#i hope she enjoys her genocide money

[sara-roz]

!! DONT SKIP !! donations urgently needed

They are only at €66,072 out of €100,000 goal

I've donated €30, so please match me if you can and reblog with a screenshot ‼️ Let's keep going‼️

My friend Dina, Ahmed's wife, is reaching out for help to save her family and promote their campaign. Dina is 30 years old and lives in Gaza with her husband Ahmed, who is 36, and their children: Zeina (8 years old), Eileen (7 years old), Yamen (5 years old), and baby Ronza (4 months old). Imagine if it were your own family member, friend, or child who should be enjoying school or playing with friends, but instead, they are hiding from bombs and relying on the kindness of strangers to survive. This family has been suffering for more than a year due to the relentless siege and devastation. You are their only chance to find safety and hope for a better future. Please help by sharing their campaign and spreading the word.

This fundraiser has been vetted by @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi - #264 on the vetted Gaza fundraiser list,

Also verified by butterflyeffect.project (# 741) & this fundraiser is vetted by @gazavetters , #213 on the spreadsheet here

(drawing above by @/anonymous ), On the occasion of his young son Yamen's birthday anniversary.

Dina's daughter, Ronza, is not even four months old, yet she suffers from malnutrition after spending her short life in the midst of war. Yamen, five years old, is also struggling with illnesses and malnutrition due to the harsh conditions. There is no greater nightmare for any father than to see his children starving and sick, unable to do anything to help. Please help Dina save his children and bring them to safety. Every child deserves security and nourishment, and you can be the hope that rescues Ronza and Yamen, giving them the childhood they deserve, far from the sound of bombs.

Their Husband Ahmed suffers from a severe herniated disc that prevents him from moving normally or holding his children in his arms. Additionally, he has another illness that he refuses to disclose, which only adds to his suffering. In Gaza, the medical resources available for his treatment are inadequate, and every day that passes without proper care increases his pain and the anxiety his family endures. He urgently needs to receive treatment and travel abroad before his condition worsens further. Your assistance in raising funds means not just alleviating his pain but saving a father who is desperately trying to remain by his children's and family's side. Don't let this family, who has already endured so much loss, also lose their father, husband, and sole support.

Dina has shown me pictures of the explosion near them, and thankfully, they managed to escape in time. Every day they spend in Gaza puts their lives at risk from Israeli bombs. Every day and hour counts. I know there are compassionate and kind people willing to help. Every euro helps, and your donation will bring them one step closer to safety. With love and hope, I ask you to give what you can. I believe in the kindness of people in this world, and I beg you not to let his family die. If you can’t donate, please share this message so it may reach those who can help.

Never forget that palestinians are not numbers on a list of deaths. Please think of each of them, think of their names and faces and know that you can help them. I think of them every day. I think of the hopes and dreams they should achieve, I think of their education, their future, and the love they show when they work hard every day to get help. You may feel powerless to stop this genocide, but you have the power to save Dina and his family.

I dream that the day will come soon where they may use their days to rest and recover from what they’ve been through, where they can share a meal and laugh and the children will play, instead of having to use their time to beg the world to listen and help them. We can make this possible.

9,000 euros is a lot of money for one person to give, but for all of us together, it can be done. Please don’t look away.

Thank you for reading their story. Please don’t keep scrolling without sharing

Here is the link again for their fundraiser

tagging for reach:

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[whalehouse1]

Finally finished The Count of Monte Cristo and I have some thoughts. Mercedes being a target of his vengeance because she was unfaithful to him by marrying Fernand just screams a mixture of purity culture and paints Dumas and Dantes as "nice guys", at least to me. Albert having to join the army in Dantes's eyes just sits wrong with me, but I'm also very anti-military, so I may just be biased here, but also it was to conquer Algeria and I'm not going to celebrate any genocide in any capacity. Then the narrative tries to make you see Mme Danglers and Debray as bad people, but, Mme Danglers's only really problems were she was unfaithful to her husband, which their marriage is very much only in a legal sense, she plays the stock market and wants to marry off her daughter so she can have her freedom back. Debray, although always called cold, really only as that against him. The Danglers's dog likes him and he does help both of them and the only gross thing he really does, is play with the idea of marrying Eugiene, which yeah that's a category on PornHub, but honestly it's not a reason to see him as a villain. I'm still wondering what happened to Benedetto, cause out of all the deaths, besides one, him shanking Caderousse, seems like an appropriate response since he was being extorted and threatened. But also because, despite the novel trying to slutshame Mme Danglers, she deserves to know her kid. She was innocent in that and don't dare say she shouldn't have had the affair with Villefort so she's just as equal to blame. I understand it was a different time, but thinking a woman who wanted to have a child, was told it was a stillbirth and wept over the child while bleeding copious amounts, doesn't deserve to know her child is a disgusting thought. Also Dantes knew those two were half-siblings, stop promoting inbreeding dude. I could go on again about Mercedes and Albert cause good lord that part makes me very irate, but we have Mme Villefort, who, hats off to a girlboss queen, has a body count, but her last victim causing Dantes to say he caused this, is just wrong. Heleoise would have still killed everyone that she did even if he didn't show up. Her goal was Valentine's money, so that would have played out the way it did anyways. But then you have Caderousse, who Dantes forgives, but because of his greed, which wasn't present at the beginning of the story (at least to the extent it became), he becomes the most villainous of the four (I guess 5 because does the end of the book want to make Mercedes into one of the traitors), not even in terms of culture at the time, but his actions are the most abhorrent of them all. Morcef's are also terrible, but they are all off-screen, so to speak, so they don't really have the impact of Caderousse's, at least to me. Also Morcef's were all cowardly as opposed to the sheer violence from the former neighbor. Then we get Dantes being Woody Allen to Haydee at the end of the book and yeah, not a fan of either of those. I will admit, I was hoping Albert and Haydee became a thing, but those pale guys (I don't know how or why Mercedes, Albert or Haydee were described so white at the end of the book, even with Mercedes spending so much time inside, she'd have a different skin tone. This just bothers me so much as Dumas was mixed, he knew that the tone wouldn't be pale, and this is coming from someone whose skin tone along with his siblings are all different because we are mutts.) just don't because Haydee has stockholm syndrome and Albert has to pay for his father's crimes, which as one who despises the addage, "The son must pay for the sins of the father," I don't care for. That said I enjoyed most of the book, but the end got very judgy and condemny of certain characters in ways I do not agree with and even knowing the culture was different, find disagreeable, but who knows if I were born in those times if those would be the thoughts I still would have. But all things said and done, Nortier's the MVP of this book and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

[moonspirit]

hi. assigning lana del rey songs to ships.

eremika: how to disappear

from mikasas perspective, so “joe” would be eren. i can’t even begin to explain how perfect this song is for them.

“i know he’s in over his head. but i love that man like nobody can. he moves mountains and pounds them to ground again” I MEAN CMON MAN!?!?

“this is how to disappear, no one’s going anywhere.” post erens death.. SIGGHH i miss them

aruani: when the world was at war we kept dancing

could be from either perspective it doesn’t matter. anyway, i think from the title alone u can see my vision. not elaborating.

eremin: dealer

armins perspective in season 4. now i don’t like to ship them in season 4 (season 1-3 is good) but this is too perfect.

“i gave u all my money, gave u all my money, gave u all my money. i don’t wanna live. i don’t wanna give you nothing, cuz u never give me nothing back. why can’t u be good for something? not one shirt off your back.” must’ve been very draining for armin to d ride eren in season 4.

jeankasa: doin time

jeans perspective. now i don’t ship this cuckold with my majestic queen mikasa HOWEVERRR i can see mikasa settling for him post rumbling. like a “sighh i suppose” instead of an “i do” typa marriage. anyway to the song

“she spreads her lovin all over and when she gets home there’s none left for me.” it’s about how she’s still attached to eren, sure she likes jean. he’s a very good friend. she should love him, he’s her husband/boyfriend/side hoe. but she just can’t get over her love and devotion to eren.

eremika again: did you know that there’s a tunnel under ocean blvd (yes that’s the real name i’m not fucking with u)

erens perspective. the song is about legacy and not being forgotten.

“don’t forget me like the tunnel under ocean blvd.” tunnel under ocean blvd = there’s more to me than what u see on the surface. eren, during the rumbling, couldn’t be understood by anyone. his actions were too.. well.. genocidal. except for mikasa (and armin but this ain’t bout him) she doesn’t forget that there’s more to him than being the devil of paradis.

“open me up. tell me u like it. fuck me to death. love me until i love myself.” CMOONNNNN

reiani: norman fucking rockwell

annie’s perspective when they were in paradis. toxic(ish) reiani my beloved. let’s be real annie doesn’t like him. at all. (ok just a little bit but she won’t admit it) and reiners terrified of her.

“you’re just a man. it’s just what u do. ur head in ur hands as u color me blue” warrior-personality reiner was very toxic, look at marcos death scene.

“goddam man child. u act like a kid even though u stand six foot two.” she just hates him lol

tell me what u think. bout my choices and the songs themselves (jus spreading the gospel. hoping to turn u into a lana fan)

Ahahhaa hiiii xD I needed some time to properly listen to all these lovely songs! And I believe @kensingtonbae would really enjoy these picks, you two love Lana on the same wavelength I think?

"How to Disappear" is really very beautiful, woah! I like the melancholic melody and tune - but it's not overwhelmingly sad somehow, it's... comfortingly sad, if that makes any sense xD Very fitting for Eremika as a whole because post-rumbling she's really the saddest person in the whole story, the only one who didn't get what she wanted. Still, Mikasa continues to love him despite all the destruction and irreversible damage he caused and well, now that sort of ties into "tunnel under ocean blvd" tho? It was her determination to not let go of Eren even at the very end that brought everything to an end finally T^T This song captures that emotion perfectly! *siiiiiiigh* I miss them too :<

Now "Dealer" really fucking hurts T^T Because season 4 Eremin is p a i n f u l as hell. I like to imagine Armin promised Mikasa he'd bring Eren "back" (y'know, from the distance that kept growing between them) but that was easier said than done. Try as he might, Eren would NOT let Armin get close, the way he would've, just some time ago! What changed? Nobody can convince me Armin didn't find this infuriating and incredibly difficult - boy was MAD! Boy was mad and just holding his temper on a light leash... but sometimes, he did snap! Alone! This is the song for those moments - very raw!

"Norman Fucking Rockwell" has those minor-key tunes I really love in any song. I guess it suits a toxic ReiAnnie vibe quite well. Tho it's the lyrics that do it too hahaha xD Manchild sounds like something Annie would call Reiner several times in a single day, welp. Her general frustration with him can't be any higher. They have a difficult relationship - I like this song, I think it suits!

With Jeankasa, I like the ship because it's full of complicated emotions! I do hc Jean has some trouble with easily becoming comfortable in the relationship... it's all very sad #_# The song is nice! It's got this cynical vibe, kinda like this constant undercurrent of emotions in their relationship.

Wrapping up on Aruani as always T^T Great song title for these two hahaha xD Feels like an "Love during the apocalypse" type of song which I suppose it is... in a way. Fits Aruani especially during the high notes - beautiful!

[alexissara]

My Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Hopes OCs.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of my biggest fandoms ever, generally speaking Fire Emblem is probably one of the only fandoms I'd consider myself to be in or have ever been in. Everything else, I feel like i'm more on the outside of things I like, not as into it as people who are "in fandom" are or have since grown uninterested in. Even for things I barely enjoy sometimes I like to make OCs for the universe just for fun cuz I enjoy it as a writing experience and an expression of creativity so of course I have made my fair share of OCs set in the Three Houses universe.

Xel is a young woman from Duscur who witnessed her fathers death at the hands of Dimitri when he participated in the genocide of her people. She is the last living member of her bloodline, even family friends were all killed who were of Duscur. She was forced to live on her own as a child, ending up fighting in the shadey underground arena of Fargus where the allegedly civilized nobles came to bet on what warrior would win or lose in bloody combat. She took some merc work from time to time the arena tiring on her soul but eventually it was at the Arena where she met the two women who would lead to her going to the officers Academy, Catherine and Cornella. At the arena she also got into sex work as she got older having people asking for a night with the buff warrior woman and accepting the money given her dire need for it.

Xel has a total contempt for Faerghus as a nation and wishes to see it burn to ashes regardless of who's hands it is at. However, her rage and cynical side stay mostly hidden as she attempts her best to present as feminine, delicate and soft. Xel is a trans woman who was accepted by her family and culture but lost her resources and acceptance with the death of her people. She was already not keen on fighting and wished to study magic but instead had to hone her arms for the arena becoming a world class brawler. Still she attempted to present feminine and did her best to salvage for what she could to continue a transition. She is my most dysphoric trans OC and often finds herself struggling between what she is good at and what she wants to be.

