#i am having Thoughts and Feelings that must be contained for the sake of my digital footprint

[litany-writes]

ouuuurgrhrggrhhhhr (curls up on the floor an ddies)

[the-fiction-witch]

Little Bump

Media - House Of The Dragon Character - Jacaerys Velaryon Couple - Jacaerys X Reader Reader - Y/n Velaryon (Pregnant Wife) Rating - Sweet AF Word Count - 2288

Jace stood over the painted table in the great hall of Dragonstone he was going over his high valerian his mother had been assisting but she had been called away for other business leaving him alone at the large painted table featuring the map of Westeros. The sound of tender steps breaks him from his concentration and when he looks up he sees a beautiful sight that fills him with joy

About halfway down the steps to the hall, walks Lady Y/n, his wife. She wears a gown of blue velvet with black and silver details the colours of his house name Verlaryon. Her hair pushed back with a blue ribbon across the top of her head like a hairband, she's barefoot as she waddles slowly her hands on her baby bump "I'm not... Interrupting, am I?" She gasps in the middle as she gets her breath from the stairs

Jacaerys quickly hurries to her. “Y/n, my love!” He kisses her gently on the forehead, then moves a loose strand of his wife's hair out of her face. “How has your day been, beloved?” He brushes her soft curls back from her cheek.

"it's been slow, getting to the kitchens takes me half an hour these days" she chuckled as he helped her to the fireplace

“I can imagine. You are carrying our child, after all.” He places a hand protectively on the small swell of her abdomen. “Are you feeling well?”

"he's kicking away again. Always kicking."

“Ah, our son.” Jacaerys smiles at the thought of the new life growing in her womb. “I cannot wait to hold him in my arms.”

"I'm sure you can't, I cannot wait to see my feet again" she joked

Jacaerys laughs and sits down beside his wife. “I wish I could relieve your burden of pregnancy, however. For your sake more than my own.”

"I know you do" she smiled stroking his cheek "Remind me, to avoid your mother from now on"

Jacaerys chuckles and sighs. “My mother cares very much for you, but she can be... difficult.”

"she simply wishes to tell me stories, and her tales bring me little comfort. Of the pain. Of the stress. Of the loss. The injuries. I think she thinks she's helping... Honestly, she's just scaring me."

Jacaerys nods sadly. “I know she means to reassure but…” He places a protective hand upon his wife's belly. “My Mother's words may be dark but they contain a kernel of truth. The birth... will likely be painful. It is a fact we must both accept.”

"yes however this is our first child, she could at least attempt to offer kind words of sympathy"

Jacaerys sighs, looking at her with concern. “Perhaps... but my mother doesn't quite understand. It is not her fault, love. She has experienced so much pain and loss in her own life that I do not truly think she knows how to offer comfort.”

"I guess not. I suppose it doesn't help... There are so few good birth stories in this family of yours"

Jacaerys nods silently. “You're quite right about that. It's almost as though the Gods themselves have cursed the women of my family…”

"well I pray to them daily. So we can hope they shall spare us from this curse"

Jacaerys smiles and kisses her on the cheek. “If anyone deserves to be spared, my love, it is you.”

"ummm I have been praying to all of them, the old gods, the new, the seven, the drowned, just to hedge my bets"

“My sweet wife…” He sighs happily and strokes her stomach softly, his free hand finding hers. “Perhaps you are right in doing so... We shall know soon enough, my love. Whatever the Gods' judgement may be.”

she nodded "Maester says Only a few more weeks at the most."

Jacaerys smiles as he feels his son kick through her stomach. He grows every day, “I'm sure. Can you feel how strong he is?” He squeezes her hand fondly.

"he's very strong, I think he shall like to ride and run when he has grown, a proper little knight"

Jacaerys nods, proudly. “My little prince. I cannot wait to see his first steps, hear his first words, ride his first horse... There is much to look forward to.” He smiles, feeling the kicks in her stomach and squeezing her hand again. He leans in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Have you thought of any ideas for names?"

Jacaerys considers for a moment before shaking his head. “No, not truly. I have a few ideas, but I want him to be strong and proud of his name. Perhaps a Targaryen name... A small smile creeps onto his face....Or perhaps a Valyrian one. What do you think, my love?”

"not Aegon. Already far too many aegons in this family to keep track"

Jacaerys laughs and nods. “Fair point, fair point.” He smiles at her, a little nervously. “What do you think of Aemond?”

"Isn't that the same as your... Uncle... Cousin... Alicent’s son" she says trying to explain the Damn family tree,

“Ah, yes.” Jacaerys laughs. “I suppose that name cannot work.” He squeezes her hand again, and thinks for a second. “What of... Daemon? A strong name, no?”

"the name of your stepfather?"

Jacaerys looks a little sheepish as Y/n brings that up. “I had... forgotten of that.” He chuckles, scratching the back of his head. “It's true, there are too many names to remember in this family. Perhaps... what of perhaps Corlys, after my grandfather?”

"hummm corlys I like. I don't dislike Daemon but... I feel it would inflate the ego of your stepfather to a whole uncontrollable level"

Jacaerys laughs and nods. “Good point.” He squeezes her hand once more, and leans in to kiss her on the cheeks. “No doubt of this, my sweetest Y/n: however our son is named, whatever his personality may turn out to be like... you shall always be the apple of my eye.” More small kicks erupt from her stomach, and Jace giggles as he feels them.

"... Ohh I had an idea,"

Jacaerys smiles widely and leans forward even more, ready to hear his love's thoughts on the matter. “What do you have in mind, my dear?”

"What about Cregan? You and him have been such good friends since you met all those years ago"

Jacaerys is taken aback by the idea but warms to it the longer he considers it. “Cregan... That is... not a bad idea, my love. A fine name, certainly... I suppose it would depend a little on the nature of our son, but I do like the notion.” He smiles, considering it as he feels another kick in her stomach and squeezes her hand.

"I rather like it, or we could always make him after your little brother" she said tenderly bringing up the topic as she knew the topic of Luke was difficult for Jace

Jacaerys smiles at her, taking in her idea with his eyes sparkling. “After my sweet brother Luke, you mean?” He nods as he realizes what a sweet idea this is. “I like this even better, my love. Luke was a fine boy, with so much potential. I would be honoured to have our son hold his name, with all the honuor and prestige that title carries.”

"It's settled then. Lucaerys Verlaryon shall be his name. If if course he is a he"

Jacaerys smiles widely, wrapping his arms around his wife's stomach as he feels another kick in her womb. “A fine name, my love. He laughs a little. I suppose we would need to think of another name for our daughter, then.” He squeezes her hands and rests his head upon her shoulder. “But that is a problem for another day. We shall first see the fruit of our love born, before we plan for another.”

"umm.. I rather have visions of me being pregnant again before even Lucaerys is walking"

Jacaerys smiles and chuckles silently. “My love, I suppose I should not complain about your enthusiasm for producing heirs…” He runs his hands over her stomach, then places his hands on her hips. “How soon after little Lucaerys are you thinking?”

"I don't know see how birth treats me first"

Jacaerys nods, rubbing his nose a little sheepishly as he realizes the stupidity of his previous question. “You are quite right, love. I cannot help but get ahead of myself. Our son's birth is far more a priority than his potential sibling.” He smiles and presses his cheek to her hip, squeezing her hand once more. “And yet, it is rather exciting, too. I'm quite interested to see you with child again.”

"humm I have a feeling I need to get very used to being pregnant. I think someone likes me pregnant " she smirked stroking jace’s hair

Jacaerys blushes at her words, looking up at her and laughing. “yes, I must admit, I... really, really like you pregnant.”

she chuckled "well I best not disappoint my husband. Perhaps we shall have ourselves a branch of the family tree with many leaves have ten children"

Jacaerys laughs again, a wide smile forming on his lips as he places his forehead upon hers, gently kissing her on the cheek. “Oh, my sweet, sweet, sweet love. Ten children?” He raises an eyebrow as he chuckles again. “If you and the Seven are up for that challenge, my love, I certainly am…” He squeezes her hand even tighter.

"I'm sure you are" she giggled giving him a kiss

Jacaerys smiles and runs a hand through her hair, kissing her on the forehead and the nose before looking into her eyes. “But for now, my love, let us focus on raising our first child together. Let us revel in his presence before we concern ourselves with his potential siblings.”

"your right, speaking of Him. Have you gone out with Daemon yet? To find an egg for sweet lucaerys cradle?"

Jacaerys shakes his head. “No, not yet. I have... hesitated to leave you for any period of time, with your pregnancy. If he had to tell the truth, he had been rather terrified at the thought of leaving his pregnant wife alone, for any period of time at all.”

"you will only be gone for the afternoon. I'll be alright. I'm sure your mother and grandmother shall keep me company with scary birth stories while you and daemon go. You know you won't want to go looking for one once baby comes and you don't want Daemon to choose for us"

Jacaerys nods and smiles sadly. “Yes, I know it is a task I must complete. It is a father's role to look for his son's egg, I know.” Jace laughs quietly and looks away. “But I cannot help but have a certain level of anxiety about all this. I have never been away from you for so long since our wedding.”

"I'm sure some man bonding time shall be lovely, talk about... Dragons, dicks and swords. I don't know what men talk about. It'll be good for you. Ask him questions he's a father to five after all"

Jacaerys smiles, and nods at her words. “You're quite right, my love. You know, sometimes I forget that Daemon is a father too.” Jace laughs nervously. “I should pick his brains, you're right, to better prepare me for parenthood.”

"umm maybe he knows some secrets words husbands can say to their wives to help the labour pains"

Jacaerys laughs heartily at her ideas. “I shall ask him to do just that.” He shakes his head and squeezes her hands fondly. “You know, my love, I have been lucky to have such a woman as you by my side. Most men... have a more hostile relationship with their wives…”

"umm most hate their wives we are very lucky" she gives him a kiss "or perhaps the hatred will come after the children?"

Jacaerys laughs, wrapping his hands around her waist. “I have no intention of hating you, ever, my love. You brought up a good point, though. Perhaps there will be more... challenges after our son is born. But I hope, with all my heart, that there will never be true hatred between us. I could not bear that.”

"I know there wouldn't ever be" she cooed cuddling him before she stopped and grabbed his hand moving it to her bump as a strong movement came through "awe he's dancing for his daddy"

Jacaerys smiles when he feels the movement of their son, his face lighting up as he places a gentle hand upon her stomach, his palm flat against the bump with the fingers splayed out across the flesh. “Oh... I swear, I can feel his whole body moving from here…” His words are interrupted as he feels another kick in Y/n’s stomach. He giggles and leans forward again, pressing his face against the bump. He lets out a small squeak of happiness, feeling the child move once more. “Oh, I am looking forward to holding you, my son.”

"Im sure it shall be a very magic moment indeed"

Jacaerys cannot help but smile as he feels yet another kick from within his wife's womb. His son is extremely active today. He wraps his hands around her belly and presses his cheek up against her stomach once more. “You know, you're right. I think he likes his father... His movements feel quite vigorous now, as if he is happy I am here.”

"he's happy to see you, of course he's happy to see daddy." She giggled "say hello to daddy little Lucaerys" she cooed and just as she said that the baby kicked hard

Jacaerys laughs and gasps at the strength of the baby's kick within her womb. He smiles, stroking her stomach. “Hello, my sweet Lucaerys. Can't wait to meet you face to face…” Another strong kick emerges from her womb and Jace giggles again, squeezing her hand. He leans forward, and places his forehead against her stomach once more. “I can’t wait to be a dad.”

[powdermelonkeg]

On the ancient Hyrulean stone tablets

In Tears of the Kingdom, there's a sidequest you get relatively early called Messages from an Ancient Era, in which you are tasked with finding stone tablets hidden throughout Hyrule that contain Zonai-era first-hand accounts of the royal family. There are 13 in total to locate.

You yourself can't read them, and must take pictures of the tablets to take them to Wortsworth, a Zonai Survey Team historian who can read the ancient texts for you.

The problem with this is that he doesn't tell you what the tablets actually say; he reads their ancient Hyrulean as-is, then gives his own take. And it's a take which cuts out so much context from the original text.

Fortunately, I am a nerd.

Unnamed First Tablet

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Ones held y honore als hochmayde to kyng Rauru ond quen Sonia, thaerafter to his suster ond to princesse Zelda. "Her on thaes gret stan ond twelf mo withalle make y endite min time with the hyred roial. "So michte heore remembraunce preserven for the sake of him on whom oure hope raeste."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"It's short, but it's an introduction from a servant to Rauru and Sonia, the founding king and queen of Hyrule. "She also waited on the king's elder sister, Mineru, as well as someone named Zelda, and wrote of their daily lives in 13 tablets. "It couldn't be simpler! "I intend to more thoroughly research what this chamberlain hoped to convey in these ancient tablets."

The actual translation:

"Once held I honor as handmaid to king Rauru and queen Sonia, thereafter to his sister and to princess Zelda. "Here on this great stone and twelve more withall make I ending my time with the hired royal. "So might here remembrance preserve for the sake of him on whom our hope rests."

Account of a Celebration

The ancient Hyrulean:

"So swete the song of kyng Rauru, ond so grete the beaute of his susteres daunce, that wer min eies ond eres captif. "Ond so hende quen Sonias gasen on us alle, so felt y min herte als captif fallen. "Seruantes lyf, tho moche laboursum, han moche jolitee as welle. Longe be the lyf of the roial familie thaere y love so."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This is an account of a party from those days. "It says King Rauru and his older sister sang and danced together while Queen Sonia looked on. "We think of royalty as austere and reserved, but these nobles amused themselves with song and dance. "But what a vivid recounting of a scene never before related in any history book… "The descriptions of their personalities and expressions make the ancient past feel alive again. "This stone tablet is a first-class find. Well done, dear chamberlain, in leaving behind this account for us. "I'm positively beside myself to think of how this story from the ancient past persevered so long to reach us today."

The actual translation:

"So sweet the song of king Rauru, and so great the beauty of his sister's dance, that were mine eyes and ears captive. "And so had queen Sonia's gaze on us all, so felt I mine heart also captive fallen. "Servant's life, though much laboursome, have much jollity as well. Long be the life of the royal family there I love so."

The Strong Queen and the Receptive King

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Sonia, quen to Hyrules kyng, bi birthe Hylian preesterresse, hirself yborn of londe, nat of skie aboven. "Speken she with open herte, eornest to alle, euen even to the Zonais kyng. "This kyng ythinke it gode aventure so to lerne of the londes folke. To sen his hed ybent to listenen is swich plesaunce."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This one looks to be about Queen Sonia. It claims that Sonia was a priestess before marrying Rauru. "Despite his status as a Zonai, a people popularly thought to be gods, she would counsel him without any trepidation. "Moreover, Rauru heeded this counsel. "This account gives us firsthand knowledge of the nature of Queen Sonia and King Rauru's relationship. "Rauru found himself unexpectedly charmed by her strong will, and before long, they were married… "Er, that last bit isn't in the text. That's me speculating. "History rarely speaks of a person's character prior to being elevated to royalty. So I can't help but fantasize."

The actual translation:

"Sonia, queen to Hyrule's king, by birth Hylian priestess, herself born of land, not of sky above. "Speak she with open heart, earnest to all, even even[sic] to the Zonai's king. "This king thinks it a good adventure so to learn of the land's folk. To seen his head bent to listening is such pleasure."

The Harmonious Couple

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Oft wys Rauru, kyng of kene blade, weyve his werk real in faver of the hunte. "Ond oft queynt Sonia, quene of kene insight, seke out him and repaire this kyng to kyngly besynesse. "In hir sapience semes she divin, that she cunne him ever finde and for hes folly semes him the mor humain. "Ond the kyng? O, he laughe. Nat him hir equal for hir wit, he kunne. Ond the quen, she laughe to, als even she scolden."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This is a tale of King Rauru. "Apparently, he would vacate his official business from time to time in order to go out hunting. "I had the impression he was a stricter, more serious king, but I guess he had a lighter side as well. "However, Queen Sonia was always a step ahead. She would put a stop to King Rauru's hunts and bring him back. "We rarely get a glimpse into the down-to-earth side of royalty in this way. It's an important find, to be sure."

The actual translation:

"Oft was Rauru, king of keen blade, leave his work real in favor of the hunt. "And oft quaint Sonia, queen of keen insight, seek out him and repair this king to kingly business. "In her sapience seems she divine, that she can him ever find and for his folly seems him the more human. "And the king? Oh, he laughs. Not him her equal for her wit, he knows. And the queen, she laughs too, as even she scolds."

A Pilgrimage of Light

The ancient Hyrulean:

"The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. "Of erli daies sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged ond assaylled. "Uncesinge in striffe, thei broughte to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng ond quen ysete thamselue to bringen scurge to ende. "With might of light ond pouere, driven abak ybeen, ond the roial couple made thes shirines to selen him awei. "Thes holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. "Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"The subject here is the actions King Rauru and Queen Sonia undertook not long after Hyrule's founding. "With the kingdom established, they were worried for their people, so they set out to eradicate the monsters troubling them. "They created structures called Shrines of Light to seal the monsters away so that they could never be revived. "There's more here about light…and time too… The sense I get is that the two of them may have had supernatural powers. "Though it's part of ancient history, it's a feat those of us living today should still be grateful for. Truly an important discovery."

The actual translation:

"The king was late to come this evening, so made the queen to share tales of her land, of shrines all green glowing. "Of early days since Hyrule's founding have diverse monsters her realm besieged and assailed. "Unceasing in strife, they brought to despair folks' lives. King and queen set themselves to bringing scourge to end. "With might of light and power, driven aback they been, and the royal couple made these shrines to seal him away. "These holy seals been called Shrines of Light. "Great king, great queen, I thank you. You fought when you were maiden-child, that I could peace to know."

The Researcher Mineru

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Queynte Mineru, the kynges elder suster, falles so dep in hir bokes swich that she oft foryetes to eten. "In min wieried wei don y what much y con, but y fer haven that it ben litel avail. "Of late treteth she of 'constructes,' thinges did she make with her hondes as vessel for spirit whan bodi-lich failen. "So, seyde she, might she liven longe, in spiret yhused within this 'construct.' "Though Mineru ne semes to holden ani deceyte… Bi my feith, y kan nat als trouthe thes wordes bileven"

What Wortsworth tells you:

"Here, we learn a bit about Mineru. "It says that she neglected to eat or sleep while making something called a…construct? "It was part of her research into a means of returning to life as a spirit possessing a new body, should her original one die. "To you or I, this sounds less like history and more like some sort of ghost story. "But remember who we're dealing with. They may have had unfathomable powers that made such things possible. "The revelation that Mineru was a fellow researcher makes her feel like a kindred spirit to me, and yet… "The chamberlain who inscribed these tablets treats Mineru with such care and kindness that it warms my heart."

The actual translation:

"Quaint Mineru, the king's elder sister, falls so deep in her books such that she oft forgets to eat. "In my worried way do I what much I can, but I fear have that it be little avail. "Of late treats she of 'constructs,' things did she make with her hands as vessel for spirit when body lies fallen. "So, said she, might she live long, in spirit housed within this 'construct.' "Though Mineru nay seems to hold any deceit… By my faith, I can not also truth these words believe."

