#i haven't been just been skipping all the fights in order to continue the story

[love-fireflysong]

Okay, so I’ve been replaying Tales of Graces for the last month or so (last time I played it was back in 2013) and I’ve been having a blast as it’s one of my fav tales games. Reached the end game of the original story, and I’ve just been spending the last couple of weekends finishing up the last of the optional sidequest stuff before I fight the final boss. Which is all pretty normal sounding, but the problem arises in that I had to keep replaying a certain enemy area cause I kept dying to a certain enemy type that really liked to one-shot me.

Like a lot.

A frustrating amount of a lot actually.

And while I knew going in that I was a little underleveled for this part of the game (party was roughly lv66 when everything else was lv72) I didn’t understand why on earth that stupid scorpion kept one-shotting me with it’s tail attacks.  And then when I was checking how many I had killed to get an idea how close or far away I was to it’s soul gem, I realized that it wasn’t lv72 like the others it was lv96.

I wasn’t a measly six levels below, I was THIRTY.

And in that instant, I went from being annoyed that I kept dying to it, to being proud of myself for even managing to hold my own in the fight in the first place kasdhjkajshkasdjh

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Spider-Woman, NOT Ghost-Spider

This is a tip for people who want to go as canon as possible WITH THE MOVIES, since I feel a lot of people do this mistake because they look into the comics and mix things up.

If you want to call Gwen, Ghost-Spider in your fanfic/fanart/etc because you think is cool, go ahead! Go nuts! I'm not the canon police.

BUT-

In the movies, Gwen still calls herself Spider-Woman.

An explanation as to why this is important in the read more.

(Spoilers about the Spider-Gwen comics, I guess because I am not spoiling anything that came after 2019.)

When I say "important," I mean it in the stick-it-to-the-details type of deal; if you care about technicalities you care about this, but I know that's not the majority.

However, I do want to bring it up because the reason why Gwen switched in the comics, or rather, why chose Ghost-Spider of all things- is really neat and interesting story line that I feel a lot of people skip over when they 'chose' to call her that without knowing why she chose that name.

If you think Gwen has it rough in the movies, don't read the comics because they put this girl through the wringer.

Let's go a little bit before she chose that name.

As you can see, Gwen feels that she has always been marked by death, some way or another.

First her mother, then Peter, and is now hitting pretty hard after losing Spider-UK (is not Hobie, or Malala, I don't think he has appeared in the movies,) Noir and Karn, though arguably Billy was the one who hit her the hardest.

She went to other dimensions to tell their love ones that Billy and Noir passed away; it is implied how this is her way to try to make amends to what happened, make peace with herself.

But is not really enough, the topic doesn't leave her mind,

Death and pain certainly follow her often; she almost lost her dad for good, and she was definitely shaken after Harry got gravely injured precisely because he was always there for her.

That last panel never stops hitting hard for me.

There is just some quietness to it, about how no matter what she does, how hard she tried, Death continues to follow, one way or another. Even when she tries to be a hero, to do the right thing, death follows her.

In the comics, Gwen switches her name because she is studying in Earth-616 rather than her own dimension, so she switches names in order to avoid stepping in any toes.

So, in the movies, is kind of hard to think the switch would happen. Sure, Gwen is interacting with Jessica and other spiders, but believe me, the multiple spider-man haven't changed their names, so having Jessica in the spider society doesn't change much.

However, I do bring all of this because I think implementing this story line in the movies not only is feasible, it would be *amazing.*

The phrase "Death loves Gwen Stacy," not only hits hard for the Spider-Gwen in the comics, but for the movie counterpart too.

Think about it for a second; in the movies, Gwen feels she can't have friends because otherwise, they may lose them like Peter, she has convinced herself it can't work. And then. she goes to the Spider-Society.

And now she feels Gwen Stacy and Death always go hand in hand.

She learns how in so many universes, Peter is the one bitten, he is the one who lives, while Gwen Stacy dies, over, and over again. It almost seems like she is the outlier out of spite, how because she gets to live, everyone else pays the price.

Because Death loves Gwen Stacy, powers or not, that's not changing.

But at the end of the day-

And that's why, no matter what, she will continue fighting to protect her people.

[rh3maji]

Some musings abt the soon to be Precure season

So i took a look at the new website and bruhhh

they're so tacky looking and cute I love them! I'd actually gotten spoiled for Cure Wonderful and Cure Nyami's designs thanks to fanart on pixiv, and at the time I thought the season was going to have an Alice and Wonderland motif thanks to Wonderful's crown [thought she was gonna be like the queen of hearts but nope]. After checking out the website and trailer tho, it seems like the theme is more of a zoo and or animal companion theme. When I first realized that I thought to myself "wait haven't we been here before?" but thinking about it further Healing Good's theme was more along the lines of veterinarians and the earth[?] and Kira Kira Precure's was moreso just animals as window dressing/attack inspo with sweets being the main theme so I suppose we're not technically retreading old ground here. Speaking of not retreading old ground- HOLY SHIT THE MAIN CURE IS A DOG??

Just like...a full on dog dog bruh, like dang man I never thought i'd see the day where we'd essentially get a fairy leading the team. It seems like the team's split into both humans and animals, with Cure Nyami definitely being that white cat

This is exciting! I love that Precure's held onto having fairies transform into humans, it's so heckin fun! Back to the designs- In order of my favorite to least favorite it's Cure Nyami [look at that hair bruh! she is beauty, she is grace]

Cure Friend [the poncho and hair are my fav]

Cure Wonderful [she looks like such a peppy kid awwww]

and lastly Cure Lillian [her arm thingies remind me of Futari Wa and I adore that ribbon]

Honestly, I think this may be the first time since Kira Kira Precure that I've been immediately on board with the designs. I ended up loving Hirogaru's over time but at first glance, I couldn't get over how weird they looked [never fully ended up liking Cure Wing's design but still love the character]. The only thing I dislike about them is Lillian's headband, and the big heart on Friend's shoes. I'm sort of a big sucker for poofy/frilly skirts, long straight hair, and ponchos so I feel well-fed. I'm especially looking forward to seeing them all in motion, especially Lillian since based on her turnaround she seems to have a bit of sass to her. Based on Nyami's turnarounds/previews she seems to be more of a kuudere[?] type which isn't something we've gotten for a main cure in a while. There's also all of these guys just hangin' out on the site too

Can't wait to see what these lil guys can do, hoping that they'll be connected to powerups and maybe even special outfits/attacks [really enjoyed it when Happiness Charge did that]. But maaaan this is so cool. It seems like ever since Hirogaru decided to play around with Precure conventions they're going all out with unique approaches to the formula. One thing I hope they continue doing this season tho, is keeping the fighting style as a literal fighting style like super sentai where they actually throw punches. I love Kira Kira, but there's only so many times [like 2] that I can watch someone fight by pointing a wand at something before I start skipping the battles. Really loved how Hirogaru frequently would have the characters strategize in battle, it really kept me engaged even if I always know how it'll end. All-in-all, it's sad to see Hirogaru go, but I'm excited with what new stories await in the new season! ^^

[intuitive-revelations]

Hey! So watching through The Daleks in Colour now, and thought I'd note down my thoughts, as someone who very much likes advocating for and discussing the idea of colourisation, re-edits etc. Comments not in order, as I'll be popping back and forth between sections with my notes.

The colouring is pretty impressive. There's some tone choices I would have done differently, and I have spotted a couple places where its a bit off (eg. colour not aligning perfectly - see One speaking when they discover the environomental radiation for example, there's a bit of odd yellow colouring around his upper lip - maybe a side effect of the chromatic abberation?).

However overall I think stuff like the faces and hair were done extremely well, which is pretty impresive since that can often be the hardest thing to do. And while I do disagree with some of the environmental colours etc., they do capture the 60s adventure tv aesthetic fairly well. I would just probably have leaned a little more modern/cinematic personally. I do wonder how many of the colours used are taken from colour set photos, as that might explain some of the choices. On the other hand, they're clearly not strictly using those colours, as the TARDIS clearly differs in colour from the set as we've seen it behind the scenes and in AAiSaT.

The lighting was pretty well done too, as is some of the chromatic abberation, though like I said I think it does have some detrimental effects in some places.

Editing feels ok, and keeps the pace up quite well. It does lose some importance bits though. I would probably have gone for a longer runtime, maybe 90 mins, rather than the 75.

I think it could have done with an extra beat when Barbara gets lost within the city, as it makes the others reuniting and searching around feel a bit too quick. Also a little bit of an edit-induced plot hole with Susan remarking how "there WAS someone outsidfe last night" when we completely skipped over that scene. Cutting that scene out does make her seem a bit less 'hysterical' though, which isn't the worse edit-based change in characterisation. That being said, the way they didn't directly show the Doctor sabotaging the fluid link, but left just enough to imply it was pretty clever.

Oh! I realise one reason why they chose to use this story. There's a LOT of cuts they can get away with just by dubbing the Daleks and adding flashing lights. I haven't seen the original serial enough times to notice them all, but I did pick up on the slightly hasty one as they interrogate the Doctor. Interestingly it also sounds to me like they tried to edit/redub the line about "Dalek forefathers" to say "Kaled forefathers" as it sounds different to me from the original, but is quite ambiguous. The subtitles still say Dalek, so maybe I'm just hearing things.

Some of the cross-edits work quite well, but the flashbacks are way too much, especially with a shortened runtime. Feels like some of that time could definitely have been better used giving the pacing some room to breath. Not showing Susan writing the letter is kinda ok, but does make you question why the Daleks are continuing to keep them prisoner. You kind of have to rely on the Dalek giving the plan idea earlier, which kind of just results in breaking 'show don't tell'. Another edit I wouldn't have made: they cut out the cell camera being broken. This one feels kinda major imo, so it's a surprising choice. I definitely would have left it in. Using the Daleks monitoring recordings of the scenes with the Thals for quick cuts is kind of clever again, but does feel too much like a cut-down recap video. There really needs to be a bit more room to breath here. It also makes Ian encouraging the Thals to fight back feel a bit too sudden and his scheme kinda seems insane.

