade is trying to kill Logan. This is not the case but they definitely think this. (Do they stay or run back to the ship I am unsure both are equally funny)

Wade who is doing him damnedest to pin Logan under him through any means necessary. Logan who still fucking hates water and is fighting ferociously to not be pinned and drowned.

Some poor sap who's watching the two heads of their crew try to 'kill' one another. Wade wins if he kills him and Logan will come back to Wade having his way with him.

(They had a long conversation about this years ago)

If Logan wins he gets to do what he wants to Wade.

It's a good deal and it's about an even split who wins each time. Logan hates drowning though but it has become his least hated way to die.

He doesn't always die of course. Sometimes he just manages just to subdue him. But he dies as often as he does because he refuses to give up the fight.

Wade loves wrapping his tail around Logan tangling them together while they lay there in the afterglow. It's a fight every time to detangle them to get back to the ship.

After the crew know Wade sometimes will just swim alongside the ship while they travel. Maybe some legend starts off of I sea monster following them around.

No one knows and they crew isn't talking. Someone somewhere gets the idea in their head that they could hunt down the sea creature. This does not go well for them

Okay so they either come back to everyone holding spears/guns and pointing it at Wade. Or The man is not believed and told to fuck off

The people on board know Wade is like them he has razer sharp teeth and his fingernails are claw like. But no one knows exactly what his deal is and the rule is you don't ask. Maybe his tongue is a but too long 🤔 (for wholesome reasons of course definitelynotforsexualstuff)

They're pretty much all some kind of mutant or mutate or something. So they all kinda shrug it off. No one asks what anyone's deal is and everyone just kinda goes along with it

It's the opposite of mutually insured destruction. You can't rat out if you don't know. The only hint they have besides the visible stuff is the fact he always smells like seaweed (smell idea courtesy of @orcadork4ever)

Many a time have the crew caught Wade teasing their captain with it. Their captain who is watch the man with dark wanting eyes.

While Logan was the captain Wade was second in command and was pretty much Logan's equal. They had formed this new crew together and were closer then many first thought possible.

Logan was aloof and distant but with Wade he was practically mush in his hands. It was shocking at first but it's soon become the normal state of things.

They probably get told about mutants or creatures being held against their will. And go out of their way to make sure that they free them all.

A new member of the crew is welcomed aboard and it's a shock. All the personalities who seem to somehow get along with each other even though they're nothing alike.

I'll run by a distant captain who seems like an absolute bastard and who many horror stories have been spun about. They act like he's some kind of Boogeyman who comes in slaughters hundreds before running off once more.

And his second in command who could not be any more opposite. Except for the fact that he's just as terrifying though it's not first apparent.

Then you get to see later that day the two of them in a corner in the boat flirting. Because that has to be what it is. What with Wade plastered to the Captain's front and One of his hands creeping down Logan's lower back to grab at his ass.

And the captain is just allowing it fuck he's blushing and leaning into the other man. He's even purring purring as he raises his own hand to cup the other's nape.

(That's all I got right now)

[numberonetacostan]

Heyo mates!!!

In light of me having a bad hyper fixation on specific scenes in my au I haven’t written about yet, I’ll just rant here without dropping the fic name!! ^^ The basic premise is that it’s a fantasy au. Mephone4 and.. Steve.. are gods. The contestants are Demi-gods(?), and mortals. It’s kind of a whole big thing. Cough cough, Anyways!

Now let’s start the ranting on the scenes I haven’t written yet!! >:D

I am actually so ill about this scenario even though it might not happen. Let’s set the scene shall we? Millennia has passed since Taco and OJ have seen each other. (They’re both Demi-gods? Gods? Idk) OJ and co have been treated as heros as they seemingly got rid of Taco, (she has been so lovingly given the title of being Destruction herself by the mortals.) The last they’ve seen of each other was when Taco got cast out. Basically the whole thing got to OJ’s head, instead of seeing Taco as an ex-friend who he used to care for, he sees her as someone who is unforgivable, basically the second hand to the devil themselves.

They meet again. And OJ’s wounds he thought closed up, opened again. All those years he spent wondering if he could’ve stopped the team from getting so attached, or if he could’ve stopped her betrayal, are bitterly staining his memories of her. (The whole gang was much more closer because of the thousands of years they spent together, without the whole competition ruining relationships.)

Because despite all his success, he is the embodiment of victory, and victory hates losing.

“OJ, wait. I.. I’d like to apologize-“

“Save it Taco. You made your choice all those years ago. Just face it, we know you’re.. evil now.”

“I.. evil..? No… No. You.. you of all people don’t get to call me that. Not.. not you. I’ve done irreparable damage, I.. admit that.”

“But in the end, it was your choice to cast me out. It was your choice to do further damage to my wings, so I could never come back. I won’t try to act like I’m some.. saint. But we’ve all done some terrible things, so don’t try to act all innocent, OJ.”

“…”

“..This was a terrible decision. I shouldn’t have let Mepad talk me into this. Look.. for the record.. I’m.. sorry. I know we were all just kids back then.. but I should’ve never hurt you guys. I hit you were it most hurt because of a silly outburst.”

(cutting it off because I’m worried about spoilers.)