Xel is childhood friends with Byleth, both of whom were young and trans and met up together with their partners both seeking to support their child who knew their gender early. Xel's mother was a merc who had worked with Jearlt a few times so they had let the two have play dates and spend as much time as they could stationed there together. Xel learned Archery from her mother as well as the fundamentals of how she would later fight with her fists while she got her inspiration for magic from her studious father who worshiped the spirits and saw magic as a means to be closer to him.

She ended up working in the same company as Shez for some time before returning to the Arena making her connected to both mercs. Her connection to Cornelia started as a private engagement in sex work, a rare woman who wanted the lesbian and actually treated her as a woman. Cornelia assisted in funding her stay at the officers academy while Catherine was impressed with her skills in the arena and recommend her to the school getting her enrolled. Catherine see's Xel as a potential apprentice who can carry on her legacy whenever that time came although Xel disinterest in the faith troubles her.

I am still exploring Xel's arc and where it might go, she may get a buff to her faith magic spell list after some experiments from Cornelia who wants to take her as a long term lover once she can get her ascended to a higher status. Xel has her heart set on Byleth and Shez but Shez wants Byleth dead and it places her in a very complicated situation. Xel is a Black Eagle but the older women in her life both eventual enemies of Edelgard. Xel is in school with the boy who murdered her peace loving father and can barely contain her rage around him. A lot of fun hooks are set for her in the future.

From my sweet girl with a lot of potential paths, let's go to my most problematic gal of the batch Queen Arte of the Agarthians. Sister of Epimenides the twins were equal in skill and talent but differed in their abilities. Epimenides was a master of magic and power while Arte crafted the shapeshifting and stealth of her people which would become vital after Serios's bloody retaliation to her people's fight for freedom from the dragons. Arte is mostly hands off with Those Who Slither In The Dark allowing them their actions across Fodlan given they advance her eventual goal of reclaiming the surface. She however, does not trust Thales and excepts his eventual betrayal in a power play for her throne simply awaiting one wrong move to kill him and remove him all together from the chest board.

Arte is one of Shez's mothers and the reason for Arval's creation inside of her. Publicly she wished for her brothers return but truthfully Arval was created to be a thing capable of removing her brother from the table all together. Arte did not want her brother competing for her position in power nor to share it equally. However, the woman she paired with not knowing that she never intended to have their daughter consumed by her brother ran away with Shez hoping to let her grow up and be her own person. Arte would hunt down her former lover but wouldn't find Shez until she was a young adult.

Arte is a morally complex character who mostly cares for power but does wish for the best future for her people and does not want wanton human death either seeing any worshiper of the church as tainted and worthy of death but anyone who doesn't worship Serios as a lost sibling to her own people. The culture in Agartha is complicated, there is a mix of freedoms and oppression that suit Arte's grand design. Queerness is allowed, there is no poverty, there is public education but also the nation requires a lot of the people's bodies and lives in service to the continued existence of their people. She's intended to mirror Rhea in a lot of ways.

Taking a break from Slithering to talk about Zara my first major Three Houses OC that I used in a short lived Three Houses roleplay. Zara came after my first OC idea was rejected and I cooked up this terrible disaster instead. She has an OC crest, the crest of Herzefeld. Zara von Herzefeld is a mixed race Almyrian and Lester woman. She was raised in secret by her mother who hide her pregnancy from the noble man who had on some nights taken to her before she moved away near the border. In a little town Zara was raised, a happy girl but her crests healing abilities manifested, something that her mother would beg for her to suppress. Yet, one day a friend of Zara's was injured and she healed them, they told everyone about her powers and rumors came that someone else had the Crest of Herzefeld. So her father came to town. Her mother was killed for keeping her secret and Zara was taken in, given a cover story and raised by the man who killed her mother.

Zara at first tried to rebel, tried to fight back but she couldn't defeat the older war tested man even if he was mostly a healer. Then she tried to run away but his men would always catch her and he would get more agressive eventually having shackles placed on her. The reality was Zara was a valuable asset. He had failed to pass a crest onto any heir so he simply pretended he had non but he had, many, many children and non had gained the crest, so Zara had to be the answer. Eventually Zara learned to play him, to be the perfect daughter for her father with an intention, a goal, to kill him one day, not just kill him but to tear away his legacy, to ruin his family, to end nobility itself, she wanted to see it all in flames. In secret she studied fire magic but actively she practiced faith magic. Zara was set to be married off but convinced her father to wait until after she graduated the officers academy and that she would go hunting for a proper man of even higher status she might be able to seduce to bring their family higher wealth and power. He agreed but assured her he would keep his looking for suitors. Her father knows Zara's attraction solely lays with women but he cared not about that, never seeing her as more than an object to be used. Although in the time he started to truly see her as a daughter, as Zara stroked his ego and made him think they were ever more alike, he even began to search for whispers of young women in noble families perhaps looking for a mistress or ones his daughter might be able to take. Yet, it still was mostly to twist his own ego. Ultimately the goal remained the same and he'd do anything to get her to fill his goals even the worst things one could imagine.

Zara's personal skill allows her to gain extra damage when she does not heal an injured ally in rage and instead attacks with her fire magic. This represents her hatred of the noble class she is at school with at the Officers Academy and those of positions of power. She is in school the year before the Events of Three Houses, the same year Monica was enlisted and therefore lacks connection to most of the cast until the war begins regardless of Houses or Hopes timelines. Regardless of the timeline, the intended route for her as a character is to kill her father, join Edelgard but have some friction in her wanton desire for violence. Zara is unlikely to drop the guise though that she is a simple cleric stereotype, one who loves her friends and wants to heal everyone and that she is devote although in truth she hates the church nearly as much as the nobility. Can Zara be fixed, be open, will she end her path concluding that she too is a noble and must also face her own fires? I'm not sure I didn't get to explore everything but I really think she is a fun compelling character and I think about her often.

The final two face of my batch of Three Houses women. Heca is an Agrathian woman sent to live deep undercover by Queen Arte as a young Noble to be her spy on both Edelgard and Thales. To Thales she is a report on Edelgard but to Edelgard she is a noble she has no idea has any ties to Thales she's known since they were young. To Arte though she is here to ensure Thales stays in line although she is rarely ever to report to him only giving him updates every few moons. Heca is Kronya's girlfriend, they started dating young but were called apart when Heca was sent off due to her amazing aptitude for shapeshifting and roleplaying. She contained no other magical talent, unlike most Agarthians she had no magical aptitude at all except in her ability to shapeshift, even requiring a mystic stone crafted by Arte to do the Agthain's signature warp. Heca happily agreed to sign up having thought herself and the Agrathan's as future liberators of human kind of the churches oppression, it being pitched to her and many others of the nation as a means of giving liberation to the people to let them live as they were at the cost of the lives of those in power and those who would defend them. That they would end Sexism, Homophobia, and more that the Church created and placed in man.

Heca is a Wyvern Rider, something she hides from others in her role as a Student and noble, she saved a young Wyvern's life who was at the edge of the underground when her and Kronya were playing exploring the limits of where they were allowed to go and she nursed her back to health. Since then her and Medusa have forever been linked together. Medusa flies near where ever Heca works ready to be her escape at any time an the two meet in secret to play and enjoy each others company. She is a firm believer in Queen Arte and in the Agarthian cause but she feels bad for spying against Edelgard as a fellow queer woman, she has no love for Thales and hopes one day Arte will give her the order and let her kill him so Edelgard can be free of him but she is a good solider so she doesn't. When Shez appears at the monastery her goals are expanded to observing her and the Ashen Demon and to learn more about both their abilities by Arte.

Heca for her role was given to a noble man who's wife and daughter had died in a crest beast attack, "revived from the dead" before anyone even knew they were dead other than him. Arte gleefully positioned herself a necromancer when in truth they had simply extracted his dead daughters Crest of Earnest and placed it insider of Heca and Heca's exceptional abilities allowed her to copy the daughters memory and personality. Heca understands the weight of her deception but there a small loss of ethics in the grand scheme of the goals, in the end the man who believes her to be her daughter would likely need to be killed in order for Agatha to flourish above anyway. Although Heca advocated for the idea he may remain loyal given they had given back his daughter so long as she continued to live her life as his daughter until his natural death.

Heca begins to struggle with faith in her queen as she finds more of what Those Who Slither In The Dark had done through Kronya and as she finds more and more people who might need to be sacrificed she cares about. Her arc has her strugglingly between loyalties, realities, believes and dreams never totally sure that the path she choses is right and knowing every choice has the potential to hurt someone she loves.

That will do it for now, I considered talking about the Three Houses version of my OC Lena but I did talk about my longer term roleplay with here over here which was in my Thirsty Sword Lesbians campaign Four Houses, so not in Fodlan but a world with it's own lore and stuff but she was a very similar type of character as a Three Houses OC although not as important to the world as she is in Four Houses.

I hope you enjoyed this look at my OCs, if you like it you can always shoot me some cash over at patreon or ko-fi which helps me be alive so I can cook up new OCs and share them with the world, sometimes in the form of stories or as art in TTRPGs or as comic characters or whatever. I am deeply curious if if fandom inspired OCs are something that tickles people's fancies and if it is, what world should I cook up OCs for that you'd like to see me bake some lesbians in?

[billysjoel]

hello. i really enjoy your content, but i have to say i'm kinda disappointed on you still being a ts fan. this woman knows what disney does and yet she still gave them the rights, meaning she either doesn't care or actively supports the genocide. or maybe she decided to turn her morals off because money is more important. not to mention how she consistently associates herself with questionable people and how a person literally died in one of her shows on brazil and she gave zero fucks. this woman is not a good person and there are no excuses to being her fan anymore.

no, i fully understand what you're saying and where you're coming from. over the last like. idk year and a half? ive been pretty vocal about my disappointment, distaste, and disagreement with a multitude of the choices she's made lately. i 100% agree that her silence on the subject of palestinian genocide (as well as many other human rights/social causes) is at best a sign of apathy and at worst a sign of support. especially when miss americana was all about her wanting to be more outspoken and be an activist. that all feels so incredibly performative now -- and has for a while. a lot of things that she's said and done since midnights, which is when i became more active in the tumblr swiftie community, have left a bad taste in my mouth for her as a person.

like i said, i genuinely agree with what you're saying. the only thing i take issue with is that she didn't care that a fan died at her show. she donated money to the fan's family and took time to meet them. regardless of my many issues with her, i do think she can be an empathetic person and i don't think that she just straight up didn't care that someone died before her show. it's one of those things (of which there are many) where we'll never know her true thoughts bc she doesn't talk about things. which is frustrating in itself.

now that's not the point of your message, so feel free to write that off as a digression. i strongly disagree with her making yet another version of the eras tour movie and hosting it on disney+. I'm personally boycotting disney+ and have been for a while. I don't even intend on watching the new version and like the vast majority of everything I gif, that shit is pirated -- that's how I watched the original release of the movie. obviously my consumption/boycotting is just one person compared to blondie, who has influence over millions, who could make real change if she spoke out against genocide.

at this point, im not supporting her financially either apart from listening to her music. which i love. im sorry, but I do. if I didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. i think her constant churning out different exclusive versions of the same albums are a transparent money grab and maybe an effort to set more records as far as sales or streams or however that all works. and I'm not just saying that bc I literally couldn't even afford to buy a digital copy of an album right now.

so yeah. I appreciate that you enjoy my content and thank you for saying so, but if you need to unfollow or block, i understand. I've definitely toned down/completely stopped sharing posts about her as a person bc I'd much rather focus on just the music. and maybe that makes me a bad person for continuing to listen to and enjoy her music. im not saying i necessarily feel good about it, but i think the fact of the matter is that a lot of the celebrities, actors, musicians, etc. we like or whose content we enjoy hold views we disagree with and have different values or priorities. nuance exists. right now, im someone who is vocal about the palestinian genocide and I try to share resources/posts about it when they come across my dash and im also someone who is a fan of Taylor's music.

Idk, I hope what I'm saying makes sense at least on some level. I've done my best to word things coherently, but brain fog fucks w me a lot. and like. it's probably whatever, but I do plan on changing my url after ttpd releases. That probably upsets you more and I can see how people might think im a hypocrite or something and yeah, I get it. Idk, I just want to enjoy someone's music without endorsing them as a person, but that's extra difficult when the person in question is the biggest singer in the industry. but you'll never see me making excuses for her on things like this or the m*tty situation or numerous other things she's said and done that gross me out. im not so far up her ass that I think she's perfect or that I feel the need to defend her at every turn. like I said, nuance. anyway, if you feel the need to respond, i welcome you to do so as long as we both remain respectful, which I think we've done. this is a difficult topic, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it. I appreciate your point of view and I'm sorry that I've disappointed you!

[innoc-nope]

Being Silent is Violent.