While I liked seeing the classic city reproduced in CGI for that opening shot, doing something so dynamic did feel a little gratuitous. CGI TARDIS shots as it tries to dematerialise were also an odd choice, as they were very blatant, looking more like animation than anything, and I imagine it could be done more convincingly. The zaps (and sound effect) as the Daleks fire is a very good addition though - exactly the sort of added effect that I reckon is justified, given it's quite simple but adds a lot.

As for the music, I think they did a pretty good job overall in keeping the correct tone while expanding on the score. I'm maybe not enough of an expert on the classic soundtracks to comment really. Maybe a tad overactive when the Daleks first appear - it could have quietened down a bit after they tell the Doctor, Ian and Susan to move. Oh my god, I just got to the bit where Dalek!Ian is leading them through the corridors. The music and editing is certainly... a choice. On one hand, it's very fun. On the other hand... wtf...? With Susan guiding them it kind of feels like all those 'memelord' Susan jokes come to life. The whiplash going into them having to leave Ian behind kinda breaks it though.

Speaking about the Ian and Thals scene again, the music is a bit too much. Again it kind of makes it sound like Ian's talk is serious, even though he's just trying to encourage the Thals to defend themselves. Hmm, yeah I think the music was pretty good in the first half, but it's definitely trying a bit too hard in the second. Actually, in general the second half does feel a bit weak compared to the first half, but I suppose that can also be said with regards to the original serial.

Sound effects were well done. Cloister bell sounding as the TARDIS tries to dematerialise is a fun addition. I do feel it's overused a bit nowadays, but it's placement here seems reasonable, if you assume continuing to try and dematerialise would have put the TARDIS in actual danger.

I might have sounded quite negative with some of my nitpicks, but overall I did really quite like this! It feels like a good proof of concept for further re-releases anyway, but there were some odd choices throughout. A less aggressive runtime edit would probably have done wonders for it. As I mentioned above, I do also feel the first half was a lot stronger than the second.

If I had the time (which I definitely don't right now, between work, my PhD/thesis, Class Ongoing, Galliversary contribution, and other secret exciting stuff), I'd love to go through and attempt a re-edit, colourising and sticking some of the shots/scenes I think ought to have been kept, and tweaking some of the colour choices. Maybe attempt a widescreen expansion too, since most of the colour work is already done.

[dillweedshole]

not a good sign i come bitching about it the day after it launches.

sparking zero's story mode is fucking terrible, just from first impressions.

let's get the one obvious but really good out of the way, the sparking episodes seem to be absolutely amazing. just pure what-if bliss it's so fucking cool.

and for the game itself, it's so beautiful. it looks amazing, sounds phenomenal, and has all the dragon ball fighting game bells and trinkets that make this series so much fun to watch and enjoy. every character looks great and their supers all look and sound perfect.

okay bitching time- the way this story mode is structured gives me horrific back pain.

you start out playing as goku fighting raditz, not completely wrong, then you go out with piccolo and go to fight raditz. first issue arrises immediately: you do not get to play as anyone else during a character's story path. if you chose goku, you are ONLY playing as goku, no switching mid-battle for more canon fights, and i'm bringing this up later for SURE. so anyway you beat raditz, second issue pops up right after that, i said you're only playing as goku on his story path and that applies to the story. you get small pieces of information going into the fight but you don't get to see piccolo training gohan, kami's lookout doesn't feature, you just go straight from raditz to nappa. there are like 2 or 3 fights in between that belong to OTHER characters' paths but not goku's. this is all just so i can say

why did they fucking make the story mode segmented by character and not by fucking arc/saga that's so fucking ridiculous

the story does not flow like that very well at all. it cuts out character switching, completely skips important pieces of the story, and it's not even presented that well either, the cutscenes are either fairly okay or it's the biggest piece of dog shit

to explain how to play the game in chronological order, you have to play through a fight, then stop and quit out to the menu. if the next fight you're about to play is playable with the same character, just go into the fight and continue, but if it ISN'T, you have to stop, go back to the character select, select said character the fight belongs to, THEN go into that very fight that was skipped.

when it would've been so much easier and completely okay with me and others like me if they just.. fuckin made the game with arcs in mind over character paths. it allows for character switching, an actually decently made episode map that gets to be properly fully explored, and could possible make the presentation not get so weirdly lazy sometimes.

and holy SHIT, some of these fights are probably terrible (again i haven't made it that far) with all this in mind.

there's a later what-if where you have to fight all of the ginyu force with a regular Goku (Mid). that's it. you get no extra health, they all have just as much health as you, and you have to fight all 5 members, one after the other.

are you FUCKING SERIOUS??? first off, again you get no extra health AND no character switching. you start with the 40,000 health and that's it, against a total of fucking 200,000 health, and the average super blast (which these guys LOVE using) can easily take away a solid 10,000 by themselves. it's ridiculous and not at all fair or fun. your best bet for victory is to spam supers/ultimates, which sucks ass.

[snickerdoodlles]

OKAY BUT NO??? WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE THING WITH ALL THE FRIENDS WALKING TOGETHER YET. THAT'S THE ONE THING THAT NEVER SHOWED UP??? AND THAT DOESN'T MATCH UP WITH BREAK UP TIME SKIP????

my friend, ive been staring at your asks for over hours and my thoughts are still running around in circles orz. i know i'm kinda focusing on the wrong things here, but like? i can't even figure out how everything the preview's hinted at would happen in the space of an hour.

like. ugh, fine, lets say i dont get my ending squad shot from the opening. so part 1 is pat and pran returning to friends and family to say they've broken up, part 2 is the official timeskip (which would have to be at least 3 years given context clues), in which they'll have to establish where everyone is now and what they're doing. mayyyybe they manage to squeeze in the parents feeling terrible about what they did to their sons during this exposition. part 3 is the (probably) high school reunion or whatever and "hey look its your old rival". and then...what??? if its them reconnecting, that's a lot of ground to cover just between them, much less anything from the parents realizing hey, we fucked up. if they're fake broken up, there's still a ton to address just in the fact that they'd have been in a secret relationship for so long, and then also we'd be totally stuck because if they're still in a secret relationship for at least 3 years because of their parents, that's a fucking monster to unpack idek where to start. and in either scenario, we'd have to get thru all of that to then end with pat and pran together somehow and their parents' rivalry buried in part 4. AND this all has to somehow tie back into the central running theme of being stronger when you stand together and choose love/cycles of hatred need extreme love to break them, or else the writing fails

they said we'd be begging for a season 2, but like. they can't? not resolve their main story? as i was typing my grievances, the first thing that comes to mind is maybe if the order is switched up? pat and pran pretend to breakup, tell their friends about their plan, and...somehow this leads to parents getting a wakeup call that they've hurt their sons in part 1/part2??? maybe even into pt3??? then pat and pran can come back together, then we have the timeskip at some point in the second half and the reunion is a see where we were to where we are now sort of moment, maybe even where the seed for a future season is planted?

pat and pran have schemed in the past to great success, so i can't totally discount the idea of a breakup being a tactic from them to force their families to reconcile (and like. they only said they were on their honeymoon every other line in ep11, like they wouldn't continue to fight tooth and nail for each other. this isnt even accounting for the 829489752 things pointing to them staying together, like fucking everything in ep1-11 and the headphone bag detail you pointed out). im kinda...huh??? on a breakup as a tactic, or at least its a trope i dont care for or care about, but i can kiiiiiinda see it happening and pat and pran not hiding their misery this time around to force their parents to grow tf up? its just so...roundabout and not well geared for success, i dont see how it could be a tactic to fix things. maybe im missing something, but like. pran already dismissed pat's offer to pretend to break up to make things easier and wheedle his friends around to talking to him again/get them to be more open to the idea. so...why would that work here, with their parents who will feel nothing but vindicated that their sons did break up, even if their sons are sad? i can't figure out what im missing that would make a breakup--real or fake--lead to pat and pran being happy. it's not like this is a trial run of 'would we be happier just not being together', pat and pran both already know how unhappy they are when they're separated and they can't even be friends. so.. ???????

now, definitely something we have to acknowledge is that the previews have been really good at keeping the direct plotline hidden. any plot clues/predictions we had were based off things the actual episodes already laid the groundwork for. so while this is totally left field, we also just don't know what the storyline is and were all filling in the gaps with genre tropes that bad buddy likes to break. but while i'm aware there's no way i could make predictions solely off the preview, it just feels like so much to cram into the ending episode and still successfully tell their story. i would've expected a timeskip at the very end of the series to setup an option for s2 (and who knows! maybe that is what happens!), the timeskip part dominated the s12 preview and i doubt they'd do that for something that isn't truly relevant to the main storyline of the next episode?

im sorry, im just going off into a full ramble here with my red tape and corkboard, i really don't know what else to say ): they've well established that we can't predict how an episode will go based off previews, but unlike the others, we don't have any buildup to these sorts of twists. im officially talking in circles but like...my guess for the episode to go patpran breakup to parent reconciliation to timeskip+reunion is probably my best guess for what might happen. i feel like the only thing that could be cut is parents coming back together, so its pat and pran moving on from them and a s2 would then be about resolving the family drama? im running off with the red tape again, but im so lost/torn between the resolution i see from ep1-11 vs what the ep12 preview hints at that im not sure what else we can do orz

[bitegore]

alright you got me. where do i start with transformers. is it possible to justread the comics and not watch the shows, and if not what single show would you recommend

It is absolutely possible to read the comics* and not watch the shows!

* There are multiple series of comics and this is more or less true for all of them except for Marvel's G1 comics, which are from the 80s and iirc (haven't read them) tie into the plots of the G1 (80s) cartoon episodes.

For clarity's sake, we have IDW1 (Started in 2005, ended 2019, and has the most attention on this site), IDW2 (started in 2019, the central title of it is clearly going long-form, and has received a lot of criticism on here), Marvel Comics (from the 80s, and a product of its time, as well as like i said very possibly a TV tie-in), and Dreamwave (which ran for a short period of time and then died; idk if anyone talks about it any more).