I’m so ill about them mates, you don’t even know. D: Menu squad I would like to apologize for what I’m going to inflict on you. I know it’s technically not spoilers because it may or may not happen but like.. •• The same goes for the next scene.

Wowee Taco dies in this one. Im planning it to be a parallel to one of the chapters in the beginning. It may or may not happen. (I say that as I keep the Major Character Death on the fic.) Which again, I haven’t written yet.. In the beginning arc, Taco goes missing. (Technically she just follows Mephone4 into a portal to Cobs’ dimension.) She returns infront of Pickle, Paper, and OJ basically half dead. (She just got stabbed in the eye it’s fine.)

Pickle, does not realize this and basically bear hugs her, getting blood soaked into his flower toga(?). I forgot the name of it. Anyhow, he pulls Taco away from his chest only to see the blood and her injury. Blah blah blah, insert caring for Taco. (Sorry Taco we’re focusing on angst right now.) After she’s healed they take a group picture to preserve the memory. The whole Menu Squad gets copies of the picture.

At the end arc, they’ve all grouped up to defeat Cobs. Wham bam, Taco gets pierced, ..in the eye.. again. This time with magic. She’s not coming back from this one. Oh yeah, she also gets thrown.

As Cobs finally dies. Pickle goes to search for Taco. Wanting to at least talk to her. He hasn’t forgiven her yet, but he kind of gets why she snapped all those years ago. She was just a child when facing Cobs for the first time. (He isn’t going to be able to hug or touch her for a long time though.)

He finds Taco, not in the state he would’ve liked. She’s kind of just laying on the ground, excepting her fate. Naturally he’s freaking out, cause she’s dying and no one has enough energy to heal her. (Nor even teleport her for the matter.)

So he just carries her, her blood soaking his toga just one last time. She keeps on telling him to leave her there, it’s better anyways. But Pickle is not having it. He can’t just let her die on the ground.

He wasn’t fast enough, she died. And guess what falls out of her shell?

The picture they took.

aATAISKSGSJSJAJAJAJJSJSHZHDH. I’m ill. Anyways that’s it for me, mates!

-🦈🎨

Hi Sharklette!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in an ask!! :]

How could you send me an ask in which Taco dies? Why would you do this to me? /lh But that aside this is an interesting idea!!

I'm curious as to what Mepad is here? Also a God? Does Taco kidnap him here, too?

And what would Taco have done to the rest of them here, without a prize to steal?

Also, what did OJ do to her poor wings!?!?! Not serious and permanent injury (one of my weaknesses)!! I will Harm him for this.

Aough and her keeping the picture in her shell!!! I like to think she keeps Pickle's old eye patch in there.

[gabedemon]

Okay, so I watching Book of the Atlantic and noticed this during Undertaker's monologue about how he makes the bizarre dolls work by splicing cinematic records. His example record was originally a silhouette of a woman who we saw go through her life and die with a man at her bed side. Then, for the actual record clipping when he talked about his inspiration, we get this:

A blonde woman on a cliff side, who we can assumed jumped off of it. But that's not quite right, is it? A body would be hard to recover that way, if a body were found, it would be waterlogged, decaying, and scavenged, and we know suicide deaths go to the shiginami dispatch. This is Undertaker's *inspiration*, not just any example.

And who do we know is in everything Undertaker does? The Phantomhives. I think the woman in the clip is Claudia. She's blonde (or anime blonde, like Francis) and we know Undertaker had a connection to her due to his mourning locket.

He also states he "retired" "half a decade ago" while Othello states it had been 70 years. This is where the timeline gets a bit shakier; that 20 years makes a big difference on how old Claudia would have been which leads to my new theories:

Claudia was his daughter, and she is why he walked away from the shiginami dispatch. That's why he's obsessed with the Phantomhives, it's *his* bloodline and that is also why Ciel can see reapers.

They were lovers, as is the current prevailing theory, both which leads to....

she died young. We don't really know how she died, and if she is the woman in the example record, it was likely suicide. She knew about Undertaker and the reapers, probably knew their inner workings (and how they're made) and possibly wanted to join him for eternity. This however clearly didn't go to plan, either because

Reapers check the cinematic records of new hires and would have seen her relationship to Undertaker and intervened, separating them permantly and making Undertaker even more driven to ensure he never loses another Phantomhive again

They completely pave over who the person was in their past life. Sasha had talked about being miserable and now this second chance is a new drive, but something about the way the concept was explained leaves a gap. How do you get someone who cares about nothing to care about paperwork and souls and orderly balance? Maybe they hand select for personality, but I think they strip away parts of who someone was and reprogram for the job, to some extent. What if they did the same for Claudia, so she either has no memory of her former life or has no desire to reconnect with Undertaker?

Did he manage to salvage what he could and continue her record? If she were the first, I doubt it would have went well. The bizarre dolls on the ship (aside from Real!Ciel) were very primitive, lacking eyes and only acting on instinct. Riel was one of a kind, and we quickly saw how fast his skill excelled, but their lives were decades apart. Claudia's doll would not have been as advanved. In the outro, we see a doll being puppeted until it no longer can be and collapses with a grim reaper hanging in the background controlling it. If the example record *is* Claudia, it also lends to suggest what happened if Undertaker had continued her cinematic record.

