#it cuts him off from his ability to communicate with her on a few different levels

[impending-day]

ive taken the time to assign each limbus company sinner with an attunement from the arcane ascension series! i know theres probably like. zero people who care but i had fun so im gonna share my reasonings

yi sang - illuminator

faust - analyst

don quixote - architect

ryōshū - swordmaster

meursault - shaper

hong lu - illusionist

heathcliff - cloudcaller

ishmael - wayfarer

rodion - mesmer

dante - chronomancer

emil sinclair - purifier

outis - commander

gregor - shapeshifter

full explanations under the cut! :3c

yi sang - illuminator

mana types : water, light

composite mana : peace

faust - analyst

attunement function : creates beneficial passive effects such as resistance to mental corruption and magical attacks

i would think she gets this after the whole n corp thing and cherishes it a whole lot. maybe she is double attuned with an enchanter attunement, making her more likely to pursue the inventor path, but tbh idk if thats necessary, given the illuminator attunement is from caelford [which is known for being technologically advanced].

mana types : umbral, mental

composite mana : secrets

don quixote - architect

attunement function : gathers knowledge relating to sensory information and understanding how things work on an intrinsic level

for faust, it was either a diviner or an analyst attunement. i went with analyst though, since diviners focus on gathering raw intel while analysts do in-depth analysis on the fly more often. and i also like how the compound mana type is 'secrets' mana, i feel like that fits her very well, considering her in limbus and her source novel.

mana types : umbral, perception

composite mana : dreams

attunement function : imbue power into objects that are stronger than permanent enchantments, but only last a few days

thanks to canto vii just dropping, i think this one fits nearly perfectly! maybe she would be double attuned; i can see her also having one combat-focused attunement too. dream mana, temporarily enchanting objects... it all fits so nicely...

ryōshū - swordmaster

mana types : fire, enhancement

composite mana : dawn

attunement function : enhance the abilities of weaponry as well as enhance physical strength

for ryoshu, it was either soulblade or swordmaster. up to change depending on how her canto goes. i do like the fire mana, though. fits her ego nicely. i just wanted something to do with her sword tbh

meursault - shaper

mana types : earth, enhancement

composite mana : density

attunement function : manipulate solid material into different shapes at a moments notice

i was less certain on this one tbh, mainly because we dont have meurs canto yet, and i dont know that much on him personally. havent done any meursault deep dives. but i think the whole 'shaping solid material thing' could work really well for his fighting style, especially if he had a hand-marked attunement. shapers prefer having free hands to fight im pretty sure. oh and him having density mana is kinda funny to me sorry not sorry

hong lu - illusionist

mana types : light, perception

composite mana : sight

heathcliff - cloudcaller

attunement function : creates large scale illusions, complete with sound and direct mental effects

again, no canto for hong lu, so data is extremely limited. i also dont know his source work at all. im just going off whats already been said, like his whole 'illusion' theme and his jade eye [hence the sight mana type].

mana types : air, water

composite mana : rain

attunement function : create weather events and insert spells into them

did somebody say wuthering heights... no... oh well he has the wuthering heights attunement. thats my whole reasoning. storm boy gets storm attunement

ishmael - wayfarer

mana types : air, mental, transference [tertiary]

composite mana : communication

rodion - mesmer

attunement function : long distance communication and teleportation; tertiary mana type is granted earlier than other attunements

i added transference to the description cause wayfarer is the only attunement with near immediate access to it. the rest take a while to build up to. anyways ishmael gets wayfarer mostly for the whole compass theme. i couldve given her wavewalker but i didnt feel like that fit her very well. and i think this attunement would mess with her head a bit. imagine she couldnt communicate with the pequod crew despite her communication focused attunement, but somehow she felt they were still out there... i just think thats a cool gimmick i could play with

mana types : death, perception

composite mana : madness

attunement function : alter the memories of others to make the user seem like a background character or less important than they actually are

forever cursed to be a background character! in every mirror world!! this one is so cruel but i love it. forced to always be forgotten and overlooked due to her attunement... sorry girl but i gotta stay somewhat canon with it

dante - chronomancer

mana types : perception, transference

composite mana : time

attunement function : unknown, only theorized

i really love this one tbh. out of all the sinners, dante is the only one to have a restricted/theorized attunement! the rest are all regularly found within the world. and it makes sense with limbus lore, too; dantes head is a singularity! so even if the chronomancer attunement isnt real, if limbus company was within the world of arcane ascension, theyd probably do something similar to the god-beast attunement project and just. make the chronomancer attunement themselves.

emil sinclair - purifier

mana types : fire, light

composite mana : purity

outis - commander

attunement function : neutralize mental and physical attacks, can also do decently at giving single-target fire or light attacks

two functions for the two-faced creature... on one hand he can stop damage from affecting him so much, on the other hand he can dish out a lot of damage. didnt want him to be too attack-heavy or support-heavy, because he does Both, and i thought this would be a nice compromise. also kinda references kromers whole 'puritan' thing which i think is cool.

mana types : fire, umbral

composite mana : war

attunement function : increase the range at which spells can be cast

the functionality isnt something i think fits her too much? but then again no outis canto to reference. anyways i chose this one cause it has war mana! war mana!!! for the war criminal! i think she would thank me for this /j

gregor - shapeshifter

mana types : earth, perception

composite mana : alteration

attunement function : create contracts with nonhuman creatures in order to change the users body to reflect the creatures

this is how i make the bug arm canon btw. literally chose this just so the bug arm could still be canon. turn into a bug boy. turn into a bug.

[kybercrystals94]

Just a few things in Season 3 Episode 5 that I can’t stop thinking about…

[spoilers below cut]

The way Crosshair treats Omega like a peer.

This is so different from the way Wrecker, Echo, Tech, but specifically Hunter, ever treated Omega. To them, she’s still the little girl they rescued off Kamino. They know they’ve trained her to be capable; however, it is hard to separate their guileless little sister from the little warrior she’s become both with their squad and during her captivity on Tantiss.

Crosshair never knew or cared about little Omega, the child who’d never seen dirt before.

He’s only ever known and cared about this Omega. The Omega that insisted on building a relationship with him in spite of his trying to push her away for her own good. The Omega who refused to leave him behind at risk to herself. The Omega who can hold her own alongside him during a firefight. The Omega who can fly ships, bribe, and swindle. Crosshair has only known this Omega. Why would he treat her as anything but capable? He will absolutely protect her and have her back, but he will not doubt her abilities.

That’s not to say that the others doubt her abilities. I think they absolutely know what Omega is capable of, but that innate desire to protect the little thing she was has not dissolved just because Omega has grown…which is so true of real life. It’s authentic, and it's difficult and messy. And I love that the show is tackling this.

I also love that Crosshair knows this too. “Don’t hold it against him. He’s only worried about you,” he gently advises.

Which leads me into how I viewed Hunter’s behavior in Episode 5…

He doesn’t trust Crosshair. Why would he? The last time they interacted, Crosshair tried to force them to join the Empire of his own volition. He tried to have Omega forcibly removed from their protection. He chose the Empire over them. And then, they find out that Crosshair became a prisoner of the Empire, and their attempt to rescue Crosshair from his own choices resulted in Tech’s death and Omega’s capture. On top of that, what exactly did Crosshair do to get on the Empire’s bad side? Hunter doesn’t know. And Crosshair isn’t volunteering the information.

I also saw a bit of jealousy on Hunter’s part (although he probably doesn’t recognize it). While we as viewers know that Omega is trying to support Crosshair with his emotional and physical trauma, as well as getting him to communicate with Hunter and Wrecker. On the outside, Omega and Crosshair are almost inseparable, Omega seeking out Crosshair’s companionship (the brother that initiated a lot of the Batch’s heartbreak) rather than the brothers who have taken care of her all along. Gotta admit, I’d be pretty hurt by that too. Again, not at all Omega’s intent or fault that he feels this way, but it would be confusing and hurtful nonetheless.

Crosshair also senses this jealousy. (“Oh, don’t pretend like this is all about me…You’re angry because she escaped with my help, not yours.”) What Hunter doesn’t know is that Crosshair has supported Omega and Hunter’s relationship, not undermined it.

I really appreciated how Crosshair - while hurt by Hunter’s mistrust - does his best to prove himself trustworthy again (although hidden behind typical Crosshair snark). He’s broken his brothers’ trust, and he knows it has to be earned back.

Wrecker runs to hug Hunter and Crosshair after they make it back safely.

Wrecker is the only one of the Batch (besides Crosshair, obviously) who has been on both sides of the chip. He understands Hunter’s perspective and trepidation towards Crosshair; however, he also understands the guilt and fear that comes after being under the chip’s influence and nearly killing your family. While he was also confused and hurt by Crosshiar’s actions after the chip, Wrecker trusts Omega’s judgment. If Omega feels that Crosshair has changed, then Wrecker is not going to question it.

But he’s not going to pressure Hunter to the same conclusion, and he’s been Hunter’s support system for so long–and obviously, Crosshair already has a support system in Omega. Wrecker is going to let Hunter take the time he needs to trust Crosshair on his own terms…and I love that!

I felt that when Wrecker saw them coming back, he could tell they had worked out some of their hard feelings toward one another…and he was thrilled! That hug was more than just happy they made it back safe from facing a monster, but that they are on the path to making amends. Their family is healing. Not healed. There’s still hurts and wounds to work through, but healing.

And the way he embraces his two sullen brothers, smooshing them together so that they are also hugging each other by association…made me smile so big!

The way Echo acts as mediator between Hunter and Crosshair. (Also…ECHO FINALLY SHOWS UP!!)

Omega and Wrecker have been struggling trying to support both brothers while they work through their issues, and then there’s Echo saying, “You can kill each other later…focus!” Echo gets it. He knows they need to work things out on their own terms, in their own time. But first…mission!

Also, I loved how civilly he treats Crosshair when they meet again. Crosshair is 100% ready to receive a negative reaction, and when Echo simply snarks back at him like the good ol’ days, Crosshair is visibly surprised. Even Omega looks happy to see the positive interaction.

When Omega expresses how she wishes she could have done more for the other clones on Tantiss, Echo tells her she did the right thing escaping and getting the information she could to him and Rex…he is such a good and encouraging older brother! I love him!

Special mention goes to Crosshair and Batcher being buddies! The way Crosshair pats and pets her when Batcher comes up to him after they rescue Hunter out of the snow. And then Batcher plops down beside him and Crosshair keeps petting her. My little heart!

[fanfic-obsessed]

How Old?!?!?!

Remember Folks, disregard any canon that contradicts this.

Timothy Wayne Drake disappeared when he was 16. He was taken captive in Eastern Europe at a WE event. A magical shield cut off all electronic communication, sight, and sound of the building for 6 minutes. According to every Super consulted, Tim’s heartbeat vanished at that time, and never reappeared. No facial recognition ever showed him again. No magical spell could find him, or his remains. Eight years later he is presumed dead by most of those who knew him, though his family still searches frantically for their Baby Bird. It is only the fact that they knew how much he loved Gotham, that he would want the city protected, that they did not let their obsession with finding him take them over. 

According to his file, Neal Caffery has been operating since he was 18. There are no records prior to that. By the numbers he is now 34, and had been working as a CI for the feds for 2 years.  He has never admitted to anyone that his earliest memories are six years ago, though Peter, El, and Moz have all figured it out.  But his abilities, muscle memory, and knowledge seem to support what's in his file.  That must mean something, right?

It was not a White Collar case, not really. Though there were just enough white collar elements to justify assigning it to Agent Burke and his team, this really was an Organized Crime case. However it was leading to Gotham, and no one wanted to go to Gotham. 