The "comics" you'd probably want to read are the IDW1 comics. WITHIN IDW1 we have:

Phase 1: my personal favorite part of the canon. Not objectively great, and a lot of people don't like it. Lays the groundwork for Phase 2, and ends with a massive fight that basically destroys and restarts Cybertron.

Phase 2: the part that holds that one comic that everyone talks about and pretends is the only part of the continuity to exist. This begins after the war ends, and deals with the reconstruction of Cybertron. In this is the comic More Than Meets The Eye and its continuation Lost Light, which is basically all anyone talks about on this website for the most part. Also contains (ex) Robots in Disguise/Transformers Ongoing, which is set elsewhere at the same time. If you want to read IDW1, a lot of advice will literally just tell you to start with MTMTE/LL and read nothing else. I don't like that advice, personally, because first of all it doesn't make sense because exRID is a direct parallel/tie in and is supposed to be read at the same time, but also because I think it literally must be confusing to new readers to have no background for any of the events referenced in them. But I also didn't love MTMTE/LL as much as everyone around me does, so there's also that.

My advice would actually be to follow this reading guide: https://web.archive.org/web/20180504120023/https://www.howtolovecomics.com/2016/10/17/idws-transformers-reading-order/ (yeah at that link specifically. they changed it after the continuity ended and made it worse). If you decide to follow this guide, don't read Hearts of Steel because it's from a different continuity altogether and has no importance on the story, and don't read New Avengers/Tranformers for the same reason (and also because it sucks mad ass? it's just written really badly). You can pretty much skip over anything too boring but bear in mind that Phase 1 basically explains the background of Phase 2- Stormbringer, for example, is dry as fuck but it's where "cybertron as a really messed up nightmare planet" comes from, and Spotlight: Arcee is transmisogynistic as fuck (actually you can skip that one, also this is why we all hate Simon Furman. among other reasons. fuck that guy).

Anyways this is like nearly 15 years worth of comics. Understandably, you might not want to read all that.

The 2019 comic is short enough so far, because they went on a hiatus in 2020 and also don't have nearly as much Content(tm) to read through. It's just (in my opinion, at least) not... super... engaging... and what there is, there, is not enough Stuff to really get engaging. It's been a while since I sat down to read it last, though, so it might've gotten better while I wasn't looking.

As an onboarding cartoon, Transformers: Prime is probably the best entry point. It largely keeps the same concepts from G1 and IDW (big war that is active, Optimus Prime and Megatron as figurehead enemies) and is fun enough. I also really like Transformers: Animated, but they took a really big step away from the normal formula and made Optimus a military school washout years after the war ended, so it won't really give you that much experience with Regular Transformers even though in my opinion it's probably far and away the best Transformers cartoon I've watched. People also really like Cyberverse. It takes me like a year to watch half a season of anything, so I haven't actually watched that one all the way through yet, but it starts out really dull and then gets pretty good and then from what I understand it just gets better after season 2. I haven't watched it that far yet though. There's a movie for it that just came out with ??? cool and interesting stuff that ive seen some disconnected spoilers for but completely don't understand??? so if you want to watch a lighthearted show that starts off slow, you'll be walking right into the like most excited fizzy core of TF fandom on here as of right now, and it also is pretty good for most of TF canon, though from what I understand it borrows heavily from IDW1 at times.

Sorry; this probably wasn't exactly what you were looking for. Ask anyone else and they'll tell you to just read More than Meets the Eye and Lost Light and ignore everything else, I just... as a person who didn't like them that much and find most of the concepts and characterization beats I like come from literally everywhere else, I cannot say that in good faith without feeling like I'm setting you up for failure LMAO.

[mysticdragon3md3]

I find it endlessly amusing how after 10 years, my OTPs have circled back onto the same type. lol

I realize the Blue Lions have Dedue, and Ashe used to be a commoner. But Ashe got adopted into a higher class. Meanwhile, the Golden Deer has 3 commoners who stay commoners.

And Yukimura probably had commoners serving under him, but Sengoku Basara (2009) takes a lot of time to emphasize that Masamune's commoner associates are named, get screentime, voice his effect on them, and spent time closely serving under him. Meanwhile, Yukimura's only named subordinates seem to also be lords or ninja, more than basic commoners.

When referring to "self-doubt & a phase of failing as a commander", I'm specifally referring to Sengoku Basara (2009) season 2 for Yukimura. That's pretty much most of what he does that season. And he made a critical decision error as a commander that got one of his major subordinates killed and probably also unnecessarily killed some of his other soldiers. Though I am vaguely aware that in one of the videogames, Yukimura similary spent most of the story in self-doubt, after thinking Takeda was dying, and I think he ran his army around doing actions without enough thought.

And of course, with Dimitri, I'm referring to his post-time-skip phase wherein he went full "boar" and refused to properly lead his army. Though after regaining more mental stability and becoming a proper general, he still gets haunted by self-doubts for the rest of his life.

When I spell "Strength" with a capital "S", I'm usually shortening my term "True Strength" and referring to both a mental and emotional fortitude, resilience, and frequently an iron resolve in Compassion. That's just my personal philosophy in defining "True Strength". Personally, I see 2 definitions of "strength" that both converge at Compassion, to define "True Strength". 1) In an amoral sense, strength is resilience in maintaining one's own "soul pattern"/emotions/resolve, without being swayed or influenced by outside forces to change. 2) In terms of defining strength as the ability to do what is most difficult, in my opinion, Compassion is the most difficult. Not only do acts of Compassion often cost a range of efforts from some to exorbitant, but it can also require the enacter to put themselves into a vulnerable position. So it is often something only the strong can afford, or survive, or disregard fears of being vulnerable or taken advantage of. Therefore, in my personal opinion, converging the 2 definitions into an unwavering resolve in Compassion, is my personal definition of "True Strength".

So when I categorize Date Masamune as having Strength, I mean he is unwavering in his resolve towards Compassion. Sengoku Basara 2009 takes a lot of instances to reiterate that Masamune cannot be swayed, his Resolve is unquestioning, no one can stop him, slow him, or change his mind. His catch phase is "pressing onward" (translated as "full speed ahead"). One of his first scenes is charging ahead, disregarding Katakura's warnings for caution. (Notice that in Judge End, this is framed as foolish brashness, but in Sengoku Basara 2009, Katakura smiles and continues following without worry, because he completely trusts Masamune's instincts and decision-making. Because everyone trusts Masamune 2009 to always make decisions based in the best ideals/Compassion.) This is reiterated throughout season 2, when Masamune makes allies and each of them ask him to change directions, but the most they can do is temporarily slow him down, because he doesn't stop moving forward. This Strength directed in outward Compassion towards others is almost unexpected after considering Masamune's historical backstory. One would think that someone betrayed by his mother would become disillusioned and spiteful towards the world. It's a basic supervillain backstory to be betrayed by a trusted figure, especially during fundamental development. But instead, Masamune seems to want only to protect others and bring the whole country under his command, so that the whole country of people can be under his umbrella of protection. The 2009 series only mentions his regret from one of his early battles where lots of his soldiers died, being his major motivation in protecting others, specifically his soldiers. But I've headcanon'ed a lot that can be extrapolated from his historical backstory, that when in conjunction to his actions in Sengoku Basara 2009, portrays a Masamune who has dedicated himself towards Compassion, despite his tragic backstory.

Similarly, Claude's backstory is tragic, yet he emerges with True Strength. I've heard criticisms within the fandom that Claude growing up experiencing so much bullying and discrimination against his being biracial, could not believably yield a person dedicated towards Compassion. But I think that's just brainwashing from too many supervillain tropes telling us that traumatized and mentally ill people invariably become villains. I've heard it's more realistic that people who have experienced trauma, tragedy, or some kind of pain, actually are more likely to increase their ability to empathize/sympathize with others, consequently becoming more compassionate. (Mentioned in https://youtu.be/bHe2seINnE0 at 2:03/9:09; https://youtu.be/zaZYDK1RcEU) Claude experienced descrimination and bullying; he explicitly explains in FE3H canon that he wants to create a world where no one else has to experience that same pain. I really don't see why this can be an unbelievable characterization to some people, when most of the world admires Batman for literally that same reason. And I think that characters, like Claude, who react to trauma and hardship with altruism, demonstrate a True Strength in their characters. They haven't been broken by their trauma. They not only survive, but survive as people who still want to care for others. (Also why I love Natsume Takashi.)

I was tempted to include Dimitri in the category of "Emerged from tragic backstory with Strength and vowing to make world where no one will experience same pain". But he didn't emerge with the same level of flawless Strength that Masamune and Claude did. Dimitri certainly did resolve to protect others from ever experiencing the pain that he felt, after the Tragedy of Duscur. But he was also not as mentally stable. He was so repressed and internally conflicted (concerning his feelings of vengence, or sadness that didn't know how to be expressed as anything but anger, lest he break), that he didn't integrate his "boar" impulses/emotions until much later in his post-time-skip. I didn't feel that Dimitri was a fully reconcilled version of himself, until after he had accepted his "boar" emotions, stopped repressing his unresolved anger, and learned to express them more appropriately or at more appropriate times. After he became more mentally/emotionally stable, I have no doubt that he still can have episodes of rage, anti-social moods, or crippling survivor's guilt, but I think he no longer allows those feelings/episodes to push away the people he cares about or disregard his true personal desires to be kind/protective towards others. He knows how to deal with those feelings now. But he spent a long time not yet at that stable level, until much later. Until then, he was frankly wavering, conflicting with his personal resolve, denying his own ideals, and allowing his survivor's guilt manifesting as ghosts to sway him away from his true desires/motivations/values of Compassion. Dimitri was Weak for a time. So I can't say that he was in the same category of Strength as Masamune and Claude.

Dimitri's backstory of his father's death and idolizing Rodrigue, after he took him in, is information he canonically tells the player.