[yuri-is-online]

... so what do we know about the Clash? (pt. 2)

moving right along from part 1

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS THROUGH EPISODE 5: HOTARUBI. PLEASE INTERACT WITH DUE CAUTION.

The Laurel Crown is first referenced by Ritsu in Episode 4. It is an award given to the best performing house of the year at an event called the Darkwick Gala. Kaito says it is held one week before graduation, Ritsu says there are a lot of rewards given out to graduating winners. He also very specifically says that it is "the shortest path to success and independence from Darkwick for us ghouls." That word independence strikes me as important, though it is not followed up on here or elsewhere unless you count the discussion surrounding Article 78 in Episode 5. Ritsu thinks that Taiga was interested in it once upon a time due to his impressive mission completion record in his first year. We know Zenji wanted to win the crown to obtain recognition as an author, while most of the other ghouls we've met show a degree of disinterest or lack of knowledge of it. Ren mentions at the end of this conversation that he didn't know about the Gala, and Ritsu points out that despite being canceled it was never removed from last years schedule. It is not not this year's though, and he implies that Cornelius is covering something up. Which really does seem to be the case...

The Crown system was discontinued as a direct result of the Clash... we think. It is never explicitly stated "yeah the Clash happened so we aren't doing this anymore" it's instead alluded to as something they can't do because there are too many ghouls to control. We know it had to be this as Haku tells Zenji that it was discontinued after he died, and Zenji died during the Clash. According to Haku, he was killed by a rogue anomaly. He adamantly discourages MC from looking into the Clash gee why would you do that HAKU and this seems to be a similar stance to what Cornelius would take if he knew you were curious. Cornelius and Moby are reluctant to let Lyca free because "what if we have another case of a ghoul-" We can assume he is going to say "killing" or something along those lines based off the concerns listed about Lyca, but that's not confirmed.

Ritsu finds documents about the Clash in the school's archives. he finds them alongside disciplinary documents, he says he either overlooked them or someone had them checked out as he has not read them before. The file is thick and is specifically titled "The Clash: An Overview of Civil Affairs Instigated by Darkwick Students." The term "civil affairs" is interesting. As best I can tell it is a military term that refers to small scale missions undertaken by small teams that focus on civil action? Like diplomacy stuff? Or organizing humanitarian aid? And in more sinister scenarios to assist in psychological warfare to condition a population to not fight against your military but I don't know if that's what the translation team was going for here exactly. I think it's just meant to imply things got really bad and really violent.

Lastly, this is less easy to prove than some of the other things as fact but I still think it is one: there are hints of a split in the student body over who is pro-anomaly and anti-anomaly. Subaru is obviously very pro-anomaly and thinks that capturing them is cruel, Taiga seems to be pro eating anomalies while Romeo is very comfortable with catching them and collecting bounties. A lot of this seems to be tied to how they view the school, the Institute that runs it, and their place in that hierarchy. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that they are trapped at Darkwick and don't want to be. At least not forever.

So to re cap all of the things we know to be fact: the Clash happened sometime last year, half a year ago at the absolute latest. The fight is thought to have been started by the ghouls, we do not know over what. The Laurel Crown system and the Darkwick Gala were both canceled after the fallout of the Clash, in which at least two named people are thought to have died: Zenji Kotodama who would have been a second year Hotarubi student and Dante whose former role is unknown. Zenji still resides in the school as a ghost, though this is unknown to Darkwick staff, and Dante has been brought on as a Professor. Also, all of the Inspectors seem to have quit at the end of the previous year due to the ghouls abusing mesmer matches on them. Three dormitories were disbanded at some point and one new one was created. We do not know if this was connected to the Clash or if it was an inciting incident for it, but at some point Clementia, one of those dormitories, was the scene of some sort of fight. Some of the students of Dionysia dorm went missing, presumably the ghouls. We know nothing about what happened to Ultio aside from the prison they were tasked with running now being run "by Darkwick." All general students from these dorms were re-assigned elsewhere, as were the general students previously assigned to Jabberwock who had general admissions halted. There is a spy amongst these ghouls who Taiga believes is intending to make them look bad; Alan and Tohma are attempting to isolate this spy. We do not know who this spy is spying for, or what Alan and Tohma want out of him exactly, nor do I really expect to find out anytime soon.

So. Now onto the Questions and Theories. As in things we can assume but cannot exactly prove:

Questions and Theories

Jiro and Zenji look extremely similar with a few noticeable differences, namely the piercings Jiro has and the glasses Zenji wears. My first thought was that maybe Jiro was made out of Zenji's corpse, but his birthday is listed as October 13th, which is not the middle of the year by any stretch. They also have different blood types; I think the most practical explanation comes from Zenji himself. When describing why he's so attached to the haunted doll you've found, he says it looks just like his brother did when he was a baby. I have some screenshots of Zenji following Jiro around in a campus event because he wants to help him find something he's looking for, so it does make a bit of sense. And make me even more sad.