The Foreign Princess

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Ful fyn is the weder this morn, ond have y audience with theos princes seyd ben kin bi fer distaunt yeres to quene Sonia. "Bi gras has she been given a name most swete, of Zelda she ben yclept. "In certain folk stered suspecioun, for straunge wer hir garnementes ond sodein wer her aparaunce. "Yet wolde hir contenonce ond bering maked proof of hir right blod and bond to quene Sonia. "Als be Zelda to remainen for a wile with us, y wil mi-self als hochmayde offre ekein hir servis."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This is another fascinating entry. "If my translation is correct, the Zelda described here is Sonia's distant relative. "According to this, she arrived in Hyrule unexpectedly from another kingdom. It seems she was a beautiful princess. "Her strange clothing perplexed the people of Hyrule, and many were suspicious of her at first. "But this Zelda had such an undeniable air of nobility that those who doubted she was of royal birth were soon silenced. "Note how clearly this conveys the writer's feelings regarding Zelda. "Once it was clear Zelda would be staying, she applied to be chamberlain to the princess. That suggests real admiration."

The actual translation:

"Full fine is the weather this morning, and have I audience with this princess said be kin by for distant years to queen Sonia. "By grace has she been given a name most sweet, of Zelda she been called. "In certain folk stirred suspicion, for strange were her garments and sudden were her appearance. "Yet would her countenance and bearing make proof of her right blood and bond to queen Sonia. "As be Zelda to remain for a while with us, I will myself as handmaid offer asking her service."

The Free-Spirited Zelda

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Princesse Zelda recent comes to sen Mineru, the kynges elder suster. I com eck, for hir to seruen. "Todai cam hit ipassen that Mineru sheued to Zelda construct althergrettest y hav ysen. "Zelda, she much desired on hit to riden, ond ne conne nat y seien coust hir stoppen. Though I dyde protesten. Loudli. "Neuer the lesse she made to sitten heighe upon the constructes sculdres ond to riden like an hors, al ful of grace. "Min lausion, so graunt alredy, dyde grouen al the mor."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"The subject here is Zelda and Mineru. "Zelda apparently visited Mineru often to assist with her research. "I have no idea what kind of thing this 'construct' that allowed people to ride on it was. "But Zelda rode it so well that our author the chamberlain was again impressed by her skill at everything she tried. "That's the long and short of it here. "But more than the narrative, what strikes me is the back and forth between the chamberlain and Zelda. "The chamberlain tried to warn Zelda of the danger, but Zelda pushed past her and rode the construct anyway. 'It's short but so evocative of both the level of technology found in this era and the character of their visitor Zelda. "The 'treasure' found in these stone tablets is the pearls of wisdom and nuggets of personality contained within."

The actual translation:

"Princess Zelda recent comes to see Mineru, the king's elder sister. I come with¹, for her to serve. "Today came it pass that Mineru showed to Zelda construct of the greatest I have seen. "Zelda, she much desired on it to ride, and nay could not I say cause her stop. Though I did protest. Loudly. "Never the less she made to sit high upon the construct's shoulders and to ride like a horse, all full of grace. "My laudation², so great already, did grow all the more."

The Latest Trend

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Facioun nou favereth garnementes adourned with muscheron patrons, ond fer ond wid beon thei wern. "This tast for mucheeron com of the casteles seamestre, who sogte to seuen clethes for princesse Zelda to plesen. "This facioun, Zelda telled to the seamestre, waere in hir treu hom wel loved. "In hir tim werd everichon patrons of bright hewes, in the shap of mucheron. "Anou our hende semestre set herte on thes patrons copien, which sele to mani happi persoune. "Y seche after som for min one but ne coude nat an on yfenden."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"Here we learn something about the fashion trends of that era. "The story's catalyst is their Zelda telling a tailor about the mushroom-patterned outfits becoming popular in her homeland. "Intrigued, the tailor fashioned some clothing in that vein, and it caught on in ancient Hyrule. "Do you know Cece from Hateno Village? Imagine the look on her face if she were to find out! "They say that trends go in cycles, but… I didn't expect mushroom patterns to have been in fashion so long ago! "One last thing about the chamberlain… "Her interest in fashion shows there was more to her than devoted service. She was just like anyone else in the kingdom."

The actual translation:

"Fashion now favors garments adorned with mushroom patterns, and far and wide be they worn. "This taste for mushroom come of the castle's seamstress, who sought to sew clothes for the princess Zelda to please. "This fashion, Zelda told to the seamstress, were in her true home well loved. "In her time were everywhere patterns of bright hues, in the shape of mushroom. "And now our head seamstress set heart on these patterns copied, which sell to many happy persons. "I seek after some for my own but nay could not a one find."

An Ancient Ghost Story

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Of late have y herd it told a straunge ladi walkes around the castel in derk of night. "She ond princesse Zelda semes als twinnes two, but this on nadda ne light in hir eien—mor als a ded thing than not. "When she is asked about thes walkes, princesse Zelda of that ben no-thing remembren. "What monstre, or spirit of derknesse, be this visioun? So afeard y am of min imagenninges that y con nat slepen."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This one is an ancient ghost story. "My understanding of ancient Hyrulean isn't perfect, but I know a ghost story when I see one. "It's a firsthand account of a ghostly or maybe corpse-like woman who appeared each night looking just like their Zelda. "No matter the era, it seems, people can't resist sharing a good ghost story. "A bit like how there have been eyewitness accounts of our Princess Zelda in the newspaper, even though she's missing… "Could our Zelda be a ghost too? No…of course not."

The actual translation:

"Of late have I heard it told a strange lady walks around the castle in dark of night. "She and princess Zelda seem as twins two, but this one has no light in her eyes—more as a dead thing than not. "When she is asked about these walks, princess Zelda of that been nothing remembered. "What monster, or spirit of darkness, be this vision? So afraid I am of my imaginings that I cannot sleep."

For the Hero's Sake

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Sith hire founding has Hyrule swich hardshippe ysene, but that is onli smale moment of time. "Mineru, the kynges elder suster, seyes of this kyngdom that hit ne mot nat awaren aye be ycaccht, nat evenforth fer futur. "Princesse Zelda tells hire that this futur be wrat alredi, that a champioun bith from the skie comen. "Bitwene the two, thei imaked to finden a wei this champioun in that distaunt time to ohelpen. "Her min treuthe, sogte thei to up-reisen the Temple of Time, into the skie to warden hit onyenes ivil. "Al dyden so in fer distaunt dai, our kingdom mighte be safed. "In min herte y woot y helpen mot, ond y asked of Mineru, canst yow devyse the menes to upreisen in the skie thaes stane. "Min wordes iseie nat enow, but thei thaes memorie safen, of the roial familie, heigh in the skie for that future time."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"That one is all about the feats that Zelda performed for the sake of the hero. "The details are unclear, but essentially, the chamberlain trusted in Mineru and Zelda's predictions and wanted to help. "She put forth the suggestion to Mineru to build a mechanism that could make her stone tablets float in the sky. "Which I take it are the very tablets you found, Link? But it doesn't end there. "If my translation is correct, it suggests that their Zelda worked with Mineru to raise the Temple of Time into the sky! "The idea of the Temple of Time—a grand edifice built in that ancient era—being lifted to the skies to await a hero… "Although given the appearaance of the sky islands after the Upheaval, perhaps it's not so far-fetched as it seems. "What must it have been like for the chamberlain to live through such miraculous times?"

The actual translation:

"Since her founding has Hyrule such hardship seen, but that is only small moment of time. "Mineru, the king's elder sister, says of this kingdom that it nay may not aware it be caught, not even for the far future. "Princess Zelda tells her that this future be wrought already, that a champion be from the sky comes. "Between the two, they made to find a way this champion in that distant time to help. "Her my truth, sought they to up-risen the Temple of Time, into the sky to ward it against evil. "All done so in far distant day, our kingdom might be saved. "In my heart I want to help more, and I asked of Mineru, can you devise the means to uprisen in the sky these stones. "My words I see not now, but they these memories safe, of the royal family, high in the sky for that future time."

The Day the Land Rose

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Swich wondrous sight y hav bihelden that ne con hit nat justil be described. "The Temple of Time y sawe, ond al londe yheld it, reisen to the skie, both ferful ond majestatic. "As princesse Zelda itold mi, in fer distaunt future comes a champioun to that place, the hope that Hyrule safen. "For that champioun be hit that y thes grete stane inscriben. "The kynges elder suster, Mineru, sendes nou thes stane to the skie, that the champioun mought hem ireden."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"This is an eyewitness account of the day the Temple of Time floated into the sky. "It's a landmark discovery for the history of Hyrule. It may be one of the top 10 most important discoveries of all time! "Even among all the breathtaking displays of power we knew of from the era, to raise the land and its buildings into the sky… "That was a feat impressive even to those accustomed to wonders. You can tell as much from this account. "Zelda predicted that a hero would appear in the land they raised into the sky and that he would save Hyrule. "The chamberlain took this on faith and wanted to know how she could help. "So she inscribed these records on the stone tablets that Mineru sent into the sky. "Give me a moment. I need to view these accounts as a historian and not get so swept up in personal sentiments…"

The actual translation:

"Such wonderous sight I have beheld that nay can it not just be described. "The Temple of Time I saw, and all land held it, risen to the sky, both fearful and majestic. "As princess Zelda told me, in far distant future comes a champion to that place, the hope that Hyrule is safe. "For that champion be it that I these great stones inscribe. "The king's elder sister, Mineru, sends now these stones to the sky, that the champion might him read."

A Parting Resolve

The ancient Hyrulean:

"Rauru, Hyrules kyng. Sonia, hir quen. His elder suster, Mineru. Ond eek princesse Zelda. "Al whom y served, ond loved. Al whom thurghhon. Alon kerv y thes wordes upon this stan. "This stan, ond al thritene, serven als roial families recorde, min werk final, ful-wroht for al age. "Mani the mark made bi thes much biloved peples—som eth-sene, som unsene. "Whan y make remembraunce of hir markes, fele y flaume of hope, though ful small, within mi. "Hit be als though thes markes som graunt design describen. "I ne con nat met princesse Zelda hir lov for hir londe. What mor than, ask y, can y do for Hyrules peples. "Let min lyf lede mi fro hennes-forth an answere ful-worthi to this questioun."

What Wortsworth tells you:

"It seems this is the last of the records. "The royals whom the chamberlain served so faithfully were gone, one by one… "It's heartrending to read. Her pain comes across so clearly in her words. "What's less clear from these entries is the cause of all these partings… "Well, each new mystery is an opportunity to do more research. If I keep digging, someday I'll unravel it."

The actual translation:

"Rauru, Hyrule's king. Sonia, her queen. His elder sister, Mineru. And the princess Zelda. "All whom I served, and loved. All whom they're gone. Alone carve I these words upon this stone. "This stone, and all thirteen, serve as royal family's record, my work final, full-wrought for all ages. "Many the mark made by these much beloved peoples—some as seen, some unseen. "When I make remembrance of her marks, feel I a flame of hope, though full small, within me. "It be as though these mark some grand design described. "I nay can not meet princess Zelda her love for her land. What more than, ask I, can I do for Hyrule's peoples. "Let my life lead me for hence-forth an answer full-worthy to this question."

And that is all thirteen slabs translated.

¹ "Eck" has no apparent equivalent, but can be guessed to mean "with" from context.

² "Laudation" might not be correct; failing to translate "lausion" in English, I turned my switch to French mode, and the word that took its place was "admiration." "Laudation" was the closest related word with similar letters.

[the-avengers-ate-my-tongue]

Don't Blame Me (Smut)

Summary: if there's one thing that makes Hannibal Lecter lose control, is rudeness.

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter x reader, past Alana Bloom x reader (mentioned)

Warnings: Smut!

English is not my first language, if you see any mistake, let me know! It came out a little different than the ask cause I just don't see Hannibal losing his shit like that hahahahah I hope you like it anyway, anon!

Word Count: 2277

It's common knowledge that one must never miss a Lecter soiree. 

Always one of the most expected events of the year, I was lucky and even grateful to be invited. I've known Hannibal since the years on Hopkins, he'd always been Alana's interesting acquaintance, one I never thought I'd catch the attention of. 

Turns out we have more interests in common than I originally thought. He's a skilled artist, so am I. We both enjoy opera, and love to play instruments, mine being mostly flute and oboe. I could still hear the angelic sound of the harpsichord being played half an hour earlier. Impressive how his fingers glided through the keys, how effortlessly he recorded complex tunes to entertain his guests.

"I missed the days that sparkle in your eyes were directed to me" Alana's jest ringed in my ears, making me jump a little. She chuckled. "Look at you all jumpy. Relax, Y/n. He didn't catch you staring."

"Shut up, Lana" I shoved her playfully, sipping the red wine. "Do not get me started on Will Graham and those puppy eyes. He's staring right now, you know. You should give the poor man a chance."

"Okay, I got it. I won't meddle in your affairs anymore."

"There is no affair." I wish there was, I thought to myself, taking another sip of the wine while I eyed Hannibal from afar, talking to an older woman dressed like a peacock. "I…"

"I noticed your glass is nearly empty, so I fetched you another one" a familiar voice came from behind me, and the glass was abruptly removed from my hand and replaced with a fuller one. I contained my desire to roll my eyes once I saw who the intruder was.

"Frederick. Were you also invited or just crashed the party to feast on good things for once?" I teased, narrowing my eyes while looking at the director of the general administrator for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. 

"My dear Y/n, I wouldn't dream of it. Of course I was invited. Moreover, I would avoid all this meat if I were you. You never know the provenance, if you know what I mean." He lowered his voice, coming closer and almost whispering in my ear. I could not help to actually roll my eyes this time, turning to face him. "I am, after all, restrained to low protein meat, that is."

"You still believe that silly theory that Hannibal is the Chesapeake Ripper? Please, Chilton. I never deemed you to be clever, but this is plain stupidity." I allowed the alcohol to make me more straightforward, chuckling on my words.

"Sticks and stones, little Y/n. Sticks and stones." Chilton teased, stepping away and going to bother someone else with his presence.

"For god's sake, the man is a burden" I whispered to Alana, who cracked at the comment.

"He has always been like this, you know that. I don't fathom why you always allow him to get under your skin."

"I've known Frederick for longer than you, Lana. Believe me, if you give that man a hand, he will most certainly grab your arm, shoulder and everything else you have to offer. Now, if you excuse me, I shall mingle a little bit more before the dinner actually begins. His interaction gave me a sour taste on my tongue."

I clicked my glass to Alana's, walking around the room and chatting to some people. Uninteresting conversations filled my ears and fake smiles made my lips start to tire out, but as soon as Hannibal's chocolate eyes were on me, I felt my entire demeanour change. 

An idea occurred to me as I walked straight to the balcony, hoping he would join me. The night breeze engulfed me and I realized how trapped I was feeling inside that house, with those judgy stares and meaningless conversations. My wine glass remained untouched as I placed it on the strong wood porch, contemplating the cloudless sky.

"Tired of the good old socialization already?" I grunted when I realized that was not the voice I longed to hear, turning back to face Frederick.

"Careful, Chilton. One might say you are stalking me. As far as I remember, that's still a crime." I crossed my arms to show how much I unappreciated his presence, stepping away until my back was against the balcony.

"Come now, what have I done to deserve so much animosity? We used to be colleagues, friends if I dare to be so bold."

"An old dog with difficulty dropping the dry bone he was once given. Are you really that starved, Frederick? That's pitiful." I was aware of how indelicate I was getting, but he was starting to bother me immensely. "If there's one thing you are not, it's bold. Arrogant and extremely annoying, yes. Can't stand to hear a loud no? That checks, too. One must always let go of the past if we wish to evolve. God knows I have."

He dismissed everything I said with a slight wave of his hand, getting closer. I could smell the faint scent of whiskey, imagining that, after the loss of some of his organs, he probably would get drunk much easier. He tried to reach me with his free hand, but awkwardly dropped my glass, causing it to crash a few meters down. 

We were alone and a little far from the other guests. The balcony's door was closed shut. I felt my hands start to tremble a bit, and realized I had to get out of there before things could get out of hand.

"Seriously, Frederick?" I snarled, rolling my eyes. "Playtime is over. Let me through, I'm getting out of here."

"Y/n, I…" he held my wrist with considerable strength, making me gasp. I tried to pull away but he was strong, and before I could snap and finally throw the punch he deserved, a low, deep voice echoed.

"I believe you heard the lady clearly, Dr. Chilton." There was a different gleam in Hannibal's eyes, and I wasn't the only one to notice. Frederick turned paler, letting go of my wrist with haste. "I think you should go. You've had too much wine, I see."

He hesitated, but agreed with a nod, leaving the balcony without looking back. Hannibal stared at him through his shoulder darkly and I released the breath I was holding, my knees would have given out if Hannibal had not held me discreetly, supporting my weight with an arm around my waist.

"Are you okay, Y/n?" He inquired, one hand lifting my face so I could look at him. I was so embarrassed. "Do you need a place to rest?"

"Not at all, Hannibal. Do not worry about me, it was just a fright and the wine. I cannot steal the host of his guests."

"Nonsense. Come, I will take you to the guest bedroom. We can enter through the kitchen, so no one will see your state. Please" he pointed to the other door, showing that there was no space to argue, and I just surrendered, allowing him to guide me through the vast kitchen filled with employees working to the elegant guest bedroom, shutting the door behind us. 

I sat on the comfortable mattress, appreciating the shades of cream and white, and the beautiful vintage-like furniture that seemed to complement the place perfectly. I realized then that Hannibal had fallen silent, and I stared at him with worry. He had turned his back to me, leaning on the dresser, breathing a little heavier.

"Hannibal?" I called, getting up and walking towards him, reaching out with my hand on his shoulder. His face was impassive, but he had that same look in his eyes again, something ancient and darker that wides his pupils and pierces his lips tightly.  I allow myself to reach deeper, caressing his strong arm and feeling the muscles tense under his suit. "What is it?"

"He dared to touch you like that" he pointed in a cold tone. "Like you are someone else's property."

My eyes softened as I felt some butterflies in my stomach, and I took the liberty to grab his chin, kissing his cheek tenderly in appreciation.

"Forget about Frederick, he is immature and arrogant. I will call him tomorrow to address this matter."

He still had that predatorial look in his eyes that gave me shivers, though not the way it should. Something in being that much protected by him made me feel dear and precious like an exotic pearl. 

He would not give in, and I felt bold enough to once more kiss his handsome face, this time on his jawline, near his left ear. That caught his attention, and he towered over me, cradling my face with his enormous hands, making my eyes tremble with the feeling of electricity that flowed through my veins. With no hesitation, his lips crashed against mine, and I moaned into his mouth, the hunger for him making my loins combust. 

"I have wanted this for so long…" I murmured against his neck, his fancy perfume invading my nostrils. He smelled so good. 

"As did I, Y/n. You have been in my thoughts a great deal lately" he confessed, making me blush. Impostor syndrome trying to kick in, I avoid the self-degrading thoughts as I delight in his open mouthed kisses in my skin, gasping in pleasure when he lightly bites my shoulder, enjoying it more than I ever thought I would.

"Your guests…" I tried to be reasonable, a dirty smile playing on my lips.

"The dinner will take a little while longer, I'm afraid" he whispered in my ear, nibbling on the lobe with a mischievous deep chuckle. He lifted my dress to my waist, since we didn't really have that much time to spare, and I got rid of my panties, almost tripping on them with my heels and the rush. 