I cannot sit in silence anymore. I should have never sat in silence. As I sit here, life goes on. With or without me it goes on. I hear from different areas of social media about the horrors on this Earth because of cruel people. Today for the first time, I donated money. Just ten dollars. Yet it made me feel better, more clean. More okay with myself. I donated money to ‘Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress for a petition requesting Biden to suspend weapons transfers and military funding to Israel in accordance with the recent ICJ ruling.’ As the website had said. My great friend in California sent me a link to it, knowing I would sign the petition. It wasn’t enough for me. They asked for donations and gave I did. It was only ten dollars. Ten dollars did not feel enough. What will ten dollars do? I thought. Yet what would it be as well without the ten dollars. I finally felt like I was helping. Even in the smallest bit. I want to make a difference. I want change to happen. I want people to not be massacered by this genocide anymore more than I want to make a difference. Then I went onto the social media app, Tiktok. There I saw more videos and it felt wrong to not do anything about it. Yet it is like, well what can I do? Something. You can always do something. An action, even just one will make a difference. No matter how small, it is a start. It may not feel enough, I don’t know when any action will feel like it’s enough. This is a part of my actions. This is my next step.

Every day feels like a challenge for me, as a seventeen year old girl who currently has unknown issues. Yet I know it is nothing compared to the pain, suffering and loss of the palestinian people. I ask myself, why aren't they talking about this in school with us? Why is no one teaching us other than the media? Why do I not hear about it outside my phone? Why does everyone want to ignore this issue? As I learned today, while so many people were enjoying the superbowl, a young girl just the age of 12 named Sidra Hassouna hung from the side of a building. All of her limbs were blown off. Then a girl named Hind Rajab, just six years old, died. She spent twelve days in a car with her dead family members. Then I see what seem to be hundreds if not more lists of dead babies, all ages; zero. How can so many people not do anything about this? How could I? How could I sit by and do nothing? I may be young. I may be naive and stupid at times, but I am emotional. I am a lover of so many. I mourn, I mourn for so many people I do not know. I wish and hope and pray for the better of the world. Do you? Do you care enough to do anything? Will you do anything? Or will you do nothing, like I once did as I was scared. I was scared to do anything, but those lives matter more, all those who suffered or are suffering deserve at least some compassion. Show some, won’t you? If not donate for a cause, at least speak about it. People need to know what is happening in the world. We all deserve to know. Being silent is violent.

[sparrowsage]

Running Out of Time: Part 1

Meeting Your Prince

Oh look, another series! I've had the idea for this series for so long and finally got the motivation to write it! This will be a sfw series in regards to any sexual themes, so if sex isn't your thing, this is the series for you! I hope peeps enjoy it!

Much thanks to my pals @oddsconvert, @darkthingshappen, @whumpcereal, and @quietly-by-myself for listening to me go on and on about this series lol, they helped push me to get it out! And thank you as well @skittles-the-whumpee and @goronska for the beta job on this chapter! It's very much appreciated! And one more thanks to @inscrutable-shadow for making the banner for this series!

TW: Brief death threats, cruel insults and treatment towards mages, mentioned and implied genocide (if I missed any, let me know!)

Time is a complicated thing if you think about it long enough. Was there really a concept of time or did people make it up in order to have some sense of stability as the sun rose and set? Who was the person who invented time? No one knew. It was and has always been there, present in everyone’s lives. 

“You should really watch who you pick on. You never know who’s going to show up.” 

“Oh? You think you can protect such a low life from me?” Dominic spat, glaring at the boy who stood in front of him, a woman on the ground, shrinking away from the conflict. “She shouldn’t even be alive! Why bother saving someone who’s probably trying to poison the people in the Kingdom with the food she’s selling?” 

The boy scoffed at Dominic’s words, glancing back at the woman, who looked up at him with pleading eyes. He looked back to the other, a small grin now on his face. “Magic doesn’t taint the food she grows and I highly doubt she has any ill intentions. She’s just trying to make a living for herself. Unlike you, she actually has to work in order to live. You just live off your parents’ money, which in my opinion, has no payoff. No sense of fulfillment.” 

Dominic’s eyes grew wide for a moment before his face was etched with anger. “I’ll get all the fulfillment I need when I wipe that fucking grin off your face!” 

The boy raised his eyebrows at the statement as he watched Dominic start to raise his sleeves, as if he were saying ‘Try me’. The look made Dominic all the more furious, his face turning red as anger consumed him, but as he took a few steps forward, rearing his fist back to take a swing, the boy’s eyes lit up, going from their emerald green color to a light green misty color, the mist shimmering and shifting. As soon as it appeared, it was gone, but it was enough for Dominic to freeze in his place, his angered expression shifting to that of fear. 

“I suggest you stay away from her,” the boy stated, his grin never leaving his face, “Unless you really want to see how far I’ll go to protect her.” 

With that, Dominic started taking steps backwards before he started tripping over himself as he turned, running back off towards the town square. When he was out of sight, the boy turned to the woman, who was staring up at him in admiration. 

“Lex, you have to be careful,” she said as the boy went to help her up, picking up the few items that had fallen from her cart. “One day you might get hurt.” 

Alex chuckled lightly at the concern, handing her the items he had picked up. “Even if I get hurt, it means you and the others didn’t, so it works out. I’ll be fine, Candace, promise. Always am.” 

Candace smiled softly. “If you say so. Thank you for what you did, I don’t think I would have made it home if it wasn’t for you.” 

“Don’t mention it. Someone has to show him up. I’ll try and pop by sometime later this week. Shane said he wanted to teach me a new casting form and I haven’t had time to make it out to the village yet.” 

Candace moved to the back of her cart before taking hold of it, “Sounds like a plan. See you around, Lex!” With that, she started off towards the edges of the capitol, pushing her cart along. 

Alex let out a sigh as he watched her go before turning around to go home himself. It was midday and if he wasn’t at the castle come the counsel meeting, he’d be in deep trouble. 

In eight days, he’d turn eighteen and be crowned the next king of Carnmont in front of the whole kingdom. Preparations for the ceremony were already underway, and with each passing day, Alex was growing more and more anxious. So many things could and probably would go wrong, but he’d have no choice but to work through it. 

For many years, the five kingdoms and their kings have despised and feared mages, seeing them as a threat more than anything else. Ever since Alex was born, he had been hidden away in the castle, not allowed outside its walls due to his father “protecting” him. In turn, he was raised to believe that mages were awful creatures, things that should never exist due to the mysteries of their magic. For a decent part of his life, Alex believed what he was told, how could he not? Everyone in the castle preached the same words. When he was sixteen though, he had been alone in his chambers when he discovered he had magic of his own. That he was what the humans of this world hated and feared. 

Alex kept this hidden, not wanting to know how he’d get treated by anyone in the castle, let alone the people he was destined to rule over. As time moved forward, he practiced using his magic in secret, eventually finding a way to sneak out of the castle. He knew that he couldn’t reveal his identity to the kingdom's inhabitants, so any time he went out, he wore the same type of clothes his subjects wore, appearing to be a normal teenager amongst thousands of subjects. Once he figured this out, he never stopped going on his adventures outside the castle. 

Most mages didn’t openly use their magic, especially in the capitol, but the ones that did, Alex went to them first. He wanted to learn how to better use his magic by those who had their own, even if he had his doubts. Once he met a few, he started meeting many of the mages that called Carnmont their home. They kept him safe, gave him a home that he felt he truly belonged in and he was able to be who he wanted to be. They also made Alex realize that they weren’t what his father and the rest of the kingdoms made them out to be. 

Now, almost two years later, he knew the true extent of what a lot of his future subjects thought about mages, and Alex hoped that he could one day change that. But he also knew that the moment he appeared at the ceremony, the moment they all saw him, chaos would ensue.

Alex took the long way back to the castle, sneaking back in the same way he snuck out, knowing he’d have the time before the meeting. He always had enough time, and with the added stress of the coming days, he wanted to spend all that he could outside, where he felt the most like himself. 

He had just finished changing back into his royal attire, stashing his other clothes in a box deep in the back of his closet, when there was a knock on his door. Alex straightened immediately, running his hand through his hair in an attempt to correct it before letting out a soft “Come in!”

As the person came in, Alex made his way over towards the door, acting how he usually did in the castle. “The counsel meeting has been pushed up by an hour and your father requests your presence, your highness,” the servant said, his hands neatly held behind his back. 

Alex smiled at the servant, Martin was his name, giving him a soft nod. “Thank you, Martin. I’ll finish getting ready and make my way over to the counsel room.” With that, Martin nodded his head before exiting the chambers, shutting the door behind him. 

Once the servant was gone, Alex let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Everything would be fine. If anything, this meeting was to finalize preparations for the ceremony and ensure nothing would go wrong, Alex was almost sure of it. 

It didn’t take Alex long to finish getting ready; all he had to do was straighten up his appearance and put on his cloak, a bright green color that matched Carnmont’s national color. Once he was ready, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he left his chambers, making his way to the counsel room. 

Once he reached the door, he went in quietly, keeping his gaze down slightly as he made his way to his seat right beside his father. Looking up to address who Alex thought would be his father and his trusted counsel members, the prince couldn’t help but let out a small gasp at the people he saw. 

Where there would normally be the counsel members Alex saw daily in the castle, in their spots were the other four Kings from the other kingdoms. King Falcious from the Fernmont kingdom, King Terlin from the Tyrmont kingdom, King Vandelmere from the Valemont kingdom, and King Percious from the Poremont kingdom. 

Alex did his best to mask his confusion and anxiety as his gaze moved from each king to another, bowing his head in a respectful greeting, glancing at his dad. 

“Nice of you to join us, Alex,” David said, placing his hands on the table gently. “We were just discussing the arrangements of your coronation.” 

“Indeed we were, and it seems like we can finally get started for real now that you’re here,” King Percious said. 

“It’s nice to see all of you,” Alex started, keeping his hands under the table so he could fidget with his fingers, “and I mean no disrespect, but why are you all here? I’ve never heard of all five Kings coming together to plan a coronation for one kingdom.” 

That earned a few chuckles from the men seated around the counsel table, David turning to look at his son, “There are a few things we all needed to discuss about what is to be done at your coronation that will be carried out in the other kingdoms.”

Alex couldn’t help but let the look of confusion cross over his face. What would his coronation have to do with the other kingdoms? 

“You see, Prince Alex,” King Vandelmere said, “For many years, mages have scourged our lands with their magic, caused chaos and destruction wherever they go. Myself and the other kings, including your father, have been discussing this matter for a few months now, sending many letters back and forth on what we should do.” 

“With your coronation being eight days away,” Percious interrupted, “we thought it best to carry out our plan at the ceremony, or at least carry out the first part of our plan. We’d be going back to our respective kingdoms afterwards to carry out the same plan, but we thought it best we start here.” 

David waved his arm to signal quiet among the royals, looking to his son. “After the main part of the ceremony, you’ll be declaring a new law that will exist across the five kingdoms.” 

Alex’s heart had dropped at the mention of mages, but he didn’t dare show his emotions on his face, keeping his expression as neutral as possible when more was said. Under the table, however, his hands were balled into tight fists in an attempt to keep his composure. 

“And what’s the new law?” Alex asked slowly, his anxiety climbing. 

“The new law will consist of this; every mage or suspected mage in any of the five kingdoms will be captured and arrested and to be executed in the capitols square at the next mid day after their initial capture.” 

As David spoke, the other kings nodded in agreement while it took everything in Alex’s power not to cry out an objection. It took him a moment to swallow the lump in his throat, trying to figure out how to respond. 

“And you want me to be the one to issue the law after my coronation?” he asked, looking at each of the kings in turn. 

King Falcious nodded, “People from all over Carnmont will be in and around the capitol to see the coronation. With them already there, it seems to be the best fit to issue the new law instead of having everyone come back a few days later. Plus, it’ll show the subjects of Carnmont that you’re ready and capable of ruling over the kingdom.” 

This couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t be! Alex had already been worried about the coronation because people around the kingdom would recognize him as the rebel mage, as Lex, but now? If he were to show his face and issue the law, chaos would wash over the citizens of Carnmont at having a mage be king. 

Alex must have stayed silent for too long because his father looked to him with a bit of concern. “Alex, I understand that it’s a leap from what your normal duties have been up til now, but it’s important to go into this with a bold, strong approach. I’ll still be in the castle and will teach you everything you need to know, but you’ll have to get over the anxiety that plagues you.” 

At the words, Alex had to refrain himself from shouting at his father. The anxiety he was feeling wasn’t because of him ruling the kingdom, it wasn’t because of the duties he’d be faced with. It was because the moment he got recognized by the many faces from the capitol, he’d be called out for his magic and get executed. He wasn’t sure if his father would believe it or not, but the chaos that it would cause? He’d have to do something to Alex to make peace, and Alex didn’t want to find out what his father would do. 

