#like something about berserk specifically too like its such a purposeful and specific story like. i genuinely think that if i saw a coffee

[cuntstable]

that shipping post made me think and i was about to post like ”can you imagine berserk fans who ship like guts and griffith and like completely ignore and devalue if not outright hate casca as a character just for the sake of some What If It Was Happy yaoi-aus” but like then i realized how absolutely stupid that question is. like of course they are out there and i would go as far as to say that theyre prob NUMEROUS

[transsexualgriffith]

3 about berk and also if youve seen any bad Dostoevsky takes, 7 +17 for bsd, 22 berk ❤️

lord I forgot to do this. luckily you haven't answered the ask I sent you either, so I think we're even.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

oh god on tumblr?? it's not that tumblr isn't still brimming with bad berserk takes, but I am fairly good at evading those, and besides if I wanted some truly terrible berserk analysis, I could simply go on reddit. I think "the ideal culmination of their arcs would be for guts and casca to become king and queen of midland" is, well, I've certainly never heard that one before, but I find it more funny than offensive, and truly bad takes are the ones that feel like the story is purposely being misread to fuel downright dehumanising ways of thinking; so you know what I'm giving this to the racist fyodor x reader blog that talked abt how fyodor would never lower himself to selling his body and then basically went "(like that whore griffith from berserk)" which I still think is one of the most maddening things I've witnessed. perhaps not a berserk specific take, but a tumblr moment if I've ever seen one. ofc if we were talking outside of tumblr I'd have much worse things to show for. you truly got anything from misogyny posting to to blaming people for their csa out there (its a beautiful world), but tbh one of my favourites is the "guts left bcs he was trying to escape griffiths clutches". dostoevsky I'm not sure I can think of anything particularly outrageous, you must understand the true opponent of dostoevskyblr isn't the bad takes its the people trying to disguise tiktok poetry as quotes

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

okay to start off with I don't think there's a single character in bsd that I truly hate: asagiri is too good of a character writer for this and I think the few that I do feel some disdain towards or find myself unintrested in could still be brought closer to me if asagiri could please get back to writing shoujo-esque character driven party conflicts and novels, instead of playing powerscaling with the 5th dimension. unfortunately i think the worst fanon treatment is that of my favourite characters. would be alot easier if I hated them.

i guess chuuya could almost be counted here, because although I very much like chuuya, he used to. basically be my favourite character (??) which honestly baffles me and I cannot quite understand why, but then again, that was many years ago when bsd was in a very different state, both story and fandom wise. I really don't want to look at much of fanon chuuya content and don't find him outstandingly interesting, but I will acknowledge that it is quite fruitless to complain chuuya should get so much attention even though he's "a side character" when we have asagiri to thank for two chuuya centric light novels with the approximate page count of les miserables.

i also do not really like kōyō and find the girlboss mafioso thing very weird and off putting, but it sucks to say this because there are also alot of people who clearly judge her through the misogynistic lense.

and I think everyone should shut the fuck up about mori and talk about something else. I like mori, but I actually find it quite exhausting how even when you're amongst mori likers they can never ever turn down the morality discourse, enough! I don't care what he is he's not real can we like actually talk abt his role in the story in a meaningful way. please.

this question should've been abt ships tbh fanon sskk is going to make me blast myself into the sun.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

shibusawa content..............my woman!? I swear to god the bsd fandom is four times the size of what it was when I got here (and mind you bsd was never that underground) and yet the fic count has gone up by like ten. and I have likely seen dead apple more than any other living person so I know how bad of a movie it is (though i think you are truly missing out on the sheer amount of homoeroticism if you do not invest in it even a little bit) but no one can deny how visually appealing shibusawa's character design is, so it is crazy to me that people aren't more eager to draw her. I've also never forgiven tiktok for what they did to dazatsu. we used to have it all in like 2017. we were pioneers. but overall I don't feel unsatisfied with fan content for bsd, it's always been expansive.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i don't know if I have a good answer for this, just because berserk is so extremely appraised that it never feels like there’s a part of canon left untalked about, but I do know that my love for the black swordsman arc far surpasses that of the average berserk fan, and though I see it discussed often enough there really isn't any fanfic or something of the sort focusing on that period in time, which is rather sad for me bcs I think guts cringfail pursuit of femto is very funny. I also just have always liked millennium falcon, and don't feel like others particularly care for the inner workings of the kushan regime, or mule, or the ganishka conflict as a whole which I think is pretty lit. the cosmology lore in those chapters is much more compelling than whatever guts has going on in mage world.

[shoechoe]

hi hi!! for the ask game, all for jojo part 5 - questions 17 and 23?

I answered #23 in the last one and I can't really think of another answer I could give, so I'll just do 17.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

This had to make me think a bit, but I think the real point where the story goes sour for me has to be the introduction of Polnareff and the stand arrow. To me, the concept of Requiem itself is fine, but it's very obvious that the part wrote itself into a corner with King Crimson and had to introduce a completely new mechanic on a whim. The way it's implemented with Polnareff randomly appearing with all the knowledge on the arrow feels incredibly unsatisfying- especially since the concept of Requiem functionally exists in the series purely to beat Diavolo and we never come back to it ever again.

Instead of that, what I would've likely done is introduce Requiem earlier and in a different way. I'm thinking that instead of Polnareff coming in randomly, I would've had the characters discover it themselves in some way, and then, in that moment of desperation, they realize that the only way they could possibly defeat Diavolo would be to track down an arrow and pierce themselves, risking the possibility of being rejected, just to become powerful enough to defeat him.

For a specific idea I had- since Polpo had an arrow in his possession and trusted Bruno quite a bit, maybe it could come from something about him. We know that if you already have a Stand, Black Sabbath will pull out your Stand instead of your soul and pierce that with the arrow instead- logically, wouldn't that create a Requiem stand if the arrow accepts you, and if not, it'd reject and likely just kill you?

What if something like that happened, where a person already in possession of a Stand tried Polpo's test, failed, got their Stand pierced by the arrow, but wasn't capable of handling it and promptly died instead of their Requiem Stand forming? What if Bucciarati's group find this out sometime (preferably early, like maybe during the Polpo's Fortune arc) and go something along the lines of "Hmm, that's similar to the way some people die after being pierced by the arrow due to not possessing a strong enough will. Is there a chance that if you're accepted by the arrow, your stand can evolve into something else...?" I feel like it would be best for this to be somewhat consistently brought up now and then and at least kept as a background detail as the main story progresses.

Then, after the Sardinia arc happens and all hope seems lost, Giorno brings up the arrow's potential hidden abilities, and they decide that the only chance they have in possibly defeating Diavolo is to find a Stand arrow and see if it really has the hidden ability they suspect it does. I think that would've been cool just to show how desperate they are at this point and the sheer uncertainty of what'll really happen. For this purpose, they could discover that an arrow was kept at Rome, which is where they then travel to.

I'm thinking that instead of Polnareff being confronted by Diavolo, it's Bruno that Diavolo confronts at the Colosseum instead- obviously too weak to fight in his rotting corpse state, Bruno dies this time, but maybe he manages to pierce his Stand with the arrow the same way Polnareff does and his soul is strong enough to be accepted by the arrow, but since he dies in the middle, it goes "berserk" like Chariot. I really dislike the idea of a bodyswap fight as the penultimate arc of the story, so I'd probably have Bruno's Requiem ability be something completely different as well... I'm not sure what that would be, though.

Sorry if this is rambly and maybe too vague- I'm not sure if this would work perfectly, but I really think that introducing the Arrow far sooner and having it more on the responsibility of the protagonists to search it out and find out what its ability is would be a much better way of handling it. There's a lot of different ways you could take that, but there's my little brainstorm.

[envy-and-pride]

Maiden Rose & Berserk - The Authors who just Couldn't Do It

I've been complaining ever since Inariya Fusanosuke went out of hiatus a couple years ago that her story is stagnating too much.

Before her hiatus the story was progressing at its own back and forth, "toying with it" pace. The whole point of the story was to get Taki to a place where he could move past his learned social inhibitions and enjoy his sex life and relationship with Klaus, someone who gives exactly 0 shit about the superbly and uselessly complex social expectations of Japan Taki's homeland.

So there's a lot of back and forth, we see first how Taki and Klaus even become entangled in the first place, we see them explore, we see Taki getting vaguely tempted and just indulging and discovering, then it's return to the homeland "back to being inhibited" mode, and we see Taki hiding big time and Klaus banging at the door trying to get him out.

This part of the story is pretty much the author's consciousness going around and toying with the idea of coming out, getting close to the idea, refusing (and thus being repelled away), and then getting back to the idea anyway. That's why she has Klaus always come back to Taki anyway.

But then, that's not the only story with the same back and forth "I just can't fucking commit" kind of dynamic. Berserk had the exact same problem, and that problem was so damn bad, the entire story got completely discontinued, until finally the author simply died.

In my opinion, Berserk was about a pretty similar process as in Maiden Rose: opening up, and transcending something that's holding you down. For Taki/the author, that's social sexual inhibitions. For Guts/Kentaro Miura, that was also his own sex issues and being able to open up and connect to someone from that level.

Berserk goes just a little farther than Maiden Rose, in that Kentaro Miura went and stared down what he was supposed to do right in the face.

In chapter 46 to 47, we have Guts enjoying a nice little flashback and nervous breakdown of his own traumas.

But I couldn't help but sense that there was a pulling away on his end when he did, specifically exactly at the moment Guts moved away from Casca after he ended up strangling her.

Guts had that one job of connecting to his chosen love interest, the female character created almost literally for that purpose, but when the time came for it, I feel like he just, backed away. Like he was just repelled away from the issue and he just ultimately couldn't do it.

Straight after that the entire story basically goes to shit and Casca is sidelined in the most disgusting, and my god unrealistic way possible, and she remains sidelined up until this day. With the author being dead, it's unlikely anything else will come out of it.

At the end of the day, these are and were two authors trying to approach seriously crippling and traumatic stuff. I'd be willing to bet the author of Maiden Rose went through some form of sexual trauma, and I'm fairly almost 100% sure Kentaro Miura also went through something even more straightforward. It doesn't surprise me that the author with the heaviest load died with the story unfinished, and that he couldn't approach the subject anymore after attempting it the first time.

