#forgot to add these tags oops-

[l3xdrigo]

Under the Oak tree

The wilderness of the suitcase is an expanding space of forests, lakes and rivers, no one knows how it formed but we know that it's been there since the beginning. In a specific place of the wilderness, there is a large oak tree, its branches swaying in the wind, taking a closer look, there are things placed under the tree. It looks like a small makeshift of graves, rocks used as the tombstone,twigs tied together in the form of a small cross, flowers sprouted from these graves, slowly swaying in the breeze. All graves were slightly different, be it having different colored flowers or having tiny trinkets that have seen better days. Two trinkets standout from the others, one is a giant ring, placed on the cross slightly slanted, the other was a pair of glasses, that have small cracks placed on the rock. It was a somber and peaceful sight, it was clear that whoever placed this had made this as a memory for them and a way to grieve the loss. The grave of a boy who had an adventurous spirit, who grew curious of the outside. The grave of a girl who was shy and timid but had the soul of purity and was courageous till the very end. The graves of children who sought freedom of the outside but in truth were just lambs to the slaughter, being used as a sacrifice for a plan of manipulation and repentance to one of their kind who stands alone in the rain. Isn't it scary to die at such an age, the unexpected feeling of death as you felt raindrops on your skin for the first time, it's not all bad, at least you now have now met peace and freedom. For the lone sheep who's still standing, the chains have broken, but the shackles are still heavy. The door is open yet freedom is still so far.

(Or I personally headcanon that in the wilderness, Vertin has made makeshift gravestones for her fallen classmates when she first became the timekeeper, to keep their memory and as also a way to grieve the loss and guilt that she still faces till this day)

[barbed-snile]

Aftermath

[stupidphototricks]

Susan Sto Helit Death being an iconic teacher and mostly-human superhero in Thief of Time.

"Questions don't have to make sense, Vincent," said Miss Susan. "But answers do." -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

Susan did not waste breath saying things like "That's impossible" at a time like this. Only people who believed that they lived in the real world said things like that. -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

"But that's far too difficult for seven-year-olds!" "Yes, but I didn't tell them that and so far they haven't found out," said Susan. -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

"There is practically no limit to the things I find normal." -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

Some people fade into the background. Miss Susan faded into the foreground. She stood out. Everything she stood in front of became nothing more than background. -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

"But I thought they were a superstition!" "No, they're a substition, said Susan. "I mean they're real, but hardly anyone really believes in them. Mostly everyone believes in things that aren't real." -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

She smiled. "Look on the bright side," she added. "We're young, we've got all the time in the world..." She swung the wrench onto her shoulder. "Let's go clubbing." -- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

[kipzkitsch]

ACE ATTORNEY PRINCESS BRIDE AU

For @miegoweek: Day 2 - Defense

[dailykieran]

Day 69

Cringetober day 8: dead meme

[sinner-shark]

redrawish from Static from Flavor Foley w/Fresh inspo was this post from @maream-zaream yeag im probs not doing more *collapses*

[lady-lilly-gray]

Will Elizabeth Midford Commit Suicide?

I think she might </3

Ever since I read the Emerald Witch arc (re: Chapter 105) I have wondered:

“Why bring up that Grim Reapers are humans who have committed suicide?”

Whilst it is an interesting bit of world building, everything Yana-san does is extremely intentional; so I don’t believe that such a big revelation was intended as nothing more than a throw away line.

Therefore, what is the reason for her telling us, the reader, this?

There are two reasons I can think of:

We will learn more about one (or more) of the Reaper’s suicides; OR

Someone will commit suicide, and she wants us to understand the repercussions of that in this universe.

For the first point, which reaper would we get that kind of information about?

I don’t think Yana-san would trust herself to write Grelle’s backstory, as it is more than likely linked to her gender identity.

William and Ronald have already been at the focus of arcs (Circus and Sanitorium) during which information regarding reasons/methods could have been shared or foreshadowed

Any background we do get on Othello will probably relate to his experience with Undertaker (re: after he became a Grim Reaper)

As for that point; Undertaker is the Reaper we are most likely to get a backstory on.

