#hopefully this made sense. didn't feel like i was being the most clear at points so hopefully it got across

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny covered his nose with his hand. Where ever he landed smelled absolutely foul, like rotten fruit and burning tires mixed with chem lab.

"Remind me to bring a face mask the next time I explore the Infinite Realms." He muttered, before kicking a soda can down the alley he was in and being repulsed by the squelch sound it made when it came into contact with a very questionable looking puddle, "Better yet, a gas mask." He glanced at the puddle again, "Or I could go full Hazmat." Clockwork had told him this world was full of superheros and villians and to steer clear of it, but once he learned there were aliens in this world he couldn't help himself. Danny had always been weak to his curiosity, but he liked to believe he was cautious, and chose to stay in his Phantom for for added protection.

Turning on his heel he exited onto a deserted street lined on one side by a chain-link fence. The sky above him was filled with clouds so ominous and dark that Danny honestly couldn't tell you if it was night or day, all he knew was that it was going to rain soon and hopefully these awful smells would be drowned out by the downpour.

Danny got his wish only minutes later. Thankfully Phantom was unbothered by the cold and could just bask in the rain as it fell apon him. A lesser known fact about ghosts is that thier clothes are made from thier ectoplasm and are part of thier bodies, much like a second layer of skin, so one would be able to feel things on thier clothes as easily as they would with thier bare skin. The level of sensitivity varies with the type of clothing however. All this to say Danny loved the feeling of the rivulets of rainwater traveling down his ghostly hazmat suit.

He was so preoccupied with enjoying the sensation that he didn't notice anything was wrong until he was jolted forward from the weight of someone landing on his back. The person was quick and precise, taking no time at all to have his wrists pinned behind his back and- weirdly enough- thier teeth digging into the material around his neck.

His parents designed the Hazmat suit Danny was wearing not only to deal with dangerous chemicals, but to fight supernatural foes. The area around the neck was reinforced with the intention of protecting against fatal gunshots and decapitations so naturally someone's jaw wasn't going to be enough to break through to his neck.

Danny let out a laugh as the person kept chewing on his neck like a confused puppy. Oh, Danny thought, they've gone feral. It was odd for someone to go feral but it could occur when a person has gone through something traumatic recently or through extreme stress. It made sense since the person ridding piggy back on him was dressed like a superhero. Danny wondered if that was why the person didn't have a scent. Danny learns facepalmed when he remembered that scentblockers existed and not everyone's scent dramatically changed whenever they went out as a hero. The scent change was probably one of the few things that have kept him alive up to this point to be honest.

"So, I guess you're not going to tell me why you're chewing on my neck like the worlds most pathetic vampire, are you?" No one deserves that title more than the fruitloop to be honest. He made a mental note to use that one against Vlad the next time he saw him.

Chewy whined at this, seeming to slump a bit from the apparent failure to bite him. What was that about? Was this actually a vampire? How would a vampire even react to Dannys ecto-blood combo meal anyway? Would it be like food poisoning? Or would it taste amazing from one undead to another. "I'm not exactly human, are you sure you wanna bite me? I might not taste so good." Danny warned, but the moment he mentioned letting the person bite him they were eager again.

Danny chuckled and unzipped the material only a bit before it was loose enough to move out of the way. The vampires bite came with a sharp pain like he expected but there was no suction. No drinking of blood. Just some weirdo biting Danny on the neck. Huh.

Danny hoped he didn't get rabies from this.

He must have accidentally said that out loud as there was a small laugh from the rooftops above them. There stood another person in a superhero outfit with some really tall dude dressed as a giant bat, and that was when Danny decided to bail. It was one thing to let a maybe vampire bite you in a random street in the middle of the night but more of them? And ones a big scary furry? Hard pass.

Phantom did as Phantoms do and went invisible and intangible, escaping from Biteys jaws and startling the heros. He ignored the distressed whine Munchy let out after loosing their spookyest chew toy and quickly rubbed the scent gland near dannys jaw on the top of thier head as an act of comfort before bolting.

----

Danny poked at the bite mark on his neck. Screw rabies, he better not get turned into a werewolf. He didn't need that on top of his ghostly crap. Sam seemed fascinated by the mark, after all, it wasn't every day that Danny got a scar, especially one so obvious. Most injuries heal quickly and leave no trace of him ever being injured in the first place which helped a lot in keeping his secret identity.

Luckily Danny hadn't needed to lie to mom and dad. He truthfully told them about some wierdo jumping off of a nearby rooftop and plunging thier teeth into his neck and that two other people had tried to corner him during this. He assured his mom that he had gotten away quickly but was a little shaken by it and his dad praised him for being brave and managing to escape.

That was nice. But he still had to figure out what was up with this bite...and why he felt so compelled to go back to that city.

Back to that hero.

-----

Aka an A/B/O au where in Danny's universe all the Alphas are extinct and the betas followed soon after and the DC universe all the Omegas went extinct and betas followed after . Not like a "they finally went extinct in the 1700s after centuries of thier numbers dwindling" thing and became a myth/fairytale (tho I like that too) but a "this might be the missing link between cave men and modern humans" kinda thing.

Its up to you which bat bit Danny and exactly what that means. I love abo aus without smut cause there's so much potential for chaos and I am very much ace.

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2024-10-08

(Previous post - current page 666)

Just caught the tweet announcing an Update as soon it went up! From the look of the log it seems we're moving on, unless there was an addition to p666 which I doubt since they would have warned people to update their cache in the tweet or what have you. So it's time to finally move on from this page, I'm clicking that Next button!

I get the feeling from the log moving onward that this situation isn't going to be resolved in the next page, and we're either going to cut back later... or cut back to Vriska emerging from the Plot Point from John and the others' perspective, because we know she only has one thing left to do. (Other than the question of exactly how she's leaving there, which I assumed would be something special rather than the Plot Point simply "running out of time".)

(==>)

Yep, the resolution with Vriska is coming later.

ROSE: This is an impressive shield. ROSE: I don't think I've ever seen you make one this size before. JADE: ive been practicing! JADE: if i stay focused i should be able to keep it up for quite a while.

Oh heck I didn't notice, that's a cool-ass green Spacey shield with a Space symbol on it! That ought to be a tough nut to crack with any weaponry! (Is she protecting the ship, or the rebel forces maybe? The bubble doesn't seem to be wrapped around the meteor.)

ROSE: Honestly, if it gets to be too much of a hassle, we should be fine as long as the kids stay inside. ROSE: This ship was specifically designed to take a battering. JADE: from artillery maybe JADE: but who knows what kind of other nasty weapons jane has tucked away in her diabolical business pantsuit! JADE: its not like she tells jake everything JADE: or almost anything, really JADE: when it comes to the kids id rather be safe than sorry ROSE: Sure.

Ohh, of course they're shielding the ship, especially the part containing the children. A good chance they won't just stay inside though, especially given this caveat being announced-- though whether they can or can't get through Jade's shield is a different story, unless they break out some new powers or the ship's possible transportalizers.

JADE: by the way JADE: i saw kanaya leave earlier ROSE: She's meeting Karkat on the field. JADE: without you? ROSE: Yes. ROSE: She made it pretty clear that it wouldn't be wise for me to join her. JADE: oh... ROSE: Mhm. ROSE: Some barb about the danger of me "Being Maimed Quite Viciously" on account of all humans looking the same once the bloodshed begins. ROSE: Then she shot me a peace sign and walked away. JADE: ugh, im sorry rose :(

Yeah, Kanaya's off working out some SERIOUS stress most likely. And Rose was very awful pulling that Sapphire future vision excuse to avoid contending with the emotions of the present, to "stop trying" with her. Hopefully someone or something lights some sense under her ass, maybe something to do with the children and them going off to do something dangerous simply because Rose hadn't bothered with the trouble of discussing more of the live situation with them... I dunno. She clearly needs something jarred loose about her attitude, if what Jade said earlier didn't explicitly do it. Maybe Jade can help more right now?

JADE: this should never have happened JADE: between yiffys capture and rescue and finding dave... JADE: like that... JADE: i just feel like my life flashed before my eyes and it made me a little crazy! JADE: after being unconscious for a bit things feel way clearer now ROSE: Nothing beats a rump to the skull for mental clarity.

Oh my god, Tavros actually knocked her out cold when he fell from the ceiling?! (And I'm reminded again that she was carrying the stuffed corpse or arm of someone, presumably Dave but we can't be 100% sure.) I wonder if this is trying to make excuses for some of her Candy-timeline behavior... though out of all of them, she has the least to excuse, really? I feel like both versions of her were remarkably in character and didn't do nearly as much weird potentially-Muse-guided stuff like Roxy and others at that initial funeral for Dirk back in the epilogues.

JADE: the mistakes we made are so obvious to me now JADE: embarrassingly obvious! JADE: we should never have talked to john in front of kanaya, for one thing JADE: they required way different approaches ROSE: Oh, so that was the problem? JADE: one of them at least

Bolding Rose for dryly pointing out that this is VERY MUCH a backslide into the wrong approach to this entire situation that Jade's having, focusing on the actions required to approach or defuse each person as if fulfilling video game objectives, trying to make everyone happy instead of trying to come clean and trusting the others to do as they will. She's trying to control (Witch) the situation too much, which was her issue in the Candy timeline in the first place.

JADE: i definitely wasnt expecting you to say all THAT either JADE: but i know she hit a sore spot so its understandable why you lost your temper JADE: its my fault for panicking ROSE: Interesting. ROSE: I didn't even realize I was mad. JADE: i mean JADE: it brought me back to the last time i mentioned your mom and you flipped that table ROSE: I was eighteen. JADE: you didnt talk to me for a month! ROSE: Eighteen years old. JADE: yeah and i havent tried to talk to you about it since!

Oh damn, those are some gigantic fucking unresolved Mom issues she has in this version of events that it sounds like she should have seen a psychologist or dozen about! D:

JADE: look all im saying is JADE: i understand why things went downhill the way they did and im not going to get caught off guard again JADE: this whole situation is my fault and even though it just keeps getting more frustrating and shitty im going to do right by you JADE: were going to figure this out ROSE: Are you sure it's prudent to keep this amateur marriage counselor performance up? JADE: rose... JADE: youre taking this seriously JADE: right? ROSE: I don't know what you mean by that.

Jade is still thinking she has to be in control and responsible for everything... and Rose is so afraid of tackling everything that she's practically dissociated from her own marriage. Her distorted Seer of Light vision or not, that's not going to help-- again, Steven Universe taught us that with Sapphire in Keystone Motel.

(==>)

COOL-ASS shot of Jade and her adorable pawprint gloves-- goofy shot of Rose with her short hair practically invisible. :D

JADE: i think you do but bleh whatever as long as we don't have a repeat of last time we can still position you as the good guy JADE: or at least less of a bad guy JADE: though playing stupid and cajoling her into slapping me around for catharsis wont work anymore JADE: well have to think of something else... ROSE: Jade, I've been compliant with these clumsy machinations partially because they weren't all that consequential at the time, but you need to cut your losses. ROSE: It's time to start looking beyond the end of your own nose, and accept that these methods aren't going to work. ROSE: This is not a situation you can win. JADE: im not trying to "win" anything!

Yes she is, this is exactly what I was talking about! Jade treating this like a problem to be solved instead of confronted, much like she did with trying to be in a relationship with Dave and Karkat at once in this timeline, instead of allowing others agency to help determine the endpoint of the situation. Because if she's too controlling, those methods themselves are going to dismantle her efforts, which at least Rose recognizes even if SHE'S wrong about other things.

JADE: im trying to be an adult and not run away from this ROSE: Look, I know better than anyone the satisfaction of gaming people's reactions and getting into their heads. JADE: (oh my god are you even listening to me) ROSE: But it's a losing game. ROSE: You're going to push too hard, or misconstrue something critical, or cross another line. ROSE: And you'll regret it. ROSE: That's not conjecture, it's a guarantee.

She IS right. But she's also being defeatist to avoid opening up and admitting fault, and ESPECIALLY to avoid confronting any uncomfortable emotions or problems she's still stopped trying to confront both without and within herself. That Mom stuff especially from the sound of it. Maybe unpacking that at some point soon will help shake Rose loose a bit.

JADE: youre so frustrating to talk to these days! JADE: "ohhhh bluh bluh blah i can see the fruitlessness of all our clumsy insignificant thrashing in fates cosmic current" JADE: dont forget im more than a little versed in future sight myself ok JADE: i dont care how credible it seems, you cant depend on that information!

An allusion to her long, long childhood stint inverted to Seer of Time and guiding everyone with Skaia's clouds before she was knocked violently loose from the habit out onto a true path of active agency!

ROSE: I know it's hard to hear, but you need to take a second to think about what I'm saying. ROSE: Don't you feel the least bit relieved? ROSE: You've spent so many years wrangling this dirty little secret. JADE: that "dirty little secret" is my fucking daughter ROSE: Well, now she's not a secret anymore. ROSE: You don't have to shoulder the burden of keeping her tucked away from everyone in the entire world for fear of the consequences, because the consequences have happened. ROSE: You're free to invest all that energy elsewhere. ROSE: Maybe work on yourself a little bit. ROSE: We could even unpack the hamster guy. JADE: oh we are not talking about the fucking hamster guy JADE: i don't want to talk about any of it really!

It's kind of fascinating how they've constructed a conversation where not only are BOTH parties acting so wrong, they're also completely right in naming each other's faults. Jade, the problem *IS* that you don't want to talk about it.

JADE: ever again! JADE: thinking back to that whole conversation makes my skin crawl!!! JADE: "abloo hoo hoo, my life is a monkey paw, everything i want hurts me in the end" ROSE: It was a little pathetic. JADE: I KNOW!

Jade has been hiding her vulnerability from the ENTIRE WORLD to the point where she essentially wanted to stop existing, except vicariously through her daughter, and she thinks now that it's been uncorked a little she can just go RIGHT BACK to never dealing with her problems ever again. NOPE! Doesn't work that way, Jade!

JADE: it had nothing to do with what we were trying to DO JADE: it just derailed everything... JADE: and worst of all, yiffy heard it! JADE: ugh!!!! ROSE: You can't keep trying to control the narrative forever, Jade.