The prince forced himself to take a deep breath, nodding his head in fake agreement. “You’re right, father. I’m sure I’ll catch on pretty quickly once things get moving.”

At that, David smiled a bit, his son's words pleasing him. With that said and done, the kings and the prince went forward with the meeting, discussing in more detail about the coronation and Alex’s part in declaring the new law, as well as how the other kings would issue the law once they got back to their respective kingdoms. 

The meeting overall was around two hours and once everyone was dismissed, Alex politely got up from his seat, doing his best to calmly walk back to his chambers. Once he was there, he shut and locked the door, collapsing to the ground, his whole body shaking. 

What was he going to do? He couldn’t go through with the coronation now. Too many things would go wrong. He’d get arrested and killed, or at the very least locked up. The people of the kingdom would throw riots, possibly thinking that his father was a mage too. They’d overthrow the royals in a heartbeat and possibly start war with the other kingdoms. It was all too much and Alex’s head was beginning to hurt with the many horrible thoughts on what could go wrong. 

And then there were the mages. His friends, who he felt were more his family than his own flesh and blood. They’d get caught and slaughtered like pigs on a farm. How could he warn them without being seen? How could he get them to trust him? Alex knew that some of the mages were hard stuck on staying in the kingdom, doing as they pleased with little fear towards his dad and his men, but he couldn’t let them stay here and get killed! 

After a long hour of crying quietly in fear and trying to come up with an idea on what to do, doing his best to calm himself to stop shaking, Alex had made up his mind. After a day or two of preparations, he’d round up all the mages in the Carnmont kingdom that he could find and they’d flee into the forest that was in the middle of the five kingdoms lands. The forest in there was dangerous and no one dared to venture near, but Alex was sure that with the help from the other mages, they’d be able to live in the heart of the woods and stay safe from the genocide the kings were about to start. 

Tag list: @inscrutable-shadow, @oddsconvert, @darkthingshappen, @whumpcereal, @quietly-by-myself, @skittles-the-whumpee, @goronska (if anyone wants to be added, let me know and I'll get you added asap!)

[juniperhillpatient]

How’s it going @juniperhillpatient ?

So I watched the two most recent scream movies for the first time this weak. Starting on Friday night and finishing on Saturday morning. They were entertaining, see I’ve only ever watched the original first one years ago but the connections between the films were interesting.

To get to the question, I recall that one of your Azutara AU ideas is a Scream fic ( along with the IT Au). In it I think one of your post in the past stated that Azula would be (slightly) based on Sam? If so, would that then make Ozai Billy Loomis? If so, I’ve got to say depicting Ozai as a deranged murder would be oddly appropriate. What with the emotional and physical abuse of both his spouse and his kids, along with the attempted genocide and all.

Oh! I also greatly enjoyed todays (well yesterdays) chapter in Happenstance. I’ve got to say though, I’m with Azula, Katara not turning in Hama is a very… injudicious decision. What happens when Hama decides to no longer go after corrupt officials like she did in chapter (one of whom has a family!) and she decides to go after innocent people (as she did in canon). What if Hama decides to escalate from just hostage taking? What if lives of innocents, of children even are lost her quest? That’s starts of with noble intentions, but become corrupted. Becoming in reality just hate of Fire Nations under the façade of environmentalism? Are Katara/Yue/Jet prepared for that possibility?

Or would Jet, Katara, and Yue not care cause those innocent people are Fire Nation? Naw just using rhetoric for Katara and Yue. They obviously would care. But Jet? Him I’m not 100% sure about.

It would have been better to get rid of threat (Hama) earlier on by turning her over. Than again, some police can be corrupt (though I use the world loosely) so maybe they were also right not to turn her over?

It’s a bit of a head scratcher, ain’t it. Which is awesome by the way. It’s fun reading these little moral quandaries and philosophical question in a sitcom fic. Questions like, is it okay to harm others we deem immoral to bring about ends that we believe to be an objective good? Can intrinsic good come from an extrinsic evil? Essentially, does the ends justify the means? And how far is too far? Happenstance is great in that and In all ways! Especially horror, romance (it’s Azutara so that’s a given 😉) and comedy.

Thank you for indulging my ramblings. I hope everything is well on your end. I recall a post from earlier speaking about your cat preventing you from cashing a check at your bank. Your bank decided to come to you right? To give a house call as it were? It’s the polite thing to do after all.

745 voice of the people

Hello! It could be going better. I am suffering because I’ve been sick on & off for like a fucking month & it’s starting to feel like God hates me 🥲 However, it could also be going worse. My mommy gave me money for groceries even though I told her not to because she is the best & she knows how much work I’ve missed due to illness so I have lots of good food & also hot chocolate with marshmallows 💜🙏

Anyway I am sure you didn’t expect that TMI when you asked how it’s going but I’m a dramatic rambly bitch 😌 I hope you are doing good yourself 💜

I am so happy you watched the new Scream movies 🍿 Most iconic series of all time honestly. Yes, Ozai would be a version of Billy Loomis in this AU! However, keep in mind this is all just ideas & not a real project in the works just yet 😉

Anyway I don’t have too too much to add to your analysis on the moral dilemma from last week’s Happenstance because I want to purposefully leave it open. I like posing these quandaries without creating a firm resolution just like there wouldn’t necessarily be in real life sometimes! Of course - Hama may just show up again. We will see!

I will say - Katara & Yue would definitely feel guilty if someone innocent got hurt because of their choice not to turn Hama in. Also, even though Jet hates the Fire Nation, he is dating Zuko & friends with several Fire Nation characters by now including pretty much best friends with Azula. So…. Could he really justify it if innocent Fire Nation civilians got hurt at this stage of the story? Tricky. Unlike Katara & Yue I don’t think he’d have much trouble justifying it if someone like Ichiro or Daisuke got hurt. While the girls would feel guilt over anyone being harmed, I think Jet would have a more pragmatic attitude if the people getting hurt were doing a lot of harm. The only reason he stood up to Hama in the end was that she hinted at plans to “subdue” Katara & Yue if they didn’t go along with her ideas. So, he was probably the least opposed to kidnap of the three. But I don’t think any of them would be okay with it if Hama hurt innocent people down the line - which is not out of the realm of possibility if it served a cause she cared about.

Anyway- I said I wouldn’t add & then I did! I love rambling about my story too much 😁

I seriously love your analysis & thoughts on this head scratcher! Thank you SO much for sharing 💜💜💜

[hornedadvance]

Horned Advance

Chapter Aurelia

This side chapter is set in ACT 2 of the main story. Therefore, it may contain spoilers up to that point.

The girl was reaching her wits end. She’d joined Vena’s cause a time ago, back when the two had shared ideals, a cause, some sense of camaraderie. Since then it seemed like Vena was on a downward spiral. Each time they’d talk, she’d bring up some new psychotic plan, announcing it as if it were a stroke of genius. The sparkle in her eyes as she spoke of the ways her misdeeds were exactly what the people needed, it sent a chill down the girl’s spine. The girl had always been open to the idea of cracking a few skulls for the cause, not so weak as to be restricted by the commoner’s morals, but this was starting to push even that sentiment. Since the two had joined forces, they’d been around the country, picking up strays and dealing with potential threats, and in all fairness she’d enjoyed it thus far. Vena was a good leader despite her questionable intentions, providing for her companions with money and food in troves. To Aurelia though, this just meant a bar fund and the subsequent hungover scran she’d have. The girl would swoop through an open bar with a shawl over her head, drink until she was too pissed to hide her horns any longer and end up in brawls regularly, with the number of bars she could never return to increasing each time. 

Her standards were never exactly high, with the village (and bar) raiding making for memories that she’d cherish, but even for someone of such low maintenance Vena was becoming too much. She had become more and more fanatical as time went on, seeming to get wrapped up in her plans to the point that they’d spawn their own delusions. Aurelia often wrote this off as Vena being consumed by her ambition, turning cheek to the growing problem, but now things had come to a head. Vena’s plans were growing more and more drastic, more genocidal even. This just wasn’t what Aurelia had signed up for, not what she had resonated with back when Vena explained her grand plans for the world with such character all that time ago. And so, Aurelia had decided it was time to take her leave.

“Right, Vena. “ The girl spoke, with her typical scottish brogue. “I know we’v had a whale of a time on this ol’ romp an’ all, but I think I oughta split.” Said Aurelia, approaching the queen of violet atop her throne in the heart of Sophrosyne. “As much as I sympathise with ye’ cause, I cannae go along wi’ this any longer. Yer goin’ off the deep end, an’ I don’t wanna be here to see how it plays out for ye.” She spoke without hesitation nor fear, but with conviction she had mustered through watching Vena change. Her voice did not tremble, and her stance did not waver.

 Vena on the other hand, was simply sitting there on her stone throne listening along with an absent minded grin and her chin resting softly in her palm, leaning on the armrest. “So be it, Aurelia.” The queen responded. “Though you’ve been a great aide thus far, I will not keep you. Do as you see fit, and I hope that you will wait to see the day that our plans come to fruition.” She said, her expression not changing a single time in doing so. “You may leave.”

“Don’ have ta tell this one twice!” Aurelia quips back, before turning to take her leave. “Safe travels, an’ good luck to ye.” The girl said, walking down the hall with a wave as she left Vena behind. Silence fell on the halls for a few moments, before someone stepped out from behind a wall just across from the throne. “Dusk?” The queen called out. “Yes, your grace?” An enthused voice responded without hesitation. “See that she makes a safe exit.” Said Vena, calm as ever.

“At once, milady.” Said Dusk, a grin creeping across her face.

Stepping out onto the night’s cold sand outside of Sophrosyne, Aurelia felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was a free woman, no longer fighting for a cause nor a leader but simply a woman setting out to live. She thought of how many bars she could flatten now that she was unchained, before remembering if she destroyed the bar she wouldn't be able to drink there, and promptly reconsidering. She stretched and yawned before setting off into the night, liberated from the madness soon to come from camp Vena. All seemed good for her for the moment, even if life had an uncertainty now that it didn’t under Vena’s banner. That was until she heard something hurtling her way, soaring through the air.

The girl motioned to turn, but it was an instant too late. THWACK! Something hard struck her square in the chest, and a searing pain scorched its way through her nerves. She turned to bear witness to her assailant, falling to the ground while clutching her newly broken ribs. “Gahk!” She choked. “You…!” Her attacker walked forward from beneath the shadows of the Sophrosyne ruins Aurelia had just left behind as she coughed up blood, getting her bearings and using the boulder that had just struck her to lift herself back up. “She never should’ve taken you on, you ungrateful wretch…” Murmured a grinning Dusk, eyes full of scorn.  “My fair lady offered you a chance to walk the hero's path… To be a part of something greater than yourself… And you threw it back in her face. Such acts of treason cannot be forgiven.” The girl said, cracking her knuckles. Aurelia’s vision had grown hazy, her head spinning in a cacophony of agony and adrenaline, every atom of her body telling her to run. The girl knew that running was not an option however. The pursuant would never allow a simple escape.

The two roar into close quarters combat, Dusk lunging forward in an instant with force in her step enough to launch a cloud of sand in her path. Her ferocity was clear, and this was no simple sparring match like before, Dusk was shooting to kill. The girl’s hand rocketed straight for Aurelia’s head, the instincts in her blood pushing her to dodge but the many fights she’d instigated telling her otherwise. All of her muscles engaged instantaneously, as she widened her stance, shifting slightly to the left and throwing a brutal uppercut into the stomach of an unsuspecting Dusk. Aurelia’s debilitating injury could wait, as now it was do or die and she had to act if she wanted to see tomorrow’s dawn. As Dusk fell to the ground winded, the girl took a fighting stance, ready to brawl it out with one of the few she could call equal.

Dusk didn’t stay down for long, bouncing back to her feet with a renewed sense of fury in her glare, throwing punches backed by the force of her whole body toward Aurelia, ones which she narrowly avoided, hearing the air be cleaved apart millimetres from her ears. She’d seen dusk in action before, watched her tear experienced warriors to pieces in a matter of moments. She knew that any one of these blows could do the same to her; so she fought like hell, eyeing openings between Dusk’s swings, desperate to find the right time to strike. As the moment she was looking for inched closer though, her stamina wore thin, the continuous dance they were having and her already injured frame taking its toll on her, and she began to slow down, taking more brutal hits from the ever relentless Dusk. Her skin tore away, revealing deep crimson gashes in her flesh, her once prideful armour being reduced to rags. The girl was barely able to keep up with Dusk’s movements, let alone throw in her own counter attacks, and she knew she had to use Dusk’s blind rage, and make it count. 