So Agent Burke, his two junior agents, and his CI were bundled into a SUV and told to report to Gotham PD to coordinate the case.  Upon arriving at the main precinct and getting out of the car; Peter, Diana and Jones all get strange looks from the locals on the street, though they do not know it, it is clear they are outsiders. 

However Neal gets out with a strange look on his face, “Why does the air taste..”

“Pink?” One the pedestrian answers, suspicion washing away.

“Yes” Neal exclaimed, then paused, “That’s weird, right? I feel like that’s weird”

The pedestrian gave a half shrug, “Ivy and Scarecrow double booked downtown a few weeks ago. Made things super awkward for anyone not vaccinated against both, but the vaccines made the air taste pink for some reason. The news said that the unvaccinated shouldn’t see effects any longer and for the vaccinated the effect would be gone in two more weeks”

Then the pedestrian left and Neal, entirely unconsciously, murmured about wondering if Ivy and Harley were fighting. When Peter tried to get more information about Neal having been in Gotham as they walked into the Precinct, Neal made a joke to cover the fact that he has no idea when or where he got the vaccines/immunities to Poison Ivy’s pollen or Scarecrow's Fear Gas.  

They manage to make it to the main bullpen without incident, by virtue of the fact anyone who actually looks up from what they were doing focuses on Peter, as lead agent.  When they get to the Bullpen, someone notices Neal and the entire room goes dead silent. Commissioner Gordon comes charging out, eyes wild and clearly on the phone with someone (Oracle, who happened to see Neal/Tim on camera-it is important to note that the group who took Tim made it so that any facial recognition program that would run either face would skip the match between Tim and Neal, but a person looking through a camera is different) saying things like “Holy Shit” and “Yes I see him, too”. 

The White Collar team, including Neal, is so confused as Commissioner Gordon ushers them to his office and closes the door (Oracle has her fathers office bugged with better cameras and wired for sound, also they do not know how much cover they have already broken for Tim-they do not want to make things worse instead of better). 

Commissioner Gordon calls Neal Tim, and Neal/Tim seizes for a moment like he was hit with electricity and says, in a deadened tone, “That name cannot be used as an Alias” then slumps like he is going to fall over. Peter and Jones manage to catch him and get him into a chair that Commissioner Gordon hurriedly pulls over.  The confusion that the White Collar team is exhibiting, plus questions like “What was that?” and “What did you do to Neal?” and “What did you call him?” do convince commissioner Gordon that these, at least, were not the people that took Tim.  It takes a few minutes for Tim/Neal to come to.  A few careful call and response questions tells Commissioner Gordon that the man with Tim’s face (and scars, from what he can see) does not remember anything.  These same questions were also clearly making the White Collar team, particularly Peter, as protective as they were making Neal/Tim confused and more than a little anxious.

Then Dick Grayson burst into the room, looking like he might have run all the way from Bludhaven.  He stopped dead at seeing Neal, whispered ‘Baby Bird?’ then lunged to pull Neal into a tight hug. Neal may have had no memories of being Tim, but his muscle memory remembered Dick’s hugs. That he was safe while Dick was hugging him, Neal could not help but relax into the hold. 

Dick start talking about getting Neal to Leslie both to make sure he's not hurting and to verify his identity (sounding apologetic but, no matter if Dick is sure this is Tim, they have to verify it), that ‘B’ is out of contact right now (on a JL mission off planet, the watchtower is preparing to extract him, but it will take a few hours-the JLD is also preparing in case they are needed) but should be back soon. He talks about how Alfred will be waiting outside for them, but ‘everyone else’ is waiting so they don’t overwhelm him (read clustered, and pacing, on buildings around Leslie’s clinic).  

Neal brings up, still wrapped in Dicks arms, that he might not be who they think he is. Dick agrees but also says that he isn’t, it is a case of mistaken identity and it is clear that Neal is not trying to trick them. Dick then says if it is Mistaken identity, Dick will apologize for the forcible cuddling and be grateful that, even if they don’t actually find him, he got a chance to hug his little brother one last time (Every single member of the White Collar Team, Neal very much included, is a little uncomfortable with this sentiment). 

At Peter’s awkward insistence (these people clearly miss whoever they think Neal is, and he doesn’t know if they would think about Neal’s criminal activities) the White collar team accompanies Neal, still clutched to Dick’s side, to a car waiting with Alfed right next to it, who is clearly having an emotional reaction to seeing Neal/Tim again.  Over the course of the car ride to Leslie’s clinic, Dick asks questions about who Neal is now (and reacts weirdly well to the whole Conman/FBI CI thing). Towards the end, Jones hesitantly asks why Dick is trying to get to know Neal now, wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until they were sure who Neal was. 

Dick laughs and goes 1.) Even if Neal is not his long lost brother, several of his siblings are going to want to befriend him (if nothing else than being a world class master art forger would get Damian’s attention, and everyone else would 100% be encouraging the friendship to give Damian more non violent friends) and 2.) Baby Bird is notorious for trying to mold himself into who he thinks other people want him to be. Right now he does not know enough about Dick to try and tailor his answers, plus is likely convincing himself that this is a case of mistaken identity. Thus Dick is collecting information for when Baby Bird inevitably tries to fit himself into whatever weird mold he thinks their family will want him to fit.  

Neal, still clutched to Dick’s side, splutters as the White Collar team cannot help but laugh at him. Also this somewhat convinces Peter that this might not be a case of mistaken identity after all.  

They get to Leslie’s Clinic. She runs through all the tests (Genetic and comparing previous x-rays, signs of artificial aging-for cloning, signs of the specific type of molecules that means time or dimension travel, brain scans, the few hormone tests that can detect magic-you can’t tell me that Bruce Wayne and/or Tim Drake, before he vanished, were not told at some point that there is no way to detect magic by scientific means and took it as a personal challenge). By every measure that she is able to test, Neal Caffrey is the missing Tim Drake.  She is also able to tell that his memory loss was likely caused by significant and repeated electrocution reinforced by some kind of magic, but cannot tell what or if it is still active, though given Tim’s reaction to his birth name (which happened twice more during the tests) and the fact that the Supers were never able to find his heartbeat,it is likely. 

By this time, Batman has now been returned to the watchtower and is being told of Tims return.

Dick tells Neal outright that their entire family’s love languages are stalking and poor boundaries (both maintaining and respecting). Dick also makes it clear that, while the Batfam is ecstatic that Neal/Tim is alive and want him in their lives, Neal is not required to attempt to get his memories back or have anything to do with them if he does not want (All of their therapists, the family could not go to just one, had worked specifically with them on how to deal with a Tim that has made a new life, how to accept that he is safe and happy but not with them-which is a realistic assumption after 8 years), but that likely Neal would be putting up with some limited stalking for the rest of his life (Look, the best we are going to get from the Batfamily is stalking from the shadows if Neal doesn’t want to interact with them-Also Oracle has already hacked the FBI for all of Neals records and files, and is the middle of arranging for the White Collar office to be bugged with her personal cameras/microphones). Dick also asks that the White Collar team come back to the Manor and to at least let the Justice League Dark look Neal over to make sure that there is nothing that is going on that will hurt him. 

Now, to be clear, Neal is more than happy to at least meet the rest of the Batfam.  Yes, he has a good life now, people he loves and who love him. But that is a relatively new development and there are a lot of blanks in his past. I mean at this point Neal still thinks he is 34 (as opposed to 24), and only remembers the last six years. They have not even gone far enough into the explanations to realize that there is a 2 year gap between when Tim was taken and Neal's earliest memories.  Also, while Neal does not quite have the same level of abandonment issues as Tim did, there is something about how visibly happy Dick is to see him that soothing something deep inside (Because he has six years worth of memories, and for most of them he did not have anyone who would have noticed if he had vanished).

They get back to manor just in time for Bruce to come charging into the foyer, still in the batman suit but with his cowl down. Bruce also looks like he might have ran from wherever he was. He had at least absorbed enough of what he was told about Neal to not call him Tim, and pulled Neal into a hug.  This also means there is a brief interlude while the White Collar team gets the ‘Bruce Wayne is Batman, we’re trusting you with this’ revelation (And absolutely everyone is going to be making fun of Bruce ‘Paranoia’ Wayne being the person who accidentally let the secret slip).

By the time they reach the main sitting room, the rest of the family has made it back to the manor (Barbara, Jason, Cass, Steph, Damian, Duke) each waiting on their own chance to hug their lost member.   Neal blue screens a bit at Jason (who is both very pretty and very sarcastic, which is Neal's type).  Through the discussions that follow there are at least two arguments between batfam members about who gets to have Neal to sit with them.

Neal decides that he will meet with someone from JLD to see about what magic might still be affecting him and regaining his lost memories. He and the White Collar team do decline staying at the manor and go back to the hotel rooms that the FBI rented for them (never realizing that Oracle upgraded them as soon as she realized who Neal was) as they still have a job to do. It is at this point that  Neal starts whining to the others, much to their amusement (also to the amusement of Steph and Cass, who were hiding on the balcony-there is no way there will not be at least one bat/bird hiding in the shadows around Neal for a bit), about his new, hot brother Jason.  Peter calls El, just so Neal can have his crisis with her instead of him (Never mind that being siblings is not as big a deal as Neal thinks it is).

Now Gotham, and its people, have a reputation at the FBI for being actually impossible to work with.  Even regular citizens stonewall so effectively that most teams simply give up. They simply do not like outsiders, and Gothamites can tell if someone grew up in Gotham or not, even if the person in question does not realize it (there are unconscious ways of moving if you have lived in Gotham for a certain amount of time). This is what the White Collar team expects to go against, what they are bracing for, no matter who Neal might or might not have been.  To their surprise this is not what they get. Yes, most people still peer suspiciously at Peter, Jones, and Diana at first, but even that settles down quickly (Some of it is Neal/Tim, being from Gotham, clearly trusting Peter and co gets them some good will; some is them not being sanctimonious about gotham; the rest is the batfam being vocal about liking these FBI agents-for Neal/Tim related reasons).  They solve the case, which branched from White collar into one of the Mob Families (at least two of the traffickers got the choice to talk to the FBI team, or deal with The Red Hood-Red Hood plays it off as using the FBI to take a shot at that family’s territory and being personally interested in Neal Caffrey).

Before they leave Gotham, Neal does meet up with a few members of the JLD who are able to find and remove the spells that prevent Neal/Tim from being found by the Supers and the Spell keeping him from being addressed as Tim. His missing memories were not fully caused by magic (There was a lot of damage caused by electricity-no one took that news well), but the magic was preventing some of his recall. With the spells off, it is inferred that some or all of Tim’s memories may come back in time. 

The White Collar team leaves Gotham with new contacts in their phones and also the bomb that Neal Caffery was a full decade younger than he thought he was (They do eventually figure out that Neal/Tim never actually committed the crimes in his file-not that the crimes were never committed but that Neal/Tim was basically went straight from where ever he was being held to being captured for ‘Neal Caffery’s’ crimes).  Peter later finds a much more complete medical record for Tim Wayne Drake in his home, with an ominous note to keep this file out of the FBI records, it is for personal reference only. They also leave with the decision to keep Neal’s identity a secret (As no one knows who the ones who took them are, or what the end goal is), telling only Hughes, El and Moz. By the time the WC crew reaches New York, the Bats already have bugs/cameras in the FBI building, Neal’s apartment, and Peter’s house.  They have also put trackers in every single pair of Neal’s shoes. There is also a schedule for who gets to stalk/hang out with Neal when.  

As far as the rest of the FBI was concerned, White Collar gets a lot of strange new contacts for cases.  Also they seem to have made an impression on the Justice League, as they become the point of contact between the Justice League and the FBI, by request of the League.  Occasionally hardened criminals walk into the FBI and ask to confess their crimes specifically to Agent Burke and his team. And Apparently their CI knows the Red Hood, somehow (in that the Red Hood sometimes showed up at their crime scene to flirt outrageously with the CI, the first few times the CI got really flustered but after that he started to flirt back). 

