#god i love annihilation route

[crocrubies]

HUMAN CENTIPEDE

[ryusaidate]

moving from twitter because yap yap yap

"iirc people say her voice acting makes her come off cartoonishly evil but as someone who spends far more time rereading the script than playing the game, the bar flashback is like... i don't know. human. i don't have anything smart to say about it.

"moms are just like this. and renju talking about his wife like a zoo animal and through it they are just people who made bad decisions it makes me want to lie down on the floor for a very long time

"i would say the eitoku high bitches and their horrible taste in partners* are one of my favourite parts of the game but i would then go down a list of related thematic points calling all them my favourite too. did you know i like this game?

"*the actual category for me is so, renju, and hitomi, and their narrative haunting dead wives. the third step down this line is "the narrative being haunted" (iris, mizuki, date) and all points on this chart run back to being about hitomi / saito parallels. Did You Know I Like Th"

something about shoko and saito being characterized as 'people who hurt their loved ones because they never learned the right way to love' against half the main cast either obfuscating the identity of a serial killer or Killing Someone for a loved one (and this being identified as a harmful act to both them and the people around them) is like. waves arms around violently!!!!

i am thinking about renju speaking so authoritatively about why shoko can't take care of mizuki then saying 'i can't do anything i'm too busy' to date who is so in his own shit about being horrible he still thinks the best thing he can do for mizuki is keep his distance from her despite the fact The Problem Was Emotional Neglect

god renju has so many Central Thesis Lines despite also sucking so bad he's incredible. "Mizuki is hungry for love" "But you can't think about revenge now. You and the baby can't lead a life like that." - guy who will not take care of his kid and watched old people get killed for money

i am thinking about the maid cafe, the guy who is never home making an artificial commercialised setting around it, i am thinking about his daughter spending most of her time there, i am thinking about his daughter finding his corpse there, and her mother's at the one place they made a happy memory, and her best friend's corpse in the same place she saw a dead body that looked identical to it a month ago. i am thinking about the completely fictional 'narrative dead girl' visual iris takes up (i swear by the fact iris route is peak if you look at it through this lens and the belief that you were meant to assume her eye is missing before she dies because the psync swapped her with annihilation route iris. swear to god.)

i am thinking about the boss - falco // so - saito isms.....

i am thinking about the fact the guilt has to go somewhere if you absolve yourself of blame, thinking about shoko blaming mizuki for being abnormal and mizuki blaming herself for her parents deaths because she couldn't be normal, thinking about so only taking the blame for what happened to saito far far far too late and manaka's death being the one 'awful thing' saito talks about like something he did that was his fault (when not deliberately playing it up to piss off date)

i am thinking about saito against hitomi letting revenge against 'the person who took away your love' become your only focus instead of building a new life i am thinking about saito digging his heels in to remain stuck in the past through every opportunity he's given trying to drag date back down with him despite the fact he's moved on and built a new life, hurling insults at a man who doesn't exist anymore because no, he has to still be falco because saito needs to kill falco to make it stop hurting, the way he killed his father, the way he killed manaka. i am thinking about the fact that the reason why what saito is doing is wrong, narratively speaking, is because he's fucking miserable every second of it.

i am thinking about 'someone you love' as a 12 or 6/30/40 year old roommate you talk about like a pet cat or a coworker or a coworker with amnesia in the body of a serial killer or an ai hamster, that's neither here nor there i just think it's good.

i think......................... the game is good.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 67

Wow ... what was said before the start to cause THAT reaction from Matt? XD

Sam Riegel advert making of? Oh boy ... yes. Give that man a raise! Yeah, that one was almost PAINFUL ...

Matt: "BALDUR'S GATE III!!!" Sam: "Ah!" Matt: "Sorry, had to scare you a bit there."

I live how Laura always gets so adorably WORKED UP and overly enthusiastic when she plugs stuff, it's too cute. :3

Nott the Brave action figure ... Sam: "I get two? I get two and you guys only get one?"

The light's all red. Why's the light all red? This is worrying ...

Wow ... the taint jokes have started already ... Matt's making a list, you know he is ...

Stop with the smoking peer pressure, Letters. That's not cool ...

Chet was a beat poet? Oh and clearly he was a BAD one ...

And here we go ... is Imodna finally gonna become publicly official in the group? Wow, look at them both squirm ...

They really are going the whole religious debate route these days, aren't they? There's true believers and agnostics and essential atheists galore and it's fascinating ...

Ashton: "I'm abstaining." FCG: "You're abstaining? From being undecided?"

Yes, so Ashton was basically born into a freaky dark druidic cult ... no wonder he's such a mess ...

Chetney: "And you were jettisoned-slash-ejected from their bowels?" Boy, what an image ...

Mediocre first roll, Travis ... looks okay, but y'know ...

Yeah, I agree with Ashton. Found family rules.

Some VERY NICE perception rolls indeed, there.

Ooooh ... wisps? Dead soldier ghost wisps? Lovely ... that can't be good ... this is giving me major LOTR Army of the Dead vibes ...

Dodged an interception point? TWO, even? Phew ...

Pate gets chucked again ... what a life he has ...

Yeah, I think actual REAL eyes would make Pate considerably MORE unsettling ...

Persistent bad smell ... hmmmmm ...

Unfamiliar topography? Hmmmm ... sounds suspiciously like a volcano ...

Xandis' spyglass? Wow, that's from a while back ...

Petty non-Guidance ... way to get back at Orym there, Fearne ...

Another taint joke. Travis: "Don't do it, Matthew! Ignore the bloodlust."

Laura sneezes. FCG: "Are you allergic to butt-buttercups?" Another tick. Taliesin: "Please don't hold it against us. We can't help ourselves."

Bad stealth check? Yup, that is DEFINITELY karma coming back to bite you guys in the arse ...

Here we go ... incoming! What's this shit? Oh hell ... ugly shit!

Is it harpies? Is that what it is?

Spirit Guardians? Cool ... they're sheets of glass? That's hilarious. XD

Yeah! 16 Radiant damage! And a MISS!!! Phew!

Nice hit, Imogen! Smack that ass ...

Bait and Switch! Yay! Love that move.

A piercing shriek ... that DOES DAMAGE?!!! Argh! And it hurts Imogen DESPITE the Circlet? Shit ...

Ashton Wrecklessly Rages and POUNDS the fucker for 23 points of damage in a single hit! Ouch!

Chetney wolfs out WITH FLAMES and charges ... and a flying grapple? Oh fuck ... that is BRUTAL!!! Nice ...

It smells ... PUNGENT. Apparently ...

Silvery Barbs! Yay! Love that.

"TRAVIS, I'M PREGNANT!" Sam's flask is next level tonight ...

Eldritch Blast! And Laudna just ANNIHILATES one of 'em ...

Burning Hands! Always fun ... burn that bitch, Fearne! 11 points of Fire damage? Oh, MORE?!!! An extra 8 points for 19? Ouch ... Chetney takes some too but just GOES WITH IT ...

Yeah, Sam's taint joke just doomed them all, looks like ...

Shocking Grasp! Go, Imogen! Nice, it hits ... 9 Lightning Damage ... HDYWTDT!!! Yeah ... and now it's ash.

Yeah, looks like it would be prudent to LEAVE this place, and sharpish.

Leaving at a full run ... thanks to a really shit perception roll the bird things DO NOT follow ... phew ...

Ah, so that thing's some kind of fort? Made of COPPER?!!! What's that about?

Perception! Liam: "Ah, that's low for me ... 19." XD My gods ...

The smell is burning dead? Great ...

Grim Psychometry? That sounds FASCINATING ...

The Iridon Bastion ... built to honour the Platinum Dragon and guard the ground ... hmmmmm ...

Oh so this place FELL, and RECENTLY? That's not good ... just a few days ago ...

Come on guys just STOP pulling the tiger's tail! Matt's gonna make you pay dearly for all these taint jokes ...

Down With the Sickness ... thank you, Travis. XD

How to go in ...

Splitting the Party to approach from 2 sides ... hope this doesn't bite them in the arse ...

Climbing crew first, then ...

Oh yes, this place has taken a beating ... and the dead have been BADLY mistreated ... there are imps still there messing with the remains? Lovely ... oh, so there's demons galore down there ... lovely ...

Cages? And there are survivors? Okay ...

And they're building something in there ... great ...

Here we go then, Battlemap time ...

Oh, and that is SWEET ...

Something flying in? What's this now ... 13 feet tall? Holy shit ... and it has tiny baby legs ... charming ... Travis' reaction to the mini is hilarious ... XD

They're going to summon something ... snd then have a party. With live food ... urgh ...

So, attack all at once or come in sneaky and pick them off one by one? Distraction, maybe? Hmmmm ...

Whoa ... somebody else is here? On OUR side? Potentially, at least ... this could be helpful ... who is that?

Some weird looking demon dude, but not on THESE things' side ... what is this? IS THIS help?

Okay, so they ARE gonna make a distraction ... and Fearne just shouts "HELP!!!"

Imogen deals the whole tower-top of demons a MASSIVE psychic blast ... 33 points of damage? Holy fuck ... and she pops TWO HEADS on the spot, just one left and REALLY confused now ...

Here we go, then ...

Transformation of Dread for Laudna ... and in they GO!!! Featherfall ... yup, that's pretty essential for success here! Catch Orym before he splats, Laudna!

Orym casts Gust AND shoots out a vine with Seedling ...

Oh, so we finally find out what the new thing on Ashton's hammer does ... he put the Immovable Rod IN HIS HAMMER?!!! Ashton you are a fucking GENIUS!!!

FCG Commands these two flying things to Mime. Just MIME ... oh boy ... fuck, and they fail their check so they LITERALLY start miming ... dear gods ...

Oof ... that climb is ARSE ...

Go to break!

That might be the best Twitch sub promo yet ...

ROLL INITIATIVE!!!

Flying leap with a flip ... typical acrobatic Orym ... AND he hits ... double hits, 9 snd 9 damage, nice! Badass entrance, wee man!

Lauda NAT20S!!! With enthusiasm ... znd unlocks the cage ... in full Form of Dread so the captives will be TERRIFIED ...

Okay, so who is this guy, anyway? Nice high persuasion roll, Fearne ... 30! Dear gods ... not friends, but no enemies ... whoever this guy is he's really cool ...

MISTER!!! Hi! Flaming shit chucking! 6 points of Fire damage ...

Scramble the Dead? FCG projects the AOL loading sound into the demon's head and gives it 18 points of Necrotic damage! Nice ...

Minute Meteors? Imogen's SWEET ARSE new move ... oh yeah, she us just PELTING these guys with pain ...

Demon guy has a nice big chopper ... oh yeah, he is a bit of a badass as well as being cool snd rakishly handsome ... AND a Divine Smite? Holy fuck he's a Devilish Paladin! Awesome! 84 points of damage ... fucking hell ...

Blood Curse of Bloated Agony! Yeah, boy! And Turmoil, nice ... and he just BUTCHERS that fucker ...

Ashton's Raging again as he tries to free the prisoners ... and batters himself by fumbling his landing ... attack instead, then ... he hits! 23 for the first, 18 on the second ... proper battering that one, then ...

Finally the bad guys' turn ... oh dear, here we go ...

Big stumpy demon VANISHES ... then reappears DIRECTLY ON TOP of one of the cages ... AAAAAAHHH!!!

Chetney gets BIT!!! Ouch ... 10 damage after the reduction ... nasty ...

No, not more painful screeching ... argh! Indomitable saves Orym's arse a little bit ... AND he has resistance against being Frightened ... Nice, he pushes through! Yay ...