However most of what has been alluded to in his past has been confined to the 19th century: his desertion of the dispatch, the mourning lockets, his association with the Phantomhives. Therefore, I don’t foresee us learning about his suicide.

So that brings up the second point: Who is most likely to commit suicide?

Let’s look at some characters who have not been Doing Well when last we saw them:

Soma: I think it unlikely for Yana to kill him off after already killing off Agni. Also, since he is (at least currently) distanced from O!Ciel and the rest of the main cast, his death wouldn’t really have an impact on the narrative.

Finnian: After what happened with Doll and Snake, he may be questioning O!Ciel’s motives, but I think he intends to stay by O!Ciel’s side until the end. His flashback in the Emerald Witch Arc supports how much he values his new life.

Edward’s present conflict is mostly rooted in Lizzie’s reaction to R!Ciel’s return. He has shown to feel betrayed by O!Ciel for what happened with the Music Hall; but at least he has a support system (Cheslock, Clayton, and Harcourt are all in the same boat as him and can help each other cope with what happened).

To that point, how has Lizzie been doing? (not well)

Now, let’s look at her role in the story so far:

She is initially introduced as an overly-sweet annoying comic relief. However, the Campania arc proved this to be a façade she created for R!Ciel. At the end of the day, all she wants is to make Ciel happy.

But even before the Campania arc, there is a crucial point to her relationship with O!Ciel specifically—in the Circus arc.

“But Lilly! She’s barely even in that arc!” Yup! But she is in it—and not just in the “filler” chapter at the end. So why would our ever-intentional mangaka give her such a small role in the first arc to really kickstart the overarching plot?

Well, what is her role in this arc? She is at the Phantomhive manor when it is attacked.

When O!Ciel is informed that the circus troupe was sent to his manor, his first instinct is to be concerned for Lizzie’s safety, before ultimately entrusting the servants to protect her along with the rest of the house.

What does this mean? This means that, despite him being dismissive of her when she is first introduced, Ciel genuinely does care about her. Yes we obviously see him caring for her in the butler arcs, but this is mainly shown in ways that could be seen as having other motives, as him doing “what Ciel is expected to do.”

But in the circus arc, we simply get this reminder in O!Ciel’s mind; he is acting solely on his own subconscious. He is not trying to prove anything to anyone—these are his own genuine thoughts and concerns.

Now we can move on to the Luxury Liner arc, and what it means for Lizzie’s relationship to the twins, and to the Reapers.

That’s right, aside from O!Ciel, Lizzie is the only character we have seen have a brush with a working (i.e. not undercover) Grim Reaper and live.

Heck, Grelle was too stunned to react—it was Sebastian who stopped her (with one hand, but we’ll come back to why that’s relevant)

As for her character development in this arc, there are three scenes I’d like to look at:

The Battle in the Hold

“No matter what, I will protect you���

There is no one (sans Snake, who didn’t know R!Ciel) around to witness this, so it’s fair to say that this is O!Ciel’s own desire to protect her. He does genuinely care about her, regardless of how far those feelings go. (Yes, I’m an O!Cielizzie shipper, but that’s not the point of this theory)

The Watertight Doors

O!Ciel stays behind so as to not leave her alone. He recognises that he can’t pull her out without risking her safety, so he risks his own to stay with her.

(Yes, Sebastian can’t let him die, but he can still get badly hurt.)

I don’t love the scene of him (a CSA SURVIVOR) ripping Lizzie’s dress off, but it does give us an interesting image: Lizzie wearing his jacket for the rest of the arc. Even when she does eventually stand up and protect him, it is still his treatment/protection of her that is giving her strength to fight.

“Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog”

“She protects him; She’s so strong; She’s more than a satellite love interest; Yay!”

I won’t harp on the actual fight—ya know, the one we see from O!Ciel’s perspective!

He is shocked, he is safe. He is the younger brother, the one who grew up sick and weak, used to being protected by Ciel and the rest of his family. Now his fiancée (if in name only) has also come to his rescue, in spite of what he his brother told her in the past. Even though she doesn’t know it in the moment, O!Ciel is the first of the twins whom she feels comfortable revealing this “unladylike” side of herself to.