Eventually Neal/Tim does begin to remember his past, oddly enough the trigger was a spleen in a jar that was left on his desk in the White Collar Office (Ra’s Al Ghul was…pleased that Tim was not dead and displeased with the Organization the abducted him and  tried to fry Tim’s brain).

[parkerpeter24]

Hiii!! If you are taking requests, can you please write a Peter x Reader where the reader and Peter started dating before the spider bite and after Peter got bit he calls the reader to come over because he is freaking out that he suddenly changed and they figure out Peter's abilities together like all crack and fluffy type 🥺🥺🥺

okayyyyy here we go

pairing ➳ peter parker x reader

requests are open (but don’t get your hopes too high)

masterlist

peter never avoided you.

he was often busy with school work, community service and his spanish classes but he always made time for you no matter what.

today was different.

everything seemed fine till friday. the two of you studied till late that evening and peter decided to stay over as the two of you fell asleep, cuddled up in your bed. When you woke up on saturday, peter was missing. you didn’t think much of that because you weren’t up for the embarrassing comments from your parents.

now it was sunday morning and there was a lack of his good morning messages. there was nor one on saturday and neither one today. however, the thing that irked you the most was that he wasn’t replying to your texts either. you had sent him various messages, some asking about his whereabouts, a few random meme pictures in hopes that he’e reply with at least a crying-laughing emoji. but nothing came.

it was around 2 o’clock when you received a phone call and you literally threw yourself off the desk chair, seeing your boyfriend’s name flash as the caller.

“peter where the hell are you?!” you cut to the chase but he seemed to ignore your question. you heard him on the other side as he breathed out shallow breaths into the speaker of his phone, “w-what’s wrong?” you asked, suddenly worried that he was robbed or hurt somewhere in one of queens’s alleys.

“(y/n), come home, p-please.” he stuttered, his voice sounding a mix between a plea and a demand.

the call just disconnected as you were about to ask what had happened.

but there was no time to think now. you put on your shoes as adrenaline rushed through your veins, making you stumble as you rushed out of your house, ignoring the call of your name from your mom.

peter was basically your neighbour so it didn’t you too long to reach his place, two houses down the street you lived in.

you pressed the doorbell more than thrice before his uncle ben opened the door, looking at you in confusion, “hey, kid, peter’s-”

may peeked at you over her husband’s shoulder as she walked to the door as well, “did you know what happened to peter?” she asked, clear confusion written all over her face.

you shook your head quickly, “he called me...”

you picked at your nails, just wanting to run past the elderly couple so that you could find out what really happened to the sweet boy.

“you should go see him, he’s been acting...” ben and may shared a look before settling on a word.

“weird.” both of them uttered at the same time.

“i’ll look.” you nodded and quickly made your way upstairs to peter’s room, thanking the parkers on your way up.

you knocked at his door, which seemed weird, but you had to other option as you found the door locked from the inside.

after a few beats, he opened the door and you looked at him. his hair was sticking up, except for the few locks that were stuck to his forehead due to perspiration. he raised his hands up, “something is wrong.”

you looked at him with raised eyebrows. he moved back quickly, letting you in. you noticed the distance he kept from you, which caused a small ache to develop in your heart, but you quickly diverted your attention to the condition his room was in.

there were food containers, bowls, packets of flavoured yogurt sprawled all over his work desk. now peter was a pretty tidy guy– or so you’d made him– so this was new.

the chair he usually sat on had it’s left armrest broken. there were papers– his notes– all over the room, some on his bed, some on the floor.

“peter... what the fuc-”

“i know!” peter exclaimed, “baby, please tell me i’m not hallucinating or... or am i going crazy?!”

“peter what’s wrong?” your voice, dripping with concern, made him look up and just as you took a step towards him, he took one back. a look of hurt flashed across your face.

“no. no, no, no.” peter quickly, “let me explain.” you sighed and nodded, letting him continue, “yesterday, a spider bit me.”

“huh?”

peter continued, ignoring the worried look you gave him, “(y/n), i’m sticking to everything! and i’m... i’ve gotten super strong! i broke that chair.” he pointed, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he gulped, “i think there was something wrong with that spider.”

“peter i-” you weren’t sure if moving closer to him was a good idea because he’d just back away, “are you... high?”

“what?!” he stared at you with squinted eyes.

“i think you need... rest?” his expression now mirrored your. there was too much confusion in the moment.

“you don’t believe me.” peter sighed in defeat.

“hey, hey. it’s not that, baby...” he shook his head as you trailed off.

“i can prove it.” all you could do was stare at him as he walked towards his desk, placing one of his fingers over the theoretical physics book, the heaviest among all the other books of peter’s. he pulled it up and then the book was in the air, stuck to his finger as if there was an adhesive between the two surfaces.

“holy-!” you almost screamed, now taking a step away from him.

he tried shaking his fingers but the book just wiggled in air, “h-how are... how the fuck are you doing that?!”

it was getting hard to breathe properly as he forced the book away from his fingers, the cover getting damaged in the process. now you understood all the pages on the floor. your eyes trailed over them again and you noticed the torn parts of papers.

“you’re sticky...” you mumbled out and looked at peter. he nodded in agreement.

“i thought the spider bite was making me hallucinate but...”

you took a deep breath, still trying to wrap your head around all of it.

“i’m sorry i didn’t want you to come close because i didn’t want to hurt you.” he explained, frowned eyes, looking into yours.

you held eye contact with him as you slowly took a step towards him, then another, and another until you were standing right in front of him, “you won’t hurt me, peter.” you assured.

“i won’t but-”

“just shh.” you placed a gentle hand over his cheek. he was sweating profusely, you noticed now but you didn’t care as he leaned into your touch, “it’s just your hands, right?”

your voice pulled him out from his slight trance, “what?”

“my hand is not going to stick to your cheek... right?” you asked, afraid to test it out.

“i honestly don’t know...” peter said, nervous to know himself.

thankfully, you were able to easily pull away your hand, taking a sigh of relief.

“what about other parts of you?”

a blush covered his cheeks at your question, “i- uh.. i-i’m sorry what-”

“like your lips?”

“are you willing to kiss me and find-” before he could finish his sentence, your hand grabbed another piece of paper from his desk and smacked it over his lips.

as soon as you left the paper, it floated down to the floor and you gave him a grin, “i can still kiss you!” peter stood there, giving you a blank look which made you chuckle, “sorry.”

“does this mean we can’t hold hands anymore?” peter asked, feeling a little at ease now that you were here with him. it gave him a sense of calm in your presence. in this moment. his senses didn’t feel on override. he was just trying to focus on you and your cute thinking face.

“maybe you should relax a little.” you looked at him, eyes softly boring into his soft, brown ones.

“how?” you offered him a hand and after slight hesitation, he placed his palm against yours. you grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently.

“maybe don’t try to focus on the ‘i’m super sticky, i stick to everything i see’ part?” you suggested, making him laugh. you took a deep breath, prompting him to do the same and it seemed to work. peter released your hand and it just fell to your side, as it would normally have.

peter gave you a huge smile, wrapping his arms around your waist, “god, you don’t wanna know how much i hated staying away from you!”

you chuckled, giving him a quick kiss. pulling back too soon for peter’s liking. however, before he could protest or pull you back for another kiss, you patted his chest twice.

“okay, sticky guy, go take a shower now.”

[weepylucifer]

Disco Elysium if it was a Hollywood Blockbuster

(inspired by the trailer by @brainrotdotorg)

Harry has to have a glowup arc where he regains his faith in his job and ability to be a good cop. The police isn't criticized here apart from maybe some handwaves at "a few bad apples" rhetoric. In the climactic moment, the phasmid appears and tells him it is his duty and his destiny... to reform the RCM

Because we don't have time for a nuanced take on addiction in this 90-minute movie, the narrative just turns on a dime halfway through to portraying Harry's alcoholism as rugged and badass instead of pathetic, or he suddenly stops drinking when he gets his groove back, with no withdrawal effects shown. The whole thing about speed helping him be better at his job doesn't factor in; Harry drinks and does drugs because he's sad about Dora and there's nothing more to it. All he needed was to buck up and focus on being the best cop in all of Revachol

Klaasje is portrayed as a one-dimensional scheming femme fatale. Her backstory doesn't really come up. She's dumbed down so that Harry can triumph over her, and is also genuinely attracted to him for some reason, "I am Sherlocked" style

Ruby is either cut entirely, or she's genuinely a predatory lesbian and that's it. If the latter, she shoots herself in the head in front of Harry and Kim and they make a MCU-style "Well that happened" quip about it

No political quests! We don't have time for that. Actually, both communism and fascism are only mentioned once in a backstory dump as stuff that happened in a bygone era. If anything, the film ends up really riding for moralism by complete accident

The film makers don't really know what to do with Kim, so he gets reduced to a guy that stands around and delivers snarky one-liners

The Hardie Boys are in one short interrogation scene, not quite enough to make casual moviegoers care when half of them are gunned down

Fan-favorite characters such as Cindy, Cuno or the Speedfreaks can be seen once in the background of a group scene, but have no lines (you KNOW hollywood couldn't handle the Cuno). It's announced on the director's insta as "a little easter egg for eagle-eyed fans"

Joyce has a way more active role, but also her character turns into an utterly flat "milf girlboss" type who gives Harry and Kim direct instructions on what to do, Madame Director style. The movie writers pat themselves on the backs for being more progressive and feminist than the source material. Also she has nothing to do with the mercs, they just sort of... appeared. Don't think about it too hard! It's stressed repeatedly that they're "rogue agents" and it's really nobody's fault that they're there

Evrart is a corrupt mob boss and that's it. He will be played by a skinny actor in a fatsuit. He also doesn't help find Harry's gun, Joyce has someone retrieve it offscreen so she can gravely and meaningfully hand it to him just in time for the mercenary tribunal

The Deserter just kinda being a shitty sad old man would be too anticlimactic for our summer blockbuster, so he is rewritten to be some kind of evil mastermind. Maybe he even directly communicates with Klaasje and tells her what to do, again "I am Sherlocked" style

The tribunal absolutely does end with RCM backup triumphantly arriving to save the day, led by Jean who underwent a mini-arc offscreen about putting his differences with Harry aside because at the end of the day, they're both cops, and goddamn it, cops help each other. He dramatically takes the wig off and chucks it on the ground to signal his character growth, and everything

No homo-sexual underground thought. The Smoker on the Balcony is allowed to show up in one scene, where he flirtily waves at Kim and Harry. Kim nods at him. Disney's first gay character--

There's a moment where Kim talks to Jean, expressing doubt about Harry. Cut to Harry doing something goofy across the room from them. Jean briefly glances at it, shakes his head, turns back to Kim and says gruffly: "He's a loose cannon... but he gets the job done." This is supposed to be a good thing

[m1ssunderstanding]

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day Five

The thing is I absolutely love the album that comes out of this mess. Like I know a lot of people do not like Let It Be, but so many of my favorite songs are on it. One of them being “I Me Mine.” The walz element is haunting, and I can read the lyrics as anti-capitalist even though George himself mostly wasn’t. 

Laughing my head off at two boys from one of the best grammar schools in England, who have at this point made millions off of their writing, genuinely not knowing whether it should be “more freer” or “more freely”

The difference in how George shows Paul his new song vs John is striking. For Paul, he’s relaxed, nonchalant. For John, he stands up and performs it. And I think both are a defense mechanism, poor baby, because clearly, although Paul was very supportive of the song while they were alone, when John is roasting it, Paul just laughs along and George has to go “I don’t give a fuck whether you like it.” 