Orym responds in kind ... 7 and 10 damage ... it's STARTING to look a little rough? Oof ...

Laudna pops the lock ... and Marisha LITERALLY pop-locks ... XD

Bait snd Switch on Laudna! Nice, Orym!

Okay ... the cage has FINALLY been opened ... everybody OUT!!! Mirror Image! Here we go ... and now she's IN THE CAGE and she's terrifying ... she tries a Ray of Frost on the chains ... this could go SO BADLY ... O.O

Holy shit, that worked! Nice rescue!

Fearne Blasts a Scorching Ray at the closest target, then again at the ones attacking Chetney ... BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! It hurts them, but not that much ... bugger ...

FCG casts Command again, this time to Betray? Holy shit ... wait, did that actually WORK?!!! Oh ... that just gave FCG a free pass instead ... bugger, that could have been a lot more impressive ...

Lightning Bolt IN THE FACE!!! Nice one, Imogen! Balls damage roll though, apparently ... 20? Hmmmm ... nothing spectacular, then ...

Another one on an imp ... for ONE POINT of fire damage? Oof ...

Paladin dude attacks! 30 damage on the first hit? Holy fuck ... Chetney thinks his bame is "Do Your Part" ... Paladin is NOT impressed ...

21 damage including 3 thunder from Chetney, then 20 and finally 19! Fucker's FINALLY starting to look proper hurt ...

Nice, Ashton literally BATTERS a fucker right off the roof and he IMPALES HIMSELF on a spike? I love it ...

Nimbus Fear don't do shit!

That's it for thd bad rolls, then ... oof, how much damage is Imogen taking? 32 from a bite? Aaaaah! 14 slashing, 13 slashing ... oh my GODS ... yeah, NO FUCKING WONDER Laudna screams "NO!!!" at the top of her lungs ...

That fucker just BURSTS like a water balloon ... nice ...

Imp popping out of nowhere and screaming in FCG's face has NO EFFECT at all ... okay ...

Orym just jumps on Imogen's attacker znd starts hacking at him! 13 damage! ACTION SURGE!!! Oh nice! PROPER disarmed it by actually taking its fingers off! Then he drags Imogen up and literally TOSSES HER to Laudna!

Laudna channels a Shocking Grasp through the cage to trash the fucker ... and it totally FAILS?!!! Balls!

Literal Aladdin moment for Imogen and Laudna ... "Do you trust me?" And they're saved by Mirror Image at the last ... phew! Finally Featherfall means they touch down smoothly ... Nice save, girls!

Fearne casts Blight and inflicts 38 points of Necrotic damage! Ouch! Plus another 5 in fire from Mister! Nice ...

Death from above? No ... thank fuck Ashton manages to save from that shit ...

Sacred Flame! Go, Letters! Bad damage roll, though ... 4 Radiant damage? Balls ...

Gods, the bad rolls are starting to balance out now, this is THE WORST TIMING for it ...

Imogen gets 26 HP back from the Healing Potion ... phew ... then shoots a Psychic Lance at the bastard! Half damage, though ... 21 reduced to 11 ... nuts ...

Paladin carves and ... fails SPECTACULARLY!!! Oof ...

Chetney grabs the discarded sword! Oh, this can't lead to anything good ...

Ashton tries to rush past and just gets grabbed, do he just goes on the offensive instead. So he BEATS THE SHIT ot of it ... 20 points of damage and it's OFF HIM again! He climbs rhe tower, the atracks the other one ... Nice, another hit, 28 points! Boom! Then another 17! POW! Just as the fucker jumps off the tower ...

Oh fuck ... HOW MUCH damage is Imogen taking? Fuck ... yeah, Imogen is now UNCONSCIOUS ... as the fucker's CHEWING on her ...

Yeah, Laudna is GOING OFF seeing that ...

Oh, FCG's just getting MOBBED here ... ouch, 9 points of piercing damage ...

I love how that imp just NOPED right out there ...

Orym to the rescue! And he just BATTERS HIMSELF landing on the fucker ... 10 damage, but then NAT20s ... another 12? Hmmm ... but at least it spits Imogen out ...

Laudna Blights him, but only half damage ... crap ... 34 reduced to 17 Necrotic damage ... it hurts, but ... so she tries Shocking Grasp again instead ... and Nat1s ... AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! NOOOOOOO!!! So she just clambers on top of Imogen and shields her with her body ...

Fearne Wildshapes into her Big Bird! She takes a glancing hit but swoops off, grabs FCG and carries him off while having Mister firebomb one of the cage locks ... 13? Nuts ... so that's a miss, then ...

Ashton's so strong he's Teflon ...

Dear gods this is getting EXHAUSTING ...

FCG casts Healing Word on Imogen ... 4 points, but at least she's up again ... then he fires his bolt thrower and just MISSES COMPLETELY ... Marisha: "Does that thing EVER hit?"

Imogen tries to cast Shocking Grasp on the bastard ... and it hits! Nice! 12 points of Lightning damage ... then she casts Invisibility on herself and Laudna, and they both just BOLT. Nice ...

Paladin pulls another Divine Smite ... 45 points on a single hit! And ANOTHER Smite? Oh yeah, he just KILLS that fucker ...

Chetney casts Shatter and deals 17 Thunder Damage reduced to 9 ... then goes to another cage and terrifies its occupants ...

Oh shit, really? Matt Mercer, are you SERIOUSLY giving Chetney a cursed sword? Is that THREE FOR THREE for Travis now? O.O

Shit ... Ashton just DROPS on that boy and batters the fuck out of himself doing it ... misses, unfortunately, but then takes another shot ... ooh, a Chaos Burst? Cool ... oh, that sounds like a PAINFUL hit ...

Crap, it just VAPOURISES away before they can finish it ... it's really hurt, but still kicking ...

Orym doesn't have a viable target so he just goes sprinting after the stumpy fucker ...

Laudna scares the crap out of FCG by talking to him while still invisible, sends him off to help Imogen as she goes to the next cage ...

Fearne swoops in and casts Blight on stumpy ... 38 points of Necrotic ... HDYWTDT!!! YEAH!!! Oh, I think she made a future enemy there, if it ever comes back ...

Oh, okay, Fearne gets to formally meet the Paladin ...

Meanwhile the others are working on freeing the remaining captives of investigate the surroundings. And THERE'S Baernie! Okay! Hi there! Yeah, she gives him s big hug and it's so sweet! She's traumatised but seeing him is clearly just the soothing tonic she needs ...

Tevan Klask? Oh hello then ... oh, and he is CLEARLY only impressed by Fearne ... okay ...

The Knotted Weave? What's that, then?

Oh here we go ... is he gonna try and SEDUCE Fearne to his godly path? Hmmmmm ... wow, he actually KISSES HER HAND!!! Blimey ... and he MARKS HER?!!! Fucking hell ... oh yeah, he is DEFINITELY kind of hitting on her ...

Wow, so she just GOES WITH IT ... okay ...

So now they've got a kind of ally in this ... or at least FEARNE has ...

Sweet ... now THAT'S an exit ...

Nice! Fancy Ashari magic lets Baernie relocate her own shoulder ...

Extovass the Gluttonous ... hmmmm ... a servant of Vrudaliun? Okay ...

Oh NICE!!! Two full packs of the flowers! Yes!

Yet again ... seriously, DO NOT let Travis do the cursed weapon thing again, that way madness lies ...

Taking care of the dead before getting ready to head out, then. Then Baernie leads the way out again. Oh sweet, magic bolthole? Cool ...

Time for a cosy rest, then.

And that's it for the night. Okay then ... thank the gods, that was exhausting and ALMOST really bad too ...

Yup, now it's official, Fearne's, like, the leader now ... I can get behind that ...

[nerdyenby]

Yellow time :D I’m watching Aimsey

I’m so excited for this team you guys, I love them all so much

“I love being the token lesbian” that’s my streamer!!

“‘Say gay rights’ no I hate gay people, I just don’t agree with that mindset” he was so deadpan I’m dying

Yellow and red teams are holding hands, I love my ketchup and mustard alliance 💛♥️

Aimsey’s popping off!!!

The skins are so cute and queer <333

Aimsey and Lily <3333

“Don’t get shot!!” “Yeah I won’t- … I got shot!!!” Shelby and Aimsey my beloveds!!!

Aimsey’s parkour has improved so much!! She’s doing so well!!!

The chat exchanges between Aimsey and Scott 😂

“Glowduo enjoyers” that’s me!!!! I’m a Glowduo enjoyer!!

Jojo queen of gay parkour!! We ignore Pete, straight men don’t count /lh

Buildmart

I’m so ready for them to pop off, you don’t understand

Their comms are so good!!!

They’re popping off!!

Aimsey is such a good runner!!

2nd place!!! Them!!!!! <3333

YOU DID SO GOOD AIMSEY

Jojo just improving Aimsey’s opinion of literally everything is so real

Bingo

Bingo but fast logo <333

Jojo taking charge so real, every friend group needs a designated decider

The comms are so chaotic but they’re so good at listening to each other <3

Shelby mvp!!!!

THE GIRLS ARE ON TOP!!!!

Warm colors win these!!!!

TGTTOSAWAF

Tgttosawaf antis (/lh) win these!!

The randomizer is so based

Jojo thirty-somethingth to first in one round!!!!

Shelby 😂

FIRST FULL TEAM!!!

You’re doing great False, that one’s always rough

Aimsey popping off!!!!!

“Don’t die, don’t do that, it pisses me off” Jojo 😂😂😂

Women supporting women <333

Parkour Tag

The gay gods favor my streamers

STOP BEING SELFDEPRICATING

False just standing there as everyone goes on about how much they suck lmao

YEEEAAAHHH

THAT WAS SO CLOSE!!! FALSE MY BELOVED!!!!!

Why are my girls bashing on my guys /neu??? H and Ran my beloved

Aimsey absolutely annihilating xeir girlfriend my beloved

They’re popping off!!!!

Aimsey’s doing so well 😭😭😭

Ace Race

I don’t know if this race is ace enough tbh

It still has the alternate routes right?

The vod is muted 😂😂😂

TWELFTH HOLY CRAP!!!! THATS MY FRICKIN GUY!!!!!!

Jojo has never been wrong!!!

The power of having an ace partner <333

Ran and Aims <3333

AIMSEY 11TH!!!!! THATS MY TOKEN LESBIAN!!!!!

Aimsey immediately spilling the deets on his girlfriend’s studying technique

Sands of Time

Aimsey, my love, my life, why did you flick all those levers and not kill any of the mobs

They’re all so on top of everything and calm, it’s so nice :((

Aimsey is such a good sandkeeper I could cry

I don’t feel like I’ve ever seen everyone in the middle at once in the middle of sot before, it’s nice but it’s kinda freaking me out

FOUR FOR FOUR?????? MAYHAPS?????

The panic 😭😭😭

Gay on gay crime: the tournament 😂

Meltdown

Jojo does a lil IGL-ing

False taking charge my beloved!!!

Aimsey and Jojo 😂😂😂

They’re sticking together so well! The lack of male hubris is coming through

Oh cyan swept, holy crap

That hot potato heater swap was so funny

They’re doing so well!!!

Awww rip :/

“You got this angel” Aimsey and Guqqie my beloved <333

The only two 4/4 lgbtq teams being the ones making it to dodgebolt!!! Might be calling it early but I believe <3

Battle Box

That first round was so close!!!

“Ten extra points to whoever gets Grian” False 😂

Their comms <333

THAT YELLOW V ORANGE?!???

Ranboo and Aimsey 😂😂😂

They’ve done so well start to finish, this team was insane <333

AIMSEY 14TH!!!! THATS MY STREAMER!!!!