His hand went to my core, testing how wet I was, and he smiled with how soaked I felt. A loud moan echoed through the room and he removed his hand at once, lifting one finger at me as he would chastise a child. I frowned with frustration, lifting my chin to face him.

"We are not supposed to be too loud, Y/n. You do not want the guests to hear us, do you? Imagine the scandal" that made me laugh with pure bliss, nodding in agreement. "Are you going to be a good girl?"

Oh, fuck. Is this really happening?

"Yes. Yes, I will" I agreed in haste, and he effortlessly lifted me up, sitting me on the dresser and starting to unzip his pants. I tried to control my breathing and anticipation, pleasuring myself with the vision of his hard cock, precum glistening at the tip. He massaged it with his hand for a few seconds before he towered over me, holding my hips in place while he entered me so painfully slowly I nearly sobbed.

To avoid the loud moans, I bit my left fist, suppressing the sounds as my insides clenched to accommodate him. A joyful smile illustrated his lips, his hair falling over his eyes due to the sweat, and he looked like a Greek statue. I could not avoid the mesmerized stare, melting in admiration, as he leaned to cover my lips with his own one more time, his tongue exploring my mouth like he was famished. Still slowly, he started to move his hips, almost both torturing and indulging me at the same time. I entangled my legs around him, pulling him closer to the point one could swear we were one. He moaned my name, followed by an almost savage growl that sent vibrations through my entire body and, for a while, I regretted how little time we had. He seemed to sense that, rushing his movements until the dresser started to hit the wall and, for a moment, I was certain everyone outside could hear us. 

So much for discretion, I thought, grabbing his broad shoulders while he inserted himself deeper and deeper inside of me. His thumb began to stimulate my clit and, sensing I would begin to cry out at any moment, Hannibal silenced me with his lips, allowing me to moan against his mouth as I felt the tension start to build up in my lower abdomen.

I felt him pull out his cock, replacing it with his skilled fingers, finishing on my thighs. I followed him right after, covering my mouth until my moans were unsteady breaths. 

I hadn't even realized Hannibal had left until he came back from the suite with a hot towel, starting to clean me up. I thanked him with a sweet kiss, doing my best to fix his clothes and hair. We both knew it wouldn't do any good, but he enjoyed my caresses and how I took care of him as well. He took one of my hands — the one Chilton grabbed like a brute earlier — and kissed my wrist, right where small purple bruises began to form. 

"We should go back. Who is going to serve dinner? We're being unforgivably selfish" I taunted, chuckling lightly.

"Perhaps you should be my dinner, then" he jested, and I openly laughed, shoving him playfully.

"Later. If you'll have me, that is." I lifted my eyebrows with expectation, staring at his brown irises.

"It would be my pleasure, Y/n" with a last kiss, he went to the bathroom suite to fix his appearance, leaving me with a silly smile and a warm feeling in my chest.

[arsene-fixates]

Informant Really Does Care (About Family)

I got brain worms the other night so (arms stretched wide) hi everyone thanks for tuning in to yet another analysis of this guy

this one's a combination of a continuation to my older 'he cares about the townspeople' analysis and also a third parter to my analysis about his family

spoilers under the cut as always ^_^

Initially i had thought that Informant didn't truly like his family, with how dismissive he was when he first revealed himself to felix in the forest-- his words being 'i had to leave my friends, home, and family' with family being the last in the list (mild hinting at how he wasnt really a fan of them from the start)

or how when informant and felix first reunited, they had almost gotten into 2 arguments, first one due to felix almost resigning as the mayor and informant trying to convince him not to do so, which led to informant revealing that felix has never really listened to him when they were children and was always making decisions for him

the second argument being how felix wants informant to come back and throw away his life of being the informant and just live as his brother which leads to informant cutting himself off from the family

but in the scene where he decides to cut himself off from his family, he says this

but the thing is that even with how detached he acts towards felix, he genuinely does care still

like.. informant was going to sacrifice himself by becoming the wolf forever for the sake of felix, to put his worries at ease, and just before he was going to do it, he asked me to give him a locket which contained a picture of him and felix when they were young and he says this

'it reminded me of what truly matters'

or when he had to submit to the witch to figure out why he was acting so recklessly, (the thought parasite arc) the thing that calmed him down was a childhood memory and he has also kept keepsakes from their childhood. I Am Crazy

I feel like this strained behavior that he has around his family is connected to an inferiority complex he has, similarly to how he doesn't talk about himself much, he also tends to brush his own issues aside

note how he says it has a passing remark, lets it linger for a bit and then just moves on as if it isn't a big deal

"i still bring my loved ones so much trouble" and "i thought felix would be better off with me"

i think this was a product of the thing that felix had said to him just before informant disappeared

"I have no time. There's a pile of papers i have to deal with" and while felix did admit that the paperwork was more important to him than informant at the time, his disappearance was a burden on his shoulders <- his words

and reminder, informant was already a pretty solitary person (and frankly, quite lonely) before he became the werewolf, a person who had always kept to himself

i imagine felix saying this was also a blow to his self esteem. He never felt he fit in with the people around him, and now his own family is turning him away? it must be hard to have to warm up to family again after being apart for so long

he misses him, but he acts detached, arguing as if they were young and then cutting himself off from the family... Informant feels too kind for his own good if i could be honest, kind and independent to a fault.

i was absolutely fooled by him.. he truly does care...

ALSO i don't know if i mentioned this in the previous family analysis stuff but one thing i love about felix and informant is how they perceive each other's actions differently

Felix is protective of informant because he's his little brother, and by quite a large age gap too so its natural for him to feel like an instinct to worry and want the best for him but but informant perceives that as felix being controlling

and WHILE YES, THAT BEHAVIOUR ESSENTIALLY MAKES FELIX NOT QUITE CARE ABOUT HOW INFORMANT FEELS ABOUT THE DECISION MAKING, FELIX'S INTENTIONS ARE OVERALL GOOD BUT INFORMANT TAKES THAT AS NEGATIVE

and Informant wanting to take back that control of his life.. felix perceives that as informant rebelling and "not him" because informant had been obedient to him for so long and now that informant's doing his own thing felix feels apprehensive to it

blood is thicker than water but neither water or blood can account for separation from it's source. they've existed outside their roles as siblings for so long with different experiences that they're just different people at this point

[alwaysbelikethis]

Rosé x Fem!Reader

TW: Mention of S^icide. Please if you're sensitive do not read such stuff idk why i started writing with this... if you struggle pls contact with anyone or even me. Such stories of mentioned can trigger the person, beware.

Contains +18 content

(In)vincible

“Rosie”

“Rosie!! Wake up” whisper yelled i.

It was around 2-3 am and the sound woke one of the lovers with panic.

“Rosie!! Wake up! There’s a sound coming from downstairs!!”

“Ah..” “ that must be washing machine, i started it before..” rosie on the other hand having a hard time to wake up, or to care according to y/n.

“For god sake i- did you have to do that in the middle of the night? We have all day…”

Girl complained but only would echo into the room and get back to herself while her girlfriend already fall back to dream… what was the point?

You see, long time couples sometimes cannot stand each other. Sometimes everything is so still where you were expecting to be all fun and happy. Which is kind of true though. They are happy time to time and would scream to each other the other time.

Rosé is organized person, she’s structured and right on time with everything. She has already planned her next week meal. And y/n is more different and complicated than that. She wants to watch a movie right now and she would and you wouldn’t catch what’s her next move. You, me, bed now and bang bang bangity bang? No, Rosie cannot be active after dinner for 1 hour. Y/N has learnt to wait.

She has learnt a lot to fit in rosé’s life. She fit in just right that it’s her world that Y/N lives in it. Who was she before she moved in? Everything seems alright at some point but is it? Y/N went back to sleep wondering all the answers.

Next morning Y/N woke up like she was just born. Rosé already came back from her morning run and left the curtains full open for her girlfriend to have all the sun light of the morning. Vitamin D at it’s full potential, however Y/N is not.

“Did you have breakfast?”

She startled her girlfriend who was changing and didn’t know she woke up.

“Jeez… how long have you been awake?”

“Just enough to admire all the muscle show you put on” there, Y/N is smiling full even her eyes are not quite open.

“I had breakfast before i left, its actually almost my lunch time”

“You can join my brunch, my lady”

“You take hour to get up, i’ll probably catch you on your brunchinner”

“Is that supposed to be brunch and dinner mix?”

“I’m not good with words just.. you got it”

Y/N smiled and gave up having a meal with her girlfriend cuz she feels like she’s an affair between her girlfriend and her schedule. However rosé has no idea what those small things mean to her gf and she get things on her way.

Saturday and sunday had passed and monday morning Y/N left for work early. Rosie has all the time to clean places alone.

Bzzzz bzzzz (its supposed to be phone ringing)

“Yeah?..” “okay i’ll check it on the website itself” rosé grabbed your computer to mail files to Y/N because her irresponsible ass forgot.

Alright… google… search bar… search history.

‘Why my girlfriend is not the same?’

‘What can i do to make my gf happy?’

‘S***ide help support’

What?

Rosé stared at the screen for 5 min at least until Y/N called her again.

“Rosie can you please be quick this is urgent just send me already”

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I- okay. I’ll send now”

Rosé has started to contemplate everything after the first shock. She never realised? But Y/N has been with her for years. They maybe don’t wake together and have breakfast together or dinner or make out or… did they being back to friends? What kind of relationship was that? How could she not tell rosé?? How could she- rosé went through all of it until another phone ring from you wake her up.

“Rosie im asking a favour what are you doing? I’m gonna get fired and i’m having all the panic for god sake its just a file! Please!!”

“I’m sending it now” Now rosé sounds so small that Y/N thought it was about her voice tone.

“Okay i got it thank you, look i’m sorry if it was harsh, i got panicked and all and you know my boss with this goddamn presentstion everytime like it’s-“

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Come home when you get off from work”

“Okay… are you really that hurt? Look i’m sor-“

“No it’s all okay, just, for dinner”

“Oh who are you and what did you do to my gf? Because i….“

Rosé is still shocked how Y/N is trying to be silly, funny, all laugh like she’s on holiday at clouds floating around lightly. Rosé cut it short and hung up the phone. She was actually dripping tears.

She cried good. How long has it been since they drifted apart this much? Was she neglecting her much? Was she in her world too much to see the girl sleeping next to her every night?

Questions took a new turn and it was rosé this time. For how long? ….

rosé realised it’s been 2 and a half hours since she was thinking everything and every detail. She decided to get up and plan a delightful night for Y/N. Her favourite food and quality time. They both could use that.

Then around afternoon, she heard the car engine coming from the front while she was staring at rhe blank. She got up immediately to welcome you at the door. She’s not sure what to do with all the overwhelming information she got today but she had one goal, to make you happy tonight. So she waited for Y/N to open the door and suprise her.

“Jeez!!!!! Rosie! What are you doing? Are you about to go out? You scared me”

“Gosh you scared me too, just wanted to suprise you and give a hug. I missed my gf!”

“Seriously what got into you?? Did you watch titanic again and got into your romantic era? It ain’t like you”

And rosé hugged her gf so tightly. She never realised how precious this small thing is.

“Woah baby, did something happen to you?”

“No… I just wanted to appriciate you. Get change and we’ll have dinner, okay?”

“Okay baby, thank you, this is so sweet of you! I’ll be right back. I love you!”

I love you.

I love you.

What was the last time they use that? What if something happened to her and would she remember the last time they actually appriciate this love? She has to shake herself, she can’t loose it all now. It’s ‘her’ night.

“Woah today you saved my life you know? Idk how did i forget my laptop at home. I’m getting old, babygirl”

Did she? Save her life? Cuz she faced the exact opposite fact today. She actually made rosé really happy but rosé blamed herself for not appriciating it.

They ate all the food and rosé listen Y/N talk about her day. And she listen to her appriciating rosé’s effort on tonight and how happy she makes her. She has to learn to return this love.

“I thought you were going out with that outfit, did you wear this for tonight only?” Rosé knows how to make Y/N crazy with skirt and high heel combination even though it’s silly to wear them around the house, she wanted Y/N to get in the mood

“Only for you, Y/N girl”

“You look, like you could kill 5 people from heart attack from directly looking at you”

Rosé took Y/N’s hand and pull her in closer. Lips on lips and its like the last day on earth. Hands on each other like it’s the first touch.

“Ah, okay sorry, we can stop here since we had just dinner and you plan your sex time according to that for some reason. You’re such a weir-“

“Get on my tigh.”

“Wha- like sit? We can get to the couch, i think survivor is playing tonight”

Gosh, how long they have been apart from each other for her to think anything but sex from rosé.

“Y/N shut up and take your underwear off and sit on my tigh.”

“I-“

“I’m waiting.”

Y/N has no idea what happened to her gf but she’s loving it. Rosé took the charge and take off her underwear. Y/N sits on rosé’s thigh which was between her legs. Rosé pushed her knee up to cause pressure on Y/N’s sweet spot.

“Ah… rosé…”

“Grind.”

“Wha-?”

Rosé is impatient and almost annoyed with her gf questioning everything so she grabbed her bum and make her. “Shit rosé i-“ then rosé didn’t give her chance to talk and put her fingers on her mouth. Finally when Y/N lost her sanity and grind by herself on rosé, other hand of her went to grab Y/N’s throat.

“Make a mess” the suction of her fingers turn into bites and that’s where rosé knows Y/N’s body is full of tension. She then released her body on rosé and she hold her. She hold her tight. “Sorry i kinda make a mess on your legs but i-“

“God sake Y/N because i told you so, you talk too much” she grabbed her like a baby and carried her to the bed. You see, rosé may seem like self-centered but she’s the most selfess with her gf. She just sometimes forget how to hold each other. Y/N, already passed out on bed, makes rosé stare at her long enough. She curled up next to her and cannot control her tears. Emotions are too overwhelming and she has not digested any of it. Where would she go to relieve all of it? Who she talk to? Confront Y/N? The night flies away with thoughts…

After days went by, Y/N woke up to the saturday morning with her girlfriends’ arm all around her. She has no idea why rosé cling into her all week out of nowhere. She’s not complaining but she cannot stop wondering why. Just a week ago, rosé seemed like she would avoid her at all cost. But today, they were truely invincible.

“Y/N?”

“Mhm?”

“Good morning”

“Morning love”

….

“I love you”

….

“I love you too”

You see, rosé couldn’t confront her mostly because she didn’t think she would able to handle it. Who can? Instead she tried to give her all. Everything. Although it didn’t take much to things get back to their abnormal normality.

“Rosé”

“Yes, love?”

“I’m off to work, take care okay?” She peck a kiss

“Okay love, you too!”

She was about to leave but she came back to rosé and give her a passionate kiss this time but rosé already turn back to take the ringing phone

“I love you”

Rosé nodded with her while greeting the person on the phone

And she left. Little did she know Y/N wasn’t off to work that day.

Y/N won’t be able to off to work any day, ever.

[zacki0gaming]

The PCC Comic + HOPE Series Are Masterpieces? (Absolutely Not!)

Before I Start

This is going to contain Major Spoilers, Disturbing Topics, Etc (You have been warned).

Greetings everyone! I am continuously providing reviews of both continuations of the episodes and ranting. Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thoughts on the comic titled "Pink Corruption Continued" or PCC for short (which is canon btw) and the HOPE series. If I must briefly describe these two, I must say that it felt more like it was "another waste of my fucking time".

The content, more often than not, felt like I was listening to a fanfiction OC fetish that I could typically find on websites, such as Wattpad or Archive Of Our Own.

This is generally insulting in this franchise that it does an incredible successful endeavor to make me feel miserable. The HOPE series felt very empty and the PCC comic NEVER tries to make it feel "canon" and I wasn't even satisfied to the "slightest" on how this entire current 23 page comic went.

In advance of offering my critique, I would like to acknowledge a noteworthy statement that was shared by a YouTuber named "Upper Echelon," which I wholeheartedly concur with: "Human beings can be manipulated through cheap and shallow tricks." Within storytelling, whether it be in a game, novel, or other media format, individuals can be emotionally manipulated and misled by poorly-written narratives. Regrettably, creators may intentionally introduce characters who are supposed to be perceived by the audience as cool and instantly likable. Yet... Objectively speaking, this approach offers characters that are often somewhat forced into the storyline without adequate development or proper characterization. This can be interpreted as an "act of manipulation" towards the audience to forcefully evoke sympathy for these characters. Remember this because this almost happened twice for me with one of ArtofSoup's OC characters when I initially read the PCC comic for the first time that I'm going to talk about later on.

Here is what I'm going to do here before starting reviewing the entire comic:

Firstly, I'm going to explain the drama, controversaries, and the old cancellations to the best of my ability from what I can remember.

Next, about the comic, I'm going to be explaining all of the characters I've seen having ages changed, the canon ships, etc.

Thirdly, I'll be discussing additional screenshots of potential ideas that were supposedly going to be incorporated into the comic that were from discord.

Fourthly, I will be starting reviewing the entire comic by dividing the pages into 4 separate categories: Pages 1 -5 (First), Page 6-9 (Second), Page 10 - 15 (Third), and Page 16-23 (Final).,

Fifthly, I'm going to be actually discussing the "HOPE" series too because why not.

And finally, I'm going to give off my final conclusion for all of this.

Drama, Controversaries, & Old Cancellations

I can confidently say that this entire franchise's downfall is well-deserved in my opinion.

For the sake of brevity, I will succinctly address the Pink Corruption Drama because this will go down in my opinion, the most stupidest and hypocritical drawn-out drama I have ever seen in my life... All of this started because of disgusting pornographic fanart from Brittany's sister, Brea...

It is repulsive, nonsensical, and ironically hypocritical. If you want even further context on this, I will be providing links to videos, etc about the drama and allegations itself. I'm not joking, some of you people don't realize how DEEP this rabbit hole goes...

To clarify, the Pink Corruption Series used to reach its peak back in 2019 to early 2020, specifically talking about the amount of views Season 1, Episode 3 has on Brea's channel. 3.1 million views... (Probably only because the JSAB game was very popular back at this time). However, Brittany's sister, Brea, uploaded several videos discussing canceling the series but, I couldn't remember the main reason why.

This action here was the beginning of "the downfall of the entire fanchise of the Pink Corruption Series". This also most likely caused the drastic decline in viewership for the series, going from receiving millions of views to approximately 10,000 or more views in the subsequent months.

In early 2020, with insights from Bubby Aurora's "Telling My Tale" google document, the "drama," or "great schism" as some call it, began in early 2020. Brittany's sister, Brea, had been writing pornographic fanfiction for the series and constantly showed it to Brittany. This made Brittany so uncomfortable that she felt compelled to cancel the series.

In early 2020, the infamous drama, or "great schism" as some call it, began. The catalyst for this event can be traced back to insights gained from Bubby Aurora's Google document titled "Telling My Tale." At the heart of the conflict was Brittany's sister, Brea, who had been making pornographic fanfiction for the series and continuously showed it to Brittany. This caused significant discomfort for Brittany, leading her to make the difficult decision to cancel the series. (Keep this in open mind later on).

At the time, ArtofSoup and Brittany used to be friends at this time period, but I didn't fully understand what was happening behind the scenes. Because of this friendship, Brittany Robinson gave her permission and consent for ArtofSoup to continue the series in the form of a web-comic. Ecstatically, ArtofSoup began writing their comic, "Pink Corruption Continued." (I'll explain the events surrounding this in more detail after discussing the current topic.)