Because, more importantly, when she is showing this side of herself, she refers to herself as The Wife of the Queen’s Watchdog.

This phrasing interests me since R!Ciel has never officially held the position of Watchdog.

Additionally, so far as I can recall, Lizzie is not aware of O!Ciel being on the ship for Watchdog Reasons™—so why bring it up in the first place? To further intertwine her fate with O!Ciel’s (if you ask me).

Last we saw of Lizzie (7 YEARS AGO), she was on the verge of a breakdown for not being able to tell the twins apart. Specifically, she was evaluating how much of the love she felt for O!Ciel was due to him acting like his brother—and how much of her love was due to him acting like himself, like when she protected him on the Campania?

“Lilly, this is interesting and all, but the main focus of the story is O!Ciel and Sebastian’s contact! What does it matter which twin Lizzie is in love with?”

True: the main story is O!Ciel’s contract with Sebastian; and I think most of us believe it will end with O!Ciel’s death. So, is there anything holding him to life at present—once his revenge is enacted, that is?

Given the (all but confirmed) theory that the Phantomhive manor was attacked because of something relating to Vincent’s work for the Queen, I believe that:

The position of Watchdog must die with O!Ciel.

This will also directly counteract Undertaker’s intentions of protecting the Phantomhives, to the point of trying to revive them.

O!Ciel is slated to die per his contract, and R!Ciel is already dead, and will probably be killed once again. So that’s the end, right?

Wrong

O!Ciel is not the only living “spare heir” to the Phantomhive family: Frances Midford is.

Side note: she more than likely was at the very least consulted regarding this position when it was believed there were no survivors of the attack on the Manor. Remember, this was the same time when Lizzie fell into a depressive spiral.

And who is Frances’s heir? In peerage, Marquess outranks Earl, so Edward would not be demoted to Earl Phantomhive; which makes the next Phantomhive heir Elizabeth.

Now, if Lizzie were to die, Frances would not have an heir; and with no prospect of having any more children (not biologically impossible, but still unlikely at her age) would Victoria even bother bequeathing the role to her? Most likely not. (Even if she did, though, Frances is likely to outlive Victoria, who died in 1901.)

If Lizzie were to be killed, she would no longer be in the story; but if she killed herself we would see her again—as a Grim Reaper.

Yana-san loves her foreshadowing, so let’s look at chapter 117: Lizzie versus Sebastian

The first time they fight, it is with regards to R!Ciel. Could this be a set up for another fight between the two over O!Ciel? Oh, but if it is, Sebastian would not go easy on her.

He acknowledges that she is strong, but still no match for his demonic abilities. If she’s to stand a chance against his full demon capabilities, she’d need supernatural strength of her own…like that she would acquire as a reaper.

Additionally, this fight already shows Lizzie’s growth as a fighter. As I mentioned earlier, when she turns her sword on Grelle during the fight with the Bizarre Dolls, Sebastian stops her with one hand (two fingers, actually!) But when they fight at the Music Hall,  he needs two hands to stop her.

What will happen when next they meet? (I hope we find out soon!)

Whilst I can’t say with absolute certainty that this is the direction Yana-san intends to take the story/Lizzie’s character, I think it would be a fascinating narrative direction to take Lizzie’s character arc in.

And maybe, if Sebastian is taken down, but O!Ciel’s soul cannot be saved, Reaper!Lizzie can at least be the one to collect it, cradling him in his final moments as he drifts away from her forever…

To End on a Positive Note, here are some fun details that Reaper!Lizzie could entail:

She could kill Sebastian to save O!Ciel with an act of true love; and they get to be together. If the Grandpa Undertaker theory is true, Reaper!Lizzie x O!Ciel would be a fun parallel to Undertaker x Claudia, another Reaper x Watchdog pairing.