But I realize that Sengoku Basara 2009 never actually mentions a backstory like this for Yukimura. I'm actually referencing the takarazuka version of Sengoku Basara. In that play, they include a childhood backstory scene, where Yukimura's father was a subordinate of Takeda and died while protecting him. Young Yukimura blamed Takeda for his father's death and went to punch him out. Because Takeda understood that Yukimura needed catharsis and was trying to reconcile with his grief, Takeda allowed himself to be punched. But he also punched back. I think maybe to encourage Yukimura to keep going? I can't remember. But eventually, Yukimura punched out all his anger and only had energy left to finally cry, and Takeda said something that comforted him. From then on, he called Takeda "Oyakata-sama" and became completely devoted to him. This explained the origin of the running gag from the 2009 anime, wherein Takeda and Yukimura engage in fist fights as a form a bonding. (It's a shame that the video of these scenes was taken off YouTube. ;_; ) I don't know if "Sengoku Basara Sanada Yukimura-den" mentions how Yukimura's father dies, since he finally appeared in that game. So I'm referencing the takarazuka version.

There isn't really mention of Masamune's mother in the 2009 Sengoku Basara anime. The closest, was Masamune's maternal uncle appearing in the movie "The Last Party" that ended that anime series. But historically, after the real life Date Masamune survived smallpox at a young age, and lost sight in his right eye, there was a lot of dissent among the other high ranking people within his clan, concerning his continued position as the Date clan's head. A lot of this dissent was lead by his mother, who insisted that Masamune's younger brother should become the new clan leader instead. Some accounts say that to shut up accusations that Masamune was weak and that his faulty eye was just an advertised weakness that enemies would take advantage of on the battlefield, Masamune either pulled out his own right eye or ordered Katakura to do it. Apparently, that shut up everyone except his mother, who still continued to try undermining his position. I don't know if there was one instance of several, but she also tried to kill him through poisoning, to replace him with his brother. Because of this, Masamune's only choice was to kill his own little brother, which forced his mother to run back to her original clan. (I can only assume that Masamune didn't just kill his mother, because it's possible she indoctrinated his brother to ursurp him. So Masamune might have ended up eventually needing to kill his brother anyway.) Lots of us in the Sengoku Basara fandom like to headcanon that all of this happened for the Basara version of Masamune too.

It's my understanding that Cornelia implicated Dimitri's stepmother in the murder of his father and friends at the Tragedy of Duscur, but that things were still left canonically vague. Personally, the fact that Patricia was always kind to Dimitri, combined with the fact that Cornelia is proven duplicitous, I find it difficult to believe that Patricia intentionally betrayed Dimitri. The way Cornelia described it, she offered Patricia a chance to be reunited with her daughter Edelgard, Patricia confirmed that desire, then the Tragedy of Duscur happened. Given that Cornelia was already doing terrible things behind Patricia's back, like experimenting on Hapi, and Patricia being angry at Cornelia when she discovered Hapi, I doubt that Cornelia would have been fully truthful with Patricia. I imagine Cornelia tricked Patricia into opening a path or lowering some defenses to "allow a clandestine meeting with Edelgard", but then Cornelia would probably use it to sneak in enemies to kill Dimitri's father and friends. That's my headcanon theory on the Tragedy of Duscur anyway. So Dimitri was only *possibly* betrayed by his mother figure.

And that's my comparison between DateSana and DimiClaude/DMCL/ClauDimi. It continuously amazes me how similar these ships are and how my shipping has come full circle. lol

[alison-anonymous]

I Want to Write a Mikayuu Series

Okay.

So um.

If you're reading this, HELLO. All of you long time ONS fans probably don't know me, but I'm Alison and I'm a hardcore Mikayuu, Mitsunoa, Gureshin, etc shipper. I've been in the ONS fandom for almost a year and dear god. The amount of people telling me that Mikayuu is queerbait is just making me really sad 😅 I'm a writer, and I'm the type of person who honestly feels like the author of a series should have the ability to choose how a story ends without influence of their readers. I mean, if it's their story, then it should be their ending, right? However, I also do have some qualms when it comes to how this "love triangle" between Yu, Mika, and Shinoa is being portrayed. This is entirely my personal opinion, but I feel like Shinoa seems to be forcing herself to love Yu. I honestly don't think she cares for him in a romantic way, but more of a very deep-rooted admiration or even envy that she's trying to convince herself to be romantic love. And Yu has said multiple times that he values Mika's life above his own, that he doesn't know what he would do without him if he were to die again (I mean the fact that he suffered seeing his best friend and potential lover die a first time was definitely scarring enough, PLEASE STOP TORTURING OUR POOR BABIES). And it's basically confirmed by now that when Mika said I love you in the manga, it was in the romantic sense. Even though I wish, I hope, I dream, and I pray that Mikayuu will become canon, I honestly can't say for certain what I think will happen. I think it could sway any way, with Mikayuu becoming canon, Yu and Shinoa becoming canon, or it being one of those ambiguous endings where it's heavily implied but nothing actually happens. And in order to make myself feel better when stuff like this happens, I tend to rewrite the entire story with the ending that I would have liked to see ;)

You're probably wondering where the hell this stranger is going with this. Well, I want to write a book. A series, actually.

One that's inspired by Seraph of the End.

Now, if you're interested in hearing me out, then feel free to keep reading. But if not, continue on with your scrolling, no hard feelings. But if you do, and I really hope that you do, give me a chance to explain.

I want to write a series inspired by Seraph of the End called Bloodsucker (working title, obviously). And this series is going to be a reimagination of ONS with an ending that I would have loved to see in the anime and manga. I plan to have three main characters (please keep in mind that I'm going to have name changes): Yuichiro, Mikaela, and a brand new character, Epic.

Now, I would begin this series a bit before the anime and I'm assuming the manga begins. I'd start with introducing our main three characters as they meet in the orphanage (yes, Epic would be a part of this orphanage as well) and how Epic and Yu try to make moves to run away only to be stopped by Mika and Akane.

I plan to include a scene between Epic and Akane where Epic tries to run out in the middle of the night only to be stopped by Akane, and this is what caused Epic to develop a crush on her (Epic is a girl btw). Then I would begin the whole shit with the vampires and how they set the world on fire and shit, but instead of the apocolypse, I'd make it so that most of the adults died in the fire while the kids were taken alive (because young blood is better and whatnot). This includes our little Hyakuya family. The directors would have tried to trade the kids lives for their own, and due to their selfishness, the vamps killed them and took the kids anyway.

This would begin my first story arc: the prewar.

Epic, Akane, Mika, and Yu would all be living under the vampires at this point along with the rest of the kids in their orphanage. I plan to include lots of moments of bonding that heavily imply Epic loves Akane even though she doesn't know it yet and Mika loves Yu, but Yu is fucking oblivious. The four begin to plot their escape, but while Mika and Akane (yes Akane too) are making deals with the vampires to help out with their family, Epic is constantly finding herself getting dragged along to visit Queen Krul. The pink haired vamp has a soft spot for her for some reason and often tells her that Epic and her family are "special" or sum shit. And she's super confused and semi grossed out. But none of the vamps ever dare to hurt her so she thinks it's fine. Then one day they all plot their escape and it's much more planned out and lengthy and less rushed than it is in the anime. Things almost seem to work out until the vampires stop them

And Mika and Akane DIE.

I know. I'm horrid.

Epic is standing here in shock as she watches the love of her life die before her and Mika BEGS for Yu to take Epic and run while they can. So while in the series only Yu survives, he obeys Mika and both him and Epic survive this. They're found by Guren (a new character I haven't come up with yet lol) and Yu is super protective over Epic, not wanting anyone to take the only piece of his family he has left (he's a fucking mess without Mika let's just be honest) and Guren ends up taking them under his wing.

Now we hit the second arc. Still with me?

The War.

Hold onto your hats everyone because this is where shit is about to get complicated. So I do plan to have a bit of a time skip into the current spot where Yu and Epic are attending school with Guren as their father figure and they've become very close. So close that Yu refuses to work with anyone else but her. They end up getting onto Shinoa Squad (obviously going to be completely different in my version) and they get put onto the battlefield. But here's the catch. Well, two catches.

Yu and Epic do have demon weapons. I do plan to try to incorporate that into this. BUT the backstory is different. I plan to make it so that the vampires obviously see the humans as fies. Insignificant things that are more playthings than threats. And they didn't want to have to deal with killing all of them, so they sent demons in their place to handle it. But the humans were able to form deals or "contracts" with the demons and therefore turned the vampires' own secret weapon against them.

Now, catch no. 2

So, Epic, Mika, and Yu aren't seraphs in this. But they are something else. I'm going to try to explain this as simply as I can, but each of them (besides Mika since he doesn't have a demon) have 3 souls inside their body:

Soul 1 is their current soul, the one that identifies as Mika or Epic or Yu.

Soul 2 is their demon soul, like what Asuramaru is to Yu.

And soul 3 is their archangel soul (I might change that name later on).

So I'm just going to come right out and say it. In this series, Epic is the villain.

Yes.

You read that right.

Epic is the villain. But she doesn't know that she is. These Soul 3s were reincarnated into the current bodies of Mika, Epic, and Ari (and I know that's not exactly how it works but screw logic this is just a fucking concept) from their lives centuries ago.

These souls existed way before vampires existed and Epic (or Essie) was very close friends with Yu (or Aytigin). Aytigin was in love with Haru (Mika) but for one reason or another, they couldn't be together. Essie wanted to do something, willing to do anything to make the two of them happy. So she made a deal that brought the vampires into creation so that Haru and Aytigin could be happy. She was willing to sacrifice everything that they stood for so that the two of them could be in love together.

She had good intentions, but of course Haru and Aytigin were furious because now the vampires were turning against the humans and they all basically died. Until they were reborn respectively, but unknowingly.