However, things started to fall apart when Brittany supposedly cut off contact, shit talked ArtofSoup behind their back, and continued to create episodes (that were non-canon, NOT CANON)... Without their consent... This eventually led Brittany Robinson to intentionally create the "Non-Canon Continuation of the Pink Corruption Series" on youtube, "Season 1, Episode 6 to recent". Due to this happening, Brittany Robinson started to blatantly steal ideas from ArtofSoup's work into the non-canon continuation, which infuriated ArtofSoup.

The most important links I can possibly provide for this:

Telling My Tale - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VcQcbdEQwRxJPiWgI8BZFwj8d0GtmjzC0R3ASOSzrls/edit "Telling My Tale" is a document drafted by a user named "Bubby Aurora / Mzoyagon." It recounts both her personal experiences within the fandom and people who she used to be friends with such as the current creator of the series, “ArtOfSoup” (formerly known as (Quadragon, ItzFriday). It also deals with other disturbing and horrible topics she encounters such as grooming, stalking, spying, doxxing, etc. ArtofSoup also traumatized her since she was 12 years old at that time because of it.

Lucas' Lies - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ci_EhXiI6pndj1g-T3Kfy-YgwBd0UVgD was a Google Drive that was established by "ArtOfSoup," formerly known as "Quadragon" and "ItzFriday," the current creator of "The Pink Corruption Series." The contents of the account included inadvertent conversations between Brittany's sister, Brea and ArtOfSoup, and allegedly stole ideas derived from both Brittany and Brea without their consent. Moreover, tons of screenshots and proof about it, showing Brittany Robinson lying behind ArtOfSoup’s back. 

Reasons why LucasTheDubber shouldn't upload on BreaBear Jone's channel - https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sr33b0 This was one I found from a website I've never seen before on the Internet called, "TwitLonger". It was created by a user named, "RPG_Animator_Mi" for reasons of Brittany's sister, Brea just trying to suck in all of the attention and money they can, and using Brittany herself as a vacuum. The list that he created has 7 here, some are possible evidence that Breabear is directing Lucas and some are things that are definitely wrong. However, all of these links in the list aren't going to be accessible to you all.

Pink Corruption Youtube is in DANGER - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXP-EGwa63A This Youtube video revolves about two things, Identity impersonation and copyright infringement related issues. This was because of Brittany's sister, Brea, "who is alleged to have posed as her sister, Brittany in order to issue copyright strikes against fan videos of The Pink Corruption series from other Youtubers, whom are in the fanbase". The issue happened with the removal of translated versions, including "Russian", of content from the series. From the video itself, the situation escalated when a favored Youtuber within the community, known as "Heck Island" (whoever remembers this person), faced the termination of their YouTube channel due to repeated copyright strikes. Notably, these strikes were attributed to her sister, Brea alleged to be impersonating Brittany Robinson. The videos that were listed on Heck Island's channel were taken down because, "they were just regular memes videos".

Furthermore, remember what I said on why this is also comes off hypocritical too? Well... I would consider Brittany Robinson, a fucking hypocrite herself because of this. According to the "My Channel Intro 2022!" Video on Brittany Robinson's channel, toward the end of the video, this is where I initially see Brittany comes to "her sister's defense against long-term bullying because of the people harassing her online". Moreoever, she expresses a zero-tolerance policy toward negative commentary regarding her sister, which she will go to lengths of blocking you "if you say something bad about her sister", possibly for the ones about her being a groomer.

Brittany coming to her sister's defense over this shit is absolutely unacceptable. However, the gravity of the situation cannot be understated because IT'S... STILL... FUCKED... UP!!!

I could talk even further about Brittany's hypocrisy. Remember what I said about how the drama originally started back in early 2020 because of Brea shoehorning her Pink Corruption pornographic work into Brittany's face? Well... I have a screenshot of Brittany Robinson, "calling her sister's disgusting Pink Corruption work, "Cute" with a heart emote".

I can prove this further when "Pipythecat205" says in this response on the Pink Corruption discord that "Lucas just doesn't seem to care". Yet, Pipy... Is right... Brittany Robinson doesn't give a shit ALL THIS TIME and still supports her sister from this.

The Drama's Central Query So let me tell you yall something... If Brittany Robinson does actually love and care about sister, actively defends her over online harassment from other people, and has recently developed a tolerance for her sister's contentious disgusting contributions to the "Pink Corruption" series—the catalyst for the drama. What the fuck... was the legitmate point of this all happening in the first place then...???

Final Verdict On The Drama, Controversaries, & The Old Cancellations

Overall, perspectively speaking, Brittany Robinson is a straight-up hypocrite, a fake friend, and perhaps a disgusting individual. She went from being ham-fisting crude pornographic depictions of the Pink Corruption Series by Brea. Into terrible lengths to allegedly steal ideas without that person's consent for her non-canon continuation, false relationships, block people on Youtube (probably the ones, who know about the drama), and for some unknown reason, "likes Brea's content now"...

Her sister wanted to shove porn art of fanfiction TPC crap up to Brittany's face, abusing the copyright system to take down TPC Fan videos from other Youtubers who watched this series, etc.

This entire drama is remarkably atrocious in a tumultuous and regrettable manner. Brittany Robinson and her sister, Brea wanted to deliberately cause their downfall of the entire series in the most disingenuous, hypocritical, and ridiculous way. And they succeeded at it...

I'm finally done talking about this shit... I know there's more to discuss, but I've decided to focus on the most important points here in the entire drama. There were more videos about the drama itself, but unfortunately, the ones I used to watch have been already removed from YouTube.

Character Ages

After finally discussing what I know about the Drama, now we discuss the age changes made by ArtofSoup themselves. In one of the current creator's posts on the canon wiki, I had to scroll down to find the canon ages post. According to the post, it is quite clear that ArtofSoup changed the caretakers' ages.

The Caretakers' ages before being changed: (Pretty much confirmed from Brittany Robinson's old twitter account)

Pyrare - 1000+

Pentellow - 24

Iris - 25

Cube - 19

The Caretakers' ages after being changed from the current creator, ArtofSoup:

Pyrare - 45

Pentellow - 20

Iris - 21

Cube - 16-17

Please keep this in mind, because I’ll bring this up again later to provide more context by combining this with the canon ships, including the other characters as well. Now, here are the other characters whose ages have been changed:

Dub - ? (I don't know why he's age has a question mark because Brittany Robinson confirmed that all monster shapes have longevity for being 1000+ years old)

Ajaceare - 19

George - 22

Challenge - 19 (soon 20)

Teroblast - 22

Sitbnite - 15

It is likely that ArtofSoup knew about the previous ages for the Caretakers and then changed their ages for the continuation. Also, an issue with this is that the is is clear that there is a minor lore change I noticed ArtofSoup made... It was to the species' lore. They removed the monster shapes' ability for longevity, giving them instead a normal lifespan like normal shapes.

The Ships

Now we're gonna talk about the canon ships. According to the canon wiki's posts, I found a screenshot of at some point on Youtube, ArtofSoup (Formerly known as QuadragonX on their channel's name), confirmed at least 6 ships. Let me briefly state my thoughts about these ships.

Dub x Cuda (Barracuda) - I don't see a lot of people talking about this ship, also I don't have anything to say about this.

Cintagon x Circumsphere - One of those type of ships that I generally feel so confused on why people shipped these two in the first place because clearly there hasn't been any potential romantic tension between these two.

Cube x Lythorus - I don't ship these two because I see their relationship perfectly working as "childhood best friends".

Ajaceare x George - George has a fucking wife and children since Season 1, Episode 1...

Pentellow x Iris - I'm not going to explain this insufferably generic lovey-dovey couple ship...

Squadril x Marcle - I don't see a lot of people talking about this ship but, I ship it nonetheless.

I'm starting to feel like I don't have a huge taste in romance anymore. It's still fine. :/

Anyway, if we combine the age changing and the ships together, ArtofSoup made it feel disconcerting and perhaps disgusting because of two ships on the list. The ones I'm talking about on this list is, Ajaceare x Geroge and Cube x Lythrous ship. Before you all start talking shit, none of this has to do with me being a homophobe or anything, let me please explain why...

Ajaceare x George Ship

Let's first talk about Ajaceare x George ship. Considering that this ship isn't even close to being decently popular, since Season 1, Episode 1, it has been pretty much confirmed that Lythorus was talking with George himself before he turned into a corrupt. He had a "martial family with a wife, son, and a daughter".

We don't know how old Geroge was before the comic came out besides being confirmed 22 by only the current creator, not Brittany herself. In light of this, it seems that the current creator, ArtofSoup, wanted George to "secretly divorced his family, thereby opting to pursue a romantic relationship with an unattractive cyclops female monster cube". Crazy, right?

Cube x Lythorus Ship

Now we'll talk about Cube x Lythorus ship. I generally feel like they wanted Cube to be shipped with a character like I said about Lythorus's entire characterization in my Season 1, Episode 2 rant "who is so incredibly forgettable in the series that was left in a coffin for about 6 years by now, and a cardboard cutout leader who shows a level of incompetency for not having any reinforcements". But wait... Here's what I found out...

I could pretty much say that Brittany Robinson confirmed the caretakers' ages, including Cube being 19 years on her old twitter account before it was taken down. In all 31 states, a minor is referred to as someone under the age of 18. So basically, I thankfully got a screenshot of Brittany Robinson confirming that Lythrous is actually 20 years old from a QnA on her channel before it was taken down because of the recent short cancellation of her non-canon continuation of the series. We can pretty much agree that Lythorus was this old before the comic and the drama came out.

So theoretically, what I'm trying to say here: ArtofSoup never confirmed Lythrous's age being changed on their canon age post on the wiki. So, if I'm possibly correct on this and ArtofSoup likely knowing about the caretakers' previous ages, they would be changing Cube's age from being 19 to a minor (a 16-17 year old) just for him to be shipped with a fully grown adult (a 20 year old flower) in the canon continuation. If that's the case, then we have a damn problem here guys because it is a 5-4 age gap... Might as well have to give Cube a different main love interest than in the comic...

Sexualities

Also, I found a screenshot of the characters' sexualities for the canon. I don't have a lot to say about this. :/

Final Verdict for the canon ships & sexualities, and characters' ages being changed

None of this has to do with the characters' sexual orientations or anything like that. Overall, what I'm saying about this is that the current creator, ArtofSoup, wanted characters like George, who has been canonically married with a loving family since Season 1, Episode 1, to be in love with Ajaceare, and changing up the lore for the monster shapes just for them to be get rid of the ability of longevity. Furthermore, ArtofSoup could also potentially involve changing characters' ages into minors so that they can be shipped with fully grown adult characters like I said for Cube and Lythorus. I can't say for sure whether this is the case, because I don't have much evidence to support it. But it's possible based on what I've covered up.

Potential Lore Changes

Despite my previous discussion about Monster Shapes losing their ability to have longevity, I found another screenshot that has happened since 2022. These were possibly future ideas for the canon continuation itself for the current creator to use if that's the case.

So technically, they are 9 here and let me tell you something. Some of these feel uninteresting or pretty weird. Although I do find some that are potentially good for the comic.

The idea of granting the Tree of Life the power to send prophetic dreams to shapes, offering glimpses into their future, is an intriguing concept that adds supernatural abilities to the trees themselves. However, on the other hand, I find this other idea for the Tree of Life to be quite ridiculous. Having the Tree of Life become bored and cause all sorts of mischief for its own entertainment feels completely out of character. I generally don't like the idea of the Tree of Life having potentially negative motives, as it doesn't make sense to me.

Making LGBTQ+ jokes that confuse some other shapes like I don't care about this...

Also, having Heroes such as Cyan, who is canonically a 0 years powerful childlike being start cussing, especially saying the world "fuck" while improperly maturing is just pretty uncomfortable... Imagine seeing Cube hear his hero start cussing while in his sudden mature state... Like, these heroes are so precious to be starting to swear tbh...

Let's FINALLY Discuss This Comic Now!

Front Cover

First off, we get a simple, yet terrible front cover. Just look at this shit...

I can already tell that the current creator is a "straight-up Iris simp" who made Iris "the pretend main lead of him being the only one to fight Dub in this front cover" instead of including the other caretakers and heroes with him. I'm getting sick of tired of these people having this sort of "Iris Simp Fetish", trying to make Iris act as if he's the coolest character and should've been the main protagonist of the series because very clearly he's definitely not in my opinion...

Second, it seemed like the current creator, ArtofSoup implemented some kind of dumb Iris vs. Dub fanart that they found somewhere on the internet for the front cover instead. (I know it's the creator's digital artwork but, come on...)

Anyway, now let's talk about the pages. (I'm not going to be discussing a lot here due to it feeling short because of the length of these pages).

Pages 1-5

On the first page, the story continues after the opening scene of Season 1, Episode 6 left off, as it originally shows Cube losing his grip from his grabbing claw while trying to stop Cyan from searching Ajaceare while he was in his sudden mature form once again.

On page 2, as the trio (Cube, Cintagon, and Iris) continues to plummet to the ground, Iris says that he can't teleport while falling, and even if he could, it likely wouldn't help save him and the others. (Well, I don't understand this part about why Iris can't teleport while falling. Perhaps ArtofSoup was trying to establish a "weakness" here for Iris's teleportation ability, but it feels very vague to me).

While this part was still ongoing, I'm not fucking joking, this was so unexpected that this happened in "THE SECOND PAGE"!! One of ArtofSoup's OC characters named, "Challenge" came out of nowhere alongside Orange because he randomly found this dude?!

On page 3, Orange screamed out Iris's name as he noticed him with Cube and Cintagon still plummeting toward the ground. Challenge quickly came up with a plan with Orange to split up so they could catch more of them. Challenge and Orange then starts zooming down toward the trio to save them.

On page 4, when Challenge grabs Cube's hands, (He does the 200 pound joke like how Lythorus did in Season 1, Episode 2 toward Cube. This reference right now for me is cheap, amateurish, and not funny at all and it's only there to be this perhaps stupid exaggeration for Cube to be called FAT) due to Challenge carrying Cube from his hands. Wow ArtofSoup, I don't think it's the best time to be doing this right about now.

On page 5, this is where the entire pacing goes all over the place... It abruptly skips ahead to Squadril, who is suddenly captured by Dub and Flower Corrupts.(In a confusing turn of events, I was... Being showcased a fucking completely new and seemingly OC character - a random inverted triangle—whom Orange somehow met at some point in page 2. And now, this story then abruptly shifts to Squadril's perspective, where we find him being held captive at Dub's base with no explanation... What...?)

Dub, who was satisfied by Cyan being out of the way for his future plans. (I swear to fucking god... I hate this plot device that this series gave Cyan. Cyan's sudden mature form "ISN'T DOING ANYTHING FOR CYAN'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!! IT'S ONLY THERE TO BE A "FRUSTRATING NUISANCE" TOWARD THE OTHER CHARACTERS, ESPECIALLY HIS CARETAKER, CUBE THAT'S IT!!") Oh my god...

BTW, CYAN WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN FOR THE REST OF THE COMIC...

Behind Dub, two corrupted flowers called him by "Boss" show Squadril being held captive all of a sudden. Squadril then tells them to back off as he won't surrender to them. This won't help Squadril as Dub then corrupts him in the process.

Alright, so... not off to a good start for me. The first five pages already have pacing issues, with OC characters randomly appearing and a touch of overused comedic references from the canon episodes that aren't funny at all for the dish. What a disgusting meal...

Pages 6 - 9

On page 6, we see Dub still processing on fixing Squadril while turning him into a corrupt. While fixing him, Dub screamed out George's name, wanting to know where George was. George was seen presumably hiding and (starts to be the only mouthless flower corrupt showing emotion...) Answer me anyone... WHERE THE HELL did this development come from???

On page 7, Cube and Iris were safely landed back down to the ground with the help of Challenge and Orange while Cintagon completely landed onto a tree branch from impact (Hey Orange, why can't you use your telekinesis on Cintagon too???). Iris then says nice work to his hero, Orange. (Lets pause here...)

Major Issue: Iris's Entire Characterization Being Changed

From a post I found out about Page 7 from the current creator, one of the information about this page is that ("Iris has more emotion than just "smug").

I actually have more evidence to go along with this which is from the Halloween Comic, ArtofSoup created on DeviantArt.

From the Halloween comic itself, Iris does a prank on Cube by using pink paint to disguise himself to make Cube think that he got infected. After Cube found out that Iris was pranking him, he didn't find this funny (Iris... Your sense of humor will always fucking suck bro to this day... Get a life dude...). Iris even "actually apologizes to Cube from the prank", which is so weird for me because of his sudden change of character.

You really think that Iris was this kind and friendly enough from the way Brittany portrayed it, who has fucked up demeanors? THINK AGAIN FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP!!!

Overall, this also implies that ArtofSoup also made Iris's personality more apologetic and nicer now. So... takes a sip of cold coke You're telling me that your making Iris's whole characterization and personality more mellow and likable now all of a sudden without even giving him any sort of meaningful character development for him to be acting this way...??? Bruh...

THIS WAS NOT EARNED!!!

Btw, that Halloween short comic just basically shows just like I said, how fucking pathetic Iris's sense of humor is toward the other characters.

Back To The Comic

Back to Page 7, Challenge, Iris, and Orange notice Poly Village unknowingly being destroyed that being up with pink flames coming out of the burned houses from some unknown corrupt. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN THIS COMIC?!?! DID AN FUCKING DRAGON BURN THE ENTIRE VILLAGE DOWN????

On page 8, we get to introduce another OC character.... (where the hell are these characters even coming from, bro...) that comes out of nowhere. He's name is, "Teroblast", an old friend of Challenge and this MF looks like a self-insert of the current creator, ArtofSoup's QuadragonX's profile picture on the wiki into this bitch.

Am I wrong?

Anyway, while Purpex is never to be seen (like we care where she is at this point), Marcle was crying on the ground because of Squadril getting kidnapped. Teroblast was about to comfort her until he noticed Challenge with the others. With an awkward gesture, Challenge acknowledged Teroblast's presence by placing a hand on the back of his head.

On page 9, Teroblast asserts that he has not seen him since his brother's death. This statement concludes with Challenge exclaiming "ENOUGH!", which shocks Teroblast. Ok first off, let's talk about what happened here...

Question Time Imagine this scenario: You unexpectedly run into an old friend you haven't seen in ages. They are delighted to see you, but out of the blue, they start sharing very personal information immediately that you'd rather not discuss in your current situation. I want to generally hear your thoughts about this in the comment section...

I would've punched Teroblast in the face for that...

From what I'm seeing him pages 6-9, Poly Village gets burned and destroyed with no explanation to just let it happen for the sake of the plot's progression, more OC characters coming out of no where that looks like an almost self-insert of the current creator.

Page 10 - 15

On page 10, Challenge believes Teroblast doesn't understand. He explains that he and his unknown brother were very close until Dub abducted him. Judging by the appearance of the unknown shape next to Challenge, it is implied that his brother is Barracuda himself. But, who knows if that's the case...

On page 11, Teroblast expresses sympathy for Challenge, who is grieving the loss of his brother. Challenge weeps, and Teroblast speaks his name.