The Institute that runs Darkwick seems to be deeply suspicious of ghouls and feel a need to keep them on a short leash. There is a great deal of distrust and resentment between the ghouls and the Institute, and the Clash seems to have been the result of that distrust. The thickness of the records Ritsu finds suggests to me that whatever the Clash was exactly, it took up most of the previous year and that it had something to do with Darkwick's treatment of anomalies.

On that point, I think that Clementia was likely destroyed by a rogue anomaly. The destruction MC sees is described as something going on a rampage, and not as a fight. The fight angle is still possible of course, and if that's the case I wonder if it has something to do with how Ultio was running the prison. I mentioned in the previous post that the goddesses these dorms are named after are meant to sort of balance each other out, so if there was going to be a clash of ideals between anyone on campus it'd probably be these guys.

I feel like Obscuary was set up as a result of the Clash? Or at the very least some time before it specifically so there would be some place for Rui and Ed to go. I think the dorm members will all be crossed with an anomaly in some way, Ed with a vampire, Rui with a reaper, and Lyca with a werewolf. Also, Ed is rumored to have done something. What? No fucking clue, don't even know if it's related to the Clash but still he has done something to get added into the rumor mill.

We don't know what Haku's stigma is as he didn't tell us. He also makes a point of saying that he thinks it's a good thing to get through a mission without using your stigma, if anything he seems to discourage the MC from using or relying on the ring to help the ghouls. You could see this as him trying to encourage her to value herself more, or maybe he thinks that there is a cost for using stigmas we don't know about just yet and they're not the blessings the ghouls think they are. Also he asks Cornelius if he has ever lied to him at the end of the chapter and if you think I didn't find that sus as all hell-

I need to sleep, but remind me to make a post about Haku sometime. Because I don't think he's evil exactly, but I do still think he's the spy.

[opossum-by-night]

Well my dad finally surrendered his dog last week, and man have I been having feelings about it 🙃

(TW animal neglect/abuse)

I guess fortunately the biggest one is relief??? Like this should have happened 8+ months ago, so better late than never I guess?? He failed her on pretty much every level and she deserves a home where someone will actually like, devote some amount of attention and time and care to her!!! And actually enjoy her company and not just bitch about her acting like a normal bored unsupervised puppy!!!! Going back to the shelter is not the ✨ideal✨ solution for that, but at least they have connections with rescues and stuff that he never would've bothered to put the work in to find himself. Trying to find a home for a teenage husky/pit with literally zero training or socialization is about as hard as it gets outside of bite risk dogs, but she's affectionate and cute and very smart, so hopefully she's at least semi-adoptable. If she'd stayed with him, it would've been a matter of time before she either killed a cat or chicken and he put her down for it, or she hurt herself while totally unsupervised and died because he's too fucking cheap to pay for real vet care. Thankfully the shelter has spayed her since he gave her back (because he was also too cheap to do that 🙃) so at least she won't end up in a puppy mill, making more unadoptable mutts. So hopefully chances are good that whoever adopts her will at least do better than *that*, right??? And this shelter has a very good track record of never euthanizing adoptable animals, so it's unlikely she'll end up put down by them, right??? Idk, I'm trying not to let myself feel responsible for the consequences of his actions, regardless of what they turn out to be 🫠

But I'm also so fucking mad at him because he literally failed her on every 👏 possible 👏 level 👏 in spite of LITERALLY EVERYONE he talked to warning him that he was making a mistake, and a bunch of people trying to help him fix things after he'd already made it!!! But he's too fucking stubborn and egotistical to admit he fucked up before a YEAR passed and he now has a basically feral adult dog!!! The poor thing is 50lbs+ and a year and a half old and she's never walked on a leash, never lived inside a house or been potty trained, never met a child, never met another dog besides our ancient family dog, and has zero training to speak of, and now her life depends on someone else being okay with taking a dog like that, ALL SO HE COULD LEARN THE HARD WAY INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO ANYONE ELSE EVER!!!!!! If she doesn't get adopted and does end up euthanized, or if she goes to an even worse home that just ties her to a chain in the yard, IT'S 100% HIS FUCKING FAULT!!!!! AND SHE DOES NOT DESERVE THAT!!!!!

But also also, I can't really stop myself from wanting to feel sympathetic because I've been forced to re-home animals that I physically couldn't keep up with and it was genuinely traumatic. But the difference is I TRIED *SO HARD* TO MAKE IT WORK????? AND HE DIDN'T TRY AT FUCKING ALL????? He's retired and has basically zero obligations besides going to his mom's for 24 hours to help her out like once every other month, so if anybody had the time to train and supervise her, it would be HIM!!!!! My mom - who's working full-time and did not fucking sign up for this - did infinitely more for that dog!!!! And I know very well that sometimes the problem doesn't have anything to do with the literal *time* commitment, but it's not like he just couldn't handle the level of effort it required either, because he didn't even fucking *pretend* to try!!!!! He googled anxiety medication (because he thinks she has anxiety, and definitely wasn't acting out because she basically lives in solitary fucking confinement) once and realized he'd have to give it to her *every day* and it would take a few weeks to work, and THAT was too much work for him!!!! FUCK OFF!!!!! And then he has the nerve to talk shit about THE DOG, like "you guys can tell the shelter about her, all I'd have to say is how she tore up my yard and all my shit," and I don't think I have ever been more truly viscerally disgusted by this person. Like he's done a lot of fucked up shit in my life, but to not even have the decency to not insult THE LIVING CREATURE WHO YOU NEGLECTED AND THEN DOOMED BECAUSE YOU'RE A SELFISH PIECE OF SHIT ARE YOU F U C K I N G S E R I O U S !?!?!?!?!?!?!?