Now picking back up in the present, Yu and Epic are fighting in one of the main battles and the two are very confused when the vampires make a very deliberate attempt not to hurt Epic. They're unsure as to why, but Guren tells them not to worry about it.

Suspicious bastard.

Anyway, it's revealed finally that MIKA IS ALIVE

BUT HE'S ALSO DEAD

Yes he is a vampire. And Yu falls in love all over again upon seeing him, and after a bunch of struggling, Epic gets kidnapped. At first she gets strangled by Lacus and then she gets kidnapped by Ferid who doesn't kill her surprisingly.

Oh and uh... Ferid is nice in this. He's still a fucking creep, but he's a lot nicer than he is in the series. I plan to make Queen Krul or whoever I turn her into be the villain.

Anyway, they take Epic back to the vampire palace or whatever and Queen Krul and Epic are reunited! And Krul is the one who reveals to Epic exactly who she, Mika, and Yu are and this is what sparks Epic's fall to insanity.

I mean, she's the killer. She's the one who brought them into this world. She's responsible for every death the vampires cause.

I would go crazy too.

So, she manages to escape (partially thanks to Mika) and the two join Yu and the others again and it's revealed a second time exactly what is going on. And while no one actually blames Epic on the Shinoa Squad, that doesn't stop people like Kureto and even herself from blaming.

And this causes her demon to go haywire.

She begins losing her marbles, almost killing her teammates and trying to kill herself, all while the three begin to experience dreams or visions of their Soul 3s.

While all this shit is going on, there's heavy romance between Mika and Yu because these two lovers just got reunited and FUCK did they have glow ups but yes -

Oh. And there is another spark for Epic, even though she doesn't think she's worthy of love.

Okay. I'm just gonna say it.

Lacus falls in love with Epic. Yes. You read that correctly too.

I plan to make the two of them get trapped together at some point and they have to work together to escape. It's during this time that Epic realizes he's not all that bad and has some form of self control and he realizes that she's the most interesting thing he's ever met in this disgusting and boring life and damn do her eyes look pretty-

But yes. She forms a permanent alliance with him that he jokes about as marriage and they meet on other occassions too, but lol yes.

Anyway, blah blah blah, more fall to insanity, the Soul 3s take over their bodies on multiple occasions and there's a lot of bonding and fighting and Epic and Mika somehow manage to get some of the vampires on the human side.

And in the end, Epic and Yu basically sacifice themselves to save the human race and kill Queen Krul. It's a very rough ending I haven't quite perfected yet, but Yu has a moment like he did with the King of Salt. But though he inflicted a lot of damage, it's not enough. So while the team is worried about him, Epic takes this opportunity to fix her and Essie's mistakes.

She allows both Essie and her demon to take control of her body and dies on the battlefield. Queen Krul is eliminated. Most of the vampires are gone. The humans won.

Horray.

Epic is dead.

Kinda. Yu and Mika take her back home and this is the preview to the last arc where everyone's in the hospital and Epic's in a coma. Mika and Yu barely ever leave her side and it's only when Lacus of all people comes to visit that she fucking wakes up.

Okay. Are you still with me? Now come with me to the final arc.

The Post-War.

No my friend. It doesn't end there. Because Mika and Lacus are still vamps and life still sucks and I drank too much coffee this morning.

No it's not over yet.

So flash forward a couple years and Kureto and Crew are working as the heads of this city. Stuff is being rebuilt, people are settling down in homes, Lacus and some of the other "good" vampires find jobs, and Mika, Yu, and Epic get a house together (in case I didn't mention before, Epic is pansexual. She loved Akane dearly and I plan to include scenes where she sees her in her mind and dreams like Mikayuu so she's never truly gone, but she falls for Lacus too when he's not being a sadistic asshole). Things are going strangely when

BAM. Epic and Yu come up with a cure for vampirism.

How, you may ask? I don't fucking know, I haven't read about it in the manga yet but before we come up with an idea for it, imma say they came up with it through a spell. They share their findings with Guren and soon all vampires are being cured, most notably Mika, Lacus, and even Rene.

BUT and there's always a but, Kureto passes a new law claiming all vampires to be property. That any vampire or previous vampire or even vampire supporter/owner that tries to disobey these new laws is to be killed immediately. Now Epic and Yu are in jeopardy because their ex-vampires are in danger (Epic and Lacus have been hanging out a lot more and he's proven himself to be a decent guy. Contrary to popular belief, I headcanon him as not really knowing what to do when he actually cares about someone since he's been a heartless vamp for so long. So when he turns to Mika and begrudgingly asks him for LOVE ADVICE of all fucking things, Mika is ready to die). So basically, Mika and Lacus end up getting locked up along with the other ex-vamps (including Ferid which was a pain in the ass) and did I forget to mention that there's a proposal?

Oh yeah, Yu proposes to Mika and the blond still has yet to give him an actual answer because poor baby is still having a hard time accepting that Yu can love a "monster" like him.

But anyways, now Epic and Yu are furious and SHINOA SQUAD IS BACK IN BUSINESS. With the help of Guren and Shinya and everyone, they form a sort of rebellion and blah blah blah they manage to get Mika and Lacus and everyone out and blah blah blah they all get separated and Lacus begins to get INSANELY protective of Epic and ends up confessing his feelings to her before he nearly dies and blah blah blah did I forget to mention that I'm making Mitsunnoa and Kimizuki x Yoichi canon and blah blah blah.

Epic kisses Lacus as an instinct. Lacus kisses her again. Mika accepts Yu's proposal then almost dies AGAIN. I kill off some characters for emotional tugs and after a ton of more fighting and revenge and psychological breakings later, Kureto is killed. And Guren (or someone else haven't decided yet) is the new head of their city.

Epic, Mika, and Yu finally let Akane and the kids go. There's a lot of Shinoa Squad bonding but this is a summary so I haven't included much besides the main three. Epic and Lacus becomes canon. Mika and Yu get married. Guren and Shinya get married. Shinoa gets pregnant.

And everyone gets the FUCKING HAPPY ENDING THAT THEY ALL FUCKING DESERVE BECAUSE FUCK

I do plan to be slightly ruthless like the creator and include a lot of heartbreaking scenes, but it's going to be much different than ONS but I still want it to hold on to some core relationships.

I just want them to be happy. And I just want to make other people happy because fuck I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY

So. Yeah.

That's Bloodsucker...

So my question to you is... if I wrote this shit.

If I sat down and typed about 30 books roughly inspired by Seraph of the End and Mikayuu and Mitsunnoa and shit...

Would anyone read it?

♡ a.a.

[onlytbz]

Casual (Kevin)

You and Kevin have been friends for years, but you two slowly drifted apart as Kevin went on his way to becoming an idol. That one random day, you suddenly hear some voices in your head, and it’s been giving you a headache since.

words: 1628

A/N: this is half serious and half not, WE’LL SEE. i also haven't’ done bullets in awhile, but i might just continue writing narratives bc i feel like i’m being too serious when i do bullet points.

also i’m sorry that i haven’t been posting any writings, and thank you for being patient!

You and kevin have been friends for years, yes

BUT

Kevin left and went on his way to be an idol

You ended up being in a band with a group of people that ended up being your friends

You played guitar

And let’s say you’re tiny

Bc i like tiny people

They’re the reason that you know about this soulmate thing

But you didn’t care

That might explain why you hear random noises

Sometimes screaming at like 3 in the morning

Sometimes it sounds like they’re yelling for their mom

Let’s say you’re fluent in korean

Thanks to family visits to kevin’s place and your bandmates

And let’s be real

You sorta forgot about kevin bc he’s gone for years

So you feel like the voice seems familiar but at the same time it’s not

You know?

You were just practicing one time and your head just

“CAN I GET A HOYAA!?”

You accidentally did a wrong note and it killed everyone’s ears

“ARE YOU GOOD?” your bandmates said

“NO.”

NOW TO KEVIN’S SIDE OF THE STORY

He’s was doing the flower snack thing

He was yelling so much

Whenever he does something, he yells for his mom

You know, the usual

Then he just yelled “CAN I GET A HOYAA!?”

And Hwall just answered

Dude

Then a random “NO.” popped up in his head

AND HE YELLED LIKE HE’S IN PAIN

“KEVIN WHAT THE HECK!?” New yelled

“SOMEONE JUST YELLED IN MY HEAD!”

“HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?”

“I DON’T KNOW, TELEPATHY!?”

It took awhile until he started to work and get ready for the little restaurant

He ended up bobbing his head while no music is playing

Why?

Good question

“Why are you bobbing your head?” juyeon asked while laughing

“Is there no music playing?”

“No?”

“Guess it’s just me.”

He finds out about the soulmate thing after his first fansign after debut and everything makes more sense

But he also things it’s hella weird

A couple months later and you guys have done some performances

Most famous one ends up being ft island’s summer night’s dream

Which is a bop by the way

Highly recommend

Your long note is what EVERYONE LOVES

Even your bandmates make you do it bc of how much they love it

With time went by, your group slowly got popular, mainly for your covers

Whenever you do a busking, everyone’s literally waiting for you guys

Sometimes your fans get their before you do

And they’re really nice that they let you through to get to your spot

Also you’re the only one with a natural hair color bc you don’t want to destroy your scalp

Everyone likes to watch your group tune their instruments

The fact that you guys tune your instruments by ear and that’s amazing

You accidentally sang a note and everyone’s all

“WHOA.”

You’re just sitting there all confused

Little did you know that you’re singing Giddy Up by The Boyz

And that Kevin is in the group

Bc you’re not into kpop and your friends just wanted to do the song

And it fits with the instruments in a way

When you started, everyone was already cheering, even before the first line even started

Little did you know that the group itself was cruising along and ends up hearing a familiar tune

“What is that?” one of the members ask

“It’s a different song, jacob, don’t worry.” another said

Sangyeon of course

Then they see a giant crowd

Like what?

When the first line was sung, they were all shocked bc it was their songs

Like

SOMEONE KNOWS ABOUT US?

THEY LIKE OUR SONGS?