That being said, it's seriously fucking frustrating from a story-telling and narrative point of view. Watching Casca getting grossly sidelined and treated the way she was all of the sake of not approaching the topic again I felt was disgusting. And waiting around while Inariya Fusanosuke keeps using violence to draw out her own desires is making me want to ask "well, I get it, but when will you be getting to it, then? When will you finally get to the point?"

Although, regarding Maiden Rose, with the latest chapter's showdown between Klaus and Suguri where Suguri asks Klaus to take Taki away if he ever was to lose himself in all of the politicking, I'm having hope for the story to finally be going somewhere—it seems even the author can sniff herself making a bad decision she doesn't want make, and already promising herself to take her self-insert away if it'd ever get to that.

While I completely get their inability to approach the very subject they created their story for: healing, I just also seriously wish they'd come to terms with what they need to face, and would finally put the matter to rest once and for all.

[alovelyburn]

Rambles about the Conviction Art Part 5

Dreams and Hawks and Hawks and Dreams.

Rambles about the Conviction Art Part 5

1. So there’s something I’ve always found pretty interesting about the setup of NeoGriffith and Falconia and just the world as a whole and the turn it’s been taking, and that is how... performative it is. Like, Griffith turns up and brings all these monsters into the world and then saves people from those same monsters, and he does so by physically battling them even though he probably could just stomp them from the sky. Instead he goes through this whole show of bringing humans and apostles together and fighting them side by side with a sword instead of by crushing them with his telekinesis and...

Basically, like this isn’t something I’ll necessarily get heavily into NOW, but overall Berserk’s world has the feeling of a stage play - a story that is being spun by the Idea of Evil or by the Godhand - Skull knight even refers to Griffith as the author of the world’s story basically.

And the reason I bring this up now is because while it’s true that Griffith is the Messiah/Chosen/Desired, it’s also true that the suffering that came down on the world is largely orchestrated by the Godhand - on the last page of Revelations Part 1, you see Conrad enabling the plague, you know? Plus the conflict between Grififth and Ganishka is VERY performative and highly calculated.

But the morality of that stage play remains sort of ambiguous, like what is the end goal? What place is NeoGriffith trying to bring the world to, and for what purpose? And if they get there and it’s a good thing, does that make everything that’s been done to the world to achieve that thing justified?

No?

Even though it’s what humanity wanted? Because remember the only reason the Idea of Evil exists is because humanity created it. The only reason Griffith created Fantasia was that it was the world humanity desired. So now what?

These things are basically the reason I love Berserk. That’s why people simplifying the morality in Berserk gives me hives.

Kind of a tangent but it leads to this: these three chapters are like staging - its the Godhand (and Griffith particularly) moving pieces into the place they need to be in order to create the situation necessary for him to come into the world again. And that’s very interesting to me, particularly when we get to the end.

Also that one guy kinda looks like a werewolf.

2. Fascinating that the King is still chasing Griffith down after all this time - and doing it at the cost of Midland’s military strength. Yikes.

3. You know, the first time I read Berserk, when I was too busy gawking at everything to fully absorb what was going on (and also I didn’t know what was coming so I couldn’t pick up the patterns and foreshadowing) I did kind of wonder whether this Hawk of Light thing was known to the population as a whole. From the way Laban looks at the Holy See’s symbol when thinking about the Hawk I can only assume it is - that he realizes that they’ve received a revelation specifically that their messiah is coming. And then that made me wonder, because he also says that to all of Midland there is only one person a hawk can possibly symbolize.... makes me wonder whether there were people suggestion that Griffith was the prophesied savior during his days as a human war hero.

Also, I think I’m gonna check off those predictions as I pass them. So they’re listed below with the ones that already happened noted:

-The reaper references the death of the king as seen above. -kingdom of villages dying from plague is, well that’s this chapter -an army driving mammoth beasts: Ganishka and the Kushan army -a city devastated by earthquake with towns swallowed by raging torrents - TBA -corpses of both family and neighbor-  TBA -a sun obscured by black smoke - TBA although, I mean, thats the reincarnation isnt it rofl -mobs of starving vagrant folk - TBA

4. With scenes like this, I always think of it as partially evidence that the godhand in question creates those things and part that they are inherently present in those things due to their representative nature. Did Conrad specifically send a plague or is his spirit present because he is plague and plague is present?

....I kind of used to think it was the latter but now I think it was the former. It’s staging, man. Or rather, I think it can be both or either one, and in this specific case it does seem to be the Godhand setting up the world to desire salvation.

5. Foreshadowing for the way Griffith just straight up took over when they got back together?  I mean, I suppose he’s the appointed regent.

Its just so interesting to me how Foss becomes a Griffith loyalist.

And this is what I mean about staging right, like why is the King ill now? Isn’t it because his death is a necessary component in what’s to come? Which is to say he dies to make room for Griffith. Basically. Which I have no qualms about, he was an asshole anyway besides if he hadnt had Griffith tortured for a year, this wouldn’t be happening.

Speaking of the King, though...

6. This dream sequence of the King as he’s dying is great - it’s one of my favorite scenes. I’m not trying to be a King sympathizer, I mean see above, but that said...

Hes trapped.  He's in a throne room but the throne is raised above everything and the only people around him are soldiers. Those soldiers surround him and bar his way  - essentially they are his jailers and meanwhile he’s perpetually on the edge of freezing to death. When Charlotte appears he tries to go to her but they block him with their polearms and wont let him off the platform.

So... thats how he feels. And now that hes been separated from Charlotte there's no escape from it except inward, into madness.

@zombiesgohome​ notes that this also parallels what he had done to Griffith - he trapped Griffith in a literal prison to suffer and rot, and now he has become trapped inside his figurative prison where he, too, is suffering and rotting.

Which also goes back to the parallel roles Charlotte and Guts play in the King and Griffith’s lives respectively. Because Griffith held onto Guts’ memory in order to maintain his sanity, but the King is unable to do that - he cant reach her, and so he falls apart.

It is, I think, a suitable wrap for that previously raised comparison between Griffith’s feelings for Guts and the King’s for Charlotte. NOT MORALLY, I said this at the time but I’m not implying any kind of moral equivalency between the King’s incestuous obsession and Griffith’s love for a man. Rather I’m comparing the function of those relationships in each one’s life - the way the King and Griffith depended on them for emotional stability, the way they desired without being able to fully face that desire, the catastrophic reaction when they are “rejected,” although in Griffith’s case it wasn’t even a real rejection but hell he didn’t know that.

Anyway, while I’m here. let me just say it’s hilarious to me that even after ascending to become some kind of demonic archangel demigod thing, Griffith’s still enough of a petty bitch to specifically come bother the King and smirk as he takes Charlotte away. ITS JUST FUNNY OKAY.

That said, it’s also right in line with the way he treats Guts post-eclipse. Because the people who hurt him the most get the “fuck you, I’m going to do exactly what would hurt YOU and you can’t do anything about it” treatment.

An army driving mammoth beasts: CHECK!

Not a huge amount of Deep Shit happening in Zodd’s dream, but I like how when the “camera” focuses on the Hawk’s beak, the beak itself is drawn to resemble Griffith’s helmet... or Femto’s head.

Griffith wins Zodd the same way he won Guts - by thrashing his ass in a duel. A while later, Sonia refers to Guts as Zodd’s counterpart and I’ve read some theories about what that could mean but for me its always been fairly clear: Zodd is basically Griffith’s Guts expy. He’s won the same way, and he serves more or less the same purpose. This kind of goes back to the theory that every major member of the new Band of the Hawk somehow echoes/reflects a member of the old Band of the Hawk. That I think is a little more of a stretch - not saying it’s definitely true, but it could be reading too much into things. But Zodd and Guts, I think, is a much more straightforward and clearcut situation.

Also the way Griffith’s coming is foreshadowed in Zodd’s chapters with black birds - Hawks of Darkness so to speak, is pretty boss. But remember that line - “when the sky falls at the holy ground where blind sheep gather and erect a pillar of fire...“ the line Griffith leaves with Zodd.

And then Guts has a dream too.

Its funny because it seems like the only three people in Midland who didnt just get the normal generic revelation dream are Zodd, Guts and the King, right? And then Griffith specifically visits Zodd and the King. Then Guts gets a dream too, which is from the baby but follows the same pattern as the other dreams given by Griffith. And I bring this up because after Guts wakes up and the baby is there...

The baby straight up quotes Griffith word for word - the same lines Griffith left with Zodd. 

Each dream urges the recipient to do something that serves Griffith’s purpose - the King just fucking dies. Zodd submits himself to Griffith. And Guts.... runs off to rescue Casca, right? But it’s Guts and Casca’s presence in the same place that makes the pseudoeclipse, and thus Griffith’s rebirth, possible.

I don’t like to give direct predictions or theories but I will say that’s very interesting information.

So this is kind of short because I wrote a whole thing about the Guts and Godo chapters, but it got so long and dense that I decided to separate them out like I did with the Griffith mindscape post. SO UH. Idk stay tuned. Bai.

[hometownrockstar]

I’ve been wanting to read new books/comics do you have any suggestions? I wanna broaden my horizon and try out works I haven’t had the chance to get into!

yeah sure! ive been reading quite a bit lately, mainly horror and disturbing books/mangas so obviously trigger warnings for those ones i can elaborate on specific ones if u ask but i'll keep it short... iunno what specifically you might want so i'll just shoutout my favs recently

Berserk has been the latest manga ive been reading, probably one of the hardest ones to read bc its VERY sad and disturbing but is an incredible story nonetheless. i am not phased easily by written stuff but berserk was the first thing to have a scene that i had to look away from so proceed with caution... Berserk is interesting bc it has Nietzschean tragedy themes and structure, portraying a world where evil and pain happens for no reason despite humans fearing not pain but pain without purpose, but it also holds a sense of compassion and realism to both the good and bad, exemplifying how Nietzsche saw tragedy as beneficial to enjoying and valuing the good parts of life. Sorry this got long but a lot of horror stuff i feel can be boiled down to "Super fucked up bad things happen in it" which doesnt give the whole scope of how a specific media might handle or portray it, so i wanted to explain how it feels to me, rather than just saying its gratuitous.