Dodgebolt

Switching to Guqqie’s vod at their girlfriend’s insistence <333

AISMEY COMING IN SCREAMING AND HUGGING HER SO TIGHT :((( /pos

“It’s the power of gays getting us through this” so true Guqqie!!!!

GUQQIE!!!!! THEYRE KILLING IT!!!!!

Coming down to the fifth round <3

NONBINARY PEOPLE WIN THESE!!!!

YELLOW DODGEBOLT!!!!!

Shelby and Harvey hunger games finale <3333

I can’t believe my predictions were correct and yellow won!!!! /j

Great vibes, great times <333

[dirtyoldmanhole]

ooooh now we're getting into conquest endgame.

loveblog time! just started slime!garon's level.

lol iago and hans' chapter was significantly easier than ryoma. still had to do a few resets but it was fairly straightforward.

unexpected dynamics i really enjoyed this route was: camilia/laslow! there's a winking-teasing sense of mutual indulgent self-aware humor especially from her to him, and i feel like he's got the right mix of flirty but adorkably sincereness for her. love camilia being the 'niles but female' competent kinkster and laslow being the goober.

speaking of her: i still love that camilia + hinoka scene so goddamn much. really need to do some more camilia/corrin yuri.

i also really enjoyed arthur x practically everyone; he's one of those that i probably will make an excuse to draw. dynamic with elise is easygoing and just great, his supports with benny are GENUINELY ADORABLE wtf, and he actually has a shockingly touching S support with azura. (azura gets a hell of a lot of great S supports). i'm not feeling his S support with corrin as much but he's just fun for the subversion factor.

kind of irl chuckled at corrin's support with elise with the training bit, cannot help but think that was corrin channeling a little of gunter there. :P

slime!garon is... mm. not doing it for me. awkward 'haha what the fuck?' vibe lol. points for creativity (i could see the application in a kinky hentai doujin or two god bless) but that's about it.

i'm really, really glad i actually completed revelation first. holy shit revelation's last four chapters were like "specifically designed to ANNIHILATE krad emotionally + id wise with a steel chair yeeting this villainfucker into orbit". this? ehh. i can see how CQ would appeal if you were a nohr royalty stan but ehhhhhhh, i would have much rather have seen garon's badass blight dragon form that i know you see in birthright. or at least some sort of tragic pathos to the whole posession thing. (obviously half the unsaid factor is it kinda leaves gunter's whole arc just limply hanging. there. though i'mma wait until the very last two scenes i know are coming up before throwing judgement on that)).

[wisdomrays]

Another Way of Journeying and Initiation: Part 3

Many have sung melodies of love about Him, and of separation from Him and yearning to meet with Him with all of their being, as if each part of their bodies were a flute.

Concerning this, Mawlana says:

O heart! You and your suffering for Him exist; ah, how nice it is always to be concerned with Him and suffering for Him! That suffering is, in fact, your cure. So, bear with all the afflictions and troubles coming from Him, without making the least complaint. So does He decree. If you have been able to trample your bodily desires, then you have killed the dog of your carnal self, which is the thing that should be killed.

The fourth discipline: The carnal self sees itself as if it were a being which exists independently. It sometimes adopts a manner so refractory and abased that every attitude and act it performs is disobedience and hostility to Him Whom it must unquestionably worship. In reality none other than Him has an independent existence of itself. Every existing being or thing, living or non-living, functions as a mirror to the Names of the Most Exalted Creator with respect to the level of life with which it is favored. Even though the human carnal self has an exceptional nature and capacity particular to itself among other beings, its existence with whatever it has is from Him, and subsists by Him alone. For this reason, with respect to itself, it is a zero in the face of Eternity, a shadow in the face of the Original Being, and is nothing in the face of the Truly Existent One. Its perception of this is the first step to the attainment of true existence, while thinking otherwise is a lethal stumbling. When one sees oneself as an independent being existing and subsisting by oneself, one rolls headlong into the dark abyss of non-existence. Yet, when one functions as a polished mirror to the Truth (having whatever is good and valuable as only a reflection from Him), one is en route to eternity. One smashes the tight frame around one and finds the light of the Existence of the True Being. Concerning this, Muhammad Iqbal says:

In your essence, there is a substance from the Existence of God, and a ray from His manifestation. But for His ocean, I do not know where we would have been able to find this "pearl."

The following couplet, whose author is not known, relates the matter to the famous saying, "He who knows himself, knows his Lord:"

Know your own self, if you desire to have knowledge of God;

Only he who knows his own self, is one who has knowledge of God.

Mawlana sums up the matter as follows:

So long as a servant is annihilated with respect to his ego and conceit,

It is impossible for him to attain true belief in God and His Unity.

Unity does not mean union with God; it means freedom from ego.

Whoever says otherwise, speaks a lie and cannot make falsehood truth.

To sum up, it is possible to say that, other than the way composed of love, suffering and similar essentials by which one can reach God, there is another way; this is the way of one's perception and the acknowledgment of one's own helplessness and poverty before God, and of affection and reflection. This second way is safer and more direct than the former one.

Travelers following such a way in consciousness of their helplessness turn to the One of Infinite Power with all of their being, each saying: "Hold me by the hand, hold because I cannot manage without You." The more aware they are of their poverty, the more sincerely they take refuge with the Divine Wealth, and attribute to Him whatever in their possession is good and praiseworthy. They are in constant thankfulness and act zealously where others stumble because of their self-pride and utterances that are incompatible with the rules of Shari'a. Those who study deeply and reflect on their inner world and the outer world do not fall into pride (by ascribing any accomplishment and the favors they have received to themselves,) nor do they fall into mental and spiritual confusions by imputing evils to external causes or Destiny. On the contrary, they attribute to God all of their accomplishments and the favors they receive, rely on Him, and enjoy the pleasure of dependence on Him. As for evils, they ascribe them to themselves and turn to God with repentance, penitence and contrition, feeling pangs of separation from Him and pleasures in the expectation of again meeting with Him. Since they regard their existence as a shadow of the light of the Divine Existence, they never consider that they have independent self-existence, nor do they need to be preoccupied with such notions as Unity of Being and Unity of the Witnessed. With the conviction that their existence, with all its attributes and potentials and whatever endowment they have been granted, are all from Him, then they live with the pleasure or the hope of His company, and act in thankfulness for being on the way to Him. They never value or esteem easy behavior or utterances that suggest self-pride and self-complacency.

The basic essentials of this way were once expressed by the present author as follows:

O friends, come and listen, O friends!

Our way is the way of zeal;

The comrades satisfied with belief,

Thorns are roses for us.

Thanks to Him, we have seen the Face of the Truth,

And found the very essence of everything;

We have adopted His every word as a principle;

And His Speech is evidence for us.

All strength by which we are strong is His;

We are known for His Name, by Which we act,

And travel, going beyond the summits;

All difficulties are easy for us to surmount.

We have no wealth but are extremely wealthy;

And are noble and honored by relation to Him.

Reflection is our way; and everything, wet or dry,

Is a source of knowledge of God for us.

Plains, residences, and deserts,

All voices mention Him throughout the universe,

Roses of all colors that have opened,

Each is a message to us from Him.

You know us from serving God with utmost zeal;

Our work is always thinking of Him,

And what we will always do and declare:

His Book is the guide for us.

We have found Him and submitted to Him;

And been saved from grief and despair;

We were sullied but have been cleaned;

His Mercy is the ocean in which we were cleaned.

O Lord, accept my repentance, and clean me of the dirt, answer my prayers, secure my place in religion, guide my heart, make my voice always speak the truth, and root out all kinds of hatred and envy from my heart. And bestow Your blessings and peace on our master and support Muhammad, and his family and Companions altogether.

[venus-of-the-hrdsell]

It's Hellblazer anon again and I finished it! What an amazing read! There's a thousand positive things I could say about it but instead I'm going to rant at you about those last 50 issues. You once mentioned that Azzerello was your villain origin story....well Milligan is mine. I have never read such dogshit writing in my entire life. The fact that it was Hellblazer's last issues really bloody rubs me the wrong way as well. It was character assassination on a world wide level, no survivors, everyone was annihilated. MY GOD WHAT WAS PETER MILLIGAN THINKING?? John was sooo pathetic and old and obsessed with having a wife?! All he does in those last issues is be obsessed with boring women? Like sweetie don't you have better things to do?? Phoebe was so bland, Epiphany was genuinely the absolute worst and Milligan tried sooo hard to sell us on this weird marriage? He even went as far as to bring back Kit and get John to tell her that he loves this random chick way more than he loved Kit 😭 like wtf, Kit was so important to John, their relationship was so special and Milligan just had to shit all over it just to prove a point? Making Angie a punchline to fat jokes was disgusting and so unnecessary. Holy shit poor bloody Gemma? Everything around what happened with her was so revolting and she deserved so much better. Milligan just couldn't write good John angst so he had to absolutely destroy Gemma's character and I hate him so much for it. Not even Chas could escape the onslaught! John literally left Chas to die, the only reason he saved him is because his passport got rejected, like I'm sorry but John would not let his best mate die?! Also....where did the horror go?? It just turned into the John and Epiphany show where all they did was have sex and talk about how shit everyone else was. Speaking of, words can not describe how much I hate Epiphany. Two dimensional, written way too edgy, and her being that young just felt like Milligan was trying to act out a fantasy. I just.....hated this run with my entire being. So boring, so badly written, lacking substance and I was glad that it ended. Also I have no idea wtf that ending was but I hate Milligan for having that privilege and absolutely fucking it up. He also gets the medal for writing the absolute worst love interests. Sorry that got so long but I had to tell someone! I'm honestly just pretending that none of that was canon. Gemma forgave her uncle and became a doctor, Kit and Angie lived happily ever after, Chas got a cool new car and John got to have a pint. There, fixed it.

(I'm so sorry for answering this so late) but anon I hear you and I FEEL YOU because I was sleepless the night I finished Hellblazer because of HOW BAD those last 50 issues were. It's infuriating that this trash trainwreck had more issues than the good writers Hellblazer had??? Like???

It's genuinely one of the few runs in comics that aren't salvageable for me because it both destroys John as a character, destroys the Hellblazer lore and it's side characters and sends continuity to hell (there's so many errors I can easily list here). It's also incredibly misoginistic by vertigo standards because everyone woman on it either gets disrespected, shamed abused or FRIDGED. And the fact that DC saw the shitty work this writer did on John and was like "this is the PERFECT candidate to write a Constantine lead team Justice League Dark:) "

So my best advice is to do as I do (and Spurrier) and pretend that run doesn't exist. For me, Diggle's run is the perfect conclusion for Hellblazer (this, or the route Lemire took with John on Swamp Thong: Green Hell).

[buried-stars]

since we were both thinking of him, kaname date for the ask game!

hell yeah

Sexuality Headcanon: this man is extremely bisexual Gender Headcanon: there's some kind of gender going on here. he's trans in some direction but i hesitate to exactly say which one because of. you know. A ship I have with said character: datomi forever and ever oh my god... i feel them in my bones. though i also have a soft spot for annihilation route date/pewter A BROTP I have with said character: there's a lot of great candidates but i have to go with mizuki & aiba. that's a family. A NOTP I have with said character: the less said about him and ryuki the better A random headcanon: he loves fucked up burned food. it's not just the prison eggs, he wants everything he eats to be like the texture of an eraser. it's a wonder that he can cook for other people. General Opinion over said character: i love him so dearly. he's terrible. i wish he would adopt me. i hope someone beats him over the head with a metal pipe. this is the kaname date dichotomy.