Ah, the famous “up-against-a-wall” conversation. Paul comes in all dominant and sure. “Haven’t you written anything else? Haven’t you?” But then John touches him, and makes him laugh, and Paul’s a melted, goo-goo-eyes mess. This is the real reason why John got to be the leader isn’t it? Because Paul was too damn soft on him to ever follow through with his bossiness.

Their scouse sounds BEAUTIFUL compared to the stupid ugly RP and MLH’s transatlantic shit.

“And now John’d like to say a few words on the subject.” John starts singing, Paul strums along and joins in on the “chorus.” They can’t communicate like healthy people, but they Can do this. 

So Peter Jackson took out Paul’s bitchy nod at Yoko as he’s stealing her man in real time right in front of her eyes. Unforgivable. But he kept in this adorable laugh, so that’s something. 

Three more covers that I think *mean something* “Stand By Me” and “Spinning Like a Top” by Paul, followed by “You Win Again” by John. Yoko’s sweet little shoulder kiss. Thank you for taking care of the poor wet kitten, girly. Maybe don’t introduce the poor wet kitten to heroine, but you do you, I guess. (OP recognizes that poor wet kitten is also an adult capable of making his own decisions)

The cut from Paul literally dancing to get John’s attention straight to John dancing with Yoko while inside Paul’s head a silver hammer is clanging ominously. I can’t. Followed by the knowing, loving smile from Ringo to Paul. You know, those moments when you validate your friend’s bitchy thoughts with a look. 

George is literally SO big inside himself, you know? You have to have superhuman self-love abilities to watch your friend – who is supposed to be helping you – shamelessly make fun of your art . . . and just “Do you wanna do that walz on the show? That’d be great.”

But did you guys know John was actually a really great mover?

“Yes, alright. Just sod off.” I love John. Paul’s people-pleasing ass would literally die first and he needs John to do this kind of shit for him and John’s only too happy to.

The moment when Paul and John are on the same wavelength about Dennis O’Dell’s stage. 

OK but. Did John get the clear plastic idea from Yoko’s art exhibits? 

“Any time we do anything it’s always got to be the best.” Poor Ringo. They’re all literally so tired of carrying so much weight for such a long time. 

“See, I’d watch an hour of him just playing the piano. Cause he’s so great.” With that fond, loving, smile. SUCH big dick energy here. The others could NEVER. 

“And I’ll have the plastic when you’re finished.” Literally for what, though? John, you little hoarding goblin. 

And then Ringo responding to MLH’s “I love you” with “Yes, I love you too.” Yeah, Ringo wins the prize for most healthy beatle of the day. 

*Pattie Boyd voice* “I just wish I knew what was going on there. But something. Something.”

Ugh, John looks so hurt. So tender. So heartbroken. While Paul is over there playing a damn funeral march because that’s the only way he lets himself express anything. But I actually love how Dennis O’Dell knows the clearest path to cheering John up is to say that Paul liked his idea. And how well it works. They’re literally so obvious to everyone but themselves. 

I love the bit when John walks in on the rest of them discussing the live show and MLH calls, “We’ve decided. We’re going to Africa.” And Paul hurries to cut in, “No we’re NOT.” Because he knows exactly how John can get and he’s going to nip this in the bud before John gets let down. And of course, John is all “YEAH LETS GO LETS GO!” And he’s talking about how they always wish they were recording abroad. “We could be in LA, or FRANCE.” (side eye emoji) 

Paul’s “Well said, John.” and “I’ve seen it, John. I went to the premiere. I thought you were great.” Why do all your compliments to him have to be in silly voices? Like, I know you think everyone is going to call you a pussy for saying something genuinely kind to your best friend, but they’re not, and he needs it. 

Holy shit this was a long day. See you all tomorrow with another long-winded-ass post.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Heart's Communication

Because I am never not thinking about Moonlight Chicken, I was thinking about Heart and his backstory around going deaf. From my understanding of Leng's conversation with Li Ming, Heart was not born deaf but went deaf after an illness a few years back. Which is making me wonder about Heart and his ability to vocalize.

To be clear before I continue, I am NOT saying I think Heart needs to or should vocalize only that I wonder if he can.

See, my grandmother went deaf at 12, and while she does have a deaf accent, it is very minimal, because she grew up being able to hear. But if you listen to her talk, she still does have a deaf accent. This is only a relevant statement because she speaks English which isn't tonal in the way that Thai is and I don't know if having even a small deaf accent with tonal languages would make it difficult to understand.

Why am I wondering if Heart can vocalize? And if he can if what he is saying could be understood without sign language to support it?

Because to me it changes how I view Heart. His parents don't sign, they might understand some of his signs, but they very clearly are using that same spiral notebook to talk to him, leaving him slips of paper on the fridge and have not once (in their granted minimal screen time) been shown to use any sign language. And yes, writing is functional, it'll work, it gets the job done, but it's slow and laborious. They very obviously do not know how to navigate having a deaf son, and are either ashamed at his deafness, thus hiding him away, or doing what many able-bodied people do to disabled people and infantilizing their son, not as much hiding him as keeping him in a cage for protection.

So... If Heart can speak and be understood, and he is intentionally withholding his voice then that paints a different picture to me of what Heart is doing/who he is as a character. If he is intentionally withholding his voice, then he is purposefully trying to force his parents to engage with him in the new context of his life. He is intentionally making it as difficult for them to understand him as they are making it difficult for him to understand them because they don't know sign language.

If he can't be understood when he speaks, then he has little to no control over his own connection to people. He can't try to force his parents hand here, he can't issue any test, he is just completely cut off from the hearing world at large. To me, if he can't be understood when he speaks and therefore lost his voice as well, he has less power over his parents, because he has nothing to fall back on if the isolation of not being able to communicate ever gets to be too much.

Either way he is facing the same reality. His parents do not care enough about him to adapt the same way he has had to.

And we know Heart uses people's ableism against them. He pretends not to understand what is happening when Jim and Li Ming are called in to talk about the alcohol in order to get out of trouble, but Li Ming calls him out on it and continues to call him out on it (re: the mop). If Heart can be understood when he speaks then, once again, it paints a different picture of what he is trying to do with Li Ming. If he is intentionally withholding his voice so that Li Ming will under-estimate him, will leave him alone, won't make him work, won't be able to get mad at him for framing Li Ming for the alcohol. Because, obviously, if he can't talk and he can't hear he didn't know what he was doing. But NO because Li Ming sees Heart trying to use his deafness and is like "write it down then" (I will come to your level) because he has (presumably) never met a deaf person and therefore has no knowledge of sign language, but he bridges the communication gap in the only way he knows how. If Heart knows that Li Ming has immediately caught on to the fact Heart plays up his helplessness to get what he wants, and Heart is intentionally withholding his voice then maybe he is testing Li Ming. Will this be someone who will stop treating him like he's fragile? Will this be someone who will try at all? And he does. And then it doesn't matter if he can be understood through speech, because he doesn't need to. He has his language and Li Ming has it too. It's not a life line, it's proof.

If he can't be understood through speech, then Li Ming showing interest in and working to actually learn sign language feels like more of a lifeline to me. It's allowing Heart to have and hold power he hasn't been able to have in years, because he can finally be understood. Because he is more easily able to speak his mind, to connect and relate to someone, to show and express his personality. No matter what, he won't be as isolated any more.

Either way the outcome is the same, he has found someone that cares enough about him to adapt the same way he has had to.

Either way it is a heart breaking realization that his own family won't put in the work, and a heart warming realization that to someone he is still worth putting in the work for.

Heart does not need to speak, he doesn't need to vocalize. I don't think we as an audience have a right to know whether or not he can speak, or what his voice would sound like if he did. Heart has language, and plenty of it. So I guess I wrote all of this this just because I want to speculate about Heart's motivations and to try to figure out how much agency Heart has over his own isolation.

[justahumblememefarmer]

Ultimate Doctor Who Poll Round 2 - Matchup 13

Episode Summaries under the cut

3: World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls - Season 10, Episodes 11 & 12: In order to give Missy a test on saving people, he takes her to follow a distress signal, with Bill and Nardole as her companions. They arrive at a ship falling into a black hole. Bill is shot and mysterious figures from the bottom of the ship come to take her away. On the other end of the ship, further from the black hole, time moves much faster. 10 years passes for Bill while only a few minutes pass for the rest of the crew at the top of the ship. When they finally get down they find that Bill has been converted into an original Mondasian Cyberman, and that an earlier incarnation of the Master has been pulling the strings.

After Cybermen begin to attack them, they all escape to a different floor, where they find a village of farmers and prepare them for a Cybermen invasion. The Masters decide to leave to find the Masters broken TARDIS, which Missy can repair. The Doctor pleads with them to stay and help, appealing more to Missy, knowing how much she's changed. They ignore him, but when they get to the elevator Missy stabs the Master, stating that it's time they sided with the Doctor. The Master shoots Missy in revenge.

The Doctor and Bill work to fight off the Cybermen while Nardole gets the humans to safety. The Doctor is severely wounded and collapses. Bill goes to him and Heather, an interdimensional being using a girl Bill had a crush on as a form, appears. She restores Bill to a human appearance and makes her a being like herself, then they return to the TARDIS with the Doctor. The two leave the Doctor and go to travel the stars. The Doctor begins to regenerate, but refuses to change again. The TARDIS takes him to a mystery location where he encounters his first incarnation.

131: The Unquiet Dead - Season 1, Episode 3: The Doctor takes Rose back to the past, where they encounter Charles Dickens during a reading of A Christmas Carol, where a real ghost seems to attack. They track the ghost back to a morgue, where they learn there has been an ongoing problem with the corpses being possessed. The mortician's assistant as some psychic abilities, which the Doctor uses to communicate with the ghosts. They reveal themselves to be the Gelf, a species who's physical forms were destroyed in the Time War, the same war that destroyed the Doctor's species. They ask that they be allowed to take deceased human bodies as their new physical forms, which Rose objects to. The Doctor allows it, but when they open a path for the Gelf to come through, they insist that they will take over the whole planet. The mortician's assistant closes the bridge, killing herself in the process, but saving the world.

(Beat #126: The Vampires of Venice in Round 1)

[cipheramnesia]

I started "A Girl & Her Dog" but just put a bunch of things together so I need to start it over. Or do I? Maybe things changed since last time. I consider any margin under five percent effectively a tie.

Propaganda under the cut.

Saw Down Heaven: The sequel to a Nanowrimo novel, Girl Bites God, picks up the story with Alice Buzzsaw, the reanimated corpse of one of the religious zealots killed last novel, who has become home to a small colony of emotionally sensitive mutant tapeworms. She is taken in by "Iggy," a disabled superstring mechanic who is trying to separate her neighborhood from the authorian oppression of the FCC grid, which helps to prevent the physical world from experiencing a sudden catastrophic entropic collapse but is also used to rigorously oppress the ability of the US population to experience free thought. In the same neighborhood lives AthenA6, former involuntarily institutionalized experimental guinea pig, now subject of a resumed national manhunt due to her ability to process the disruptive anomalous energy trying to destroy all physical matter, ever since the last FCC chairman was killed by a mutated video spider. This is enough of an excuse to lay seige to the upstart off grid community, but they'll have to contend with Alice Buzzsaw, AthenA6, and other locals like Fireball Jill who don't want any cops on their streets. Ghastly, gory anarchy.