Something different is the manga Ultra Heaven! this was like finding gold when i discovered it, its short and unfortunately incomplete but i highly recommend it just for the incredible illustration work and playing with paneling and crazy mind stuff. its written by a guy who does drugs and often points to psychadelics as a heavy influence for his work, and its extremely apparent in this one. if you love beautiful artwork and surrealist mind-fucky narratives (like perfect blue or eva) then i cant recommend this enough.

ok i cant let this get too long ummm Animorphs! throwing a curveball but its still horror, just kid's cosmic horror. and war. and its really good, even tho i read it as an adult for the first time i loved it. actually rlly good commentary on the ethics and grey morality during war. Heres where u can download every book, the megamorphs and alternamorphs are required for the plot btw theyre listed in the order u read them in-between the series books.

A good horror/comedy manga is Franken Fran, i INSTANTLY took to it when i picked it up its my style of dark comedy exactly. i really liked black jack for the episodic chapter style, n this is like black jack but with dark comedy body horror and i love it :3

Back to books... I'll list these together, Come Closer by Sara Gran and Confessions by Kanae Misato. I stayed up all night on two separate nights reading these bc they had me hooked so well lol... I wouldnt call them horror, more like thriller/tragedies. come closer has a great writing style, its a rather sad book about a woman being possessed by a demon, really good sparse prose that emphasizes details. Confessions is just... u gotta go right into it, its GREAT. really intriguing style and premise, love the epistolary format, SO good with details.

The Melancholy of Anatomy by Shelley Jackson, short story compilation. i talked abt it best in this post so i'll link it

Bonding by Maggie Siebert is a great short story horror collection as well, the horror feels like aching and emotionally palpable in it, very well done one of my fav horror books ive read so far.

These next two things are about more abstract writing so dont expect completely clear narratives -w- but I read Amygdalatropolis by B.R. Yeager and i SUPER loved it but i might have to reread it a couple of times to get the hang of it. his newer book Negative Space has good reviews so i'll check it out soon but thats more of a grounded narrative, Amygdalatropolis juggles surrealist imagery, forum text, symbolic elements in a truly hypnotic way.

Umm finally i have been really into books of poetry by Sam Pink lately :)! theyre rather short and like some are more story-related but theyre absurdist and really like, good and resonating in a personal way, i really super enjoy it, i read You Hear Ambulance Sounds And Think They Are For You and a bit of Person and i like them a lot :)

[cherryonigiri]

S/O that thirsts over anime/game guys

reposted bc wasn’t showing up in the tags + I want to keep nsfw under the cut

@nononononojustno asked: Okay so could you write a headcanon where 2 random boys (can you pick then? I love all of boys from hq) and Ushi-kun where they walk on their gfs fangirling or thirsting over another anime/game character?And she was talking how hot he is? How they would react?👀😂 have a great day/night and dont forget to eat and get rest, love you💕

A/N: hahahahaha i laughed while writing this. FYI these are all based on legit crushes i had on anime/game characters at some point in my life - see if you’ve watched the shows i’ve watched :) ILY I PROMISE I’M DOING MY BEST TO EAT THREE MEALS A DAY AND GET ADEQUATE SLEEP MWAH. also i went overboard and added an extra boy bc why not. These are a little shorter since there were 4 characters but I hope you enjoy!

Content warning: implied nsfw for Atsumu + slight nsfw hcs for Matsukawa (both are under the cut)

PS: If anyone wants a spicy sequel/one shot for matsukawa i’m open to the idea 👀👀 let me know in my inbox!

Ushijima Wakatoshi

Ushijima definitely knows you’re into anime + games

Having visited your dorm room on multiple occasions he’s seen your extensive collection of manga, anime posters and you always seem to be playing on your switch whenever you have free time

Of course, he notices a significant portion of your collection is centered on male characters

And you’ve definitely mentioned a few games to him - Ikemen Sengoku, Code:Realize, Hakuouki (wow i’m really out here exposing myself) etc.

He doesn’t really mind though? Like - at the end of the day these are 2D men, whereas he is a very real boyfriend

At least he thinks he doesn’t mind

Recently, he notices that you seem to be on your phone a lot, and you seem to be texting the same group chat very often

He asks why and you laugh - it’s not actual text messages you’re just trying out a new otome/simulation game called Mystic Messenger. He finds the name silly but he just brushes it off he’s definitely J E A L O U S

Until one day he walks into your room while you’re calling one of your friends to freak out about that specific game

You sound kind of teary from outside the door “Oh MY GOD OH MY GOD I GOT THE GOOD ENDING WITH JUMIN!” and “[friend name] I THINK I CAN DIE HAPPY I’M MARRIED TO JUMIN HAN WHAT MORE DO I NEED IN LIFE” and “HE’S SO FREAKING ATTRACTIVE UGH I AM BLESSED”

He’s like who TF is Jumin and immediately bursts into your room looking pissed off

Poor babie is all like “you’re married?” and “if you had someone else you were interested in you should have told me.” “Who is this Jumin Han???” 🧐

Oh my god you start cackling, but you manage to tell him that NO you are not married and that Jumin Han is a fictional character from the game you’re playing

Ushijima looks confused after you explain - why would you find fictional men attractive when you’re already dating him?

Tendou almost dies laughing the next day when Ushijima tells him about what happened

Oikawa Tooru

Since practice finishes pretty late he usually goes to see you at your house at night, but tonight things wrapped up earlier - he’s excited to spend more time with you

You’ve finished up most of your homework so you’ve just been rewatching Attack on Titan since you’re super excited for the new season

You’re kinda distracted/have headphones on so you don’t hear your boyfriend knock on the front door. Your mom answers it and lets him in and he climbs the stairs

He can hear your fangirling (freaking out) over something as he walks towards your room

You jump in surprise when he opens the door, because you thought he would be a bit later but immediately release your pent up excitement

“Tooru just LOOK at him he’s such a bad ass like oh my gosh he literally has swords and he’s still running around slaying the MPs who have guns. God whenever he gets angry he looks so hot,” etc. etc.

You’re shoving your laptop in his face, showing him gifs and video of attack on titan, specifically the captain of the survey corps that you are obsessed with

Tooru gets it - for him its space, shitty alien films and astronomy. For you it’s video games and anime - or more specifically, handsome characters from said franchises

Even though he understand that it’s something you’re passionate about he still makes a whole show about whining how you’re in love with Levi Ackerman (lmao i still thirst over our favorite captain) instead of him

“y/n i’m taller than him! And more handsome! He has blood on him all the time! And he’s super annoying because he’s obsessed with cleaning.” *cue pouty Tooru*

You probably shouldn’t tell him that you are an avid follower of the levi x reader tag on tumblr

Tooru still somehow finds out you’re also reading reader insert fanfic and goes BERSERK with his pouting and whining - literally everyone and their mothers have heard his sob story about how “his darling y/n is leaving me for a short germaphobic asshole”

The rest of the team finds it hilarious - the end up pranking him by posting pictures of Levi in his school locker or texting them in the volleyball groupchat (Oikawa is Suffering™)

Makki and Mattsun get him a Levi keychain for his birthday and cackle when he chucks it violently into the nearest trash can

Miya Atsumu

Doesn’t really know you’re into anime/gaming at first

I don’t think that’s on purpose - Atsumu just has such a one track mind when it comes to volleyball and he’s always busy with practice

so he just kinda doesn’t really give all the anime merch in your room a second glance even though it’s a dead giveaway

I bet Atsumu secretly watches some superhero anime - probably shounen stuff like My Hero Academia, one punch man etc.

He probably starts to notice you’re into anime/games because you’ll play games on your phone/gaming device all the time

One day he notices you’re giggling + blushing while looking at your screen. He’s curious to he heads over to you when coach says they can have a break

Peeks over your shoulder because he wants to know what you’re playing - but instead he’s greeted by some 2D samurai guy called Harada Sanosuke asking you to marry him

“Huh, I didn’t know you were into this kinda stuff y/n” tries to sound playful but internally he is screaming / ?????? WOT I DIDN’T KNOW MY S/O WAS INTO OTOME GAMES

Atsumus pretty chill about it at first, he probably teases you a lot about playing the game but isn’t really bugged about it

“Maybe you should thirst over your boyfriend instead of a fictional character babe~”

I mean - he knows he’s attractive and why be jealous? You only really play the game when he’s busy and you don’t really let the game play seep into your dates/hangouts

But one time he walks in on you reading some ~spicy~ hakuouki x reader fanfic and he’s like are u serious

Like you were lowkey quiet screaming to yourself and muttering “omg omg omg” when he walked in and you definitely tried to close your laptop so he couldn’t see what was open in your browser

Too bad Atsumu has mad reflexes and manages to prevent you from making your computer go to sleep

Briefly skims whatever it was that you were reading and smirks at you

“Hey, if you really want something like this, why don’t you let your real boyfriend deliver” before kissing you

Matsukawa Issei

Look, Issei just wants a chill movie/tv show night where the two of you can bundle up on the couch and binge whatever anime you feel like

Has everything set up - this man is ready to go: snacks? he has all of your favorites, couch? filled with soft pillows + multiple pillows. Attire? Comfy sweatpants shirtless 🥵

Last time he chose the series for your binge sleepover so he let you choose what the two of you were gonna watch this time

Turns out you decided to watch Psycho-Pass - it seemed like a pretty cool show, he was down with the whole dystopia/psychological concept

Starts out pretty normal, is appreciating the action + mystery elements and is glad that you chose that show

About halfway through the anime you two decide to take a break - he goes to the kitchen to refill your snacks, leaving to stretch you back.

When he comes back with more food, he notices that you’re hunched over your phone, typing something

He sneaks up behind you after he puts the food down, “Whatcha reading there babe?” You squeak and try to hide your phone, but not before he sees the words kougami x reader typed into your tumblr search bar

Lit-rally exCuSE me what - he’s not mad (more amused than anything else) but he also kind wants to tease you (bc Mattsun is a little shit)

“Is that the reason you wanted to watch this show?” he asks playfully. “He’s pretty hot tho, I kinda agree with you there babe.”

Now that he’s released the floodgate, he can’t stop your occasional comments like “omg how does he look so GOOD when he’s punching someone” or “he could shoot me with his dominator and i’d still say thank you”

The thirst comments are kinda getting to him, so he decides to take things in a different direction

“Let me what I can show you with my dominator~” L M A O I’M SORRY THIS EXISTS

Suddenly you’re being pulled onto his lap, and pressed against his bare chest, Issei barely gives you time to adjust before he’s kissing you roughly, tongue plunging into your mouth

His hands wrap around your hips pressing your core closer to his own, and you can feel his hard-on pressing into your stomach

He’ll be sure to suck a dark hickey onto the side of your neck and his hands travel under your shirt, just to remind you who your real boyfriend is

Needless to say, you won’t remember a single thing about the second half of the show after the night is over couch sex? Couch sex 😏

[obliviouskind]

Folktales

---

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Disclaimer: Current day Sinnoh does not follow, nor believe, in the tales listed below anymore – only its culture lingers within its population. This is considered a dead faith.