Just as she met her wits end, she saw it. A misplaced punch just enough that she could sidestep, and respond in kind but she knew Dusk wouldn’t just let that happen. The girl bit down hard on Dusk’s arm, her teeth grinding and chipping against her skin, before using her moment of shock to slam her boot straight into Dusk’s already bruised stomach. She was catapulted through the air, flying straight into a stone brick wall of the ruins, crushing the ancient stone on impact. A loose chunk of rock from higher up in the wall fell straight towards the reeling Dusk, crushing her as Aurelia steadied herself. 

“Not… Yet…” The girl said, as the stone lifted from the spot she’d occupied. “This isn’t over… NOT UNTIL I’VE DECORATED HER HALLS WITH YOUR ENTRAILS!” She tossed the rock with a shocking amount of force for someone down for the count mere moments ago, throwing it hard enough to topple a tree in its path. “GRRRRRRRRRAH!” The girl roared, throwing herself toward Aurelia once more with bloodlust akin to a demon. She swiped at her again and again, the two slowing in pace as Aurelia’s wounds seeped with blood and Dusk’s last reserves of energy burned through. Aurelia struck her again and again, a series of light blows coupling up to make a vicious counter assault. Dusk coughed and wheezed as she fought, coughing up blood from her wounded organs, spitting it in the eyes of Aurelia to go for a decisive blow in a moment of genius. She leapt forward for a final time, ready to rip her throat from her neck, only to be met with the full force of Aurelia’s skull, a last ditch all out headbutt compounded by the force of her own advance. Dusk, after all of her fury washed away with her brain being rattled in her skull, fell to the ground, out cold.

Aurelia had won. She revelled in it, finally coming out on top of her rival in a battle to the death. Then the adrenaline began to wear off. She felt every inch of her body cry out, her lungs struggling to take in air and her heart doing its best to keep up with the outpouring of blood. Her vision blurred. Her throat was dry, yet her mouth was full of saliva. She felt her grip on the world loosening, as she stood upon death’s door. She tossed the ragged cloak she wore over her shoulder as a badge of honour and valour over Dusk’s body, to stop her from freezing to death in the cold night air, and she walked on. On into the night, to the unknown. It was all she could do. She walked and walked; off into the darkness, until no one could ever hope to find her again.

Link to All Chapters

[hoghtastic]

Hey so I’m sorry but this literally has nothing to do with Johanne or Alex at all. But since I like they way you guys communicate and are able to look at different perspectives (really respect that) I was hoping I could get some different opinions to broaden my understanding of this situation. I have a question about this girl that has gone kinda viral (at least on my side of TikTok) for “showing off her wealth” on there. Her name is Lara Cosima she’s like a noble or something? . But the main problem people are having is the fact that her family is wealthy (like OLD money wealthy) because of the fact that they helped invest in the invasion of Poland I think. They had a huge roll in it and profited off of it immensely (obviously because they are still rich from it today). Now that she’s older though, she inherited a lot of the money. There are two different sides to the conversation being had about it. There are people who are attacking her for basically being born into the family and using the money and showing it off on TikTok and instagram. (She dropped some “GRWM” posts that rubbed a ton of people the wrong way) The only information that has been given about her is that piece of her family history. So we’re really unaware if she’s done anything to donate or help organizations in anyway, who help people who are still suffering from that tragedy (that didn’t happen that long ago, so she has to know right?) But I guess it’s safe to say it’s highly doubted that she has? There is another side of the conversation though where they don’t understand the hate because it’s not like she herself was there and made the decisions to to such things that her ancestors did. Like she shouldn’t be at fault for what they did and she shouldn’t have to give up the opportunities and the privilege she has because of what happened way before she was born. She doesn’t really have a choice. I see where both sides are coming from to a point. If I were her, personally I don’t think I would given up my whole life just because I have some huge dark history in my family. It doesn’t have anything to do with me, I didn’t make those choices. But on the other hand, on the outside looking in, she is still benefiting, profiting and living off of the money that was made by her family due to the fact that they played a big part in the genocide of literally millions of innocent people. And those peoples families are most likely still suffering from that tragedy. It just seems like it’s very black and white to everyone, but I’m kinda stuck in the grey area a bit?

Hello! First of all, thank you for reaching out and I'm glad you enjoy the blog. 😊 Despite your ask being really off topic (and that's why I'm tagging it as so), I thought I'd share my thoughts on this anyway, as maybe some other blog readers also follow this person.

I'd like to start by stating that I'm not on TikTok, nor have I ever heard of this person before, so I'm basing my opinion solely on what you've written here. From my point of view, I agree with you and I can absolutely understand both sides of the narrative. I agree one can't choose the family they're born into, so she shouldn't be blamed for her ancestors' sins, which gave her a life of privilege. However, now that she's older, she's in charge of how she handles her family's dark history and consequential wealthiness. Regardless of where it came from, I believe it's in extremely bad taste to show off someone's wealth on social media just for the sake of it. Like, are they trying to make "poor people" feel jealous or bad about their own lives? Is their only personality "being rich"? Are they sharing any talent? What do they have to offer or share with their followers that actually improves their lives? Are they actually using their resources and platforms to advocate for something important? So my first question is why are such people "famous" in the first place. But since this person seems to have a considerate amount of followers (and even if she didn't), I believe showing a bit of empathy and social conscience would be the least. I can't imagine knowing that it was the loss of countless lives of innocent people that are still paying for my trips and luxury items, and not feel bad about it, even if it wasn't directly my fault. So the most noble thing to do would be to at least try to even out things a little, and maybe try to help and donate to the victims (and respective families) of such tragedy, for example. Or at least raise awareness and help another social cause of her choosing. Something that actually matters so much more than showing off her latest fashions or luxury trips on TikTok (which she could still have without flaunting around). 🤷‍♀️

[loorain]

I love the franchise but will never not acknowledge the atrocities it brings up.

It's wrong. Neil is wrong.

Contextually I understand his perspective, but in the same way I understand the perspective of a child who grew up in Nazi Germany you know? When you're fed a narrative your entire life it's hard to see otherwise. That's a conscious choice you need to make, and Neil has not and seemingly refuses to do that work. That is his choice. I respect it. That choice, however, also forces me and any other fans of his work to make a choice as well.

I will continue to support those already creatively involved in the project (especially those involved before the genocide began) because it is hard to be caught in the (metaphorical in this context) crossfire while still trying to make ends meet and pursue your creative dreams.

I will not, however, ever make excuses for Neil or anyone who outwardly supports this genocide.

While The Last of Us will probably continue to be a franchise I love and enjoy, I will not put my money towards the games, show, merchandise, etc. At its core, The Last of Us is a stellar case study on human nature in a variety of ways, but it is unfortunate that such an interesting observation comes at the cost of disrespecting multiple groups of people, especially people of color and Muslims. The franchise is both oddly progressive and not, with fantastic representation of groups such as the LGBTQ+ community, but its handling of POC characters is almost always brutal. Every black character involved in the main story dies horrendously. Same for Asian characters like Jesse and Yara. Even a Jewish character like Dina, who does manage to evade death, does not exactly get a happy ending. She loses the father of her child and her partner, and though there are theories that Ellie finds her way back to Dina it does not excuse the weeks and probable months she was abandoned with a small child.

If there is a third installment, I will not support it monetarily. I do hope Neil can reflect and at least try and rectify the hurt he has caused, but I am not naive. I still respect him as a fellow creative, but I will never try and justify his support of this human violation.

Palestine will be free.

Zionism in TLOU2

I just was talking to my friend about this and I'm sure plenty of people have explained it already but it's just so insane to me that the Seraphites are really meant to represent Palestinians IRL and Neil just thought "Yup, people will believe this".

Before I knew anything about the conflict, when I was playing the game I was just like "Well duh, anyone would be ready to fight tooth and nail against a group that broke a peace treaty and started gutting/hanging their people" but when I realized what it was supposed to represent I just found it a bit funny? Not funny "haha" but funny weird in the way that he tried to make it so that the actions of Israel (the WLF) are justified through his inaccurate, racist, and Islamophobic, representation of Palestinians (Seraphites). And honestly, even the WLF's actions against the Seraphites are still very much not excused in the fictional context of the game, because there is never a reason to gun down children.

There's so much more I could rant about on this topic, but for now, I will just say: Don't buy anything from Naughty Dog. Don't watch the show, and if you must for some reason - become a pirate. Neil Drunkman has donated the money he makes from these games to Israel's genocide before. The strike may end on the 25th but do not stop talking about Palestine. Pay attention so that you are aware of when the next strike takes place. Don't forget, don't ignore.

Also, let this be a reminder that while you may enjoy certain media, and while that's fine, you have to be critical of the media you consume to be sure that you aren't getting caught up in propaganda.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP!!!!

[owlcoven]

Byakuya Togami x Black!Fem!Reader hcs

TW: Slight NSFW(just mentions hickeys- I think that's how you spell it), Toko Fukawa and Genocider Syo are mentioned

This man never fails to give you money for your appointments. Hair? covered. Nails? covered. Makeup? covered. You always get what you want, just because he loves to spoil you and loves to see you all done up, whether it's for him or yourself.

You always feel bad though, because you never know how to repay him. “Just keep Toko away, that’s all I need.” He reassures you as he kisses your cheek. He loved you dearly, even if he didn’t show it. Toko despised you for being his but thanked you at the same time. She very slowly (and I mean slowly) got over him and focused on herself for now.

You never had to confront her, you just had to stand in front of her and she’d immediately back out. Togami just took you to safety when Genocider Syo came about. Genocider Syo scared you both to death. 

Anyways, back to your man, out in public, he is not afraid to show you off in public. From handholding to his arm wrapped around your waist, nobody dares walk up to you and ask you out when he’s around. However, if you are ever alone, you get hit on quite a lot, asked out, etc. and he’ll pop out of literally nowhere and tell them off. He would mark you just in case. If you didn’t like it or you just didn’t want anyone to see, he would get you a ring instead. 

When you both first met, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you, you were so enchanting to him. He wanted to be around you 24/7, would he let you know that? hell no. He was stalking you a bit, then he decided to regain the confidence he had before and get to know you. Now, the two of you were together and inseparable.  

Sorry, didn’t mean for this to be so short, I just don’t really know how to write Togami all that well😅😅. I hope you enjoyed reading it, feel free to make a request at anytime!

[sporesmoldandfungi]

F.C. Chapter Five - Vigo the Carpathian

Dana Venkman had been working part time at the Manhattan Museum of Art for almost three months now. She only picked up the job to help support her family financially. Sure, her husband made enough money for her and her son to live comfortably, but both her and her husband knew she was not a “housewife/stay-at-home mother” woman. She would have preferred to still be playing in the symphony, but she couldn’t rejoin until the new year, hence her current employment.

The job paid well enough and the work was nice, she spent her days restoring paintings which were simple enough. However, her boss, Janosz Poha and the new painting he was obsessed with, made Dana want to find new work as soon as possible. She was already pretty shaken up by Oscar’s crazed carriage, and knowing ghosts were just back in New York was not a comforting thought either. But this new painting, Vigo the Carpathian, just rubbed her the wrong way. She could feel its eyes on her as she worked, and she swore sometimes it was even smiling at her. The worst thing was that the painting was about ten feet away from her work station, its eyes constantly on her.

It was the first of December, Dana was restoring a Gauguin painting. She dipped her Q-Tip like tool into her mixture and began making small circular motions around the painting. She only got about two minutes into her cleaning routine when she got that all too familiar feeling, like someone or something was watching her. When a hand landed on top of her eisel, spinning it around slowly, she jumped in her seat. She looked up and smiled when she saw her husband, Peter.

“You’re good, pretty eyes.” he commented.

Dana took off her magnifying glasses, smiling at him. “I didn’t paint it, I’m just cleaning it. It’s a Gauguin.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of him.” he said under his breath.

Janosz watched the exchange between the two and rushed over, putting himself in the middle. “Hey, Dana, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Um. Sure. Peter Venkman, this is Dr. Janosz Poha, the head of our department.” She said, giving a warning glare to Peter.

“Venkman? Is this your husband, Dana? I have of course seen you on the television. Quite enjoy. Not here on business, I hope.” he said, awkwardly touching Peter’s extended hand.

Peter wiped his hand across his sweater, “Well, it’s top-secret.” He looked over Janosz’s shoulder and saw the large painting in the back. “Say, Johnny, you’ve got a Gauguin, too.”

Peter walked in front of the painting, mocking the Carpathian’s stance.

“No. Actually, I am preparing this portrait for the new Romantic exhibition. Yes. This is Prince Vigo, the ruler of Carpathia and Moldavia.” Janosz explained.

“Bit of a sissy, ain’t he?” Peter said, still mocking Vigo’s pose.

Janosz began to climb up the step ladder beside the painting, getting closer to admire it. “He was a very powerful magician, Dr. Venkman. And a genius in many ways.”

“He was also a lunatic and a genocidal madman.” Dana said before adding. “I hate this painting. I've felt uncomfortable ever since it came up from storage.”

