#fun fact to anyone seeing this in the future: this was the very last piece done on my old ssd

[vodid]

opening up

comic 1 || comic 2 || fanfic

[guardianofnightmares]

Attack

“And remember: there is enough fuel in those rods for couple of maneuvers and a descent. That’s it.” Blitzwing said in a stern tone while adjusting some screws on minibot’s backplates. “I highly recommend you to not stray far away from your group for too long.”

He knew that his companion was not that reckless to go on adventures of his own on a battlefield, but it’s still difficult not to worry about mechs’ safety. Even if the targeting systems of an Autobots’ flagship "Endeavor" were supposed to be down by the beginning of an operation, its guns would still be working at full capacity.

Chances of being shot by a random plasma beam were still pretty high.

“I know, Blitzwing, I know,” said minibot sighed in defeat. His spirits were not that much higher than everyone else’s lately.

“But hey,” He continued, “Even if I wanted to, I doubt Megacon would allow me to go sightseeing without him… And if I indeed managed to do just that, my fear of withering away from his lecture about my recklessness definitely outweighs the fun of getting into troubles.”

----------

Phew, third entry for the @blitzbee-week event has arrived at last. Prompt of a third day was "Attack", which turned out to be quite an interesting one to create a piece for. Eventually, I've decided to picture a scene of preparations for one of first major battles in a story of mine. Considering a fact that a mentioned scene takes place at the beginning of a second part/volume of a fanfic, I found it to be a good opportunity to show an evolution of relationship between characters (at least in comparison to previous entries).

Fanfic the scene is taken from is called "TFA: Icarus". You can read it by following a [link] for the series "folder" which also includes an existing teaser (future prologue) for a story. The updates are slow, I know, I am sorry for a delay, I was very busy with a job of mine lately and I do not know when the situation will change for better. Despite all of it, I'm still deeply grateful for every subscription and "like" you leave under works for this project of mine. Know that I see and appreciate every kind gesture of yours).

As always, if anyone is interested to know what's going on "behind the scenes" of a picture, I will provide the full snippet of a depicted interaction under a cut line. Hope you'll enjoy it. Especially those of you, who read previous "chapters" of mine, for you might find a reference here to one of them ;)

Bumblebee finally glanced at a Decepticon sitting on his haunches behind his back. The Warframe’s been checking on a Cybertronian analogue of a humans’ “parachute” for the last half of megacycle, trying to secure the massive carcass on a frame it was not meant to be worn by. 

“How’s it looking?” The Bot asked. Not out of vanity, for once, but rather out of practicality - a bleak, outdated “jetpack” was the smallest one they could salvage, and it’s still way too big for a mech of Bumblebee’s proportions. Several kilograms of metal more and it’d have begun to tip a yellow colored Autobot over. 

“… It’ll have to do.” 

A brisk, honest and not so uplifting answer. But, come to think of it, Bumblebee would’ve been more surprised to hear a reassuring comment coming from a Triplechanger. 

A notion that Bumbler was capable of periodically predicting Con’s responses almost made him chortle. The possibility of his team forming a bond with Warframes over the course of a stellar cycle after an escape from Cybertron was improbable at best. And yet, there they were - trying to work as a single unit despite ever present old grudges. 

For a goal they were fighting for together against a common foe was more important than any of their just (and unjust) beliefs. 

“And remember: there is enough fuel in those rods for couple of maneuvers and a descent. That’s it.” Blitzwing said in a stern tone while adjusting some screws on minibot’s backplates. “I highly recommend you to not stray far away from your group for too long.”

He knew that his companion was not that reckless to go on adventures of his own on a battlefield, but it’s still difficult not to worry about mechs’ safety. Even if the targeting systems of an Autobots’ flagship "Endeavor" were supposed to be down by the beginning of an operation, its guns would still be working at full capacity.

Chances of being shot by a random plasma beam were still pretty high.

“I know, Blitzwing, I know,” said minibot sighed in defeat. His spirits were not that much higher than everyone else’s lately.

“But hey,” He continued, “Even if I wanted to, I doubt Megacon would allow me to go sightseeing without him... And if I indeed managed to do just that, my fear of withering away from his lecture about my recklessness definitely outweighs the fun of getting into troubles.”

The last comment earned him a snort from a companion.

“Yes, he tends to do exactly that. You’d be insanely lucky if that was the only punishment coming upon your helm,” Blitzwing agreed in a more lighthearted tone. “Especially since, it seems, Megatron’s already figured out where someone prefers to spend their shift at once in a while.”

“…what do you mean by that?” Bumblebee asked worriedly after a short lived pause - he could almost “see” a smirk plastered across Blitzwing’s faceplates with the back of his own helm. And if he’s learnt anything about a Con over the last orbital cycles, it’s that him being smug never promised anything good for a yellow and black Bot. 

“Let’s just say that if a certain hiding spot is indeed real, I’ll make sure to send you energon treats during a “home arrest” of yours.” Blitzwing mused out loud. A followed groan full of despair, which came from a small mech, made Blitzwing slip an amused laugh. 

And here a minibot hoped that Megatron would be any different than a so-called Bossbot of his. 

---

Soon after the Trpilechanger’s done everything he could in order to make Bumbler’s descent to a flagship safer, a huge figure appeared at an entrance to a bay. Bumbler noticed a newcomer only when a said mech contacted him via personal comlink, voice commanding yet devoid of usual rasp undertones. 

“Time to go, minibot,” Megatron announced, as if wanting to make sure that his arrival was interpreted as a sign to wrap preparations up. It made both Cybertronians to pause their conversation and to look up at an arrived Decepticon. 

The red and grey mech stood with his servos being clasped behind his back, polished shoulder pauldrons proudly shining under a warm artificial light. One of his chest plates bared signs of a recent scuffle at one of remote outposts - the right side was adorned with a fresh wielding patchwork, performed by Ratchet himself, which hid an ugly and deep scar. 

The sight of a quickly healing wound reminded Bumblebee of an amusing memory he’d witnessed in a medbay the other day - Ratchet and Megatron bickering with each other about who’s a true madmech between two of them, while a medic was performing mentioned repairs. The fact that a Warlord received an injury during a rescue of a red and white Autobot, who stayed behind in order to cover their team’s escape, seemed to slip out of both of their processors. Ratchet was nigh unstoppable in his fury, and it seemed that Megatron’s finally found someone who could rival his own stubbornness. Something, all members of a team were certain of, both older mechs secretly admired about each other. 

With raised up spirits, minibot quickly picked up a bag of tools, which laid near a working bench, and waved goodbye to a Triplechanger, who stayed behind to tidy a working place up. 

Blitzwing couldn’t hear what his two comrades were talking about while standing at an exit to a bay, but he could still observe the interaction between them. 

The height difference between mechs was ridiculous. It became especially obvious when Megatron lowered himself to a ground in order to access electronic panel of a “jetpack”, while Bumblebee was checking on contents of a bag of his. To Blitzwing, the scene almost resembled the way human parent would interact with their child after meeting them from an educational establishment back on Earth. Come to think of it, Bumbler looked like a sparkling in comparison to all of Warframes, which made the situation even more amusing in Blitzwing’s optics. 

After switching on needed components, the grey Decepticon activated a program in his own engine’s software. Both mechs synchronized recently updated broadcasting frequencies of their flying gear, and the “jetpack” came to life with a faint glow of its side lights.

A model of a “parachute” may have looked old, but the technology behind an outdated surface was something to be proud of. As if to prove a point, Megatron shifted his wings from side to side, up and down. Minibot whirled his head around just in time to see his own wings mirroring movements of his larger partner with a barely there delay. Created during an expansion of territories on foreign planets, devices similar to Bumbler’s one allowed Autobots to join Decepticons in off-ground battles and explorations, going so far as to copy difficult maneuvers of Warframes with an impressive accuracy. 

A true forgotten marvel of Cybertronian engineering. 

To say that Bumblebee could barely keep his excitement under control would be an understatement. The way he puffed up his chest plates and spread his temporary wings reminded local workers of a young Warframe after the first successful training session at a boot camp, fears and doubts the Bot had about an upcoming battle diminishing at a prospect of taking the first flight in his life. Even if it’ll mostly be coordinated by a partner. 

Bumblebee faced a rising by his side Decepticon with a contagious smile plastered across his grey faceplates, blue optics glowing with eagerness. He said something to him, most likely a spicy remark about his immaculate skills as a Prime soon-to-be Flyer on a battlefield taking place in an outer space. Those jovial antics made Megatron roll his optics, after which he turned an Autobot around with a smirk and (lightly) shoved him forward in direction of a main hangar, where they would join other members of a boarding party. 

---

It’s been a while since both mechs disappeared out of the view of Triplechanger, leaving him to his own devices. The grey and violet mech was in a middle of cleaning a working bench when he received a call. 

“Hey, Blitzwing!” A booming voice of Bulkhead sounded clearly over the comlink, only interrupted by periodic screeching of metal against metal in a background. “Are you and Bumblebee finished by any chance?”

“Fortune is on your side this time, my artistic friend, - Megatron’s already picked your yellow menace up.” Warframe answered while putting instruments into their designated slots. “What’s the matter?” 

“Lugnut and I would really appreciate it, if you joined us with loading ammo on a ship - these electromagnetic emitters are putting a strain even on him. Optimus is already helping us by operating a crane, but I don’t think it’s enough for everything to be finished on time.” A green Autobot admitted guiltily. When Blitzwing was about to say something, he added: “One more thing: Optimus said that he’d like to discuss a plan of an attack with you again afterwards - something about an established route through an asteroid field doesn’t click right with him.��

Of course it didn’t. But Blitzwing could hardly blame him for being extra cautious. Truth be told, he’d expected an ex-cadet to contact him sooner or later in order to go through a plan one more time. Meaning, there’s really no point for him to act getting annoyed at a prospect of doing an additional work during a current shift. 

“Alright. Seems that by helping you I’m going to kill two cats with one stone, so, count me in.”

“It’s “two birds”, Blitzwing,” Bulkhead corrected him with an audible smile. “Anyways, I’ll be waiting for you at an entrance 4-06. Thank you.”

With that being said, the bulky Autobot hung up the call, leaving a Warframe alone with his own thoughts, smiling to himself while cleaning the last of used tools from grease and oil. 

Many things have changed since the beginning of a new cycle of War, for better and for worse. With the amount of mechs switching sides and betraying their causes, sometimes it was easier to assume, that all around you were enemies rather than to hope you had at least someone to rely on. 

Yet, despite every obstacle Outcast Autobots and Earth-stranded Decepticons had to go through so far, the newly formed squad of theirs was a proof that some things stayed the same. That Camaraderie still had a value in an ever treacherous world. And Blitzwing had a feeling that no matter what lied ahead of them, the old healed bonds and recently blossomed ones would stand the test of time.

As if coming to an internal agreement with himself, the Triplechanger shook his helm and finally headed to an agreed upon place of meeting with his unlikely comrades, while silently humming a tune Bumblebee taught him once.

Perhaps, an Autobot known as Prowl was right after all?

Perhaps, it was indeed the right time to start having Faith and Trust in teammates once more?

[cottonlemonade]

A Simpler Life [Part 3]

word count: 2296 || avg. reading time: 10 mins.

pairing: post-time skip Kita x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff, slice of life, mutual pining, neighbors to lovers

warnings: spoilers

synopsis: In pursuit of a calmer, simpler life you flee the city to move to the countryside - only to fall in love with your neighbor.

[part 1] [part 2]

The next day you waited in the front yard for him on his way home and invited him for dinner again. And the day after that. And after that. Before long, you offered a standing dinner invitation and he happily accepted.

Now Kita’s steps quickened when he called it a day. It became rarer that he stayed until sundown to maybe do something that could be easily taken care of tomorrow. Having dinner with you every night was almost as if … almost like… coming home to you. The first thing he did when he stepped through your gate was go check on your plants. The tomatoes were doing really well and your radishes, while a bit on the puny side, also weren't too shabby. He wound a few of the newly formed pea vines around the trellis, then went to knock on your door.

A wonderful smell wafted in his nose but his heart only jumped when he saw you. You were setting the table, an apron around your plump hips, your hair tied up to a bun. It took every ounce of self control he had not to greet you with “I‘m home“. But maybe you‘d find it funny if he did? He tucked the thought away for later. Right now he dusted off his clothes, took off his shoes and stepped inside.

With the rainy season came a new routine for Kita. He loved this time of year because his fields thrived in this weather and it was fun for him to go check on their growth every other day when there was a break from the downpour. While the rain splattered loudly on the roofs and puddle-strewn streets, he stayed inside, doing the paperwork that came with farming, going over numbers and making phone calls to ensure the supply chain was in order once it was time to harvest mid fall. Before, he would have used the remaining time in his days to read or do some maintenance around his home, fixing little things he noticed or building a new piece of sturdy furniture to then deliver to his grandmother in the little hamlet he grew up in 40 minutes away. And while he did do all those things, he made very sure to keep aside more time for you as well. You met up in town for a cup of tea or to go to the grocery store together or drove to a neighboring town for a famous fish market he had told you about, eating your fill of gorgeously fresh sashimi and having a drink under the beautiful traditional awnings of the shops while looking out onto the stormy waves of the ocean. You never called it a date. You always made sure to refer to it as an “outing” and while he was glad to spend time with you, no matter what it was called, he couldn’t help but deflate a little whenever you clarified it to the people in your town who had gotten curious and suspicious about how often you two were spotted together. “Our Kita never spends this much time with anyone, let alone a pretty thing like ya. Ya should pay Yumie a visit soon, I reckon.”, one of the grandmothers had noted the other day and Kita had vehemently shaken his head behind your back to make her stop. The last thing he needed was word getting back to his grandma. She would want to meddle or as she would put it “help”. She would probably invite you over for dinner and ask all kinds of embarrassing questions, strongly hinting at the fact that she wasn’t getting any younger and Kita should hurry up and give her a pretty wedding and plenty of great-grandchildren. It wouldn’t matter that her grandson hadn’t made any romantic advances to you yet or that you perhaps didn’t even see children in your future. In all honesty, Kita would be happy with whatever you wanted. You would want children? Alright, he could get started on that straight away as far as he was concerned. You would want to spend your days with him alone and get those little goats you were gushing over the other day? He would gladly comply and build their enclosure as soon as you’d say the word. But as much as he was yours, you weren’t his. He was accompanying you on outings and although you were incredibly sweet and initiated contact often, he had learned that this was just the way you were. And he was foolish to read anything else into it.