Ok maybe not like that but they would be surprised

Kevin heard it in his head too and he was confused

So they went to check it out

Which startled the fans, but they managed to get to the front and see who it was

They didn’t know you guys

Kevin’s head didn’t even click on who you were

They stayed there until their song ended

Then the bop played

Aka summer night’s dream

They seemed to like the song and the beat and they even clapped with the fans

Your group looked and noticed them and almost had a heart attack

But they kept playing

Bc you gotta continue with the performance until you’re done

You’re not nervous though, bc you didn’t even notice them

You did that long note and kevin just seems shocked

But then he realized it was your voice that’s been in his head

Still didn’t know that it was you though

After you’re done, they all cheered

Of course you hear a mix of voices, but that one voice sticks out to you the most

You just continue waving to your fans

“Y/N, how do you tune by ear?” a fan asked

“Just practice until you can memorize the tuned notes. Took me so long, but it’s worth it.” you smiled.

Kevin immediately dropped his jaw when he heard your name

“Y/N!?”

You looked over to his direction

Where did that come from?

Then you see someone waving his hands in the air

But at the same time how come they haven’t been trampled over

But also your fans are nice, they wouldn’t do that

You were confused on who it was

He ended up smiling at you and YOU INSTANTLY KNEW WHO IT WAS

Now you’re wondering

How did you forget about him?

Oh wait, because of practice

After you cleaned up, you immediately went to him

“HOLY HECK I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU IN YEARS!”

“SAME WITH YOU!”

“Dude, you left me though.”

“I’M SORRY!”

Then you guys talked non stop

“Also, do you know about the soulmate thing?” kevin suddenly asks

“What.”

“Soulmates.”

“What about them?”

“I think we’re soulmates.”

“Were you the one asking for a ‘hoya’?”

“M-Maybe…”

“Then we are.”

“HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?”

“YOU’RE THE ONLY PERSON WHO WOULD LITERALLY DO THAT.”

“You’re not wrong…”

Now let’s skip to the part where you two are actually a thing

Ok so we all know you two are a thing

But you two more act like you’re best friends

You guys play fight

Then you guys would just chill

Cuddles?

Casual

Kisses?

No thanks

Kevin’s too awkward for kisses and so are you

When both of your groups hang out, they’re mainly focused on your instruments

And you two are only interested in chilling together

The only person you trust with your guitar is jacob bc he wouldn’t do anything that will damage it

Honestly, you two look like parents watching over kids

Too many kids

Whenever jacob was done, he would return it to you and you would play some notes

Kevin would touch some of the strings

Sometimes you would hit him because you were afraid that he’s going to break one

“Do you not trust me with your guitar?”

“No.”

“Y/N PLEASE.”

Of course you were only kidding

Both of your groups would ask the same question

“Did you guys kiss yet?”

“No???”

“??????? why haven’t you guys?”

“We don’t want to????”

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH KISSING?”

“IT’S G R O S S”

Honestly you guys are just being kids

You guys even treat kissing on the cheek as if you’re kissing another member

Everyone literally tried to get you two to act like a couple

BUT YOU JUST CAN’T

Insert the moment you kissed him on the cheek

CUE THE HIGH PITCH SCREAMING

HIGH AND LOUD ENOUGH THAT YOUR BANDMATES COVERED THEIR EARS

“SHUT UP YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY DATING?”

“SHUT UP YOU’RE LITERALLY SINGLE??”

“SHUT UP??????”

Literally when are you guys ever serious about dating

To be real, kevin would probably follow you everywhere

But he knows his limits of course

Why hold hands when he can just cling onto your arm?

Why do just that when he can also hold your hand?

He also seems like the type to go to the arcade but watch you play the games instead

Seeing you happy and excited is the best thing that he had dealt with

When you win something, you’d give it to him

“But you won it?”

“But you didn’t do anything?”

“But you deserve it?”

“But I got it for you?”

“But-”

“Just take it”

“Ok”

To be honest, people wouldn��t even know you guys are dating

They just think you guys are just idol friends

You guys would go on night walks, possibly with a camera to video you both

But also an actual camera bc you love taking pictures

Sometimes kevin will just look at the sky and you would just take a picture

And BOY DOES HE LOOK STUNNING

Kevin would also take selfies on both of your phones

Since he’s the taller one and he purposely makes you look short as hell

That’s when you kill him

After your walk, you would go to the cafe

Those that are somehow still open

He’d call you basic for ordering a simple drink

You’d call him a coffee addict and he wouldn’t be sorry about it

Let’s be real, if beyonce was played in a store, he would start dancing

And you would just leave him

Especially in a store

Whether it’s a grocery store or a mall

He’d just yell your name

And you just raise your hand and in an instant he’s already clinging onto your torso

Like d u d e

He’d buy you lots of gifts and take you anywhere

Or let’s you drag him around places

You guys holding hands will probably be the most romantic thing you guys have done without screaming

Sometimes he kisses the back of your hand aka the only affection that you guys don’t scream at

Just

You guys are hella adorable

[foolgobi65]

Hey Maya! I was so thrilled to see that Chitrangadaa fic that I couldn't help storming into your Askbox. Can I please request a Hogwarts AU for Chitrangadaa if you haven't done it yet? Thanks! :))

ah im so glad u liked it!! please feel free to send me as many prompts as you want! also this is completely unedited and possibly quite terrible, and i decided to go with gay ulupi and chitrangada this time which is … lowkey canon anyway but still i really hope you like it! if you dont just send another prompt and i’ll try again lmao!

1. Chitrangada’s family is old, reputed, and cursed – every generation shall bare only one child to continue the family line. When Chitrangada is born, her father spares a brief moment to be disappointed that she was not a boy before kissing her forehead. After all, his grandfather was born of the Clan Mother and there are still stories that attest to her strength of will.

“My beautiful daughter,” he whispers and kisses her soft cheek once more, “Chitrangada.” 

2. Chitrangada enters Hogwarts the only daughter and heir to her family’s vast Welsh fortune. Traditionally, they are a family that has kept to themselves, far enough from the grip of London that they are easily forgotten amongst the high drama of the Sacred 28. Not for them are the vices that often plague the privileged – they cannot afford to lose an heir to liquor or grudge at the gaming boards. Even less do they suit the political intrigue of the English, the power plays and ideological warfare that has led to Kamsa’s 25-year iron grip. Chitrangada is raised safely in the family home, told to keep her head down and finish seven years without attracting any notice from those who might try to have her fight their battles. Courage too is just as likely to cull the lineage as stupidity.

“Gryffindor,” the Sorting Hat screams the moment it touches the 32nd in a line of Hufflepuffs.

3.“You know,” Chitrangada hears from somewhere in front of her,“there’s an easy fix to your problem.”

Chitrangada looks up, furiously brushing away her tears and attempting to pretend that she wasn’t just crying in an abandoned classroom.

“What do you know about my problems,” she asks the girl, a Ravenclaw by the looks of her robes, perhaps a year older than Chitrangada herself. The girl lowers herself to the ground, resting her back against the wall next to Chitrangada.

“You want to fight, yes?” Chitrangada bites her lip.

“It’s not so easy, you see my family–”

“I know about your family.” Chitrangada furrows her brow. “Then you know why my father won’t accept it.” She snorts. “And he would be right! I would be endangering everything my family stands for, for nothing!” Tears leak from the corner of her eyes and she buries her face in her knees once more.

“But you’ll do it anyway, won’t you.” It isn’t  a question. “Why?’

“Because things are so horrible, and I knew nothing,” Chitrangada says to the blessed dark behind her closed eyes. “I can’t go back to my home and spend the rest of my life reading obituaries and know that I did nothing to keep people safe!” She swallows.“I won’t run,” she says finally,“especially knowing how many people don’t have the option.”

The girl shifts closer and sighs, bringing her own knees up to her chest until they both sit side by side, shoulders a seam.“That’s as good a reason as any,” she says,“and so I’m going to help you.”

Chitrangada raises her head, and it is a moment that she will remember for all the rest of her days. The moonlight streams through a window, and it makes the other girl’s hair shimmer, brushes against the delicate planes of her face, nestles in the curve of her slight, faint smile.

But most of all, it lends a gleam to her eyes, iron that has turned into the steel of certainty. Chitrangada’s heart skips one beat, then another, and suddenly she feels like there is nothing she cannot do.

You only die if you lose,” the girl says,“so don’t. I’ll help.”

Chitrangada blinks. “Don’t lose?”

“Easy, right?”

Chitrangada smiles.

4. The girl, Ulupi, turns out to be a born researcher who for some reason has decided to focus her considerable energies into turning Chitrangada into a fighting machine. Ulupi finds books, pamphlets, old scrolls squirreled away in the recesses of the library, ranging from defensive spells to healing salves, battle theory and runes that turn one’s steps silent. 

The only thing Ulupi is not is a duelist, which means that Chitrangada by her fourth year is a master of theory, but only middling in practice. At night, she starts to slip out of the Common Room to practice stinging hexes at targets.

If practice is merely an excuse to drown herself in work, to have something to do when not with Ulupi than think of Ulupi, of how pretty and smart and lovely she is, and how she cannot give Chitrangada children,then no one but Chitrangada and her poor conjured dummies needs to know. Ulupi would conjure bubbles and remark that they are better training for reflexes, but Ulupi also prefers to be asleep between the hours of 12 and 8, so Chitrangada and her dummies are alone.Or, that is what she thinks, until she walks into her usual classroom and finds herself dodging a stunner.

“Protego,” she shouts instinctively when she feels the whiz of the next, without even the sound of an incantation for warning. It is the new moon, and the room is still pitch black.

“Lumos.” In the light, Chitrangada sees her attacker and gasps: Arjuna, two years her senior and said to be the most gifted duelist in generations stands with his wand out. He blinks.

“What are you doing here?” Chitrangada’s eyes widen.

“What are you doing here?”

His eyes move from her to the dummies spread around the room. “I was practicing.”