---

Before Orthism became widespread upon Sinnohan land, there was a faith which was less about worship, and more about the stories passed down and told. The myths of the land, the richness of the creatures within it. The belief that those closest to God lingered among them. In modern terminology, these creatures are either considered to be mere legends - or are considered to be abnormalities of nature. From Brook Horses, to Trolls; every imaginable horror of which could scare children away from wandering too far off their farms has been passed down by word of mouth, and left vast parts of the population fearful of the unknown. 

To this day, these stories linger on - most commonly seen within novels, though they are known to be used for teaching children how to count, sing, and write. There are, of course, still those who hold on to these superstitions. Or, at the very least, behave as though they do.

They may warn you to be extra careful, when wandering near creeks. --Below, there will be a list of the most notable beasts of which have been most commonly affiliated with these myths throughout the ages - from God’s unlike those most commonly praised now, to those whose coloring left them with a bad lot in life... 

It is important to note, however, that all tales come from somewhere… Be it from fear, or truth. A certain someone, certainly, came to take them as the latter - though that is a story for a different time...

---

FIRSTBORN

Regigigas and His Descendants

Before Time, there was Space. Before Space, there was Time and before either - there was a Titan known only as Regigigas. The very first soul to have been created by Arceus’s quiet palms, molded out of rock and soil for one purpose, and one purpose only. To die had been his destiny - and within his corpse, life would begin to flourish.  Regigigas is said to be the forefather of all life on earth. He is the very soil that one walks upon, the very mountains that one climbs and at his core, hidden deep in snow, thrums the temple of which keeps his heart closed. 

After his origins, the Giants who came after became associated with the chaos of antiquity and the wild, untamed forces of nature - most notably: Regice, Registeel and Regirock. Described as behemoths who could throw boulders several miles and who left traces in the landscape in the form of giant pots, moving blocks and burial mounds – it was no wonder that their reputation was one of hostility to the highest degree. Both to humanity, just as well as the highest of cultivations. However, though large and strong creatures - they weren't exactly… savages. Known to be able to take the shapes of humans, they could be clumsy, as well as silly. Evil, as well as insidious though sometimes, too, magical and wise. Giants have been said to have been the teachers of humanity, as well as the malevolent. 

Time and Space are depicted as the most notable of companions for these Giants and are even said, in certain tales, to have mothered numerous of their offspring throughout the ages. In current times, the presence of Giants are seen as non-existent - if not entirely gone. The aforementioned trio could be considered the last ones standing, if even that, and for those who still hold these beliefs dear; it's a sign of doomsday, and nothing less. 

(In Snowpoint, the old tradition of proposing using a necklace embellished with Registeel’s Smithing Hammer, rather than a ring, still lives on.)

---

TROLL Shiny and ‘Neutral’ Snover/Abomasnow

The word ‘Troll’ has been a descriptor whose meaning has changed over time. In modern terminology, ‘Troll’ mostly has found its footing in relation to one specific creature group – Snover’s, as well as their more developed counterparts. It is, however, interchangeably used in relation to many other mythological beings and in common language, it seemed as though it had been used as a blanket term for all beings that one would have considered evil in some form or fashion, rather than it having come with a set classification and characterization.   Giants, Mountain Creatures, Witches, Berserks and even just abnormally tall people have all earned themselves the classification of Troll within old Sinnohan records.

In central Sinnohan beliefs, Trolls have been described as having been capable of disguising themselves as people so well that they practically were indistinguishable from humans. Height, for a long time, was considered a ‘tell’ of malevolence and left many untrustworthy of those who developed these characteristics. In Southern Sinnoh, Trolls - just like Giants - have been said to have gone extinct. The spreading of Orthism over the region has been noted as the reason for this rapid decline and, if there were to still be Trolls who lingered, then their kind have resorted to hiding away beneath moving blocks, or the mountains. 

Up north, however, they wander freely upon the earth's soil… though, certainly not without troubles. 

As mentioned above, there are tales of which describe that Time, just as well as Space, have mothered the children of the Titan’s descendants. These children, most commonly, have been depicted as broad, lumbering creatures who have the ability to disguise themselves within the depths of the forests as proud firs - Abomasnow’s, whose colorings differentiated them from their less divine kin, fit this bill perfectly. The north once was littered by these half Giants, each and every one of them building their own family packs where children came about in abundance. However, as human settlements expanded and developed, the land of which once had been theirs to take now was intruded upon and understandably… Fear and hostility quickly spread.

(A mother cried out that her child had been stolen by the forest Trolls, eaten for it’s delicious, pure blood and expressed that, if nothing was to be done, then they simply would come back for more.)

Trolls earned themselves the reputation as being foul, kidnapping creatures who wished for nothing but to cause humans harm - though there were tales of which depicted that they were brighter than that and that if spoken to, one potentially could convince them not to steal the lives of others. Just like their forefathers, they could be dangerous, as well as kind. Mischievous, as well as helpful. Villages who knew of the tales, despite not having experienced any of their effects, often took measures to protect their own once it was known that a herd of Abomasnow’s and Snover’s lingered nearby. The Shiny variants were the most important to take on, as no matter if it was a Snover of Abomasnow - they, more often than not, were to be the leaders of which held these family units together. 

(Their numbers have greatly diminished over time for this reason. A common theme, as this list goes on.)

With time, however, these stories fizzled out in favor of those told in church halls - and Trolls no longer were a true fear in people’s minds. They still did exist, yes, though people now have something other than pitchforks and knives that protected them from their perceived malevolence. If you asked a Sinnohan school child in current times what a Troll was, then a Snover or Abomasnow still would be their most common answer. For they are, and were, real, and they do still exist… They just are not considered to be as mythical as they once have been.

---

EYES OF ARCEUS Shiny Murkrow/Honchkrow

Two Ravens sit perched upon Arceus’s shoulders, seeing all that he can not see, and hearing all that he can not hear. At dawn, they fly over the world and return at noon, describing to him all that the humans, as well as beasts, have done - describing every fault, every triumph and every fight in gruesome detail. It should come as no surprise that Murkrow, as well as Honchkrow, have fallen prey to the superstition of Huginn and Muninn. The glimmering, imperial coats of the rarest of sorts have been said to be the true descendants of Arceus's personal Ravens - set free into the world to watch over them when Huginn and Muninn could not. Therefore, if one happens to be watched by this bird - it's seen as an omen. 

Good, just as well as bad. 

All these tales of the Ravens sparked many villages in the past to rely on Murkrow’s for delivering messages. The birds were great companions to the humans of the land, exchanging their services for pieces of bread or silver coins and delivered the letters that, otherwise, would’ve taken months to arrive but now took just a few short days. There are tales that speak of birds that knew the human language, and these are thought to have been Huginn and Muninn themselves. In Orthism texts, the myth of Murkrow’s still linger - though their purpose have been revised from that of the old Gods, to those of new. They have been mistaken/attributed with ‘Nattramnar’ - birds who are said to manifest after suicides, or the deaths of unbaptized children and who were believed to occur at night in bird form. Primarily as Ravens.

Murkrow’s and Honchkrow’s are treated favorably by those who describe divinity to their kind.  A rare feat, for the times.

---

BROOK HORSE Shiny Ponyta/Rapidash

Another Pokémon who greatly suffered due to superstition having been described upon them, was that of Ponyta and Rapidash. With their manes having gone from fiery red, to wine dark sea - it was only a matter of time before their kind were attributed to be the spirits of forest creeks. The Brook Horse was said to have a lair within water depths and, from there, he often came - and it was not good to meet him. A horse said to be so beautiful to children and adults alike, one simply couldn’t help but follow it wherever it went. Children often wished to ride upon its back and, no matter how many children they were, room would always be made.

Its back was capable of elongating itself to accommodate all that wished have a seat.  

Sometimes, the Brook Horse has been depicted as a handsome youth - following the myths of which often humanized creatures that otherwise were considered as beasts. His goal in these tales often was to lure young women to himself, with the promise that he would bring them joy and gladness in his halls if they willingly followed him home. Though, if they grew suspicious of who he was and called him by his true name - Bäckahäst - then they would be released from his allure and all of his power would be gone. 

One could also be saved once set upon the Brook Horses back, children and adults alike, if another came upon the scene with a bar of steel at hand. What they would have to do would be to toss it between the water and horse, and then he no longer would be able to continue forth and those bound to his back would be released. However, as would become a theme in these tales… Humanity's preventative measures to these creatures became less kind with time. Just as with Abomasnow and Snover, the shiny horses were hunted and killed before they could cause the inhabitants of settlements any harm and, thusly, their numbers have greatly declined in the modern times.

---

HULDRA Shiny Gardevoir (Shiny Gallade)

The Huldra is one of several wardens which stem from similar tales, though primarily gets noticed as a fair lady who wanders the forests upon her bare feet. She is the forest's ruler, the protector of the wild. She is also said to have willingly offered her flesh to those that she takes a liking to. She lure walkers astray and seduces the men that she likes, all the while being described as either affectionate or condescending - a nymph, perhaps, she could be considered; for she held powers that primarily revolved around the seduction of men. Gardevoir fell into this characterization for many reasons, one primarily being that as far as the beasts in the wild goes, Gardevoir has an appearance that has been considered most human-like. With slender features and proportions that border on human, yet isn’t so, it was only a matter of time before they were spoken of as seducers of weak men.

The velvet spear through their chest is the mark which makes them a Huldra, though certain tales describe her as wandering with but a cavity through her breast - primarily in the southern Sinnohan forests. In northern tales, and northern tales only, there's a depiction of male Huldra’s as well. However, rather than being considered beings of beauty - they were thought of as hideous and foul.

As has been stated above: Troll is a word of which once was used as a blanketed label for all that was considered evil – and the Huldra did not escape this classification by any means. The Troll, Troll Mother and other similar names have been ascribed to her, and she has been said to have lingered in the families of Snover’s and Abonasnow’s all the same. She was, after all, the ward of the wild. 