He almost didn‘t hear the knock over the rain. It was early in the morning and he sat on his couch with a cup of tea and a book but looked up when he heard your voice calling his name.

Opening the door he came face to face with a pitiful pout.

“My home flooded.“, you announced.

“What?“

“Apparently the roof isn‘t roofing as it should and now there is a huge puddle in my living room.“

A few minutes later he stood in your doorway, marveling at the myriad of blankets and towels laid out on the floor while in the middle of the room a big flower printed bucket was steadily filling up with water trickling in from the ceiling.

He would have a word with the town‘s realtor later for selling you a house that was anything less than perfect.

“Once the rain calms down a little I’ll have a look at it. Weather report said it should be dry in the afternoon.”

You threw him a hopeful smile.

“Really? Thank you so much! Can I make you lunch in return?”

He shook his head and upon seeing your face falter he immediately followed it with, “Ya’ve been cooking for me for weeks. Lemme do it for once.”

Personally, you thought you deserved an award for not drooling all over Kita‘s kitchen table. Seeing him shake out his wet hair when he returned from a quick run to the greenhouse for some fresh veggies was already testing you but now he was preparing said fresh veggies to turn into omurice and you were just about ready to lose your mind. There was something so wonderfully cozy and domestic about seeing this man prepare his produce with a little unconscious smile on his lips. His shoulders, broadened by the field work, moved smoothly as he fried the rice and you didn‘t hear him at first when he asked you a question, because your thoughts were somewhere else entirely. The meal immediately turned into your new favorite dish and his cheeks blushed when you couldn’t stop gushing about how good his rice tasted. You learned a while ago that it was a big source of pride for him when people complimented his produce, so you made sure to do it whenever possible, suppressing all the squeaks rising in your throat when you saw him turn shy. As you two enjoyed lunch, he requested more stories about your traveling and how you came to Japan, listening intently and asking for more details here and there. Laying a hand on your well-filled tummy you leaned back and let your eyes wander through his pristine home and out the open window, watching the continuous streams of collected rain drizzling from the shingles of the porch awning. Your eyes fell onto the little open shed next to his gate and the curled up form of his dog lazing around underneath.

“Shouldn’t we let him in?”, you asked and Kita followed your gaze.

“Hm? Why? Roku is a guard dog. He lives outside.”

“But… it’s wet outside.”, you mumbled.

“It’s nice in the hay, I promise.”

“Hm…”

“Don’t worry, he is doing well. If he’d be in here he couldn’t do his job properly to guard ya.”

Using his chopsticks, Kita placed a red bean mochi for dessert on a small plate with more fresh strawberries and handed it to you. You accepted and chewed the sweet treat thoughtfully, still looking outside, unaware of his adoring smile.

The rain did let up in the afternoon just as predicted and together you carried a ladder and some supplies over to your house. You insisted on helping and although you couldn‘t do much to assist, you noted that you could still cheer him on and make sure the ladder didn‘t fall.

Moving slowly on the wet roof he went to work. The leak was fortunately nothing major and it didn‘t take long to fix. On his way back to the ladder however -

He drew in a sharp breath when he felt a muscle pull in his shoulder.

“Oh my gosh, are you alright?“, he heard you call from the ground.

“Yeah. Just slipped.“

Kita almost missed a step on his way down when he suddenly felt your hand supporting his back. He was really trying not to enjoy you fussing over him but when you led him inside and ordered him to sit on your couch while you prepared an ice pack, he couldn‘t help but play it up eeever so slightly. And then regretted it instantly when you offered to apply a muscle relaxant balm. Ears and cheeks burning, stomach stirring, skin tingling and thoughts racing, Kita focused on a wood knot on your floor, telling himself to calm down as you rubbed the balm onto his shoulder.

With the start of the new week he was once again busy with errands in town and the city and only got to see you for your daily dinner - by now his favorite part of the day. When he got home on Friday night, he was surprised that Roku didn‘t come to greet him as he stepped out of his car. Kita looked around and found the black and white dog snuggled in the open shed in his usual space but now lounging luxuriously on a very plush dark blue pillow. He sighed as he knelt down to pet the soft floppy ears, Roku blinking sleepily up at him but not moving from his new bed.

It looked like you made it yourself, it even had the dog’s name embroidered on the side.

“She really spoils us both, hm?“, Kita muttered and Roku grumbled in agreement.

And so, with another sigh, he decided to confess to you. Soon. Even if just for his own peace of mind.

Once you had left after dinner and he was alone with his thoughts, Kita tried to focus on his book but his mind kept wandering. He had never confessed to anyone before. Quite honestly, as much as his grandmother would have been disappointed, he had been fully prepared to be alone for the rest of his days. He never would have guessed that a gorgeous foreigner from the city would take up residence in his heart. You reminded him of the little wild tulips that dotted the fields with white each new spring. They had always been his favorite because although maybe unassuming and almost delicate at first glance, when you looked closer they were resilient and just… beautiful. He should probably write you a letter to let him choose his words carefully. Yes. And he’d deliver the letter to your doorstep to then patiently wait for your response.

“Did ya already get this one?“, you asked. Deciding to use the break in between downpours Kita had suggested to do some pruning in your veggie patch. The soil was soaked and muddy but the stone plates he had laid down a few weeks ago kept both of you from sinking in.

He smiled and nodded, working on the tomato plants while you went over to trim the superfluous sprouts from the bell peppers. He noticed some days ago that you had started to use his dialect in a few words here and there and every time it happened, his stomach did a little somersault.

“Thank you, by the way. For everything else, too.“, you said suddenly. He looked at you for a moment before continuing his task.

“Don‘t worry about it. It‘s not a big deal.“

“I don‘t just mean the pruning. I mean everything. It‘s a huge deal!“, you exclaimed, “You helped me with my garden, I don‘t know what you did to that realtor but I got compensation for the leaky roof and a whole handwritten apology letter. You give me advice, share your phenomenal produce for free, built me a planter, fixed my roof“, you gave a nervous chuckle while he blushed at the list of your appreciation, “and you mean to tell me none of that is a big deal?“

“Because they‘re only natural when ya love someone.“, he shrugged and froze a moment later mid-snip when he realized what he had just said.

“What?“

“I…“

“You… you love me?“

He took a deep silent breath. “Well… yeah.“, he then said in a tone as if confirming the sky was blue, “I thought it was rather obvious.“

When you didn‘t respond, he went back to pruning, trying to exude his usual air of calm but his heart pounded in his chest. There it was. And you didn‘t say anything. So you didn‘t feel the same after all. But at least it was out now. He examined the leaf of a momotaro tomato when he felt your hand on his cheek, turning his head to you. His eyes widened when your lips touched his. Short at first. You looked at him, probably waiting for a reaction, then leaned in again.

Kita squeezed his eyes shut to drown out the rushing sound in his ears. With trembling hands he needed two attempts to get the gloves off his hands so he could cup your cheeks and pull you closer.

a/n: This is truly everything I love 😌 I loved writing it! The next part will be spicy so if you’d rather keep this story sfw this is where the “important plot” ends 🌟

art: coloring done by @keiko-chan

[part 4]

[eemoo1o-animoo]

10 Grelle-based paraphernalia that I found on eBay, in no particular order but my subjective deeming of relevance or importance

Possibly part one of a series? Perhaps?

If so, then I probably won’t contain it to only eBay, and I’m going off of what comes up for someone who’s based in the UK, so maybe there’s more or less stuff available if you’re in other countries due to shipping limitations, etc.? But eBay at the moment is my main source, and I’m only doing this — work that anyone can do, nothing exceptionally thorough or insightful — because I’m just a little bored, and I know Grelle is the most valued in the fandom and TSOGTR hasn’t been writing itself for the past year and a quarter, so why would it start now?

This is written at 3AM-6AM on 29/8/2024, so if this is found long after this date then there’s a chance my sources have already been bought out or deleted for whatever reason.

1.

Grell Sutcliff Funko Pop 18 Kuroshitsuji Black Butler POP! Vinyl Anime Figure

At the time of writing this, there are no bids for this and so the price remains at £21.99 (item and shipping). The current bid is due to end on ≈1/9/2024. Wait for the last second to bid one pence higher than the asking price and you’re golden.

I actually have one of these, but it was gifted to me, and so I don’t know how much mine was sold for, but seeing as the four Black Butler Funko Pops have been vaulted and are sold for way higher in other places online, I think this is a pretty good deal.

(Fun fact, the person who gifted her to me as well as tracked down other cheap listings for the other three called her Greta. Consistently. So. Greta. Greta Sutcliff.)

As we can see from the item’s pictures, the figure has been taken out of its box, at the very least just to be show-cased or inspected, but it does appear to come with the box. Here is a listing on Amazon (9.99 GBP, excluding shipping) for 10 Funko Pop display sleeves that should match the item’s measurements.

The current conversions for this item’s price (18.99 GBP) are as follow:

25.06 USD

36.91 AUD

33.77 CAD

22.52 Euro

2,103.26 INR

855,31 Turkish Lira

39.92 NZD

3,623.33 Yen

Obviously I’m not including every conversion in here, only the most obvious/prevalent. If your country’s currency isn’t here, then my apologies, and feel free to bring it to my attention (with currency named) so that I may add it to any future episodes to this possible series, or to edit this post back with the conversions of that time.

2.

Black Butler PVC Keychain Grell

The description of this listing says that this is officially licensed and from one reverse image search to find a bunch of listings across several websites for it, I’m inclined to believe that this is actually an official piece of merch and not a fan-made item that is being resold as I had originally thought it to be. (Wow, I’m such a knowledgable Black Butler fan. I know, I know.)

There’s not much to say on this other than the fact that it’s cute and I think a few pence has been shaved off from the original selling price, though I’m not too sure. I imagine it would have easily gone for 8.99 GBP, but again I’m not too sure; it’s 3AM after all and this isn’t a serious project for me.

The current conversions go as followed:

11.87 USD

17.47 AUD

15.99 CAD

10.66 Euro

996.15 INR

405,49 Turkish Lira

18.90 NZD

1,715.62 Yen

3.

Grelle Black Butler manga plushie Anime Soft Toy

It’s not the best price, I admit. If you’re looking for something cheaper then maybe go for the 5" plush, and there’s another listing on AnimeWare, but once tax and shipping get evolved it ends up being more or less the same price, anyway.

I think this is under the same line as Plushlois comes from, and to that I say: if someone buys her, will that come back? Will Grelle’s face be remade by @fancymeatcomputers, as @nullbutler’s Plushlois once had?

Anyway, she’s super cute. Her hair is a bit too saturated, but that’s not much to lament over, and she’s pricey, but is still far less expensive than any available Plushlois listing I could find (£52!! Usually!!).

Here are the current conversions:

39.61 USD

58.30 AUD

53.35 CAD

35.58 Euro

3,323.16 INR

1,351.58 Turkish Lira

63.01 NZD

5,727.47 Yen

4.

Black Butler Kuroshitsuji Grell Undertaker Anime two sided Pillow Case Cover 250

I’d originally listed another pillow for listing number four, which goes for the same price, but decided not to as Grelle is more prominent on this one.

Not much to say about this other than as far as I can tell it’s just the pillowcase and not a case and a pillow, but if you want to add a lil extra something to your Grelle shrine or limit your chances of finding a normie partner by having this as the centrepiece to your 20-something pillow statement on your romantic four-post bed.

Here are the current conversions:

7.91 USD

11.64 AUD

10.65 CAD

7.10 Euro

663.67 INR

269.94 Turkish Lira

12.58 NZD

1,143.54 Yen

5.

Black butler Grell Sutcliffe figure Kuroshitsuji SEGA PVC Scale Anime s01

Another shambolic price, I know. But out of all the non-Funko Pop Grelle figures listed, this is definitely the cheapest.

Out of all of the non-Funko Pop Black Butler figures, it’s far from it. I think the cheapest figures went to Ciel and Sebastian, but with a massive gap between the cheapest Ciel figure versus the cheapest Sebastian figure (there’s a lot of listings for this particular figure, all with free shipping and of similar prices). There’s also a listing that sells Sebastian and Grelle together with free postage, which would value each figure as far less than what this one figure is being sold for.

The current conversions (of 130.22 GBP) go as follows:

172.00 USD

252.73 AUD

231.50 CAD

154.48 Euro

14,430.37 INR

5,874.98 Turkish Lira

273.31 NZD

24,865.90 Yen

6.

Black Butler Grell Sutcliff Cosplay Costume Red Death Men Full Set Outfits New

I’m not much of cosplayer or a cosplay fan, but from the few full cosplays I found that range from £40-50, this seems like a good price.

There’s also a good few listings for Grelle-style shoes? The cheapest of which would be here. And both the shoes and the clothing come in men’s sizes, so it’s a match if you ask me.

The current conversions of the cosplay’s price are:

23.76 USD

34.92 AUD

31.98 CAD

21.34 Euro

1,993.77 INR

811.52 Turkish Lira

37.76 NZD

3,435.09 Yen

7.