Pseudo-Crack Theory! Having Lizzie become a reaper, or even having her commit suicide after O!Ciel’s death, could open the doors for a spin-off series about the Grim Reaper Dispatch that opens with Lizzie’s death; and, through her eyes, we get a fun office comedy about the daily lives of the Eternally Damned <3

[abominandus]

coogie run? coogckies that run anybody? old man cookie yaoi?

[soulemnity]

How do you think would be when luffy set sail on his own in baby lu au? Like, I can totally see 27 yo Ace and Sabo panicking and making OTHERS (commanders + whitebeard / dragon, koala, iva) panic too bc their 17 yo baby brothers will set sail.

oh that’s lovely………

i definitely think they would do some sort of send off at dawn, whether or not luffy grew up there or on the sea. i could see ace and sabp being nervous as the day approaches, but more than anything, they’re incredibly proud of luffy for how far he’s come. it’s a day full of excitement, worry (on their end), and happy tears

(it’s crazy, seeing the boy they practically raised grow up to become his own strong, independent person, going on his own journey all by himself. it’s crazy, and it feels amazing)

[sewaryka]

heh. what's she on about

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

Gabriel : Yes, I do know. It seems like you could even KILL OUR BABY for your career.

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : AGH!

V1 : What the fuck. How could you?

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : D-AGH!

*whipcrack.mp3*

Gabriel : Mmm...

End Transcription

Audio Source

[peach-moths]

The Always Sunny Twins but it's the Disaster Twins from Rise

[ad-astra-per-studium]

Okay so this morning I finished DATV, and here are some of my thoughts! (My second time writing this because Tumblr didn't save my draft ToT)

Spoiler Free!!

For some background, I played as a cis female elf who is an Antivan Crow and a mage. I romanced Emmrich after hearing how absolutely lovely he is (I agree completely; I started replaying it already and I'm going to romance him again as a Mourn Watcher).

I really enjoyed the game! When I first came here to write this post I got pretty hard into what people were saying online and my thoughts on Bioware, but for the sake of my sanity, I will give a short summary.

I think the game delivered exactly what it needed to. It was fun, it was a good time. I was on the edge of my seat and I wanted to play more. The graphics are beautiful, the combat is challenging but not too challenging to where I was ever too frustrated to keep playing. I liked the characters, they were fun to talk to and I loved doing all of their quests.

I went online to see what other people were saying, and of course the game was getting a lot of hate. This wasn't surprising to me, but at first I was disheartened. But also, I had to realize that Inquisition and 2 both got a ton of hate after release. Now, those are beloved installments in the series! I think once the new release hate is over, the game will grow on people.

This doesn't mean I think it's enough to save Bioware from EA execution, I mean, I hope it is, but EA keeps mounting the pressure. Apparently, Veilguard has made only half of the sales EA projected. and expected. However, what I've seen everyone agree on, and what could be a potential saving grace, is that this is the most beautiful AAA game they've seen and played in years. And I completely agree. This game is stunning. I could just walk the streets and trails of these regions for hours and not get bored.

Anyway, to end the tangent, I thought the game was great! And I'm excited to replay it. Anddd I think, in time, more people will see it that way, too.

[zvahlne]

big laurance alternates au post!!

hi welcome to my laurance alternates au post i'm just gonna drop everything on y'all tehee:)) i will share it with somewhat of a narrative but it's not going to be fully fleshed out fic or art atm i apologize... i hope you can enjoy it even if it's unpolished!! with alternates ending tmrw i just really wanted to yap about him before it's over!!! alternates spoilers ahead btw, go watch if you haven't... now say hi to my laurance !!

i have a couple other doodles and writing snippets i will share when relevant in the post!

the au picks up just after the events of episode 4. the group is making their way through the street when aphmau's walkie-talkie starts popping static. they all look around frantically, but instead of any alternates, they notice someone poking out from the rubble... and then notice it's laurance! (or looks like him...)