[leafiion]

It’s party rock IS … HELPPP M4 CATGIRL????

BOOO THE VIDEO SAID “DONT CARE” I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT M2 CAUGHT :( …M6?!!!!!???! M2 says GOMENASORRY… Melia voice I need to max win (or something…)

Help me evil ren in evil future?? Aww he kind of has a bedhead when he’s Normal…

O shit talon is going to Die die. I mean I knew he died already bc I got spoiled but he’s gonna die for real. Okay venam how the fuck do you battle Brutally and Heartlessly for real. Big fan of how clear seems to be on your side(?). I mean I didn’t watch the rest of the route just the divergence point but I’d like to believe we’re gathering an army of weirdgirls(?) to end the world

Okay bye bye Erin… we’ve lost one weirdgirl. Oh we’re gonna kill talon for real real he is SO dead. OH FUCK DYLAN MOMENT I ljke him :) so friendy and lowkey loserful and also wounded rn. This music is banger. ERASED .. oh I love m2 so much easily she’s so swag. Nvm she’s fucked she likes thin mints that’s fucked up.

Oh fuck rooftop. It’s time to fucking kill talon. The 4 annihilates is fucked lmaoo.. OKAY JUST KILL THEM THEN GOD DAMN. JESUS. okay fuck it. Awww she’s still Melia deep inside … +budooka.

BODY SNATCHING .? Oh okay no just aevis moment the sequel. Oh my god m2 is so great finally someone who shares my love for being a cunt and murdering people. Hmm I just realized that this isn’t a full playthrough. Damn. That sucks. FUCK YES REVENGE!! WOOOO

wow. Can you leave M2 the fuck alone. Also “how long did you suffer in oblivion” literally she said 6 years did you not listen. I like how they take the airplane crash in complete stride that’s funny. Okay what the fuck. “I’m not cheering twice”.. YEAH THEY DIED.

Hit them with the “get a hobby”. God idk what it is but even tho I’m not a huge fan of rejuv the villains (“villains”.) usually really hit. WALL ATTACK!! Mmm2 we should really, like, get you a name that isn’t a number designation. And that’s the end of the playthrough :/ waaah whatever I’ll look the rest up later

[daisannokagi]

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4: Mizuho no Kuni - Character Tracks (Pt.2)

Japanese Title: 遙かなる時空の中で4~瑞穂の国~

Disclaimer: I only own the translation. Everything else is Koei’s/Ruby Party’s. I tried to keep the meaning as intact as possible, but I also took some creative liberty here and there. Also, do note that English and Japanese aren’t my native language. Translator’s note will be put at the end of the post.

Previous post is here. Here’s the rest of the character tracks! I’m giving a certain man the most criminal, bombastic side eye because he sure as hell deserved it (you know who you are). Surprisingly enough, that man is also one of the easier ones to translate and tbh I’m not even sure why. Overall, though, I’ve had the most fun with Hiiragi and struggled with Sazaki, Asvin, and Ribhu. As usual, the events ranges from near the end of the common route to before the character’s ending, so beware spoilers.

Translation will be below the cut. Hope you enjoy it!

Wedding Garments ~Asvin~

Magatsuhi-no-Kami have disappeared, and though we still have a mountain of things to do, it sure is nice to see your own land prosper.

Hmm? What is it? You look happy. Oh, you saw the nuptials.

A wedding… dress? I see, is it similar to the ceremonial outfit worn in your world? Your face, my dear, is telling me you want to wear it. Then I shall give it to you. Is it not the duty of a husband to give his wife the things she desires?

And…? You'll feel bad so there's no need to…

That's nonsense. You don't need to hold back. I like being depended on by you, after all.

Once everything settles down, let's hold another nuptials, just the two of us. Not just in Nakatsu, I want to once again make a vow to spend the rest of my life with you in this land of Tokoyo.

(kiss)

I love you.

At the End of Remembrance ~Kazahaya~

A new stream of time is flowing in this world that was once annihilated by the White Dragon.

I threw away my past as a god and walked as a human in Kashihara. If I continue through this path, I will eventually meet her. But even if she saw me, she wouldn't know who I am, as she doesn't have any memory of me in this newly born world. But even so, I keep walking, so I could meet her once again.

My heart longs for her.

This heart of mine is the one thing that even the gods couldn't take away from me. My memories of the days I spent with her are my most cherished possession. If I have this heart, these memories, with me, there is nothing more that I fear. Even if you no longer remember me, my heart will guide me to where you are.

Princess, if I could meet you again, I would stay by your side.

Forever.

The Trait of a Ruler ~Oshihito~

Wrong. First, bow to the right side, turn around, and bow to the left side. Just how many times do I have to tell you before you understand? We only have a few days left before your coronation. If you're already struggling from the start, I'm worried about the rest of the procession.

And no, you don't have any time to feel down. Start again from the beginning.

Do you think learning etiquette is not important?

Your coronation will be the center of attention. You're someone who would be a queen. You have the qualities to become one. Everyone who fought by your side would've known that. But those who didn't would only look at how you behave before criticizing behind your back that you're someone unfit to be a queen.

I don't want to see you be treated that way. I don't want you to be hurt by something as nonsensical as that.

Let's take a break. I'll bring you some cold water.

Feeling relieved now, are we?

We'll continue our training once I get back.

Dreams of the Sky ~Sazaki~

We did it, Princess! Thanks to you, that large snake disappeared. And with that, the world is at peace once again! Let's say goodbye to this place and go back home. I'll carry you, so hold on tight!

Haha! Just who do you think I am? Finding everyone and getting them out is a piece of cake for me. Well, I was a bit worried about how it'd end, but I'm glad I did just as you told me.

Everyone is safe, and my wish is granted.

My wish? Uh… Well, you see… How do I say it…

(cough)

Well, ever since you picked up my enchanted feather, flying… while holding you in my arms… has always been one of my wishes. Looking back, you've given me so much.

But! I'm a pirate. It's nowhere near enough. Prepare yourself, Princess, I'll be taking a lot more from you.

At the Tatara Furnace ~Ribhu~

Ouch!

Maybe I raised the temperature too much. But I'm glad the application seems to be going well. It will take some time until it's complete, but with this trebuchet, His Highness's battles should go more smoothly.

Even as someone as powerless as me, I can still be of use with my knowledge. I couldn't be any happier than this.

Now that I think about it, when I met the Second Princess at the tatara furnace, she looked sad when she realized this is a weapon that can only be used in wars.

Well, seeing as she's someone who doesn't even shun her enemies, I guess that's to be expected. She's going through a difficult time because of a war she never wished for, but even so, she never gave up on what lies beyond it. And that is precisely why I want to reach out my hand and help her.

Hmm, I think that should do it for the preparations.

I'll be on my way to assist you, Second Princess.

I'll be more than happy if you decide to look my way. When that happens, I'll make sure to wave my hand as hard as I can. Though I don't think I could keep my composure...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(important) Translator’s note:

Nuptials: A person's marriage and marriage celebrations (Cambridge Dictionary)

Kazahaya's 2nd to last line is actually 姫、そして再び出会えたとならば、俺はもう二度とあなたのそばから離れません, so I contemplated on using "I would never leave your side again" for the latter half of the sentence, but using the word "again" twice in the same sentence felt kinda weird so I just used the current "I would stay by your side", which hopefully conveyed a similar enough meaning.

Sazaki's track title is 空翔ける夢, which I think can be picked apart like this > 空（を）翔ける夢. If so, the meaning would more or less be "dreams of flying/soaring in the sky", hence why I chose "Dreams of the Sky". I do hope I got the meaning right so uhh if you have any suggestions, ideas, or corrections feel free to leave a comment or reply.

Omake:

used jikuu (read: toki) for extra oomph

how do u hime-san? missus? missy? m'lady? ma'am? princess?

why am i spending so much time looking at the differences between catapult & trebuchet (read more about it here and here)

Plus not so important tidbit about kazahaya’s track (contains major spoilers of the game, feel free to skip this section, i just want to rant lmao):

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Disclaimer: I know the drama cd is released after the game and this is probably unintentional on Koei's part but LMAO I just find it really funny. Also I just can't skip on the opportunity to dunk this man lol (affectionate)

KAZAHAYA I AM LOOKING AT YOU YOU’RE ON A THIN ICE!!! Fun fact about this track: this man is lying through his teeth. Did you notice how he said:

Even if you no longer remember me, my heart will guide me to where you are. Princess, if I could meet you again, I would stay by your side. Forever.

THIS, MY FRIEND, IS A LIE. At the end of his true route, after Chihiro & co defeated Hakuryuu, it made a whole new timeline outside of the loop. In the new timeline, Kokuryuu didn't try to destroy the whole world and Hakuryuu didn't interfere much with the human world, which means Kazahaya isn't needed in the new timeline and everyone's memory of Kazahaya is gone. Tokoyo didn't attack Nakatsu, Ichinohime and Habarihiko are alive, the world is at peace. But it's missing Kazahaya.

One day, Chihiro was walking around Kashihara when Kazahaya showed up in front of her. Kazahaya, knowing that Chihiro also lost her memory, just spouted some pleasantries and continue on his way.

NOW THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET SPICY

You get a set of choices here. You can choose to remember him, in which case you'll get a CG and happy ending, OR you can choose to not remember him. Do that, and you can watch how Chihiro was distressed because she couldn't remember Kazahaya and Kazahaya leaving her because he didn't want to see her sad.

... kazahaya wtf ?????????????? i thought you wont ever leave her again what happened to that promise?????????????????? what about never leaving her side ever again????????

[mayaswells]

Jesus, Jest & Justice.

————————————

The brief exhilarating moment of the seeming feeling of enlightenment, of the lightening of one’s oxen burdens —- must be held always, if not with unhealthy paranoiac Suspicion, then with the right dosage of Discernment.

As such a feeling can equally be achieved momentarily, simply by the mere tying of all of one’s weight around the neck like a noose and throwing it off of a cliff-edge — as one utters the bizarre oath; ‘to hell with it all! I’m going to Heaven!’.

Perhaps this very illusion of enlightenment, is strangely itself the only enlightenment — if consciously embraced — as the embrace of one’s Death and of the Great Death of God, can be the only dialectical route to reversing the adage of; “Life is Suffering” —- precisely through which, into; “Existence Is Pure Joy”.

As shadows pass and are done, but there is that which remains —- meaning that the illusion of Life itself as Suffering, is a true lie, in order to retroactively realise the Truth — precisely through this true lie — that Life is always slowly or not so; Dying — and it is the avoidance of Life’s Suffering which makes it true that Life is Suffering — an avoidance of the void itself, which is itself the very Nirvana-itself of a Bliss of Dissolution.

Dissolution, as this most precious Bliss, is the negation of Objectivity; not into Solipsism, but it’s very totalised inversion — into that ultimate Subjectivity represented by the, absolutely humorous if not hysterical; Ganeshan Brahman of the Hindus —- and of the Godhead who is always beheaded unto the Immanence of a totalising presence which collapses the difference between a totalised absence —- meaning also that there is no possibility for an atheism not always the very dissolution of theism —- as there is no theism which does not lead one eventually to the Passion of Christ on the Cross, God enfleshed as the Son, whose Heart enacts his own monstrously pained self-erasure —- which becomes also the erasure between Man and God through his very remaining as a wounded resurrection —- the wounds of God and Man are the same.

When Nietzsche bombastically asks us what Will wash the blood of our greatest value, of God, murdered —- this blood is paradoxically on Gods own hands exactly the same in a comradeship of friendship that is so preciously devoid of the master-slave dualisms or Power, that it’s such a mundane miracle of which we can not seem to even enable ourselves it’s monstrous recognition —- when whatever implication rest deferred as afeared in our avoidance of the realisation —- are precisely the implications God ‘himself’ absolutely shares with us — including uncertainty.