A Girl And Her Dog: Intentionally rude and obviously reactive counter to Harlan Ellison's "A Boy And His Dog," not to mention purposefully arrogant to even think of such an undertaking. Roz is a former inhabitant of one of the underground cities on a planet colonized by humans in a far, far distant future which, several thousand years after colonization had the human civilization destroyed thanks to a disaster which resulted in a second sun and a hostile radioactive surface, and the story itself takes place several hundred more years after the disaster. Once imprisoned and abused by the brutal psychic warlord and god eater Viktor Blud, she is returning to his menagerie in the crystal forest for revenge. Her companion is Champ, one of the animals mistreated by Vik, a sort of lizard ant eater pangolin porcupine creature roughly the size of a wolf and with retractable teeth. Champ had a kind of powerful empathic sensitivity that allows him to navigate and sometimes avoid the psychic domination of Vik, and with Roz they have a plan to turn the tables, but it's going to take a lot of dead gods. Luckily, the whole planet is lousy with em. They're joined by Mel, a deserter from the giants teeth valley, formerly a soldier in their dragon tooth army but now fascinated by the road to revenge Roz is walking. It's going to be ugly and messy.

Short Change Hero: Obsidian Bonesplinter made the jump from ensemble ttrpg character to main character of her own world and there's not any going back. Dishwasher at mob front by day, bouncer by night, once in awhile part time knee cap breaker, she's perfectly content with drinking her way through a haze of meaningless sex and violence until a few of her friends from back home show up to visit in the big city. They barely even make it out of the train station before one of the girls is brutally murdered and then they make an even worse mistake: talking to the city guards. Now Obsidian has to untangle the mess of dirty cops and mobsters that goes all the way to the top - which she already knew, but it's a lot different when it's actively trying to kill her and her two friends instead of passively letting her drink and fight herself to death. A hardboiled detective story in a noir fantasy setting. The only thing shorter than Obsidian is her temper.

[bardofhype]

hello darkest dungeon and lobotomy corporation communities

i saw a post in the darkest dungeon tag talking about how DD was sort of like LobCorp, except with everything gothic instead of the Kabbalah. And though I didn't quite have thoughts about it at the moment of seeing it, I think I silently agreed with it, to the point where my brain went "hey you know what would be funny" so... here I am, about to assign all of Darkest Dungeon's heroes what I believe would be the EGO suits that best fit them. take this as a LobCorp DD au if you'd like, but either way, I'll put the list (and explanations for each) under the cut, for courtesy. Here we go.

Abomination - Cobalt Scar (Big and Will Be Bad Wolf) (Yes, this is going to be in alphabetical order. Bear with me.) For those who don't know much about Lobotomy Corporation, a lot of the Abnormalities/monsters in the facility are based off of urban legends and fairy tales from different corners of the globe, with a few grim twists here and there. Big and Will Be Bad Wolf (and a different Abno we'll get to pretty soon) is based off of Little Red Riding Hood, where- from the Wolf's point of view- he was expected to be bad, and his hunger ended up making that expectation his destiny. And. Well. It's Bigby we're talking about here. Dude is trying so hard to not be a terrifying monster, to keep it at bay... but sometimes it has to come out, whether he wants it to or not. And in Lobotomy Corporation... well, the agents themselves don't get to choose which EGO suits they have.

Antiquarian - Gold Rush (The King of Greed) This one was a little tougher to pin down, but I eventually decided to go with the semi-obvious choice. The King of Greed is one of three (technically four if you take Ruina into account) Abnormalities that are part of a Magical Girl group- heroes of the world who were corrupted in one way or another by different events. The one Josephine here has been assigned used to be the Magical Girl of Happiness, until that desire for happiness turned to obsession, which turned into greed- and she sealed herself inside a case of amber for the sin of ravenous hunger for every earthly pleasure there was. Josephine may not share such a desire so outwardly and for so many things, but she does have that eagle eye for valuables and shiny objects...

Arbalest - Bear Paws/The Forgotten (Happy Teddy Bear) Happy Teddy Bear is an Abnormality based around abandonment and memory, coming in the shape of... well, a giant stuffed teddy bear that's a little worse for wear after its child grew up and left it. Each Abnormality has a special ability that can trigger upon a certain condition being fulfilled, and Happy Teddy Bear's activates if you send the same employee to its containment twice in a row- in which it hugs the employee to death, not wanting to be abandoned again. Missandrei wasn't quite abandoned, but her backstory involving the death of innocence and being left on her own with nothing but a crossbow- not to mention one of her Crimson Court trinkets being a stuffed animal called Childhood Treasure- definitely makes her a good candidate for this. (Though it should be mentioned that she wouldn't have Happy Teddy Bear's EGO weapon, as it's too close range for her. She'd have Parasite Tree's crossbow. "what the fuck is a Parasite Tree" don't worry about it :] )

Bounty Hunter - Crimson Scar (Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary) Told you we'd get to the other Little Red abno. Based on the titular character herself, Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary follows a Little Red who's become a soldier for hire, hunting down the Wolf from her nightmares whenever she can, swearing that she will be the one to kill it. Hell, she has a mechanic where she'll breach containment if Big and Will Be Bad Wolf does so as well, just to fight him. It's nuts. You know Tardif would respect the shit out of that. And dare I say it, he might even see himself in the Abnormality, to an extent- dude has a Vengeful Kill List for a reason, and the both of them have some pretty deadly methods of dealing with their foes... "Does this imply Tardif and Bigby are enemies in this AU?" No, Bigby's just a lot more scared of Tardif that he would be normally, even when the big guy doesn't even have that much aggression towards him. Very funny "rivalry", if you can really call it that.

Crusader - Pink (Army in Pink/Black) Before you say anything, he has One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deed's EGO gift. I promise we'll get into the tasty religion Abnos later. Just lemme explain. Army in Pink/Black is one of the few Abnos in this whole thing where- if you hadn't checked the wiki beforehand and spoiled yourself- the game lies to you about what they are and you don't even know it. It starts out as a ZAYIN grade- the lowest threat level possible- and it seems to do nothing but benefit your employees at first. But then, when the conditions are right and it breaches... it wrecks hell, or it has the very good chance of doing so if you're not properly prepared. And after a good bit of time, it'll reveal it's actually an ALEPH- the highest threat level possible. It's still willing to benefit the facility even after all that, but... now you know you have to be careful around it, because it can and will destroy your shit. To me, that just kinda screams Reynauld. A guy with humble beginnings who simply signed onto the army to provide for his family, who then became an absolute powerhouse with little to no mercy. And I know the EGO set involves a gun, but like. Why not see what the holy knight can cook with that.

Duelist - Frost Splinter (The Snow Queen) Yeah I'm bring Darkest Dungeon II into this as well. Because the two new girlies deserve it. The Snow Queen is based on the story of the same name, where after a series of events, the titular character freezes the heart of someone who was led to her Snow Palace so that he could not feel the cold anymore. Not much of the story is important for the context of this list, but what is important is that her special ability involves freezing an employee and then having a different employee duel her for the frozen employee's freedom. Sahar has probably dueled with her many times while in the facility, and it's never been a grueling task for her- in fact, she enjoys the stakes in place, as she believes it brings out the fierceness in both her and her opponent- though don't get her wrong. She does not see this as entertainment or play-fighting. Simply a honorable duel.

Grave Robber - Cherry Blossoms (Grave of Cherry Blossoms) Had a difficult time pinning this one down. Not because there were no good options- I just didn't know which one fit the most at first. After reading over Grave of Cherry Blossoms, though, I think this is the right choice. Nourishment from the dead, using what they had for themself to the benefit of the many in a kinda twisted way... Audrey would probably raise an eyebrow at the specific methods used, but she can't help but think it clever. Some things do look more beautiful with a lot of blood on them, after all. ... and speaking of blood,

Flagellant - Paradise Lost (WhiteNight) Here's the tasty religious horror shit right here, babey!! This is where it's at!! Possibly- maybe arguably- the most dangerous ALEPH in the entire series, this thing wants to be God so, so bad. And the worst part is that it probably is, and it's fucking terrifying about it. The first time it ever breaches, it's when it's transforming into WhiteNight in the first place- oh, yeah, forgot to mention that this guy first comes into the facility as a ZAYIN-grade called Plague Doctor who gives blessings to the first twelve people (all having to be different people) to visit it, only to reveal that those "blessings" were actually WhiteNight marking them as Apostles, and OOPS! THOSE EMPLOYEES ARE JUST FUCKING DEAD NOW, SAVE FOR ONE THAT'S THE HERETIC APOSTLE THAT BETRAYS THE THING BY CONFESSING TO A DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS ABNORMALITY ENTIRELY- All I'm saying is, Damien would really like this guy. And in as unhealthy a fashion as you could imagine.

Hellion - Wingbeat (Fairy Festival) Fairy Festival is an Abnormality that is weird in a good way to me. You see, its special ability is sending out a group of fairies to aid and heal any employee that had a normal or good Work with it. These little fairies heal 10% of the employee's max health pool for 8 seconds, and these 8 second are so, so vital, because while these fairies are capable of benefiting the facility and the emplotees, they are also capable of gruesome employee instadeath by eating the employee they were sent to care for it if said employee was sent to work on anything but Fairy Festival. After eventually getting over the horrors of that, I think Boudica honestly respects that sort of system. You turn attention to something else while they're trying to thank you? You get what you deserve. That and the cannibalism.

Highwayman - Regret/Magic Bullet (Forsaken Murderer/Der Freischutz) Listen. I was split on this for so long but I know- I just know- he has stuff from both of them. I could not choose between the two. Probably started with Regret first, then got Magic Bullet a few weeks later- because the Manager is an evil bastard- and has the EGO gifts of both of them. Most Haunted Employee of the Month. Forsaken Murderer is kind of what it says on the tin- the story goes into a lot more specifics that outright involves experimental cruelty, but such specifics are not why this Abnormality was a candidate for Dismas here. It's moreso the themes of freedom despite being so heavily restrained, whether physical or otherwise. It's the trauma, and the illusions/hallucinations that came about because of that. It's so- I want to word my thoughts on this better, but I hope you see the vision with this half. As for Der Freischutz... roughly German for "The Marksman", and also based on the tale "Freischutz". A gunman who made a deal with the Devil, for a gun whose magic bullets could hit anyone, no matter what- but the last bullet was meant to puncture his beloved... so he went and killed every single loved one of his, so that the bullet shot through his own heart instead. Do you see it. Do you understand the vision. The absolute torture. When you add on the context that the Magic Bullet EGO weapon- a rifle- pierces through everything and can damage an entire corridor of enemies and allies alike and does not care to stop friendly fire, it's just. Dismas practically requires a mental counselor at the end of each day because of this shit.

Houndmaster - Beak (Punishing Bird) To make a long story short, there's these three specific birds in the game that are all linked- similar to the Magical Girl abnos, but much more fucked. One of these birds is Small Bird, aka Punishing Bird, whose story involving wanting to punish any wrongdoers in the forest it and the other birds lived in, but someone said he couldn't possibly do such a thing, due to how small his beak was- "the punishment wouldn't hurt at all." So Small Bird grew a fucking mouth on his stomach to devour wrongdoers. William really would not like that sense of punishment, but he'd understand it was just trying to protect what it loved. When it inevitably breaches (and it will do this often), he just lets it sit on his head and peck at him. It's fine, as long as he doesn't hit it back. "Why not any of the funny dog abnormalities???" Because his dog's still alive here and he doesn't want to betray her trust behind her back. (Dogs are man's best friend, after all.)

Jester - Da Capo (The Silent Orchestra) The Silent Orchestra is the third ALEPH to appear on this list, but unlike the other two, this one at least lets you know it's ALEPH pretty much right away! No surprises with this guy, but lots of fear! His containment breach is literally him conducting a whole orchestra and making everyone around him take physical, mental, emotional- pretty much any type of damage you can get in the game. And when the finale happens, anyone with less than great sanity after the rest of the performance dies. And considering what the hell Sarmenti did to that royal court the one time, I think he's one of the people to give the Abnormality a standing ovation. Real great music, even if he couldn't really hear it.