But then also every time I talk to my mom about it she says he's so upset and broken up about it because he knows it's his fault and he fucked up. And like, I have never seen my dad be openly sad about anything before??? And the most I've heard in terms of acknowledging his fuck up is shit like "yeah yeah, I'm a dumbass and it's all my fault 🙄". So like, is he acting differently at home in front of her that I don't see?? Is she counting that as him being "so upset" because by contrast it's as close as he gets??? Like is he actually sad about the situation or just pissed off and embarrassed that he has to admit he was wrong??? He's ✨so upset✨ about it that he's backed out of surrendering her multiple times before and it's taken him A YEAR to actually do it, but not so upset that he was actually willing to try ANYTHING different to help the situation??? Or listen to anyone else about ways to make things better?? Like I've tried to teach him how to train her, and given him resources in case he didn't want to hear it from me, and he hasn't fucking touched them?? My mom literally hired a trainer and worked with her to try to do something about it herself, but he never even asked my mom what the trainer said???

.

Some lady from this organization that promotes and shares the shelter animals commented when the shelter posted her, asking for more info from the owners, so I PMd her a big long essay about everything I knew about her and what I thought she needed in a home. I tried to be honest (so she doesn't get returned *again* by someone else that's unprepared) but positive (so maybe someone will still actually want to adopt her). I decided that was one thing I could do to actually help the dog without getting too involved and making myself feel responsible and guilty somehow. The lady seemed positive that the info and the couple extra photos I sent her would help find her a good fit. I really hope it does. I also hope that getting all of this out helps me stop thinking about it constantly. And that maybe someday my dad will own up to one thing ever in his life and eventually I'll stop wanting to physically fight him. But mostly that she gets a home. She deserves to be fucking loved.

[dragon-susceptible]

Different Path Taken Ch20: P2 Maybe? Runaan's Narration

I went ahead and gave that narration idea a shot, and I've got nearly a thousand words of it before I had to pause. I think it's turning out okay? Tell me what you guys think. I can still edit in dialogue tags and some action to break it up if that's better.

Ten thousand years ago, the mountains in what is now southern and eastern Katolis were home to the Moonshadow elves.  The area was largely inhospitable back then to human farmers, and magical resources grew aplenty upon the slopes.  That is why this caldera appears so  . . . lifeless now.  The magic was stripped from this place when we were driven out.

“I thought humans lost the war, and that’s why we were driven to this side of the continent.  How come you guys didn’t just keep this land as part of Xadia?”

That decision was not made by elves, but by dragons.  It is . . . difficult to argue with an Archdragon.

“Ah.  Uh, yeah, that makes sense.”

In the end, it was not Sol Regem that proposed the split.  A Sunfire queen, ancestor of Queen Aditi and the line that rules the Sunfire kingdom to this day, suggested the breach be made.  Sol Regem used every bit of his power to draw the lava to the surface, together with the other archdragons, and cracked the world in half.  This left the Moonshadow holdings on the wrong side, and the queens - the elf and Luna Tenebris, the dragon queen after Sol Regem stepped down from the throne - agreed that the people of the world should be split along those halves.  Thus Moonshadow elves were driven to Xadia as humans were driven here, to our home.

We destroyed everything we could.  The desolation you see here, the magic that was stripped - we did that to our own home, to keep its power from human hands.  Little to nothing remains of what our civilization once was.  All we have is memory, histories that stretch back to the very first elves to walk this world.

“How can you be sure the histories are true?”

Magic is in everything, little one.  Even what we took from this place could not drain it of everything.  Moon magic is seen in light through the darkness, deception, in illusion, perception, reality.  It is a flip of the coin from the Sun’s truth, the Ocean’s chaos, and the Earth’s life.  It is in deception, in order, and in death.

“That’s why it’s dangerous for someone who’s grieving.  But what does that mean, moon magic is in death?”

What happens to a soul after it dies is no mystery to a Moonshadow elf.  We know where our dead go - to a world beyond this one, to the next phase of their existence.  What is there to fear in that?  In the old days, here at the Moon Nexus, a door could even be opened to that realm, permitting us to speak to the dead, and to pass on quietly if it were our time.  Now, without the Moonhenge and the power of the Nexus, with everything but a shade of its former self, all we can open is a window.  But that is enough, to confirm the histories we keep.  We are meticulous about them - oral stories passed from one generation to the next, calling upon ancestors to ensure they are accurate.

“Some physical books and written histories remain, but so much has been lost over the centuries that the assassins’ oral histories are considered to be the most in-depth and accurate records of elven history in Xadia - among any elf.”