Peter sensed his wife’s dislike of the painting. He nudged her on the hip before saying, “Well, you're probably feeling what Vigo's feeling. Carpathian kitten loss. He's missed his kitten.”

Dana giggled as Peter grabbed some paint and pretended to paint by the Carpathian’s foot. Janosz stood in front of Peter, obviously not as amused with his joke.

“No. We don't go around altering valuable artwork, Dr. Venkman. Go. Yes, I think, go. Yes. The joyfulness is over.” Janosz said, making a pushing motion with his arms.

Peter backed away a bit, while Dana tried to explain her husband was only joking.

Janosz’s mind was made up, still pushing Peter away and towards the exit.

“Well, you're not gonna get a green card with that attitude, pal. Okay?” Peter called out to Janosz, he then turned towards Dana. “I don’t know what… Oh, of course. Of course. I get it. You're sweet on this hunky stud, aren't you?”

She ignored his comment, “You know, Peter, every now and then I get the feeling that painting is watching me, even smiling at me.”

They both looked over at Janosz and shared a look of concern and confusion as they watched the man talk and gesture to the painting. Peter simply told Dana not to worry, finally leaving after Janosz tried to kick him out a third time.

The next day, acoss town Ray, Egon, and Genevieve were in the lab. Ray was wearing a skull cap that was hooked up to a bunch of wires that were attached to two jars of slimes. Egon was tampering with some new blower gun and Genevieve was working on some paperwork. Her glasses began to droop down the bridge of her nose, but she continued to scribble down on the form in front of her. Egon looked to his side and saw his wife’s almost fallen glasses. He leaned over and took his index finger to the middle of the glasses, gently pushing them back on top of her nose. She looked over at him and smiled, mumbling a “Thanks.” He smiled and returned to his tinkering.

Ray cleared his throat, making the two look up at him. “I need some assistance with this slime really quickly, it’s getting all over me.”

Genevieve walked over to Ray, who was holding up his slime covered hands. She shimmed the sleeve of her long sleeved grey turtleneck down to her hand and wiped his hands clean. She then turned to Egon, saying, “I do hope this stuff comes out of clothes.”

“Probably not.” Egon replied.

She groaned but turned to Ray after, “It was worth it though, we all owe you one after the gala. Plus, I owe you extra considering I punched you in the face. Sorry about that by the way.”

Ray smiled, “It’s no problem, Genny. Besides, you only punched me to pull me out of a trance, I would do the same if it was you.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “You would have punched me in the face?”

“Maybe I would have been a bit gentler.” he shrugged.

Before the conversation could continue, the phone rang. Ray picked it up quickly and began excitedly talking to whoever was on the other line.

“What? Are you serious? Well, that's great! I mean, that's terrible. But it's great for what we were... Yeah, I will. Yeah, sure, we'll get right on it.”

He hung up the receiver and quickly took off his cap. Genevieve and Egon looked at Ray confused.

“Who was that?” Genevieve asked.

“It was Peter. Something came out of Dana's bathtub. Tried to grab her and the baby.” Ray explained.

“Are they alright?” Egon asked.

“Yeah, well, she got out of there and they’re on their way over here.” Ray explained.

Egon set down the slime gun and said, “This is interesting, Ray. Remember the painting Venkman mentioned? I ran "Vigo the Carpathian" through the Occult Reference Net. Look what came up.”

He typed into the computer and Ray and Genevieve walked over to read what was on it. The screen read:

"ZUNDINGER, LEON.

MAGICIANS, MARTYRS AND MADMEN

Chapter 6, PP. 128-145

Vigo the Carpathian (1505-1610)

Sixteenth century Carpathia was in a constant state of spiritual turmoil due principally to the despotic rule of PRINCE VIGO VON HOMBURG DEUTSCHENDORF, tyrant, sorcerer and psychotic autocrat."

“Sounds like an alright guy.” Genevieve said sarcastically.

“Think there's a connection between this Vigo character and the–” Ray started, looking over at the jars of slime. They all watched as the slime bubbled in response. “--slime?” he asked.

“Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9?” Egon responded.

Ray nodded and quickly took off his labcoat, Genevieve and Egon following suit. Ray put on his leather jacket as Egon put on his suit jacket.

“We'd better get over to their apartment. I'd like to check out that bathtub.” Ray said.

“This is now how I imagined my day off going.” Genevieve said, throwing on a sweater.

“Well, it might be a good idea to go to the museum in the morning and get a look at that painting.” Egon said, turning around to make sure his wife was following him. He saw the reluctant look on her face and slowed down. “Maybe we can hang back and let Ray check out the apartment, you can assist me in some further research on Vigo.” he offered.

Genevieve looked at Ray hesitantly, “You’re gonna be alright by yourself, Ray?”

Ray nodded, “I will, and if I’m in trouble, I’ll know who to call.” He waved goodbye and hurried out of the lab and over to the Venkman’s apartment. Genevieve set her sweater back down and sat next to Egon at the computer, watching him as he typed away.

Egon cleared his throat, still typing away, he asked Genevieve, “How are you feeling? I wanted to make sure you’re not feeling any anxiety about the resurgence of ghosts, especially after the gala.”

“I’ve been alright. I was actually enjoying working again, being out there doing stuff. I’ve only had some anxiety after that ballgown ghost practically hypnotized you. I can’t even imagine how you must have felt seeing me possessed as Gozer. Even if it was for a minute, it wasn’t fun to think that I lost you.” she explained.

Egon stopped his typing and turned to face her. He grabbed her hands, rubbing the back of her palms with his thumbs. “I understand how you feel, but we were there for each other when that happened. How about we agree to only investigate the supernatural when we’re together? I can have Janine fix all the upcoming schedules.”

She smiled at her husband, “I’d like that. We’ll be the Spengler power duo.” He leaned down to kiss her gently. They both smiled into the kiss, missing quiet moments with just the two of them like these. Genevieve pulled away first, “Let’s keep figuring stuff out about this Vigo guy so we can try to go home at a reasonable hour tonight.”

The Spengler’s worked together throughout most of the night, opting to crash out in the old bunks upstairs. At three am, they dragged their feet upstairs and into the sleeping quarters. Never wanting to be apart from his wife, Egon pushed two of the twin beds together so they could sleep side by side. They only got about four hours of sleep before they awoke to Ray calling out their names.

“Egie? Genny? We gotta start loading up the car to head to the museum, Venkman’s gonna meet us there in thirty minutes!”

Genevieve rolled over in bed and groaned, covering her head with a pillow. Egon, on the other hand, sat up immediately, reaching his glasses on the nightstand. He put them on and looked down at Genevieve, who was beginning to drift back into sleep. He gently removed the pillow from her head.

“Come on, darling. The sooner we get up, the easier it will be. I know how you dislike being rushed in the morning.” He said, his voice soft and gentle.

She groaned once more, “Why couldn’t we just have picked a different career path?”

“I’m sure we did in an alternate dimension, but we’re here now. So you need to get up or I’m going to have Ray ring the alarm downstairs.” He warned, half joking.

She sat up immediately, revealing her tangled, auburn locks. “I’m up! Let’s get this over with.”

They both got ready quickly. They had enough time left over that Egon was able to fix Genevieve’s messy hair into a long braid. Just as he tied the end of the braid, Ray and Winston piled into the car. She turned to smile at Egon before joining the others in the car as well.

Like most of their morning car rides, it was quiet and calm. Within about ten minutes, they pulled up in front of the museum. Peter stood there, the only Ghostbuster not in uniform. He opened up the back door, giving Genevieve and Egon enough room to get out of the car. Everyone but Peter put on their proton packs.

“Find anything at our apartment?” Peter asked Ray.

Winston was assisting Ray in putting on his proton as he replied, “Nah, nothing but some mood slime residue around the bathtub. But I did get something on that Vigo character you mentioned. Found it in Leon Zundinger's "Magicians, Martyrs and Madmen". Dig that.”

“Vigo the Carpathian, born 1505, died 1610.” Egon added.

“ A hundred and five years old. He hung in there, didn't he?” Peter asked.

“He didn't die of old age, either. He was poisoned, stabbed, shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered.” Ray explained.

“Ouch.”

“I guess he wasn’t too popular in the end.” Winston commented.

Egon replied, “No, not exactly a man of the people.”

“Also known as Vigo the Cruel, Vigo the Torturer, Vigo the Despised and Vigo the Unholy.” Genevieve added.

Peter stared at her, “Wasn’t he also Vigo the Butch?”

Ray began to lead the group up the stairs, “And dig this!. There was a prophecy, just before his head died. His last words were: "Death is but a door, time is but a window. I'll be back."”

“Put that on a greeting card.” Genevieve mumbled under her breath.

They walked into the museum, past the front desk and into the restoration room. The restorers looked at the Ghostbusters. Peter looked at himself and the other men, “Suck in the guts guys, we’re the Ghostbusters.”

In sync, they all inhaled deeply. Janosz Poha rushed over to the Ghostbusters, shouting for them to leave.

Ray looked at Peter, “Who's this wiggler?”

“He's yours, Ray. Sic him.” Peter instructed.

Ray approached Janosz politely, “Hi, how are you? Ray Stantz from the Ghostbusters. Nice to see you. Beautiful lab you have here. We're just doing a routine spook check.”

Peter passed Janosz, handing him his coat. “Dr. Venkman, Dana is not here.” Janosz said.

“Yeah, we know that, Johnny.”

“So why are you came?” he asked.

“ Well, we got a report there was a major creep in the area. We checked our list and you were right on the top. Johnny, where in the hell are you from, anyway?” Peter said.

Janosz looked at him, confused. “The upper west side.”

Egon passed Peter, holding the PKE, “The whole room's extremely hot, Peter.”

Winston and Genevieve noticed the painting of Vigo. “That is one ugly dude.” Winston said.

“He could use a touch up.” Genevieve added.

Peter grabbed his camera and made his way to the painting. “Oh, that's Vigo! Mr. Vigo! Vigs, would you look this way, please!”

Janosz followed him, stepping in front of the painting. “No! No photographs, please. Slides are available in the gift shop.”

Winston grabbed Janosz and pulled him out of the way. Egon and Genevieve tracked the levels in the room. Egon with the PKE and Genevieve with the Gigometer. They listened as Peter shouted at the painting, urging it on as he snapped photographs of it. Genevieve looked at Egon, “Would you stop him please?”

Egon nodded and told Peter to follow him. The three of them began to walk out of the restoration room but Ray and Winston lingered behind. They finally caught up to them as Egon and Peter loaded up their proton packs. Ray kept stopping to look back at the museum and overall seemed out of it. Genevieve gave Egon her proton pack and approached him, “Ray? Are you feeling alright?”

He didn’t acknowledge her, instead just opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. She brushed it off and sat in the back with Peter and Egon and Winston sat in the front with Ray. Ray began pulling out of the museum’s driveway, driving a little faster than he probably should’ve but it didn’t set off any red flags for the other people in the car.

“Genevieve and I tracked the PKE and Gigometers in that room. The entire room is hot, but that painting is surging with supernatural activity.” Egon explained, showing Peter his measurements.

Peter looked at it and didn’t seem shocked by what was in front of him. “I’m more concerned on Johnny back there, he’s trying to make the moves on Dana. Why don’t you look into him when we get back, Ray?”

Ray ignored him, turning a corner so sharply it shook the car and made Genevieve slide into Egon’s side. Egon and Peter looked at each other, their concern growing as Ray picked up speed, swerving in and out of traffic.

“Ray, man! You’re gonna kill someone if you keep driving like that!” Winston said.

Ray grinned menacingly, “No, I’m going to kill everyone!”

“Ray, what the hell are you talking about!” Peter shouted at him.

“Raymond, knock it off.” Egon warned.

“Ray!” Genevieve shouted, trying to get his attention.

Ray kept on driving madly, honking at cars and shouted profanities at the drivers. Winston looked back at the three in the back, silently warning them to brace themselves. He turned back to Ray and punched him in the face. Ray’s hands let go of the wheel, and Winston quickly grabbed it, also reaching his foot over to slam on the breaks. They skidded off of the road and hit a tree. Ray parked the car, finally out of whatever trance he was under.

They all exited the car and checked in on each other. Ray looked at the other Ghostbusters, rubbing his aching face, “I-I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry, guys.”

“I’m sorry that you got punched in the face twice in the span of a month.” Genevieve joked.

Ray dryly chucked as he rubbed his aching face. “Probably not a good idea for me to drive home.” he said.

“I’ll drive, you guys better buckle up.” Genevieve said.

Genevieve drove the men as well as herself back to the firehouse. They all agreed on one thing, Vigo the Carpathian was bad news and he needed to be stopped

[arrantsnowdrop]

Let the Bad Times Roll - Anakin Skywalker x Reader (songfic)

Request: “would you do one for Anakin Skywalker in which the reader is the only survivor of his attack on the younglings? For years, he believed her to be dead until he ran into her by a chance encounter at a bar as she works there with her band? After she performs they reunite and it’s a happy reunion after she tells him she had already forgiven him for his mistakes from the past?”