(If one thought they might be getting seduced by a Huldra, then it was said that one ought to turn their shirt inside out and read the psalm ‘Our father’ backwards to escape her seduction. If one had coupled with the Huldra, and then were unfaithful - then misfortune would befall them at every turn, for her rage and hurt would always find you.)

---

MARA Shiny Misdreavus/Mismagius (Female)

Last, and perhaps least, there’s a creature known as Mara. In folklore, a Mara, The Mara or Nattmaran (nightmare) was a supernatural being who was said to torment sleeping people by sitting upon their breasts and ‘riding’ them – which would cause them a severe feeling of anxiety and respiratory distress. Mara was sometimes said to be a human spirit, though it did not necessarily have to take a human form when it haunted people at night. It could appear as a cat, a dog, monkey or mouse, a feather or even a ball of yarn. There are different tales as to what it is that makes a human soul a Mara. Sometimes, it was said to be due to envy, or because a cat skipped over an unbaptized child. In older Sinnohan provinces, pregnant women thought that a way to have an easier birth was to pull the placenta of a Rapidash over their head three times… It was, however, a trick which came with a price. If the child that was born was a girl – then she would become a Mara.

(If the child was a boy, it would instead become a hound.) 

In western Sinnoh, it was believed that if a child was born ‘untimely’ - between the hours of twelve and one at night - and it was a girl, that she would become a Mara. 

Misdreavus, as well as Mismagius, have been mistaken for these ‘Nightmares’ throughout time. However, it is said that it is only the ones of the female kind - and those who differentiate themselves by their color. Humans, after all, aren't Pokémon, and therefore they won't simulate them perfectly. 

(Sometimes it was considered to be certain women who during the night - often unknowingly or against their will - became a Mara. However, since a Mara could not get up in the sleeper's bed without first getting up in his footwear, the caution was that one should preferably place their shoes underneath the bed with the tips of the toes facing outwards.)

---

There are, of course, many more creatures that could be found within old Sinnohan myths. The ethnic groups of Florama and Snowpoint carry their own specific stories and names for the beings we all may know as something else, and there are creatures not mentioned in this list whom hold significance in the more modern of days – Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf being great examples. However… Perhaps that is a list best saved for a another time…

[modmamono]

Why Space Channel 5 is one of SEGA’s best dumbest games ever, no questions asked. (Report 1 & 1/2.)

Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast is one of my favorite things ever, let alone favorite video games. Though I more often watch it on YouTube then actually play it.

For those not in the know, Space Channel 5 is a game series developed by United Game Artists and published by parent company SEGA. And that’s the most Wikipedia quoting I’m gonna do in this gush piece.

There aren’t many games quite like this rhythmic, Simon says game. At least in style because this game has that in spades, the gameplay anyone can do. And I am not at all qualified to explain its style because I wouldn’t how to describe it as besides maybe very 70s?

Point is there’s something charming about this game, and I think SEGA agrees with me on that. The lead character, Ulala (seen above), appear in these games to name a few years after new Space Channel 5 games stopped being made after 2002:

2004: Sega Superstars

2006: Sonic Riders

2008: Sega Superstars Tennis and Samba de Amigo

2010: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing 

2012: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Project X Zone

2015: Project X Zone 2

And not to mention the invading aliens have been skins of the titular Puyo Puyo in that series for a while I can’t determine. Possibly since at most 2007 up until current day with Puyo Puyo Champions in 2018/2019.

ALSO not to mention the VR game that came out recently! (How could I forget that? That’s the main reason I’m doing this.)

So it is clear SEGA loves this game and it’s sequel a lot. I don’t think their most beloved cult classic NiGHTS: Into Dreams gets that much love from the company though it certainly does get a lot itself, most games wish their parents still loved them that much long after they had a game. Anyway...

Now the part where I actually talk about the game.

I wanna say, first and foremost. This is not a review of the game. This is just gushing about why this game makes me happy.

And everything I’m gushing about is just what you get from the from one playthrough of the game. Save for one exception, I will not be talking about supplementary material, nor Space Channel 5′s lore.

And yes, this colorful dancing/rhythm/simon says game has lore. Basically any non-repeated character model has their own biograph. So I will not go into that.

You’re not missing too much, there are interesting tidbits, sometimes they fill you in on background details of the story.

Speaking of the story. I’ll start in a second. But if this is new to you, you can watch it here first (The first playthrough is only half the video):

Prologue:

We start off with a bunch of alien sitting on a space couch watching space TV. These aliens are known as the Morolians and they’ll be the main antagonists for the evening.

This cutscene has no dialogue, so this is all open to interpretation for a first time viewer. Though I do enjoy this split second foreshadowing:

And that’s when the title screen appears. Blasting you with the series’ main theme Mexican Flyer. Look it up if you must. You’ll be hearing it a lot, it’s the game and Ulala’s leitmotif.

Report 1: This is terrorism attack on an airport... I’m gonna ignore that.

This is the only piece of supplemental material I’ll talk about, as it’s present in the game itself, but not elaborated on, and it is important to two of the character.

The game starts in a flashback. In the year AD 2489 a spaceship exploded. Everybody on board died safe for a little girl.

She was rescued by a man working for Space Channel 5. A news organization that with a specific focus on dancing. That last bit is nothing special though, as everything in this galaxy revolves around dancing.

After the little girl is saved by this kindly Channel 5 Gent (Age 25) she knew what she wanted to be after she grew up. She wanted to be a sexy dancing reporter for Space Channel 5 just like him (presumably). And to meet him so she can thank him in person.

10 years later......

It is AD 2499! And the Morolians attack a space airport and their ray beams hypnotize people to dance silly.

THE HORROR!

And that’s when Space Channel 5 sends in Ulala to report on the progress.

But what they’re actually doing is for Ulala to solve the problem instead of the Space authorities.

One character I do wanna mention now is that Ulala’s producer, Fuse, is an unseen character yet is important later. He’s the one briefing Ulala in the screenshot above. And oversees Ulala’s every move.

Also Ulala never got to meet her rescuer. He either left shortly after Ulala got rescued, or shortly before Ulala joined. Given what we learn later, likely the former.

Anyway onto the show:

BAM!

BAM!!

BAM!!!

I will always love that. Ulala got down on the ground in the panicking space air port to coolly report on the panic.

As quick aside, I wanna mention that Ulala doesn’t run in this game, she slowly struts and all of her struts are simply majestic. And those amazing struts lead her to the first gameplay section of this game.

Some Morolians hold a few hypnotized people hostage. This is is a dance battle. Meaning you got repeat exactly what the aliens do in the exact rhythm they did it in order to save the hostages. And I love this gameplay. It’s simple yet fun (provided you got minimal lag, you should look into that if you wanna play this game).

The controls are:

Up: Up

Down: Down

Left: Left

Right: Right/Light

Button 1: Chu (Aliens)

Button 2: Chu (Humans)

And this is how normal people settle things in this world apparently:

Party 1 (usually the Aliens) make up a tough but fair pattern for Ulala to copy in the hopes of psyching her out.

Party 2 (Ulala & Co.) gets as many chances ad she got. And the better she does more people tune into her news report. If she wins she gets what she wants. Saving the hostage and getting Party 1 out of her hair.

Every single one lives by this code of honor and I honestly have no clue if there’s an in-universe reason. But I love it regardless. I love it when people say: Up Down Chu Chu Chu. And the Ulala repeating it.

Though frankly, I don’t like it when the Morolians issue the commands. I like it when others do the exact same commands in this same game, so it’s a little bit of a bummer the Morolians do it.

Anyways. You save the hostages and they join in on Ulala’s unstoppable strut as will always happen if you rescue people. And they strut to the second gameplay type: The Shoot-out.

The controls are the same as the above but now you gotta watch out for humans in the mix.

In general these are trickier. And I might go into that later. But they do work on the same rules.

Don’t worry I won’t go over every dance or shoot-out unless there’s something special about it.

Also I’m pretty sure you kill people if you push the wrong Chu. Don’t do that, it’s bad for the ratings!

Skipping over three battles.Something new happens, rival space news station: Space(?) Channel 42 has a reporter of their own out on the field. And that reporter is planning to steal Channel 5′s viewership. And this is HER!

You do a dance battle and she dies.

Though seriously, I like this game does this. It’s not only aliens you fight, but other factions of the Space News Media. And it’s always a nice shake up when someone besides her shows up.

You see, for the most part any reoccurring enemy has recognizable mannerisms you gotta batlle, and her is no different. It’s hard to describe for me. You kinda gotta play or watch the game for yourself to see what I mean, but I think it’s best exemplified in Report 2. And the following games.

Though one thing’s for sure, each non-normal Morolians or rival reported does bring their own genre switch with them. Heck sometimes even normal battles have unique genres. I’m am not musically inclined so I wouldn’t know hers or most others. 

Any way, before she dies she give an emotional speech and gracefully suggests to take her Channel 42 guitarist with her and Ulala accepts that’s the least she could do for a lousy reporter like her.

And then it’s boss time!

Yeah, actual bosses with actual boss characters. And not like the recently deceased as shown above. She’s practically for all intents and purposes another Morolian dance battle.

And it’s down to funky jazz music, not unlike what you’d see in Sonic Adventure! Even Ulala comments on it, confirming it’s dietetic  Where does it come from? Not sure, there might be an explanation somewhere. But do keep that in mind. That the music we hear is also the music the characters hear as well.

Anyways:

Not Pictured: Super Stretchy Arms.

I think it’s a bit of a misnomer. Invader is correct, that’s what it’s here for. But is it really a robot? It moves like an organics and is a bit rubbery. This basically goes for all Morolian robots.

I can suspend my disbelief. You shouldn’t nitpick too much about Space Channel 5, it doesn’t want you to think too hard about it’s world even if there’s a lot to it. I’d be concerned if Space Channel 5 did wanna put its story and world building first and foremost.

But “Hypnotized Robot Invader”?

What?

Spoiler.

Robots and hypnotism... I’m pretty sure a sign that we made perfect human-like Artificial Intelligence if they can fall susceptible to Hypnosis. Even then I doubt it.

Sorry, that’s always bothered me, I get what they mean by it. It’s just the word choice... Did they mean Hypnotizing Robot Invader? This boss is great.

It starts off with a normal dance battle, but you get to watch a new Morolian enemy’s moves. It’s also quicker on the draw along with a few softballs to throw your timing off. Pretty good stuff.