Thank you, Ram.  There are also other elves tasked with preserving what little physical history we could recover . . . but precious little of that survived the trip to Xadia.  It was a harrowing journey with no support from the Xadian side of the newly made breach, and many of our warriors kept busy with the war and the . . . forced emigration of humans even as our own people were subjected to the same conditions further south.  Many, many lives were lost on that journey, and many more were left behind, slaughtered by the angry humans who had just lost their own homes. 

It is said that nearly a hundred thousand Moonshadow elves once lived among these mountains.  Around twenty thousand made the journey successfully into Xadia, after a harrowing war fought mostly on our doorstep and the migration.  While certainly a population not to be degraded, it was a heavy blow, and many of us were driven to desperation.  It took decades to find a place to settle in Xadia, most land there already strong with established communities.  While we could settle in those communities, we could not maintain our own private rituals until we had somewhere to preserve them away from outsiders’ eyes.  Moonshadow Forest was where we eventually landed, a mere twenty-thousand left of a society once five times that.  It is not a large forest, and was not even then, and many of our people did range around Xadia for many years after that . . . though much changed in the next few centuries, and now few of us venture beyond the treeline.

“That’s sad.”

“Yeah.  Why don’t you tell us something happy?”

“Ellis!”

Ha!  Very well, children, shush.  Despite all the death and destruction associated with this place, it is still sacred to our people, and a single guardian is still left here even now.  Near the peak, where the water of the Nexus itself feeds them, flowers and life still continue to grow.  This mountain is the only place on this side of the breach where you can still find the blue roses once cultivated by Moonshadow elves.  On the other side, they are found only in Moonshadow Forest.

“Has anyone ever found the Guardian before?  What happens then?”

She has her ways of keeping this place safe, and a secret.  I shan’t tell you more of that now.  Skor, I’m certain remembers - the rest of my elves should, and it will be an excellent training exercise in observation skills if they do not.

“I don’t suppose I count as a kid for this?”

No, little blade, you do not.

“Didn’t think so.”

[pocketramblr]

Au where quirks exist ever since the beginning of humanity but thought the last 200 years they started becoming rarer for no explainable reason

"for no explainable reason"? Not "because someone born two hundred years ago started eating them all"? Well, both can be true I suppose

1- humans have always had quirks so just go ahead and disabuse yourself of the idea that world history looks anything like ours now. Any boundaries humans have drawn between themselves or their spaces are totally different. Anyway, our story is set on the island nation of Akitsuba, which has begun to receive reports of children who are born without quirks- it seems impossible, but apparently the child born in Canton Province to two glowing parents but had no light himself was not the result of an affair. He is genetically both his parents child - just, without any unique plus alpha factor at all.

2- when the news breaks, Setsuji looks over at his twin brother. The two stay in a group home, and on the record, they have a spike quirk, just like their mother did before she died at their birth. In truth, Setsuji can take others quirks. He assumes he took his brother's in infancy, which why the boy can't use them, but now he wonders if his brother was in fact simply born without. He doesn't say anything, but his brother does- whispering it at night, apologizing for assuming his brother took it all this years ago and refused to even try to return it, but there's simply nothing to return, is there?

3- more people are born quirkless over time, and more people lose their quirk to AfO over time. Ujiko theorizes that quirks would get too strong, so both quirklessness and AfO are evolutions to prevent plus alpha self destruction. That is, sadly, a generous view- quirklessness is largely viewed as a horrible strange disability, and suddenly quirks become more important. Few people before had jobs that specifically used their quirks, but now no one wants to be mistaken for not having one. Many people campaign to treat and 'fix' quirklessness, trying to force activate one, study and prevent it, etc. Just go ahead and assume all the terrible things that can happen with this mindset, it all happened.

4- by the time of canon, however, quirklessness has been around for two hundred years, and it isn't going away- clearly the opposite. about half the population of the world has no quirk, and the number's hanging around 45% in Akitsuba when our main character, Akatani Mikumo is born. He's quirkless, and lives in the capitol of Higakyou, as schools there are required by law now to no longer require certain or any quirks. It's an election year, so his first semester of high school all anyone can do is talk about the candidates- especially Yagi Toshinori, a bit of a symbol for quirkless politicians and one people thought would run years ago. Mikumo, who helped Yagi carry groceries home one day and didn't recognize him outside of the bright suit, camera lights, and makeup, makes friends with a few kids at school. (Ochako, and the twins Tokoyami Fumikage and Kuroei- while the latter has a quirk, the former does not).

5- Then one day, Yagi is kidnapped, vanishing on live tv through a smokey warp. Mikumo doesn't know what to think about that, until he runs into the man on his way home from school- clearly in bad shape, with strange dark eyes that glow with some quirk he shouldn't have. Mikumo helps Yagi hide, and asks what happens, and how he can help. (AfO decided to end Yagi's use as a symbol by forcing a quirk on him and controlling him, but one of his brother's successors managed to break Yagi out first and give him his brother's quirk, allowing him to fight against AfO's quirk and withstand them safely. As for what Mikumo can do to help... he's done far more than he should already, a kind boy, but that answer isn't going to be good enough for him- he's determined to do more anyway.)