Kuroshitsuji Black Butler Madam Red Angelina Dalles Anime Figurine - Play Arts

Look. I know this isn’t a Grelle figure, but I assume that most if not all Grelle fans are also Madame Red fans. And you have to admit that this is a damn good price for a figure of this type. In fact, I’d say this figure is the second cheapest, right behind the aforementioned Ciel figure.

Also the seller has the username “welsh lady”. Surely it’d basically be treason if I didn’t promote it.

The conversions of the item price (6.99 GBP) go as follows:

9.23 USD

13.57 AUD

12.43 CAD

8.29 Euro

774.85 INR

315.29 Turkish Lira

14.68 NZD

1,336.09 Yen

8.

USED Dolk Black Butler Book of Circus Grell Sutcliff Cast Doll 700mm Japan RARE

This is a fucking awful price. It hurts just to imagine buying this. However, it seems like a rare or custom-made doll, in a fancy box, and it was the only listing I could find of it, meaning it’s not a re-sell.

There’s not much to say — as you can see I ranked it pretty low on the relevancy scale, but I don’t know: maybe someone’s into this sort of thing, especially if it comes to Grelle.

The item prices are converted as follows:

2,805.52 USD

4,123.16 AUD

3,776.66 CAD

2,519.24 Euro

235,385.31 INR

95,779.75 Turkish Lira

4,458.47 NZD

405,826.75 Yen

9.

1 x playing card Black Butler Anime Sebastian Michaelis - Jack of Hearts ZT 85

For one playing card, to me this price seems ghastly. There’s also a Sebastian variant for the exact same price, but that’s all I can find in this style. The other listings for Black Butler playing cards aren’t in this style, coming wholly in colour with patterned frames. As far as I can see, on eBay there are only two listings for this type of playing card, and I’ve already linked them both to this post.

The current conversions of the item price (2.49 GBP) are:

3.29 USD

4.83 AUD

4.43 CAD

2.95 Euro

276.04 INR

112,34 Turkish Lira

5.23 NZD

476.23 Yen

10.

Black Butler Ceramic Mug Grell, Sebastian

There’s a more expensive mug with just Grelle on it that I’d contemplated listing here instead. (And, hey! From Germany, too. The TSOGTR imagery just won’t quit.) But this one is cheaper.

Besides, enough scrubbing with some iron wool will get rid of that ugly demon mug (no pun intended) in no time, surely!

The current conversions go as follows:

19.62 USD

28.84 AUD

26.41 CAD

17.62 Euro

1,646.22 INR

669,76 Turkish Lira

31.17 NZD

2,841.32 Yen

[middlingmay]

Runaway!Gale Part 2

Read part 1 here.

The next day, Gale heads to the local recruiting office. He hasn’t quite shaken his perception of the military as a brighter future. But it comes tumbling down like wet cardboard when they tell him he needs a permanent address, and can’t enlist without parental consent before he’s 21.

And just like that the spark that had been getting bigger and brighter since he stepped on that bus is all but snuffed out.

John finds him staring into nothing on a park bench later that day. His hands and ears are freezing and John shoves a dark knitted cap over Gale’s head and makes sure the tips of his ears are tucked inside. And he just sists with Gale, until he can finally tell John what happened.

Not cruel or dismissive, John checks Gale's shoulder with his own and says, “I don’t know what you know about the military, but they’re not big on individualism, buck.”

But he might know of a job going, if Gale is any good on farms. His buddy, Crosby’s family are looking for a stablehand as their last one is heading off the college. John is be happy to put in a good word for him.

In fact, he takes Gale to meet them that day.

Crosby’s family see what he’s like with their most cantankerous horse, a grumpy old mare, and offer him the job on the spot.

John beams with pride beside him.

The Crosby’s ask where he’s staying and when they hear he’s looking for somewhere more permanent, they offer him the converted barn loft, with food and board at a discounted rate. And if Gale accepts with shiny eyes, they’re polite enough not to say anything.

When they go, Gale hugs John. He can't remember the last time anyone hugged him, let alone when he initiated it, but John is the kindest person he’s ever met. And he tells him so.

He also asks if he can buy John something to eat as a thank you, finally prepared to eat something more than the odd bag of chips or piece of fruit now he’s gainfully employed.

John says no, but he can buy him something to eat as a date. If he wants, and when he's ready.

It goes well. John has him laughing until he nearly snorts milkshake out his nose. Gale flushes with embarrassment, but John looks delighted, like it's an achievement. They talk until closing and have to be kicked out.

John walks Gale back to his motel - for the last time since he’s moving to the Crosby’s barn tomorrow. Gale thinks it’s very sweet and when John says goodnight, John has to bite his lip and force himself away from Gale.

They take things slow. Even though things are on the up and up, Gale is still going through a lot of upheaval. He has a whole new life ahead of him full of potential, so John follows his lead.

Gale does start to let John push him out his comfort zone a bit. He lets John talk him into going to a party with his friends. Crosby’s there and still sweet and friendly. He meets Rosie who’s clever and a good conversationalist. He meets Curt who is full of life like John, with a little more bite, and Ken and Brady and Benny and Meatball.

Meatball loves Gale. Benny and John get jealous.

Gale also lets John take him to a baseball game. Gale keeps his anxiety under wraps, waiting to see if John is a betting man like his dad, but John just buys them each a hot dog, and sits with his arm around Gale's shoulders the whole time.

John also nudges Gale into social situations, to allow him to get to know more people. Gale already knows more people than he ever has in his life and doesn’t quite think it’s necessary, but he indulges John. In a way.

He gets to know Chief Harding and Alderman Huglin and Helen Nash, the Principal of the local high school. And Bucky teases him for making friends with all the straight laces. But the first time Gale manages to talk Harding out of writing John up for a ticket - for something he’d definitely been warned about approximately two dozen times before - he stops teasing Gale. And probably starts plotting a hundred ways to have fun with that development.

But through it all, John never tries to kiss Gale. He’s too afraid to scare him off.

It comes in a quiet moment.

John is hanging out with Gale at the ranch. Gale isn't on the clock, but he likes spending time with the horses whenever he can.

John asks Gale question after question about them and what Gale does with them. Eager, Gale leads John over to see them, to introduce him to them, excited John seems so interested in them and maybe this was something they could share.

But the closer they get, Gale notices a bit of fear in John’s eyes, and the horses definitely notice and they snort and stomp and John gasps a small, nervous, “Fuck!” and takes a step back.

And Gale realises John’s not asking because he’s interested in horses. He’s asking because Gale loves them, and he wants to let him talk and talk and talk about them.

Right there, in the barn, Gale kisses John with one hand in his hair and the other cupping his jaw.

John is dazed when Gale pulls back. Gale smiles sweet and walks away. He’d like to think he’s being coy - but inside he’s panicking and just doesn't quite know what else to do.

John snaps out of it and tackles Gale into a pile of hay, then Gale gets good and kissed, John's weight pressing down on him and a laugh on his lips.

John crowds Gale’s head with his arms, and his legs lay either side of Gale’s. John’s lips are a warm, pillowy pressure against his own and when John draws one lip between his own and sucks, Gale gasps at the tingling burst of pleasure.

And that’s all John needs. He licks inside Gale’s mouth, against Gale's own tongue in a firm, thick stripe. Gale feels full in a way he never knew could be so satisfying.

So he scoops up his own taste of John, greedily sliding his tongue over John’s, suckling on the pleasure there and pushing it into John's mouth until his kiss couldn’t possess, claim, take John any further.

Then Gale pulls his tongue back and softens his kiss, just so he can enjoy those needle like shocks that come as just the very tips of their tongues flirt and touch and tease.

John full damn body shudders and he whines and violently jerks his hips away from Gale as they break their kiss.

They stare at each other, breathing hard and heaving and Gale beams. John topples off him and collapses into the hay beside him. It prickles against his skin.

John jokes, “Who knew you could kiss like that?”

And Gale says, “Had to find out sometime, and you were taking your damn time about it.”

And John is already so gone on this man, but that’s where he decides he’s keeping him.

[ofmermaidstories]

i just wanted to say as a long time reader i'm so happy to hear your thoughts on the ending, because i feel like so many people were very "this is the worst ending ever and it ruined the series" or "this ending was perfect and anyone who disagrees just didn't understand the story" when i think neither is really true at all lol... like it's okay to take what you need from the ending and agree and disagree with certain parts! no perfect story exists because if it did then writers would stop writing! but i'm still so excited to see where your love of the series takes you in the future, and i'm grateful that you share your work with us always :) i hope you have a good week!

i love the series too much to swing blindly either way. 🥹 and i understand/can see perfectly how like, there’d be readers who’d be upset with the wrap up, or otherwise feel the knee-jerk reaction to defend it from all criticism. 🥺 i’m not one of them though. 🥹 hori achieved what he set out to do (tell a very specific story about a boy learning what it means to dream, and the cost and responsibility of gaining and losing them), there’s just some pot holes on the road to it. 🥺 and maybe they could’ve (should’ve) been addressed, maybe easily, maybe not (maybe it’s a problem for when the road was first built, in terms of foundation or missing approval plans, maybe) but the road still works. we still get there in the end. 🥹

i had fun the entire time, even with the complaints lmao. i agree with you, anon! like, i don’t think perfect creators/writers exist. we all have blind spots, or biases that otherwise skewer what we try to achieve. i think flaws make creators and their creations interesting!!!!!! if anything i think that tells you more about them and their work than the things they get right does. The way Hori protects and almost babies his hero boys—his men—from their consequences, lmao, like he’s almost too scared to truly hurt them in the long run? He always just shies away from saying things outright—things are always left just open enough that he can back peddle later on, fix things. The complete dry lack of romance, despite him taking pains to hint at it and the way it’s guarded among Ochako and Tsyu like some precious, girlish secret. 💀 Idc what anyone says about that last one, I don’t believe he’s deliberately subverting expectations—I think he’s just bad at writing romance (that isn’t unintended 💀) and also a coward, lmao.

But that’s the stuff that’s fun! It’s fun to pick it apart and then it’s fun to piece it back together either by writing fic or trying to find fics that have like, the fix-its you want. 🥹 Hori’s flaws and deliberate gaps are what makes it the perfect sandbox we know and love. and i think he knows that, tbh—there’s so many tiny things he hints at, throughout the story, that we just never get full explanations of. The UA robot uprising, lmao. The cyberwar after the kids leave school, mentioned in this last chapter?? The fact that he’s plotted out the past users lives, and is just kinda like—eh, yeah, i’m never gonna tell. LOL. Maybe what I keep calling cowardice is just a misjudgement of the lines he draws for himself, in the sand. 🧐🥺 I guess we won’t know, lmao.

i’m waffling. Anon, I hope you’re having a good start to your week. 🥹 Thank-you for being so nice, specifically with your last words—there’s a lot I wanna write for MHA!!! I’m excited to start something new that gets to play with what Hori left for us. 🥹 Like Lili said in her earlier ask—I’d like to write them a hundred other happy endings, too. 🥹

[avillanappears]

godzilla x kong: the new empire

"For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?"

okay, I kind of fell off doing this, but we’re back! the best ever tumblr review series that’s written by avillanappears.tumblr.com! I came in not expecting much, but it turns out I really, really liked it, actually! I’m more pleasantly surprised than anyone, godzilla vs kong rubbed me very much the wrong way. godzilla and kong beating the ever-loving tar out of each other was fun, sure, but I have WORDS for the human stuff. I could fill a whole post with those, probably, but we’re not talking about that! we’re thinking good thoughts, about the one I liked!

it’s definitely a fun adventure film. hollow earth was a much more fleshed out setting this time, I loved the varieties of locales and creatures. giant, flying flamingo fish that shoot electricity? kong crossing a rickety bridge made out of the spine of a monster so massive, that it’s kaiju sized compared to him? this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see! it was fascinating seeing kaiju sort of “on their level”, in a whole giant sized ecosystem made for them. we got some of that in the atomic time of monsters by @tyrantisterror, and I think it’s such fertile ground to explore. godzilla’s flirted with the idea before in both its netflix animes, but this is them really committing to it. it makes my worldbuilding and specbio freak heart happy. we even got to see more hellhawks! I love those guys.

lookit that face

okay this is going pretty long, but anyhoo, I liked the character stuff too. kong was as lovable as always, you really feel for the big lug. even though he’s a living god the size of a mountain, there’s a real vulnerability to him. he’s just a sad, lonely guy who wants purpose and belonging.

he and suko had some kind of fast, but still very nice bonding. the human side was fun too, they fixed a lot about what I didn’t like from the last movie. jia had more of an arc going instead of just being “the one kong talks to”, bernie was a lot more enjoyable since they cut out the weird conspiracy theorist stuff, trapper was a fun guy. it was nice just seeing someone who loves monsters and weird nature stuff.

skar king surprised me with how personal of a threat he is, they really let him feel like a horrid, nasty piece of work. he’s more than just a big evil overlord, he’s a bullying control freak who wants everything his way, and it makes his wretchedness more tangible in a way.

shimo didn’t get all that much, but I love shimo. I love her, and I can barely even tell why, there’s just some kind of Vibe to her I resonate with. I think it’s how mythical she feels. the oldest of a line of gods, a great being of ice, controlled by a wicked devil….in fact it all felt very mythic. I appreciate that, I love it when kaiju works play out like weird mythological epics.

probably the most tangible complaint I can think of right now is that the godzilla stuff was pretty underwritten. it honestly felt like he was just….doing video game sidequests or something. like, it didn’t have Impact up until the very end when he finally meets kong and SPOILERS SPOILERS. and it feels a shame to kill scylla and tiamat off this early, I liked those two as unpredictable wildcards. with rodan and the others still mia, and two titans unceremoniously dead, it’s starting to feel like the monsterverse is sorta….flattening itself? now that kongs arc is done, I think we need to get back to a godzilla solo or two, flesh things back out a bit. but that’s for future peter to talk about, today we’re leaving things off on a high note. fun characters, dynamic locales, some great monster brawling, this one was a good’un!

godzilla cast monkeys into hell for their sins

[regarding-stories]

The dark abyss that is Andor

There were several things that led to Andor.