Tags: @amy-lee-imagines

Song: “Let the Bad Times Roll” by The Offspring

Warnings: mentions of blood/murder/genocide, ~2,900 words

A/N: I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed working on it! Thank you @amy-lee-imagines for introducing me to such a banger of a song. :)

Pain. Pain and cold. That was all you’d felt when you’d regained consciousness on Coruscant all those years ago, waking up covered in your own blood in a room filled with the corpses of your peers.

It was something you’d tried to erase from your memory for a long time, until realizing there would be no way to rid yourself of such a thing. And so you carried the memory with you, and with it a burden of sorts: the last surviving Jedi youngling from Coruscant, the last survivor of a generation destroyed by Anakin Skywalker.

Of course, he didn’t go by that name now. Hadn’t in years, in fact. Darth Vader had replaced your former instructor and mentor long ago, his eerie helmeted portrait plastered on every piece of Empire propaganda across the galaxy. That was what had made it so hard to forget - no matter where you went, who you tried to be, you could never escape the person who’d taken everything from your childhood from you.

It had been hard to move on from your training, from the rituals and responsibilities of being a Jedi. That was all you’d ever been exposed to, and all you’d ever been prepared for in your life. Master Yoda had found you in a last effort to recover survivors from the temple (you were the only one), and while he and Obi-Wan had offered to continue training you, to help you become a Jedi, you couldn’t do it. You’d tried, but it was too hard, too difficult to forget the faces of your friends and mentors, the places of your childhood.

After a few years with Obi-Wan - enough for you to decide you were too wrecked to be a Jedi - you’d convinced him to leave you, to continue all his own missions and duties unhindered. He’d dropped you off on a small planet, somewhere that was (at the time) out of the Empire’s reach. The owner of a popular cantina there ended up being one of his old friends, and it was easy to convince them to help you find lodging and earn a wage.

You’d ended up living in one of the small apartments above the cantina, working behind the bar at first to make ends meet. One fateful night the lead singer of the cantina band quit abruptly, and the guitarist had begged for anyone in the staff to step up as a temporary replacement.

Something had drawn you to that microphone like a magnet, and after a few solid performances with the band, they offered you the position permanently.

You still lived above the cantina (easier and quicker to travel from the comfort of your bed to work), though you made a good deal more now. You’d begun to donate that extra money to the Rebel Alliance in secret, hoping that even if you couldn’t bear to fight against the Empire, you’d still be able to contribute somehow to their demise.

Which is why you worked every night of the week. It wasn’t like you had anything better to do - all your friends worked here with you, anyways.

Plus, your job was kind of fun. Especially on nights like this, weekend nights, when the cantina was packed to its capacity and then some. The energy the crowd radiated was always positive, sometimes crazy and energetic, other times drunken and hazy. You enjoyed watching as the audience members shifted through these moods from your spot up on the stage.

Tonight had been a lively one - the audience interacting with you a bit more than usual. They’d won you over when halfway through the set they’d begun shouting chants against the Empire (and then began throwing out other customers who disagreed). You and the rest of your bandmates had played longer than usual as a result.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” you shouted into the microphone, grinning as the crowd cheered. Your sweat had seeped through your outfit, head ringing a bit at the loud noise and the bright lights; you felt amazing.

“I’m afraid this’ll have to be the last song,” you said apologetically. “Zelriv very clearly wants to go to bed, and he can’t do that very easily if you’re all still here.” The cantina owner laughed from behind the bar at the mention of his name, and nodded at the truth of your statement with a grin on his face. “See?” you said, pointing at him. “Let’s play one more song and let the poor man sleep.”

You laughed with the audience, turning around to your bandmates to consult about what song to play next. You noticed your lead guitarist - a Sullustan named Munt - was looking paler than usual, a look of hidden panic on his face. You tilted your head in confusion, grabbing his shoulder to get his attention.

“What’s wrong?”

He leaned in close to your ear - “There’s...in the back of the cantina,” he whispered, eyes filled with terror. “By the door.”

You frowned, deciding to turn around and try to pinpoint for yourself whatever was making Munt practically shit his pants. You played it off as a means to grab your water bottle, waving at some of the audience members as your eyes slid over the crowd.

And there, in the back by the door, lingering in the shadows was the familiar helmeted figure you saw plastered on every wall, every billboard, every poster. You felt your pulse begin to race, ignoring every instinct you had to run and sending the figure a pointed glare instead.

You turned back to Munt, whose face seemed to have paled even more.

“Did you just glare at Darth-fucking-Vader?” he hissed. He knew your history with the Empire’s right hand man - everyone who worked at the cantina did. You shrugged haphazardly, deciding not to make it obvious how terrified you were, and turned back around to your mic.

“My friends! We’re going to sing ‘Let the Bad Times Roll!’ Enjoy!” you said, a genuine grin plastered on your face. By everything you held dear, if he’d come to try and kill you again then at least your last message to him could be one of sheer distaste for everything he’d done to the galaxy.

You could almost hear Munt shouting at you “Are you out of your mind?!” as the group behind you began to play. You flashed a smile at the terrified green man, him rolling his eyes at you as he picked up his guitar.

You closed your eyes as the upbeat tune began, such a stark contrast from the deeds of the once-Jedi in front of you. You left your fear behind you, giving a loud cheer before you began to sing.

“Oh, baby, let the bad times roll! Oh-oh-oh-oh!

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll! Oh, oh-oh-oh!

Bad times, yes, these certainly were bad times. You could attribute it all to Anakin, had he not betrayed you all it could’ve been different.

We're gonna hang 'em high

We're gonna shoot straight up in the air

This eye is for an eye

Don't need to ask and don't need to care, yeah

You thought of the rebels fighting against the Empire, something you’d been trained to do. Trained by him. 

Well, don't be thinkin' we're crazy, crazy

When you see all the hell that we're raisin'

Don't be thinkin' we're crazy, crazy

'Cause the truth is what we're erasing

He’d been on your side of the fight once, not so long ago, though it felt like it had been an eternity since he’d explained to you and your now-dead friends the difference between the Light and Dark sides of the Force. Somehow, he had to still understand what it was the rebels, what you were fighting for.

And so I

I'm doing it all for you

I'm doing it all for you

You flipped your hair back and pumped a fist in the air.

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll

Machiavelli flow! Oh-oh-oh-oh!

Hey, Lincoln, how does your grave roll? Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh!

Take what's right and make it wrong

Make it up as I go along

Let me know when you decide

Apathy or suicide

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll, oh-oh-oh-oh!

That’s indeed what he had done, took something good and made it wrong, terrible. But maybe, maybe it hadn’t been good to him, not the same way it had seemed to you through the veil of naivety that shrouded youth.

Now it was all a lie

But that bitch won't get in my way

Keep shoutin' what I like – "lock him up, lock him up"

Now that's a good one I gotta say, yeah

You almost laughed then, Munt changing the lyrics from “her” to “him” - Munt who tore down every Empire poster he saw on your street, Munt who himself had volunteered to spy on behalf of the Rebel Alliance.

Well, don't be thinkin' we're crazy, crazy

When you see all the hell that we're raisin' (raisin')

Don't be thinkin' we're crazy, crazy

'Cause the truth is what we're erasing

And so I

I'm turning my back on you

I'm turning my back on you

But you hadn’t turned your back on Anakin, no, in fact Anakin and what he’d done to you had and always would be a part of who you were. What you’d turned your back on was the Jedi Order - the same thing he’d done - when you’d parted ways with Obi-Wan.

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll

On a stripper pole! Oh-oh-oh-oh!

Yeah, fuck it, let the bad times roll! Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh!

Gungans and Hutts and Naboos

Got it all figured out for you

Gonna build a wall, let you decide

Apathy or suicide

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll, oh-oh-oh-oh

In some way, somehow, you understood Anakin - Darth Vader. You knew he must’ve been swayed in some way, becoming disillusioned with the Jedi the same way you had after a while. Had he gone about it the wrong way? Absolutely, but the understanding was still there.

Now I'm letting the bad times roll, oh-oh-oh-oh

Doing it all for you

I'm doing it all for you

And that’s what was happening, wasn’t it? To some degree, every aspect of this life you led, this life you now loved, you owed to him. Didn’t mean you wanted anything to do with him, he still had the blood of so many innocents on his hands. But you were doing it all for him, doing it all to spite him, to show him that he hadn’t ruined you.

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll

Machiavelli flow, oh-oh-oh-oh

Hey, Lincoln, how does your grave roll? Oh, oh-oh-oh!

Take what's right and make it wrong

Make it up as I go along

Let me know when you decide

Apathy or suicide

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll! Oh, oh-oh-oh!

Oh, baby, let the bad times roll…”

You sang the chorus again, and again and again, the crowd cheering and shouting for you to keep going. You were with them - you never wanted this song to end, and the feeling of strength and security you’d gained with it. And as you finally ended, as the audience streamed out of the cantina and you all began packing away the instruments, cleaning up the bar and floor, you forgot all about the fear you’d felt when you’d seen Vader that first time.

No, there was no fear in you, only unbroken will and spirit.

You helped Munt load the instruments and sound equipment into the closet behind the stage, helped Zelriv write the deposit statement and count the cash registers. And as you hauled yourself up the stairs to your room you felt fulfilled somehow, as if seeing him again had proved to you that you were more than what he’d done to you.

It felt like the perfect end to the chapter of your life stained by the genocide, the perfect end…

Until you opened the door to your apartment and he was standing awkwardly in the space between your kitchenette and dining table.

You yelped out of shock, thrusting your hand out and giving him a good Force-shove backwards. You grabbed the broom next to your door as he tumbled into your couch, an attempt to arm yourself against one of the galaxy’s biggest tyrants.

Holy shit, he was in your apartment.

He stood up slowly, and only then did you notice his helmet had fallen off, probably rolled somewhere on your floor. You sucked in a breath, eyes locked on him; he looked the same as he had that day on Coruscant.

You cleared your throat. “Darth Vader,” you said with a curt nod, noting the way he grimaced at the name. You tilted your head to the side, “Anakin?”

He let out a breath you had no idea he’d been holding, a breath of...relief?

“You do realize you’re in my apartment, right?” you asked, pointing the end of the broom at him. He gave you a small nod, staring at you as if you had five heads. “This is a very large invasion of my privacy.”

“I had no idea any of you had survived,” he said, voice small. “When I... when he made me attack you all, I thought I had killed every last one of you.”

It didn’t take a genius to know who he was; you shuddered at the mere mention of Palpatine.

Silence. You drew yourself up again, looking him dead in the eyes. “I’m the only survivor. Save for me, you killed every single youngling in the Jedi Temple.”

Silence again. He gulped and nodded again, shakily. Were his eyes glazing over? Your eyes bulged watching one of the most terrible warriors of all time begin to tear up.

“Don’t cry,” you said incredulously, “You tried to kill me Anakin, don’t make me watch you cry.”

“I’m sorry,” he said with a strained voice. “I’m sorry for so many things.”

And you could tell he was telling the truth, whether it was through the Force or through the sheer amount of emotion on his face, you knew he meant it. And you nodded.

“You know I can’t tell you it’s okay,” you said quietly. “You murdered kids-”

“I know, I know what I did.” His brows furrowed. “And I felt guilty during every single second of that...massacre...and every single second after.”

“Is that why you’re here? Because of your guilt?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I felt you through the Force,” he said, almost a whisper. “I thought I’d never get the chance to atone for what I did that day, and then I felt you, and I had to come see if you were really alive.”

He looked up at you, and you tried to ignore the pricking of tears you felt behind your eyes.

“Well, here I am,” you cleared your throat, gesturing roughly to yourself.

“I’ve lived every day since Order 66 thinking I’d never get a chance at forgiveness, but you, your simple existence gives me a chance at that,” he said, honesty burning on his face. “And that is more than enough for me.” You chewed your lip, thinking about all he had said to you.

“It will be very hard for me to forgive you,” you said finally. He nodded in understanding, and you continued. “I don’t mind that you took being a Jedi away from me, I turned it down myself a few years ago. I cannot forgive you for taking my friends, for taking the only family I had from me.”

He looked down at the ground, and you could almost feel the shame radiating off of him.

“I can, however, understand why you did what you did,” you said finally. His head snapped up to yours. “Not all of it, but some of it. And in some bizarre way, despite the terrible beginning to my journey here, I’m content with the way my life has turned out.”

“Thank you,” he choked out, stepping forward to you. You drew back cautiously, before stepping forward two steps and clasping his hands in your own. You knew you’d never forget the shudder of relief that passed from him to you.