God! Imagine the whirlwind answer to Job, when imagining oneself cursed with the hysterical nature of uncertainty so certainly inherent to Subjectivity — which is what leads us to desire the farce of such a God all-powerful and satanic —- and imagine what it would feel like for God himself to be facing just this same uncertainty —- without anybody but we hopeless all too human, humans —- yet this is the slight danger and risk, the snake always in the garden — which God faces absolutely and in a covenant of comradely kinship with every one of us, understandably not psychically capable of fully facing such absolute uncertainty.

An inherent certainty to the enactment of all Will, which is inherent to all Love —- as only a God whom loves us absolutely and without remainder — can seem to self-annihilate entirely and seemingly vanish in the divine Love that must be pointlessly Willed for our every breathing moment of Life —- as within of it we slowly are mercifully allowed the space to ween off God as an idol and image of attachment out of fear —- and out of Love, learn of our own Wills — which if so, are always to be the same Will to Love, with a “Love under Will” — a movement of freedom from unconsciousness into the conscious.

It is here I am reminded of Jung when he says that people in modernity can’t believe in God because they haven’t looked deep enough, or lowly enough —- with the humility of the responsibility I shall add in addendum to Jung, not realising that the Leap of Faith would simultaneously unite one in harmony with that God who’s responsibility inherent to his Will would be ineffably monstrous and inconceivable in comparison to what responsibility we ourselves would be taking on, by truly engaging our own Wills, for Loves sake —- God or no God the same, as the only sake worth the seemingly terrible stake of Life and Subjectivity —- in knowingly embracing the necessity of the coincidence of Love and Will, in Creation itself; omnipresently occurring throughout timespace, negligent of any care for Creation occurring ‘back there’ at some Alpha point retroactively imagined so as to then defer the Creation your participate fully in its Magick right now whether consciously or not, as we attempt to then defer this Event to some ever-tarrying Omega point — O! In this mad ‘Eternal Deferral’ of all the Holy Spirit (as the very current of Love & Will in their inherent coincidence; as omnipresent Creation, or Magick.) always offers to ever patiently await our decision to allow ourselves in our deepest wound to become the salve of our highest exuberance —- “in Filth it will be Found.” — so continue to avert your gaze If you Will.

[nonbinaryaubrey]

SHES OUT HERE. LITERALLY BEING THE BEST SHE CAN.

when she was there for ota in the hospital...oh my god.../pos

also, in the ending where ota dies....oh my god/neg

(may i please use an anon sign off when i come back btw. I WANNA KEEP TALKING BUT I GOTTA GOOOOO)

YEAHH SHES LOVELY!! SHES TRYING HER HARDEST TO BE A GOOD MOTHER DESPITE EVERYTHING.. i love her very much .. and OHHH GOD.. her in annihilation route makes me so sad .... :(( poor lady,, she lost her husband and then her only son,,... i love annihilation route a lot, its just SUCH a depressing and horrible path for everyone and i think about it a lot..

(also of course :3!!! talk to you later :D!)

[daisyachain]

@theredfields thank you I would be delighted!!! Mandatory disclaimer: Actual Play-style storytelling with the requisite dilute storytelling amidst the table talk. This is a non-WotC system and moves a lot faster than DnD-based systems.

Background:

200 years ago, the ruling god was slain and his angels—the stars—were cast down from the firmament, causing a metaphysical cataclysm à la The Fifth Season. The nations broke, and the world as we know it is now made up of city-states tenuously connected by dangerous trade routes. Seasons change randomly from week to week. The Mariner and his Drowned Fleet of undead sailors kill any human who wanders out on the waves. The old gods (Luminaries) who were tamped down by the Slain God are coming back into power, making forests and rivers impassable for humans.

Some hundred years ago, a trade guild known as the Redfeather Syndicate discovered the power of the mysterious Featherweave to lift almost anything into the air with the application of heat. Converting sea ships to skyships, the Syndicate annihilated their embattled sea trading rivals, including the shipbuilders of Bandari and the Oarsmen of [I forget the name but it’s fantasy Ireland].

Since then, the only travellers in the world have been the Syndicate with their exclusive license on Featherweave, their associates and privateers, and the corsairs who have somehow stolen Featherweave enough to sail. We follow one such crew on the skyship Uhuru, trying to survive outside of the tyrannical reign of the Syndicate…

Starting points:

Each arc is designed to be a fresh start, with introductions to the characters and the world. Some good starting points are:

Burza Nyth arc (ep 16-46)

Long, eventful, great character moments for all involved

The crew of the Uhuru pull into the wretched hive of Burza Nyth to sell their stolen Featherweave. While there, they get forcibly signed up to the Aur Piora bird tournament, attacked by like 3 separate evil factions, and go bird shopping.

The first ‘real arc.’ Features the key inciting event and plenty of RP as well as action.

The bird race takes place as minigames, which provide a quick and high-value payoff while you wait for the longer arc to get to its climax.

Full recommendation, the only problem is that it’s 40 full episodes and it does lag in places. There’s also one PC that I personally don’t vibe with for the first few arcs and he’s in this one too.

The Silver Bullet arc (ep 112-128, alternately just 114-123):

Short

Action-heavy

The helmsperson of the Uhuru sights a strange shadow of a ship on the horizon during a bachelor party. Suddenly, the Uhuru finds itself in the throes of a mutiny where the dissatisfied crew have some mysterious outside help…

Introductory arc for the 4th main character in the cast. This is my fav of the main 4, so I’m prejudiced toward this storyline.

Because of its short length, RP-lite structure, and fast pace, this arc gives you a payoff much quicker than the others.

Civility arc (ep 3-9)

Combat-heavy mini-arc

Quickest possible intro, features the classic bird-and-sword action that I like from Skyjacks

Has some early-installment weirdness. The following episodes lag a bit before we fully get into the Burza Nyth arc.

If you’re looking for something different, the other arcs are (in order):

Nordia - one of the PCs encounters a lost love, one of the PCs accidentally starts a cult, and a routine maintenance stop becomes deadly when an old enemy shows up. Lots of jokes about Minnesota.

N’Goni - the PCs make some new NPC friends and navigate their toughest battle yet: apologizing to someone for doing something really quite bad to them for a long time.

Deauxmignon - one of the PCs learns magic, one reckons with their horrible ex, the remaining two go on a very tense hunting trip as they each try to get one over on the other

Akaron - one of the PCs gets into a massive fight with another PC’s dad on their birthday, a third PC very nearly ruins the party for everyone

Woods - Alice in Wonderland/Lotus Eathsr type arc of surreal imagery, dreams, and temptations

Shepherd Island - mini-arc with some cool imagery and a big set piece battle

Sorrow’s End - the PCs set down at a debtor’s colony after being stranded at sea, then try to drive a wedge between the church and syndicate in town to undermine their rule

If the posting hasn’t been enough: vvhy don’t vve all listen to Skyjacks. VVouldn’t it be lovely if vve took the time to listen to the 18th-century alt history folkloric fantasy tale inspired by the music of the Decembrists and the card game Illimat, worked on by a variety of freelancers including Patrick Rothfuss, heavily influenced by Terry Pratchett’s novels (specifically Tiffany Aching). I can make guides. I can make writeups and summaries. Join us in the skydome.

[thewhizzyhead]

allegra clark,,,very pretty,,,very pretty voice,,,very pretty singer,,,i am so fucking gay oh my God,,,

[jungshookz]

smitten: y/n's note is in jungkook's bag and she needs to get it back like, right now

➺ pairing; jeon jungkook x reader

➺ genre; smitten!miniseries!! bff!kook & smitten!y/n!! university!au!! honk honk humour!! the boo hoo angsty wattpad-energy fic of your dreams!! unrequited love!! it hurts so bad but that's what makes it so good!!

➺ wordcount; 7.1k

➺ summary; y/n realizes her meticulously written i love you note is burning a hole at the bottom of jungkook's bag and the mere thought of him finding it is enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.

➺ what to expect; "well, maybe the reason why you're just friends is because the two of you won't allow yourselves to be more than that."

➺ smitten: part one [the almost confession]

»»————- 🖤 ————-««

[previously, on smitten...]

what?

where the hell is it?

you reach into the side pockets and you're disappointed when you end up pulling out old tissues and empty gum wrappers

it's not in the front pocket either — just your keys, a pack of bubblegum, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer

your brows knit together in deep thought as you settle back against your seat, your eyes flickering to the side as you-

you immediately pale

oh my god.

you're positive that your heart stops beating for three whole seconds the moment you realize where exactly the note is — because no, you idiot, you didn't shove it into your own bag earlier-

the note is in jungkook's bag.

»»————- 🖤 ————-««

the next thirty or so minutes of class seem to drag on at a snail's pace and you find yourself checking the time on your phone every five seconds to see when you can finally dart out those doors

your first instinct was to immediately get up and leave because of course you wanted to immediately get up and leave, but with only twenty-ish people in the class and the fact that you're seated near the front... well, it would be a little awkward to just pack up your things and trek up towards the doors without a legitimate excuse (you were tempted to tell your professor that your stomach wasn't feeling very good but the thought of your peers associating you with explosive diarrhea quickly changed your mind)

so, you decided to be a good student and wait it out — but, being perfectly honest, you haven't really been paying much attention to the professor since the thought of you shoving your hi bestie, i'm head-over-heels in love with you note into jungkook's bag instead of yours contaminated your mind five minutes ago

...

you let out a little huff before shaking your head to yourself

how could you be so careless?!

you don't even know how it happened

your bag was sitting on your right thigh, jungkook's bag was sitting on your left thigh... so how the hell did you manage to shove it into his bag??

on the bright side, at least you know where it is, right?

it's in the right side pocket of the bag, so all you have to do is unzip it and stick your hand in and out really quickly without jungkook noticing you rummaging around in his belongings

...but what if he's already read the note?

your foot taps impatiently against the carpeted ground and you reach up and start tugging at your earlobe anxiously, your eyes flickering up towards the dusty analog clock hanging on the wall

c'mon... c'mon...

your grip tightens around your pencil as you continue to trace circles aimlessly on the page, the paper crinkling slightly from the amount of pressure you're putting on it

the stress that's currently eating away at you is probably going to take ten years off your life

"-so, that's pretty much it from me for the day!"

you don't think you've ever been so happy for a class to end as soon as the screen goes black at the front and you waste absolutely no time in packing up

you probably look insane trying to shove your laptop and your notebook into your bag at the same time but you couldn't care less at this point because you need to get the hell out of here

"-please remember to contribute to the discussion threads online... at least four responses, please, and none of those bullshit 'yes, i agree!' responses. i'm definitely not going to count those as participation marks-"

you close your bag with a sharp ziiiip! and you hurry to fold the squeaky desk back into place, a couple of people turning to glance at you for the sudden abundance of clattering and knocking coming from your direction

"excuse me, pardon me-" you pull your backpack on as you step over multiple sets of legs, trying your best not to trample on any feet or knock anyone's tooth out with your bag, "sorry! excuse me-"

you can feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins as you jog up the steps two at a time, your brain immediately mapping out the route to the library jungkook said he'd be at

best case scenario: he hasn't found the note and your friendship with him is still very much in tact

worst case scenario: he found the note and is currently reading it at this point in time and your friendship with him is starting to crumble but you still have a chance to swoop in and pick up the pieces

the absolutely worst case ever in the entire world scenario: he's found the note, he's read the note, he's processed the note, and your friendship with him has been completely annihilated and now he's planning to change his name and leave the country so that he doesn't have to confront you about it

you use your shoulder to shove the doors open before bursting out into the open air, ignoring the concerned glances you're starting to receive from your obviously frazzled state

"oh god, oh god, oh god-!" your backpack flops wildly against your back as you rush down the narrow brick steps leading towards the main boulevard

realistically, jungkook's probably found and read the note, so all you have to do is come up with a short monologue about how all of it was fake and that the note was just a sick, twisted prank of some kind

i know that the note makes it seem like i'm telling you that i'm in love with you, but that's not the truth at all!