Here's the main issue with this: remember what I said earlier on, before I started explaining the comic, about how creators may intentionally introduce characters who make the audience instantly love and find them cool, but who are objectively blinded by them not being well-written characters? Reflecting on this comic, I nearly felt sympathy for Challenge and his predicament. However, I just... Still don't care about him because he was very unexpectedly introduced into the story in a very non-linear approach.

Secondly, Teroblast... Why the hell are you bringing up something so personal out of your fucking mouth to piss Challenge off and make him cry afterward, despite already knowing about his brother's death then...? Let's have Teroblast be aware of Challenge's brother's passing without making it a big issue, and then immediately use it as a cheap trick to try and sympathize with Challenge's situation.

On page 12, this is where I die in laughter... After Dub finishes corrupting Squadril, he turns into this very clever and calculated henchman (Hedrilateral, his name)😂😂, as he comes up with this plan for Dub to disguise as a flower. (Lets pause here).

So you're telling me that Squadril's character gets immediately thrown out of the window because I barely fucking know anything about this magician's life, just for him to become a "henchman corrupt for Dub" for god knows how long?! 😂😂

On page 13, Dub showcases a new ability for him to shapeshift into a gray flower, like the one from the video game itself.

On page 14, Dub senses victory drawing closer. He envisions a restored Cubic and a corrupted Iris, believing that Paradise will be his. (Just to keep you guys the heads up, Iris's corrupted counterpart's name is just "Corrupted Iris"...)

On page 15, Iris notices Stibnite and alerts Teroblast, Challenge, and Citren that they have a problem. Teroblast shouts to Stibnite that he has five seconds to leave, or he will take action. However, someone intervenes and advises Teroblast not to do that.

Overall for pages 10-15, the portrayal of Challenge's emotional turmoil as a result of his brother's demise, coupled with Teroblast's subsequent apology, was so poorly-done and was clearly contrived, seemingly inserted from the current creator, ArtofSoup with the intent to elect sympathy for the Challenge's character. Additionally, Squadril's entire characterization gets his ass cheeks smacked out of the window, just for him to become a "fucking henchman corrupt" for Dub...

Pages 16 - 23

On page 16, Stibnite displays his hatred for Sabrepulse and the four caretakers. Before seeing a shield, he immediately senses that something is wrong. He notices the purple dome that was created by Iris and Orange that contains Lycanthropy inside the seal from the Lycanthropy fight since Season 1, Episode 4. Wait...

So basically what's going on here is that, ArtofSoup wanted to insert another OC character coming out of the blue. Furthermore, I thought Dub was going to send "a group of corrupts to save Lycanthropy from what he said in Season 1, Episode 5", not some bat-like creature that randomly finds it out in Poly Forest. Another minor plot change that nobody notices...

On page 17, Stibnite approaches the seal. Inside is Lycanthropy, who appears to be undergoing a purification process within the seal, which is transforming him back into his pure counterpart, Lythorus. Lycanthropy and Lythorus begged anyone to save them until Stibnite saved Lycanthropy's life from purification inside the seal by summoning a bomb attack to explode the seal. (Lets pause here).

About this page, the seal that Iris and Orange created here for Lycanthropy since Season 1, Episode 4 was another way to purify corrupts. It is shown that Lycanthropy is being weakened by the seal's power, proceedingly turning him back into Lythorus, but at a slow rate. However, at the same time, looking back at Lycanthropy's entire character, you could barely give a fuck about him because he has little to nothing to do in this series...

On page 18, Challenge uses some sort of new ability or something (possibly a clairvoyance power, I don't fucking know). Meanwhile, Lycanthropy thanks an embarrassed for Sitbnite for stopping the purification and destroying the shield, though the former thinks the latter overdid it. FINALLY, Pentellow shows up and accidentally snaps a branch, Lythorus notices her, and the situation gets ugly for Pentellow.

WHERE THE FUCK WAS SHE AT???

On page 19, Pentellow gets worried about how she can't win against Lycanthropy. Challenge runs off-screen to search for Sibinite as Cube chases after him, while Tsavorite, who pops out of no where and somehow, starts to use some new ability to sense or call Cube (I don't know). Tsavorite starts saving Pentellow's life from Lycanthropy, as Tsavorite tells Pentellow and Cube to rush off, while Tsavorite and presumably Challenge stop Lythorus.

On page 20, Pentellow tells Cube that they need to go without a second thought, with Cube being clueless about what's going on (how about explaining to him while still running). Lycanthropy was about to launch a spiked ball at Pentellow and Cube when Challenge stopped the attack by using a weapon by using his prismatic ears, then threatening Lycanthropy to stop. (Let's pause here).

What follows here everyone is going to be the most blatant heroic sacrifice I've ever seen...

On page 21, Cube realizes that Challenge got infected by The Pink Corruption via his prismatic ears. Cube informs him, but Challenge already knows, and he says that although "pyramid monster shapes are resistant to The Pink Corruption Virus" Slams hand so hard on computer desk in disbelief WHAAAAAT?!

I THOUGHT THE CARETAKERS WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT WERE GIVEN THIS ABILITY!!! THIS FURRY PYRARE WANNABE MOTHERFUCKER IS NOT A "CARETAKER"!!! GTFO WITH THIS SHIT!!!

With tears in his eyes, Challenge warns Cube that he has been too cautious. He asks Cube to convey his farewell to his father (how the fuck will Cube know anything about your father if you never told him his name to him...) before succumbing to corruption. His final words to Cube were a single, urgent command: "Run!"

On page 22, while Cube, Tsavorite, and Pentellow are running away (and we never learn what happened to Orange, Iris, Gold, and Pyrare), Challenge confronts Lycanthropy, declaring that he won't allow him to harm our virus-stopping team. Lycanthropy responds by saying that he has already achieved victory, but Challenge is confused and asks what he means.

On my gosh, we are at the final stretch of the comic everyone!

On page 23, Teroblast shows up and is forced to watch Challenge being corrupted. Teroblast and Challenge are both shedding tears, with Challenge trying to say he loves him (Don't tell Teroblast that you love him after he bursts out very sudden personal information about your brother's death), before the virus fully controls him. Challenge suddenly becomes infuriated, as he screams in agony turning him into a corrupt.

You know what, I wanna talk about this dude, Challenge...

Challenge's Entire Characterization

Undoubtedly, even though it's been 23 pages, Challenge is the most forced OC character I have encountered over my years in web-based content. He was so forced here in such a highly incongruous manner, that Challenge wants to be incorporated into the comic to play a pseudo-protagonistic role, which is absolute shit. Furthermore, the current creator, ArtofSoup, wanted so hard to manipulate my emotions by invoking sympathy towards Challenge situation - specifically about his brother's loss, as it is clearly shown from pages 9-11.

ArtofSoup wanted her OC fanfic fantasy to have Challenge to be the most broken character in the entire fucking series. I will explain why:

It is implied that Challenge has the ability to "see into the future".

Every Pyramid Monster Pyramid like Challenge are resistant to the Pink Corruption (even though, the caretakers only possess this power).

He can fly.

If Challenge had been introduced much later in the story, in a more linear approach, it would have been a lot better.

In all honesty, this wouldn't help right now, because I couldn't care less towards Challenge's selfless heroic act, leading to him becoming a corrupted shape since Page 23. Overall, he is poorly-written, who has been seemingly shoehorned so hard into the story with very little consideration for contextual fluidity or compelling characterization, is contrived, distracting, and is too overpowered.

Other OC Characterers

This also goes along with ArtofSoup's other OC characters such as Teroblast and Sibtinite...

Final Verdict On For The PCC Comic

Cons

Narratively, ArtofSoup wanted to ham-fist shit such as different story's direction, changing characterization without proper development, minor lore & plot changes, etc to make it feel so unappreciated, miserable, and unsatisfying to me. It happened because to make the entire comic feel like it has "OC Fanfiction Fetish Fantasy Syndrome" from the current creator, ArtofSoup. They tried to deceive me by deliberately using "forced sympathy tricks" to desperately make me care about their OC characters in the cheapest way as possible, particularly Challenge and Teroblast (mostly for Challenge) cause IT DEFINITELY SHOWS. The pacing is already all over the place in the story's progression over the span of the preceding 23 pages. The Caretakers and Heroes should've been in a different area in Paradise by now searching for more groups besides wasting their time tagging along with these fucking OC characters (that almost look like self-inserts) for the PAST 23 PAGES!!!

Pros

Despite the amount of issues in comic, story and writing-wise, I would like to acknowledge some commendable elements. For starters, the story's tone achieves a more serious tenor (from the look of the direction), while not trying to be cheesily lighthearted, like from the earlier episodes of the series. Furthermore, character designs such as Teroblast's are aesthetically pleasing, knowing that it is assuming that the canon continuation was going to add more characters with improved designs.

Score

In summarizing my evaluation of the PCC Comic, I assign it a score of 4 out of 10 (Below-average). Starting with your sister shoving that disgusting pornographic fan-art cake in your face for dessert, and ending with the transfer of ownership of your project—with your full consent—to another individual, whom you badmouthed behind their back all this time, all of this led to a lackluster fanmade series derived from the "Pink Corruption Series," specifically the "Hope" series (that I'm going to be talking about next). Finally, giving me an actual pretty bad continuation in the form of a web-comic that "never tried to make it feel canon to begin with", to shove even more cake ONTO MY FUCKING FACE NEXT with OC fanfiction fetish toppings on it.

Hope Series

Now we can finally talk about the "Hope" series... The Hope Series is a discontinued fanmade series, based on the web-series, "The Pink Corruption Series" after Brittany Robinson gave her consent and permission for the Pink Corruption series to ArtofSoup.

Most of all, just like the pilot episode from The Pink Corruption Series, this pilot episode is not good...

So Let's Discuss This Episode

Beginning Part

In this episode, the scene opens on a stormy night, with Cube singing as he sits on a rock. He receives a call from his triangle chest from his brother, "Cubical". (Lets Pause Here).

Do you want to know the main reason why Cube has a brother? It's probably because we feel so bad that Cube doesn't know anything about his biological family. I don't mind Brittany taking away the generic childhood best friend trope, but this doesn't help the fact that I wasn't even invested into Cubical's character.

In a conversation between Cubical and Cube, Cubical asks Cube about his whereabouts and mentions that he has been searching for him. Cube responds by telling Cubical not to look for him and explains that he "needed some fresh air anyway". (It is evident here that Cube has a bit of an attitude here toward his brother).

After hanging up his brother, Cube continued walking until he heard a baby crying. He found Cyan, whose wing was caught on a tree branch. Cube rescued him and decided to take him home.

For some unknown reason, I don't know why Cyan is out here this windy and rainy at this late at night, while getting stuck in a tree...

While Cube was singing to Cyan, Cubical, who had been searching for him, spotted his umbrella on the ground and picked it up, looking worried. He then found Cube and hugged him. Cube stated that Cubical didn't need to search for him. Cubical was startled when he heard Cyan and quickly moved back. Cube explained how he had found Cyan, and Cubical agreed to let Cube take Cyan home. (Cube and Cubical's relationship kind of fucking sucks tbh).

Overall, the beginning part of HOPE episode 1 was pretty boring, with nothing interesting happening. Notwithstanding, the interactions between Cube and Cyan were moderately charming, though not particularly noteworthy, Cube and Cubical's relationship is already somewhat bad and cliched. Moreover, having Cyan randomly come out of no where just to get the rest of the plot going was never explained...

Back To The Episode

Middle Part

Later, while they are eating, Cyan shoots a beam from his chest, acting like a projector, showing Pyrahedron (we fucking "replace" Pyrare with this guy now...), who explains that Cube is now the fourth caretaker of the Tree or Life and that he has one day to reach the tree and seal the monster. (Lets Pause Because I Think I Can Talk About This Right Here).

Major Issue: Cube's Entire Characterization Being Changed

I think it's a good idea to make a comparison from the pilot episode from TPC with the HOPE series.

You can clearly tell from Cube's character and personality in the HOPE series that it's "completely changed" and I find it very disagreeable. From Season 1, Episode 1, Cube was fairly apathetic about his role as one of the Caretakers and his position as the hero, Cyan. This was evident from Cube's dereliction of his duties as a caretaker, which occurred twice in the pilot episode.

The first was forgetting to assist his hero Cyan in sealing away Dub, seeing Cube questions Cyan on why he has to come along as well.

The second one was forgetting to give Cyan his name (most likely by accident).

In a metaphorical sense, Cube's pronounced apathy towards his caretaker responsibilities, evident since the first episode of Season 1, serves as a reflection of his demeanor characterized by timidity and nervousness. Seeing him throughout the series occasionally questions Cyan or the companions, the other caretakers and heroes about why he has to perform these challenging or significant tasks. Nonetheless, despite his reservations, Cube still greatly assumes his role and together with his hero, Cyan, unintentionally semi-completes their mission on sealing Dub (even though it ended in chaos toward the conclusion of that episode).

(This image right here perfectly explains what I'm saying.)

In contrast, in the HOPE series, Cube's persona went from being a shy and somewhat introverted shape, which clearly shows signs of self-doubt and uncertainty about his role as a caretaker at times throughout the TPC series. And turned him into a much more easygoing and composed personality, who has a bit of an attitude toward his brother's overprotective tendencies and doesn't seem to be bothered or anything in the slightest about being chosen in his caretaker's role. Although recognizably simpler, this marked shift in character causes me severe dissatisfaction, as I perceive Cube's character in TPC to be superior...

About the way Cube gets chosen as the 4th Caretaker of the Tree of Life here, he was chosen so damn unexpectedly, after receiving a call from Pyrahedron (I don't know how the fuck did Pyrahedron get Cyan's phone number), without giving any indication as to why he was chosen for this role. Cube never expressed any concerns or questions about this, like how his TPC counterpart legitimately did toward TPC Cyan in the pilot episode. All of this happened because "he fucking "randomly" found Cyan, who inexplicably showed up out of no where to initially be stuck in a tree and gets taken care of by Cube just to get the rest of HOPE's main plot going".

Overall, I already dislike Cube's character here. This fucking disrespects how Cube's entire characterization was established in the TPC series.

Back To The Episode

Gold pops up and interrupts the call, while being happy (Gold's character gets ruined here too...). After Pyrahedron hangs up, Cube says he will go to the Tree of Life. Cubical asks how he is okay with all of this. Cube replies that he wasn't until he saw Gold on the call and realized that he looked similar to Cyan (Are you only giving out the main reason why you were chosen was just because of your fucking appearance looked identical to Cyan here...) He thinks Pyrahedron was serious and decides to head out in the morning.

The next morning, as Cube gets ready to head out, Cubical asks if he's really ready to do this. (OH MY FUCKING GO... You know what, I might as well talk about Cubical here...)

Cubical's Entire Characterization

I don't have a lot to say here so, I will keep it brief. If I have to describe him here, Cubical serves as a "clear replacement for Cube's childhood best friend, Lythorus". Despite being a caring brother to Cube, objectively, his character comes across as goddamn irksome due to his overprotective nature, constantly fretting over Cube's safety throughout the entire pilot episode, like shut up, bro...

Back To The Episode

Btw, despite giving Cube a brother, STILL DON'T HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SHOW PARENTS!!! WTF!!!

Cubical reminds Cube about his previous encounter with Dub. Cube gets a flashback of Dub shooting a laser beam, presumably toward one of his eyes. Cube reminds his brother that he survived the incident and that he will survive.

So you're telling me that before Cube was chosen, he encountered Dub before and was attacked by him, which we can all agree that Cube gotten "infected", right? So how come CUBE HASN'T TURNED INTO A CORRUPT LET?!

Subsequently, Cube requests that Cubical cease his concerns. While initially agreeing, Cubical persuades him to at least consume a meal before departing with Cyan, which Cube acquiesces to.

An hour later, Cube traverses the terrain clutching Cyan who slumbers soundly. Suddenly, a hazy figure zips past him. He glances back but discerns nothing. Progressing towards a huge pink lake, looking shocked. Unable to wade through the water, he ponders over how to circumvent his predicament.

Ketches approached Cube and asked if he needed help crossing the water to reach the Tree of Life. Cube gratefully accepted and thanked him. Ketches introduced himself and explained that he had helped all the caretakers before Cube as well. He invited Cube to hop aboard.

During their voyage, Cube acquaints himself with Ketches and inquires about the other Caretakers. Ketches identifies them as Iris, Pentellow, and Pyrahedron and clarifies that Iris and Pentellow have been unaccounted for since Cyan's birth. (You know what, looking back on Pyrahedron, I wouldn't mind having different caretaker characters because I could care less about Iris and Pentellow returning here...). However, Cube expresses his hope that their disappearance is unrelated to Dub. Ketches concurs, and they eventually arrive at the Tree of Life.

End Part

After dropping Cube off at the Tree of Life, Ketches expresses his gratitude, while cautioning Cube. He says that it looks like a clear path, but there could be someone clandestinely lurking about. Cube acknowledges Ketches' advice and proceeds towards the Tree of Life.

Before I talk about what happens next, I'm not joking, the rest of this conclusion is more "hilariously bad" than the TPC pilot episode's conclusion. 😂😂😂

Issue: Laughably Bad Conclusion That Ended On The Most Biggest Discontinued Cliffhangers I've Ever Seen In This Entire TPC Universe

Suddenly, a group a flower children showed up (they are fucking corrupts btw, who popped out of fucking no where). One of them "viciously assaults Cube by uppercutting him physically as a corrupt that caused him to disembody his body from his dead flying upward into the air". 😂😂😂 I burst out laughing because of this... How come Cube hasn't even turned into Cubic yet after getting blasted by Dub from his previous encounter with him and now an uppercut (that was so strong by the way) from an infected flower child?!

Cube firmly declares his refusal to engage in combat with children, even those tainted by corruption. (ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! THEY ARE CORRUPTS CUBE, DEFEND YOURSELF?! 😂😂😂) However, one of the children warns that, despite their own unwillingness to fight, Cube will still face dire consequences from the flower group. (WHAT?! THEN WHY DID ONE OF YOU LITTLE BRATS START ATTACKING CUBE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIGHT HIM THEN?!)

Following this, one of the child corrupt flowers, pulls out a damn gong out of her ass that causes the sky and the Tree of Life to adopt a pink and black hue. Heli's fleeting appearance is observed, before taking flight. In the ensuing commotion, Dub emerges, and the episode concludes. (JESUS WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?! 😂😂😂)

Final Verdict For HOPE Series

Cons

After laughing so hard after HOPE's pilot episode conclusion, it's time to give my final verdict on this. It is so unappealing and boring than its predecessor, TPC (despite my unfavorable opinion about the latter).

From a narrative standpoint, Episode 1 presents a poorly-written script, replete with subpar pacing, characters such as Cube, who has his personality and characterization disrespectfully changed, minor inconsistencies, and an utterly hilariously bad conclusion that is more worse than the TPC's pilot episode.

Not to mention, upon me discovering a restored video of the Hope series's intro, HOPE's worldbuilding looks like in a nutshell, if The Pink Corruption Series's worldbuilding was overly simplistic and generic that will make you go...

Me: Bro...

And, take all of the elements out of what a JSAB world looks like...

Pros

Episode 1 doesn't have a lot of pros besides character designs being improved (also, Cube's hat looks ugly as shit btw).