That was when Aphmau spotted a familiar face in the rubble. She couldn't believe it. Covered in debris, he was... "Laurance?" Aphmau gasped softly. Then it tore out of her - "LAURANCE!" "Aphmau, careful!" Aphmau ignored Travis, rushing to the rubble. "He might still be alive! We have to help him!" "He might be an Alternate!"

aphmau immediately starts digging him out - she can't lose anyone else, not now. travis and katelyn are hesitant, but eventually katelyn starts helping too (extremely ineffectively; she's pretty weak by this point. this is what convinced travis to start digging laurance out, too.)

"Please be alive, please be alive, please, please, please," Aphmau pleaded, voice thick with unshed tears so she could focus her energy on digging Laurance out from the rubble. "Please be Laurance," Travis groaned in response. Aphmau started with a "Travis!..." but ended with a "...Please, be Laurance..."

the first thing laurance sees when his eyes flutter open is aphmau's face - and the first thing he realizes is that he has absolutely no idea where he is. the first thing he feels is pain, all over. something is wrong with him, and he can tell it immediately.

before anyone can ask HIM anything, he asks if aphmau's alright, even while bleeding from the head.

the group then asks him the question we have all been asking him for years - "Where have you been, Laurance???"

his answer? anticlimactic. "I... I don't know?"

travis immediately finds that suspicious, and starts grilling him, standing defensively in front of katelyn, but aphmau tells him to stop. aphmau suggests that he must have hit his head, and katelyn mumbles an agreement. travis momentarily shuts it, but he's not happy about it. aphmau also suggests laurance must have seen the tv broadcast and was looking for her. laurance squints, trying to remember anything through the haze, and...

"Aphmau!" Suddenly, he was grabbing her arms, his eyes wild. Aphmau gasped and the entire group tensed. "I was! I was looking for you!" Travis stepped forward quickly. "LET GO OF--!" Laurance quickly loosed his hands. "TRAVIS, WAIT! Laurance..." she said, and Laurance couldn't remember ever seeing her look so anguished. Not that he could remember much of anything. A gritty determination settled on her brows - "How do I know it's really you?" "I..." "Tell me something only Laurance would know!" she demanded, and Laurance was instantly convinced he ought to... but he couldn't remember anything. His face twisted in horror, a deep dread settling in him in a place he couldn't name. "Aphmau, I..." Suddenly, it came to him, warm like an early autumn day. He was young, and Aphmau was younger, and they were at the park... He was jealous, because he saw her with Garroth... Unable to stop himself from smiling lopsidedly at the memory, he told her, "In high school, I asked you to go in a photo booth with me, and I kissed you on the third flash." "Laurance!" Aphmau cheered, launching herself into hugging him. He tried not to wince too much.

aphmau then checks him for injuries (he winced), asking him where it hurts (his answer is 'everywhere'). katelyn snarks, "Your head's bleeding, let's start with that." she's also leaning on travis and she looks like shit. laurance is immediately concerned, but when he tries to ask her if she's okay, she just reminds him that he's the one bleeding.

travis steps forward and patches up laurance, katelyn lends him a hairtie, and they get moving!

laurance tries to play it cool, but he knows something is wrong with him. things come back to him slowly - when the first emergency broadcast came on, he was with cadenza, babysitting caleb... it interrupted his cartoons, and scared him... then... something in the basement...? how did he get in the street? what happened to cadenza and caleb???

unfortunately with that we've finished one of the most developed segments... but more DOES happen after that!!! if people are interested i will post more!!! points of interest: where are cadenza (there's a very cool answer to this imo!!) and caleb??? wtf happened in the basement??? and laurance's #1 question ofc:

and ummm... here's a playlist you can check out!

which could mean anything

[frank-kiwii]

He'd burn Eden down if he could.

[serpentineshine]

~ “Take it far, give it a name! Places forget, stories remember.” ~

Yaelokre’s work is so inspiring to me, i adore their artwork and musical storytelling. i wanted to draw something to celebrate the release of My Farewells to the Fields / Bird Cage Blue and Yellow so i drew the Storyteller character!

Yaelokre’s Songs of Origin are out now on youtube and streaming now on spotify! please give their songs a listen if you like folk music, storytelling, and general whimsy :) and congratulations to Yaelokre on their release!