"woah, watch it-!"

you accidentally knock into someone's shoulder while sprinting down the lane and you turn around for a second just to hold a hand out while flashing the stranger a sheepish smile

"sorry! so sorry-" you turn back around, reaching up to keep your glasses secured on the top of your head as you continue to sprint, your sneakers slapping down against the pavement

as you read in the note, i made a point about how since we're friends, we should be honest with each other... and honestly, there are nothing but lies in the note! and there's a lesson in that, you know? words can be full of lies but we, as human beings, should be full of truths-

"nope, hate that-" you shake your head and immediately scrunch up that mental piece of paper before tossing it into your brain's garbage bin

you'd sound like an obnoxious philosophy student if you hit him with that explanation

it was a prank! i want to start a prank war with you and this is how i'm kicking things off!

that... that could work, right?

that's not bad!

just tell him that you wanted to start a prank war with him so you decided to go big or go home with an i love you, best friend note to see how he would react!

"so stupid-" you mutter to yourself, slowing down to a jog as you approach the doors to the library, "so, so stupid-"

the Super Epic Prank War ROFL XD™ explanation isn't the greatest excuse but it's the best you can do on such short notice

thankfully, it doesn't take you very long to track down jungkook considering the fact he always sits in the same area every time the two of you come here

your feet come to a screeching halt the moment you spot him and you quickly step to the side to hide behind the wall

you slowly lean over a little to peek at him

he has his headphones on and he's busy typing away at his laptop and you can tell he's concentrating really hard because he has that cute frown on his face and occasionally he'll mutter something to himself

jungkook in intense focus mode is something you find to be very endearing :-)

...

you quickly shake your head to snap yourself out of your daze before focusing on jungkook's face again

he certainly doesn't look like he just read an explosive love letter...

hm

you could still be safe!

...for now, that is.

"okay, y/n-" you stand up straight and let out a breath, giving yourself a mental pat on the head in an effort to calm your nerves, "better sooner than later, right? just- you just have to rip it off like a bandaid-"

your anxiety seems to build with every step that brings you closer to jungkook and you can almost hear the jaws theme song playing all around you

da-dum

jungkook, i swear i have a perfectly logical explanation for this...

da-dum

i know the note does a very convincing job of making it seem like i'm in love with you, but that couldn't be farther from the truth!

da-dum, da-dum

consider this your initiation into our very serious prank war, my friend!

dadumdadumdumdumbdumbdumbthisissuchadumbdumbidea-

"hi!" you greet a little too enthusiastically, trying your best not to make it seem like you just sprinted across campus to get to him even though you very clearly did

"sorry, seat's reserv- y/n?" jungkook looks up from his laptop before frowning, quickly glancing back down at his screen to check the time as he pulls his headphones off to hang around his neck, "aren't you- didn't your class end, like, literally a minute ago? why are you so- did you run here??" he asks incredulously, getting up from his seat as his brows knit together in concern

"no, no! of course i didn't run here, silly- oh, god, give me a sec-" you wheeze, bending down and gripping onto the back of the wooden chair in front of you as you try to catch your breath, your chest still falling and rising at a concerning pace from the physical stress of sprinting and the mental stress of the current situation, "it was more of a- of a brisk walk, if you think about it- jesus, i think i'm gonna throw up-"

"okay, you need to drink some water- come and sit next to me-" jungkook reaches out to help lead you around the table towards him, "god, i don't know why you thought you had to run over, it's not like i was planning on going anywhere-"

"i'm fine, kook, it's fine-"

"you're, like, literally radiating heat," jungkook turns you around and pulls your bag off your back before pulling out a chair and helping you into it, "and your face is all red!" he frowns, setting your bag down on the table and unzipping it to pull out your water bottle

"my face is always this red!" you force out a casual laugh, waving your hand to dismiss him as you lean back against the seat, "i'm fine, it's fine-"

"shut up and take a sip-" jungkook untwists the cap of your water bottle before shoving it into your hands and gently lifting it up towards your mouth, his head tilting up a little so he can check and see if you're actually drinking anything, "c'mon, hydrate yourself-"

you swallow a couple gulps of water before pulling the bottle away and reaching up to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, "god, i love water-"

"yeah, i bet." jungkook chuckles, visibly more relieved now that he knows you won't be passing out from exhaustion anytime soon

as you put your water bottle away, your eyes lower towards jungkook's backpack slouching against the leg of his chair and almost immediately the anxiety that you thought you'd just swallowed down bubbles right back up

"so, are you going to tell me why you're acting like the cops are after you?" jungkook jokes, taking his seat before pulling his headphones off and setting them down next to his laptop

"i just, um-" you press your lips together as you slowly start to lean down, stretching your arm out towards the pocket, "i just wanted to see you, buddy!"

"i don't believe that for a second." jungkook snorts, turning to look at you

you shoot straight back up and pull your arm up and behind your head as if you're in the middle of a good stretch, "hey, what's with that tone? it's not a crime for me to want to see you-"

"you saw me at lunch! and that was only like an hour and a half ago-" jungkook turns his head to look back at his screen and you quickly revert back to your mission impossible secret agent mode

the forced smile drops from your face and you lean back down, your fingers blindly feeling for the cool metal of the zipper

"you know, you actually came at just the right time-" jungkook speaks up again and you pause just in case you need to pull away from his bag, but he makes no move to turn and look at you, "ji-eun was about to leave for her class but now you can meet her before she goes off!"

"uh-huh..." your tongue pokes out in concentration as you unzip the pocket in one swift movement, immediately sticking your hand in and feeling around for the balled-up piece of paper, "sounds gre-"

hold on, what did he just say?

you shoot back up

"did you just-" you choke and reach up to pat your chest gently, "i'm sorry, did you just say that ji-eun was here?"

"uh-huh!" jungkook nods, "i didn't know she had a spare at the same time as i did so i was surprised when she came over to say hi- it turns out our schedules are, like, sort of similar which oddly makes me kind of happy-"

it's at that moment that you notice the cherry-patterned tote bag slumped in the chair sitting across from you and you let out a nervous chuckle as you shift in your seat, "great! great, that's so- great, it's great that i'm meeting ji-eun today, out of all days..." you trail off, glancing around warily as you try to come up with some kind of an exit strategy

you're just really not in the mood to meet the love of jungkook's life today

you've already been hit with so many blows and it's only two in the afternoon-

"sorry that took so long! i couldn't find a bin but i bumped into my friends and they said they'd throw it out for me-"

oh, you have got to be kidding me.

your eyes widen in mild panic upon immediately recognizing ji-eun to be the girl who had overheard your entire monologue in the bathroom earlier today — and from the way her eyes flicker, it seems as though she remembers exactly who you are as well

"oh, no worries!" jungkook beams at ji-eun before pointing to you with his thumb, "this is my friend, by the way. the one i was talking about earlier! y/n, this is ji-eun."

you stay quiet as you continue staring up at ji-eun, your mind racing a mile a minute as you consider your current options

you can pretend like you've never met her before or you can make things awkward by telling jungkook that you met her today after she'd emptied her bladder

"...y/n?" jungkook lowers his voice, nudging you with his elbow before letting out a nervous chuckle, "please say something."

"i- yes, hello!" you blurt out, the feet of your chair scraping against the rough carpet as you get up from your seat to stick your hand out towards ji-eun, "it's- ah- it's- it's so nice to meet you! i'm y/n."

ji-eun stays quiet for a second before her lips turn up in a polite smile and she reaches towards you, gently taking your outstretched hand in hers (for the record, her hands are shockingly soft and supple), "it's lovely to meet you... as well, y/n. i love your glasses!"

you can't help but notice the immediate warmth that seems to surround ji-eun and suddenly it makes a lot more sense as to why jungkook's attracted to her

you're about as comforting as stepping into a puddle of water while wearing socks

you feel a slight sense of relief seeing that ji-eun is playing along but your new concern is whether or not she's connected the dots that your monologue in the bathroom was dedicated to jungkook

you didn't actually say his name when you were talking out loud, so you might be able to get away with this...

"oh, these old things?" you reach up to feel the glasses sitting on top of your head before flicking your hand at her, "i bought them on amazon. they're blue-light glasses- i can totally send you the link if you want."

"that would actually be great!" she gasps, nodding enthusiastically, "i desperately need a pair of blue-light glasses- seriously, i stared at my laptop screen for, like, ten hours straight today and i really feel like they're about to roll out of my head-"

"oh my god, don't even get me started. at this point it'd probably feel better to rip them right out of their sockets-"

"ji-eun, you ready?"

"let's gooo, i wanna get an iced coffee before we head off to class."

you and ji-eun don't get a chance to continue bonding over the pain of sore eyes when you're suddenly interrupted by two new voices

you look up to see two guys approaching the table and you subtly push your seat back a bit as you prepare yourself to say hello again

"oh! yeah, i'm ready, sorry-" ji-eun gestures towards you with a smile, "this is- this is jungkook's friend, by the way. y/n, these are my friends."

"hi, hello-" you get up from your seat again to stick your hand out, offering the two (very handsome, might you add) strangers a friendly smile, "i'm y/n, jungkook's friend- but you- you already knew that because that's what ji-eun just said-"

"i'm taehyung! you can call me tae-" the corners of taehyung's mouth immediately raise in a bright grin and he gives your hand a firm shake before nodding next to him, "and this is jimin!"

"hi..." you trail off, turning to give jimin a handshake as well, "so nice to meet you!"

"oh, i just- i actually just washed my hands, so-" jimin chuckles, looking down at your hand before taking a small step back, "but it's nice to meet you... jungkook's friend."

ooh

is it just you or did it suddenly get a little icy in here?

"oh, no problem! um, yeah, you too." you pull your hand back before swallowing nervously and forcing the polite smile back on your face, "i like your jacket, by the way! it looks really cool."

maybe it's because he's wearing giant sunglasses indoors but you can't help but feel slightly intimidated by jimin

you can't see his eyes but you can certainly feel them on you and you're definitely getting the vibe that jimin is already not the biggest fan of you for some weird reason

"thank you." he responds curtly, smoothing a hand over the leather before looking down at ji-eun, "so can we go now?"

"mhm!" ji-eun gets up from her chair before pushing it back into place, pulling her tote back up onto her shoulder before flashing a sweet smile at jungkook, "see you later, alligator."

"in a while, crocodile!" jungkook responds enthusiastically, watching with twinkly eyes as she turns and heads off towards the exit with jimin and taehyung glued at either side of her

god

she even walks prettily

and you were literally clomping down the boulevard like a feral caveman a second ago

you wait until they've disappeared to turn and face jungkook with a raised eyebrow, "...jimin was kind of a bitch."

"hey, play nice!" jungkook frowns, reaching over to give your arm a gentle whack, "he's a fashion major! ji-eun says being snooty is part of the degree requirements-" he grins, shaking his head slightly before leaning back against his chair, "she's, like, super funny."