Score

My appraisal for the show, taking into account its single episode, would be like the PCC comic, 4 out of 10 (Below-average). The HOPE series, in my perspective, appears to be an unproductive utilization of my time. Going from giving your consent and permission to someone else just to make another typical underwhelming web-series on Youtube that failed to impress me.

Right after, when Brittany Robinson - the show's former creator - discontinued HOPE and instead embarked on the Non-Canon Continuation of the TPC series, this is where her writing skills showed their "true colors" due to how unbelievably bad it was in my opinion. It was because I knew something was up with the writing since the pilot episode that was going to eventually decline later on.

Final conclusion for ALL OF THIS!

So... What's the problem here between these two works? The biggiest main issues between them were the "amount of changes" that felt so insulting to me. It includes narrative shortcomings and quality, poor characterization that were disrespectfully changed or without proper development, ineffective worldbuilding that takes away what a JSAB world actually looks like, and try to perceived manipulative tactics emotionally toward me that were employed from the PCC comic for Challenge and Teroblast haphazardly, that was distracting and unnecessary, etc.

The Entire Pink Corruption Drama is the most pointlessly disingenuous drama I have ever seen in my life from what I've analyzed to the best of my ability. All of this because from the distasteful and objectionable pornographic artwork associated with the TPC series from Brittany's sister, Brea.

If I were to amalgamate both the PCC comic and the HOPE series, my rating would be a modest 3.5 out of 10 (slightly below average). My perception is that ArtofSoup and Brittany Robinson have lost their touch for me regarding the series as a whole. While there is much to criticize, I will refrain from doing so at present. However, I cannot help but feel melancholy because the PCC comic and the HOPE series does "an incredible job to make me feel straight up miserable in my gaming chair" and it shows, it ABSOULTELY SHOWS FOR ME!

Thank you to everyone who read this...

[nothinghereisworking]

A gift for @melestasflight

~750 words Rated G ___________________________________________________________

Ñolofin couldn’t help but smile at his brother, pacing anxiously in the garden.

“Mother will be furious if you wear a hole in her lawn,” he said, chuckling when Arafin looked startled, drawn out of his thoughts.  “And Eärwen, if you wear yourself out.”

Ñolofin slipped down from the low wall on which he had been sitting and put a hand on Arafin’s shoulder.  “You can neither hurry nor delay the future by all these dramatics.”

Arafin blushed slightly, offering a nervous smile in return.  “I know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “But knowing that does little to ease my restlessness.”

“Ah, too right.  But what will your lady say?” Ñolofin said, pulling his brother into a one-armed embrace and patting his chest.  “I can hear it now: ‘Ai! Arakáno, is it not the elders duty to guide the younger?  How did you let my husband become so distraught?  Did I not ask you to calm him?’”

Arafin gave a proper laugh at that, even as he gripped the end of his sash, twisting it in his hands with no less anxiety than had driven his pacing.  “How you can be so calm I cannot fathom.  Even if this is not the first.”

“All my energy has been spent watching you,” Ñolofin laughed in return.  “I am weary without any effort on my part!  But come now, this profits you nothing.  Eat something, or drink at least, and do not fret so!”

Arafin let himself be led to a nearby pavilion, laid out with sweet wines in jeweled carafes and bite-sized morsels arrayed on trays of silver and gold.  He sat upon one of the cushions while Ñolofin poured wine for them both.

“Were you not as anxious when Findekáno was born?”

“Of course not,” he said, hiding his guilty smile behind his glass as he took a sip.  “After all, I had been through Lalwen and you both.  What cause to be anxious?”

Arafin held his glass but did not drink, gazing into the honey-tinted contents as the Light played in the depths like stars.  “I suppose there is always a fear that… that Míriel will not be the only one so wearied.”

“Ah, brother.”  Ñolofin could not say he had not thought the same, but he had to confess he had feared more for Nerdanel than for Anairë.  “Those thoughts will lead to madness; do not let yourself think of it.  Be glad, for you shall be a father soon!  And I do not think anything would part Eärwen from you.”

“I know it in my heart, but still I cannot help but worry,” Arafin admitted.  “It is the unknown that drives me to madness more than anything.”

“Listen to me,” Ñolofin said, taking on the authoritative voice of the elder.  “In but a short time you will hold in your arms the most precious jewel you will have ever beheld - and you will ache and weep and not know how you can contain all the feelings in your chest, for surely you must burst with them.

“You will feel as though you would do anything for that child - face any fear, conquer any obstacle, swear any oath for their sake, and never think twice.  Your life will forever be changed, but it will be for the richer.”

Arafin gazed at his brother, having never heard him speak so before, and the little seed of fear at last slipped out.  “Will- will that be enough?  Will I- will I be enough?”

Ñolofin knelt before him and put his hands to either side of Arafin’s head, resting their foreheads together.  “I have known you since your first breath, my beloved brother.  Of all those I have ever known, you are worthy of the name father.”

Ñolofin kissed his brow softly before coaxing him to his feet.  “And think, you need not worry that the child will be lonely, for so born they may as well be twins as much as cousins!”

“That thought is a comfort,” Arafin said.  “I hope they are as close, for I know not what I would do without my brother.”

Ñolofin embraced him, but then pulled back and said, “Look, here comes the servant now to fetch us.  Wipe your tears for Eärwen’s sake, though you will cry again soon enough, no doubt.”

With their arms over one another’s shoulder they made their way across the garden to meet the servant, breathless and full of joy at the news of two sons born to them.

[serenxanthe]

After Ziost, a SWTOR Story

Part 4 (Chapters 8 - 9): In which Theron has to face the truth.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 is here.

Chapter 8

Sitting in the taxi on his way over to Satele’s apartment, Theron’s stomach lurched as he had a sudden thought; Lana! What if she’d been with Marr on his flagship? He’d never really forgiven her for that stunt she’d pulled back on Rishi, and their last interactions on Ziost had been the furthest thing from friendly, but stars! He didn’t want her to be dead!

Before he could talk himself out of it, Theron grabbed his communicator and called her frequency. She picked up, looking absolutely astonished to see him. His relief at seeing her alive and well was short lived, as she spoke; “Theron! I’m… sorry, I’m so, so, sorry.” 

Theron didn’t think he’d ever heard that much sympathy in Lana’s voice before, and she was the one who’d lost friends on Marr’s fleet, not him, wasn’t she? Wasn’t she?

Theron’s blood finally ran cold with real dread. Why did it sound like Lana was offering him condolences, and why had his mother insisted that he shouldn’t call anyone?

“Lana…” Theron started, but she looked behind her then back at him, interrupting him to say, “I’ve got to go, Theron; I’m needed to brief the Dark Council. But I really am sorry.” With a last terrifyingly sympathetic look at Theron she was gone. 

Theron was struggling to contain his body’s overwhelming fear response by this point. His breathing was rapid and shallow; it didn’t feel like enough air was getting into his lungs. His heart rate was elevated, but also seemed to be beating with an unaccustomed irregularity he could feel. He felt dizzy and sick. 

Theron spent some time cataloguing and analysing his body’s physical reactions in order to avoid having to think about what had happened. What must have happened to cause everyone around him to exhibit the behaviours, the demeanours, he was seeing. He knew, of course he knew, but he refused to let his brain think about it, let alone acknowledge it. If he did that, it would make it real, make it true. And it wasn’t true. It wasn’t. It wasn’t possible.

The taxi arrived back at his mother’s apartment, but Theron didn't want to get out. Getting out was the first step towards going into her apartment, which in turn was the first step towards hearing something that he just couldn't hear.

Still fighting his panic attack, Theron stepped out of the taxi. His mother was there, she’d obviously been watching out for him from one of her windows. Shockingly, her calm Jedi face was streaked with dried tears. Theron stared for a moment, then, “No.” he said to her. 

“…No?” Satele started to ask him.

“No.” Theron told her firmly. “I’m not going to hear this. I… can’t hear this.”

“Theron, come inside, please.” Satele said.

Theron shook his head, increasing his dizziness, his stomach lurching with nausea. “I don’t need to come inside, you’ve got nothing to tell me. Nothing that’s true, nothing that’s real.”

Satele’s eyes filled with tears, she blinked them away instantly of course, her Jedi countenance mostly still in place as she stood there watching her son’s heart breaking at a public taxi rank.

“Please Theron,” Satele begged him, “come inside. For my sake, I can’t…” she swallowed and continued, “I can’t bear to do this out here.”

Theron finally shrugged his acquiescence, his face more of a blank mask than Satele’s own. 

Chapter 9

Satele led Theron back upstairs to her apartment and once inside they stood looking at each other silently.

“You know, don’t you?” Satele said eventually. 

Theron shrugged again, his face still lifeless. 

“How?” she asked him.

“Your face. Lana’s voice.” Satele opened her mouth to speak but Theron interrupted, “I called her. I know you told me not to. She sounded sympathetic.” He laughed bitterly, the sound shockingly inappropriate in the heavy silence of the room.

Satele stretched out her hand to touch her son’s arm.

Theron stepped back, “I’ve gotta go.” he told her, and turned to leave.

“Theron…” Satele pleaded with him, “Stay. Talk to me.” Her communicator trilled. No doubt a Senate Official chasing up her presence at the emergency meeting. She switched it off. 

“Somewhere you need to be?” Theron asked her.

“Yes. But you need me more.” Satele said, “They can wait, or manage without me.”

His mother had put him first and Theron’s emotionless mask finally cracked.

“I know, of course I know. But I can’t talk about it, I can’t acknowledge it, I can’t think about it, because… if she’s gone, I can’t.” Theron broke off, swallowing desperately, “Without her, I can’t, I won’t be able to… I can’t live in a galaxy without her in it. I can’t, I’ll die. I’ll… die.” 

After starting off relieved that he was finally opening up to her, Satele had been growing increasingly horrified by Theron’s words. Did he mean them literally? She put her arms around him for the first time since he was only minutes old, and suddenly, shockingly, Theron burst into tears.

Hearing himself, Theron was mortified. When had he last cried? He couldn’t remember if he ever had. Sure, there’d been times when things had been going wrong with Seren and tears had come to his eyes; similarly, when he was younger and failing over and over again to feel the Force. But with these awful, wracking sobs, the tears running down his face? He didn’t think he had, not ever.

Satele let Theron cry, her arms still around him. Eventually, he stopped. He stepped out of her embrace and sat down on the sofa. He looked away from her, embarrassed at his outburst. As a Jedi, she must be horrified at his lack of self control. 

Satele wasn’t horrified by his tears, but his words beforehand? She sat down on the opposite sofa and looked at him. How could she raise her fears for him without pushing him away?

Theron looked at Satele. “Is it certain?” he asked her, an unbearable note of hope in his voice, “I mean absolutely, one hundred percent, certain?”

Satele sighed, this wasn’t going to help him adjust to his new reality, but she owed him the truth. “Theron, there are no living witnesses who saw her… die…” 

As she expected, that word caused Theron to visibly flinch and grow even paler, but he deserved better than the sugar-coated euphemisms people used for death.

Theron rallied, and asked the question Satele had known was coming.

“So she could be alive? She could easily still be alive?” Theron laughed with relief. He knew it wasn’t true, he knew it! 

“Theron, no.” Satele said sadly but firmly, “Don’t do this to yourself.” She swallowed, unsure whether to be even more explicit with him about what she knew. 

“What I want to know is why you’re giving up on her?” Theron said impatiently, “She could be out there, right now, waiting for us to rescue her!”

“Theron, listen to me, she isn’t. I’m sorry, but she isn’t.” Satele told him.

“No, you listen to me!” Theron said angrily. “This is the Emperor’s cloaked fortress all over again! If you hadn’t just assumed she was lost, we could have rescued her and Kira straight away! She wouldn’t have had to go through months of torture!” He shook his head and stood up to leave. “I’m going to get my shuttle refuelled and get out there, if nobody else will.”

“Theron, stop.” Satele briefly covered her face with her hands, steeling herself, then said, “There were enough privateers and surviving smaller Republic and Imperial vessels in the area that all the escape pods that made it off the flagship were picked up straight away. Seren wasn’t on any of them. And the survivors have already been debriefed.”

“A Corporal Ralo, Republic Army, reported that he met Seren, they spoke at length.” Satele paused, “I’m telling you this Theron, so that you know he’s a reliable narrator.”

Theron rolled his eyes with scepticism but let her continue. 

“He met Seren as she headed down to Engineering to rendezvous with Marr. Against his Imperial counterpart’s better judgement, Seren stopped to relieve some troops under extreme pressure from what we’re calling ‘skytroopers’. Ralo told us that later he heard Seren’s voice over the ship’s comms ordering them all to evacuate immediately.”

“What has all this got to do with your insistence that Seren didn’t make it?” Theron interrupted her impatiently. 

Satele sighed, “I’m coming to that.” she said with gentle patience. “Theron, what happened to Marr’s ship was… catastrophic. Ralo and others in his escape pod were watching out of the window as it was destroyed. The shields were already failing as they evacuated, and from the pod they saw the ship being… torn in two by fire from some sort of massive cannon on the alien fleet.”

Theron looked down, and drew in a shuddering breath, but then met Satele’s eyes again and said, “Ok, sure, that sounds bad, but it doesn’t mean that…”

“Theron.” Satele interrupted him, unable to bear listening to him continue to torture himself with hope. “That’s not all. Ralo reported that after the ship broke in two, the shields finally failed, and the next cannon shot from the alien fleet blew it up completely. There’s nothing left except debris. We can’t even recover her… body. I’m so sorry.”

Theron sat and said nothing for several minutes, his head in his hands. “I’m going to go now.” He told Satele eventually, his voice broken with suppressed tears, his tone dull with despair.

Satele was terrified for him, given what he’d said earlier. “Theron,” she started. “Are you going to be…” she hesitated, not knowing how to put it. Ok? She thought. No. He was obviously not ok. “…safe?” she finished.

Theron looked at her, his red-rimmed eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to snarl at her, but stopped himself and said, “Sure Satele, I’m going to be… safe I guess.”

Satele nodded, head swimming with relief. She didn’t think he’d lie to her outright about something like that.

“Do you want me to update you after we’ve had the emergency Senate meeting on the response to this new threat, Theron?” she asked him. “I probably shouldn’t, given your current status as a former SIS agent, but if you think it would help…”

Theron thought about it, it probably would help. Give him something to focus on at least. He nodded, “Sure. Yes. Thank you. But I really need to go now.”

[your-divine-ribs]

I’m With the Band Part 26

Words: 1.4k

I’m With the Band Masterlist Main Masterlist

It almost feels like deja vu when my eyes flutter open for the second time that morning and there's a moment of confused disorientation whilst my sleep-addled mind tries to make sense of what time it is, and where I am, and more importantly... who the hell it is snuggled up so tightly behind me, hips pressed firmly against my ass.

And then it all comes flooding back, the photos of Sam, our altercation and him storming out, the surprising comfort offered by Van but then his sudden moodiness. He'd acted like he couldn't get away from me fast enough, presumably sulking over my hook-up with Sam, so I never would have imagined I'd wake up like this, him pressed up to me in such a way that I can clearly feel every part of him through his thin sweatpants. He's so close he's actually spooning me, a hand draped over my hip, legs tucked and bent behind mine, his whole body curved inwards tightly around my frame. I wonder fleetingly whether he's awake, but then I hear a small snore erupt from him followed by a dreamy sigh, his body flexing against me gently in a way that makes my own breathing catch. Any remaining sleep quickly falls away as I lie there, becoming ultra aware of each deep breath that he takes, the pleasant warmth seeping into me where our bodies are connected. And then I hear something else...

"Mmm Bella... you're so... mmm..."

The words are mumbled, barely even words, thick with sleep and drawn out. He must be waking up.

"Van?" I whisper. No answer. I try again, pushing my hips back slightly as I repeat his name, expecting a response. I get one, but not one that I was expecting.

"Ohh... Bella... mmm... yeah... feel so good..."

I have to bite down on my lip to stifle the laugh that quickly bubbles up inside me like a fountain, dying to break free. Van's not waking up at all. He's fast asleep, caught up in a dream, and it doesn't take a genius to work out what kind of dream he's having.

There's another sigh and I can feel his hips rock gently against my ass, his fingers curling around my hip bone before relaxing. As much as I’m trying to contain a major fit of the giggles, I can't deny that the thought of him having a smutty dream about me whilst we’re lying in bed fused together like this is turning me on.

I ponder whether to wake him to see his reaction but quickly dismiss the idea, deciding that it would be much more fun to see how this plays out. Especially now I can hear more muttered words from behind me, unintelligible, broken syllables that I can't quite decipher. I wonder what confessions I might be able to pull from his sleeping brain that I can embarrass him with later.

"Va...an," I whisper quietly, giving my hips an experimental roll, pushing my ass back against his pelvis. He groans lustily and I have to mute another laugh by pursing my lips.

"Baby... please..." he utters on a sigh, and the way he says it floods my lower body with heat. I can actually feel him getting hard behind me and I start to wonder what might happen if I continued to grind against him, working him up enough so that he eventually swims up through the layers of sleep to find that his filthy dream has followed him into waking hours. Maybe I could even turn around and press my lips to his... or maybe even press them elsewhere.

"Van! Van! You awake mate? You'll never guess what our Bells has gone and done now!"

I hear Larry's booming voice a split second before the door's flung open with force, making me yelp out loud in shock.

"Fuck's sake Larry!" I cry out, pulling myself up quickly into a sitting position, fumbling to pull up the strap of my slip which is hanging down my arm, practically exposing my chest. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"What the fuck you doing in 'ere?" Larry barks back, mouth and eyes wide in stunned disbelief. His attention flicks behind me where I can feel movement and hear some confused kind of mumbling as Van finally emerges from his dream.

"Actually... I'm sleeping!" I shoot back, narrowing my eyes at him. "Or rather I was! That alright with you?"

I’m expecting Larry to back down. It would be more his style to stalk away and catch me later on when I’m alone to unleash on me in private, but he doesn't, and I can see by the look in his eyes that he's fuming. It makes me instantly bristle in defence. For once I wasn’t actually doing anything wrong. Well... I might have been intending to, but I didn't go through with it. It's practically impossible to have any fun around here the way that Larry keeps interrupting at the most inopportune of moments.

"Well, when you've finished with Van I want a word... unless you're going to move on to Bondy next!"

His words hit me like a slap in the face but I don't show it. I just put on my biggest smirk, fixing him with a glare, straightening up where I sit, defiant.

"When the hell are you gonna start realising that I can do whatever I want? I'm an adult now in case you didn't realise. I'm not that little kid anymore that you can boss around."

"Yeah, go easy on her Larry. Bloody hell man, we were just sleeping like she says." Van pipes up from behind me and I turn to look at him, my smirk still lingering as I notice the pillow he's strategically placed on his lap, no doubt hiding the effects of his arousing dream.

"Thank you Van," I say smugly, then my smile grows as I tip him a knowing look. "Sweet dreams, eh?"

"Wha... errr... I dunno... I can't remember," he mumbles, blushing and quickly looking away, raising up a hand to ruffle the hair at the nape of his neck.

"A word please Bells," Larry reminds me curtly, and when I look at him he's standing leaning against the door frame with his arms folded and his mouth a hard line, and for a fleeting second he reminds me of my dad when he disapproves of something that I’ve done.