On the one hand, Disney screwed up its Star Wars intellectual property by handing it to complete hacks for Episode VII to IX, leading a potential cash cow to attract less and less viewers over the course of three increasingly bad installments. Seriously, The Last Jedi is one of the worst disappointments I've actually watched, and not only was I thinking "This can't get worse..." every five minutes only to be proven, "Yes, it can!!", it completely killed my appetite to see IX (and I would have left the cinema at that one's sheer stupidity). With VII, I saw it once with some initial excitement in a cinema when it released and a strange feeling afterwards, and I never revisited it. VIII I saw on two separate long-distance flights because I couldn't stomach the thing in one sitting. IX I didn't see at all, but devoured YouTube videos ripping it apart. Clearly, Disney had a Star Wars problem.

The other thing is the reboot that was The Mandalorian, especially season 1. The Mandalorian had a penchant for not very strong logic in its writing that you still accepted because you had so much damn fun and loved the characters. Given the fact that it clearly pulled lots of viewers into Disney+ that were loving its vibe that was true to the core of Star Wars, Disney management saw the fact that theaters and theme parks were closed due to COVID on the one hand and that big Star Wars movies were at risk of actually losing money on the other hand, and they did what executives are wont to do - they decided that if it worked once, it will work again and declared they will pump out TEN Star Wars series in the near future.

Meanwhile they cancelled also their ongoing series of "A Star Wars Story" movies that started with what could be called "Episode III.5" - Rogue One. Rogue One was plagued with production problems, so much so that seeming key scenes from the trailer weren't in the movie. "I rebel!", anyone?? Still, it turned out to be something new - a new kind of Star Wars story. It took the idea of a war movie (or its modern equivalent, Band of Brothers) and put it into the Star Wars cinematic universe. It did without an actual Jedi (kinda-sorta) and it showed a strong performance of Diego Luna as the morally gray Cassian Andor. And... (spoiler alert) ... it killed its whole cast in its finale.

I know people that say Rogue One is their favorite Star Wars movie. (But other people dislike it.) I hold it in high esteem. The way the resistance is portrayed also seemed to be somewhat subversive - both to its previous image on screen and to what is portrayable on screen for mainstream audiences in general. It became clear that unlike in the original three Star Wars movies resisting an empire is, on the ground, a dirty business and not just about big battles or commando raids. (Which then happen anyway. Because Star Wars.)

Then followed the lackluster Solo and the third installment Yoda was never made as Star Wars increasingly lost its ability to draw crowds into seats.

And thus it came to Andor

Now what do you do with a character that (spoiler alert? really?) dies. You make a bloody prequel. Which is funny. Andor is a prequel to Rogue One which is a prequel to A New Hope. Prequels, like sequels, carry the risk of rehashing the original material without adding anything to it (Solo ...) and being trapped by the inevitability of what has to happen next, curtailing its writing (Kenobi ...). But Andor season 1 betrays none of that. (Talk about being addicted to prequels, Disney...) It is a strong piece of cinematic art in its own right.

And yes, I'm saying art. About a Star Wars series. That's how I feel about it. Andor not only has strong execution, it has depth. It was a show that made me pause it and think about what just happened on screen. It's a show that gets deeper if you know about history, unlike most shows that actually reveal their shallowness to the knowing eye. (Looking at you, The Man in the High Castle. Boy, I hated that tripe.)

But even before we get into that, let me say how I impressed I was with its set and costume design. Whereas the Book of Boba Fett gave us cyberpunks on floating scooters, Andor poured a lot of heart into how everybody looked in their various environments, creating a more rich and varied Star Wars society by portraying various strata thereof, from the life of imperial senator Mon Mothma to the middle class living literally in her shade somewhere on the middle levels of planet-city Coruscant to the mining town labor class that we find Cassian in. It flawlessly cuts between different well-thought out locations, including, of all things, a holiday resort.

This is paired with some very strong performances by similarly strong actors. I mean, we all knew Stellan Skarsgard would deliver, sure. But Denise Gough absolutely kills it, acting-wise. Her delivery as a villain is perfect, the way she manages to always look so sour and annoyed already is quite something, how she normalizes evil into a technocrat career. Every flinch of her face conveys books of information to me as the fascinated viewer. She is at the heart of this series, and worth the price of admission alone.

And let's not forget Andy Serkis' heart-rending performance. Really, we're being spoiled. People are seriously acting, not just standing in front of a camera wearing costumes! In Star Wars!!

And yet, if it was only that, it still wouldn't have impacted me as deeply as it had. There's one more layer to this, and it's the massive bottom of the iceberg that is Andor. I haven't forgotten, even though I'm writing this a year after watching it.

(And definitely spoilers from here on onwards.)

Life under fascism

The second half of season 1 however can put deep horror into any thinking person's mind. It radically departs from previous portrayals of the evil Empire. It's not relying on cheap gimmicks like Episode VII where we see a village razed by the First Order. (So evil. So cliche, too. Also murdering Max von Sydow. Tsk, tsk. They had to get him off stage before any good acting happens...) Andor creeps under our skin and then reaps havoc.

(This part of this entry will become increasingly dark. You might not want to read on. Because fiction is one thing, and comparing it to historical reality is another. This is an actual trigger warning. Proceed with care.)

The first half of the season is standard fare, almost. Cassian gets himself in trouble and there is really no redeeming quality about it. He also gets everybody else into trouble. The Empire in its heavy-handed hurry to eradicate resistance actually creates it in the first place. And still... the lack of compunction about torture, about going victim by victim, vanishing people into its torture cells, breaking them... this is merely an overture. No hero is born here, but evil wears its mask imperfectly.

Cassian escapes his small world to eventually live the good life on a resort world, getting laid, pretending to be someone else. Instead of being caught as the fugitive and murderer and partisan he actually is by now, he simply gets caught up in the arrest of somebody else. The way the Empire "perpetrates justice" not only gets him arrested while having done no wrong (in that cover identity), he also gets sentenced by a court that doesn't even pretend to actually care about due process in any way. There's a machine of oppression, and instead of competently catching him, Cassian becomes caught up randomly in one of its many gears.

And while this may seem random, it's brilliant. It's one of the many reasons why resistance exists. Because the Empire's overreach is everywhere, grinding up people just living their lives while trying to perfect its control. The corruption of the desire for power leaks through in its banality.

What follows is Cassian's imprisonment, and this segment is brutal and horrifying on a deep level. The more you know, the worse it gets. Cassian is transported to a prison facility where he's forced into repetitive labor to make equipment for the Empire. There's a set of steps every labor team has to execute, and the team with the lowest quota gets punished with electric shocks. Day after day.

This is "Vernichtung durch Arbeit." ("Destruction through labor.") This is what the Nazis did to their political opponents. Before there was a Holocaust, there were concentration camps. And prisoners were made to work - the cynic motto across the gate of Auschwitz was "Arbeit macht frei." ("Labor sets you free.") People would gradually be ground down until they gave out in one way or another, fell sick, die of exhaustion, broke psychologically. The series never tells us its "inspiration," it just goes through similar motions. With the veneer of a super-clean techno prison over it.

Not only that, the very scene reminded me of what I read in a book about the Holocaust. Towards the end of the war the engines for the new secret weapon jet planes or rockets were manufactured by prison labor. Crews of malnourished prisoners would each execute a few pretrained steps and crank out more jet engines in slave labor than was previously done in the Reich's armament factories. This was the culmination of the Nazi system where all labor-intensive things like the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall or the underground factories of Dora-Mittelbau were erected by and on the back of slaves that were themselves gradually killed in the process.

Without ever breathing a word of what is portraying, Andor portrays the same. Skillfully, horribly so.

The devil is in the details

Some way into this horror, everybody gets their sentence doubled. The counter simply goes up. No explanation. Total helplessness in the face of total control. The deep gut feeling of "No one gets out here alive" or "It will never end" begins to descend. That number was a sort of life line for people to brave another day. And it lies!

As unbelievable as it may seem, people did get released from concentration camps, especially those on "lighter charges" like "antisocial behavior." But nobody really knew how long they had to stay or if they were to be released. Often, initially told they had to do 3 to 6 months depending on their conduct, and yet most people never left alive. A quick read in a book behind me says that 8 million people were sucked into the system, 7 million died, 200,000 left by being released by the system itself. The idea you might be released one day added false hope that in itself could create further psychological torture if it was dashed over and over again.

Then there is the "divide and conquer" approach to prisoner management. Work crews are led by other prisoners, rebellion and resistance is quelled within the ranks. This Andor merely hints at, but the Nazi oppression system skillfully created hierarchies to make sure a comparatively small detachment of guards could handle a large mass of inmates which could overwhelm them if acting together.

But it doesn't stop here, not in Andor, either. Eventually we learn that the Empire starts to eliminate the prison population. Rumors start to spread that an entire floor of the super prison was eliminated by electrocution. Just like the real Nazis the space Nazis start to construct yet another death machine to eliminate opposition.

And this leads to that sub-plots final chapter, the prison revolt. There are a few historical mass escapes, even from Nazi death camps. There's also the heroism of the two uprisings of Warsaw (including the ghetto uprising). Left with nothing to lose, left with nothing but death ahead, the prisoners overwhelm the guards.

And this happened in real life, too. It's probably based on the historical case of the death camp inmates that were forced to run the gas chambers and crematoria themselves. This is part of the Holocaust itself, the Nazis had finally dropped all pretenses and resorting to kill people in an industrial manner. And these people knew that eventually their whole detachment would be killed. They knew too much, were witnesses to this massive crime against them and humanity itself. They were also among those destined for death. Like in an antechamber of hell itself they were merely bidding time. So they managed one of the few mass escapes on record.

While Andor doesn't stray as far down the road as actual history does, it knows how to cite history for those who know. It's not made up of whole cloth. It actually is referencing the real history of the most inhumane version of fascism, but it does not put the fact in your face. But if you know, its chamber of horrors becomes so much deeper.

And that's why

This is what makes Andor an absolute masterpiece. It recreates the conditions without blindly copying the source. It adapts, but you can feel how deeply inhumane the circumstances are that it depicts. It gives you the bloody creeps, and even if you don't know how much it is rooted in darkness, you will still feel it. It shows. It tells. But it never spoils the source material.

This is art. This is the deep craft. The banality of evil, the careless, uncaring attitude of evil towards those it deems unworthy and not human. It's all on display. It switches us into the place of Cassian and of Andy Serkis' character as it draws us in as audience. We don't see what happens on other floors. We don't have the information advantage. We can only imagine. We are subjected to the fact that we can only imagine it. And so we share a bit in the plight of these characters. Sometimes not showing a thing is the highest accomplishment of movie making.

And this is why I'm pissed that a series that was planned for five seasons was already cut to play out in two. Because we need more of this and less of more Jedi doing backflips. Just like Loki plays on a completely different level than the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Andor leaves all of Star Wars in its dust. If Rogue One was the attempt to tell a different kind of story in the same universe, Andor is the attempt at a different level of depth.

And this, more than Rogue One, makes it clear why they fight.

Watch it if you can.

And sorry if I horrified you.

[coffeeandstrawberries]

Wilhelm’s struggle with his sexuality doesn’t fit either into Queer Awakening, or Unabashedly Queer Wille narrative. His path to fully accepting his own queerness is very different from everything I have seen in the media. The inner fight Wilhelm is having throughout S1 and S2 is shown in a very subtle way. Maybe that is why we, viewers accustomed to straightforward, in-your-face and often offensively stupid queer stories, can’t see this struggle for what it is.

Every clue we were given in S1 leads us to one conclusion: up until the video Wille wasn’t out to anyone.

Let’s recap:

1. Felice is excited about Wille going to Hillerska because it means she has a shot with him. No one tells her to cool down because no one has a reason to suspect the prince to be anything but straight. We are talking about people who know each other pretty well: nobles and riches have been going to the same schools, same clubs, same resorts for generations. As F. Scott Fitzgerald (or Zelda Fitzgerald, who knows) put it: ‘…then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together.’ And yet, there isn’t even a whisper about Wille maybe, possibly being interested in boys.

2. Wille wasn’t out to the closest person in his family – Erik. The conversation they had on parents’ day hints that. @mirabel-on-a-bicycle explained it perfectly: ‘Even during that phone call, he was sitting in a pretty relaxed position, up until he said that he wanted to stay at school. And when he did admit to liking someone, the camera made the extra effort of floating down from his face to show his hand clutching at his knees. Like yea, it was adorable, the way he got so puffy and defensive about having a crush, but under all this, they were nervous mannerisms as well!’

A long time ago I saw a post about Erik using genderless words in the conversation about Wille’s ‘crush’ and it is the only detail that allows speculations about Erik suspecting.

3. Wille wasn’t out to his parents. For Kristina to say ‘Now it’s you and your future children who will succeed me’ after Erik’s funeral, she must have been pretty sure that her younger son was straight. Otherwise, it would be inconsiderate if not cruel of her, especially at that moment. The fact that she and Wille don’t discuss his sexuality after the video is completely understandable: the queen has a crisis on her hands and it needs to be dealt with. Priorities.

Besides, there is nothing to discuss. It’s Sweden-2021: equal rights for LGBTIQA+ people are supported by 98% of citizens, Church of Sweden gives matrimony to same-sex couples since 2009. In S2 when Kristina says ‘Oh, please. Your father and I love you just the way you are, Wilhelm’, and she is slightly annoyed because of the fact she even has to say such an obvious thing out loud.