And that applies to the next phase as well, where the the shooting starts.

I don’t have much to say.

Unlike the robot’s final phase where it’s the first phase again, but with guns and the robot goes to berserking speeds with the input commands.

And after you beat it, it joins you in a strut.

As does everyone you saved, No matter the gender, nor age, nobody is embarrassed imitating Ulala no matter what she does. We’ll be half as lucky to get a cool future as cool as 2499.

And with that the first report is over.

Report 2: (Age 35)

At the Morolian HQ (Presumably), their boss doesn’t like failure.

But like a good boss he doesn’t dwell on failure and moves on to the next plan. One of his lackeys has this plan: Another boss battle dance robot who operates on:

The everyone at the table is impressed. So I guess Ulala is screwed, game over.

This level is more of the same as the last one more or less, it’s possibly the most boring level in the series in that regard. It’s not bad, this is just the game bulding enough a status quo before they change things up in Report 3.

But that doesn’t make this level any less interesting to talk about, so I won’t go over it much.

The short story until something new happens is: Space Ship (think of it as a fancy yacht but in space) is being attack by Morolians, Ulala is send to report on it, and being the professional she is saves hostages as well.

She saves the captain, crew members, stewardesses, waitresses, the Space Diva (OH NO! NOT THE SPACE DIVA!), passages and the like.

UNTIL!

He voice says “I’m gonna steal you show, Space Channel 5”. And you see this ship flying by:

Another rival reporter, this one a pirate broadcasting station.

Side note: That’s sounds like the most important kind of pirate ever. Alternative news/non-mainstream with no money/rating motive blinding everything with journalistic integrity? Yes, by all means. If they’re pirates then so are Secular Talk & The Humanist Report.

Back to the silly dance game. The Pirates either jam or hack Channel 5′s signal and the Ulala is stuck with them for a while.

And then we meet that where we meet the gent above.

“[His] name is:“

“JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!” “JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!“

(Age 35)

LET’S DANCE!

Dude, I love Jaguar (Age 35) he’s gotta be my second favorite character in the series on account he’s just cool and incapable of embarrassment.

Remember the deceased of the last report? The Channel 42 reporter in the blue dress? He’s her counterpart for this chapter.

But whereas the deceased’s gimmick sounded air headed for a lack of a better term. Maybe, girly? Point is, battling her didn’t feel too dissimilar to battling Morolians despite her rhytmic mannerisms.

Jaguar (Age 35)’s gimmick is that he just adds. He starts with a simple Up. And then he adds a Chu, and another Chu. Eventually it becomes a really long chain of commands, it has to be some of the longest in the series. And you have to do them all from start to finish because he does them all sequentially. Can you repeat?:

Up. Chu. ChuChu. Right. Left. Down. DownDown. Down. Chu. Chu. Chu.

He is easing you into it, but it is by no means an easy fight. Because after the chain is at its longest, he just spamming ChuChuChu in quick succession. And then a simple Chu.

After defeat Jaguar & Co, escape by jet-pack, saying they will meet later.

This battle is a highlight for me. Coco Tapioco and the big bosses to come are better if you ask me (with exceptions). But Jaguar (Age 35) is some of the best the normal gameplay goes.

And you could argue what normal means in the context of Space Channel 5. But effectively, like Channel 42′s deceased, functionally he might as well be another Morolian if he wasn’t there to be set up for later. Because you do get person that just joins your Strut Club like everywhere else.

You gain his Jazz Man and you get a great sax solo as a reward beating him. Like how you got Channel 42′s guitarist for beating them. I like the think the Jazz Man can work for Jaguar (Age 35) again while the Channel 42 Guitarist is blacklisted.

And before we move on from Jaguar (Age 35) check out his Chu pose:

BOSS TIME!

Jaguar (Age 35): The alien mothership is retreating. Don’t you have to follow them, Channel 5? Fuse: Blast you, Jaguar [Age 35].

With the pirates giving chase, Ulala is left with the cowardly alien robot to elegant music.

Ignoring the robot’s title, while silly, its cowardice is its greatest asset. For it has kidnapped some space schoolkids, making their space teacher worry. Their space teacher can actually be seen at the start of the report.

Space fashion, am I right?

I’ve exceeded Tumblr’s invisible limit of what to put in a blog post. I’ll have to rewrite this boss what I have to say for this boss. So full, can’t spell check! We’ll be back!

[theanimeview]

Theory: The True Voice of Yusuke Urameshi

By: Casea Mhtar, @madamekrow​

Yu Yu Hakusho is ultimately my favourite anime, to the point where I can’t bear the thought of liking an anime more than it. For example, Berserk (1997) will be my “number 1” while Yu Yu Hakusho has exceeded the list altogether because its pedestal is just that high. That is the length I must go to secure a strange sense of balance for myself and stave off yet another identity crisis for a different reason. So you can probably imagine how much chaos was thrown at me when I found out that Yusuke Urameshi’s voice actor is completely different than the one I vividly recall when I found myself rewatching the series a few weeks ago. I have a memory of my sister and I watching a single episode she had taped on VCR and we would specifically watch the credits nonstop. We were trying to memorize the song (with great success, I might add).

At the time, there was still no means of listening to the ending theme anywhere other than its source. YouTube wasn’t really a thing, and even if it was we didn’t have access to the same databases we have today. So we watched that part over and over and over again. I remember etching each image into our minds, every lyric into our internal roster of songs as it played on repeat. The names kept popping up just as they did before the last and the voice actor of Yusuke Urameshi, my favorite character, was none other than Yuri Lowenthal.

I distinctly recall thinking “Yuri, that’s a cool name” to myself as his name came up again and again. Not to be rude, but “Justin Cook” just isn’t exactly a name that would elicit such a thought from me and, indeed, never came to mind since I am certain it wasn’t in the credits of my beloved Yu Yu Hakusho VHS. 

So, in my rewatching of the show, present-day me had the initial assumption that what was going on here was a perverse version of the Mandela Effect. However, looking into it now, I feel that completely waters down my experience and doesn’t actually explain what happened. 

I mean, I can’t simply ignore my recollection as being a false memory, as every Mandela Effect is reasoned away with. No. I needed to find true reasoning for this madness. 

For the sake of convenience and for the lack of a better theory, I will settle on there being an unexplained dimensional shift. Certainly, any reasonable person could argue that I made a mistake. I simply misread the credits, maybe even pulled that name from somewhere else. Or perhaps Yuri was Yusuke’s voice actor from a different dub! But that isn’t the case as seen in this YouTube video comparing EVERYONE who has voiced Urameshi. 

So... Let’s say this was all a misunderstanding on my part. BUT THEN it didn’t just end with me incorrectly reading names in the credits over and over. I didn’t wrongly perceive the Funimation dubbing as being someone else and then call it a day. I was validated in my belief for a long period of time by outside sources.

.Hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth (2006)

The overall series of .Hack// is a subject I will certainly indulge in more in the future, but for the purpose of staying on-topic, I shall restrain myself. The reason I bring it up now is because in 2006, when .Hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth was released (I will always say it in full!), the protagonist--Haseo--sounded so familiar. I couldn’t quite figure it out until I saw who was credited with the voice acting. Out loud, in front of witnesses (if you count my birds), I said, “Yuri Lowenthal?. . . Wait, is that the voice of-”

I looked up his name to find he was-at that time-credited as the voice of Yusuke Urameshi. Quite a mistake that is since officially he is unlisted in the series yet multiple people around the world think otherwise, the same as me. Not only that, but updating all of Lowenthal’s pages to be credited with Haseo in addition to Urameshi. Many people had to review those pages, many people happened upon those pages and never bothered to correct them. That’s what really gets me. Sure, if my Ego was backed into a corner then yes, I can perhaps admit that my eyeballs had failed me and that’s all you’re gonna get out of me! Yet there is no copy I can find of him voicing the character online.

Could this be an example of lost media instead then? Well, no. Apparently not. Most anyone I’ve told about this believes I am confusing him with someone else. They may not remember “Justin Cook” at the top of their heads, however they are adamant about Yuri Lowenthal never, ever voicing Yusuke Urameshi. Because he didn’t... in this dimension.

Perhaps I truly am mixing him up his voice with a different character? Yuri Lowenthal is also famously the voice actor for Sasuke Uchiha in the english dub of Naruto. An extremely popular character from an anime that is surrounded by an enormous and ever growing fan base. The problem with that is, I’ve never watched Naruto. I didn’t even know Lowenthal was in any way a part of Naruto until I was somewhat adjusted into adulthood. When explaining my entire theory to a friend, I asked them if they can imagine the essence of an other-dimensional Yusuke within the voice of Haseo. 

“All I hear is Sasuke from Naruto,” They bluntly said.

I’ll be honest... That hurt more than it should have, but I swallowed my pride and looked into it since I’ve never actually heard what Sasuke sounds like.

What I begrudgingly find is that my friend was right. Again, this was the first time I had ever heard Yuri Lowenthal as Sasuke and I didn’t know that he was the voice actor until a few years prior. This entire ordeal leaves me feeling unnerved that there are so many loopholes being found in the False Memory Theory. It can’t be completely dismissed as large scale misinformation or misremembering. That is why I had to settle on the theory that there was some strange dimensional shift, even with how outlandish that sounds.

The Discovery

I don’t know when it occurred and I’m not sure how I missed it, but it happened. You would think being thrust out of your prior dimension, or being crammed into a different one, would have some sort of impact. Maybe that’s why I developed back problems during my teenage years, I can’t really say. All I can recall is the feeling of my stomach hitting the floor through the bottom of my feet when I finally found out. I was watching the DVD box set of Yu Yu Hakusho that my friend lent me and I could immediately tell something was not right. Yusuke didn’t sound anything like I remembered, the voice--the tone--was weird, his inflections were way off, it was all wrong! WRONG, I TELL YOU. So, to the internet I went only to find someone else being credited...

“Justin Cook this” and “Justin Cook that” appeared all over. There was even a video of him yelling “spirit gun” for a fan and I was still in disbelief! There was no way! This wasn’t possible! 