Leper - Spore (The Little Prince) I'll be honest, this is what got me to actually read The Little Prince's wiki page & story in full for the first time, and oh my god. It. I want to be able to describe it, but words are failing me right now. Just trust me when I say that Baldwin would feel sympathetic for it after finding out the story himself, and would be the only one of the team to request the Abnormality's EGO gear himself. (It does help that it's actually pretty decent gear, too, in my opinion.)

Man-at-Arms - The Sword Sharpened with Tears (Knight of Despair) The second Magical Girl on our list!! This time, the Knight of Despair- who used to be the Magical Girl of Justice who sought to protect and uphold the law, but realized after many years that nothing was upheld on her watch, and she had failed to protect anyone. Barristan can certainly relate, not being able to protect the men under his own order during the war. The blade that comes with the EGO set doesn't quite feel right at first, but now he wields it with what he hopes is a truly noble purpose.

Musketeer - Heaven (The Burrowing Heaven) With how little we know about Margaret and her past, this is actually one of the harder ones to try and figure out. But a single thought was what won me over to this concept, and I really need you to bear with me on this one. In this universe, what if this is what Margaret saw when the bullseye target shifted in her sight? What if she somehow caught a glimpse of that creature and just... knew she needed to figure out where the hell that came from? Just an idea. I hope we learn more about Margaret at some point.

Occultist - Sound of a Star (Blue Star) Hello fourth ALEPH on the list and second ALEPH to make your intentions known as soon as you show up. So Blue Star is... interesting. Its story involves employees treating it as some sort of god or deity, practically making an entire religion around it, and it's highly implied- if not explicitly stated- that it's a result of the Abnormality itself corrupting their minds, to the point that the company had to issue a statement about it. Something in me has the feeling that Alhazred would be one of the agents whose mind got corrupted by it, but due to training he received before being hired by L Corp, he was actually able to resist most of Blue Star's little mental antics- which probably ends up being the reason why he gets the EGO set in the first place. There is a dark curiosity lingering in him, though...

Plague Doctor - Solemn Lament (Funeral of the Dead Butterflies) I know I mentioned the Abnormality called Plague Doctor back during Flagellant's section, but considering what that led to, I don't think I'm gonna do that to Paracelsus. Plus, I think she'd be more interested in a personification of Death, anyhow. An arguably peaceful rendition of it, even- the Funeral of the Dead Butterflies understands that everyone's end comes eventually, and it wants to comfort those who die and have nowhere else to go in this place. It's got the coffin for a reason, after all- it wanted to be a savior, a long time ago. Much like a certain doctor who thought she could best Death.

Runaway - Fourth Match Flame (Scorched Girl) Based on the story "The Little Match Girl", this Abnormality takes the form of a charred, almost innocently cartoonish silhouette of a young girl, with a lit match piercing through her torso. Do I gotta say it, even. Bonnie probably ends up being good friends with the Scorched Girl, somehow, due to somewhat similar trauma. Or at least she'll really like using the flamethrower that comes with the EGO set.

Shieldbreaker - In the Name of Love and Hate (The Queen of Hatred) All the Magical Girls (sans Servant of Wrath) are here!!!! (celebratory emojis) The Queen of Hatred used to be the Magical Girl of Love, until too much peace and her strong mindset towards justice caused her to have a thought: "If there's too much good in the world, who will be the villain I have to protect everyone from?" Eventually, she became the villain herself, just for a balance of order to the world. Nowadays, she's actually relatively friendly with all the employees of the facility- even doing a friendly breach to help the employees with containing other Abnormalities- but if there's too much peace for a long time, she'll start having those familiar doubts... That's not the reason Amani was given her EGO, however. The reason is for what the Queen of Hatred looks like after she breaches with hostile intent- a giant winged serpent, with hands coming out the sides of its head. The Manager said its shape reminded them of her. Amani does not like the Manager. But she can't deny the effectiveness of the equipment given to her.

Vestal - Pleasure (Porccubus) Remember the possibilities of funny dog Abnormalities I mentioned back with Houndmaster? This is one of them. Imagine a poppy but looked like a dog and it was giant and it floated. Oh, and you can get addicted to petting its thorns because getting pricked by one causes you to experience a very large dose of an indescribable joy that the average human cannot hope to withstand. So now you might be thinking. "How the hell would Junia get this thing's EGO with all her repression?" Yeah, funnily enough, I think she tries her hardest to avoid this Abnormality at all costs, but she's been in there a few times and she claims it wasn't that bad, actually. That said, she hasn't pet it yet.

[achilleslyre]

um.... all of them? 👉👈

hehe yessss 🫰 putting most of this under the cut tho cause i’m a blabberrrr

1. Who is your favorite Naruto character and why?

yahiko! for some reason somehow he over took sasuke/itachi but it’s okay cause they’re both revolutionaries. anyways i love him cause he’s one of the very few revolutionaries and his point of view and optimism is very endearing.. he truly believes that the OG akatsuki can change the ninja world and put fighting aside and end needless ninja death and the destruction of smaller countries. his loyalty and belief in nagato and konan is so good i gobble it up every time. also something about the way he haunts konan and nagato to the bone after his death and how they cannot leave him behind is so appealing. the codependencyyyyy 🤌

2. Favourite team

hmm.. if we’re talking in general probably team 8. i think they have really fun abilities that pair together very interestingly and i also rlly like shino. if we’re talking fav team with how they work together then team 10… i feel like they’re the only team that truly works as a team and they’re kinda what everyone wants team 7 every other team to be. inoshikocho are besties and they work together and communicate with each other on what needs to change and what they need from each other really well. they’re kinda winning.

3. Favourite villain

not saying itachi is kinda gonna hurt, but i gotta say pein. as i was saying with answer 1 smth smth nagato/konans grief haunts them and literally follows them around smth smth won’t leave yahiko behind smth smth they can’t have yahiko not be the face of the akatsuki smth smth i love you ame trio

4. Naruto or Naruto shippuden

classic for story and energy, shippuden for characters (not development, but like new characters…. i love you yahiko yamato kushina team taka)

5. Fav. Naruto movie

i have never seen one

6. Character you dislike, and why

my least fave chara is deidara cause i’m a haterrr (lol i’d say jk but this is just true. he’s incredibly annoying to me and his battles are just plain boring cause he just stands on a bird and monologues. but what really gets me is that he kept coming back. mfer was supposed to die two times and i was so relieved but his annoying ass just kept returning and that’s why instead of just finding him annoying smth inside me switched and genuine hatred came to exist LMFAO. genuinely zero reasonable answers for him to be my least fave unlike if i were to talk about tobirama or kakashi 💀)

7. Fav. character in new generation?

? i don’t read boruto. ig if i had to pick solely off looks i like that adopted son of naruto. kawaki? idk his name and idc enough.. but he’s got a face tatt and that’s good enough for me. also if i remember correctly i think he has the same VA as ash lynx

8. Manga or anime ( Naruto )

manga

9. Fav. ship, and why

narusasu. need i explain?

10. OTP

narusasu. not rlly sure why there’s 9 and 10 here, 10 seems kinda redundant

11. Fav. technique

mmm probably dance of the shikigami… not only is it beautiful to look at but the fact that konan developed this jutsu on her own when she was child is very cool and impressive. most new jutsus by children are like add ons from a given family jutsu/taught jutsu but the fact she did this all on her own is really smth. also 600 billion paper bombs. i do also like gentle fist and any byakugan techniques in general tbh.

12. Fav. clan

uchiha, next. (i do have to give special mention to aburame and uzumaki though tbh)

13. Uchiha vs Senju

uchiha, next.

14. Fav. OT3

yahikonanagato 🔛🔝

15. What country would you want to live in ( Land Of; Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning or Earth )

lightning, altho this is different than my fave country/village

16. Favorite Jutsu element?

lightning or wood (water/earth) are most interesting to me

17. Do you like new generation?

no. i don’t know them, but that is for a reason.

18. Do you like canon ships?

no. the ending and end pairings are simply to be able to have a money grab and continue with a sequel. it disregards interactions and character development that persists though the entire manga up until the last chapter. it’s genuinely just out of no where and complete disrespect for what kishimoto had written up until this point.

19. What you think about ending?

what ending? i’m jk. as i said the ending comes completely out of no where and disregards the whole story in favour of being able to have a money grab for a sequel. had it ended at 698 i would have been happy. had sasuke and naruto just both died at 698 i would have been happier.

20. Fav. no canon ship?

i was gonna try to think of one that i haven’t said to give narusau and ame trio a break but i can’t 😭

21. Fav. canon ship?

minakushi or inosai ig

22. Fav. Akatsuki member,and why?

gonna say this excludes original akatsuki… itachi.. but i love you konan/nagato….. it pains me to not say you.. but sorry itachi is insane and his relationship with sasuke is insane and his whole story is gutting and also i’m a little freak

23. Who is the best hokage?

tsunade. she may still be apart of the system but at least she recognizes that it’s a bad system.

24. Team 7 fav. moments?

25. Fav. moments in anime/manga?

hmm.. tbh hard to say cause i forget everything that happened ever when i’m asked this. what’s up there is definitely 600 billion paper bombs, sasuke not being able to kill naruto calmly in vote2, any neji battle in classic, kakashi vs obito in kamui, and naruto sobbing during the larger half of vote1. in no particular order + huge chance i’m missing smth that is so obviously the best to me lol.

26. Which character you want to be your teacher and why?

killer b? i’d like to say tsunade but i don’t particularly think she’d be my style of fighting/jutsu. i’d hate to say jiraiya but i fear he would be my style however i’d dread being around him and i think his ‘leave ya to it’ way of teaching probably wouldn’t work great for me. killer b i think i would be able to get along with and would probably be a good/fair teacher for what i presume my style would be.

27. Fav. friendship

i do love a good yamato and sai friendship. i love team taka. i wouldn’t call it a friendship, but i do enjoy the filler that creates a relationship between itachi and juuzou. i think kushina and mikoto as well are super important and are very meaningful friends due to both their circumstances. yeah, i think it’d have to be that. mikoto and kushina.

[altairtalisman]

Bianca's Bio

"I'm sorry Sal, I'll be seeing them before you."