“In the dark?” And yet, Chitrangada looks and there are marks on the dummies that she knows weren’t there the night before. It is true: Arjuna has learned to duel in the dark.

An expression crosses Arjuna’s face, but he is too trained for Chitrangada to decipher its meaning.

Another stunner, and Chitrangada puts up a shield. He aims another, nonverbal the whole while, and Chitrangada is annoyed enough that she sends a stunner back. Arjuna’s shield is a work of art, his stance a mirror of the dueling text Ulupi had found last winter, and they begin to fight in earnest, trading spells until finally Chitrangada is panting, her wand in Arjuna’s left hand.

She will never be an auror, she thinks, and blinks away her hot, furious tears. She will die in the streets of London, ending the family line by 18. She will break her father’s heart.

“You’re good,” she hears from beyond the veil of her intense self-pity, “if a little unpracticed. Why don’t I know who you are?”

Chitrangada frowns. She is rich for sure, but Arjuna is a Kuru of London, one of the Sacred 28. Headmaster Bhishma himself is his Grandsire, and it is common knowledge that Arjuna has been trained as a duelist since three years of age. He attends classes to satisfy his elders but notoriously refuses to spend free time with his peers. Why would he know who she is?

“I’m younger than you,” Chitrangada finally offers when she realizes the question wasn’t rhetorical.“We don’t share any classes.”

“But we have people of all years in Dueling Club and I thought I knew everyone there.” Chitrangada’s eyes widen – the Hogwarts Dueling Club is a society for the elite, and while it is open to anyone in name, entry is usually based on invitation. Chitrangada trains in secret, in order to prevent word from getting to her father.

“I was not invited,” she says, and then when she sees Arjuna attempt to object, she adds–“My father would not approve.” Better he think her father old-fashioned than be forced to explain the family curse.

Arjuna’s eyes harden. “How have you trained so far?”

Chitrangada shrugs.“Books.” To speak of Ulupi is to think of her, her sweet smile, the way she smells of flowers, the brush of her fingers when she passes a pamphlet across their shared desk. Chitrangada ruthlessly crushes the thought of her best friend.

He exhales.“Books.” Chitrangada nods.“Then you are remarkable – to have lasted so long against me without proper training. Are you sure you won’t join the Club? We can be very discreet, and you are probably better than a fair few.”

Chitrangada smiles, heart light at Arjuna’s praise. Perhaps she might make it to 19 after all.“No,” she says,“as much as I might like to, I’m afraid it’s quite impossible.”

“Fine,” Arjuna shrugs, and Chitrangada tries not to feel hurt at how easily he brushes her aside. But then he moves back into the dueling stance and Chitrangada’s heart skips another beat. He smiles, tossing Chitrangada back her wand.“I’ll just have to train you myself.”

Chitrangada’s jaw drops. She is in love.

5.“You are not in love with me,” Arjuna says a year later when Chitrangada confesses her deep, abiding passion for her illicit dueling master.“I don’t know why you just won’t tell Ulupi.”

”Ulupi?” Chitrangada splutters.“If you don’t like me you can say so, there’s no need to make implications!”

Chitrangada managed to keep her midnight sessions with Arjuna a secret for an entire week before Ulupi came barging into their classroom, furious at being kept out of the loop. By the next week, she had drawn up a new schedule that allowed Arjuna and Chitrangada at least four hours of sleep and given Arjuna a tome about training to duel without the use of each of the five senses.

“I don’t need to make implications,” Arjuna says,“she’s already told me.”

“Told you what?” Chitrangada blushes crimson, reminding herself to breathe. Does Ulupi know? Chitrangada has tried so hard to keep her feelings to herself.

“That you think you need to be with someone who can give you an heir, and since Ulupi cannot you are convinced it is best to live in misery, hopefully marrying some man who will give you a child before you die in the Auror service.”

Chitrangada’s knees shake, and she feels herself sinking to the ground, her lungs tightening until she can’t breathe. She hears Arjuna calling out, and when she next opens her eyes it is to the horrifying sight of Ulupi’s face, one single tear running down her cheek.

“How could you be so stupid!” Chitrangada is not sure if this is directed to her or Arjuna kneeling behind Ulupi, wringing his hands.“I’m talking to the both of you!”

“Ulupi,” Chitrangada begins, but stops at Ulupi’s outstretched hand.

“Did you really think that after everything, I wouldn’t have a solution?”

“Does the Hogwarts library have books about…” Arjuna’s voice lowers.“procreation?”

Ulupi rolls her eyes.“It has books about sex too.” Arjuna flinches.“But no, I found this at a Muggle bookstore last summer. You’re going to be a sperm donor!”

“A what?” Arjuna and Chitrangada say this as one. Ulupi laughs.

“Well,” she says,“the muggles have figured out how to isolate what of Arjuna is needed to create a child, and so he will….donate –”

“Donate my –”

“Yes,” Ulupi says, finally flushing herself.“In a little bag. Then we will… insert that into Chitrangada, and she will have a child!”

A moment of silence. “A child,” Chitrangada whispers. Is it possible?

“My child?” Later, they will all laugh at the sheer amount of scandal in Arjuna’s voice.

Ulupi glares. “Well it doesn’t have to be your child if you don’t want it to be! The child will have two parents once Chitrangada and I marry, and even if she dies I will be a researcher and stable enough to satisfy the family.”

“Marry,” Chitrangada breathes, gazing at Ulupi as if it is again the first time. In a way, it is. She is, if possible, even more beautiful than that first night, all blazing eyes and steel certainty that even the stars will move to align with her vision for their future.

“Yes,” Ulupi says, turning to grab Chitrangada’s hands and bringing them up to her lips. “Easy, right?”

[aenaki]

Never

Plot: Y/n is a new detective and together with Namjoon and Jungkook she tries to solve the town's mysteries. But what if those are much more than she had expected...

Part 8

He came back.

Exactly when you would think your life couldn’t be worse he came back.

Kim Taehyung was also your childhood friend though some past stories made the two of you to lose touch.

He met you and Jimin in the last year of elementary school and the three of you connected on the spot. You were known in the neighborhood as the trio DoReMi of troubles. The relationship with Taehyung wasn't the same as the one with Jimin. Thinking about it now, you'd always fight with Taehyung even from trivial things and poor Jimin had to help the two of you make up. But despite all these, Taehyung was always there when you needed someone, when you needed him, in times when even Jimin wasn't. The bond was a special one that couldn't be broken. Or so you thought.

The moment when he left was the moment when you broke down and since then you haven't been the Y/n they knew.

"That's it Y/n. Stop right now. You have to focus on your job right now" you mutter to yourself.

You were already tired by all this thinking.

Dressing in some freshly ironed clothes, you dash out the house at the speed of sound. Your mother watches you from afar chuckling to herself at the too familiar scene.

You arrive 10 minutes later and after some scolding from Chief Yoongi you're introduced to a list of small cases. With just a glance, Namjoon solves half of them, leaving him wondering why the police couldn’t work them out. Finishing earlier than expected, your team is dismissed. Turning to head home, Namjoon asks you and Jungkook whether you'd want to accompany him to lunch. After a few second both of you nod in agreement and go to a restaurant close by.

"So how do you find work till now?" Namjoon starts the conversation.

"I really like it. I wanted to a detective since the second year of high school and it's a dream come true. It's not all pretty and pink but the two of you made it enjoyable."

A shy smile forms on their faces as they follow your words.

"It's all thanks to you that we solved the Zodiac Killer case" Jungkook joins the conversation.

Your heart skips a beat at the name of the criminal as you knew that something hadn't been right with that case.

"I wonder why they gave us these easy cases though" you try to change the subject.

"Chief Yoongi said that these were the cases with which we were supposed to begin. He heard about a more difficult case and he believed that we were capable." Namjoon was right. It was a bigger case and that made you realize the true work of a detective.

The food finally arrives at your table. You ordered pasta, Jungkook some chicken with grilled vegetables and Namjoon seafood. You continue to eat and chit chat for a few hours. At some point Jungkook begins sharing his vegetables with the pretext of having a great taste but you knew he just didn't want them. He holds a piece of grilled zucchini in front of your face signaling you to eat it. You look at him then at the chopstick he's holding before opening your mouth and eating the offering. He watches you with a bright smile as you chew the soft savory vegetable. After receiving the taste approval, he turns to Namjoon with the same offer. You start laughing at the older boy's confused face as Jungkook insists. You watch in awe the scene unveiling before your eyes finished with the three of you laughing.

It was time to leave. You stand up to go and pay for your meal when Namjoon stops you from doing so.

"It's on me. Don't worry"

"You don't have to. Let me pay at least for my meal."

"I said I'll pay. I invited you guys."

You want to say more but he signals you to stop.

Thanking the guys for the meal you head home fast. On your way you get a text message.

Both of you knew that was a lie.

Previous / Next

(A/n: Things are starting to get spicy)

[skaihedaofthe100]

"Xenos" series

Chapter 2.Not alone

description: "Xenos" from the Ancient Greek "stranger, foreigner". Xenia Kane and the other 99 delinquents are strangers for everyone who managed to survive on the Earth. Her story has just started. Enjoy

We've been hiking for "years" now. Yes, after being able to walk not more than 6 meters in your cell for a long time a few hours seem like years to me. It is also really hot here and all I'm thinking about is finding a lake or something. Fortunately, Octavia announces that she's noticed water in the distance and I see Fin grinning at me. Smiling back I try to remember the number of times we both have been talking in the skybox how it'd feel like to jump in a cool river. Five seconds later our party is near it with Octavia hurrying to take of her pants and step in the water. I don't waste time following her despite the shocked looks on Clarke's and boys' faces. Hey, don't judge me! There was nothing to do in the cell except reading books which Finn somehow managed to get me from time to time. So the only thing that distracted me from boredom was training and now I'm happy I've been doing it. O waits for me and we jump together in the river and God, it feels SO GOOD! For the moment I forget that we've never learnt how to swim and probably will drown right now but then realize that the water is not as deep as it seems and my friend and I can stand here. My eyes meet Jasper's but there is no excitement about finally having a swim in them. Instead he cautiously looks in the distance and the second later I can hear him crying for us to get out from the water. "Get out? Is he serious right now? I haven't spent here even a minute",- I think.