Hah!!! (Bolded for emphasis.) Controlling the narrative, controlling her friends, controlling reality because reality IS "the narrative" here (and Space is the story's pages).

Geez I've had a lot to say and I'm only partway through the second page of this upd8.

ROSE: If Kanaya wants to hate me, or punish me, she has every right to. ROSE: She asked for the truth. JADE: oh come off it!!! JADE: the truth is whatever people WANT to believe JADE: you can either try forcing them to understand your side JADE: leave it completely in their hands and take no responsibility JADE: or you work with their wants and perspectives JADE: and make some informed compromises ROSE: Over the state of reality? JADE: rose i am begging you can you please cut it out with all the cryptic cosmic crap and come back down to earth???

Rose is absolutely WAY too defeatist here, and Jade is still trying to take too much control. FORCING them to understand your side? It's impossible for people to perfectly understand each other-- and mutual understanding takes time and being open about yourself. Jade had to be forcibly pried open into revealing what vulnerabilities she actually had here and she thinks it's pathetic and regrettable, instead of the biggest step towards salvaging this situation that anyone has taken so far, which it was!!! Taking responsibility means taking responsibility for your own flaws; at least Jade is right here that Rose is basically taking NO RESPONSIBILITY AT ALL for her side of the relationship, consigning it all to fate so she doesn't have to work on herself. Neither of them want to confront what's wrong inside their own hearts and their own insecurities. (When really they should be opening up about themselves and getting closer to my Kanaya/Rose/Jade OT3 ship. /s )

ROSE: Things aren't like they used to be, Jade. ROSE: There are no right or wrong routes, anymore. ROSE: Just a tangle of meandering side-paths. JADE: so what, that gives you a free pass to self-destruct? JADE: the best choice was to "double down and say a bunch of horrible insane shit to your wife" ?

Rose still feels deep down that because this isn't a "relevant" timeline anymore, that nothing here matters, just like Vriska used to. Maybe if they pull off the Plot Point plan and forcibly drag this timeline closer to relevance, something will kick off in Rose's mind that tells her, GUESS WHAT, THE STAGE LIGHTS ARE ON, you can't just say that this entire timeline doesn't matter anymore? Hmm.

ROSE: Jade, over the course of 15 years, when have any of your efforts done a grain of good? ROSE: For yourself or Dave? JADE: woooooooow i know what youre doing ok? JADE: go ahead push every button i have i dont give a fuck JADE: youre the one that has everything to lose here JADE: and no matter what awful things you say it wont change the fact im worried about you ROSE: Don't be. ROSE: I've done fairly well for myself this past decade and a half. ROSE: I've been happy. JADE: thats whats scaring me! JADE: youre not prepared for how bad it can get JADE: you have no idea at all!!!!!!!!!!! ROSE: If you say so.

Having felt like she failed with Dave, and then had him go off and die on her rather than stay with her, Jade is TERRIFIED that Rose is going to ruin the amazing thing she's had with Kanaya out of apathy and fear. Maybe if Kanaya turns out to be in serious danger from something she didn't foresee, and Rose actually has to confront being genuinely scared of losing her for good, it can dislodge Rose from feeling like she'd be happy letting everything keep falling apart around her? That she absolutely HAS TO FIGHT to keep this relationship, that a relationship requires "trying", and that you can't waste time not trying at all thinking you have everything locked down tight and nothing to lose, because as Jade recently learned you can lose EVERYTHING in a moment.

JADE: ... between you and dave and john i dont know whos worse JADE: is it really that hard for any of you to care? JADE: if you dont get your head on straight and begin trying shell leave you JADE: all youve had together and everything you could have had JADE: gone! JADE: and since youre so cool with talking about your mom now JADE: you shouldve learned that lesson from her a long time ago! ROSE: Excuse me-

OUCH. Bringing up all the regrets from the moments after Rose realized she'd lost her mother, lost ANY CHANCE to make amends with her before Jack killed her... the moments which Jade was there for over pesterchum talking to her during, right before she flew into a Grimdark rage.

JADE: look it takes a lot of concentration to hold this perimeter JADE: i think itd be best if you looked after the kids ROSE: ... JADE: inside. ROSE: Fine.

Why is the next command "Rose: Ramble"? Is she going to start talking to herself? Probably, set up by Jade's "(oh my god are you even listening to me)" line. Pulling a Dave Strider and talking to herself since she can't hold a conversation with Jade here.

(Rose: Ramble)

Yeah that's a dark, hopeless, kind of dissociated look on her face.

Oh she's rambling INTERNALLY, there's a lot of black text on this page. XD

You saunter on out of there. You could say so much more, but it’s fine. Jade has no idea what she’s talking about. There’s not a thing to worry about here. You came out the womb playing defense, you’re not about to drop the ball now.

Opening up for self-examination, being vulnerable like they BOTH need to let themselves be to move forward, is the polar opposite of "playing defense". I wonder if she's dunking on herself, here.

If you hadn’t, maybe you’d be more concerned with the torrent of bullshit you’re dealing with. You really are getting it from all ends here, between Jade’s guilt-ridden busybodying and the glint of rage and pain in your wife’s eyes and the sudden, inexplicable tragedy of your brother’s demise.

Ohhh fuck. Dave's death is hitting her too. I'm not sure why I forgot it would. No wonder she's been shutting down instead of confronting anything.

All that on top of the twist of your gut every time you see your mother in Roxy’s face or hear her in Roxy’s voice. Really, you should be losing your shit. Instead, your emotions are in order and your shit is on lockdown exactly where you tucked it away, smooth operator that you are. God, you need a fucking drink.

Gosh, that's sad. And yeah, she totally IS dunking on herself. She knows on some level that something's seriously wrong with her, and she's just avoiding it, conceding defeat even though she knows she's undoubtedly part of the problem. A part of the problem she's partially given up on fixing.

Submission -- to fate, to the oblivion of drink, to everyone else's will -- is Void, simultaneously the essential duality of and a weakpoint of her nature as a Light player.

Instead of folding, you try to curb the craving by focusing on the inside of your hand and slowly moving that energy to your fingertips. Jade is right, of course, but only on a base, intuitive level that is otherwise lacking in specifics and easily misinterpreted and manipulated. For there to be inarguable truth there has to not only be an authority, but one that cares enough to reinforce their intentions absolutely, and you can’t imagine any such authority caring all that much about this laughable mess.

I'm not sure if I completely agree on inarguable truth being contingent on an authority existing (I mean I suppose so in terms of the limits of both-scientific-and-historical observation in our universe, relying on human and imperfect accounts, and also it's DEFINITELY true when talking about A STORY and being able to read the author's interpretation of something or if there was one at all as opposed to the Death Of The Author that Andrew has been foreshadowing since most of the way through Homestuck is what he believes to be a better outcome for the work), but I suppose she doesn't realize that Calliope is the one who authored this timeline-- the living, non-ascended Calliope back in the Meat side. And she absolutely cared-- and we, the readers, do too!

If there’s no truth, then why even bother looking for your best option? Just leave the hierarchy of choices in ashes, the Mayor would be so proud. And then horribly disappointed, realizing this doesn't mean democratic power to the people. It means total fucking black out.

She's really, REALLY hung up on this being a non-canon timeline isn't she? Not only that-- but an AUTHORLESS timeline. She sees this whole timeline as Void (a black out, devoid of meaning and importance) and she can't see how she should actually be caring about it; she's just as doubtful about the validity of non-canon works of Homestuck, that the fanfics that we come up with because we care about these characters could be anywhere as interesting or worth caring about as canon, much in line with Dirk Strider's viewpoint that nothing could possibly matter if it doesn't have a Higher Purpose to the main, author-stamped story. Luckily enough HS^2's entire thematic structure is built to eventually prove her wrong, to teach her and Dirk and all the rest of us that Homestuck and its characters are worthwhile even wrested from the author's grip!

It’s only through quite rigorous contemplation of this metaphysical miasma (to the detriment, some might say, of your attention to the present moment) that you’ve managed to glean much of anything at all, a wonder in and of itself. Trying to decode these countless twisting paths has taken years of practice, but like all your favorite games the tedium enhances the satisfaction of playing. A small pastime, like a crossword, to privately enjoy outside the scope of any intrusive third persons. Currently, for example, you know that Vriska’s up to something important within the meteor. Exceedingly important, actually, far more important than anything here has had any right to be in a long, long time. It’s a point of almost disturbing clarity in the otherwise nebulous and ill-defined milieu of your prognosticative purview. You’re not quite sure what it actually is, though.

Interesting look into her non-ultimate Seer of Light talents, and the current limits they possess based on the combination of her abilities' limits in this Candyverse and her own beliefs and perspective. Why IS what Vriska's doing so important?

It doesn’t really matter, in the long run. Important or not, Vriska’s going to fail. Jane’s going to fail, too; really, just about everyone is going to fail to do something that really matters. In an unsuccessful effort to stave off that failure, and perhaps to atone for it on some level, Calliope will sacrifice herself, fruitlessly. You’re not exempt from the firing squad, either. In the imminent battle, you are going to be shot in the head, the bullet burying deep into your moral grey matter and jamming up the works of your conditional immortality, leaving you confined to a hospital bed. You had to pull all kinds of ridiculous, eyebrow-raising Chaos Theory shit to figure that one out. The rat-tail was worth it, your daughter’s anguish aside.

I'm not sure what she means by "the rat-tail" (does one of the people she knows have that hairdo?? Meenah? what does that have to do with her daughter? if anyone knows what she's alluding to by saying "the rat-tail was worth it" let me know in the replies), but I'm starting to see why she's been acting so hopeless. She doesn't mind Kanaya getting serious distance from her because she thinks she's going to get locked into a coma soon and she doesn't want Kanaya to mourn her as badly. That's pretty fucking depressing. I wonder which parts of this whole prediction are wrong, and why?

Calliope, this Calliope, sacrificing herself I can absolutely see (she's done observing within her fanfic, in a sense, and while not in a serious relationship with anyone she might decide to step out of the way and relinquish her Ring of Life for the sake of saving someone else)-- but fruitlessly how? And if Vriska is going to "fail", then why is what she's doing so damned important, hm? Fail at what, and gain what else in the process, to still invoke such importance? That's not something Rose has addressed or been willing to see. (EDIT: To clarify a bit here, not only is she blind to the purpose Vriska will accomplish-- it's definitely possible that Vriska leaves the plot point WITHOUT resolving her psychological issues, "fail" to, but even then she'll be only one step away from becoming her Ultimate Self at a pivotal moment and she'll already know what that last step IS inside herself, holding on to the Point's importance to finally do the most important step at a later time after getting out. That's just one of many ways to spin things, and she's blind to the true purpose of the Point regardless, or what "failure" truly constitutes in this situation.) Will Rose really enter a coma, and if she does, is her fatalism keeping her from seeing that some unexpected ray of hope is probably going to free her from said coma?

Kanaya may not see it this way at first, but your lobotomy sleepytime will be a well-earned, golden opportunity for her. A chance to experience life unshackled from the ol’ ball and chain. Even if it requires you to foist some compelling motivation for her to embrace it. She can’t waste her independence waiting on you again. You refuse to accept that outcome. What’s the point of a world where anything is possible if the love of your life won’t explore her full potential?

Yeah fuck that!!! I figured this was where Rose was leading, seeing herself as a net negative and refusing to believe that she's WORTH Kanaya, an insecurity she holds so tightly to that she's unwilling to fight for her own happiness. Thinking Kanaya's true potential lays in places that won't circle right back to you eventually. (Rose might be hinting at Kanaya unlocking some of her latent power, quite possibly-- considering the Sylph of Space as a healer, breaking through to that potential might even be enough to save her from the coma she's mentioning.)

It might even be gratifying for her romantically, though you haven’t peered too deeply down those corridors out of respect for her hypothetical privacy (surely not because they’d make you want to rip off your own face to perceive; that’d be hypocritical). Whatever. It’ll be good for her to stretch her legs, and it’s not like you’ll be awake to miss her.

Interesting... now THIS is a huge, huge blindspot for Rose. Since she's refusing to look down the paths of possibility where Kanaya feels for anyone other than her, what if this is one of the biggest reasons she's missing the path of possibility which eventually saves her and reunites them? (No, I'm not just saying that for the sake of Kanaya/Rose/Jade OT3... not entirely, anyway. >_>")

Or everything will collapse and everybody will disappear. It’ll certainly happen eventually. Maybe in an hour, maybe a day, a couple weeks, millenia from now. Who’s to say? Those specifics are beyond you now.

Everyone's seriously underestimating the Candy timeline. Everyone except Roxy and Calliope, the Rogue of Void and the Muse of Space, working together across the canon-to-non-canon barrier... the perfect pair of heroes to set events into motion that will make everything outside of canon real.

It’s this thought that unwinds you, untwisting your knickers. It’s hard to take things too seriously when you know that the details don’t matter and the ending never changes. It’s out of your hands. There’s nothing left to lose.

When Did You Stop Trying

She's practically LETTING herself get shot just so she doesn't have to see the rest of a story she doesn't think matters! Hopefully she'll be rather ridiculously surprised to find her timeline mattering after all-- to everyone both inside and outside their story. Hopefully we don't have to watch her agonize TOO long waiting for her to figure that shit out, even if the possibility of a certain duration of coma ends up making that wait longer than we'd like. At least in that case, we'll get to see the flabbergasted look on her face when she's brought out of her condition and realizes that everything suddenly matters again!

(==>)

A preview of what she sees ahead. Damn.

You’re nobody now. Just a shadow. Dirk was right to leave. He would have hated this existence. Ah, well.

I'd hoped both this Rose and Rosebot wouldn't make the exact same mistake, because hopefully we get to see them both convinced out of it... but possibly it could be circumstantially simultaneous? That'd be pretty appropriate given one of them is Ultimate Rose.

All tension has left your body, at this point. You don’t retreat to the heart of the ship; you have somewhere to be, so you set off, moving not towards a definitive point on the horizon but in cadence with a song that dances on the periphery of your awareness. You heard its first few tentative notes years ago. A subtle ‘ding’ when your ecto-father died. A little ‘dong’ when your wife handed you your daughter. A clear ‘ting’ when an old friend asked you for her first and only favor. Over time, and especially within the past few days, these scattered sounds have woven together into a compelling melody.