"mm." you hum, still feeling a little uneasy about your interaction with jimin

you just hate it when first meetings don't go well and that first meeting definitely wasn't super great

but it wasn't like you did anything wrong, right?

you were great!

snooty jimin was the one who was being rude

whatever

hopefully you won't have to hang out with him too often if jungkook and ji-eun become an item

maybe you can just stick with taehyung!

he seems to be a lot friendlier

"oh, by the way, i-" you're suddenly reminded of your main mission and you turn to point down at jungkook's bag, "it's not a big deal, but i- i accidentally shoved something in your bag earlier and- could i just get it back from you?"

"you did?" jungkook frowns, leaning down to pick his bag up before unzipping it all the way and pulling both flaps open, "what was it?"

"it was- uh- just some notes on a scrap piece of paper!" you immediately feel the weight lift from your shoulders at jungkook's cluelessness to the situation, "i put it in the right side pocket-"

"wait, are you talking about, like, a balled up thing of paper?" jungkook pauses before looking up at you with wide eyes, "oh, shit- was it important??"

"um, i wouldn't call it important-" you snort, shaking your head, "is it not there? i swore it was in the right side pocket-"

"no, no, it was there! it was there, i just- ji-eun needed to spit her gum out and i thought it was one of my scrap pieces of paper-" jungkook winces, grabbing his phone and unlocking it with fumbling fingers, "i'm so sorry, y/n- let me text ji-eun and ask her which garbage can she threw it into and i can go dig it out-"

"no, no, it's okay!" you nearly let out a screech of delight knowing that your note now has a slobbery wad of gum in it and is living at the bottom of a trash can, "it's fine, i just- they were just boring notes for something. i just wanted to see if i had really shoved it into your bag or not."

"oh, okay-" jungkook's shoulders immediately slump and he sets his phone down on the table, "you're sure it wasn't important?"

"100%." you hold both hands out with a chuckle, "i needed to throw it out anyway so i guess ji-eun actually did me a favour-"

"okay, phew." jungkook sighs, zipping his bag back up and plopping it back down on the ground next to his feet, "anyways- i'm actually glad you're here because now you can help me plan out my date! i was working on it but then ji-eun came and obviously i couldn't have that google doc open in front of her-" he turns his laptop to show you all of his hard work with a grin, "check it out! i have a list of things i need to buy, i have outfit ideas, i even went on pinterest for inspiration-"

"wow, kook-" your eyes bulge out for a second at the sight of the extensive and shockingly organized google doc before you reach over to pull his laptop closer towards you, "i... i really don't think i've ever seen you... even make a google doc before-"

he even has the sunset time written down for the date

why would he need to know what time the sun is setting??

"i have everything planned for next week." jungkook pulls his laptop back to him as you settle back against your seat, "i already emailed my landlord to ask if i would even be allowed to hang out on the rooftop and he said it would be fine! he also reminded me to keep a brick wedged between the door so that i don't lock us up on the rooftop-"

"so you're definitely going with the rooftop picnic, then?"

"oh, i'm actually changing it to a rooftop dinner instead of a picnic." jungkook shakes his head before giving you a half-hearted shrug, "i think a picnic is cute but i really wanna try to impress her, y'know? i ordered this thing on amazon just now- basically, it's a medium-sized inflatable bubble tent! the description says it's perfect for two people and- i'm gonna, like-" he pauses and looks away from his screen towards you with a smile, "well, you know, i'm gonna do what you said and i'm gonna stuff it full of blankets and pillows and... hopefully i can string up fairy lights and stuff on the inside... so that after the date we can go in there and just talk and not have to worry about getting attacked by mosquitos!"

"wow, that's-" you cross your arms over your chest before leaning back and looking up towards the ceiling, "huh. that's actually a cute idea, kook. i wouldn't have been able to come up with something like that. i didn't even know transparent tents existed."

"i know." jungkook gives you a smug little smile before bursting into a grin, "but yeah, that's it! all we have to do is go and pick up all the supplies and stuff."

"we?" you frown, looking back down at jungkook, "i... wasn't aware i was part of this plan..."

"what? of course you are!" jungkook snorts, looking at you as if a third eye just sprouted from your forehead, "obviously you have to help me-"

"well, i just don't know if that's-" you chuckle uneasily as you rub the back of your neck, "i really- i don't wanna get in your way, you know? maybe you should- maybe you should just take care of all of this yourself! i mean, you basically planned everything already-"

"what? but- but you're my-" jungkook deflates and you instantly feel bad upon seeing his eyes suddenly turn sad, "okay..."

you press your lips together and wait for him to say something else but the next few seconds are filled with nothing but awkward silence and the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights hanging above you

you'd jump off a cliff if jungkook asked you to but helping him prepare and set up his date is something that you,.., definitely would not enjoy.,.,

but then again, this isn't about you, is it?

this is about jungkook, your friend, and he needs your help to set up this very important date that-

oh, damnit.

"i'm-" you clear your throat as you sit up in your seat, reaching over to give jungkook's hand a pat, "no, of course i'll help, kook. i just thought that- well, this date seems so important to you that i thought you wanted to take care of all the details yourself!"

the bright smile immediately returns to jungkook's face and you resist the urge to call him out on so blatantly guilt-tripping you like that-

"yes! you're the best!"

"i know."

»»————- 🖤 ————-««

although you and jungkook are practically inseparable on campus (and some would say it might be healthy for the two of you to give each other a little bit of space) — you don't think you'll ever say no to hanging out with him downtown

of course, hanging out with jungkook downtown would be a lot more fun if it weren't for the fact that the two of you have basically spent the entire day shopping for all the things he needs for his date

and if it weren't for the fact that he paid for lunch and treated you to a cake pop and a venti-sized iced coffee, you would probably be livid about having to carry everything for him because you really feel like your arms are about to pop right off in about two seconds

fancy cutlery, porcelain plates, fluffy throw pillows, a giant blanket, fairy lights... at this point he might as well buy an entire house for ji-eun

and look, you know you probably sound bitter and that-should-be-me about this whole situation, but that couldn't be farther from the truth!

it's just that listening to someone you like gushing about the person that they like for an entire day while you're carrying bags full of things for their date can get a little mentally and physically exhausting so if you're grouchy right now it's really not your fault

"i think we might have to call an uber back to your place, jungkook-" you mutter, adjusting the hefty tote bag over your shoulder with a grunt as you trail behind him on the sidewalk, "bringing all of this on the bus is going to piss people off-"

you stumble over your feet a little when the bag in your right hand knocks into a garbage can and you curse to yourself while resisting the urge to kick the damn thing over

"okay, grumpy, we'll call an uber home-" jungkook spins around with a smile before raising the notepad in his hand and tapping against it with his pen, "i just have one more thing i have to take care of and then we can go!"

"okay, well-" you set the bags down onto the ground with a fwump! before rubbing your sore palms together, "what else do you have to get?"

jungkook offered to help carry a couple of things but you insisted that you'd take it all and that he should just focus on ticking off all of the items on his list

you wince at the sight of the pinkish-red imprints now embedded into your palms from the straps of the bags

obviously you've now come to regret your generous offer

"flowers!" jungkook chirps, using his pen to point to the flower shop a couple of shops down, "i have to greet ji-eun with a bouquet of flowers as pretty as she is-"

"yeah, i understand-" you adjust the two bags on both shoulders before bending down to pick up the other two on the ground, "also, i'm not a genius or anything but i'm pretty sure the flowers aren't going to survive until the date if you buy them now-"

"duh, obviously not- i'm going to place an order now and then pick them up on the day of the date!" jungkook tsks, waiting for you to join his side before he begins walking towards the flower shop, "thanks for doing all of this for me, by the way. you really are the best." he hums, hurrying over to open the door for you

"i... yeah, of course, kook." you feel yourself soften slightly as soon as you see the sweet little smile on his face and you quickly scold yourself in your head for being so curt with him all day, "that's what friends are for, right?"

"mhm!" jungkook slaps his hands down on your shoulders from behind before giving them a squeeze, "and i am so letting you choose whatever you want for dinner tonight-"

"hello!"

"oh, jesus-" you and jungkook are immediately greeted by an overenthusiastic employee as soon as you step into the shop and you honestly probably would've knocked him out with one of your shopping bags if they weren't so heavy-

"are you two looking for anything in particular?" he smiles kindly before gesturing towards the large selection of flowers all around you, "we have flowers of all kinds! roses, tulips, lilies- i can even show you flowers from our new tropical selection-"

"actually-" jungkook nudges you aside before glancing down at the employee's nametag, "seokjin, i'd like to place an order for a custom bouquet, if that's okay."

"ah, a custom bouquet!" seokjin claps his hands and rubs them together enticingly, "what are you celebrating? i need to know so that i can help pick out the perfect flowers for your bouquet."

"well, i don't know if it's a celebration-" jungkook chuckles, his cheeks pinking slightly as he reaches up to rub the back of his neck, "it's for a first date."

"a first date!!" seokjin gasps excitedly before turning his head to look at you, "you must be so-"

"-oh, not for me!" you let out a laugh before shaking your head quickly, "it's- it's definitely not for me. i'm just here to provide moral support and-" you lift one of the bags to show him, "muscular support."

"ah, i see... okay, well- why don't i take you around and introduce you to the different candidates you could consider for your bouquet?" seokjin turns back to look at jungkook, "each flower you choose will be very important in showing your future lover how much you care about them-" he pauses when he notices you hovering behind jungkook and he leans over a little with a bright smile, "why don't you go and wait by the front counter, darling? you can put everything down there and take a little break. there's some cucumber water and fresh puff pastry apple roses up at the front if you're interested!"

"well, i can't say no to free food." you snort, nodding before turning to head towards the front counter, "i'll just wait for you over there, then..."

you nearly let out a moan of relief as soon as you set all the bags down and you twist your upper body to the right and to the left until you feel the a satisfying pop! of your spine cracking back in place

your body was not made to carry heavy things

in fact, you'd like to argue that your body was made to lie down and do nothing

you take a seat on the wooden stool before turning to look at the apple roses sitting prettily in the display case and you almost feel like you shouldn't touch them even though seokjin offered them to you

even the pitcher of cucumber water looks too nice to touch

this place is awfully fancy

you didn't even know flower shops could be this fancy

you prop both elbows up on the counter before leaning back comfortably, your eyes lazily scanning around the store

"$15 for a single rose?" you gawk at the little wooden sign poking out from a large bouquet of neatly wrapped long-stem roses before making a face, "god."

you can't even imagine how much a custom bouquet is going to cost if a single rose is fifteen bucks

"-also write a note for you and attach it to the bouquet, if you're interested in that. it'll be an additional five dollars, but we handwrite it on the highest quality card stock with the most beautiful calligraphy and we even spray it with perfume-"

you perk up when you hear seokjin's voice and you look to see him and jungkook coming over to you

you have to admit that seokjin is great at his job because he's doing a good job at milking every dollar out of jungkook-

"yeah, that would be great!" jungkook nods enthusiastically, pulling his backpack off before unzipping it to grab his wallet, "i think a small note might be cute-"

"oh, that reminds me!" seokjin stops in his tracks right as he's about to lift the wooden slab to get behind the counter, "would you be interested in purchasing a teddy bear as well? if you add a teddy bear to your order, i'll give you a slight discount on the flowers."

"ooh, a discount!" jungkook gasps and you turn your head slightly so seokjin won't see you rolling your eyes at how much he's forcing jungkook to buy

you respect the hustle but this is too much

"where are the teddy bears?"