Ludvig is basically a piece of furniture, I have no idea what he is doing in the show. He and Wille barely talk so it’s safe to assume he was the last one to learn about his younger son’s sexuality.

4. August’s reaction when he is shooting the video says it all: in the beginning, he is smiling because he thinks it will be a fun prank. But the moment he realizes it is not a girl in Wille’s bed, we see August being genuinely shocked. Despite being close to the royal family and being friends with Erik, he had no idea about Wille’s queerness.

5. Finally, Hillerska students are surprised to find out about the nature of Wille and Simon’s relationship. Stella and Fredrika bring up the topic of surrogacy and we see them being scandalized/entertained by the prospect. The thought about the next heir to the throne born in a same-sex marriage had never crossed their minds because there was no reason for that.

So we can be sure that no one knew Wille was queer.

Why wasn’t he out?

He is only sixteen; it wouldn’t be unusual to figure out his sexuality at this age. Considering that no one knew Wille was queer, it is safe to assume Simon was the first boy Wille ever pursued. Otherwise, rumours would have gotten out.

Wille consistently freaks out about being with Simon. We see him struggling with crossing certain lines: at the end of E1S1 he is scared when he realizes he is attracted to Simon, in E2S1 he can’t immediately kiss Simon back, then he regrets doing it and tries to convince Simon it was a mistake.

It is really difficult to tell what exactly is the reason for Wille being so reluctant at different points. But as Edvin put it: ‘His problem is not being in love with a boy, his problem is being a prince.’

If we follow this logic, we will understand that Wille is scared of being out publicly. He is in a very unique position. To him, coming out doesn’t just mean a conversation with parents and another – with friends. He is a crown prince, and he is expected to produce an heir. He doesn’t want to discuss his sexuality with the whole world though at some level he understands it is inevitable. He acts consistently as if coming out is the last thing he wants to do. When Kristina suggests he lie about the video, Wille reluctantly agrees. Reluctantly, because he knows lying will mean leaving Simon alone to deal with the consequences. But the alternative – confessing that it was him and that he is, in fact, queer – is unbearable to him at that moment. Wille says it himself when he attempts to apologize to Simon: ‘If I came out, all hell would break loose! How can you even ask me to do that?’

He needs time to accept the idea of coming out to the whole world. We can’t really blame a sixteen-year-old for not wanting to go through this process. Queer people know that opening up can be painful. Not every person in your life will be kind and understanding. Coming out to billions of people is really, really scary. So even when Wilhelm makes his peace with the idea itself, he still struggles with the perspective of actually doing it. He accepts Kristina’s suggestion to come out in two years not because he is afraid of his mother. We have seen Wille being extremely difficult when his demands aren’t met. He accepts her suggestion because it feels right – ‘I will come out, but later.’ Even when he realizes that ‘later’ won’t get him Simon back, he doesn’t go Instagram Live to say: ‘Hi, Sweden, it’s your crown prince. It was me in the video. I am into boys. Have a nice day.’ It takes him more time than that to gather his courage.

Fully accepting one’s own sexuality can be a long process. A person can skip the whole panic stage, but still struggle with the idea of being open to family, friends, colleagues. YR does a superb job of showing this process and it is another thing for which I adore the show.

[jjkamochoso]

The Perfect Fit

Story Overview: Levi Ackerman begrudgingly finds himself falling in love with the Survey Corps’ seamstress. Will they be able to own up to their feelings for each other? Or is their love doomed to fail before they discover the truths of each other’s hearts? This slow burn reader insert story will be filled with angst, yearning, and a bit of mystery as we slowly unravel the truths behind Y/N’s past… and explore her and Levi’s future!

Chapter 5

Series Masterlist

Chapter 4 linked here

Chapter 6 linked here

Levi Ackerman x female reader

Warnings: cussing

You easily settled into your new routine with the Scouts. You would wake up at the crack of dawn, get ready, eat breakfast, work on whatever clothes soldiers brought you, have lunch, keep working, eat dinner, get ready for bed. You were looking forward to spending more time with Hange since your offices were near each other, but they were too preoccupied with studying their captured titans. You were proud of the fact that you were part of the small team that put together the large net used to capture said titans, but you were still too scared to visit the product of your work. You believed Hange that Bean and Sonny were very interesting so you didn’t need to confirm it yourself. You and Levi had become closer and you figured that was mostly thanks to your friendship with Petra, a member of his special operations squad. You were normally great at making friends but when you first started eating at the dining hall, you were nervous to find a place to sit. Everyone seemed to have their own groups already. You, having no combat experience, felt like you wouldn’t be welcomed at any table full of soldiers so you made your peace with sitting alone. That didn’t last long, however, because a ginger haired woman eagerly made her way over to you one morning during breakfast.

“You’re Y/n L/n, right? I’m Petra,” she said. You shook her outstretched hand, a bit confused but happy to be having some interaction.

“Oh! Petra! I remember you. You came in the other day, right? You needed your shirt collar fixed?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s me! You do such great work. I noticed you’ve been eating alone, do you want to sit with me and the squad today?” She gestured to a table filled with a few other people.

You nodded gratefully. “I would love that. Thank you.”

That day, you met Eld, Oluo, and Gunther. They were an eclectic group, but fun nonetheless. Ever since then, you found yourself in their company for most meals. You and Petra became extra close, being the only girls at the table and bonding outside of meal times as well. It was nice to finally have a sense of belonging for one of the first times in your life. It was even better when you felt that sense of belonging when Levi finally joined the group for dinner. The first time he saw you eating with his squad, he was surprised at the feeling of relief that washed over him when you weren’t alone for once. He figured he should’ve sat with you at least one of the times he saw you by yourself, but he could never bring himself to interrupt your peace and quiet. That didn’t matter now anyway. You were laughing at something Oluo had said when you spotted Levi observing the scene in front of him.

“Captain!” you had called out, “come join us!”

He thought that was awfully silly, you inviting him to eat with his squad, but it was still endearing. You fit in his group like you were a missing piece of the squad puzzle, making witty comebacks to anyone who dared to test you and thoughtfully contributing to the conversation.

From that day on, you always had a spot at Squad Levi’s table. Levi had enjoyed seeing you getting along with his most trusted comrades. It was perfect that you understood the trash talk and teasing was just their weird way of showing affection and the fact that you dished it back tenfold was the cherry on top for Levi. He liked that you laughed at his shit jokes and loved that you usually followed up with your own. Speaking of you and shit:

Shit. He needed to see you.

Winter had finally rolled around and Levi received a new pair of cold weather uniform pants. When he tried them on, he internally groaned. They were much too long, as he expected. He had skated by the past few years with wearing his perfectly sized old pair, but they were too beat up for any more use. Going to get things tailored was the bane of Levi’s existence. Forced proximity to people so they could get his measurements, hands going places where hands should never be. He also hated being seen in pants that he was swimming in. Not that he cared about his height, being short was fine and there’s nothing he could do about it anyway, but it was still a little embarrassing to be a grown man looking like a child who stole his father’s pants, even if only for a few moments. A blizzard was set to come in a few days so he knew he had to see you now. He departed his rarely occupied office and walked past the few doors that separated you two. He knocked gingerly on your door that was left ajar.

“Come in!” you replied. When you saw it was Levi, you had a big grin appear. “Now you’re a sight for sore eyes! What can I do for you?”

Levi rolled his eyes at the compliment. “I have these pants. The dumbasses at production only make them in size titan so I need you to tailor them for me. Please.” He added the adverb when you looked at him expectantly.

“Since you asked nicely, I have an opening right now. Change into the pants and I’ll get right to work.”

Levi disappeared behind the dressing screen. When he stepped back out, you couldn’t contain the laugh that slipped out and he glared at you.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, it’s not you, those pants are a ridiculous size. I should have Hange order a bunch more and we could have a titan fashion show. I mean, I get that they have to be long enough to fit soldiers of all sizes but I could make a whole other project out of the scraps I’ll have from these pants,” you said, grabbing your measuring tape and clipboard so you could start working. Levi was thoroughly enjoying watching you doing your task. It was a side of you he’d never yet seen; you were serious, calm and collected, and best of all, you made him relaxed. He should’ve felt awkward with your hands brushing over his legs but you made him feel at ease. It was over as fast as it started and he already missed the feeling of your ghostly touch.

“Alrighty! You can pop those off and leave ‘em to me. I know the blizzard’s coming in quick so I’ll definitely have them done before then. I know you’re not in your office much, is there somewhere else you want me to drop them off at?”

Levi felt his heart lurch at your words. How did you know that he wasn’t in his office often? Do you come looking for him? Does this mean you observe him in the same way that he does you?

“Levi? You get lost back there?” You chuckled at your own joke.

“What? No, and don’t laugh at your own jokes, idiot, that means they aren’t funny. I’ll pick them up here. You’re in the dining hall for every meal, I’ll get an update on their status when I get my tea. Deal?”

“Sounds good to me,” you replied. You heard some shuffling and Levi emerged from the dressing screen. You were already getting to work on making the marks to cut his pants and Levi knew he should leave, let you work, but something wasn’t letting him go just yet. He craved the feeling of your feather light touch, selfishly wanting to take up more of your precious time so he could shamelessly watch the way your hair moved with every measurement you took, how your e/c eyes washed over him, double checking you got all the information you needed. He was desperately trying to think of another clothing item he needed worked on but you paid him no mind. His presence wasn’t bothering you in the slightest; it was quite the opposite, actually. Levi brought a sense of comfort to you that you had never known before, and you weren’t sure why, but you weren’t complaining.

“If you wanna stay, feel free to. The other table is open if you have paperwork to do,” you said, a needle hanging out of your mouth.

Levi could’ve never predicted this. Sure, you guys were acquaintances, friends even, but you enjoyed his company enough to invite him to stay? He was never a particularly warm person, especially to you at first, yet you were treating him like you treat your closest friends.

“Why?” The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them, but you weren’t fazed in the slightest, working while conversing.

“Why what? Invite you to stay? Levi, we’re friends, that’s what they do. Look, I like hanging out with you and being around you. You’re rough around the edges, sure, but you’ve got a big heart and that’s all that counts. I’m not asking you to marry me, I just offered you a place to take load off or get some work done. It gets lonely in here by myself and I enjoy your company. That’s all.”

You were met with silence and when you looked up, Levi was gone. You sighed. Did you say something wrong? He was a tough case to crack but you hoped your words got through to him. You may not have known him that long but you cared deeply for him. Of course you still found him insanely attractive but your friendship trumped that in an instant. You had gotten to know him better over the past few months as you learned that Hange was right when they told you Levi was gruff but extremely compassionate. If anything, you hoped Levi understood that you had his back no matter what he went through. Getting lost in your work, you didn’t notice the door opening until it shut again. You saw Levi come in with a stack of papers and a tea cup on top.

“There’s a chair under the stack of books over there. You can use that or sit on the bed. I don’t mind.”

“Drinking tea in bed? Do you think I’m some sort of animal?” he chided.

“I was thinking more royalty but they’re the same at the end of the day, aren’t they?” you joked, earning the slight raise of lips in his Levi way of laughing. There was a comfortable silence in the room as you were absorbed by your tasks. Levi felt lucky he had a quiet place to work like this. All of his other spots had been found out so he would constantly be bombarded throughout the day with questions and impromptu meetings, but here was like his own slice of heaven. He worked well with the background noise of scissors cutting and the purr of the sewing machine. As he reread a sentence in front of him for the third time, he yawned and felt his eyes start to close. He jolted himself awake. The effects of his insomnia were catching up to him. There was no way he’d fall asleep in your room, that would be… well, he wasn’t sure. Improper? Rude? What would you think of him, the man who insulted your work ethic the first time you met him, if he fell asleep in the middle of the work day? Your room was so warm on this chilly winter day and the repetitive noises you made were lulling him to sleep. That damn cup of tea certainly didn’t help, either. Levi was fully relaxed in a way he didn’t think possible. If only he had taken your advice and sat on the bed…

You hadn’t realized something was amiss with Levi until you heard soft snores coming from behind you. Was he asleep? You crept closer, investigating the scene in front of you. His cheek was resting on one of his forearms that was splayed out on the table while his other arm dangled to the side of his body. Strands of black hair had fallen over his face, giving him a more youthful look. You would’ve guessed that Levi would look tense even while sleeping but the man in front of you was anything but. He looked like the pinnacle of relaxation, even if he was hunched over in an odd position. You smiled softly, delighted that your workshop proved to be a much needed refuge for the overworked captain. Taking the blanket from your bed, you placed it over his shoulders, careful not to wake him.

“Sweet dreams, Levi,” you whispered, fighting the urge to kiss him on the forehead.

Chapter 6

[indelen]

Alright. Let do this right …

This is my reread of the Lockwood and Co. Books, organized by @blue-boxes-magic-and-tea, I'll make a general summary of several chapters and then post bits and pieces that jumped out at me.

Part I, Chapters 1-2:

I really love the start to this series; the reader is trusted with so much information in such a short time and it’s all well communicated. There’s a Problem - ghosts are real and dangerous. There’s a curfew. Adults are seemingly useless. Kids are thrown into danger via Agencies. Agencies can be small and independent or large corporations with ties to government. There are ghost types. There are talent categories. The capitalism and bureaucracy of it all is very interestingly presented. The narrator is both a child and someone with near noir levels of damage and world weariness. The dialogue is fun and snappy but it's not ever just there for the sake of being there, it reveals bits and pieces of the universe and on re-read you can tell Stroud had all five books laid out somewhat solidly in his mind as he went because from the beginning there’s little dropped details dropped in conversation about, say, Kent being the origin of The Problem - an innocuous bit of lore until it becomes important four books later. Within the first two chapters the trio of main characters are introduced, Lucy and Lockwood's talents are described, their relationship is established. So much done in so little time. I love how concise and evocative it all is.