This sounds sort of like a mix of what meat!Calliope wrote into the Candy timeline, and intervention of other authors like Dirk excising himself to strengthen his meat!timeline importance? But mostly that Calliope, the story written in part by that distant author who wouldn't leave you to such a fate as you're expecting.

It helps you drown out the noise of war and focus, taking you back to times when there was destiny and indignation and righteous fury. A colorful cat-squid princess, advising a young girl to “play the rain.” She wanted so much, always needing to be seen, desperate to fight for some shred of validation. Only to never appreciate what was already in front of her. Thankfully, you aren’t her anymore. You don’t owe her anything either. You are unbound to that person completely. Defunct. As above, so below.

I wonder if that statement, behaving like this is Hell (to go with Vriska's purgatorial little trip in the Point), is also a reference to her making the same mistakes on both sides of the Candy/Meat divide? And I wonder if Rosebot truly believes, deep down, that she's the unlucky one in Hell too. Probably not yet, or at least not consciously, especially with Dirk artificially suppressing her doubts. (Also, playing the rain brought up again because at least ONE of these Roses is going to have to pull it off before HS^2 ends!!! It's one of the biggest unfulfilled threads that people wanted to see filled in Homestuck before it ended, and its subsequent continuation-- and goes hand in hand with all of Rose's unresolved psychological issues too somehow most likely, unless it's going to be done to show us that it wasn't indeed the biggest point after all?)

Also, just noting on the side the comparison of the woven thread of the narrative and fate to a musical score, one where the different authors, participants, are contributing parts of the music and different instruments, like the Fraymotifs that blended their aspects to write reality like a song.

Also also, it occurs to me that if Rose is going to enter a coma, she's quite possibly already going to have left a VERY INFURIATING farewell note for Kanaya that shows she saw her coma coming all along, and inadvertently clues Kanaya into the stupid game Rose had been playing by distancing herself so cruelly.

(==>)

A troll soldier looks down from something.

(==>)

Oh, they're bumping face first into a (much taller than them? and very pissed) Kanaya aren't they.

(==>)

Ooh, aglow, too. I wonder if this is a younger recruit or if Kanaya is just tall and huge now; she didn't seem like she compared much taller than Rose and Jade, though most people have always seen Kanaya as tall. This seems like the sort of thing I'd like to see artist commentary on when it comes out. (I've been trying to chew on the artist commentary first back-to-front from where HS^2 first became Beyond Canon, but I'm very slow at it due to some energy issues lately, so even Part 1 of that will be some time coming.)

(==>)

Literally haloed in light! If you weren't so preoccupied with your imminent demise, Rose, you could take some time to appreciate how amazing your wife is and believing in how much she loves you instead of thinking yourself less worthy than SHE thinks of you and casting her off.

(Commanders: Congregate.)

Ooh she mad.

Nothing too important in this page's dialogue, other than Kanaya acknowledging that Rose and Jade won't be involved in directly attacking and that she'd rather that be the case regardless, from an emotional standpoint. She definitely still wants Rose out of the line of fire, even if she's mad at her. (And Jade pulling defensive duty around the children might lose you a big offensive card but it isn't TOO bad, hopefully.)

(==>)

KARKAT: FUCK ‘EM.

Hah! Totally moirails. (Also look at that BLOOD imagery behind the grasping of hands, in all colors of the hemospectrum. That's not subtle Aspect imagery at all! I love unsubtle Aspect imagery! :D )

(==>)

MEENAH: shell yes motherblubber MEENAH: wayward wenches betta step the fuck back MEENAH: its a troll thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang

you're ruining the mood meenah

(Jane: Push the big red button. Blast it all to high heaven.)

Yeah Jake's gonna have dismantled that moon superweapon WELL before it fires.

You do not push the button because that would be incredibly stupid. The battle hasn't even started yet. Instead you take advantage of the momentary quiet to breathe. To think about life. About situations you could have handled differently. Feelings you could have... considered better. People you could have saved.

Does she? Does she really? Really now? ¬_¬"

(==>)

OH GOD IT'S A GIANT CAKE LASER THAT'S HILARIOUS

Your father never did voice any kind of opinion on your parenting style. In hindsight, he was probably avoiding the subject altogether. Or didn’t think much about it, focusing his pride on your exploits instead. He did raise a businesswoman, after all. At any point you could have asked for his advice. Now you can't. 15 years. Utterly botched.

Yeah, she definitely screwed the heck up on the parenting front, I suppose that *IS* something she's seriously reckoning with now that Jake has pulled back the curtain. It's too late for her to consider backing down, but she's at least going to feel some regrets and let that eat deservedly away at her before her final moments in this timeline.

Oh pfff, I hadn't even looked at the title of the next link (I'm guessing the answer is YES OF COURSE)

(Jane: Consider, is it too late?)

Of course not.

Really?

You remind yourself, you are incredibly young for a god. It’s natural for your growing pains to be this calamitous. All of the struggle and regret will feed into a brighter future. Newfound order will ensure stability, leading to a period of progress this planet has never seen before. There is so much living left. So many opportunities. This will not be your last chance. You’ll do better with the next one.

This is pretty in line with the way megalomaniacal way Jane behaved back when she was controlled by the Condesce, envisioning an empire with Jake at her side bearing her children forever. Candy is essentially an entire timeline where she followed through on her ambitions without constraint.

Speaking of constraint-- (Gee I thought he was totally going to take the Third Option and fly up to destroy the laser, this can't be over this quickly with a gun to the head--)

(Jane: Look behind you.)

Oh dear, so it definitely IS assassination, then. You must really hate how bad she's been for the children, Jake, to really go through with this as personally as BGD suggested. I was thinking about turning points like this for Hope players (in other media actually, a certain Hope player in Murder Drones actually) and moments of Rage being negative or positive turning points in equal measure, points where their belief in the breadth of possibility is pushed into a corner and it's time for them to narrow everything down to ONE CHANCE, to do or die, to a gun to someone's head or a blade to someone's neck and a willingness to cut a possibility off forever when it REALLY COUNTS to come in balance with their role (in ways depicted in Murder Drones with, hint hint, exactly one of their eyes showing a murder-mode X and the other eye open, as if on the tipping point before that Hope is cut off). How for a Hope player to be effective and balanced, they HAVE to know when they can't just sit on their heels and need to take action even if it means cutting off all the other paths they WISHED were true but can't be, acknowledging reality.

But seriously, if he was fast enough he could have just flown to space and blown up the Cake Laser. I guess this is more effective.

JANE: Jake? JAKE: Hi. Sweetheart. JANE: What are you doing here? Is everything ok? JAKE: It's all gravy train, don't worry! I was only thinking to myself and... JAKE: realized how sorry i'd be if i didn't come wish you good luck. JANE: How thoughtful! JAKE: Mm hm! JAKE: Come here.

Is that really going to work? Maybe with Jane deluding herself this much right now. I feel life if Jake actually pulls this off it'll end the battle far too quickly; maybe he'll shoot her and her Maid of Life powers will bring her back to retaliate the moment he turns his back on the body?

(==>)

Oh dear, he's going in EXTREMELY personal for this isn't he. A point blank shot through the heart in honor of Dirk maybe?

JANE: Well! That felt very lucky. JANE: Hoo, hoo! JAKE: I was hoping so ha ha! JANE: Thank you. ;B JANE: Wow you sure are holding me very tight, I assure you we don't have that kind of time sir! JANE: *eyebrow wiggle* JAKE: So right! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. JAKE: Oh Jane. JAKE: Before I let go, I wanted to say first. It's been a hard life and all but, JAKE: I'm really happy I got to see you. JANE: Me too J! JAKE: And... I'm going to miss you. JANE: Aw! JANE: Wait, what?

Looks like she didn't see it coming, even if I don't think it's gonna stick. Just exhausting whatever extra life she's built up in reserve, I'd bet.

[click]

(==>)

OW, to the head! No wonder there was a blood/violence warning in the tweet announcing this upd8.

(==>)

Oh god that's horrifying it didn't finish her off

this dialogue is horrifying why do you have to traumatize Jake more like this he's promising it'll stop oh that's awful okay serious fucking trigger warnings ouch

(==>)

OH GOD and she healed herself and knocked his aim off course. This is why you always double tap. D:

She's gonna be PISSED. (I didn't need the vivid mental imagery of bullets stuck in heads a third time counting Rose AND this anyway, brain damage is a bit of a trigger for me.) Hopefully Jake at least gets away, or destroys the launch button, or with his assassination attempt failed NOW goes to fly off and destroy the cake laser directly on the moon.

(==>)

Alright that's pretty cool! Not good obviously, but inevitable.

JAKE: W-w-w-w-w-w-wha? JANE: As I was saying- JANE: Jake.

Counter-attack incoming.

(==>)

JANE: IF YOU HAVE ONE SHOT

(==>)

OH THAT'S SOME HYPER VIOLENT PISTOL WHIPPING OUCH. EVEN IN BEYOND CANON THEY AREN'T HOLDING BACK A BIT ON THE MATURE GODDAMN RATING even when it isn't a psychological deep dive owowow

JANE: YOU BETTER JANE: MAKE IT JANE: *FUCKING* JANE: COOOOOUUUUUUUUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder how he's going to get away? He deserves to after this, and also he's possibly the only one who knows about the space laser and isn't coming out of this without at least one big solid heroic accomplishment that sticks under his belt. The space laser seems pretty much designed for him to intervene.

(==>)

You stop your onslaught, knowing the next couple blows will finish the job. A just death. How romantic.

Pfff-- I guess even if she killed him, it wouldn't announce that the death had been Heroic over his head.

Oh wait, I just realized--! Jake has TWO GUNS. Both the prior shots ought only to have been from one, unless he switched to single shot pistols for some arcane reason.

Between the adrenaline and taste of blood in your mouth, the decision is clear to you. You will not fail yourself. You will claim the spoils of this war and oversee a thriving planet. Cultivating an ever bettering stock of humanity. Your future. On and on. Forever. Alone.

Yeah sure you will.

Wait, what does that next link even mean? --Oh, it's Spades Slick and the co-opted Felt gang members she captured isn't it?? :D I've been waiting for her to unleash them!

(Jane: Release the Brig Boys.)

Wait what the fuck

As if!!!!! Maybe some time in the trenches with the Brig Boys will do him some good.

Oh my GOD she's seriously letting him go?! I'm not sure if that's not even more messed up in the head of her than killing him! She's seriously got a screw loose. She's really afraid of being alone and sure he'll come back to her side, isn't she, even if she needs a leash to force him? (And plot-speaking this just gives him a chance to fly up and bust the Moon Laser.)

Why are they Brig Boys, doesn't that mean prisoners? I mean I guess she probably paranoidly imprisoned some of the clone soldiers, but...

(==>)

Oof, Jake splats to the ground.

Death would be a kindness, after all. You gave Jake a shot to stay by your side and make something of himself, but in the end he proved himself just another deserter. You should have seen it coming; you learned 15 years ago that people will slip right through your fingers if you let them.

well what's your plan then

It’s fine. You won’t let go again. Jake is your means to an end. When you scramble his frontal lobe, you’ll make sure it doesn’t heal right. It won’t be much of a change, anyway.

JESUS CHRIST WOMAN

If I didn't know better I'd accuse someone who worked on this slate of updates to have known about my trigger about the idea of brain damage and personally stacked this one up against me! Good thing I worked out a lot of my fears in therapy so much before this, sheesh. Beyond Canon might know when to STOP punching and crack a joke but when they punch they don't pull those punches, ouch.

(Jane: Commence battle.)

Good thing Jake's already sitting up. You'd better not wallow in that discouragement from the failed assassination attempt, GO AFTER THE MOON LASER. (Though, Rose did warn us that from her biased point of view "just about everyone is going to fail to do something that really matters".)

(Jake: Look out into distance.)

JAKE: TAVROS!

Aw damn, is he going to fly in to help and leave the moon laser problem to someone else? At least he's the one parent of Tavros's focused on something he should of the two.

(==>)

That's a letter from Rose and a pack of trail mix. Rose, now that we know you're lining up future events so things turn out a certain neutral-victory sort of way, I can't help but wonder what the fuck you're planning with the kids. (And how they're going to potentially far surpass your limited expectations.)

On the plus side this means that as soon as we've reckoned with that letter WE FINALLY GET BACK TO THESE KIDS AND POTENTIALLY HAVING SOME FUCKING DIALOGUE THAT INCLUDES YIFFY OR IS ABOUT AND AROUND HER AT LEAST, I'VE BEEN WAITING SO EXCITED TO GET BACK TO THEM AFTER THAT JADE HEART-OUTPOUR THAT YIFFY OVERHEARD AND IS LIKELY STILL MIFFED ABOUT! :DDD Gosh I've been waiting for Yiffy and the other kids to interact more.

I'm extra busy with family stuff for a couple weeks so I probably won't post anything extra between now and the next update, but as usual I'll be right there when it arrives. Until next time!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

When the Clock Strikes

Hey hey, 1125 gave us a lot of fun stuff to ponder. Starting with this. Here, we don't need to overdo it...

I'll let that speak for itself, certainly leaves us with a lot of nice intrigue around Stussy going forward which I am in favor of. There's one key thing about this chapter I have to get to and she surprisingly ain't it. Though I still love you Stussy, enjoy your ambiguous fate after an arc of a divided heart. Let's get to the main attraction:

Well well old friend, we meet again. For a good time, and a great taste...slap Garling into the open Gorosei slot. This presents a great opportunity to learn about both him and the elders. We still don't really have a clear picture of how much the average citizen really knows about these upper echelons of the government. Like...do you know who Christine Lagarde is? It's public knowledge, she's a powerful global figure. Head of the International Monetary Fund. Just because there is a fair amount of info about her available doesn't mean most people really think about her much. You probably didn't even know or consider the possibility when reading the previous sentences that...not who's in charge anymore. Her successor took over five years ago.

Point being, Garling represents an interesting shakeup. Most importantly that I will get to pester y'all with Mac Tonight jokes for many chapters to come. Emplemon has a great video on YouTube about the former MacDonald's mascot, he's a treasure that we can hopefully pull out of his brief corruption by internet racist dweebs...or make a lot funnier if Garling predictably ends up a genocidal maniac. Which, in conjunction with Dragon puts forward a really good note on Vegapunk's broadcast. This has a high likelihood of kicking off a lot of conflicts over higher ground. Speaking of Vegapunk...