Apparently, in this dimension it is though, and that is a fact that I will have to live with for the rest of my life... or until reality throws me back to my own dimension. The knowledge that I will look crazy whenever I tell this story, as well as the reality that there could be more dubs out their with voices unknown. Not just voice actors, but entire animes—maybe video games, even people I thought I knew! Who knows what was left behind with Yuri Lowenthal as Urameshi! I don’t care to think about it too much. My heart is wounded enough I tell you. I already have a crippling fear of one day finding out my whole life is a lie—I don’t need to rack my brain about all of this as well.

In Conclusion,

Yuri Lowenthal was fantastic as Urameshi and I wish I could somehow put my memory into an audio clip for everyone to hear. Not so much to prove that he was better, but to solidify why my experience is very real to me. Though, if you did hear the Yusuke that I knew, I truly believe you would think it was pretty good at the very least. (Not that Justin is bad... just that it feels wrong to my beloved memory... sorry Mr. Cook.) On the bright side, Lowenthal is plenty successful and I am always rooting for him regardless. Sure, Justin Cook is my “number 1” Urameshi in this dimension, but the Yuri Lowenthal rendition that doesn’t exist in this world has exceeded the list all together in my heart. His pedestal is just too high.

What about those of you reading this? Do any of you have a similar experience? Maybe you also remember Yuri Lowenthal as Yusuke Urameshi! Let us know! (Let ME know! Please--I beg someone to find a copy if one exsists in this world. 😭) 

Happy Wednesday. I guess. Bye. 

[murfeelee]

TS4 Werewolves - Rant Alert

I got this one comment that sent me off on a whole tangent, so I decided to reply to it separately.

slade-the-neko replied to your photoset “The Wolves:This world is slowing down How can I fight it? How can I?...”

Dang Murf, that's very impressive! Really makes me wish Sims 4 had werewolves. I'll definitely try porting the Skyrim model to TS4 if they ever add them.                    

Y’all know TS4 is my trigger -- wtF is EA even doing over there? That Tiny Living Stuff Pack was a JOKE, like....seriously? o_O For as much money as they’re swindling y’all for TS4, EA’s Sims team is creatively BANKRUPT. ZERO innovation, intuition or inspiration.

EA just takes popular concepts/crazes like the Tiny House Movement, Baby Yoda, and Harry Potter, and waters it down to the barest of minimums: tiny homes with huge AF Murphy beds instead of bunk beds or convertible futons/sofa-beds; a decorative Baby Yoda you can’t even interact with; no school of magic sims can go to (and no magic for kids YET). I’m so tired of them!

People keep comparing RoM to TS1′s Makin Magic, and I keep going WHERE? I said in my initial trailer reaction for RoM that it made zero frikkin sense for the RoM magic land to have that perma-nighttime full moon, without even bothering to have werewolves in the so-called realm of magic.

RoM would’ve been the PERFECT chance to add werewolves. What better way to have a magical pack than to also introduce werewolves as the local denizens of Glimmerbrook’s forests. Missed opportunity, EA. (－‸ლ) 

They could’ve added a werewolf household living in the woods, that your sim either befriends or gets bitten by, so your sim goes to the Magical Realm to either find a cure for lycanthropy (for the werewolves or for THEMSELVES if they’re bitten and are gonna turn in a couple days), or wolfsbane poisoning if one of the wolves is made sick by the brand new harvestable Wolfsbane *cough cough!* (Wolfsbane comes in the Vampires GP, but they could‘ve totally made more types of Wild Wolfsbane, Yellow Aconite, Purple Monkshood, etc.).

Either one would give your sim a REAL impetus and incentive to go learn magic and talk to the RoM residents and mess with potions & alchermy. Which is another reason I said (I’ve BEEN saying) I wanted HEDGE WITCHES, who could do HERBOLOGY. U_U

The RoM Game Pack NEEDED to be its own Expansion -- it wasn’t a realm at all; it was a Diagon Alley ripoff and everybody knew it. HELLO, EA! Part of worldbuilding is creating a EFFING STORY that gives your game a FRIKKIN PURPOSE. EA didn’t go the distance at all; they did the mere basics of adding magic to TS4, with a lot of style but not much substance. But ironically they did the same with the mermaids, which did get their own EP, and everyone agrees that TS4′s Island Living was worse than TS3′s Island Paradise, so wtf. (－‸ლ) 

But I doubt werewolves would get their own Game Pack like the Vampires & Spellcasters -- EA would do Faeries/Elves before wolves, I suspect, cuz faeries are in a sense easier. Wings, mushrooms & flowers, glittery magic, LOTR-esque art nouveau inspired furniture, etc -- everyone knows the standard faery.

But if TS4 werewolves got a pack all to themselves it would force EA to effing give a crap about lycan culture & lore, and the complexities of things like pack dynamics (alphas, betas, omegas, etc), moon cycles, transformations, lupine physiology & locomotion; diet & hunting (adding new flora & fauna), etc.

While heavy in gameplay expansion, with werewolf-specific abilities, interactions & animations, what other stuff could you stuff into a werewolf stuff pack? Y'all saw how in TS3 the Supernatural EP didn’t give wolves a single bloody thing other than their CAS stuff -- for build/buy mode wolves got ZILCH. We didn’t get busted furniture or shattered windows or blood splatters or more fur patterns -- NOTHING. Everything in build/buy mode was for witches & faeries--all wolves could do was tear the crap up with their claws.

And even their CAS stuff was lackluster - no hairy skins, makeup or tails, but we got body hair & face sliders, claws, fangs, etc.

I like TS1's werewolf design from Makin Magic the most, since their heads/skins looked like wolves.

TS2′s was the biggest downgrade in terms of the LOOK of werewolves, in that it was just a skin.

If EA does do wolves for TS4, I’d hope they make it so the werewolves look like effing WOLVES. At least let them turn into animals, like the ones in TS2 PETS. (WHY TF was TS2 the only time Sims had ACTUAL magical pets!? >_< TS3 has dogs! TS4 has dogs! DO IT ALREADY.)

Considering the cartoony PG13 angle EA insists on keeping TS4, I don’t imagine they’d EVER make wolves look like @camkitty2​’s amazing werewolf mod at MTS:

And certainly not the scary Skyrim werewolves that I converted.

Or even the ones from EA’s other property, Dragon Age (which are effing ugly, IMO).

(The ugly anthropomorphic bipedal version, btw, not the more wolf-like version.)

TBH, If TS4 did werewolves at all I BET YOU MONOPOLY MONEY the template EA’d use would be a lot like Bigby Wolf’s design from the Wolf Among Us video game:

Bigby goes through 4 phases, from man to gradually being an actual wolf in his 4th phase/Final Form. His 3rd phase has a face that not really wolf-like so much as Jekyll/Hyde; beastly enough that you pretty much know Oh that’s a werewolf they’re doing, without it actually looking like any animal.

It’s big and scary with muscles & claws & hair, but cartoony enough that it’s not drastically different from a regular sim. EA’s wack enough to pull something like that, rather than going the extra mile to give us the kind of Skyrim-esque werewolves many simmers want.

Or the full-shift magical WOLF that I personally want.

Don’t get me wrong; Bigby has a great design for Wolf Among Us, made by AA developers Telltale (who do The Walking Dead video games). But Electronic fArts is a AAA developer, with billion dollar budgets, massive teams & bookoo resources. But by god EA’s the laziest AAA company around; just the kind of twats to do AA level work with AAA finances, as we’ve seen in TS4 and TS3.

Bigby’s 2nd phase is basically what TS3 did for werewolves, with the scrunched up brow/nose, pointed ears, hairier face, etc.

This kind of werewolf design is fine, but it leaves A LOT to be desired, especially if it’s the only form you see in certain werewolf franchises. It reminds me too much of how Teen Wolf makes werewolves -- basically as hairier vampires from Buffy (which makes sense). But come on EA, go the distance; go FULL WOLF SHIFT or go home.

In Eastern Europe werewolves ARE vampires/witches -- they’re connected to nature magic, druids & wicca, neopaganism, etc: magic runes & symbols, stones & metals, scyring, bonfire festivals (having Celtic holidays would be so cool!), enchanted woods & nemetons & ley lines, the effect of moonlight on water #TuckEverlasting style, shamanistic sacred animal totemic power and such. Tap into that tribalistic Slavic, Norse & Celtic lore on werewolves, EA, you effing COWards!

In TS1′s Makin Magic and TS3′s Supernatural, witches and werewolves came in the same pack, and had gameplay elements tied to each other -- in TS1 it’s the Beauty & the Beast charm that magical sims can use, and in TS3 werewolves can be used as witches’ assistants to Gather harvestables/collectables used in alchemy potions. So for TS4, having werewolves in RoM would’ve made SO MUCH sense. Hell, they could’ve fit into the Vampire GP, too -- why was wolfsbane even IN that pack? o_O

So if TS4 adds werewolves, I hope they add something NEW to the lifestate, and do more research into other portrayals & iterations of werewolves.

Everyone knows about Norse Berserkers (were-bears), but less attention is given to the Wolves of Odin, the Ulfhednar/Ulfhedinn (werewolves). A lot of Nordic neopagans are into them nowadays.

A werewolf GP would make it so EA would have to flesh out werewolves -- if they live in the woods, give them woodland build/buy mode CC. Let them live OFF THE GRID as technophobic naturists, cuz electronics like tvs, PCs & radios hurt their sensitive eyes & ears. They could be more modern, sure, but it would be so much cooler to have sims who only use well water and hot springs and compost toilets and woodfire ovens.

Bring back hobbies/skills like bone/woodcarving, gem cutting, basket weaving & looms, soap/candle-making, pottery, horticulture, tree-cutting/tree-hugging, animal husbandry (could you imagine werewolf shepherds? XD), sparring, (arm) wrestling, boxing, hunting, bird watching and more. Basically: fullblown medieval-rustic hunting lodge aesthetics: animal pelts, antlers, mounted taxidermy, COME ON, EA, stop being boring!

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Chocolate Box 2021 Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Elsinore | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Simoun

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

Requesting fic; open to art treats!

—

Fandom: Elsinore

Relationship(s): Hamlet & Ophelia; Hamlet & Horatio & Ophelia; Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia

I found the friendships in this game, and the different ways that characters can reconcile or try to find a way forward together, to be really sweet and moving, and I'd love to read something that focused on those relationships of trust and support. I like how important Ophelia and Horatio's counsel and friendship is in timelines where Hamlet becomes king; I like Hamlet regretting how he behaved towards Ophelia and striving to live through his depression and find out what it is that he wants, not what everyone else wants of him; I like seeing childhood friends Bernardo and Laertes and Ophelia and Hamlet, whose growing-up has stretched them so far apart, taking time to catch up and enjoy each other's company a little.