But he's not my dad, he's just my bloody cousin for gods sake. He's only three years my senior and he has no right to tell me what to do or lecture me on my loose morals. I’m tempted to flip him the middle finger and give him a piece of my mind but then I consider that tour starts up in a few days and I’ve got every intention of being on that bus. Even though Larry doesn't contribute musically to the band he's very much a member and he could make life very difficult for me if provoked. Not to mention he could easily let slip my antics to my aunt and uncle who've been entrusted to keep me on the straight and narrow whilst my parents are in New York. The thought of languishing in Llandudno for the rest of the summer whilst the lads are living it up playing gigs and festivals around the UK and attending parties fills me with a deep dread.

So I sigh dramatically, grabbing Van's discarded Little Comets t-shirt from the crumpled heap on the bed, pulling it over my head to cover the skimpy slip that I’m wearing. Maybe that will go some way to appeasing Larry who seems to want me to act like a fucking nun.

"Okay then mardy arse," I grumble. "You win... again. I swear you must be allergic to fun."

Larry just huffs, standing back to let me pass.

"See ya later Van... after my lecture," I add sarcastically, looking pointedly at Larry. Then I pause in the doorway, looking back at Van with a cheeky grin. "I never knew before that you talked in your sleep... it's been very.... interesting actually!"

Van looks mildly flustered which pleases me and I grin to myself, already fast forwarding in my head to nights on the tour bus curled up in his bunk... and maybe not just his...

[justonemorewallflower]

JEALOUSY - wednesday x tyler

JEALOUSY - WEDNESDAY & TYLER

Requested by/for: @ijuswanttolivemyfuckinglife

WORDCOUNT: 953

(For sake of convenience in this one shot, more has been learned about Hydes so the outcasts don’t all hate Tyler and he’s a Nevermore student).

It was Wednesday’s second year at Nevermore and it was time for the Rave’N Dance again and no one was surprised that her date was the same person it was last year. She’d never admit it but her and Tyler might as well be a couple. Tyler still had obvious feelings for her and she returned them, just not as obviously. But she tolerated him and a lot of people knew that was some sign to their relationship.

Wednesday was sitting, people watching before she would do anything interesting. She wasn’t much of a dancer anyways. At least, not in the way everyone else at the dance was. She wasn’t going to do any cheesy slow dance. Or at least that’s what she had told herself at the start of the night.

Tyler eventually went to get them some punch and she had joined, wanting to get her own as she knew he would be careful to not give her much since it was likely spiked but she didn’t care. She tried to be polite about it, just grabbing her own cup as he was getting his own.

“I was going to get it for you,” he told her with a curious expression.

“I’d rather get my own… but thank you.” She said the last part quietly, she’d rather be murdered than have anyone like Enid hear her say thank you to someone for something rather minuscule.

Tyler nodded, smiling a little before walking over to some seats. Wednesday joined him and they drank their punch in peace for a while, watching the party unfold.

Their peace was interrupted a while later when a girl who Wednesday recognized as a vampire asked Tyler if he wanted to dance. Wednesday thought this girl must have a death wish as she believed practically the whole school called Tyler “hers” and knew of their “relationship.” Wednesday was more annoyed at the fact that the girl was acting as if she wasn’t even there.

Tyler looked over to Wednesday hesitantly and since Wednesday didn’t want to show such an emotion like jealousy she didn’t say a word and kept her face neutral. Tyler didn’t know how to take that but set his cup down and stood up. The vampire girl smiled as she grabbed one of his arms and started dragging him towards the dance floor.

Wednesday let it happen, but not for long. She kept a close eye on them and when the girl got a little too close for her liking she seethed and got up. She approached the pair though once she got to them she didn’t quite know what to say without it being obvious she was jealous.

After a moment when the pair were both staring at her, the vampire with annoyance and Tyler with a slightly amused expression, she said, “Enid said she wants to see Tyler.” She grabbed ahold of one of his hands and pulled him away from the vampire, who scoffed and gave Wednesday a mean glare but she returned one twice as mean.

Once they were far enough away she stopped Tyler and wrapped her arms around his neck as he hooked his arms around her waist. “I’m the only one you dance with, got it?” She asked bluntly, annoyance clear in her voice.

Tyler nodded as he smiled at her, trying to contain a laugh. She noticed the expression and furrowed her eyebrows, “what’s so funny?”

“You’re jealous, that’s what,” he replied as he finally let out a small laugh.

“I am not.” There was no way in hell she was going to ever admit to that, no matter how true it was.

“Well, does Enid need to see me?”

“No,” she responded quickly without thinking. She realized her mistake only after he replied, “then that’s not why you had taken me away from the girl.”

Wednesday scowled as she let go and moved to try and walk away. He caught her by her hand and moved to spin her around to which she had to reluctantly follow through with. He then pulled her close, “It’s okay to admit you were jealous, Wednesday.”

“Jealousy isn’t an emotion I’m capable of,” she responded simply.

“Then you wouldn’t care if I danced with another girl?” He inquired, leaning down a little to try and meet her dark eyes that were more focused on the space behind him than on him.

She struggled to reply as she answered honestly after a couple moments, “I would care.”

“Then you’re jealous,” he said back with an amused smile as she glared up at him.

“I just don’t trust others,” she shot back as she raised her chin, trying to get back her confidence. She wasn’t going to admit to Tyler that she didn’t want anyone else to dance with him. That was pathetic.

“I also thought you didn’t like to dance,” he added with a teasing smile.

She took in and let out an angry breath, “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Wednesday was not one for public displays of affection but she had used this method several times before and it had been effective so she pulled him down by his suit collar and kissed him roughly.

She made it quick though so no one would have noticed it unless they had been closely watching the pair.

As she fixed his collar a bit he joked with her, “You’re such a tease.”

“Get used to it,” she replied, a smile threatening to tug at the corners of her mouth.

“I will,” he smiled before he pulled her in for another kiss which she accepted and returned, a bigger part of her than she would admit hoping the vampire girl was seeing it.

(Hope you enjoyed this and that it was okay lol! I wanted to do one at the dance since I feel like most jealous Wednesday one shots take place at Weathervane and I wanted to do something a little different than what I’ve personally read so far).

[invisible-key]

Sick in Public - part 1 (new version)

I rewrote this story into first person POV for the sake of consistency, but you can still read the original version (third person POV) here if you prefer it!

Kinks: emetophilia, (a little bit of stuffing?) 

OCs: Bernie 

Summary: Emetophiliac Bernie shares his experience with purposefully vomiting in public.

Word count: 1.1k words

(Warning: Bernie is a fucking degenerate. And so am I. xD Contains detailed description of nausea and vomit as always.) 

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I threw up in public

September 20th 2009 | 21:59 | Bernie | My diary

I had a super exciting experience today. Let me tell you! 

I woke up this morning feeling kinda unwell to my stomach. So, naturally, I decided to go shopping. :)

Before today, it had been two years and three months since I was last naturally sick so when I started feeling nauseous, I was very excited to experience natural sickness again! I love making myself throw up by sticking fingers down my throat, but natural vomiting is just so different and exciting!

I concluded this was the perfect opportunity for one thing: public vomiting. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I love to make a mess in public and watch the worried and disgusted stares of other people. I kinda like the humiliation of it. So I decided to try to get this to happen. :)

I thought that overeating was gonna make me more sick so I cooked one of my favourite meals - spaghetti with minced meat and vegetables. Normally I can eat a lot of this, but today I didn't have an appetite due to the weird feeling in my stomach. But I wanted to be sick so I served myself a larger portion than usual and forced myself to eat it. I was quite full after that meal, feeling a bit of pressure in my stomach, but I didn’t feel sick yet so I also ate a box of cookies. My stomach was becoming unhappy about being forced to contain so much food. I was starting to feel queasy, but I wasn't close to throwing up yet so I went back to the kitchen and took out an open box of strawberry ice cream from the freezer. It was a one litre box but there were only two thirds left as I had eaten the other third yesterday. I ate all of it, and I started feeling quite sick, maybe because it was so cold. I was shaking from the cold and my stomach started gurgling. This amount of food would have normally been fine for me, but I must have actually been ill because I already started feeling the increased salivation typical for incoming sickness. 

That meant I was ready to go out. 

I thought about calling my boyfriend so that he could enjoy this too, but he wouldn’t approve of me purposefully making a mess in public, surely he would try to talk me out of it, so I didn't call him. 

I put on my less favorite jeans - in case I end up dirtying them - and a brown shirt, picked up my backpack and left for the bus stop. The outside heat worsened my nausea. As I stood at the bus stop, I was breathing deeply to try to stop myself from throwing up too soon.

The bus came and I took a seat close to the middle door, facing a large open space meant for strollers. The heat inside the bus was even worse, and I felt like I was choking on the heavy air. As the bus started moving, my queasiness rapidly increased. Three stops in, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the shopping center. I was salivating again and felt tightness in my throat.

When the door opened at the fourth stop, I wondered if I should run out to be sick on the sidewalk instead of the bus. The amount of saliva in my mouth increased and I started to get up from my seat-

The door closed. 

I collapsed back in my seat. I desperately clenched my teeth to try to keep my food down for a little longer. “Only two more stops…” I thought. “Maybe I'll be able to make it to the shopping center.” Yet I couldn't help constantly eyeing the door. 

Next stop, the door opened. As I stared at the open door, I tried to calm myself, “It's fine, I can keep it down… Only one more stop…” But I kept swallowing a lot of saliva. 

As soon as the door closed, I knew I had made a mistake. The taste in my mouth grew bitter and I felt intensely sick. My body was preparing to reject all the contents of my stomach. Right now. I couldn't control it anymore, I couldn't stop it. I took a deep breath and my stomach contracted forcefully, sending a large wave of pinkish vomit on the floor in front of me, staining my jeans and shoes. It was the ice cream. A few people turned to me in shock and hurried to get away from me. But I couldn’t pay them much attention since I immediately doubled over as more food forced its way up my esophagus and out through my mouth. This time it was more brown, I think it was the cookies. I only had time to take in a short breath before my stomach spasmed for the third time. A waterfall of reddish liquid mixed with undigested pieces of spaghetti splashed on the floor and my shoes. I retched again, letting out a small amount of spaghetti, which dribbled onto the existing puddle.

I breathed in and coughed. My throat burned and I felt the acidic taste of vomit on my tongue. My stomach has finally calmed down and pleasant relief washed over me. I sighed and leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes. I enjoyed the blissful after-vomit relief. I was feeling so good! Getting rid of the food that was making me sick felt soooo nice!

I opened my eyes to look down at what I’ve thrown up. I was surprised to find that some spaghetti pieces were several centimeters long. I thought I had chewed more. When the bus took a turn, the pool of sick started flowing in one direction, people dodging out of its way. I looked up at the people. Half of them were staring at me, the other half pretending not to see me, but everyone had a disgusted look on their face. They all thought I was a gross pig! They saw an ugly guy who doesn't even puke into a bag and just pukes on the floor and all over himself. They thought I was so disgusting! The most disgusting person they've ever met! Or maybe they thought I was super ill. Were they worried about me? 

When the bus stopped, I picked up my bag and ran outside, leaving a mess on the bus behind me. My clothes were dirty with barf and the people at the bus stop stared at me too. I couldn't help smiling.

I was standing in front of the shopping center but I didn't feel like shopping anymore. Instead I crossed the street to wait for a bus in the opposite direction, and went back home, satisfied. 

===============================

I didn't want to make the original sickfic too long, but in reality Bernie’s sickness wasn't over! 

>> Part 2

(For the record, this story was not written in 2009. I just tried to make it look like a blog post consistent witht the timeline these OCs live in.)

[yoonyia]

dying because I thought about miro Jane for 2 seconds and it's so upsetting

it's also very much what orson scott would do and i don't know how to feel about that

like that was my goal

buttttt

Jane is dying because Jane Val can't really hold Jane together that well, Jane is too much that it kinda exhausts the connections pretty quickly, unexpected thing that happens is one of Jane and Miros sons are also dying, and Jane had a strong enough philtonic connection with her kid to become her kid

miro dosent want that because how can I love my child when he now contains the person I called my wife, how can I love you or him the same way, I will lose both of you and have to deal with a stranger that reminds me of all the people I lost, all that could have, should have, been

don't you see what you're doing to me Jane, don't leave me I need you, you can't leave me so soon

and Jane being Jane is like

love me anyways, I'm sorry I only know one love, I dont know the difference between wife and child but I will love you in whatever life I am, ill still be me and I'll be our son too, love me as your wife if you must, love me as your child if you can, or simply just love me if I'm a stranger

I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I cannot give up the human life just for you miro

you mean so much to me but my life means a lot too, I won't leave you miro I love you but let me live on. If not for me then for the sake of faster then light speed travel, or think of it as repayment for giving you back your body, anything to make this ok.

Then miro being miro will be like

Nothing jane, nothing will make this ok, i will look for you everyday, i will hate my child, I will curse him for stealing you away from me and I will destroy myself without you, then i would drive myself insane for hurting you, dont leave me, dont leave me and then start begging at the feet of her bed

then jane will say some sappy stuff she saw online like Good bye my husband, I will love you once more and forever. and then die and then their son would wake up from a coma in perfect health and his 2 older siblings would rejoice and then miro would see Jane die and cry the most depressing cry you've ever heard then proceed to become abusive and hateful and self destructive (like mother like son i guess) and Jane son (I don't have a name for miroane children yet sorry) would just watch being really sad and act sometimes like a child and sometimes like Jane and most people would be like "oh he's so much like his mom" and miro would be absolutely livid

I dont know man thoughts

also ignore the bad writing I genuinely do not have the mental capabilities to make it good right now (or ever, really)

also more about Jack the fish

he can't die

well he can but it's the "dosent die unless killed" thing

so he's just kinda chilling seeing everyone go through horrible horrible situations (he also speaks for Peter 2s and si wang mus death if that means anything)

there's this story idea I had of a world 2000 years FURTHER into the future of Jack chilling on this almost eternally autumn planet and then meeting one of Jane's or enders or even beans descendants and then taking her on a joy ride across colonies then trapping her on an ocean planet (his home planet) because he just kinda forgot about her

he didn't mean to trap her he just forgot and ruined this poor girls life

I'm thinking of there being an ending of all the fishes slowly dying out on his home planet and Jack just getting the whole of the fish aiua in his body alone making him have a full consciousness and not like, 1/324th of one. and that whole aiua being shoved into this one human body messes with him and sends him into either insanity or really really bad depression. And he's less "oh yea this is how humans are supposed to act, mhm yes definitely" (proceeds to be a pretty convincing human) and more "yea I'm a bunch of fish in a human fleshcoat and I have to deal with that, yea I'm weird I can't really do anything about it sorry"

so he chases down jane (who's currently now some Latino lady in her late 30s) and talks to her and makes her upset because he's being a real big bummer right now, like dude you ok

and then he goes to the lustainia and sees the piggies and the hivequeen and they talk about him technically being an alien just like them and that he should get a book too and it's upsetting that ender is dead and isn't there to write it

then he says something like "well jane didn't a book either, you 2 were lucky" and they just all kinda sit together in the now more genetically diverse lustania and then he gets a call from the kid and she's not a kid anymore she's like 70+ and dying and she just wants to leave for gods sake so he brings her to lustaina while she's dying and let's her die in his arms or something and he lies there next to what used to be where rooter was, and just quietly sing or hum or something and all the aliens that exist (cause jane is in the trees remember) all sing a chorus and it kinda ends there

I dont know what to do with the ending it's just kinda there

I dont mind it that much but I will probably change it

enderverse brainrot is real and its not fun

also what are your thoughts about bean body dysmorphia

also also I really wanna talk about Achilles but the other one

what is his name? Arkansas?

THAT WAS NOT WHAT I WROTE BUT THATS HILARIOUS

anyways I love him, I remember I loved him

need more that dude

anyways gonna draw for Palestine now good bye

[mariana-oconnor]

The Yellow Face pt 1

Now and again, however, it chanced that even when he erred, the truth was still discovered. I have noted of some half-dozen cases of the kind; the Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual and that which I am about to recount are the two which present the strongest features of interest.

Aha, so Sherlock isn't going to solve this one. Interesting. I feel like ACD uses this device specifically to make his audience want to beat Holmes at his own game.

Sherlock Holmes was a man who seldom took exercise for exercise’s sake. Few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedly one of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen; but he looked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldom bestirred himself save when there was some professional object to be served.

This is the most relatable Sherlock Holmes has ever been, and he's been pretty damn relatable. Well, not the boxing thing. But the wanting exercise to have a purpose thing.

Save for the occasional use of cocaine, he had no vices

Just the cocaine. 'He didn't do any drugs - except the cocaine, obvs' feels a bit like saying 'He never drives - except for the drag racing'

For two hours we rambled about together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who know each other intimately. It was nearly five before we were back in Baker Street once more.

Wow... I'm trying very hard not to do queer readings of these stories (idky, I just feel like it's obvious) but sometimes things come up and I know phrases have changed in meaning. But is there any doubt as to why people romantically link these characters?

“This is Grosvenor mixture at eightpence an ounce,” Holmes answered, knocking a little out on his palm. “As he might get an excellent smoke for half the price, he has no need to practise economy.”

We get to see his encyclopaedic knowledge of tobacco ash in action. Not just a reported skill.

Then he has bitten through his amber. It takes a muscular, energetic fellow, and one with a good set of teeth, to do that.

When I was a small child who had just graduated to glass rather than plastic cups, I used to bite bits out of them. I wasn't particularly strong, although I did have quite good teeth back then. I was just quite stupid and didn't understand the consequences of my actions. However, I have never smoked a pipe, so don't know if biting down on it is a traditional part of the experience.

“It’s a very delicate thing,” said he. “One does not like to speak of one’s domestic affairs to strangers. It seems dreadful to discuss the conduct of one’s wife with two men whom I have never seen before. It’s horrible to have to do it. But I’ve got to the end of my tether, and I must have advice.”

Is this going to be another story where Holmes tells people to talk to their spouses?

From every gesture and expression I could see that he was a reserved, self-contained man, with a dash of pride in his nature, more likely to hide his wounds than to expose them.

Hey, Watson. Look at you reading people. Good for you.

And now, since last Monday, there has suddenly sprung up a barrier between us, and I find that there is something in her life and in her thought of which I know as little as if she were the woman who brushes by me in the street. We are estranged, and I want to know why.

Oh yeah, they need to talk to each other. Communication problems.

She went out to America when she was young, and lived in the town of Atlanta, where she married this Hebron, who was a lawyer with a good practice. They had one child, but the yellow fever broke out badly in the place, and both husband and child died of it.

Well this is already tragic and we haven't even got to the mystery yet.

"I have seen his death certificate."

That's weirdly specific, while also being vague pronoun use - the husband or the child? - and also a totally normal thing to say. I guess it's the husband because... that would be necessary for the marriage? But why bring that up? Like, from a Doylist perspective it makes sense to provide that information to the reader, but it's such a weird sentence to just slip in. I'm sure this information won't be at all important later on.

“There’s one thing I ought to tell you before I go further. When we married, my wife made over all her property to me—rather against my will, for I saw how awkward it would be if my business affairs went wrong. However, she would have it so, and it was done. Well, about six weeks ago she came to me."

That is... definitely a choice she made. It doesn't seem like the best choice, especially since apparently it was all her idea. I suppose there must have been a reason for it, but Effie... not sure it was your best idea.