It was a choice between badass Edison and the hall of Vegaparts. A very tough choice. Gets us to the title, a callback to a motif for our humble genius. What does death mean for him? Turns out not a whole lot. They don't mention Lilith having a connection like York still would, so I do wonder if hers has been fully cut. Either way, very cool final flourish for Punk Records. It floats away to go dormant until it's needed. Honestly...not unlike Toki's plan with the time fruit. And that gets me to the other big connection to those core aspects of Wano.

This fascinates me. The spoilers obscured how active Saturn was in this decision. But that's what makes it interesting. A last note of how our decisions ripple. Even ones that made perfect sense at the time.

Ultimately, hard to tell what this chapter represents. We cut away from the main cast, but that's normal to see one or two between arcs. We're still unpacking Egghead though so I can't fully say it feels finished here. If nothing else, we could bring it home by ending with SWORD finally getting to Drake. Who knows? But I'll see you next week, thankfully we won't have to wait long.

[vegasolari]

V2 is an Ultrakill character and I have many feelings about them: here's why

I think we can all agree that Ultrakill didn’t exactly explore V2 as a character much. Sure, we have some basic information about them, but we’re pretty much left to fill in the blanks ourselves. And, oh boy, are there a lot of blanks. Well, here’s my ridiculous essay filling in those blanks for myself in a way that (hopefully) makes sense in the scope of Ultrakill canon. TL;DR: here are my V2 headcanons because I’m insane.

During my first playthrough of Ultrakill, I didn't think much about V2. They seemed like the classic “evil twin” and not much more, testing your skills as a player in a unique way. I’m the good guy and I have to beat up the evil version of me, y’know? But, as I got more into the lore of Ultrakill, I couldn’t stop thinking about V2.

V1 was built with a clear purpose in mind: war. I’m certain anyone can agree with that. But, when the whole war business fell apart with the New Peace, V1 quickly became obsolete. If whatever entity developing V1 wanted any chance of recouping the cash dumped into V1, they had to pivot. But we have this great war robot just lying around! Alright, how about this: we’ll make a new version of this robot with decreased combat capabilities, but increased human interfacing capabilities. So, a new model was made. It was very similar to the previous one, switching out the fancy plating for regular tough stuff, plus installing some friendlier software. Despite the rush job, it was a pretty damn good android. But, with all that high-end tech came a big price tag that the market deemed unreasonable.

Now, this leads to an interesting idea: if V2 is sentient (observing their behavior in-game, they likely are), how would that make them feel? Certainly, they would know that they were essentially the living embodiment of a hollow gesture; being nothing more than an attempt to recuperate funds, being a commercial failure, being what most would consider a weak imitation of their predecessor. I wouldn’t be surprised if V2 went after V1 based on sheer jealousy alone. Their creation was underdeveloped and sloppily done. V2 wasn’t wanted for whatever skillset a highly advanced security bot could offer. V2 wasn't wanted… V1 was. The second iteration is supposed to be better than the first, and V2's existence is defined by being a cheap copy.

Regardless, V2 is here and they can still serve some function. While V1 and V2's hardware may be nearly identical, I have to imagine their software is very different. Remember, V1 was made for war. Their software is probably highly specialized for efficient killing. In terms of a highly advanced society dependent on specialized androids filled with precision AI, that must be pretty simple. Just boot up good old “shooty_mcshooting.exe” and we’ve got ourselves an AI that can quickly identify a target and attack its weak points. V2, on the other hand, was made for peacetime efforts. Sure, security was kept in mind during their development, but overall they were made for human cooperation. A peacetime machine would certainly have been developed with a natural affinity toward humanity, right? This leads me to believe that V2 was made with an innate affinity toward humans. Hell, maybe they were programmed with a desire to socialize that matched the strength of our own innate socialization needs. It would certainly make their job much easier.

Despite this, I feel they still had to do some warming up to humans. After all, humanity did them quite a disservice. Whether they made peace with the circumstances surrounding their creation and loved humans despite it or simply ignored the troubled emotions surrounding their creation, I’m not certain. Regardless, their core programming spurred them on. V2 learned to cooperate with humans, with their reward system to guide them. Eventually, their reward system must have led them to feel something that could be best described as affection towards humans, forever being driven to be curious and friendly towards humanity. I love imagining them joking around and laughing with their coworkers on whatever security job they were assigned to. Maybe they'd even have fun chatting up the scientists working on their development, learning more and more about how humans interacted and communicated with one another.

Speaking of which… what if V2’s job expanded past security? Say a building were to collapse with people trapped inside; what better tool than an extremely durable, strong, highly intelligent robot to dig through the rubble, locate survivors quicker with specialized software, and even administer first aid?

Just as V2 adored humans, one must imagine V2 being adored by humans.

As V2’s software spurred them on to learn more and more about humans, they would come to appreciate the things humans appreciated. Perhaps V2 came to appreciate the beauty of art or the marvel of science in the same way humans did, or perhaps they simply liked these things because they were human. Imagine V2 learning everything they could about cooking despite never needing those skills, just to be able to bond with humans. They’d even surprise the scientists developing them with delicious treats that V2 themself could never eat, all to fulfill their role as a friend to humanity.

Humanity's extinction must have been devastating for V2.

I imagine after humanity died, V2 simply tried to make do with what they had. In my mind, it’d make sense that they'd try to avoid using blood from animals at all costs (humans loved animals, after all). Instead, they'd take fuel from other machines. That fuel was already taken from its rightful owner, and there's nothing that can be done about it now. May as well put it to good use, right? Considering V2’s love for humanity (and by extension, all living creatures), they must have come to loathe their fellow machines. Machines sustain themselves off of harming humans and other living creatures, after all. Of course, there is the irony of V2 being just like every other machine, reliant on blood to survive.. I'll try not to get sidetracked with that one though -

I lied. I'm getting sidetracked.

V2's love of humans combined with their reliance on their blood as fuel would have been difficult for them to accept at best, and devastating at worst. I was going to put a comparison here but it made me genuinely sad, which goes to show how this likely made V2 feel. Sure, taking blood from humans doesn't necessarily require violence, considering blood donations exist, but it still couldn’t have felt great. Besides, it seems very possible that not all machines were interested in taking that fuel peacefully.

During their time in Hell, seeing their fellow machines happily and greedily tear through husks in Hell (which, I'd like to point out, are human souls) must have enraged V2. Considering their love for humans, I can't imagine them using husks as fuel. Instead, it would make sense for them to kill machines only. In fact, V2's terminal entry explicitly mentions killing machines (...V2 dove deeper into Hell, killing other machines for their blood to help its recovery…) but doesn't say anything about killing husks. I will note that the Ultrakill Fandom Wiki entry for V2 does allude to them killing husks, but there wasn't a source so I'm disregarding it (yes I am so Ultrakill brain-rotted that I am asking for sources on Ultrakill lore).

This leads to a stark contrast between V1 and V2, despite seeming so similar on the surface. V1 was made with the sole purpose of killing, and I do not doubt that humans were well within their scope. V1 is an especially efficient killing machine, with their rampage in Hell enough to draw the attention of Heaven. We know V2 tried to fight V1. What if the reasons for stopping V1 went beyond preserving fuel resources or getting revenge? V2 wanted to save the remnants of humankind. V2 didn't fight for themself; they fought for humanity.

Despite this, one could indeed make a very reasonable argument that V1 is doing the denizens of Hell a favor. Ceasing to exist does sound much more appealing than eternal torture. But, seeing as it's implied V2 has only been in Hell for a few hours, it's likely that they just haven't thought about this. Think of it this way: they've just rediscovered the one thing that gave them purpose... it's unlikely they'd be willing to let that go easily. Or perhaps V2 did think about this. Maybe V2 wanted to build a better life for the people of Hell. We know they made it to Greed, so they almost certainly heard of Minos' and Sisyphus' attempts to rebel against Heaven. I think it's likely that V2 wanted to follow in their footsteps; they wanted to build a haven for humanity.

But unfortunately, we all know how their story ends.

V2's existence was one defined by failure. V2's life was one riddled with "what ifs?" and "could have beens." An overwhelming theme of Ultrakill is tragedy, and I'd argue that this take on V2 is just about as tragic as one can get.

Also V2 isn't dead because they live on in my heart and I will not accept any attempts at convincing me otherwise.

[2af-afterdark]

I purposefully waited a little before posting this so hopefully people have seen the big reveal of Aster and Morvay in the Sunburst Fever event (either by playing or by people online). I just want to share a few feelings about the entire scene.

First: Please... please give me cards of these forms. I am begging on my knees. We are constantly denied Aster and Morvay content because they aren't clan members (which is still bullshit because they are still characters in the game who Eiden spends time with and they supposedly build a bond/relationship with him so it would be nice to see that buildup the same way we see it with the clan members), but having some cards of these forms would be a nice treat. I want to see how these forms change (or don't change) the way they act or how others interact with them. I want to see them recounting their past. I shamelessly want to see them being extra sexy.

Second: These forms are the result of having enough essence from Huey, the man who made them. They have a confirmed three forms so far, each one consuming a different amount of essence for them to maintain. This form consumes the most essence and is the equivalent to having a fully charged battery. Eiden literally cannot support these forms. This is the result of Huey's leftover essence flowing into them. It is a reminder of just... how far apart Eiden and Huey are in power level. Huey made Aster and Morvay like this, which means he likely supported them in these forms constantly. Eiden still struggles to consistently maintain their middle forms and they can easily get low on essence. We hear all the time how much Eiden doesn't live up to Huey and we've seen it with his trouble to maintain the crystal, but this is more personal. These are his friends. These are the people he loves and trusts, staring him in the face, and showing him that he cannot provide them with the same quality of life that Huey could. This is in spite of the fact that Eiden still has more latent essence than other laypeople. It's just not as much as Huey.

Third: This scene makes me so sad and angry. We have seen several times that both of them are sensitive to Huey's essence signature (and it makes sense since they were created by him), but this time... they straight up couldn't even recognize him. Even after they were defeated, they still didn't see Eiden for who he was right away. Eiden needed to touch them to break through the fog of Huey's influence. That makes me so sad, because, even after all the time they have spent together, it is like Eiden is always living in Huey's shadow and his individuality falls away if even a hint of Huey appears. And I am angry because everything we hear about Huey paints him as an asshole, including to his familiars, but they are still devoted to him when push comes to shove (willing or not is another matter, see point 4). It's heartbreaking to watch the relationship they are all carefully cultivating be broken so quickly because of a monster who seemed not to care about anyone beside himself and his plans.

Fourth: Aster and Morvay do love Eiden and Eiden loves them too, which is why this sucks so much more. They were the first people he met when he started/got whisked away to his new life. They were his first support system and they are arguably his most loyal one. Or, they are when Huey isn't still pulling on their strings like puppets. Every time they sense Huey, it is like a switch flips inside of them and they are compelled to act in his favor. Being near his essence makes them act differently in a way that seems to override their own freewill or choices at times. I need an arc for Aster and Morvay to break through the fog, because this is just getting sad and terrifying. It is clear they do not have complete control of themselves. They deserve the opportunity to leave Huey behind, especially because they have Eiden now. He's not a replacement. He is someone they care about and they should have to ability choose the present with him rather than being controlled by Huey's past.

Closing Thoughts: The reveal of these forms just gave me a lot of emotions. The events wasn't about them, but their presence says so much more than the rest of the event plot. It just breaks my heart to think of the implication these forms unearth. Thank you for reading my incoherent thoughts.

[bleue-flora]

Well, now I feel challenged /lh /j.

I think that cDream being autistic make sense quite a lot BUT I definitely think that it is not a root of all / most misunderstandings - at least at the beginning, he was being absolutely challenged by cWilbur and cTommy and I think that he did the only logical thing, trying to protect his server and friends. His friends later turning their backs on him bc he was unable/unwilling to explain his reasons and feelings adds to the autistic theory but as a toxic cDream apologist I can not help but blame them for just abandoning him without really trying to understand him - like, even if he could explain himself better, I really don't think that would change that much - the root of all problem here would be more other people being unable to understand HIM, not the other way around (although cDream definitely made some wild assumptions(or didn't understand how some people think at all) regarding certain people (*cough* Sam) that backfired spectacularly)

(again, this is meant to be completely light-hearted, I like your hot take, just wanted to challenged it. This is also my first time trying to analyse dsmp outside of my brains so sorry if it's weird 😅

Nah not weird, welcome to the fun! Glad you’ve decided to share. (Hopefully this won’t deter you from pitching in in the future. <3) Don’t worry it’s all light hearted around here, as far as I’m concerned this blog isn’t about arguing it’s about discussion. Agree, disagree, further add, I just have a good time talking about my obsession. :) Generally speaking, to me I don’t think it’s about right or wrong (though to be clear I am always right/jk lol XD) because I think there is typically a bit of both mixed in and there is always something to take away.

Anyways… yea so challenge accepted lol. (just as fyi I did write this and the essay kinda simultaneously so umm whatever I don't cover here is probably in that... somewhere....). Now, I did pick my wording very specifically and it’s ok to kinda miss exactly what I was saying. So just to clarify, I did say ‘a’ root because while I believe it is a huge factor at play I do recognize that it is by no means the only factor at play. Along the same lines, you are exactly right, it is not just about him failing to understand or communicate but also largely about them misunderstanding him. It is very much a failure on both sides and assumptions made that cause this miscommunication. When I mean misunderstanding and miscommunication I mean all around. Though I also agree. As an autistic person (and a c!Dream apologist) I do tend to see it more as a failure to understand c!Dream and a lack of willingness to try on the part of the others. Because as an autistic person I am often the one without the information to realize that something has gone wrong. I may not recognize when I’ve broken an unspoken rule or when I’ve failed to communicate properly. But even if I did the other people have to be willing to hear me out in the first place and understand my actual intention.