Bits and pieces:

Obsessed with the idea that the culture in this version of the UK is so lowkey conservative that this poor woman is possibly being haunted by a ghost because her hemline is too short. Can and probably will write a whole thesis about how I think post war Britain conservatism probably never left in this universe and that's why there's a chipper KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON mentality while fucking kids are sent to almost certain death.

Lucy Carlyle, Junior Field Operative only six months with the agency and hired without full agent accreditation, lecturing her boss who’s also her landlord on what not to do and calling him an idiot is so funny to me like, get his ass! Don’t take shit from anyone!

This is only my pet theory, but I think both the fact that Lockwood sees death glows so intensely that he needs sunglasses, and the fact that he can see ones of small mammals, not just humans, is an indication that his Talent is unusually strong. George probably has what is an average amount of Sight for an agent, that is enough to see apparitions and some death glows but not so much as to be overwhelming.  

This is such a wonderfully grim evocative visual of what these children do. Deadly difficult and psychologically damaging labor. Every house could be their coffin. Every assignment could be their last. Their country, their government, in many cases their parents, have already given up on them, the powers that run the country no longer invest in the future of children because children are seen as disposable. Young potential is sacrificed to protect adults comfortably scared in their own protected homes. And this produces a grim, defeatist kind of existence in everyone. If the older generation is not working toward a better future for a new generation of humanity, what are we doing? There's something borderline “Children of Men” depressing about this reality.

When I was first reading this series this was the point when i realized these books are going to be aggressively British.

Murder, Lockwood. She's contemplating your actual murder. You're lucky you're cute.

Ok I’m starting an official Lucy describes Lockwood’s smile counter: 2

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - Dr. House | House M.D. VII

Unstoppably we are approaching the end of the third season (currently at S3E20, House Training), and I'm wondering, as my memory refuses to reveal, what major event occurs that causes House to reform his team or leads to drastic changes. Yes, I admit, I'm really looking forward to seeing Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) and also Martha M. Masters (Amber Tamblyn), although I think Masters might take a little longer to appear.

It's quite exciting when you've seen everything already, can remember a lot, but a rewatch helps to put all the puzzle pieces back in the right order. Yes, one could think about it, but I enjoy the suspense.

One of the scenes that made me laugh a lot back then has already come up, namely when House compares a patient's body to the German railway system. Back then, the comparison might have been somewhat accurate, and yes, even in the original, he makes the same comparison with the same cities (Berlin & Düsseldorf), but unfortunately, the German trains, whether regional or long-distance, are nowhere near as good and punctual anymore. I've been wondering the whole time if it was like that back then, but no, today it's definitely worse. Just thinking about how many times I got stranded at a train station last year, BIG UFF!

Otherwise, after the Tritter thing, things are moving rather slowly, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all. The highlight, of course, is the romance between Chase and Cameron, although it's almost over by now. I vaguely remember a wedding in the future and maybe even a divorce? No, I'm sure about the wedding, but I don't think there was a divorce. Oh, I also remember the big bus accident involving Wilson's girlfriend. There's a lot more to come!

Speaking of which, I think the dynamic between Wilson and House has changed a lot since the incident with the prescription pad. At first, it seemed like everything was over and they had no future, but now the connection seems stronger than ever. We also saw that in the story with Cuddy, when they both tested each other to see how far they would go. And then just saying "Night House!" "Night Wilson!" to each other, that's a true bromance, ladies and gentlemen! (I know, I'm late to that party!)

But now there's a very heavy episode on, as once again, an important topic is being addressed, one that often unfortunately gets overlooked in every society, Alzheimer's & dementia. Foreman's mother suffers from Alzheimer's, and I know, it really affected me back then because my grandmother died of Alzheimer's, and my mother is showing the first signs of it now. This disease steals the mind first, then the body, and we should talk about it much more and do much more against it. I know what it's like to watch a person lose themselves in the darkness of this disease, and believe me, you wouldn't wish it on anyone. Once again, a topic highlighted by the series and one that should continue to be addressed. I'm currently wondering if House is airing anywhere on regular TV in Germany, but I don't think so at the moment. That should change because yes, it can be fun and enjoyable for about 45 minutes, but it's also a topic of conversation that might find resonance in the workplace or similar institutions, and suddenly a disease is lifted from its obscurity and brought into the real world. THAT'S IMPORTANT! However, there is another important aspect in this episode that must not be overlooked. Doctors make mistakes, and these mistakes can end up being deadly! Of course, nobody wants to talk about it in the real world, and doctors usually don't admit to such things. It's another issue that's hushed up, but the series brings it back to light, brilliantly! Also, the fact that House performs an autopsy afterward for research purposes may seem strange and odd at first, but it's also about finding out where things went wrong. Yes, it's also to stroke one's own ego, but it's also to prevent such things from happening again.

I won't manage to finish the end of the third season today, but there was another remarkable appearance. In the last episode (S3E19, Act your Age), part of the supporting cast of Bones made an appearance. We saw Joel David Moore and Carla Gallo. And in the episode before that (S3E18, Airborne), Pej Vahdat was one of the passengers or Foreman's substitute.

A little thank you to everyone who diligently reads and shares my Dr. House posts. I'm just doing this for fun, but it's cool that it's well-received and my little analyses are being shared. Thank you very much!

[frostyyyroyalmilktea]

Nevermore student!Tyler x Thorpe!Reader

This is part 2 of my series. You can find part 1 here. Pt 3 here!

This story is also on ao3

Let me know what you think!

***

Your things arrive in the early afternoon that day and you know yourself well enough to be sure that if you don't deal with unpacking now, you certainly won't do it once the classes start and at some point in the near future your side of the room will turn into pure unmitigated chaos.

Of course to you, it won't be much different from how your room at home usually is at any given moment, but you're sharing space with someone else now and it seems disrespectful to let it get to that state. So you politely decline Bianca’s invitation to go see a movie with her and Yoko and get to work.

Unpacking clothes takes the most time but ultimately everything fits in the closet and there’s even some semblance of order to it. You’re not by any means an organized person so you don't expect it to last, but for now, a win is a win. Next are books and plushies that you put in an open bookcase near your table. Compared to Bianca's side, yours already looks a little spazzy. But you’re not too worried. She doesn't seem like a person who would judge you for that.

It's kind of interesting, actually. Tyler was right when he said she has a certain reputation in Nevermore. But just like with Xavier, when you start to get to know her, you realize she’s very different from the character she's trying to present to the world. Perhaps that's the reason they didn't work out. They were trying to build a relationship between their public personas, while the real people probably felt lonely and not seen.

You retrieve your laptop, a tangle of chargers, your portable speaker, and a few pairs of headphones from the last box, and then, finally, you move to unshackle your baby Yamaha from the layers of bubble wrap. You were initially reluctant to trust movers with it but at the end of the day, it weighed way too much for you to carry, and it was also rather chunky, especially compared to your not-particularly-imposing frame.

After thoroughly examining your synthesizer for any damage, and concluding that there is none to be found, you relax, plug it in, and start playing little bits and pieces of songs you like, as a warm-up

Music is something that never fails to bring you a little peace of mind. You’ve been playing piano since you were four and always liked to learn new songs from the artists you listened to. Sometimes you would learn something you know Xavi or your dad particularly enjoy.

But playing other people’s music, while very fun and enjoyable, is not the end goal. Your dream is to one day write your own music. You already do, as a matter of fact, but you’ve never played it for anyone.

You wonder what kind of music Tyler likes to listen to and as if on their own accord, your hands set the drum rhythm and you find yourself playing the intro to the Ghost Ship of Cannibal Rats. For all that he looks like a love interest in a Taylor Swift music video, you feel like Tyler prefers something alternative, more… gritty. You'll make sure to ask him the next time you see him.

You binge half a season of Brooklyn 9-9 and then head out on a journey to find a laundry room, where you meet a sweet little pumpkin named Eugene. He shows you how to operate the washing machines and makes a great pitch about his extracurricular club, but the only things you really know about bees is that they’re an important part of the ecosystem and a song from the Bee Movie soundtrack that you learned to torment Xavier over Christmas break a few years ago. But Eugene is so sweet and so enthusiastic about the whole thing that you don't find it in yourself to turn him down and promise to think about it.

Lunch rolls around you can’t say you’re particularly excited to face the public after Xavier’s dramatics this morning, but a girl has to eat so you women up and drag your ass downstairs.

Thankfully, the dining hall is a lot less crowded than it was at breakfast. Everyone's probably out in Jericho for the day. Bianca and her friends are nowhere to be seen. So is your brother. Unfortunately, so is Tyler.

That last one kinda puts you in a bit of a desolate mood.

You still grab a seat at the corner table and tuck into your chicken wrap. No one seems to pay you much attention aside from a few stray glances. But that's nothing new, both you and your brother aren’t exactly hard on the eyes.

You enjoy your lunch in relative peace until you notice someone staring. A familiar-looking blonde girl looks straight at you from the nearby table. When you meet her eyes, she waves at you enthusiastically. Very enthusiastically. It clicks why she looks familiar when you see who she's sitting with. It’s that little goth girl that got your brother all in his feels.

Oh, this should be interesting. You put on a smile you always use when doing publicity for your dad and wave back at her.

It’s all the encouragement she needs to leap to her feet and head to your table with her friend—who seems decidedly less enthusiastic about the entire affair—in tow.

"Hi! I'm Enid Sinclair. I just wanted to say I'm a huge fan and I'm so glad you're at Nevermore now, and I hope we can become friends."

People often accost you with similar intentions. Usually because of your father's fame, but recently you started gaining some following of your own as well.

Tiktok remains the only social media where your father's PR team can’t usurp control from you—because they're low-key a bunch of old farts and no one seems to understand how to operate it for publicity— so it’s the only social media you have on principle. You post song covers, film cool street buskers, and sometimes videos of you skateboarding. You amassed something around 100k followers which by TikTok standards isn’t really that impressive, but your views are consistent, so in your old school it attracted literally the worst type of people: clout chasers. Making friends became basically impossible. Because that's what you wanted. Friends. Not an entourage.

But this girl, you’re surprised to find, doesn’t seem like the type. She’s genuine in her excitement and just wants to be friends with someone she thinks is cool. It’s heartwarming and you don’t even notice when your publicity smile turns into a sincere one.

You extend your hand for a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Enid. And who’s the shadow of perpetual doom behind you?

"Wednesday. Wednesday Addams." She introduces herself, giving you a scrutinizing look. And wow, does she not blink?

Yeah, Xavier has no business giving you shit for your taste in boys when he’s in love with little miss American Psycho.

"Do you girls want to sit down? I'm not done with my lunch so you could keep me company if you want?"

"Sure!” Enid exclaims excitedly, already pulling a chair for herself.

Wednesday hesitates for a moment but ultimately takes a seat as well.

"Have you already decided what elective classes you're gonna-" starts Enid.

"How do you know Tyler Galpin?" Wednesday cuts her off. Which first, rude . And second, what does she care?

"I don't really. We met yesterday, when I arrived. He helped me haul my luggage to the top floor, "you reply between bites.

"You sat with him at breakfast."

Alrighty, you didn't realize it was an interrogation, but sure, why not?

"Well, I saw a familiar face, he was sitting there alone and he helped me out yesterday, so I thought why not." You try to keep your irritation at bay, but don’t completely succeed. Not that it makes any difference, because this girl clearly doesn’t like reading social cues.

"You don’t what he really is. He-"

"Right." You cut her off with an eye roll. "I heard that spiel already and I have eidetic memory so I don’t need an encore."

"The existence of eidetic memory is not proven by the psychiatric community," Wednesday says defiantly.

"It’s also not disproven, and since it relies heavily on the personal perception of an individual, there is no way to do either, really."

This puts you in a verbal stalemate of a sort and the atmosphere becomes quite heavy, but you just sip your tea nonperturbed.

Enid scrambles to change the subject.

"Have you heard Taylor Swift's new album already? Did you like it?"

You turn all your attention to her, clearly dismissing the previous topic of conversation. "Girl, you kidding? Of course, I did! It's brilliant, not that I expected anything less."

A muscle in Wednesday’s jaw twitches. Whether it’s because of the new topic or because you didn’t concede, you have no way of knowing.

"Ooooh," Enid squeals. "Do you plan on doing any covers? Your cover of No Body No Crime was sooo good, by the way. I got like actual chills."

"It was probably just the draft from the window you insist on keeping open at all times,” deadpans Wednesday.

"Yeah, to air out the smell of formaldehyde," Enid grumbles under her breath.

You have no idea what exactly your brother sees in Wednesday that makes him go yes, this is a perfect girl to be romantically interested in, and at this point, you’re getting more and more confident you don’t want to find out.

"You're so sweet, Enid. Thank you," you say. "I've actually really been vibin’ with Anti-Hero recently, so I'll probably do a cover soon."

Enid looks at Wednesday, then back at you, wheezing in delight. How can someone so small contain so much energy and enthusiasm you have no idea.

Wednesday seems a bit irritated, which given her general lack of emotional responses probably means that she’s in fact hella irritated. She clearly doesn't like to share her friend’s attention, so just to be petty you pull out your phone and ask: "Babes, what's your username? I'll follow you so we can be friends and send each other stuff. By the way, have you seen the new dance going around from this Netflix show? We could totally do a collab on that. I mean, I’m not much of a dancer myself, but it doesn't look too complicated."

Enid looks like she’s about to faint from trying not to shriek like a banshee in excitement. "It’s @ xoxoenid, your most reliable source for gossip in Nevermore."

Then she freezes in panic and as the page loads up on your phone, you see that she already made a few videos about you.