-Leave the river now if you don't want to be killed! - the boy repeats -Why haven't you told about being killed before?!- I cry now trying to get my ass out of the river as fast as I can. In the corner of my eye there is Octavia who is not hurrying as much as me and turning to look at the creature. -Damn it, Octavia! Move!- I plead but it is too late. The monster catches her and I see the girl being taken by it in the depth of the river. Cursing I splash the water loudly to distract the creature from her. I swear, putting others' life over mine can eventually kill me. But what do we say to death?-Not today. O is free now and while something is moving in my direction Jasper manages to take her out of the water. -Not today, not today,- I try to calm myself down being already able to feel big teeth touching my leg when a big rock is thrown right in front of me which makes the creature swim away and never come back, I hope. There are Finn and Clarke standing on the log behind ready to throw stones again if the river monster will show up. Only after feeling firm land under me I'm able to relax. The blonde girl is already near examining my leg. -Just a few scratches, nothing bad. I can't say it about Octavia, though,- she informs me. -Thank you for saving my life anyway, Nia,- the younger Blake says and suddenly her hands wrap around me. Huh, that was unexpected. I haven't hugged anyone except Finn for a long time. But it is never too late to start, isn't it? The next moment I'm hugging her back. Let's skip the story of how our party have been searching for a good place to sleep and not finding one deciding to simply lay down on the ground. The next morning I wake up because of Finn's snoring near my ear. Ew. Now there is no chance I'll continue my sleep so I start to shake everyone saying it is time to get up. Huh, these teens didn't know Kane girl could be that cruel threatening to splash cool water on them if they won't listen to her words.

Finally everyone is ready to go. Walking, I start feeling hungry and blame myself for being such a fussy eater and skipping my breakfast back on the ark yesterday even if it was disgusting as always. I guess the others are hungry too because they also don't seem to be in the right mood to talk and joke. Two or three hours later we reach a cliff with a river under it and that cheers us up a little bit 'cause my friends and I are exited about crossing the boundary on lianas. Who won't be? -Wanna be the first one?- I ask Finn. Maybe I'll never admit it but I don't know what could I do without my friend who has always been the one to encourage me to do crazy things. With him we've often pranked the guards and other young criminals and even nearly sneaked out from our space jail once. Well, this is why I've spend a couple of weeks in solitary. What can I say, it was definitely worth it! -As you wish, Commander,- Finn's answer causes me to give the boy a "Really?" look. -Wait, Finn, let me be the first one,- Jasper interrupts us looking at Octavia in the distance. Of course we understand the reason of such courage and step away. -Hell yeah, Googles!- I cry along with the others when the boy crosses the river. -We are Apogee!!- he yells in excitement while picking a piece of metallic sign which says "Mount Weather", I guess. My arm is already holding the liana when suddenly a large spear hits Jasper's body causing him to fly a few meters back. I immediately fell on the ground pushing shocked O down as well. God, will she ever start reacting quicker?

-We should run, -Finn whispers to us -But what about Jasper?- Monty and I ask at the same time looking at him lying there and not moving -We will figure something out and now run, run, run, - the boy answers us pushing me forward. There is nothing I can do to help Googles right now so I run as fast as I can not bothering to stop and breath properly till we reach the camp. There is a fight or something like this in its center and Clarke is heading that way crying someone to stop but I don't follow her. Enough troubles for today. Yet, I need some strength to go after Jasper so my decision is to have a rest on the log near injured Octavia. I hear the blonde girl and Bellamy arguing about taking of the bracelets and look at mine. Still working. Still showing my dad up there that I'm alright. I wonder does he even care about my state and think about taking it of too but remembering other people on the Ark I decide to keep the "accessory". -Octavia, you okay?,- suddenly there is the older Blake near us.- I told you to stay out of trouble, do you remember it? O and I both don't say anything. My friend perhaps 'cause she feels guilty while my reason is that I'll probably cough all my burning lungs out. I've never ran so quickly and long in my life.

-The things could be worse if Nia didn't distract the creature that had caught your sister,- Clarke decides to add and I see Bellamy looking up from O's injury to me. -And are you hurt?- he asks and after I show him a few scratches on my leg thanks me with a respectful look. -By the way, you have to search for Jasper with us,- Griffin says when Bellamy's sister is taken to the dropship by a boy named Atom. -And why would I?,- O's brother disagrees -They say you have a gun and plus...,- Clarke adds something else but I no longer listen to her. All my thoughts are about a gun. You know, my father's guard friends used to teach me how to shoot and (I don't want to boast) I was pretty good at it. -Show me,- is all I say to Blake and instead of just taking it in hands he lifts his T-shirt. Huh, he could took of all his clothes if he wanted to show off his body properly. -Murphy, you are coming with me,- the guy orders I roll up my eyes. Seriously? Why him? Guess who will spend the rest of the day in the best company ever? Lucky Kane! -Yay!- I cheer with sarcasm hearing Clarke with Bellamy scoff and add "Let's go. And NO FIGHTS without us" louder. Well, I'm a little bit power-hungry, what can I say.

-You heard the Commander! We'll try to be back by the dark now go back to minding your business,- I glance at Blake and see that he looks serious while speaking, there are also delinquents around us nodding in agreement. Wow, how did I manage to get some authority down here? I like it! The only thing that bothers me is that now everyone knows the nickname and I wanna go by my real name. Now we are heading in the woods. Again.

[it-hurts-because-it-mattered]

I'm really surprised to see Justine and Lara here tbh. If Justine were going to go I'd expect it to be part of the PT drama; she's not exactly a front line fighter so I wouldn't expect her to be high risk in BG. And now that I think about it, I'd expect Christmas Eve to have been a little different if she'd gone out in BG, considering the bombshell that we know about from the start of PT.

Lara... Just doesn't show up on my death list at any point tbh. I feel like messing around with the power structure of the White Court has been done too many times already for there to be much to gain from going there again, and I don't see anything in either the plot arc or Lara's personal arc that would require or benefit from her death. Unless she finally pushes Dresden too far and he swats her down the way McCoy did in Turn Coat, a way of showing us both how much Dresden's power has grown and how he's taken the gloves off with tolerating monstrous allies who are no longer worth the trouble (which I think is a fairly low probability twist, considering how skeevy it would feel to have Dresden casually kill off such a powerful and popular female character). I think Lara's at least making it to the BAT.

There are some definite "Ebenezar's gonna die" vibes, but I'm hoping you're wrong about that because I feel like there's a lot more for him to do. I think Arthur and Mai are better candidates for Council deaths (possibly both of them, clearing the way for Gregori to make a play for the top spot, leading to either a "Ministry during Deathly Hallows" situation, or the Council finally splintering.

I'm still convinced there's going to be a decades long time skip going into the BAT, so I'm looking for opportunities for all the fully mortal characters to go out before then, except for the likes of the Carpenters (barring possibly Daniel, and maaayyybbbbeee Michael, but I do think Skin Game was his last fight) who are likely to have natural deaths.

Nobody asked, but I'm going to give my top 4 too (in descending order of liklihood):

1. Forthill, I'd put money on it

2. Half or more of the Alphas

3. Murph (sorry Serp)

4. Mai

Forthill is getting really old now, and he had his jaw broken in Changes and got beaten nearly to death in Ghost Story. Honestly my only uncertainty is whether he'll last long enough to die in BG or if he'll have a peaceful death before we get there.

The Alphas have been getting more and more deeply involved in the fight, and more and more clearly outclassed, since Aftermath (really since Turn Coat, but their involvement with the BFS feels like a more tangible change for them). They've been getting by with a mixture of hit and run, stealth, and pack work, but even then it's gone badly a few times. With outright war coming to Chicago...

Murphy... What needs to be said? There aren't a lot of dangling threads on her personal plotline, she's getting older and got hurt pretty bad in the last book, and she's *purely* vanilla mortal (all the serious injuries that haven't been career ending, and some of those that have, were all for characters who had at least something supernatural going for their recovery), she's possibly the biggest gut punch death available for Harry (apart from Maggie)... There are just so many hints around that it's either happening or a huge red herring, and since I'm looking for ways for mortal characters to go out before the BAT, and after BG we go into MM, time is running short and it just feels like a natural end point for the character.

Mai is pretty much the reasons above; I think Serp is right about a big Council death, and we've never seen Mai in action but I always get the vibe that she's a combat powerhouse, and for political and story reasons I think her and Arthur are the best options for who's going out here. I lean slightly towards her because I can't really see what her place would be on the Senior Council if Arthur dies and she doesn't, while I can see him continuing without her. Really I think the most likely option is both of them dying.

Top 4 potential deaths in Battle Ground? Not even gonna ask about PT because I think Butcher is saving the good stuff for BG.

1) Ebenezar McCoy

2) Justine

3) Lara Raith

Tbh I don’t have a fourth candidate that I’m like “yes that’s def on the cards”.

But since it’s only recently we’ve learned that we’re getting two books instead of just the one, and judging by the Peace Talks trailer, it seems that the White Court stuff will happen in PT, which means Justine and Lara are more likely to die then IMO.

Ebenezar is more likely to die in BG, IMO. Alternatively one of the other big hitters in the Council could kick the bucket, because I’d imagine the wizards are gonna be pretty important in a fight against a Titan. Like not Dresden, obvs, and I don’t think Carlos will die because he’s fairly young and seems like things could be building up to something with him, and the Gatekeeper is a BAT death IMO, but literally any other wizards.

The same goes for random members of the Accords. We could be introduced to some interest one-off characters. Ivy could die in theory? Kincaid likewise? I forsee more of a End Battle of Deathly Hallows-esque free for all, where it’s a chaotic mess and there are people dropping like dominoes.

There’s also the possibility that everyone gets out alive! :)