With that in mind, it does go back to the very beginning. I challenge you to watch the early streams (especially when c!Wilbur gets involved) and see c!Dream struggle to be heard and get his viewpoint across. The founding of L’manberg? Make no mistake it was in large part due to declaring c!Dream the unfair tyrant and villain. And it was easy for them to do so because a) c!Dream is at a disadvantage to communicate the latter. - And it’s not for a lack of trying. Because he does try, he pulls out dictionaries, he pulls out former events, he tries so hard to get them to hear him, but time and time again they miss it. And make no mistake that is on them, as you said they are to blame here. -

And, b) because c!Dream is different that spurs people to think he is wrong, often more subconsciously. (I’m not going to get into too much more detail on this point as this is already so long and I meant for it to be shorter…. oops. So I am aware this is overly simplified and likely poorly worded, but I'll try and cover it more in the essay.) But yes not only is miscommunication and the misunderstanding at play but also misunderstanding in relation to their perception of each other. Both their misconceptions about c!Dream - taking c!Tommy and c!Wilbur’s words at face value, making poor assumptions about him, and fearing/hating what they don’t quite understand - and his poor assumptions about them (don’t even get me started on c!Sam…), often stemming from their brains being literally different.

[smoshsfavoritepizzaplace]

You asked about first Shourtney shipping moments. This is gonna be a long answer but hopefully it's an interesting read.

I started my Smosh journey with Games videos from 2022-2023 and immediately sensed that Shayne and Courtney have an interesting bond. Initially, I thought that Shayne was secretly crushing on Courtney (but tried to keep things professional) whereas Courtney was acting flirty with everyone. I also noted that they would be cute together but didn't think too much of it.

It was actually the comment sections that made me more interested in their dynamic since fans had so many different views of them. Many commented on their "sibling energy" or admired their friendship but some were convinced that they were not in good terms anymore. And obv there were a lot of shipping comments as well but those were often ridiculed or viewed negatively. As a new fan, I felt confused 'cause I've never encountered so many contradicting descriptions of an onscreen duo. I also found it weird how some fans were trying to deny any romantic tension between them when it seemed pretty clear to me that they were not acting 100 % platonic with each other.

So I'd say that I became interested in their dynamic almost right away but it was Shayne Interviews His Exes (nro 1) where I became much more sceptical that they would be just friends. Shayne seemed weirdly shy when Courtney walked in, and Courtney had a very loving gaze when they played the "shouting" audio and Shayne was cry laughing. It just didn't seem like normal friend behavior to me.

Also, Courtney basically buried Shayne's head in her boobs which like... idk. At that point it seemed like something other Smosh members wouldn't do to each other. (My views have changed a bit once I started to know Amanda and Chance better...)

A long-winded answer but I don't know how to explain this more shortly! It was more of a process than an immediate thought to me.

Don’t worry about sending long asks in, I enjoy reading all of them and this one especially. Aside from 2019, I think 2022-23 had some of the most interesting yet very telling shourtney moments imo. Shippers have gotten a lot of flak/criticism in the past and some even now, there were so many people who really believed we ruined Courtney and Shayne’s friendship. Meanwhile, they were dating/engaged most of the time that was being said. I’ve also seen a bit of people say that since Courtney was considering leaving smosh at one point, her and Shayne started letting loose more in videos and presumably when she finally decided to stay, they cut back a bit. I guess they thought that bc if Courtney actually left, they wouldn’t have to deal with the pressures of being public while still being in videos together.

You also said that you started noticing a shift in the Shayne’s exes, don’t forget Keith switched his wig around and mentioned that Shayne liked blondes better. When I first watched that video, my mind couldn’t not think of Courtney, especially because her character was in the next clip I think. I feel like you’re the first person I’ve seen actually say that was the video that made you a shipper. I don’t think I have seen anyone say/write that before.

But yeah, all the people that said Shayne and Courtney have sibling energy, I wonder where they are now. This may be a controversial take but a part of me feels like calling two friends sibling like is a little weirder than shipping. Of course it depends on the duo and what they’re comfortable w/ but I think Courtney has said she feels weirded out by that and not shipping (as long as it’s boundary respecting).

[lunar-years]

You're a sweet angel for tackling my RKJ reclist ask! I think reading what you said (and izzyspussy's addition about their ideas and what they put in their fic) helped me to clarify what I actually feel. Which it turns out is not so much that the fight itself was my problem, it was more that the fight and aftermath seemed to represent a narrative door-closing that I didn't expect the finale to have - like for me it rewrote this new interpretation of all of canon. It's as if the writers final intention was to say that that they (in particular Roy and Keeley I think in this case) were just fundamentally incompatible, and that everything the show has done with them so far was the story of a doomed trainwreck, that they were always messing it up, all along, and that this was never a relationship that was meant to work out? If that makes sense to you? (I know you don't AGREE, but hopefully the point I'm making makes sense?) That's what it's hard for me to find my way back from, and it's easy for me to end up leaning into it because in retrospect most of their s2 stories are quite fucked up, let alone s3 things. So I think the RK element is actually the toughest factor for me. I also really didn't read Keeley as interested in Roy during 3.11 or the start of 3.12 - it always felt to me like she was going to turn Roy down in Jamie’s room and wasn't happy with how he kept trying to make a move, and she seemed much happier when Jamie was in the mix. And that Roy's comment to Jamie about how he and Keeley were probably getting back together was like... deluded? So I'm definitely interested in the idea of the Jamie and Keeley getting back together first, with Roy having more work to do, so will check that one out first. But yeah, I think your post has made me realize that what my issue is, it's that we've basically got these people who we want to be together and then the show's final takeaway was that actually, we spent 3 seasons watching them basically being in a bad, dysfunctional relationship or ex-relationship. So while I definitely don't vibe with sweeping the fight under the rug exactly, what I actually don't vibe with is the idea of them getting together without tearing their issues apart and putting the relationship back together in a totally new way. Hopefully some of the fics do the trick communication wise. I really appreciate the reclist and the attempt to understand my ask, and I appreciate the additions of the sort of looser options in the hopes that once im sold on it again, I might enjoy some easier-to-please fun stuff! I really hope to read them all, that was a nice idea!

I do agree with you on some of this in the sense that yeah I do think roykeeley was written with the eventual plan to break them up (esp in s2, but obvs there is the parallel moment of their s1 encounter in the car park to Ted and Michelle calling it quits that in hindsight reads as Big Foreshadowing, so maybe it truly was always the intention from the go). And I do agree that their s2 storyline revealed a lot of deeply rooted issues in their relationship (mutual insecurities, bad communication, both of them feeling very adrift in multiple aspects of their lives). I also agree with you that the writers were intending to show Keeley was never going to take him back in Mom City (it's def very clear she was going to turn him down before Jamie walked in), as well as her deliberately steering clear of him in 3x12 to avoid having to have that conversation. Because of all of that I do think she's not interested in getting back together with him at the time we leave her, but I think where I interpret it differently is that I don't see that as meaning she's no longer interested in him. I read her avoidance of him/her shutting him down as more based in confusion and uncertainty than lack of love/interest. And because of that, I see the finale/ending as being totally ambiguous/open-ended in terms of the future of their relationship, as opposed to shutting the door on them entirely.

I think Roy obviously needs to put more work in to gain the communication skills and self-confidence necessary to make that relationship successful, but I also think s3 gave us a great Roy arc culminating with him opening himself up to that growth. He's made the decision to go to therapy, he understands more about who he is and what he wants (the fight being a definite setback, of course, but also the thing that prompts him to take the leap to therapy). It's not perfect, he's sort of stumbling his way along, but he is at least in the right headspace now to put in the work.

And I think in part...that scares Keeley? Like, whereas Roy develops throughout s3 for the better, Keeley is totally floundering. Her s3 arc is one about being utterly lost in life, in her career and her relationships especially. When Jack asks her about ex assuming she means Jamie, Keeley is sort of hit by the realization that she hasn't had even a moment of sitting with any of her prior "failures" or endings before launching into the next thing. Of course she's not processed the end of her relationship with Roy... hell, she's not even processed the end of her relationship with Jamie! And then she launches right into the new thing with Jack anyway because it seems like too much to deal with.

However, by the end of s3 I believe she's at least grown aware that she's sort of trapped herself in this unhealthy cycle of serial monogamy and other patterns of behavior she's avoided addressing in herself because she knows they will be hard to break. There's the sort of pining moments she has over Jamie in s3 that to me are soooo "...what if?" coded, but then she also has so much left unresolved with Roy and is STILL unable to express what she needs and wants from him (as when they sleep together), and then she has the crash of the fallout with Jack, and I think she's come to the conclusion that she's a bit of a mess! Also, she sees that Jamie has changed, that Roy is in the process of change, and it sort of makes her feel like she's the one suddenly in last place. Like she put her all efforts into fixing other people and didn't realize she needed to fix herself, too. So in that sense, i think s3 leaves both her and Roy in a position where they want to do better by themselves first, with an underlying hope that they then may reconnect again in the future in a romantic sense.

I also think I'm maybe in the minority in that s2 made me incredibly ready for roykeeley to break up, because I thought they very much needed that to prompt some realizations about themselves. By mid-s3 I was also actively rooting for them not to be thrown back together at the end, because the slow pace of their individual growth meant that no way were they in a position to make their relationship a fresh success, yet (and actually, I hated how they wrote Keeley's s3 arc, and I think it was a strange choice to spiral her lower in the final season instead of giving her the sort of growth they gave to Roy, so that none of what I wrote about in the prior paragraph is explicitly stated for her. I think that self reflection is there at the end, but it's farrrrr too subtle). Ultimately though, I see all of that and the open-ended finale as MORE hopeful for the future possibility of ot3. They're going to do right for themselves, work to be the people they want to be for one another, finally have the conversations they NEED to have when they are both at last ready to have them, bring Jamie into the mix, as is needed (😁) and do a hell of a lot better when they try the relationship over again! That's the way I see it anyway, as incredibly hopeful and full of possibilities, not doomed.

Anyway, I'm sorry the finale ruined them for you :( For what it's worth, I think "we've got these people who we want to be together, and the show's final takeaway was that actually, we spent 3 seasons watching them basically being in a bad, dysfunctional relationship or ex-relationship," is too cynical! The show's final takeaway to me was that we can all strive to be better for one another and for ourselves. Obviously these three ARE totally dysfunctional at many points of the show (which to me is part of the fun) but they're also trying, and they also ultimately care so so deeply about each other, and that never goes away for any of them. Sure, there are a lot of moments when the RK (or the RJ, or the JK) relationship was bad. But there were also many moments where they were so beyond right for one another, too, moments where they were good. And the promise of the final barbecue scene for me is that there are going to be more of those sorts of moments for the three of them in the future than the bad ones. 💕

[themissingnumbers]

Hello again fellas :) It's about that time again. Just a heads up, I don't think this is going to be super long like all of my other yap sessions. This is just me rambling about that one riddle that Carrion made. (And dang are they good at what they do-)

So, imma just be upfront and say it—I'm bad at riddles and I'm stumped. I've been thinking about it, trying to pick it apart little by little whenever I've had some quiet/free time and I've got nothing. WELL- actually saying I have nothing would be a lie. I don't have anything concrete, but I do have a feeling. It makes me feel a feeling that I can't really put into words. Like, I THINK that I get what it's trying to say, but I'm not sure. It's the mental equivalent of having really bad eyesight and squinting to read a sign across the street, thinking you know what it says but not being sure because it's too blurry. (If that makes any sense at all-)

However! I can tell you guys about the vibes I get from it and what I've got so far! (I'm probably reading this riddle all wrong, but here goes-)

Now, it's probably just my brain being weird, but I get like... Religious vibes from this stuff. Like- Murder(Slaughtered), Betrayal(Poisoned), and Sanctification(Enshrined) are all things that happened in the Bible I think. I also kinda get Book of the Dead vibes from it a little bit. Okay, lemme explain this.

For that "Remember the thirds, all that went wrong" part of it just really made me think of the Egyptian Soul. Now, I'm not the most experienced or well-versed in this subject, but I will try my best to explain it in a way that makes sense. The Egyptian Soul is made up of three parts: the Ka (the life force/essence separated from the body at death), the Ba (the personality of the departed), and the Akh (the Immortal Spirit, reserved only for the few that were deserving of Maat Kheru). Maa/Maat Kheru is a phrase meaning "True of voice" or "Justified." It is involved in ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs, according to which the souls of the dead had to be judged morally righteous. Once the soul had passed the test, the Weighing of the Heart (which was deeply rooted in the Egyptian belief in immortality), they were judged to be Maat Kheru and were allowed into the afterlife. The phrase Maat Kheru was often used to denote a person who had died and become a god, and the Akh being the "transfigured spirit that survived death and mingled with gods." (God, I hope that all makes sense-) As for what went wrong: what didn't? Everything has gone bad for this man. He's been out of control since the moment he was born. He's not living—just alive. (On top of that, I'm pretty sure Arceus messed with this man's soul so, that too I guess-)

Anywho, uhhhh... this got long. Whoops- This entire thing could very much be me being too focused on the fact that at one point in the last Starry said that Fire could be seen as a Jesus Figure and be the source of heavy-handed metaphors, but I digress. Those are my thoughts for now. Hopefully, there's something good in there.

(Okay, I don't like to do this, but am I allowed to ask for a hint? Like, I'm usually against anything my brain considers a "freebie" but I am well and truly stuck on this. Hints have been allowed for other mysteries, but you didn't say if I could get hints for this one, so I just figured I'd ask. Alright, that's all. Have a good day/night y'all! :])

Referring to This Riddle

{Since it's my riddle, I don't mind clearing things up a little.}

{While I'm certainly a fan of the esoteric, I think you've gotten a little too narrow in trying to unravel it ^^}

{It's not a riddle with a specific answer, but rather serves as a sort of clue in the larger picture of things. I think to unwrap it properly, you just need to step back- Fire might be the focal point of the image, but as you pointed out in your previous analysis, there are others there too- both people, and objects.}

{All that to be said, your hint.} {The riddle is for the victims, not their executioner.}

[primamchorus]

Cordial Triangle

Being in Hammerhead never used to be such an uneasy thing for Primam. Though when the person who has her affections pines for one who, like he to her, does not seem to return them, it hurts to bear witness to. Perhaps a bit too much.