“’And you won’t tell me what you want it for?’ “’Some day, perhaps, but not just at present, Jack.’ “So I had to be content with that, though it was the first time that there had ever been any secret between us. I gave her a check, and I never thought any more of the matter.

OK, he's already one of the most respectful husbands we've seen in these stories just for this. He agreed to look after her money, but to give it to her with no questions asked if she needed it. She asked for a large sum of money, so asking 'what for?' is genuinely a reasonable question, but when gently reminded of his promise he agrees to give her the money with only a little more curiosity. I'm not going to quibble about him questioning her slightly. According to the Bank of England, she asked for the equivalent of £10,000. If your spouse asks for £10,000 randomly one day it's pretty natural to ask what it's for... or you're a billionnaire I guess.

Now, she's a bit sus right now. That's a lot of money on no notice. I guess she has some skeletons in her past she has to pay off in some way.

But also, if you 'never thought any more of the matter' then why were you thinking of it enough to bring it up now? Clearly you definitely thought more on the matter... It strikes me that I may have praised you too soon. You don't seem to be being entirely truthful.

"I could not tell if the face were that of a man or a woman. It had been too far from me for that. But its color was what had impressed me most. It was of a livid chalky white, and with something set and rigid about it which was shockingly unnatural."

Mask? We're all agreed it's a mask, right? livid white, set and rigid? That describes a mask. Or a robot. But if it's a robot, then this is not the story I was expecting and I've really forgotten a lot about these stories since I last read them.

It's not a robot, right?

In the alternate universe where the 5 orange pips killer is the restless ghosts of the murdered, this is a robot.

She was deadly pale and breathing fast, glancing furtively towards the bed as she fastened her mantle, to see if she had disturbed me. Then, thinking that I was still asleep, she slipped noiselessly from the room, and an instant later I heard a sharp creaking which could only come from the hinges of the front door. I sat up in bed and rapped my knuckles against the rail to make certain that I was truly awake. Then I took my watch from under the pillow. It was three in the morning. What on this earth could my wife be doing out on the country road at three in the morning?

Night running? Probably not. Stargazing? Moonbathing? Ancient rites and rituals? Dancing skyclad?

Probably not any of those things. I agree, it is a strange time to go a-wandering. And she is being super sneaky about it. This is another tick against the 'sus' box. Although I do suspect this is going to be something like her being blackmailed by her former husband who didn't actually die at all or something like that. Not that she doesn't have the right to go walking the country lanes at 3am. She can do whatever she wants. Bit weird though.

Was it usual to keep pocket watches under pillows? I used to keep books under my pillow when I was younger - and stuffed down the side of my bed. And hidden in my duvet cover. But that was because I stayed up too late reading and had to hide them quickly when I needed to pretend to be asleep. Did bedside tables not exist in the 1890s? Internet tells me they became popular in the Georgian period. Why not keep your watch beside your bed then. This is entirely unimportant, I'm just surprised that anyone would keep something like a pocket watch under their pillow. He must have a really good pillow.

"I had sat for about twenty minutes"

That's not very long. So it's either not an affair or her affair partner has some stamina issues. I jest, I jest. That wouldn't really be a Sherlock Holmes kind of mystery.

"Where had she been during that strange expedition? I felt that I should have no peace until I knew, and yet I shrank from asking her again after once she had told me what was false. All the rest of the night I tossed and tumbled, framing theory after theory, each more unlikely than the last."

Well, it's less than 10 minutes walk away, so that narrows down your answers somewhat. Probably the neighbour's house, given your narrative so far, Mr Munro.

“’Ah, Jack,’ she said, ‘I have just been in to see if I can be of any assistance to our new neighbors. Why do you look at me like that, Jack? You are not angry with me?’ “’So,’ said I, ‘this is where you went during the night.’"

I mean, yes. But also that's a perfectly good reason for her to be coming out of the cottage. Visiting neighbours, particularly in more rural areas, particularly during this time period, would have been entirely normal. Unless women still had to be introduced by their husbands/fathers at this point, but I don't think that was the case by the end of the Victorian era like it was in Austen. I get that she's being sus, but this is the least suspicious thing she's done. You're right, but your logic is faulty.

“’How can you tell me what you know is false?’ I cried. ‘Your very voice changes as you speak. When have I ever had a secret from you? I shall enter that cottage, and I shall probe the matter to the bottom.’ “’No, no, Jack, for God’s sake!’ she gasped, in uncontrollable emotion. Then, as I approached the door, she seized my sleeve and pulled me back with convulsive strength.

This is also an entirely reasonable reaction to your husband deciding to invade the new neighbours' house while angry.

Maybe it's her kid?

"'If you come home with me, all will be well. If you force your way into that cottage, all is over between us.’ [...] ’I will trust you on one condition, and on one condition only,’ said I at last. ‘It is that this mystery comes to an end from now. You are at liberty to preserve your secret, but you must promise me that there shall be no more nightly visits, no more doings which are kept from my knowledge. I am willing to forget those which are passed if you will promise that there shall be no more in the future.’

Oh dear, no one's coming out well from this. On the one hand, that's quite the ultimatum she's making. On the other hand... that's quite the ultimatum he's making.

So far nothing she's done has been particularly terrible. I mean... a twenty minute walk in the middle of the night isn't bad. Visiting the neighbours isn't bad. All he's got is suspicions that she's lying to him. Meanwhile, she's emotionally blackmailing him with their relationship. I know this is all going to turn out to be very dramatic, because it's a Holmes case, but at the same time, Mr Munro is definitely overreacting right here.

“On the third day, however, I had ample evidence that her solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from this secret influence which drew her away from her husband and her duty."

Oh no... you're being a dick, Mr Munro. The promise you made her give was completely unreasonable. There is literally no way she can tell you everything she plans to do and even if she could, that's a dick move. And now, based on one night time walk and visit next door you're claiming that her leaving the house is drawing her away from her duty? I believed in you, Mr Munro. She is being a bit weird, yes, but you're being controlling and for absolutely no good reason.

“My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs to make sure that she was not in the house."

These are not the actions of a rational human being. This is paranoia. If your wife thinks she needs to collude with the servants against you, then your marriage is nowhere near as happy as you seem to think.

"Tingling with anger, I rushed down and hurried across, determined to end the matter once and forever. I saw my wife and the maid hurrying back along the lane, but I did not stop to speak with them. In the cottage lay the secret which was casting a shadow over my life."

What fucking shadow? The only thing casting a shadow over your life right now is you. You have 0 evidence that your wife is doing anything wrong. And the more you talk, the more convinced I am that she could absolutely have needed to take a walk at 3am just to get away from you. I don't think that's going to be the solution to the mystery, but I wouldn't blame her at this point.

And you did so well with the money! Although I suppose we only have your word for any of that, so who knows what actually happened there.

If it turns out that her child didn't die of Yellow Fever at all, but was just left disfigured and/or disabled and now she's visiting them, it's not going to go well for you, my dude.

"I did not even knock when I reached it, but turned the handle and rushed into the passage."

Fucking rude.

That's how you get a poker to the head, btw.

"The furniture and pictures were of the most common and vulgar description, save in the one chamber at the window of which I had seen the strange face. That was comfortable and elegant, and all my suspicions rose into a fierce bitter flame when I saw that on the mantelpiece stood a copy of a full-length photograph of my wife, which had been taken at my request only three months ago."

Mr Monro is kind of a snob, huh? If I liked him more, I might suggest that he and Watson get together for judging sessions.

FINE the picture is weird and evidence of some sort of weird secret. Congratulations, by trespassing and being a controlling dick you have uncovered one (1) piece of evidence that your wife is embroiled in some sort of secret relationship. But I really do think it's going to be maternal.

"It is the first shadow that has come between us, and it has so shaken me that I do not know what I should do for the best."

Well you sure have handled it well so far. /sarcasm.

If this is the first problem in your marriage and your first instinct was to fly completely off the handle and barge into someone else's house and search it from top to bottom just because your wife *checks notes*... went for a short walk in the nighttime and... visited the neighbours? then you are not stable enough for marriage. Oh and she wanted some money a little while before this, but you specifically said that you'd all but forgotten about it (which I doubt since it was the first thing you brought up) and you didn't know if it had any bearing on anything else.

Again, I have only vague recollections of this one. The only thing I really remember is the face in the window, everything else is a blur.

Current theory: her child didn't die, but survived the yellow fever with serious lasting effects. She couldn't support them alone, so she set them up with someone to look after them and when she was properly settled down with a comfortable a life, a (supposedly) loving husband and enough money, she used that £10,000 to bring the child to her and settle them in the cottage across the way so they would be close to each other.

Why all of that would need to be such a secret, I don't know, however. There must be some scandal involved somehow. If we didn't already know she'd been married before, I would have said the child was born out of wedlock, but even if that were the case surely she could just say it was the child of her first husband anyway and in this time with no internet, no one would have been any the wiser?

[rin-enjoyer]

long and detailed ramblings about rin's character under the cut <3

rin is flatter than almost any other character in naruto- an impressive feat, considering how badly kishimoto hates woman. i'm not saying that everyone else was written better than rin- all things considered, the complete lack of attention focused on her means that she's probably one of the more consistent characters. no, the flatness arises from a general lack of anything interesting about her presented in an easy to understand or. um. intentional way.

fandoms take the traits that characters display and explore and expand upon them- when a character or concept is interesting but poorly executed in canon, it will often receive a large amount of attention dedicated towards giving it its due.

when a girl has no real personality to speak of and exists pretty much just to die and make two others guys sad- well, that doesn't lay a very good base to explore! it's no wonder rin is an incredibly overlooked character.  

not me tho. id never overlook my girl. this is because i am a little bjt insane and also rabid about her. take my hand. let's explore the deep rabbit hole ive been silently digging for half a year now. there's nuance to her character i prommy- let me show you it.

disclaimer before we begin: i'm aware that the amount of character depth i can extrapolate from rin was not intentionally written in. i mean, like, that's not gonna stop me or anything. but im aware of it. some of the things here have little to no canon basis- i cobbled my rin characterization together with dramatic irony, copious amounts of masks, and spite. i do think that viewing rin like this adds flavor to the canon story, though, so maybe keep that in mind?

the first, central headcanon that influences pretty much everything about rin (to me) is that she hates the idea of being misinterpreted in life or in death. despite that, she wears masks built of what people expect her to be, and makes no effort to remove them and build real connections. and then she gets mad when no one really knows her. she contains multitudes.

this also adds a delicious twist to canon- from rin's pov, obito's great fault is not the murders, the betrayals, or the longing for a perfect world; its him mis-remembering her so BADLY that he somehow mischaracterized the mask she was wearing. my guy.

part of the reason rin wears masks is because she is unsure of who she is and what she wants, and she views that as a personal failure. she has made the logical fallacy, of course, that she has an immutable "true self" who she has managed to lose. she's also 12 and living in kill people repress your emotions city, so i guess we can give her a pass on that. the real important thing to understand here is that rin views any presentation of herself that is not her "true self" (smth that doesnt exist) as equally false. therefore, she assumes that it is easier to continue on with the mask she is already wearing than switch it out for smth just as bad. she does not know that the self is something cobbled together over a lifetime of stealing thoughts, feelings and mannerisms from other people and mixing it with your experiences and innate personality. she paints her cheeks purple because her father does, and he does it because his father did, who did it because his mother did, and on and on, but she cannot comprehend that the laugh she learned from him is just as unique. lmao

another thing about personhood: kakashi and obito, from an outside view, seem very put together. they have goals, for heaven's sake, they must know what they're doing! rin doesn't have a crush on kakashi- she admires him because he looks like he's got his life figured out! (when you start thinking kakashi's put together, you know something's wrong.)

the thing about rin's relationship with the rest of her team is that it's very one-sided. rin is obito's best friend- obito is not rin's best friend. the team spirit and unity that konoha tries to impress on them is lost on rin because she interacts with them like she's on an infiltration mission, and then gets mad that they don't know the "real" her, gets sad that she doesn't know the "real" her, and then puts on more masks to make sure no one notices, and the cycle repeats. the rest of team minato is fooled into thinking that they are close with her, and rin drifts further and further away. we see this when obito "dies-" she almost unaffected by it. now, it's probably portrayed like that as to not take away from kakashi's reaction, but it feeds nicely into my interpretation that she just… doesn't really care.

after obito dies and kakashi starts falling apart, i do think he and rin get a bit closer. he's obviously not in a great mental state to be worrying over her in any manner except physical safety, but he does wonder when her smile stretches a bit too thin and brittle. he never knows rin- not by her definition- but i think sometimes he gets to see her without any masks on: a limp doll who's tired of pretending at humanity.

last point on rin's mental state before we move onto the totally-there-and-real symbolism aspects of her character: she has a very, very apathetic attitude towards death that's only exacerbated by the fact that she's not really close to anyone. she's not exactly suicidal, but she wouldn't care if she died. she's not jumping at the bit to sacrifice herself- that apathy means she doesn't really care if anyone else dies, either. she holds on until she can't hold on anymore, and then she drops it like a hot potato. rin voice: wait if there's an afterlife why are we scared of dying. and then no one ever explained it to her so she never unlocked her fear of death.

ok! symbolism time! i, personally, am a huge proponent of moth/astronaut/icarus rin. there's a few threads that weave into that tapestry, so stick with me while we make our way through em.

first: remember what i said earlier, about rin hating obito for mis-remembering her rather than the whole infinite tsukuyomi gig? well, part of that is because she just really hates being misinterpreted, but the other part is that she wouldn't think infinite tsukuyomi was bad at all! remember, rin is very… nihilistic, and already has a tenuous relationship with consequences- she wouldn't see the problem with fixing things with an illusion. this slots into the moth interpretation- she's chasing the moon! 

second, there's the whole chidori thing. idk if you guys remember it, its only the most defining moment of rin's entire character in canon. the chidori looks like the sun. icarus. do you catch my drift

the rest of the points towards this symbolism are more vague and tend to lean more towards like. obscure references to the challenger crash and a reliance on my insistence that moths and icarus and astronauts ARE basically the same thing, thank you very much, but i think i've said enough to get my point across.

there's more i could say- we could explore aus where rin lives to adulthood, and how she would grow and develop, or we could dive into the fascinating relationship she has with minato and being a mednin, or how she and sasuke are 2 flavors of the same guy, but this post is already stupid long, so i'll save that for another time. just know that rin is the coolest girly ever. and she deserves to kill.

[planckstorytime]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: A World Beyond Anger (Part One)

“A confluence of worlds… and emotions. Loss, chief among them. It engulfs fleeting moments of joy, transforming them into rage, sadness, hatred.”

– Sephiroth, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024), speaking to me, specifically

*The following contains spoilers*

I. Memoirs of a Neurotic Fan

Hoo boy.

It’s been a long four years since Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) released, and I don’t think I have ever before devoted so much emotional energy to deciphering how I truly feel about a piece of media. Initially, I enjoyed my return to a reimagined world of lovable characters, but unfavorable writing choices and a mind-boggling finale left me feeling torn. Despite striving to maintain an optimistic outlook at the end of my previous essay, my perspective on the game only darkened as the years wore on. Developer interviews constantly oscillated back and forth as to whether they would remain faithful to the original FF7 (1997), or, as the ending of Remake indicated, strike out on a brand new “unknown journey.” That’s not to mention the downright radioactive discourse among fans, combined with the litany of harassing messages I received for the most tepid criticisms.

Eventually, I grew to despise Remake. The positive emotions and ecstatic love I had for parts of the game sunk beneath my waves of ire toward its creative divergences – as well as what they represented to me. And I fed that hate. I hated its ponderous navel-gazing about the nature of adaptations. I hated its self-congratulatory insinuation that asinine story decisions like the “Baby’s-First-Metacommentary” Whispers and the resurrection of multiple deceased characters somehow constituted “bold” storytelling. I hated the uncritical portion of certain audiences that fell for this illusion of transgressive storytelling, all the while embracing a game that went out of its way to barrage the player with fanservice and puerile pandering. I hated the frequent argumentation that “it’s not a remake, it’s a sequel” was somehow seen as a mitigating factor, when it actually further aggravated my problems with it. I hated Remake’s emphasis on novelty, its subversion without meaning, its arrogant alienation of new audiences that wanted to experience a classic story, and its implicitly cynical view on thousands of years of storytelling tradition for the sake of “surprise.” To quote director Naoki Hamaguchi:

“When you try to remake a game and make it an entertaining game, having the exact storyline as the original would lack the excitement and surprise. I was looking for an essence to add to the story, and Zack was chosen to be this essence because in the original, there wasn’t much story about Zack, but in Crisis Core, he had a huge character development.”

But that lonely ember of hope persisted; after all, I had loved Remake at one point. I hated that stubborn attachment most of all. By the time Rebirth was fully unveiled, I wanted only one thing from it: to repulse me to my core, to be something so egregiously offensive to my sensibilities that I could never associate the project with anything positive again. “Perhaps if things get stupid enough,” I thought, “others will also see the emperor’s nakedness.” Pain and despair morphed into objects of desire for me. They were my keys to escaping these contradictory feelings of love and hate.

As you can see, I am quite well-adjusted and able to engage with art in a healthy way.

Silly feelings, right? I totally agree, but I can’t deny that’s how it played out. I realized that I was allocating an unhealthy amount of energy into something that made me feel bad, but I felt powerless to stop it. I kept picking at that scab. It itched insatiably. Surely, I must be justified, right? After all, Square Enix was clearly in the wrong! They wasted a golden opportunity to modernize a legendary piece of interactive fiction with massive talent and money behind it! They marketed a crappy predatory gacha game as “another opportunity” for a more faithful remake! They ran a crappier battle royale game into the ground in just a year! They sold energy-sucking NFTs as a package deal with cool figures of eco-terrorists! If I stewed in my anger enough, perhaps the multi-million dollar company would realize the error of its ways! It seemed that the very future of the artistic medium hung in the balance, and I was determined to be on the right side of history.

In truth, I don’t think the magnitude of my displeasure can be attributed entirely to my gripes with Square (though I stand by my criticisms). Rather, the intense response resulted from the emotional displacement of a lot of personal trauma and grief that plagued me for years. Ironically, there are few things more definitively “Final Fantasy VII” than that. Those negative emotions needed somewhere to go, but they just got caught in a feedback loop where bitterness and pain became both the motivator and the end goal.

All of these notions turned out to be eerily relevant to the narrative of Rebirth. Or perhaps my narcissistic ass couldn’t help but see my darker self in the black reflection of a 4K TV. Grab your cigars, folks, because you can bet we’re getting psychoanalytical today.

I dreaded it for so long, but I’m glad that I tried out Rebirth. To my surprise, I did not hate it – at least, not completely. I first engaged with it in Lizard Brain mode, doing my damnedest to just let it happen. I tried not to let my nitpicking get the better of me and ruin my enjoyment. Cautiously, I opened my heart to the series again. In many ways, it continues to frustrate and disappoint me, but I had something of an epiphany upon finishing it. I will elaborate on that in due time. First, I need to share my thoughts, criticisms, and interpretations of the story, as they are all critical to my personal reconciliation.

If you have the patience, please listen to my story about how I (possibly) stumbled onto a path of spiritual enlightenment through examining my feelings on a dumb anime game.

“Glimpses of Moksha in a cycle of Saṃsāra” by Crawfish Comic FULL ESSAY: https://planckstorytime.wordpress.com/2024/05/11/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-a-world-beyond-anger/