More details on Bianca is under the cut

Name: Bianca Rosso (née Nimuba)

Age: 228

Height: 162 cm

Birthday: 22 Tivere 1208

Orientation: Cisgender Demiromantic Pansexual Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Species: Elf

Country of Birth: Balwirk

Likes: Her family, open communication, festivals

Dislikes: Being alone, secrets, alcohol, smell of cigars

Hobbies: Needlework, playing the violin

Personality: Friendly with a bit of a determined streak, she's fairly popular within the Hirdiellese neighbourhood that she lives in. Unconsciously, she shares her poor ability to deal with emotions with Giselle and ironically doesn't have the best communication skills when that happens

Style: Short sleeved tops with self-modified skirts and durable boots, wears a golden sash around her waist to complement her usual attire. Is never seen without her choker and the blue cloth used to tie her hair

Status: Dead (DOD: 10 Tierna 1436)

Abilities: Naturally proficient with lightning magic

Background: Growing up without a permanent place to call home, Bianca was used to travelling with Giselle as she was able to learn a lot about different cultures across the Steruleang continent. Despite Giselle's standoffish nature, Bianca knew that her mother showed her love in her own way and never once complained about how she was raised. As she grew older however, Bianca noticed that Giselle appeared different from other elves and that she didn't fully resemble her moth either. Curious, she decided to ask her mother about it but Giselle avoided answering as long as she could

Bianca wasn't deterred and continuously asked Giselle about the fire blazing from her neck, eventually wearing her down by 1358 and received an honest answer about why she appeared different from other elves as well as an explanation on what dullahans were. Wanting to be just like the mother she admired, she expressed interest in becoming in a dullahan and insisted for her mother to turn her into one. She was devastated when her mother refused, and when she asked why not, Giselle simply replied that Bianca would regret it

For the first time in her life, Bianca found herself irritated by her mother's poor communication skills and frequently got into arguments with her over becoming a dullahan. Bianca thought that if she was open with her mother, her mother would respond in kind somewhat and they could come to an understanding. As such, she expressed that she wanted to become a dullahan so that she could be with her mother for as long as possible and that she didn't want her to feel alone for being a dullahan. However, Giselle refused to explain her thoughts on the matter and insisted that dullahans were a mistake to begin with

This resulted in particularly violent exchanges for decades which came to a head in Itis 1405, in which Bianca wounded Giselle's left eye and declaring that since she refused to turn her into a dullahan, it was akin to declaring that she no longer saw Bianca as her daughter and thus, Bianca cut off all contact with Giselle and left for Hirdielle. In Hirdielle, she had trouble unlocking her door to an old house she purchased for cheap and had to find a locksmith. Her neighbours then recommended Salvatore to her, which she sought out for her door issue. When Salvatore came over to help unlock her door, his cheerful demeanour was a far cry from her mother's which drew her in and led to her asking him out on a date

After a few dates, she realised that while he was indeed cheerful, the way he showed affection was similar to Giselle. Dearly missing her mother, she decided to propose to Salvatore and officially married on 2 Secuna 1405. Bianca had noticed that ever since she proposed, Salavatore had been showing much more affection than he usually did and when she asked him about it, he admitted that he knew something was on her mind and wanted to show that he would be there to support her. Feeling guilty, she couldn't bring herself to confess that part of why she proposed only after two months of knowing each other was that Salvatore reminded her of Giselle so much and fervently told herself that she had to love Salvatore as time went by as it was horrible of her to trap a human into marriage in less than three months of knowing each other

They were both overjoyed when Leonardo was born on 17 Dia'ae 1406, though Bianca worried if she would be a good mother ever since she knew that there was a chance that she was unconsciously toying with Salvatore's feelings, which remained true and even grew as months went by. While raising Leonardo, she learnt that Salvatore liked woodworking and the wooden items she had received from him as gifts was actually personally whittled by him. However, she was surprised to discover that Hirdielle didn't really sell whittling knives. She then learnt that woodworking was a highly secretive trade in Hirdielle and only those employed by the royal family had access to them. Recalling a conversation with her mother about how Balwirk's elven society was a mess mainly due to nobility, Bianca decided to go out of her way to obtain a whittling knife, eventually deciding that obtaining the resources needed to make one was far easier than buying one

With the help of her neighbour, who worked as a bladesmith and used to make whittling knives for the royal woodworkers, she managed to make a reliable whittling knife and was taught how to carve a message for Salvatore on the knife handle. Bianca, satisfied with the knife, decided to give it to her husband for his 30th birthday. She was overjoyed when Salvatore expressed delight towards the whittling knife and promised to use it to make many more wooden items for her and Leonardo whenever he was free. As Leonardo grew older and started travelling, she noticed that Salvatore took on lesser jobs and spent more time with her. Bianca decided to ask him about it as while she liked spending time with him, she also knew that Salvatore loved his job as a locksmith and didn't want him to feel pressured to spend time with her

Salvatore explained that as a human, his lifespan was a lot shorter than Bianca's and he wanted her to have as many memories as possible to look back on after he passed as he felt that words wouldn't do the time shared justice, and he didn't know how to paint his fondest moments with her. Salvatore also encouraged her to find someone else when he passed as he didn't want her to remain a widow out of obligation. Before Bianca could say anything, Salvatore then admitted that he knew right from the beginning that she initially married him only because he reminded her of someone she knew, but didn't say anything as he loved her. Bianca then noticed that Salvatore's hair was greyer and that he had wrinkles on his face, something which only happened to elves at least after they turned 600. She proceeded to ask him how did he realise only to learn that Salvatore had noticed based on the way she constantly looked at him during their dates prior to marriage

In disbelief that someone could love her despite knowing that they were being used, Bianca could only nod and both came to an unsaid agreement to not talk about this again. In 1429, Leonardo sent a letter to them about how he would stay in Lyuharrno longer than he had planned as he had met Alena and wanted to get to know her better. Salvatore then commented that it was sweet, with Bianca saying that he took after his father without explaining why. Three years later, Leonardo held his wedding in Hirdielle so that his parents could physically meet Alena. Bianca expressed her approval, wanting him to marry someone who genuinely loved him for who he was. This reminded her of her own relationship with Salvatore, and she wondered if she was projecting her relationship with her own husband to her son's which scared her. When her son announced that they would permanently live in Lyuharrno, Bianca privately opposed his decision as she felt that his marriage might turn out to be a reflection of hers. However, as Salvatore gave his blessings for him to do so, Bianca decided to go along with the decision and gave hers as well

Years passed, with Bianca and Salvatore receiving news of Nadia and Leonardo making masks in Lyuharrno for work. Neither of them expected to receive a letter from Alena that both Leonardo and Nadia had died in an avalanche. Bianca felt a sense of hollowness that she didn't understand, and could barely eat or sleep as a result. She wanted to confide in Salvatore about it, but upon seeing that Salvatore seemed relatively unaffected by the deaths, she came to the conclusion that humans were emotionally stronger than elves and didn't wish to burden him especially considering that he gave up a good portion of life to be with her

On the night of 10 Tierna 1436, she left the house without informing Salvatore and went to the beach to process her thoughts over a few bottles of alcohol that she bought on a whim on her way to the beach. The more she drank, the more she thought about how she would be alone once Salvatore had passed, and that Alena was most likely dead herself as she was unreachable ever since her son and granddaughter's deaths. As these thoughts consumed her, she started to cry and realised that Giselle was trying to protect her from living a life of loneliness, for being a dullahan meant that death was extremely hard to come by. She scoffed, realising that she was actually similar to Giselle much more than she would've wanted as in actual fact, she never really once shared with Salavatore about her life before Hirdielle despite being married for 30 years

Now completely drunk, she decided that being alone was the worst outcome she could ever experience and deeply regretted cutting off all ties with Giselle. She then waded into the sea until she was completely submerged, then casted the one lightning spell her mother had taught her decades ago. As her muscles tensed up, she could feel herself sinking and a sole apology for Salvatore fizzled within her drunken haze...

[webbywatcheshorror]

Webby Reviews Horror: Cube (1997)

Another old fave, Cube is a movie about a group of people who wake up in a strange facility full of traps. No, not Saw 2, I said Cube. This one predates Saw, actually, which makes me wonder if it played any part in the inspiration for my other favorite trapped room related movie. If I somehow ever meet James Wan or Leigh Whannell then I’ll ask. Right after I pick my jaw off the floor.

Anywho, beasties and ghouls, let’s get to it- Review (and SPOILERS) under the cut!

I have no idea how old I was when I first saw this one, but I’m reasonably sure it was sometime in my last year as a teen or in my early twenties, so right around the time I was finally able to start dipping my toes into the world of horror. I have no doubt that if I’d seen this any younger it would have been on that list of movies that altered my brain chemistry.

This one’s a lot more psychological than Saw, in my opinion, as it’s less about seeing people mutilate themselves and more about seeing people break down to their most fundamental selves in the face of terror and paranoia. It’s the kind that sticks with me for a long time afterwards, making me wonder at who I’d become if I were stuck in The Cube.

The First Kill, played by the delightful Julian Richings, in this one is super effective at showing us what the cast will be dealing with, and as others before me have noticed, there are similar scenes in later movies (the first Resident Evil, for example) that seem to be inspired by it. If the strangeness of the opening room hadn’t already hooked me, this kill would have. Dude fell apart so fast. (ha ha because he got chopped into pieces by some kind of insanely sharp wires ha ha I’m funny)

The setting is simple: you’ve got a group of strangers in a square shaped room with six doors, one on each side, and each door leads to another room that only differs in color. And if you go in the wrong one, you die. How can you tell which one’s the wrong one? Well, probably because you’re about to die, because there’s no obvious tell.

Our cast starts out with five people- Quenten, a cop who skeeves me out in like the first few minutes of his introduction; Holloway, a doctor who is also a conspiracy nut; Leaven, a college? girl who understands numbers in a way I could never dream of; Worth, a self-described ‘just some guy’; and Rennes, a French escape artist who is taken from us far too soon. Later we get Kazan, a man with an unspecified mental illness that makes him difficult to communicate with and prone to unpredictable behavior, but has the superhuman abilities that media loves to give mentally disabled people, in the form of being even better at numbers than Leaven. (Astronomical!)

Rennes is my favorite but he has the least amount of screentime, since he gets to be The Example. He’s escaped multiple prisons, and knows what to look for. He gives the crew hope that they can beat this thing, and figure a way out, tells them to stop overthinking it and just keep moving, makes a joke about being ‘Harry fuckin’ Houdini’, then he fucking DIES. Acid to the face by a sensor he couldn’t detect. Oops! Morale obliterated.

Leaven is my next favorite, because I love when girl geniuses. She starts out delighting in the attention she gets from Quenten for figuring out a way to find out which rooms are trapped, based on numbers assigned to each room; she is, however, still a kid, so I can’t really fault her for trusting him to start with. I don’t understand math well enough to know if her reasoning is sound, but honestly, I don’t care if it is. She deserved to make it out.

Holloway is an older woman, age not provided, but she’s equal parts likeable and irritating to me personally. She’s a doctor at a free clinic and the first and only one to treat Kazan with any decency. She’s also a mega conspiracy theorist and enjoys blaming Big Government for running and ruining the world. She holds the group together for quite a while, maybe because she’s not afraid to call Quenten and Worth out on their bullshit. I respect that.

Kazan is, if you don’t consider the sequel movies, the saddest character. Why in the hell would you put someone like him in a death maze. What kind of evil do you have to possess to think ‘yeah I’ll put a mentally handicapped person in a confusing trap filled prison with strangers, at least one of which is violent when pressured’. What the fuck. This is a movie from the 90s so I’m not gonna say it’s like, good rep or anything; what is accurate is how he gets treated by everyone but Holloway. He’s an obstacle, he’s a liability, he’s not even considered a person. I’m so glad they didn’t kill him. (If you do consider the sequels, however, the way you view his character is completely different, since it’s implied that his brain has been surgically altered to make him this way. it’s a whole thing.)

Worth is also one of my favorites, but doesn’t start out that way. He’s unhelpful, snarky, and seems about ready to just give up at any given moment. When he confesses that he had a hand in making this Minecraftian nightmare, it’s understandable why. Trapped in the very thing you helped create, even if you didn’t realize what it is you were actually making. Makes a good punching bag, apparently. When push comes to shove, though, he steps up and that’s when he becomes the version of himself I like. And then of course he dies, because every character I like dies.

Which just leaves Quenten. He’s... a cop. He starts out obnoxious and overly aggressive, but that could be attributed to waking up in a weird dangerous place with unknown people; when Leaven’s number system fails and he gets hurt, his attitude changes real fast, and he’s outright hostile to everyone from that point on rather than just pushy and bossy. He treats everyone like shit unless he deems them useful, and at his core is violent and controlling. He kills Holloway for daring to accuse him of hitting his kids (guess she hit a nerve), then kills Leaven and Worth just as they reached the exit. There was no reason for this other than the fact that he clearly lost it. Also, attempted to seduce Leaven, an established minor. Absolute garbage person. (I’m not really qualified to dissect it, but it rubs me the wrong way that the one black character is an aggressive, violent psycho...)