Word Count: 938

Notes: Written a little while ago as a response to my friend asking how a Primam and Cindy conversation would go regarding the demisexual/demiromantic pining from one, to the lack of attraction of the other asexual/aromantic.

Hammerhead was a quiet place at night. A boon considering its location. It was too far from any town or city to have the added benefit of the occasional Hunter. Thankfully the lights did well to stave off any threat of daemon attack. Primam was grateful she could spend the night in relative comfort after being on the road for far longer than had been comfortable for anyone.

Though…it was as much comfort as she could afford. Being back in Hammerhead made Primam just a little uneasy. Somewhat miffed, if all truths could be bared and on display.

But they could not.

"Heya, hun!" came the Leiden belle accent of Cindy. A voice that stuck much like honey;  just as sweet, too. "Pawpaw told me that y'all should be outta here in the mornin'. That car'a yours is purrin' somethin' sweet. Just a few adjustments, and she'll be right as rain."

"Oh...um..." Primam started. She lifted a hand, soon pointing her thumb back at Takka's Pit Stop. "I'll...pass the information to my brother. He's a bit more knowledgeable about the workings than me and probably has better questions than I do that he could shoot your way come morning."

Primam felt a lump forming in her throat. She had been at the table outside the RV to get away from the boys for the time being. Because being in Hammerhead and seeing the clear rebuffed affection Prompto had for Cindy made her...

"Let him down easy..." Primam’s words spilled forth before she realized what she had said. But now that they were out there, she curled her fingers into a fist on the table. She cursed herself for having a mouth that spoke before she had the mental fortitude to prevent herself.

"Let who down easy?" Cindy asked, a brow quirked with bemusement.

Shit...

The lump grew larger, threatening to choke her.

"P...Prompto..." Primam quietly replied. This sense of shame clawed at her...but why? "He...He's too good to be hurt like--" I have. "To be hurt by not having his feelings returned..."

Cindy's posture changed, her expression unreadable as she brought a hand to her chin. She contemplated Primam’s words before looking toward the diner. "Hun, I'll be honest... I never quite realized he liked me."

Cindy then walked forward -- skipped, really -- and knelt down to be eye level with Prim as she sat there. Placing a friendly hand on her knee, Cindy offered a reassuring smile. "But...I think you should tell 'im how ya feel. I don't reckon you'd go outta your way to ask me somethin' like that if ya didn't feel strongly for 'im."

Primam could feel her lips involuntarily curling and pursing into a tight line on her face as she furrowed her brow slightly. It felt…almost terrible to have her own feelings being seen like that. Primam had done her best all this time to keep them to herself. Even just one person knowing would have felt like an invasion of privacy. Not to mention she hated the idea of anyone even remotely thinking of telling Prompto at all.

“He’s…” Primam averted her gaze. “We’ve been friends for a long time. He’s…”

There were a number of little moments that stood out to Primam as she allowed her words to linger. How Prompto was the first person to ever compliment her hair. How he invited her out to the butterfly garden after exams to cheer her up and hopefully remove the stress she had piling on. How he offered to walk her home after she had been working extremely late one evening because he said he did not want her to be alone…

“He’s just the most considerate friend one could ask for,” Primam quietly finished. “He deserves everything nice this star has to offer. I don’t want to see him hurt because that’s the last thing he deserves.”

“... Sugar, I don’t see why it seems you're thinkin’ that can’t be you.” Cindy rose back up to her feet, hands going to her hips. “But maybe ya don’t actually have feelin’s for ‘im. Still, it seems like you value ‘im more than words can express.”

Cindy looked back into the diner, and through the lit up windows, she saw Prompto talking with Tandem and Ros. They were laughing over something, which had been a decent sight to see. Everything otherwise had been so somber since the nobles had come back without the king with them.

“He hasn’t said nor expressed anythin’ to me, though, hun…” Cindy finally said. “If he tries to confess or anythin’, I really ain’t all that interested. I got plenty more to worry about than enterin’ into any committed relationship. But I’ll keep what you said in mind and let ‘im down easy.”

For a moment, Primam looked confused. What did Cindy mean that Prompto had not expressed nor said anything to her? Every time Primam saw Prompto, it was clear as daylight how he pined for her and wanted so badly to tell her how he felt. Hearing Cindy say that…Primam wondered if it was the same with her and Prompto.

“I can tell ya got a lot on your mind, hun. I’ll leave you to it,” Cindy’s voice cut through the silence, as did the crunch of gravel underneath her boots as she turned to walk back to hers and Cid’s garage. She paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder, “Try not to dwell too hard on whatever’s eatin’ away at ya and get yourself a good night’s rest, ya hear?”

“Y-Yeah… I’ll…I’ll try…” Primam replied, her voice still small.

[thesoulspulse]

Owen's Timeline (Part 2 ~ Teenager)

I figured the perfect time to share this would be upon the completion of Nevermore so if you've already read Part 1 then this part of the timeline glosses over all the key events that took place during his time with Vlad. I'll leave a link though just in case you haven't or need to refresh your memory. After all, I mostly made this to keep track of all this information myself too!

Owen's Timeline (Teenager)

Owen's 16th Birthday – September 5th 2003 – Age 15-16

(Note: Danny is 14yrs old, aka this is when most of his timeline has already taken place even though the show came out on April 3rd 2004 which is usually the time period I use in my fanfics)

Nevermore's story begins towards the very end of the 3rd year he's been living at Mistveil.

Owen was still 15 when he met Vlad and right about to turn 16 in two weeks so that means it was sometime in August.

Vlad made it seem like he planned to become Owen's foster father right from the start after overshadowing the director.

Vlad brought Owen to Wisconsin the day after they met.

Owen is a Junior in High-school.

Necromancer's come of age at 16 and decide whether or not to retain their powers, but Owen doesn't have the option to refuse due to several important factors such as being a Revenant/Living Ghost which means he's someone who has been reincarnated.

Dani/Ellie has already been created as a clone of Danny at this point in the show's original timeline but the biggest difference in this alternate timeline is Vlad's upgraded mansion was never destroyed by the Guys in White so he doesn't end up becoming Amity Park's Mayor.

A boy named Tristan and his two unnamed friends were Owen's main bullies at Mistveil. (Note: I might give him a bigger role in the sequel, “Vestige”)

The night before they left Vlad saw Eris outside of Mistveil after returning Owen's file talking on the phone with someone, aka the council, about Owen not being there. Also, that same night Owen left her a voicemail since he didn't see her after school at all which is pretty unusual.

In exchange for Owen's cooperation Vlad offers to help him learn more about his powers and find out who was actually responsible for his parent's murder, by extension clearing their names so no one believes they went mad and died as the result of a failed family suicide.

Vlad revealed his secret to Owen prematurely once they made it to the mansion and Owen fainted after being reminded of the same dark aura he saw around them the night his parents were killed.

At dinner that night Owen explains the sort of negative feelings he senses coming from Vlad and admits he's afraid they'll discover his parents exist somewhere as ghosts after their violent demise.

Towards the end of their conversation Owen slips into a trance then collapses from his chair, clutching the area where his mother stabbed him 5 years ago. Eventually Vlad managed to help Owen come back to his senses, but unfortunately he had developed a dangerously high fever on top of everything else.

This fever is actually part of Owen's awakening as a fully fledged Necromancer which was rapidly approaching.

While they were talking Danny unexpectedly shows up in the lab too after seeing Owen on the news back in Amity Park, assuming he was just another clone like Dani/Ellie because of his mostly white hair.

Owen tried to convince Danny he wasn't a clone or anything despite being confused about what the hell those two were talking about but he started to feel dizzy from the fever again and Vlad made him lay down, coaxing Danny into continuing their talk outside so Owen could rest.

During Vlad and Danny's argument Owen began seeing blue butterflies in front of Vlad's ghost portal, another sign of his awakening, but then he's forced into another trance and abducted by Azrael/Kurst.

Owen wakes up in the woods near Vlad's mansion then is later rescued by Danny before falling from a cliff to escape the forest fire he unconsciously caused with one of his newly awakened powers.

Owen used to go camping with his parents and his dad taught him basic survival skills.

Vlad discovers after testing Owen's blood to find out the root cause of his fever -which by then had mysterious broken- that it has the same anti-ghost properties as Blood Blossoms.

Owen tells Vlad he's heard of them before since his mother used to sell their petals at her antique shop in Salem. Blood Blossoms were said to once grow around graveyards, burial sites, abandoned churches, and other hallowed ground or spiritually significant locations.

Vlad tells Owen he can't see the blue butterflies which is an important detail and then Owen tells him about what he remembered earlier during his first trance about the night of his parents murder, that whatever killed them actually wasn't a ghost, it was something darker. That's how they realize it was actually a Demon/Wraith.

Owen also tells Vlad about the cloaked figure he saw right before blacking out again down in the lab while he was off arguing with Danny outside. And in return -without exposing it was Eris he saw- Vlad tells Owen his transfer to Mistveil was done on purpose by a mysterious 3rd party who's very interested in his powers too but wanted to wait until they could prove he had them for sure.

Realizing Owen's probably still being watched somehow even though he's not at Mistveil Vlad confiscates his cell phone but promises to let Owen know if Eris calls him back since she hasn't contacted him since he left town.

Vlad starts training with Owen in the meantime to control his current set of powers better along with the new blue flame one while they wait to hear back from his contacts investigating the Wraith, the council, and everything else over the course of the next few days.

Skulker shows up during one of their training sessions so Owen hides while Vlad gets some important info out of him about Wraiths.

Owen starts sulking after Vlad treats him like a child so Vlad leaves him alone for a bit to check the security footage for any sign of that cloaked ghost Owen described. But when Vlad finds it the recording gets corrupted beyond repair, meaning it was sabotaged somehow.

Then it clicks that the cloaked figure is the same one from Owen's childhood drawings which were included in his personal file, in other words that ghost is actually Azrael/Kurst.

Vlad reminisces about how he bought some antique books a few years before meeting Owen, one of which turned out to be authentic and even had the same raven symbol on the front Owen had also drawn as a child. He realizes at that moment everything happening now is connected and Owen is in fact a Necromancer whose Grimoire he unknowingly bought long before they met.

Meanwhile Owen remembers the conversation he had with Azrael/Kurst just before setting the forest on fire.

Owen also finds out he can instinctively translate any dead language in his mind, including ghost languages.

After letting Owen spend some time mulling over the revelation of being a necromancer that's also being targeted by a mysterious cult as well as a soul-devouring Wraith Vlad calls Danny, offering him an temporary truce in return for help protecting Owen during the upcoming charity event when he'll be at his most vulnerable even with Vlad there.

Vlad also warns Danny about the existence of Wraith's in general, specifically the one who killed Owen's parents. Danny agrees to meet up with Vlad the next day to hash out the details.

That night Owen doesn't get much sleep and Vlad briefly visits the Ghost Zone. And the next morning Vlad lets Owen know Danny's coming over again to talk later. Then they spend most of the day in town shopping while Danny's at school.

When they return for lunch Owen asks to try unsealing the Grimoire again but then the doorbell rings and a mysterious woman is standing there holding the files Vlad hired a private investigator to bring him about Owen.

To be continued in Part 3...

[gryphonlover]

Whumptober 2023 Day 5

Prompt: debris

Victim: Warriors

Words: 1037

Notes: The Yiga discover terrorism. (They're not very good at it.)

That kind of dissociation is derealization. Things feel less real. It's trippy.

Warriors was pretty proud of Wild. Even though he couldn't stay in his own time for very long, he always made the most of the time that he was available, somehow finishing a week's worth or more of work in just a day. He had a sneaking suspicion that the Champion pulled more than a few all-nighters while they were in town, but as long as it didn't affect individual or team performance, he was willing to turn a blind eye.

It hadn't taken very long to clear out the monsters near Wild's hometown. The champion was itching to get back and catch up with Flora, and any sense of self-control that he had in his body had clearly been completely disregarded with the way that he threw himself into the fight.

Warriors couldn't even reprimand him because he'd come out the other side perfectly fine except for a blossoming bruise curled around his jaw, and to be honest, it wasn't worth pointing out. Especially since Wild had already gotten out his shield to surf the rest of the way down.

…maybe he shouldn't have bet against Flora being Wild's girlfriend. 

It didn't take very long to reach Hateno, and by the time they'd reached Wild's house (after several wrong turns), Flora and Wild were already deep in a rapid-fire conversation. Warriors, while not fluent in Sheikah, could understand just enough words to get the gist of what was going on.

Something shrine, something something castle ruins, something roads… construction talk. Great. 

Wild had a… tendency… to recruit "volunteers" to help with his construction projects. While it was very kind of him to help the citizens build things like schools and clinics, it also sucked up a lot of the Chain's time because none of them had any construction experience so they were always directed towards grunt work, like transporting large amounts of supplies and that sort of thing.

Warriors enjoyed helping, he really did, but this was not the kind of helping that he wanted to do. Ideally, he could work on something he actually had experience in, but no. He was forever doomed to dig ditches and carry lumber.

Once Wild had finished debriefing Flora and vice versa, he turned around excitedly. "Great news, guys!" 

Everyone groaned. Wild's idea of great news was noticeably skewed from what sane people would call great news. Except for Hyrule, but that kid was just weird all over.

Wild frowned at them disappointedly. Hyrule awkwardly gave him a smile and two thumbs up, then gestured for him to finish talking.

"Right, so, one of the shrines needs a little repair work because there was a bad storm that damaged a bunch of stuff recently. The townsfolk can't spare the time to do it themselves, so we're going to do it for them. It should be perfectly safe, but bring your sword just in case. There've been some Yiga sightings, but hopefully we can clear out any lurkers while we're working." 

"How is this great news?" Wind complained. "Ships are great news, cake is great news, repair work is <i>not</i> great news." 

Wild rolled his eyes. "Would you rather help lay the foundation for a house again?" 

That shut the younger hero up. The project had been a <i>disaster</i> and had been put on the "we will never speak of this again" list.

Wild collected all the things that he thought they'd need, switching out seemingly random items with Flora before pulling her close in a hug. Then he herded them down the road like a bunch of unruly cuccos in the direction of the shrine.

There would be no escape from their civic responsibilities as heroes today.