[listerbirdloml]

this was probably from ages ago but some fun asks for you; favorite lister headcannons? [I]

OOH idk man i’m shit at head cannons ALSO THIS WAS SAT IN MY DRAFTS FOR AGES IM SO SORRY I THOUGHT I POSTED IT

- well in my mind i always read him with a northern english accent and i’m not sure why. i know he’s from kent like Rowan + Jimmy but he just gives off northern vibes idk. and after learning that his dads scottish i can also see him using lots of Scottish slang terms.

- i think he’s a slag for a bit of pop too. Britney, Ariana, Taylor, Reneé, you name it. he gets a bit embarrassed though so he turns off his AirBuds when he wants to listen to girly pop music. he has the widest music taste out of the ark, so his Spotify wrapped is always mental. he posts them every year and not once has the same song appeared in his top listened to

- ik he’s not like blonde blonde but i think his natural hair is a lot darker but he’s been dying it blonder since he first met Jimmy and Rowan. when the ark are on hiatus he lets it grow out to his natural colour for a bit.

- he tried to grow a stache one time but Rowan shaved it while he slept. Also he didn’t know how to shave when he first met Jimmy and Rowan, so Pierro taught him. Pierro also taught him how to tie a real tie rather than use a clip on one.

- Joan LOVED lister. she would always fuss over him when he would come over. When he’d come round he would help her in the garden, but really he was terrible and Joan would always have to fix his mistakes. when he told her about how he and his mum would listen to albums together when he was little, she began showing him her collection of old records from when she was a teen/young adult. when she died she left Lister a few of his favourites. Lister keeps them hidden at all times so when he was hosting parties there was no chance they’d get damaged. after they stopped having so many people over Lister kept them displayed in the living room.

- i think that before he and Jimmy got together he had healthy and fun relationship with someone unrelated. it’s not anything ridiculously serious but it helps him see what he should realistically be looking for and what he deserves. it’s not like he’s using the person though, and he actually really likes them. they eventually end things amicably though, and stay good friends.

- it says on the WIKI article alice wrote for him that he has three half siblings. as far as i can think there’s no canon information about them other than that, so i like to HC that they are all from his dads second marriage and they don’t talk much since Lister hasn’t been to visit his dad in years. the ages are;

1.) Lister (19-20)

2.) a sister who’s like 17ish, she’s super embarrassed about the whole ark thing and is reluctant to rebuild a relationship with him again when he reaches out to her post IWBFT, because she remembers how he used to constantly fight with their dad when he’d come over for christmas / two weeks in the summer holidays. when they do start to reconnect and get closer she helps him bond with their dad too. (maybe she’s called Maya?)

3.) a younger brother who’s 13ish and a total TWAT. they look really similar and he’s just like how Lister was in school but he’s hilarious and really admires Lister. somehow he’s stupid smart though, even if he’s class clown. i think he reaches out to Lister when he’s still in the hospital after the incident. i also think it would be funny if the younger brother’s celebrity crush was Jimmy but his image of jimmy is completely shattered when he meets him properly. (i call him Brodie in my head)

4.) his youngest sister who’s like 7 who barely remembers lister but once they get closer she has him wrapped around her little finger. he almost bought her a horse once but Jimmy and Rowan had to remind him that a 7 year old who lives in a city centre can not logistically look after a whole horse. (i think her names Eilidh)

- the ark move from the flat into a house just outside london and he makes sure they all have a room so they can visit whenever they want to.

- after getting to know them better, he gets really close with Angel and Juliet. the three of them and Bliss have “girls” nights in the arks flat. when Listers hair grows they teach him how to pleat it. he gets really good and when he starts seeing his half siblings again he pleats his sisters hair for them)

sorry idk man i yapped a bit 🤷‍♀️

[plagueybirb]

Because I love all things creepy and spooky and horrifying, and it's basically spooky season, imagine how much MORE messed up the Shadow Temple could be if it were in the BOTW era.

Ten thousand years go by. The Temple has all but been forgotten and buried with the rest of the Sheikah's dark past. I don't doubt at least the chieftains are told, at least as much can be recorded and remembered safely, but that's not all that important. Cut to BOTW. Link is exploring, and he comes across a part of the cliff wall in the Kakariko graveyard that just. Doesn't look Quite Right.

Does he bomb it? Does he Magnesis it out of the way? Does he Stasis it and beat the ever loving crap out of it and send it spiraling into the stratosphere? Whatever the case, he gets it open. There's a long, long, LONG staircase down. It's dark, dank, and there's a heavy scent of something rotting and undeniably Wrong.

Link, being Link, descends.

It gets darker. The smell of rot and decay gets even heavier. The air is thick with it, so strong you can almost physically taste it. It's overwhelming. There's almost a dark aura in the very air, like the shadows themselves take up physical space and are no longer confined to a flat plane.

There's a dias at the bottom, like the typical Sheikah shrines have. There's torches, but they're techy, and glow like stars when activated by the Slate. Lighting them opens the first door. Is it magic? Advanced technology? Who knows, that's not important.

There are messages on the walls. Ancient writing, glowing red in warning instead of the usual blue. Warning you to turn back, that there's nothing worth finding here, that whatever is there is meant to stay buried forever.

Discarded tech litters the rooms, everything was left in a hurry. Tossed about randomly like people were just throwing things into the hidden underground labyrinth just to get it in there. But that's only the first few rooms, the ones that are easy to reach. The tech is nothing special, it's just everyday items one might've had over ten thousand years ago.