"I didn't say anything bad, I swear! But people were talking about why you and Xavier were arguing and why you were with Tyler… I can totally take it down if you want," she gets out hurriedly in one breath.

Wednesday, once again, looks peeved.

"It's cool, En. Don't worry about it. People gonna talk anyways I don't really care about that."

En, she mouths, looking a little starstruck.

You finish your lunch under Wednesday's scrutinizing glare while Enid talks a mile a minute, giving you a rundown on everyone's drama that you can't possibly follow because it's way too many new names at the same time.

When you're done, you make your goodbyes, wishing the two of them a great day. Or a terrible one, you add with a wide grin, looking at Wednesday. Whichever they’d prefer.

***

In the evening you make your way from Weems' office with a copy of your schedule and a signed referral from your therapist back home.

Most kids from Nevermore that go to therapy are referred to Dr. Kinnbot in Jericho but since your brother is already seeing her, it's unethical for her to see you too. So now you’re going to spend an hour and a half every Saturday driving to a bigger city to see a different therapist. From what Weems told you, he seems to be a good fit for you as he specializes in outcast psychology. But you’ll only know for sure after you’ve had a few sessions with him.

The way to get to Weems’ office from Persephone Hall is a bit complicated. You have to go down the stairs, exit the building, then walk around the building and re-enter it in a different wing. Of course, most people can just use the roof because it also has two exits, and this way you don’t need to go up and down the stairs a million times, which saves a lot of time. But most people aren’t dreadfully afraid of heights.

Well, you won’t be driving because you don’t have a license. You never really needed one back home and now some poor guy got stuck driving you because he’s also seeing the same doctor. Eh, at least he’ll have someone to chip in for gas. And both of you get an hour of free time in the city with an actual mall. Not to mention you have a dazzling personality, so come to think of it, he’s actually lucky to have you, all things considered.

When your powers manifested for the first time, you thought that it must be some kind of mockery from the universe. To give powers like that, to someone who has both acrophobia and aerophobia. Who could even come up with a joke that twisted?

You wrap yourself tighter in your winter coat against a gust of cold wind. You're almost by the main door when you see a cat. A chubby black cat with golden eyes that literally glow in the evening dark. He—you don’t actually know if he’s a he but you’re a native french speaker and calling animals it just doesn’t sit right with you—looks expectantly like he’s been waiting here for the longest time and you’re late and now he’s judging you for tardiness.

You come closer but as soon as do that, he turns around and proceeds to gracefully walk toward the creepy forest.

When you just stand there, dumbfounded, he turns around with a demanding meow and you really don’t feel like you have any other option than to follow him.

About fifteen minutes later, when you lose sight of that bossy cat and you don’t know where you are and can’t even locate the direction you came from, you think that this is just another joke at your expense from the universe. Your dad always says that one can not ignore the signs from the universe, as it is a path of lost opportunities. But right now, you feel like maybe you’re just illiterate and don’t read those signs correctly or something.

You hear the snow crunch behind you and then a snap, probably a twig. You turn around and see… well something.

You try not to panic and take out your phone to text your brother, even if it means a lecture and I told you so the size of the Jupiter. Ugh, you really don’t want to give his ego a boost of this proportion.

You've seen werewolves before and it looks a little bit like one, but at the same time, it doesn't. It looks more like someone tried to draw a werewolf from memory. The creature is bigger than a were but at the same time less proportional, its upper body longer and wider than the lower. Its face has more human traits than those of an animal, but something’s still a little off: its eyes and forehead are unproportionally big compared to the rest of the head.

You have no idea what the fuck it is you’re looking at and whether it's dangerous. A rule of thumb with anything of that size is usually to avoid at all cost. But it’s probably a little too late for that.

It's not attacking, but then again, you're just standing there not moving. If you run, there's a good chance it'll trigger its predator instinct. And there’s no way you can outrun it.

So you just stay where you are. Looking at it. And it also stays where it is. Looking at you.

You can't tell how sentient it is but it seems like it's thinking about something. Hopefully not about late dinner.

Its eyes, you notice, have a reddish tint to them and you think that should creep you out but for some reason it makes you think of pomegranates of all things.

The woods are very quiet. The only sounds you can really make out are its breathing and your own.

An absurd thought pops into your head then. The acoustics here must be great. You remember your vocal mentor, Ms. Welch, telling you that to really perfect acapella, you need to practice in open spaces.

And in what can only be a bout of temporary insanity, that's what you decide to do. Sing.

You take a deep breath not yet knowing what exactly it's going to be, but surprisingly, the words find you easily enough, and from then on, the whole thing just feels like an out-of-body experience.

“I've heard there was a secret chord”

The beast looks taken aback by you breaking this unspoken staring game.

“That David played, and it pleased the Lord”

It looks confused at first, then curious. Doesn't look like it’s gonna tear you to pieces at least, so you let your voice pick up a little volume.

“But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah”

The creature makes the tiniest move forward as if chasing your voice.

It startles you and, instinctively, you pull back and the creature immediately mirrors you, looking as if it's scared of scaring you. Scared that you'll stop singing.

You go through the chorus with a shaky voice, but it looks like whatever this thing is, it doesn't want to attack you, so your voice evens out and the next verse sounds way steadier.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you"

Maybe the irony of singing that line to a mesmerized creature in the moonlight wouldn't be lost on you if all your thinking capabilities weren't paralyzed by primal fear, but alas.

As to why you do what you do next, you honestly have no fucking idea. Maybe you’re more fucked in the head than people give you credit for. Like, way more.

“She tied you to a kitchen chair

She broke your throne, she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah”

You take a step forward.

“Hallelujah”

Then another one.

“Hallelujah”

And one more.

“Hallelujah”

There is maybe a foot separating the two of you at best.

And somewhere in the back of your mind, you can hear a distant howl of your self-preservation instincts.

But the thing is.

You’re as mesmerized by this creature as it is by you.

It just seemed so sentient, its eyes so… intent.

And the closer you get to it, the more your fear dissipates.

And not only the immediate one, but the old and rusty one too, that felt like it was following you for months. Since the day your powers awakened, you realize suddenly.

“Maybe I've been here before

I know this room, I've walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you

I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah”

“Hallelujah”

The creature gets on four paws before you.

“Hallelujah”

Takes a deep breath.

“Hallelujah”

Then another one.

“Hallelujah”

And then it lies down at your feet.

You're so shocked you think you might’ve messed up the order of the verses.

“Maybe there's a God above

And all I ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you”

You crouch in front of it and carefully extend your hand towards its… face?

“It's not a cry you can hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah”

“Hallelujah”

Your first touch is feather-like, but when you're sure it doesn't want to bite your hand off, you gently stroke the top of its head.

“Hallelujah”

It closes its eyes and puts its head on its front paws.

“Hallelujah”

The forest is quiet once again and you look at the creature's calm form, just lying there like a big tired doggo.

Its skin starts to shift and bones start to rearrange themselves as you're watching the creature take a distinctly human shape. It takes you a good half a minute after it's done to realize that you know this human.

Shit.

***

Tyler

His consciousness returns slowly, all senses a bit muffled still. He’s in the forest, it’s dark and he doesn’t remember how he got here. Fuck.

After Thornhill's death, it feels like he lost all the control he had over the Hyde.

You've never had any control, he reminds himself sharply.

He takes a deep breath, recalling what his new therapist told him. You need to learn to reign in the Hyde on your terms, Tyler, not relearn what was forced on you. It will take time and patience. Be kind to yourself. Yeah, right.

“Umm, Tyler? You alright, dude?”

What?

“Oh shit, you’re like, butt-ass naked, oh my goodness.”

He opens his eyes and sees someone—presumably the owner of the voice—hastily pulling off a winter coat.

A girl?

She turns to look at him for only a second as she throws her coat in his direction and then turns her back to him once again.

Oh shit. He knows this face pretty well. He was shamelessly staring at it all morning.

“I swear I didn’t see anything and if I did I honestly can’t do anything about it because of my eidetic memory, but I promise I will never-” she starts rambling so fast he can barely understand what she’s saying.

“Y/n,” he asks, voice still hoarse. “Please stop talking.”

“Oh,” she pauses, “Sure sure sure, yeah. No problemo. Can totally do that, yeah.”

He gets up slowly and picks up the coat from the ground. He’s covered in dirt and the coat he picks up is light pink so he’ll probably mess it up, but he can’t just walk home naked like he did all those times before because he’s not alone now. Create new patterns for the Hyde to follow, Dr. Shin’s voice echoes in his head. Tyler doubts that’s what he meant when he said it, but whatever.

The coat thankfully is long enough to reach his knees, so he zips it up and tells y/n’s back: “Okay, I’m decent.”

She stops pacing and in mere seconds she’s in front of him, taking his face in her hands, presumably to check for any injuries. Her hands are warm and gentle and he can’t find anything to say, too shocked not only that she didn’t run but that her first concern is whether he is alright.

“You’re a bit dirty, but I don’t see any injuries, so I think you’ll live.” She carefully takes her hands off his face and awkwardly shoves them into the pockets of her jeans, like she doesn’t know where else to put ‘em.

“What happened? What are you doing here?” When he came to he was scared half to death he might’ve hurt her, but she seems unharmed and—what’s more baffling—unafraid, so now he’s just straight up confused.

“I was walking from Weems’ office and there was this cat- Wait a sec, you don’t remember what happened when you were all…” she imitates the claws with her hand, “rawr?”

“No.” Not anymore, not after Thornhill’s death. The thought that one of these days he might wake up in someone’s blood terrifies him.

“Oh.”

“What did you- How did you make me shift back?” Dr. Shin says he needs a point of contact with his human side that he can rely on to pull him out from the shift, but where the fuck is he supposed to find it if everyone he knows looks at him like he’s a ticking time bomb even when he’s perfectly human-looking.

“Ummm, I sang you Rufus Wainwright’s rendition of Hallelujah?” She says like she almost can’t believe it herself.

Tyler certainly can’t.

“You…sang to me?”

“Yeah, Rufus Wright’s rendition of Hallelujah, the one from Shrek, keep up, dude.”

He takes a breath to say something but the words do not come. He has no idea what to even say to that.

“Do you know how to get out of here?” She asks. “Cuz I kinda followed a cat here, so I don’t really know which way I came from.”

“Uhhh yeah, we need to keep to the northwest,” Tyler replies dumbly.

She looks at him unimpressed, “Babe, do I like a fucking girl scout to you? I don’t know what that means.”

And maybe it’s such a brazen use of that word that does it, or it’s that he’s only about 50% sure this is not some weird dream he’s having after eating too much sugar before bed, but he just grabs her hand and silently starts walking towards the dorms.

If she’s surprised by this turn of events, she doesn't show it, just goes with it like it’s the most normal thing on earth.

After a few minutes, she wrangles her hand so that their fingers intertwine and they’re like actually holding hands. Tyler feels his face heat up and hopes desperately that it won’t be visible in this cold.

“Could you slow down a bit please,” she asks, slightly out of breath. “I can’t keep up with you and if I keep breathing in cold air like an old asthmatic dog, I’ll get pneumonia.”

“I’m sorry,” Tyler says, slowing down a little.

They walk in silence for a while and Tyler expects her to start firing questions any second now but they can already see the outline of the main building in the distance and she still hasn’t asked.

“It’s called a Hyde. That thing you saw. No one knows for sure if I will ever be able to control it.”

“Hm,” she says thoughtfully, “You seemed pretty in control to me.”

He freezes. “What?”

“Like, when you were listening to me. It seemed like you didn’t want to scare me and one time you did, you backed off immediately.”

They keep walking, silent again.

When they reach the side of the main building, Tyler stops, letting go of her hand. “We’re here.”

“Cool, thanks for walking me back,” she says, smiling at him like it was just a cute little walk in the park.

He can’t take not understanding it.

“Why aren’t you freaked out?” He asks desperately. Something in him twists painfully like she just doesn’t understand. Like he’s deceiving her somehow, and he just needs to explain that he is a monster, he is dangerous, and then she’ll run from him like she’s supposed to. Like everyone else does.

But she doesn’t. She looks up at him curiously, and in the moonlight, her eyes seem so dark, so captivating, that he kind of forgets what was it he was asking her.

“You didn’t hurt me, didn’t even try to. That’s all I really need to know, Tyler.” She says calmly.

He just looks at her, not able to tear his eyes—or form a cohesive thought.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Save me a sit?” she asks softly like there’s some real possibility someone except her will want to sit with the local machiavellian monster.

“Sure,” is all he can really manage.

“Cool.” She says, then gets on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. “Goodnight, Tyler.”

His cognitive functions decide to leave him at that moment so he doesn’t say anything, just stands there like one of the statues from Easter Island and watches her sneak into the dorm’s building.

***

Author’s note:  I hope characterization doesn't seem inconsistent, I'm just trying to highlight that how other characters see MC is not exactly how she really is. She presents a more collected picture that what's actually going on in her brain. I was a bit worried I overdid it in the forest scene, but in the end I decided that Tyler is too flustered himself to pick up on her little tells that she's freaking out, and after seeing him naked she's totally freaking out lol

[rottenhashira]

Hiyaaa~~~ 🎋

I’m Alex or Ly.

I go by any pronouns.

This acc is 18+. Even if its just to focus on a kny AU, it will contain smut or suggestive drawings.

I’m a digital artist and an inexperienced writer(for fun!)

KNY only! Not spoiler free!

STATUS: HOLD

Rot Hashira is an AU made by myself, I am just one person working on this au so content might be slow.

This is just a resumed version, there’s so much more to the story and lore of this au which will be told with art pieces. Plz be patient 🎋🪷

The AU takes place right after Tanjiro Kamado(Sun Hashira defeat Muzan with the help of the kamaboko squad, which are Hashira aswell(I would like to mention that NONE of them are minors, they’re all adults in this au).