The shrine was, largely, in better condition than expected. There was some rubble inside, but most of the damage was restricted to a section of the wall that had been the victim of blunt force, cracking the shrine wide open like an egg.

Wild took it upon himself to double check the finer details of the shrine inside and replace anything that was missing or otherwise broken while the others rebuilt the wall and cleaned away the debris.

Wind was, rather comically trying to keep up with Twilight despite the major difference in their statures. If it hadn't been for his determined face, Warriors would have broke down laughing an hour ago. He might have murdered Ganon in almost-cold blood, but he was still young enough to struggle with lifting the bigger pieces of stone.

All in all, Warriors thought that it was going well.

And then it wasn't.

Wild disturbed a nest of Yiga that were hiding inside the shrine, and the assassins immediately attacked, using the current condition of the shrine to their advantage.

Warriors didn't even think about it, instinct taking over his mind. One second he was outside, ears twitching nervously, the next he was being crushed under stone, staring a baffled Yiga dead in the face.

There was only one left, the others having been taken out by a combination of Wild and their own trap. The anger-fueled adrenaline clouded his mind, and he growled. "You'd better hope I don't get back up, <i>traitor</i>." He hissed.

The Yiga didn't seem very impressed. Luckily for him, it didn't get a chance to attack, since the wall it was standing next to exploded, chunks of rock flying everywhere as a very, very pissed hero glared down at the Yiga holding a massive sword.

Time meant business.

The Yiga didn't last very long after that. Time made quick work of it before kneeling down to Warriors with an expression of concern that had him half convinced that he was back in the war again.

As the adrenaline faded, he could feel the dissociation creeping up as the pain grew. Maybe it partly had to do with bloodloss, because he was starting to get chilly, but he trusted his brothers enough that he discovered he didn't care enough to fight it. The world got fuzzy, and indistinct, his perception of reality sliding away, but that was fine. He trust his brothers. Everything would be okay when he came back to himself, so he let go.

[rouge-wolf]

A Forgotten Friend Sherlock x Fem Reader

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Dearmad Manor: Grand Saray, Cordona

7:56 pm

"I'm glad I didn't run into anyone. I truly needed a peaceful walk home to clear my head. I should check for mail, perhaps.... No. It's been ages. He wouldn't have sent a letter now, of all things." I mutter under my breath, walking to the mailbox; an idiotic sense of hope made itself known against my will. Slowly I open the lid, but nothing.

"Of course, I have taken care of any bills for the month, and I'm not exactly fully part of the 'in' crowd of Cordona except for the few art shows of Vogle's I attend. I shook my head at the memory of Vogle's last attempt to make me attend one of the parties he regularly attends, flicked in front of my eyes like a film. Unlocking the front door, I sigh and close my eyes as I lean against it, effectively shutting it and adding to my dramatics. 'I wonder what I should eat. What do I even have in the kitchen?' 

_____________________________________________________________

Il Palazzo del Lusso: Grand Saray, Cordona

7:40 pm 

Sherry finally made it down to the bar as I claimed our table. I wonder what she is up to. I don't think Sherry remembers her. Hell! he doesn't remember much from his time on Cordona, almost like that's the whole point of us being here, Jon. I roll my eyes at myself, something usually reserved for Mycroft and whenever Sherry is stupid. How long does it take to grab food? I had an entire introspection session.

I walked up to the bar with two platters of marlin ceviche for the taking, not that we needed two. One will suffice. 

"If seafood is not to your taste, everyone loves 'Benedict's Batch' - our poached eggs with a hollandaise sauce!" The bartender informs me. 

I got bored waiting at the table, so I looked around the foyer and found something quite intriguing. 

"Hey Sherry, just our luck!" I called, gaining his attention. 

"A medium? Jon, haven't we been through this already?"

"Come on! It's not like we got anything better to do!" 

After what I would call a masterpiece of convincing by yours truly, a rather intriguing character walks down the staircase. Hopefully, the table I found is still empty. 

"Excuse me, sir, but I believe Mr. Ghalichi is conducting a seance at the moment," I could care less about Mr. Ghalichi's scam. "Perhaps you would care to have your portrait drawn while you wait?" 

"Why?" Perhaps I could find some entertainment in a short conversation.

"Pardon me?"

"Why should I sit for a portrait?"

"I- Sir... It's art. It doesn't need a 'why.' It is its own justification." How dull.

"All things require justification, be they objects, systems, or beliefs."

"How about, 'art is the lens through which we see the truth of the world' ?" 

"That's backwards. Truth is not subjective and not complicated. It's just the truth - either it is or it isn't. You do not need a lens to see it, just an open mind." This artist is quite annoying but the most entertaining thing in the room.

"Ha. That seems rather close-minded. Truth, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So tell me, what do you see?" He holds out the sketch he has been working on. 

"Mediocrity," I respond, and the artist finally walks off.

"Come now, Sherry, what did he do to deserve that? The servant mentioned Ceviche at the bar, Sherry. You should grab us some, and I'll find us a table. I'm starving." I say, heading toward the table I claimed earlier as Sherry went to the bar.

I could feel my eyes roll at Jon. I had tried to grab a platter earlier, only to have him call me to that sign advertising a seance. I grabbed a platter, "Okay, time to check if Jon found us a nice table for the evening." I found Jon at a table with a cane lying on it.

"Sherry! I'm over here with my new ursine companion." I look at Jon.

"What are you waiting for? Put the dish down so we can tuck in!" Setting the dish down, I sit down in the plush chair.

"Cordona is even quieter than I remembered. It's going to be a long evening."

"Come now, Sherry. What say we amuse ourselves with a little game?"

"What were you thinking? Promise me it isn't nonsense- after being cooped up on that boat, I am itching for activity."

"No! As you can see, someone left a cane on our table. I simply thought you could identify its owner."

"Ugh, so it is nonsense. It will take me a minute, Jon, at most!"

"Well then, you can deliver it to him as well."

"Deliver it to him? Then what are the staff here for? Aesthetics?!"

"Stubborn, Sherry! Too stubborn! You wanted something to do." 'It makes me wonder how she put up with him; me a perfect angel.'

"Slapping oneself in the face is also 'something to do' That doesn't make it worthwhile! But all right, let me take a look."

I spare a glance at Jon before starting this arduous task.

"No matter how long you stare at the stick, it's not going to walk itself to its owner."

"The handgrip is a head of a golden Javanese statue, probably stolen from a temple. The dents suggest it has been used as a bludgeon. A crest depicting a bulb of garlic in a meadow. Perhaps the Fielding family or Meadows? Or Craven from the old English name meaning 'garlic place'? The cane is made of Ebony. It is worn, uncared for, and bears the scars of numerous hits. This cane is an expensive and ostentatious weapon. Its owner must be vain, volatile, and of noble English blood."

"Take it with you, Sherry! Let's return it to its owner."

I pick up the cane time to find its owner.

"All right, I hope you noted down your observations in your casebook. But how are you going to find this nobleman?"

"The cane itself is not enough. I may have to ask other guests if they saw who was here." I inform and begin to look for someone to ask.

_____________________________________________________________

Kitchen: Dearmad Manor 

8:00 pm 

The market is definitely on the docket for tomorrow. All I could find was a bit of sausage and two eggs. Dinner now decided, I quickly prepare it. "Hmm, I wonder what they're up to right now. Probably on a case." Putting my now-cooked food on a plate, I sat at the empty kitchen table and ate. I must have gotten lost in thought as I looked at the clock to see it was now 8:33. Picking up my plate and fork, I added them to the dishes I needed to clean.

"To clean or not to clean, that is the question." I stared at the dishes; maybe they would clean themselves…. "To clean is sadly the answer." I made quick work of the dishes. Now to get washed up and ready for bed.

With the bath filled with hot water and some rose oil, I slip out of my dress and undergarments and sink into the steaming water feeling my muscles instantly relax. Leaning my head back, I let my thoughts take over my mind once again. What would life be like with them here? More specifically, if he were here. I am certain of that, but would it have been possible for something more to have occurred? Lord knows his elder brother would protest it, saying such things are trivial for people like them. It is funny since they are only here due to their parent's love.

I slid down the tub till my head was submerged getting up after a moment. I grabbed my soap, lathering it in my hands before lathering it on my scalp rinsing it out a minute or two later. Grabbing my soap and a cloth, I quickly cleaned my body as the bath slowly lost its warmth. I got out of the tub, and pulled out the stopper, allowing the water to drain. Grabbing a fluffy towel, I dried myself off and slipped into one of my favorite nightgowns. As I lie in bed, I wonder what my dreams will show me. Maybe I will see my friends and go on an exciting adventure! I don't' even know when my eyelids finally shut.

_____________________________________________________________

Il Palazzo del Lusso: Grand Saray, Cordona

7:55 pm 

I approached an older lady by the bar. 

"Could you help me?"

"Of course. Stop me when you've heard enough." 

After conversing with her, I found out that there were three people at the table- a couple and a retired Navy officer. Observers weren't sure what happened to the couple, but the Navy officer was seen going out to the front garden for some air. I have to find him. 

"Well, even with your keen senses, Sherry, I doubt you'll find the cane's owner on your first try." Jon quipped as I made my way through to the front garden. 

"Ha! And would you be confident enough to bet on it, my friend?"

"Why not! Let's see how good you really are!" Now I must get this right can't let Jon have something to hold over me.

Once I entered the front garden, I gave a brief deduction of the people; to the right, by the gate, an affable Swedish artist who owns a pug; By the main walkway of the garden next to a lamp post, an affable Irish singer with seasonal allergies accompanied by an affable Irish diplomat with an allergy to seafood. So far not even close to who I'm looking for. Next was a Cordonian adventure, who was dehydrated and sympathetic. Then among a group of three men was a friendly Swedish secretary with back pains, a friendly French pharmacist suffering from cirrhosis, and an affable Swedish engineer that is a retired military officer. This is the man I was looking for. I asked him about the can and the couple he accompanied earlier that evening. 

The Navy officer, Mr. Rhodes, was sitting at our table with the noble couple. The men talked about yachting, and the lady was fidgeting with the cane. Perhaps she put it aside, and her husband forgot to take it when they went to meet the medium.

"Hey, Sherry, don't we now have the perfect excuse to visit the seance?"

"I'm just going to give the cane to its owner. You will not persuade me to take part in this show."

I head over to the seance room.

"Come on, if you hurry, perhaps we'll see the ghost!"

Jon started to play the piano to intensify the mood. I open the door to see a fight between the nobleman I was looking for, the medium, and a hotel staff member.

"This hotel, this island… it's full of thieves! First my cane, now my diamond! Take your hands off me! Do you even know who I am?"

I smacked the cane down onto my hand, and Jon finished his song. That seemed to get their attention.

"Hey, boy, that's my cane!"

"I get that a lot. It's a very common design."

"What…!? No, that's a custom-made-" "A joke, a joke," I cut him off, "It was left at my table in the restaurant. I thought it deserved to be returned." I handed him the cane.

"Well, I'll be- it is rare to encounter a straight-fingered truepenny these days! What a fine gentleman! But I must ask… how did you know I was the rightful owner?"

I deduce Lord Craven swiftly to the conclusion that he is a bored British nobleman.

"Simple deduction. Your cane told me everything I needed to know. I was after a strong middle-aged man, with a keen interest in adventure, noble blood, and affection for strong drinks. And if one were to go further, one may even be able to extrapolate your name from your heraldic symbol… Lord Craven."

"Marvelous! Simply Marvellous! That's me, Lord Andrew Craven! You are the real medium! You hear that, Emma?" He looks at the woman lying on the couch and then back at me.

"Well, you found my cane… perhaps you can locate my diamond too! Yes, you should do it. It will be child's play for you, mister…"

"Holmes. And if a child can do it, then I'm sure the local police can suffice."

"The police!? Why bother? I know this harlequin stole it! The only question is where is it hidden." He turned and walked across the room from me. "Fine, give me my stick, and I'll resolve the matter myself! This thief almost confessed after a single punch."

"Hm. I suspect a beating may result in answers of… questionable veracity. Fine. I shall spare you and he the trouble, if you first answer me this. You insist the medium robbed you during the seance - but what occurred exactly?" Jon seems to be enjoying this as he watches from the corner.

"Bah, it was a dirty trick! We were sitting here in the dark, chanting and holding hands, as expected. Then something began to appear from the medium, like a cloud or a bubble. The swindler called it 'ectoplasm.'"

"Ah, yes. Common in the spiritualist trade. And quite the spectacle."

"Indeed - perhaps too much. My beloved Emma screamed in horror, and I stood to defend her, attacking that cursed ghost!"

"How brave." No sarcasm was noticeable in my voice.

"But my hand hit nothing! The medium jumped away from me, and Emma fainted. I lit the candle - and the diamond was gone!"

"How does a priceless diamond become the subject of a seance? It is an unusual accoutrement."

"Emma wished to speak with its former owners. My grandfather told us it belonged to a rajah- an Indian king."

"So you were summoning long-dead Indian royalty? And, pray tell, you were expecting him to converse in English?"

"To be frank, Mr. Holmes, I don't believe in ghosts. But Emma was fascinated by the idea of meeting a real king… even a dead one."

"Well, a crown is a crown. Can you describe the stone itself?"

"A yellow diamond, not less than a hundred carats, and perfectly egg-shaped. There is not another like it!"

"Stay here, and don't touch anything. I'm going to investigate further."

"Don't fret. I'll be keeping a close eye on this thief."

I started my investigation at the table where the diamond was seen last. In the center of the table, there was a holder for the diamond. A moth brooch was in the medium's coat and a splotch of green ectoplasm was on the table. The broken wine glace had traces of rouge in its edge and a half glass of Balblair scotch along with the remains of a Por Larranaga cigar.

I walked over to the hotel staff member, who thanked me for my help to resolve the situation. Just past him and the doors to another area, a nearly broken hefty chair.

"Is it even possible for one man to lift it?"

Lord Craven suddenly spoke, "At Cambridge, I was captain of the rugby team. It was no place for weaklings."

Time to talk to the medium.

"What happened here?"

"I don't know! The ghost… I summoned it as usual, but then it all went wrong. The lady screamed and pointed at Lord Craven… And there was a shadow! Such a mystical force! It terrified the lady. And it must have taken the diamond - who else could have?"