The next couple of rooms are very different. They're labs. There's large rooms with long tables filled with weapons that were scrapped. Ranged weapons, ancient blueprints for outfitting guardians with all sorts of weapons before a design was settled on. Sickles, scythes, even energy whips that would snake out and snatch you, little thorns and hooks digging into you to keep you trapped like a fish on a line. Guardians designed to go in water, Guardians designed to swim in sand. All plans, half tested, unfinished, and forgotten. Meant to fight monsters with brutal efficiency in all types of terrain, just in case the Calamity escaped Hyrule.

The rooms after that are very different. Locked behind a terminal you need such high security clearance that genuinely no one alive even has access to anymore. Link, having the last Sheikah Slate, is perhaps conveniently the only person who is able to unlock it. Suspiciously so. One has to wonder who's Slate it was originally, before passing through to Zelda and eventually Link.

The rooms are forbidden. The further in you go, the older and more ancient everything becomes. The more horrific.

There's a Dead Hand. But it's not normal. It lumbers through the halls, slithering among mounds of bones and discarded fleshy and techy amalgamations that failed. This Dead Hand has Gaurdian limbs jutting out at odd angles, dragging it along like a severely messed up spider. It's a horrible fusion of dying tech and revived flesh and too many hands. It's the only "success" of merging tech and flesh to try and create something or someone that might stand up to Calamity Ganon in the event the Hero dies. It was never meant to exist, and never meant to leave, and therefore must be slain.

And after that, it just keeps going. Up until you reach the bottom. There's another staircase and a stone dias, and torches. Actual torches, that need to be lit with fire to open the last door. It's older than anything else in the Temple, older than living memory. Almost like another temple that was just built on top of. From there it's just a straight shot through oddly familiar and terrifying torture rooms and death traps, a ferry that floats without any water to carry it, and a gaping pit that leads to an old arena.

Now, there's probably no Lens of Truth anymore, I doubt an already old artifact survived that long. So maybe there's nothing in the arena. Maybe it's just a big drum in a dark and vaguely poisonous abyss.

But maybe there is something. And Link just can't see it. Or can only see it through the camera on his Sheikah Slate. Something even worse than Dead Hand. Something that had to stay trapped down at the deepest, darkest, most ancient depths of the temple.

Impa would possibly be the only one alive who knows even a fraction of what Link would see in there. Perhaps Paya too, but who knows?

Would the Yiga Clan know? Would they know the horrors of a BOTW Shadow Temple? What would they do with the information if they did know?

Can y'all tell I've been thinking about this for a while? Just a tiny bit?

I just REALLY like the Shadow Temple and want to see it return someday in a way that spooked me like it did the first time I played OOT. It doesn't even have to be a main dungeon, it could be entirely optional and I'd be happy

[intersexprophet]

au where shouto suddenly realizes he doesn't want to be a hero and enji loses his fucking mind. there's a huge fight, with fuyumi trying to interject and calm things down. natsuo shows up (bc fuyumi called him for backup) and he tells shouto to grab a bag and he'll take him out of there.

at some point, endeavor says something like, "what did touya even die for" which almost makes fuyumi so sick to her stomach she feels like throwing up

nat doesn't have a place for shouto, but says he knows someone that does. and after acting kind of strange (which shouto chalks up to the fact that they really haven't had the chance to communicate almost at all bc endeavor lol), natsuo eventually says he'll explain things but it's complicated and he can't ever tell endeavor about any of it

anyway. they end up at an apartment in a part of the city that shouto has never been to. and when natsuo knocks on the door of some apartment, a man with light blond hair and deep set eyes answers. he looks happy to see natsuo, at least, but looks kind of panicked when he gets a sight of shouto.

eventually natsuo introduces him to jin, who, uh, happens to be, hm, touya's partner. yeah, that touya, our older brother, the one that died 11 years ago. he's alive and in a long-term relationship with a former criminal and, no, endeavor and their mother do not know about this at all and, btw, you were never supposed to know either so you have to SWEAR you'll never say anything, even to mom, got it?

nat leaves (half because he has a final exam that he cannot afford to fuck up on and half because he's a lil cowardly in the fact that touya is not someone to be trifled with and he does not want to be there when touya pops his lid) and touya shows up with take out, bc both he and jin knew nat was stopping by (just not what for). so shouto gets something to eat, at least.

but touya is very much pissed about all of this. shouto only sees him briefly when touya's head pops into the doorway with a look of fury. (and shouto doesn't remember his face, only knows what he looks like from photographs, but some of his questions are answered when he sees the obvious skin graph job wrapping around his lower face and remembers the jaw bone that was found)

touya takes his meal in his bedroom. shouto at least has jin for company. jin is kind, but his loyalty to touya outweighs that aspect, so he gives sparse details about shouto's older brother, really only telling parts that have to do with himself (how they met, how they operate, etc.). anything else he insists that is not his business to tell.

the thing is, it's one thing that touya not try to kick shouto to the curb for one night. but the question that nat and fuyumi have to ask themselves is what they're going to do when endeavor is so angry and considering his track record.