"right by the flowers!" seokjin smiles, wrapping an arm around jungkook's shoulders and spinning him around, "we can round back and take a look-"

"okay, i think i have to cut in here-" you chuckle, reaching out and grabbing the back of jungkook's elbow, "you don't- you don't think a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear is a little too much for a first date?" you clear your throat quietly before offering a shrug, "i feel like that's just... a lot, kook. i mean, i would be overwhelmed if-"

"well, i guess it's a good thing i'm not taking you out on a date then, right?" jungkook teases, wiggling his arm out of your grip before turning back to look at seokjin, "onward to the bears, my good man!"

ouch

"yeah." you can't help but frown as jungkook and seokjin head back towards the flowers, "thanks for the reminder."

"that's gotta hurt."

"god-" you jump at the sudden appearance of an employee standing behind the counter and you place a hand over your chest before letting out a breath, "you scared me!"

"sorry." he shrugs, "we polished the floors this morning so my shoes are making, like, no noise."

"oh."

a moment of silence passes while you turn to face away from him again, but all of a sudden-

"so he really can't tell that you like him, huh?"

"you-" you immediately straighten up and your head spins around so fast that you're surprised you didn't complete decapitate yourself, "excuse me??"

"what? it's obvious." the employee snorts, spraying cleaner onto the counter before reaching up to yank the tattered rag off his shoulder, "it's painfully obvious, actually-"

you can feel your entire face starting to go red as this complete stranger continues to rip you a new one and you hold a hand out to shut him up, "no offense, but i-i don't think this is any of your business, sir-"

"it's yoongi." yoongi looks down at his apron for a second before frowning, "huh. i forgot to put my dumb name tag on again-"

"well, yoongi-" you place emphasis on his name in an effort to intimidate him and make him go away, "you don't know what you're talking about and i suggest you mind your own business-"

"you should tell him before it's too late." yoongi doesn't seem to be all that affected by your biting tone and you roll your eyes at the way he rounds back to the topic

"what are you even talking about?"

"well, i assume you're going to be his best man at his wedding. from the way it's looking, you're certainly not going to be the bride," yoongi purses his lips as he folds up the rag into a neat little square, "you don't wanna wait until you're fixing his tie at the wedding to tell him that you love him."

"what makes you think i lo-" you cut yourself off quickly before that word slips out of your mouth, "like him?"

"if you didn't, you wouldn't be here right now." yoongi points out with a tilt of his head, "and from how smudgy your eyeliner is, it looks like you've been working hard all day."

your jaw drops slightly and you can't help but scoff

the nerve of this guy!

"who do you think you are?!"

"i'm yoongi." yoongi raises a brow, "i told you that like a second ago- wow, you are not a good listener-"

"do you usually do this with all of the customers who come here?" you interrupt, crossing your arms defensively before leaning in slightly, "you're awfully nosy-"

"i only do this with the ones that seem to have something juicy going on." yoongi hums, leaning down to put the spray bottle of cleaner under the counter, "this is a flower shop. the most exciting part of my day is watching a bumblebee choose which flower to land on."

"well, nothing juicy is going on here so-" you twist back around before sticking your nose up in the air slightly, "sorry to disappoint."

"alright, fair enough." yoongi nods to himself, letting out a sigh as he slowly backs away from the counter, "i guess i'll just leave you to... wallow in self-pity... and continue staring at your friend with cartoon hearts floating around your head-"

"'you should tell him before it's too late-'" you swivel around and slap both your palms down on the counter, "why would you- why would even say something like that?! i can't tell him. are you insane?!"

a smirk twitches at the corner of yoongi's mouth at your sudden confession and he lets out a sigh before stepping back up towards you, "and why can't you tell him?"

"because- i just can't! he's-" you clear your throat before leaning in and lowering your voice, "he's literally taking someone else out on a date- we're here to buy flowers for his date-"

"so what?" yoongi interrupts, "it's just a date. it's not like you're stopping his wedding."

"so what? because he doesn't like me back, so what's the point?" you hiss, resisting the urge to reach over and smack some common sense into this very nosy and very stubborn stranger, "this isn't a romantic comedy- and even if it was, i'm very obviously not the main character-"

"you don't know that he doesn't like you back."

...

well now he's just toying with you

"i... i can't tell if you're kidding or not-"

"do i look like i'm kidding?" yoongi asks, pointing to his poker face before shaking his head, "you don't know that he doesn't like you back. you've obviously never asked him."

"oh, please." you scoff, turning around to lean back against the counter again, "trust me, i know it."

"well, did he ever explicitly say that he didn't like you?" yoongi leans over to peek at jungkook over your shoulder, "do you have a definitive answer to this particular question?"

"no, but he doesn't have to... we're just friends." you frown, your eyes wandering over to the back of jungkook's head, "he doesn't like me. i know he doesn't. we're just friends."

we're just friends.

(saying it out loud is a lot more depressing than you thought it'd be.)

"well, maybe the reason why you're just friends is because the two of you won't allow yourselves to be more than that," yoongi suggests, your head tilting to the side slightly as you force yourself to consider his surprisingly wise words, "it's obvious that you have a solid friendship so it would suck if a relationship ruined that- so maybe he does like you and is only asking someone else out to try to force himself not to like you..."

you feel your heart skip a beat when jungkook turns to glance at you over his shoulder with a soft smile while seokjin continues rattling off about the vast choice of teddy bears available for purchase

you bite back a giggle when he mouths a desperate 'help' at you before raising his hand and twirling his finger next to his head to tell you that seokjin is fully crazy

"...so i guess what i'm trying to say is that you're never really going to know how he feels about you if you don't ask him," you tune back in to the end of yoongi's little speech and you turn your head slightly to glance back at him, "but what do i know, right? i just polish counters at high-end flower shops."

🎙️tell jungkook he's being an idiot or tell y/n to get a backbone (send in an ask!)

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here? (full fics!)

💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles and mini series like smitten!)

🌟or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits!)

[spencer-reids-adventures]

Reid-ing List: Seasons 7-15

In response to a lovely anon, I have put together a list of episodes from seasons 7-15 that are Reid-centric or have good/important Reid moments, mostly to serve as a watching guide since the later seasons can drag a little bit and it's nice to know there are things to look forward to! Obviously this completely subjective, and also I'm not perfect and I'm sure I missed things, but I did my best. If anyone would like me to put one together for seasons 1-6, just let me know The list for seasons 1-6 can be found here! :)

Purple and bold: Episode more or less centered around Reid Purple and italicized: Good/important Reid moments Just purple: Directed by Matthew Gray Gubler

Red: No Reid :(

Season 7

1 "It Takes a Village" 2 "Proof" 3 "Dorado Falls" 4 "Painless" 5 "From Childhood's Hour" 6 "Epilogue" 7 "There's No Place Like Home" 8 "Hope" 9 "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy" 10 "The Bittersweet Science" 11 "True Genius" 12 "Unknown Subject" 13 "Snake Eyes" 14 "Closing Time" 15 "A Thin Line" 16 "A Family Affair" 17 "I Love You, Tommy Brown" 18 "Foundation" 19 "Heathridge Manor" 20 "The Company" 21 "Divining Rod" 22 "Profiling 101" 23 "Hit" 24 "Run"

Season 8

1 "The Silencer" 2 "The Pact" 3 "Through the Looking Glass" 4 "God Complex" - beginning of Maeve arc 5 "The Good Earth" 6 "The Apprenticeship" 7 "The Fallen" 8 "The Wheels on the Bus…" 9 "Magnificent Light" 10 "The Lesson" 11 "Perennials" 12 "Zugzwang" 13 "Magnum Opus" 14 "All That Remains" 15 "Broken" 16 "Carbon Copy" 17 "The Gathering" 18 "Restoration" 19 "Pay It Forward" 20 "Alchemy" 21 "Nanny Dearest" 22 "#6" 23 "Brothers Hotchner" 24 "The Replicator"

Season 9

1 "The Inspiration" 2 "The Inspired" 3 "Final Shot" 4 "To Bear Witness" 5 "Route 66" 6 "In the Blood" 7 "Gatekeeper" - not technically Reid-centric but he's just kind of awesome throughout anyway lol 8 "The Return" 9 "Strange Fruit" 10 "The Caller" 11 "Bully" 12 "The Black Queen" 13 "The Road Home" 14 "200" 15 "Mr. & Mrs. Anderson" 16 "Gabby" 17 "Persuasion" 18 "Rabid" 19 "The Edge of Winter" 20 "Blood Relations" 21" What Happens In Mecklinburg…" 22 "Fatal" - I know no one asked but there's a really cute Hotch scene in this one that you should definitely watch <3 23 "Angels" - setup for Demons 24 "Demons"

Season 10

1 "X" 2 "Burn" 3 "A Thousand Suns" 4 "The Itch" 5 "Boxed In" 6 "If the Shoe Fits" 7 "Hashtag" 8 "The Boys of Sudworth Place" 9 "Fate" 10 "Amelia Porter" 11 "The Forever People" 12 "Anonymous" 13 "Nelson's Sparrow" 14 "Hero Worship" 15 "Scream" 16 "Lockdown" 17 "Breath Play" 18 "Rock Creek Park" 19 "Beyond Borders" 20 "A Place at the Table" 21 "Mr. Scratch" 22 "Protection" 23 "The Hunt"

Season 11

1 "The Job" 2 "The Witness" 3 "'Til Death Do Us Part" 4 "Outlaw" 5 "The Night Watch" 6 "Pariahville" 7 "Target Rich" 8 "Awake" 9 "Internal Affairs" 10 "Future Perfect" 11 "Entropy" 12 "Drive" 13 "The Bond" 14 "Hostage" 15 "A Badge and a Gun" 16 "Derek" 17 "The Sandman" 18 "A Beautiful Disaster" 19 "Tribute" 20 "Inner Beauty" 21 "Devil's Backbone" 22 "The Storm"

Season 12

1 "The Crimson King" - I can't not note Luke and Spencer's first meeting 2 "Sick Day" 3 "Taboo" 4 "Keeper" 5 "The Anti-Terror Squad" 6 "Elliott's Pond" 7 "Mirror Image" 8 "Scarecrow" 9 "Profiling 202" 10 "Seek and Destroy "11 "Surface Tension" 12 "A Good Husband" 13 "Spencer" - Beginning of prison arc, and I consider all the prison episodes to be centered around Reid even when there's other stuff going on! 14 "Collision Course" 15 "Alpha Male" 16 "Assistance Is Futile" 17 "In The Dark" 18 "Hell's Kitchen" 19 "True North" 20 "Unforgettable" 21 "Green Light" 22 "Red Light"

Season 13

1 "Wheels Up" 2 "To A Better Place" 3 "Blue Angel" 4 "Killer App" 5 "Lucky Strikes" 6 "The Bunker" 7 "Dust and Bones" 8 "Neon Terror" 9 "False Flag" 10 "Submerged" 11 "Full-Tilt Boogie" 12 "Bad Moon on the Rise" 13 "Cure" 14 "Miasma" 15 "Annihilator" 16 "Last Gasp" 17 "The Capilanos" 18 "The Dance of Love" 19 "Ex Parte" 20 "All You Can Eat" 21 "Mixed Signals" 22 "Believer"

Season 14

1 "300" 2 "Starter Home" 3 "Rule 34" 4 "Innocence" 5 "The Tall Man" 6 "Luke" 7 "Twenty Seven" 8 "Ashley" 9 "Broken Wing" 10 "Flesh and Blood" 11 "Night Lights" 12 "Hamelin" 13 "Chameleon" 14 "Sick and Evil" 15 "Truth or Dare"

Season 15

1 "Under the Skin" 2 "Awakenings" 3 "Spectator Slowing" 4 "Saturday" 5 "Ghost" 6 "Date Night" 7 "Rusty" 8 "Family Tree" 9 "Face Off" 10 "And in the End"