"Do you feel the presence of any supernatural entities at the moment?"

"Are you joking, sir? My nose is broken, this maniac wants to kill me, and you're asking about the spirits?"

"I suppose this can wait. I will investigate, and the culprit will be identified."

"But this stubborn brute, Lord Craven, blames me right now! As if I could do something like that! Perhaps you can reason with him? Please!"

"Seems like you are ready to delve into your mind palace, Sherry. I'm sure you'll make some good deductions!"

I'll enter my mind palace after I've looked around some more.

"Was this covered on purpose?"

"Of course!" The medium answered, "It is very dangerous to leave a mirror exposed during a seance! The spirits may become enraged.

"Or someone may notice the trick they should not see…" I muttered.

Next to the mirror were skulls littered on a shelf, three human and one animal with a candle.

"How can you not love this stuff, Sherry!? It adds so much atmosphere to the room!"

I looked at Emma on the couch. Her skin was pale, quickened pulse and unsteady breathing.

"She's barely conscious. Bah, the feebleness of women."

"Really, Sherry? Poor thing." Although it was Jon that scolded him, he could almost hear another voice, a more feminine one say it to him. 'How odd.'

_____________________________________________________________

AN: So much dialogue in this game, but I rather keep the majority of the dialogue the same when I can and when I feel up to typing it all out... Probably a few more chapters still till Sherry and y/n meet again. Lowkey forgot how much happened before the case I want to use to reintroduce our childhood friends. If you spot nay mistakes or have any ideas on how I can improve please let me know!

Chapter 3

[akwardlyuncool]

Class Favorites: Shows I Finished and Shows I Didn't, But I'm Ranking Them Altogether.

1) Good Trouble Season 5 Part 1?

I remember, not much, about this season but I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it while it was on. I do remember though that due to the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA stikes that took place for several months in 2023, Good Trouble went on a bit of a hiatus and we didn't know if it was coming back or not. I also remember that it was getting really good right before the strike and I was upset because of timing.

To note: I support the unions and strikes in general, I was just in my feelings cause of timing, but that lasted all of like 2 seconds cause I cared more about them getting paid fairly and not being screwed over by The Man lol. Just to be clear.

Anyway this is MY show and although it was forever ago that I watched it, I don't doubt my choice in putting it at the top. That being said the rest of season 5, otherwise known as the final season 😭 just premiered last week, so hopefully the questions I think I have will be answered and I'll leave the series feeling good. I still haven't put it on though, cause I'm not ready 😭 lol.

2) The Good Doctor Seasons 1-5 ish

This was a binge I started, but haven't finished quite yet, so I won't give my full, full opinion, but I can say that I like it. I think I just wanted something new (to me) and everything I was currently watching I had put on hold. And not to compare the two at all, but I haven't picked Grey's back up yet, and since it's been some years at this point I've probably been wanted a medical drama to fill that void. There were parts of The Good Doctor that didn't give me the full punch that I usually get from these shows, most likely because of how I was binging it but it was still solid and I do recommend. Also Freddie Highmore, enough said.

Side Note: I can't say whether it's good or acceptable Autism representation or not, so if you want that information, seek elsewhere.

3) The Best Man: The Final Chapters

This series for those who don't know is what happened after the 1999 and 2013 Best Man films, essentially following these characters to the "end." In 2022 I did Peacock's Black Friday deal just so I could watch this show. The original Best Man is a favorite of mine and I was excited to see them bring it back. Obviously not without reservations, but excited nonetheless.

I watched this one with my Father and we had a good time. It was fun and messy and the endings made sense. We laughed and maybe wanted to cry a little bit. Quentin (Terrence Howard) was the class favorite for sure. He brought the laughs and the tears. Now it getting the 3rd sport is mainly because of it's shortcomings.

The series tried way harder than it needed to, to show that it was/is progressive. I'm not saying don't join the times, but can you just be natural? In some places it wanted to rise above the fight and in others it wanted to drive the point home. Like I said, it was good, but it featured a common pitfall that hurts a lot of shows these days. They're just "making sure you know" but doing it in a way that feels a little forced. To note, I don't mean this in an "everything is woke nowadays" kind of way, just that I think there are better ways to talk about these things, to where it actually feels genuine.

I recommend the show to anyone that saw the original movies, simply because that's where the entire story comes from and the history of why the characters behave the way that they do is formed. You can still watch if you missed the movies, it just wouldn't be as good without them. That being said, if you have seen the show and want a more spoiler involved detailed review, let me know cause I'm down to talk about all of the characters and get a little deep on em.

4) Paradise City Seasons 1+2 (Sumerian Records)

Paradise City is the series follow-up the film American Satan. (I talked about the movie in my movie ranking for 2023, so look for that there.) The Relentless band has been on a break since reaching peak stardom, after their lead singer got some jail time and was going through drug addiction. Simon (Cameron Boyce) is a "kid" in a band who looks up to The Relentless and is trying make it just like they did.

If you read my review of the movie, you'd know I didn't think it was good, however although I would not give it shining stars, the show was better. I think Paradise City was actually attempting to say something where the movie just didn't or failed if they were even trying. Still a mess, but Cameron Boyce really did carry this thing, along with Mark Boone Junior. Andy Biersack did better here, but his singing voice was still dubbed and I rolled my eyes at some of his scenes, especially with Bella Thorne, but I already wasn't a big fan of the Lilly Mayflower character to begin with. PS: Good Trouble Fans, Booboo Stewart plays in this one as well and he's one of the least offensive characters, so that's a win lol.

Personally the show kept me watching and I was more invested in it than I was in the movie. I don't know that I would recommend this to the audience I'm sure it was trying to target, because of the whole franchise's problematic nature, but I'm sure they've probably already seen it, so it doesn't matter. And for those who haven't or are just curious, watch at your own discretion.

.

.

Where's Riverdale?: I was gonna talk about the few episodes of this last season of Riverdale that I did see cause I do remember them being fairly decent at the time of watching, but I didn't get very far and thought I'd either save my thoughts for a separate series ending post or 2024's ranking. So I did start this last season, the tab's probably still up in one of the 6 browsers windows I have in my doc-bar right now, but it's been months so I thought I'd be a little more fair to it, seeing that it is the last season.

[rollercoasterwords]

hi don't mean to overwhelm you (or even criticize you personally at all, i appreciate you contributing to the conversation and i'm doing the same) but i think what some people are getting at when we talk about talking publicly about racism in fics is that when it exists in fandom, it ostracizes us from the fandom. and while i do think fandom is a community, it's not (to me at least) a community that supersedes my ethnic/racial communities. preserving a positive fandom space will ultimately be less important to me than criticizing racism. and... to be honest, sometimes i (and a lot of poc) are just seeking to criticize, not educate. dealing with racism is quite literally exhausting and preserving the feelings of those who perpetuate it (even unintentionally!) can be even more exhausting. but like, also, i generally agree with you that most criticisms of bigotry in fics are not always in good faith and like verbally attacking (or the internet equivalent) a fic author doesn't really achieve much. but i do think a lot of us are frustrated, especially in predominantly white fandom spaces, at ignorance constantly being used as a fallback for reprehensible behavior. lmao anyway i'm so not trying to say that You specifically have to have the answer to this--like i don't think anyone has one answer, but i just thought i'd pop in and give my two cents

no worries! i appreciate the conversation.

i get what you mean about feeling ostracized from fandom and how you're not necessarily going to feel like you're in community with a group if they aren't first treating you as like. a member of that community. i've been discussing all this under the premise that the goal is to educate, and so what i've been saying has been centered around what i think is gonna be most effective assuming that goal--obviously, being frustrated with racism + just needing an outlet to criticize is a different situation.

and like...yeah i definitely don't have a perfect answer lol. hopefully i've made it clear in the past couple asks i've answered, but to reiterate: i think it's understandable + valid to just get frustrated when people's ignorance is hurtful. like, regardless of whether it's intentional or ignorant, it still hurts, and i'm not trying to diminish that fact in any way. the point i was making in highlighting the difference between intent + ignorance is just that there's going to be a difference in opportunity for education there--an ignorant person can be educated, an intentionally hateful person usually can't. that doesn't mean it's anyone's job to take on the burden of that education, just that it is a potential avenue to try and fix some of these issues when they do arise. and like i said with the whole two-way street thing, i think this sort of communication is just as dependent on people being called out not falling back on their ignorance as an excuse, even if it's an explanation for why they said/wrote/did whatever.

i think something that might be getting lost in translation slightly with the original post is that like. it was more of a "stop being dicks on the internet" and less "here's a step by step guide on how to address systemic issues like racism," y'know? like, to the extent that i did speak about more serious issues and suggest going to the person first, where i was coming from was anticipating the response from someone who might say "well sometimes there's a valid need to critique fics bc they perpetuate harmful rhetoric!" and going "ok sure if your goal here is to address the harmful rhetoric. then here's how best to do that." and i intentionally included that if going to the fic writer first didn't work then yeah i think it makes sense to post about it publicly, but if the goal is to productively address harmful rhetoric then not in a way that's in bad faith, y'know? in light of the conversation today if i were to remake that post i might modify my language slightly to clarify that going to the fic writer first is not going to be the absolute best option for everybody in 100% of cases, but again, this whole conversation today has not really been the thing that i was trying to address with that post.

so like, if we're looking at things outside that premise of "the goal here is to educate" then. yeah. i mean there's no 100% perfect answer. people getting frustrated with racism and wanting to criticize + vent makes sense, and i do think that the burden in those instances is on the people being critiqued to not immediately get defensive--because getting defensive just creates more frustration, and makes people less likely to go directly to fic writers with issues rather than posting about it publicly, and then the cycle continues, etc. etc. if we want fandom spaces to be a community, then it's not just a situation of "some people are ignorant + others have to educate them"--it's a situation where we should all be trying to educate ourselves independently, while also understanding that none of us are going to get everything perfect + assuming the best in those who do call us out when we fuck up (as in, that they have a valid issue they're bringing to the table and are not just here to humiliate us) while also assuming the best of those we're calling out (as in, they made a mistake out of ignorance and would be open to correcting it if educated). obviously, this is not an ideal world and fandom spaces are not always 100% going to be happy perfect little communities where everyone has the best intentions, and sometimes it is just really fucking frustrating + alienating to see the shit people say. unfortunately i don't have an answer for what the Right or Best thing to do is in those instances; it's gonna be up to each person how they approach + handle it and whether they feel it's possible for them to treat a space like a community if they don't feel they're receiving that same treatment in return.

anyway, i appreciate your two cents! thanks for taking the time to share <3

[shaunsummers]

Tek's Birthday!

"Dude...you're serious?" Rebel's smile only widens at all this suddenly being placed in her lap. It was also just delightful to hear Tek talk about anything nerdy; whether a short burst or full on tangent. Even if she didn't understand what every word meant. "Yeah, fuck it. Let's do it!" Like there was a reason not to at this point. Tek was confident in being able to handle the computer stuff that Rebel surely couldn't touch even if she tried; and she had. It made her feel like her head was going to explode.

"You're giving them far too much credit." Lilith asserts, idly draining the hot water into the sink. The wild parties of the past, oh, she remembered well. Chances were high for a fight, some slutty pair hooking up, something getting broken, etc. She was willing to put money on it. Actually, that was a great idea. "...I have a thought." Placing the pot aside, Lilith leans back against the counter as she taps her chin with the tip of her finger. "Why don't we place bets?"

While the change of subject was welcomed and relieving, Siren didn't want to end their impromptu conversation on an awkward note. In the background, however, she was still trying to process Beatrix's words. Shaun was only fifteen or sixteen when her and Ash were together, very young to go through anything she, herself, just walked out of. The fighting, manipulation, the constant need for dominance. Siren wasn't aware of her age, either, until they lived together. There was...one hell of a gap between those two. Thinking about it again now, with a sense of sobriety and distance, it curled at her stomach.

"You're offering your boob blunt?" Discarding the potential mind trap in earnest, Siren flashes her a smile in humor. "I'm honored." Still, she was already holding her pen but decides to have a small hit as an appetizer for what was surely a heavily packed joint. "So, how has the life of Beatrix been since graduating?" Steering the topic in a completely different direction was an easy choice. One that would hopefully clear the stiff air between them. Though, she was genuinely curious about her in general.

-------------------

"Of course I'm serious! I'm kinda surprised you haven't done it already!" Tek beams warmly, eagerly soaking in her excitement. "It may take me a minute to figure out how to set it up, but I can't start throwing your name around until school starts again, anyways! I'm sure the syntax is a bit different since it's coding visuals rather than physical output on a circuit board, but I'm sure it's gotta be similar. Just a sequence of formulas chaining together to do a thing, so if I figure out what those are, I can start slapping them together. And I'm sure existing code is out there somewhere, so I might not even have to do most of it from scratch, anyways..."

Tek finally surfaces from her brain vomit, catching a flash of Rebel's slightly glazed and confused look, and laughs bashfully. "...I'll figure it out. But yeah, I'm in!" She felt the sudden urge to hug Rebel in her enthusiasm. What was this, a quasi-business partnership? Of sorts? A handshake seemed gauche, at least for them. Meh, I'm doin' it! Tek leans forward with a big smile, scooping her close for a big squeeze. "It's a deal!"

"Bets?" Shaun laughs, folding her arms in curiosity. "On what, exactly?"

Quinn could already see where this was going, and hell yeah she wanted to be involved. "Like a fantasy football thing? Betting Kevin McHuge Pecs runs 300 yards? But instead, like, Rebel's slutty ass makes out with 3 people or Devin punches someone in the boob?"

"Take it while it's hot." Relaxing under the mitigated tension, Beatrix wastes no time striking the end of the blunt and letting that whole subject pass. "If your tolerance is low, be careful. I do not pack these lightly." She cricks a smile, the smell easily and strongly choking the patio air.

"I'm still living with my dad, but I go to Commonwealth in Richmond. In the business program. I hate it, but if we have to live in a capitalist shithole, I want a decent piece of the power." Beatrix exhales in humor, taking a hit of the sneaky cigar before passing it along. "Most of my classes are online, so I only go in two days a week. And on weekends, if I don't work. I do burlesque at Fallout. It's fun, and a little extra money since I'm only part time."