“Perhaps one day I will be able to forgive you,” you said softly, gripping his hands tightly. “Wounds turn to scars, and scars do fade, even if it takes a lifetime.”

“That is more than I could’ve ever asked from you,” he said softly, pulling back out of your grip.

“I can sense good in you, Anakin,” you said firmly. “I know you can sense it in yourself, even if you wish you didn’t, but I hope one day it will overtake whatever darkness you’ve allowed into yourself.”

He nodded. “I hope so, too.”

And after another handshake and a few awkward goodbyes, he grabbed his helmet from off the floor and walked out the door of your apartment. He didn’t look back as he did, and you closed it with the Force before he could have the chance to.

You knew in your heart you’d probably never see him again, and yet in these few brief minutes he’d offered you more closure for your past than you’d ever imagined you’d have.

You would be okay, you already were, even as the bad times rolled.

[thevindicativevordan]

You got any thoughts on Superman Birthright?

Probably my second or third favorite Superman origin, and the one that has my favorite Clark/Lex interactions.

Real pity it didn't get to stick as the "canon" origin because I like it a lot more than the Byrne origin that preceded it and the Johns Secret Origin that succeeded it. Smallville's influence is undeniable, but not a detriment, I like the Kents as flawed younger parents rather than wizened flawless mentors (if they have to be alive still when Clark becomes Superman that is). Pa Kent struggling with feelings of alienation with regards to Clark growing up and taking more of an interest in his heritage is still one of my favorite Pa/Clark moments in Superman's history. Ma Kent being a UFO buff is a great idea, apparently Waid had a story about that he never got to tell. I wonder what it was? Would probably make for a nice Annual or fill in story now that he's back at DC.

Lois is great of course, for all the reasons she usually is, as is Perry who gets way more panel space here than he usually does. Lois and Perry's relationship here is hilarious, love the gag where he writes out two lists of reasons to fire or keep her respectively. "No good place to hide the body" had me cackling. Jimmy though is just kind of there, he's the pal who has Supes back as always, but he's heavily overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Only real disappointment for me in terms of the core cast members.

There's a lot to like here in it's handling of Clark Kent as well. Love that Waid actually shows us Clark has travelled the world to gain some perspective, that he's not naïve or clueless, simply idealistic. He's seen the cruelty of the world up close, and he's also seen the way people react when they realize they're dealing with someone who has "gifts" (whether that's himself or Lex).

Showing us some of Clark's pre-Daily Planet journalist career is also a big pro for me, that's an area of Clark's life I wish got fleshed out more. Waid manages to establish a divide between the Clark and Superman identities that still makes the two feel different without it being a repeat of Pre-Crisis. It's a return to Superman being more "real" while Clark is more of a disguise, but "Clark" isn't bumbling so much as overlooked and ignored (which if you've lived in a big city is pretty much exactly how you get treated as a newcomer). His co-workers barely acknowledge his existence, Lois isn't giving him the time of day, Perry tears him a new one for not having a story to turn in about the ongoing alien invasion on time, Clark has to suffer in the trenches over the course of the story to prove himself.

Like Morrison's Action Comics run, this origin tries to fold a lot of the original Golden Age attitude back into Superman. This incarnation is a man with a temper, him shooting a gun then catching the bullet before it hits the guy who sold guns to a school shooter is literally a recreation of a Golden Age panel. Yet this isn't a "retro" take at all, despite being from Christopher Reeve's biggest fan. Waid writes Clark as someone who makes mistakes, fucks up in ways you don't typically see Superman do, and has a lot of doubts about whether or not he can live up to the task he's set before himself. Doesn't help that Metropolis doesn't welcome him any more easily as Superman than it does as Clark.

Public opinion about him is divided at first, then swings heavily to negative as Lex frames him for a false flag Kryptonian invasion, only to finally recover after he saves the day and exposes Lex. Personally I like Superman to have to work for that glowing reputation he usually enjoys, and if Lex is involved in trying to turn the public against him, so much the better. The anger and contempt towards Lex he demonstrates in particular sets the tone for the relationship between the two in the modern day.

Speaking of Lex, my God, this has got to be one of my favorite takes on him, and on his relationship with Clark, both pre and post Superman.

As adults Waid nails the Post-Crisis status quo of Lex being a selfish piece of shit who hides his nature behind a façade of philanthropy. For all his attempts at projecting an aura of power and intelligence, both of which he has in spades, Lex is so clearly defined by the lack of love and understanding he was shown as a youth. It's Superman "disrespecting" him, by not being happy to pose for photos with Lex after seeing him commit an act of sabotage, that pisses Lex off. For this "crime" Lex does everything he can to smear Superman to the public, and entertains holographic fantasies of dissecting Supes to copy his powers. He quips that killing Kal is "genocide" since he's the last of his people, something he demonstrates no empathy for at all given he laughs in Clark's face when he realizes Superman doesn't know he's the last.

Waid's Lex is probably one of the most monstrous incarnations, yet one of the most sympathetic as well. For my money, Waid is the one who convinced me that Clark and Lex being friends back in Smallville is a good thing.

One reason is that Clark gets to see how people react to "gifted" individuals. By observing the way Lex is treated for being unlike the rest, Clark gets a taste of what's to come if his own abilities were ever exposed. This has the dual benefit of establishing why Clark puts so much effort into making people feel at ease, and also establishing Lex as sympathetic for being unable to hide like Clark can.

The second big reason is that it shows why Clark thinks there's a chance Lex can be redeemed. Birthright Lex wasn't a monster from the start. At first he tried to help, but it always backfired. Doubling the efficiency of the milking machine scared/hurt the cows and upset Pa Kent, his ideas for how to improve the local government got rejected, and of course his experiment with Kryptonite. Sad twist of fate that Lex mistaking Clark's look of pain for the fear/disgust he sees everywhere else is what causes Clark to eventually give him that look of disgust for real when they reunite as adults. But having their first interactions be friendly instead of hostile makes Clark's hope that Lex can become a force for good feel grounded in reality instead of hopelessly naïve.

Can't gush enough about Yu's art either, he can make Superman look bright and inspiring, or scary as hell. His take on Metropolis makes it look and feel like a "City of Tomorrow", someplace exciting and dangerous, a city that needs Superman to protect it. Yu's Krypton is also one of my favorite incarnations, love that he gave Lara the S-curl! That's one idea from the DCAU I wish had become sacrosanct for all future origin retellings. Lara doesn't get to have enough influence on Kal to my tastes, so any little bit counts.

Sadly overlooked as it was coming out due to Azzarello and Lee doing For Tomorrow, it seems like it's risen in status after the fact. The S-shield being a symbol of hope on Krypton in addition to the El family crest has carried forward thanks to the DCEU (which is hilarious given Waid's feelings on that franchise).

Waid has another Superman project coming up next year with Brian Hitch that appears to be a "Year 2" follow up to Birthright. No clue if it will actually take place in strict continuity with Birthright, honestly it feels weird to have anyone but Yu do a direct followup to that, but Waid has said that a Superman run from him would basically be an issue 13 that continues from this story. I'm excited to see Waid take another big swing at Superman, I think he still has it in him to put out a great story, and Birthright being out of continuity may end up being to everyone's benefit. If this ends up being Waid's last Superman story, I hope he gets to do whatever he wants with the Birthrightverse. Kill off the Kents if that's his desire, I know he prefers them dead (as do I). Fingers crossed whatever he comes up with is good.

[puff-yy]

Heyo! So as I was writing this I felt that it would be better just to send it as a submission. So here are my ideas for Class 78, minus the Despair Sisters, as Remnants of Despair.

Sayaka Maizono: Using her popularity and idol talent, she would bring in millions of followers with her siren like voice. Legions of fans would turn to despair as her new songs revolve around embracing the beauty of despair and tearing the old world apart. Sometimes she orders her followers to capture rival idol singers and force them to compete against her. The publicity of having her compete, defeat, and execute, the idols would bring upmost despair to any non-fans.

Leon Kuwata: He uses his baseball talent to attack enemies and topple buildings. He uses a specialized bat and explosive balls that can destroy anything on impact. Sometimes he partners with Sayaka on her tours and plays guitar alongside her. The guitar also comes equipped with a flame thrower that can burn people

Chihiro Fujisaki: Is in charge of manufacturing Monokuma drones and weapons for the Remnants. Thanks to Alter Ego, they can hijack the software systems o manufacturing buildings and weapon-themed facilities to use for the despair agenda. During the first stage of the Tragedy, Chihiro implemented virus software on a majority of the world’s government systems making it impossible for them to fight back against the Remnants. 

Mondo Oowda: Leads the Crazy Diamonds to destroy everything in their path. They pillage and plunder the largest of cities destroying using their weapons and bikes. Mondo’s bike was modified to use rocket launchers and gadgets capable of taking down foes on the road. Mondo also has a preference for fighting one on one with any rival gang leader or authority figure who stands in his way. His preferred weapons include a heavy chain and the stop sign from his splash art as a hammer.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru: A vigilante hero who hunts down politicians and public figures who claim to be noble/good-natured but have actually committed heinous deeds in their past. Ishimaru would hunt them down and interrogate them on their wrongdoings and force them to confess. All of this is done while recording them for the world to see how corrupt those figures really are. He also wields a katana and kills them using it.

Hifumi Yamada: Creates propaganda themed artwork and posters that celebrate the new era of despair. He and his Monokuma helpers go around plastering his artwork around to highlight the aesthetic of despair in the cities he visits. He rarely kills people but he does use his art supplies to fight back and is quite deadly when provoked.

Celestia Ludenberg: Organizes killing games where she kidnaps elite or wealthy people and forces them to participate. She uses games and traps similar to the ones from the Saw movies only with a casino theme to give it some showmanship flare. When she’s not holding those killing games, she’s residing in her makeshift mansion being attended by her brainwashed servants and treated like the queen she believes herself to be. She also goes all out with Victorian and Gothic dress designs 

Sakura Oogami: One of the main fighters in the frontlines. She enjoys the challenge and is always eager to fight back against Future Foundation or anyone who would be a threat to her beloved friends. She’s a strong as ever and isn’t afraid to hold back when it comes to delivering devastating blows. Some people say that she’s capable of destroying buildings if she’s really mad.

Yasuhiro Hagakure: A television preacher who proclaims the word of despair to the public. Using his visions of the future, he would preach about the upcoming horrors that await for them and how the only salvation is by embracing despair. He also gets help from Chihiro as the programmer granted him high tech TV screens that can broadcast his “visions” for the public to see. He’s gained alot of followers who give him all their worldly possessions. Money, gold, fancy cars, deeds to their property, even their own children. 

Aoi Asahina: She mainly goes around providing supplies to her fellow Remnants. Either by driving armored cars or going through aquatic systems, she delivers her packages to help her friends continue the despair agenda. She’s also an exceptional fighter and often accompanies Sakura when she fights enemy forces.

Touko Fukawa: She spends her days wandering the ruins of fallen cities to write about them. She now publishes despair inducing novels and retellings of the Despair Wars and how it’s impacted the world around them. She personally enjoys seeing victims and random civilians succumb to despair and tries very hard to copy those emotions for her writings. 

Genocider Syo: Now that Gloomy is part of a terrorist organization along with the world having gone to hell, she doesn’t have to worry about holding back anymore so she’s tehcnically the only one who wasn’t tempted by despair. She’s free to continue killing cute boys as she sees fit and isn’t afraid to do so in public. Although she still proclaims that Togami is her one true love no matter what. She often teams up with either Sakura or Mondo when it comes to fighting Future Foundation. 

Byakuya Togami: He mainly spends his days inside a makeshift manor that he calls his empire. He employs brainwashed servants to rob people and buildings of their resources and riches to make his empire stronger. He sits in a gold and ivory throne reminiscent of the one Xerxes used in the 300 movie and is dressed like an emperor in white. 

Kyoko Kirigiri: Kyoko is the only one I have trouble with as a Remnant. I figure that she would be the only one who didn’t fall into despair as she knew about Junko’s plan and was able to escape and join Future Foundation. But it still eats her that she didn’t stop her in time and allowed her classmates/friends to become monsters. 

Makoto Naegi: I imagine he would be the Izuru Kamakura of the group as his grim presence would inspire despair and chaos all around him while he’s too stoic and passive to stop them. He mainly just wanders the ruins of the world as he sees his friends tear it farther while innocent lives continue to be lost. However, once in a blue moon, if he were to meet with an unlucky civilian, he does offer some words of encouragement or helps them through a difficult moment. Even though he disappears, his “kindness” would allow the victim to move forward to confront despair another day. Kinda like the Pandora’s Box fairy tale where all the evils of the world are unleashed, the speck of hope remains and is shared sparingly.

And those are my ideas for Class 78 as the Remnants of Despair. What do you think?

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HOLY SHIT THEY ARE SO GOOD 10/10