Cube touches on one of my fears: the unpredictability of other people. There is no provable way to tell what someone really feels or what they’ll do. Everyone is different, and what indicates something like, say, rising anger in one person, could only be a sign of mild irritation in another. Being in a situation where your survival is reliant on strangers, especially when the environment is designed to stress you out and break you down, is absolutely terrifying to me.

Something I really like about Cube (again, only if you don’t consider the sequels) is that it doesn’t explain SHIT. Why was this place built? Why were these people chosen? What was the point of any of it? Cube says it’s not important. In a way this movie feels a bit like watching an ant farm, observing the way people change when they’re pushed to their mental limits. Why they’re there in the first place isn’t the point.

The end is both triumphant and depressing- While our last living protags are (for some reason???) staring out the door to their freedom, which is only available for a short time, Quenten catches back up to them and murders two of them, with only Kazan escaping. The cop at least gets what he deserves- the red smear on the inside of the Cube’s shell is a nice touch. As is his leg just sticking into frame as the camera shows Worth and Leaven, being shuttled back down into the maze.

There’s two moments that are similar to one another that I enjoy- when they realize they’re back in the room where Rennes died, and it breaks them. Worth is hysterically giggling, Leaven is in despair, and Quenten slips further into his breakdown. The second is when Leaven figures out that she’d been right the whole time- they should have stayed in the first room they gathered in, as it would have eventually been the room that led to the exit.

All that pain and death and anguish, only to wind up back at square one. I wonder if they wrote it that way for the pun, or if it’s just one of those coincidences? Speaking of puns, I give this one three squared outta ten ghosts (that is in fact nine. I had to make sure before i committed to the bit. I’m serious when I say I’m terrible at numbers.) It’s not a perfect movie, as one of my pet peeves is when characters decide to celebrate before actually confirming victory. Had Leaven, Worth, and Kazan simply left the cube the minute they knew it was the exit, they would have all survived.

Though it likely would have deprived me of that satisfying blood streak. Unacceptable.

[doughbrainer]

Hey? Can I Be Bit Crazy About Something Not Miser Fam Related For A Bit? Cool, Thanks.

Okay, So Basically, A Few Days Ago I Had This Weird Dream That Involved @pistachi0art's OC, Arden, And My Half-Life OC.

I Sent Them A Few Asks That Involve The Dream And Stuff Went From There. To Sum Up The Dream, My OC Ate Arden's Heart And Ended Up Having A Child Because That. (I Know, It's Weird. I Was So Embarrassed When I Woke Up That Morning, Remembering The Dream.)

Cutting To The Chase Though, I Decided To Explore That A Bit More And Eventually...

My Half-Life OC Finally Got A Name After Months Without One, And So Did The Child.

I Didn't Add Much Info In The Images As I Want To Elaborate More In The Post. I Don't Want This To Take Up People's Feed Though, So If You Want To Know About Them, Just Press "Keep Reading"

BARLEY

Barley Is The Human Child Of Barney Calhoun And One Of His Previous Exes. When Barney First Went Under Cover For The Resistance, He Got Along With Another Metro Cop, Who Turned Out To Be Under Cover For The Resistance As Well. Stuff Happened Between Them But Their Mother Was Moved To Monitor A Different City, They Kept Contact With Barney As Much As They Could Until Forcefully Cut Off By The Combine, As My Headcanon For The Story Is That Metro Cops Are Not Allowed Contact With Other Cities. Eventually, Barley Was Born Before The Suppression Was Put Into Place And Her Mother Took Care Of Her In Secret, While The Combine Was Completely Oblivious. This When Barley Eventually Was Discovered, Their Mother Saved Them By Abandoning Them But It Costed Their Mother's Life. (Yeah, Sadly Her Mum Is Dead. :/) Barley Was Found By An Unnamed Scientist And Was Cared For By Them Until They Were Old Enough To Safely Walk Around Without Being In A Main Sense Of Danger. They Followed Their Parents Lead And Went Under Cover For The Resistance, This How She Was Eventually Reunited With Her Father, Barney Calhoun.

After The Events Of HL2:EP2, They Made It To White Forest Base, But Managed To Catch The Attention Of G-Man's Employers And Was Forcefully Hired By Them And Was Given The Same Job Title As G-Man. She Doesn't Know How To Do Her Job And Because She Has No Powers Like G-Man, She Continues To Do Most Of The Stuff For The Resistance, Despite It Being Mandatory That She Wears A Suit Nearly 24/7 Unless In Her Personalised Home For Her Or Under Other Necessary Circumstances. Eventually, When Finally Meeting G-Man, He Gave Her The Ability To Move Across Universes And Reality, Although This Is The Only Power She Has, This Is How She Eventually Meets Everybody From The Universe Of Half-Life VR But The Ai Is Self-Aware.

EVERETT

Everett Is (Fanon) Son Of Barley And Arden, Therefore Making Him Benrey's Nephew. He Came To Be When Barley Ended Up Eating Arden's Heart. Despite The Fact That He's Related To Arden, Barley Cares About Him Regardless, As Him Being Her Son Is The Only Reason She Needs To Love Him. Although He Likes Hanging Out With His Uncle Benrey And Considers Joshua One Of His Best Friends. When Everett Is Made Aware Of Who Is Father Is And What He Did To His Uncle, He Finds It Hard To Approach Benrey For Anything Knowing That, As He Feels Somewhat Responsible For His Father's Actions, And Wants To Make Up For The Things He Did, Despite The Fact They Were Out Of His Control. Sometimes, When Thinking About His Parentage, He Scares Himself With The Thought That There's A Part Of His Father That Lives On Through Him.

When He's Young, He Has A Tail, But He Does Eventually Lose It When He Gets A Grasp On His Powers. He's Stretchy Like His Father, He Uses Sweet Voice A Lot When He's Younger, But As He Gets Older, He Uses It Less, Only Really Using It When He's Frustrated Or When Communicating With Benrey, As It Helps His Uncle Understand How Others Feel. He Prefers To Wear Simple Clothes, Like T-Shirts And Shorts As He Likes To Move Around A Lot, It's Also Easier To Repair Simple Clothes If They Get Ruined.

[lordkingsmith]

Jack’s eyes widened as he sat up. He didn’t seem to know how to respond, so Billy carefully patted his shoulder. “The evil teammate is fine. They fixed him. And the one who lost an arm got a prosthetic and is doing alright, it’s just a day in the life.”

“And suddenly I understand why they brought me to power rangers, specifically.”

“Eh, you know. We’re a community. And this is a common enough problem any ranger team’s run into it at least once.” The eyes were about bugging out of Jack’s head.

“Just eat, then go sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“I have so many questions-” Jack started in protest and Billy cut him off.

“I probably have more. However I am aware it’s a very bad idea to grill someone as grievously injured as you. Plus, I’d rather if my-friend-” Jack gave him a look and Billy raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m taking it she was fine with the homosexuality but drew the line at your hobbies?”

“No, she just hates everything about me. She just knew the dancing was easier to control, and could control every other part of my life simply limiting my ability to take part in general society.”

“…Smart woman.”

“Yeah” was the vehement response. “I know.”

Billy grimaced and got back to the main point at hand. “Zack and I aren’t together. Our friend Trini made us both guardians of her daughter Minh” he gestured towards the door, hoping Jack got the idea, “when she died. So we both cohabitate with her as a family.”

“…do you want…”

“Focus on the matter of your friends and family, not mine.” He said sharply before shrugging. “Zack’s a senator. And a dancer. He’s going to be home in a few days, so he can offer advice. I know nothing, personally, about the matter of…”

“Flow.” Jack said simply. “The magic made from dancing is called flow.”

“I’m going to forget that.” Billy promised apologetically. “Sorry.”

Jack uses Dancr which is a just dance ‘verse dating app. Given the name similarity to grindr, I’m sorry, the joke wrote itself with young and old gays clocking each other once they get to talk. Also, @augment-techs you know my backstory for Mrs. Skullovitch? Jack’s mother is it to a T. A ballet dancer shown a new world, thrives, and then gets bitter when her dreams are crumbling around her. They even both have swan motifs. The difference being Leda becomes a supervillainess who owns a reality, a city, a corporation and a prison complex (probably related) and Mrs Skullovitch is just a bad mother. But I decided to just make them similar personality wise at this point because why not. So you’ll see more of that soon lol

[daisyachain]

there’s one version of an f/m/m triangle that crops up so often I’m surprised there isn’t at least a tvtropes/vernacular name for it. Miyokichi/Kiku/Shin. Molly/Fitz/Fool. Asuka/Shinji/Kaworu. Futaba/Taichi/Touma. not-really-but-you-could-shove-it-in-here Luthien/Beren/Finrod. Utena/Touga/Saionji is a twisted spun-on-its-head version of it. Specifically comprising:

masculine male character A: either is the protagonist or a character on to which male viewers can project.

female character B: a secondary character and A’s official love interest, often kept apart from A by story/circumstance/gender roles. Shows some resentment of the trials she’s put through by the story in being A’s lover such as being shoved to the side, cut out of his life, or put in danger.

less masculine male character C: another major character, A’s devoted sidekick, feminine and/or conspicuously cold toward women or sexuality, somewhat ill-used by A but not resentful about it, as a contrast to B.

The dynamic is used pretty equally by female and male creators, though probably with different purposes. Outside the story, there’s a clear explanation for how the roles are divided: men are main, women are peripheral. Obviously the female love interest has to be on the margins of the story. Obviously the male main character has to have an ally in-story who can bounce dialogue back. Any human person has to have a best friend (for men, has to be male) and a lover (for men, has to be female). The major character male bestie and the minor character female gf is the minimum character dynamic you need to sustain the main character as a believable construction.

Except within the story, the dynamic begs far too many questions. On B’s part: her other half and love interest uses her for sex once every few chapters and dumps her to go off on another plot-relevant adventure. She’s kept in the dark, talked down to, pushed away, and distrusted. Her place at her sweetie’s side is occupied by Some Dude and no matter how much she puts into their relationship, she’s always going to be a prize for after the mission. Why does she stay with him? What could possibly attract her about this bestubbled grunt machine whose passion for the sword outmatches anything she’s given him?

On C’s part: he gets used as an emotional support crutch, designed to service his best friend’s every need at the expense of his own goals or story. He’s a housewife, he’s a domestic, he does every thankless story task with a smile because he has to provide the exposition/set up the plot/set the plan in action that carries the main male character to victory. He doesn’t have a love interest of his own, meanwhile the most important person in his life is obsessed with a woman he barely speaks to. Why should he care so much about someone who only takes? Why is he committed to this one-way friendship? What does he think of taking the backseat, providing support, submerging his own will for the sake of a person instead of an ideology?

On A’s part: if he’s a red-blooded heterosexual male character who pursues a woman as is acceptable, why does he dig himself so deep in with his designated ally? Through dialogue and because he has to in order to show the audience, he exposes his heart and soul to C and keeps him in his pocket for as long as we are watching, so why then does he cast him aside so easily? He invests the most time and energy into his relationship with C, cultivating love and loyalty there, but he draws the line so firmly in the sand that the audience is sure he’ll never, ever step aside for one minute to follow the friend. Why does he choose a man for his emotional battery? Why doesn’t he communicate with his supposed partner? Why does he choose to use B and C for sex and solace respectively, and why don’t they ever mix?

The gender dynamics wrap around to simple: women aren’t up to being equal partners to a cool guy, so you need a male wife to do everything for you and appreciate the protagonist’s sick abilities. romance with a man is perverse and impossible, so you need a female love interest to prove that the protagonist isn’t gay and fulfil the audience’s needs. But in-between all of that you could ask some interesting questions of the spoke character, A, the male protagonist whose actions are taken as normal. the question being: bro. what’s wrong with you