Once Kamado defeated Muzan, the ghost of Yorichii appears before Tanjiro and only he can see him. Yorichii shows Kamado a vision of the future, that this war was not finish but it could be if he takes action right here and now. Kamado thinks he is ready for his last task but only if he knew…

Yorichii’s ghost guided the young hashira to the place of his mission leaving the others behind to rest, the hashira comes to a stop in front of a deserted cabin not so far from the battle field he just been in. Once Kamado realized that his final enemy lies behind this door, he took a deep breath in to prepare his lungs since this enemy won’t run away and its unlike anyone he has faced before…

An infant rested in the cabin, in a well clean wooden crib. A baby girl to be exact, dark long hair, tiny, sharp nails and ruby red eyes with a slit in the middle similar to the ones of a cat’s pupils. “Its just an infant… its just a girl… what sort of image and threat does she poised that I cannot avoid?…” Kamado looked at the infant in awe as Yorichii’s ghost stand beside the crib leaning over it “This is non other the offspring of the demon king, Muzan. Know that she’ll grow from a girl to an avenger, one fueled with vengeance once come of age… if you don’t end it now you wont have no one to save.. you can say goodbye to Nezuko, your friends… your family..”

Kamado quickly dropped his blade and took the infant on his arms to comfort her “I can raise it as my own! I’ll take her far from home! I’ll make sure her past is never known! Please I’m on my knees for you!” The sun hashira begged on his knees to Yorichii’s ghost who looked down at him in disappointment.

“Please dont make me do this Yorichii! Please there has to be another way, please guide me!” Kamado yelled with tears in his eyes, he could only picture his younger siblings in this infant… he just couldn’t..

“Young Kamado… I apologize. It seemed I’ve chosen the wrong soul for the task.” Those wore Yorichii’s last words before vanishing, leaving the sun hashira alone with the infant.

Kamado decided it was best to escape from everyone and everything he knew. He took the infant and ran, ran till his legs failed him, till his lungs ached in pain, far… please so far..

Kamado’s heart ached at the fact he had to leave his friends and famiky behind with out a goodbye. He left behind the Rengoku family, the man who adopted him and his sister, who gave him a family to call his. The love of his life, Kanao… even tho she kept rejecting him, he loved her with everything he got. His best friends, Zenitsu and Inosuke, brothers at this point, he couldn’t congrats him on his 3rd happy marriage. The reason he even became a demon slayer, Nezuko… he hated he couldn’t tell her anything or even leave her a letter, he hated he couldn’t congratulate her on her second child with her new husband Muichiro…

Tanjiro took the infant far, so far, a journey that took him a month to reach to. He took her to a mountain house he bought, the house was very similar to the one he lived when he was a child. He decided to call the infant “Hina” which meant sun or bright! She was his sun, Hina gave him the opportunity to live a tamed lifestyle he craved, he loved Hina like if she was his.

Years passed and Hina grew up like a well taken care of Framboyán tree. You couldn’t even guess she was the daughter of such cruel man like Muzan, she was a kind soul thanks to her father, Tanjiro. Kamado was luckily abled to give her an animal based diet like him and since they were a small family, they had lotz of time together so he taught her sun breathing, the fire dance his father passed down to him and he passed down his ear rings to her.

Years passed and they lived happily together until one night… a young looking hashira found them. The hashira had a white haori and bells decorated his sandal’s back, he had long pointy fox ears which were pierced with bells and red ribbons, he also had a fox tail… he was a demon? A demon as a hashira? Who?…

Kamado’s heart raced knowing exactly why he was here, kamado reached to a certain age where his skills were now failing him so he couldn’t do much but that didn’t brought him down, he will protect his daughter.

The demon hashira paused dropping his figthing stance “Tanjiro?…” the hashira let out with a curios tone. “Tanjiro is that really you? Its me! Sabito! We used to be partners in the demon slayer corp!” Sabito let out rushing closer to him, he circled him to inspect him from head to toe. “Look at you! You’re not so bad for an old man!” Sabito let out with a friendly chuckle until he took a good sniff.

“Tanjiro, you smell… different.”

//skipping catching up details

The fox friend could sniff a smell, it wasn’t putrid or terrible like demons commonly have… in the contrary, it was a scent of vanilla, he didn’t knew how to put it but it was a tamed smell… so comforting and relaxing but it had a strong hint of power, the smoke before the forest fire…

Sabito stepped in between Tanjiro and his house in a defensive posture to protect his old friend. A young lady walked out the door, her face expressed concern for her Tanjiro, her irises glow a ruby red just like Muzan’s and this shocked Sabito. Sabito’s hands trembled around his blade’s handle as a soft growl sneaked up his throat “I thought we killed you! You’re like a fucking plague!” The river kitsune spit with venom.

Tanjiro quickly stepped in between them to ease Sabito, Sabito didn’t backed down realizing that Tanjiro was defending this beautiful young woman who was clearly a demon, Muzan. Tanjiro was now considered as an enemy, betrayal... both of them broke into a fight to the death, Tanjiro had the advantage with his sun breathing technique but before he could slash Sabito’s neck he had flashbacks of their friendship so Kamado redirected his blade away from his throat, slashing some hair off Sabito. Sabito took this as an open door and used his demon blood art to leave a serious deep injury on Tanjiro’s chest with heavy pressured water.

Hina saw it all, she rushed to her father aid in terror, she cover him trying to protect him as her tears rushed in. Tanjiro made sure to comfort her in his last moments… “please… promise me you won’t eat human flesh… never.” Hina nodded in confusion as she cried hysterically begging Tanjiro to stay with her as Sabito was shocked seeing a demon with Muzan’s blood pump in their veins protecting a human.

Once Tanjiro’s hand became weak, Hina was fueled with anger and vengeance, Hina aimed her hand to Sabito as her arm’s veins were turning blood red, her nails becoming longer as her mouth drooled. Sabito’s eyes widen as he felt his internal organs moving, his blood was moving to places it shouldn’t, his body didn’t respond to him, this body wasn’t his anymore… blood rushed up his throat, every exit in his body was leaking a concerning amount of blood as his veins pop through his flesh.

Tanjiro reunited enough strength to hold her arm, this made her drop everything she was doing and attend her dying father, her focus was on only him. “Please don’t… I-I’ll wait for you Hina… I’ll always be with you…” Kamado dropped his hand as he took his final breath in Hina’s arms, Hina cradled her hold man’s corpse, her cries filled the forest and Sabito was no where to be found.

“Hashiras huh?…” the voice of a man was herd in the darkness of the forest. Two glowing orbs appeared, rainbow colored that coexisted just right in his irises.. a demon.

“What do you want?.” Hina growled as she just finished her father’s grave.

“I want to help you… princess…” The white kitsune grinned extending his arm to her.

Credits:

Teeth Divider: @//mmadeinheavenn

Art: @//rottencoreflesh101

Story inspiration:

[ikatako38]

Hi

It’s… been a while. It’s long past time for (another) candid update about the future of TPWCH.

TL;DR: While I am grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding, I am very frustrated with myself about my upload schedule. On top of everything else, a recent, very difficult breakup is making it hard for me to find motivation for anything. That being said, I am still slowly working on Chapter #22.5 - 3, and the 2nd Anniversary Art.

Since this time last year, I’ve only uploaded 2/3 of a chapter of the main story. While my readers have been nothing but patient and understanding, for me personally that’s… soul-crushing.

I could speculate on and on about why that is. More irl friendships and relationships to juggle. Classes getting harder. Spending the entire school year giving my all into a relationship I rarely got anything back from. Worsening ADHD symptoms. An awkward class schedule.

I think in some ways, I had less need for the fic, too. I had friends to talk to about my feelings. I felt less lonely. I didn’t need the escape so desperately as I did last year. Or maybe the better reason is that the dark turn of the fic after the end of Part 2 meant that it was no longer a comforting place to escape to. I think that’s a big reason why I leaned so much into happier stories like the End-of-Part-2 Specials and Squidmas Special. While I genuinely consider Part 3 the most interesting part of the fic, the one which from the very beginning I was most excited to write, it’s hard to actively choose to spend so much time in such a dreary place. Especially when I could just mindlessly scroll through TikTok for a few hours instead.

Perhaps I’m being too hard on myself. Realistically, I wrote all of Part 1 and half of Part 2 while I was still a high-school senior with a half day. While of course I knew that college is hard, I just never expected it to be so time-consuming (hashtag gifted-kid burnout lol). Anniversary special and end-of-part-two special took about two months each. Squidmas special was another month. I spent a month on an art trade that was supposed to provide some content I was really excited to share with you all, but the trade never got returned. Those things add up. I can at least take solace in the fact that those who are most invested in the fic can reach me at any time through Tumblr asks and the Discord server (which, by the way, you should join if you haven’t already! Thing is, I haven’t really been receiving anything expressing interest in the fic or upload schedule, so I guess I can only assume I’m not really letting anyone down.

So… what now?

As if that wasn’t enough fun news, I just went through an extremely difficult breakup. We were very close, but it this person was and is extremely manipulative, so while I certainly feel betrayed, I mostly feel intense guilt and regret. I’m experiencing insomnia like I’ve never experienced before, and although I’m past the crying phase it’s very hard to find the motivation to do anything, especially something like writing that requires concentration without constant stimulation. On the bright side, I can tentatively say I’ve found some new meds that might actually help

I’m still working on the 2nd Anniversary art. I’m still working on Chapter #22 - 3. Just… slowly. On the other hand, I’m indefinitely pausing all crossposting so I can better focus on moving the story forward. I’ve taken down the content schedule; I kind of doubt that anyone is looking at it anyway.

I am eternally grateful for the community that’s built around the fic, and everything that the community has done to support the fic, especially near the beginning. That being said, it’s hard to overstate how discouraging it is to grapple with myself for months to finally get a new piece of the story out, only to be met with… pure silence. I know it’s my own fault for being inconsistent, but it also just kinda makes me wonder whether people are even reading what I write and seeing what I draw. That’s what motivates me, and the reason I post online is in the hopes that I’ll be able to find more motivation to work on my hobbies! Unfortunately right now, I’m stuck in a cycle of less content → less feedback → less content. I was hoping reposting on FFN and Wattpad would help break that cycle, but it just ended up adding more stress and distractions from what I really wanted to work on.

I’m also starting up a secret personal project, which will take up some of my time. I’m not sure it’ll ever be published, but it’ll hopefully help me work through some things that have been going on in my life.

Current Progress

I’ve known since the beginning that the majority of Chapter #22 wasn’t going to be exactly fun for reasons that are probably obvious, but I’m genuinely really excited to share Chapter #22 - 3 with everyone! I think you’ll really like it! It basically becomes a montage of the first few weeks in the Metro, flipping between Eight completing tests, and the memories he recovers. Those memories are going to drop a ton of lore about the Octarian Domes and Eight’s life before the Metro. That also means a couple new side characters will be introduced!

The chapter is currently sitting at around 2100 words, and it’ll likely end up somewhere around 5000. I’ll release another sneak peek next Monday! Beyond that, I can’t guarantee much. It took me almost a whole week just to write this… 🥲

But I’m not giving up hope, and hopefully I can have some more content out to you all soon! Thank you all for being the best reader community I could ask for!

[ghostoffuturespast]

6, 17, and 18 for the writer's ask? :3

Full list of questions here!

#6 What topic would you love to explore in your writing?

I would love to explore more nature, honestly. Precisely how, I’m not sure but nature is fascinating, beautiful, and strange, and I love it. Kinda funny how I’m writing fics set in a urban dystopian future though. But maybe it’s because nature has a very punk ethos in that setting.

#17 Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP.

So It Goes is hands down the longest thing I’ve ever written. I knew it was going to be a long fic when I started it, but being a fan fic noob at the time, I didn’t fully comprehend how much of an undertaking this was going to be. Like I thought maybe 100k max. Dead fucking wrong. Starting this fic has been simultaneously the best and worst decision I’ve ever made. I love it, but it’s incredibly exhausting. 

Also, I started this fic because of a theory I have about V surviving the endings - and I do mean plural, all six of them - which I have been sitting on for a year and half now and have not uttered to a soul. I've been dying about it this whole time. I want to tell people but I can't spoil it either. It’s awful.

(And we'll see what CDPR ends up adding with Phantom Liberty. May render my theory null and void, but that's the game I signed up to play.)

#18 Show us a piece of dialogue you really like.

Speaking of conspiracy theories... There's a lot of subtleties in this snippet on a bunch of different levels. I have no clue if anyone is picking up on what I've been putting down, but it's been fun sneaking things in. This is from Ch. 34.

“Can’t complain, though the fun’s just gettin’ started now that I’m mayor. Which sounds strange to say... Been a dog’s age since I last saw you, River.” Jefferson snapped his fingers. “What was that last case we worked on together, right before I joined city council… The Torrence case?” River’s face furrowed as he recollected, jaw tightening and shoulders tensing along with the memory. “No, it was, uh, the Boettcher and DTR case. With the murders in the shipping containers…” Jefferson’s face turned abashed at the reminder. “Right, right, that was it. I’m gettin’ my details mixed up, my mistake. Shame we didn’t manage to nail all of the bastards…” Leaning back into the sofa, he rested an ankle on his knee. “V mentioned you left the force though, think congratulations are in order. How long were you on for?” River rested his elbows on his knees. “Thank you. Fourteen years. Thought it was past time for a career change.” “Leaving mostly in one piece too, good for you. What with NCPD’s budget cuts and the fiasco going on with their funding from Night Corp… But, don’t get me started on politics, that’s not why we’re here.” The politician waved that thread of conversation away. “V, you unraveled the mystery behind Rhyne’s death. I trust you’ll be able to crack this one as well.”