So, futurefic in one of the timelines where everything doesn't go to shit? A timeline that we don't see? (There is something narratively interesting to me in Permanence/Passion in that the entire plot of Hamlet ends up as a distant backstory to someone's full life; I don't know how compatible that idea is with these requests, but if you want to write any of these groups fucking off to Italy or Constantinople or London and living until the Elsinore pressure-cooker is a distant memory, I'd be just as happy with that as with fic about them building some kind of future together still in Denmark, trying to make it better for its people and to hold on to who they are as individuals, and friends, beyond their roles.) If you want to write Hamlet/Ophelia, Hamlet/Horatio, or for that matter Horatio/Bernardo as shippy, I'm fine with that, but I don't want a focus on the romantic aspects of their relationship.

Fandom-Specific DNW: death of requested characters within the timeline being explored, or focus on death of requested characters. These characters die in this game a lot and I don't need you to pretend entirely that it's not a time loop game, but I would like them to be happy. If you write the Bernardo & Hamlet & Laertes & Ophelia request, I'm fine with either or both names/pronouns for Bernardo|Katherine, but I don't want to read a story focused on their gender or coming-out. Please don't include Peter Quince as a character (you do not need to retcon, you know, the existence of the time loop).

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Relationship(s): Maria Ross/Olivier Mira Armstrong

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Relationship(s): Abigail Pent & Dulcinea Septimus; Gideon the First & Matthias Nonius

Dulcie and Nonius were two of my favorite additions to the cast in Harrow the Ninth (and Dulcie in "Doctor Sex" via letter). I loved everything we learned about Dulcie - her wit, her quick thinking in a pinch when confronted by Cytherea and her secret to Harrow. I found her "The only thing preventing me from being exactly who I wanted..." speech both genuinely moving and very funny, and I love her thirst for revenge. What else might she and Abigail Pent, "independent research? it isn't even my birthday!" daredevil spirit-talker par excellence who has just conjured up a ghost out of an epic poem, get up to after Harrow's bubble collapses? Or what were they up to when they weren't on screen in Harrow's dream, putting together this whole, well, play?

Nonius's arrival, entire scene, and departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. I'd love to read either more about his mysterious past with Gideon the First, or about their second encounter as allies (throw in Marta, Ortus and Pro if you like as well!)

Fandom-Specific Exception: to my unrequested ships DNW, Dulcie/Cam & Dulcie/Pal. I love their three strand thing.

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Relationship(s): Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...

I would also be up for smut for them, especially something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

Fandom-Specific DNW: sex solely for magical purposes without an emotional connection (sex for magical purposes is fine), focus on Raylla (I don't need you to retcon it, but please don't dwell either on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail), Scylla bashing, Abigail/Adil (I would prefer to imagine, if he is mentioned in the fic, that they’re just friends).

—

Fandom: Simoun

Relationship(s): Aer/Neviril; Aer/Neviril & Neviril/Paraietta; Aer/Neviril/Paraietta; Aer & Floef & Neviril & Paraietta & Rodoreamon & Vyuraf

Aer, and Aer/Neviril, really grew on me on my recent rewatch. I appreciated her more as the determined bit-of-a-loose-cannon, who grows into a respected role in the choir, than the manic pixie this time, and noted Neviril's comments about how she was drawn to Aer's determination. (I've written a lot more about what I love and am interested in about Neviril and the show in general, her journey of figuring out what it means to her exactly to lead an air force, here.) I'd love to know what happens to them post-canon - what is the "new world" and their travel in it like? It's an escape for them, sure, but what are they escaping to, not just from? Are there problems there, too?

I'd also be up for a poly situation where Neviril is involved with both Aer and Paraietta, her long-loyal second-in-command whom she's blessed and forgiven, as a V where they're friends or as a triangle where Aer and Paraietta are also involved (I don't quite know what that leg of the triangle would look like but I do like how they work together in battle even when they're shown as having personal issues.)

If Neviril and Aer make it back to the main world when war is brewing again, as at the end of the series, but their old cohort can't fly anymore, what do they see their role as being? Does Neviril see herself as a leader for peace, for war, for something else? How do they interact with their former squadmates, whether as part of a more plotty piece or not?

I could be interested in explicit fic for this canon, as an option - the series is, on some level, about the contrast between the reality and physicality of their bodies and the general perception of what they do (which even in its non-spiritual military capacity is removed from a connection to their bodies via the Simoun aircraft), about becoming an adult, and of course about gender.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I'm not really interested in Kaim and Alty and would prefer for them not to appear or for their backstory to come up. I would also not like to see pre-timeskip Dominuura/Limone.

[nadziejastar]

What are your thoughts on the various types of lesser Nobodies?

The members of the Organization each had their own distinctive weapons that didn’t exactly cooperate if someone else tried to use them, but Keyblades were even more particular. If someone else so much as tried to pick it up, a Keyblade would simply return to its wielder’s hand. Or so Xion had heard.

We should have gotten to learn how the members of the organization got their weapons.

Nobodies derived their personalities and abilities from memories of their human lives. But what exactly were those abilities? What gave rise to them? The answer that came to mind was the presence of memory itself. They were chained by their memory, and in those bonds was power. So it was probably fair to say that Roxas and Xion were bound by the same memory.

And we should have learned how they got their “personalities” and abilities, too. The Nobodies they control are one of those abilities, no doubt. They should be based off of specific memories from when they were human. Which means that the organization members should have gotten a MUCH more flesh out backstory than they got. I’m really disappointed that most of them remained so flat, even including the popular ones like Axel. He may have been very likable, but his backstory in KH3 left him very flat.

Sorcerer

A sorcerer, magician, or “witch” attempts to influence the surrounding world through occult (i.e., hidden, as opposed to open and observable) means.

There should have been a story/lore based reason for each of their fighting styles. There are no lesser Nobodies based on Vexen/Zexion. It probably means that those two did not have any fighting abilities as humans, which makes sense. But the rest of the organization probably did fight as humans, thus they can control Nobodies based off of that fighting style.

Sniper

A sniper is a marksman who operates to shoot people from a concealed position. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics, and often feed information back to their units or command headquarters.

Braig was a sniper when he was a castle guard.

Dragoon

Dragoon, in late 16th-century Europe, a mounted soldier who fought as a light cavalryman on attack and as a dismounted infantryman on defense. The terms derived from his weapon, a species of carbine or short musket called the dragoon.

Dilan was a dragoon.

XaldinHe has the image of a medieval Chinese military commander. He is excellent at strategizing, and a powerful soldier. I’m sure the players all know that he is a contender for the first or second strongest in the Organisation. I’m satisfied that I was able to depict that strength in his personality, too. I personally really like this character.–Nomura

But he was also based on a Chinese military commander. We didn’t get to learn much about Dilan. What was his motivation? Why did he side with Xehanort? 

Watching that foolish beast flail about only deepens my disdain for humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings. We became Nobodies precisely to avoid the shackles of emotion. It was only later that we realized the scale of that loss: that some things simply cannot be done without a heart. Nonetheless, I see nary a pleasant thing about it.

Why did he want to get rid of his emotions and why did he consider them a weakness? What was his opinion of Ansem the Wise, and how did he feel when he was banished? Did he want to take over Radiant Garden?

Samurai

The ideal samurai was supposed to be a stoic warrior who followed an unwritten code of conduct, later formalized as Bushidō, which held bravery, honour, and personal loyalty above life itself; ritual suicide by disembowelment (seppuku) was institutionalized as a respected alternative to dishonour or defeat.

Aeleus was a samurai.

LexaeusHe’s a character with strength to rival Xaldin. While Xaldin has power plus technique, I’d say to Lexaeus is more of a samurai, or that he has bushido-style strength. If you listen to his very last line in Re:COM, I think you’ll be able to see his spirit. I wanted to do more with this character.–Nomura

Nomura said his final words showed his spirit.

Lexaeus: You are the Superior’s—Forgive me, Zexion. This was a fight I should not have started.

In Re:CoM, these are his last words. He seems to have some honor and was loyal to Zexion.

Lexaeus gave him a cruel smile. “Hmph…so I must accept my defeat here. But do not make the mistake of underestimating the darkness in me! As I am destroyed, it will leave this ruined vessel and drown you!” 

Then there was a terrible shock wave far greater than what Riku had felt from the darkness that Lexaeus radiated before the battle. 

“Wh…what’s happening?!” A relentless swirl of darkness surrounded him, swallowing him up until he disappeared into it. 

Lexaeus laughed madly. “This is my strength… I, number five in the organization… I who was once his favorite pupil!” Those were Lexaeus’s final words before he vanished into the darkness.

In the novel, there’s an extended final scene with his final words where he apparently commits seppuku and says he was “his” favorite pupil. Who’s favorite pupil? Ansem? Xehanort? We’ll probably never know.

Berserker

Berserker, Norwegian berserk, Old Norse berserkr (“bearskin”), in premedieval and medieval Norse and Germanic history and folklore, a member of unruly warrior gangs that worshipped Odin, the supreme Norse deity, and attached themselves to royal and noble courts as bodyguards and shock troops. The berserkers’ savagery in battle and their animal-skin attire contributed to the development of the werewolf legend in Europe. These Viking berserkers were infamous for fighting in a violent rage, recklessly charging at their enemies without armor or any other protection, and seemingly without concern for their own health.

Saïx is a strange case. Unlike the apprentices, we never saw Isa fighting as a human. He was just a kid. So how did he become a berserker of all things?

Prayers are uttered to Odin, as the object of contemplation. Why Odin and not the wolf, bear, or whatever? The berserk trance is brought about by Odin, he is the inspirer, that which brings something outside the self within the self. This is ond, inspiration, or vital breath. This triggers the wod, or fury and possession, which is where the wolf, bear, or whatever comes in. As a god, Odin is a “larger” concept than the animal, and so the effect he has upon the mind during the ritual will be the greater.

Berserkers worshiped Odin. To go berserk, they needed to meditate on him and receive divine inspiration. In other words, they couldn’t just go berserk at will. The needed to meditate upon a divine purpose to go berserk.

Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

I think Saïx was the same.

It infuriated me how you just exited our lives. I lost…all sense of purpose.

He needed a purpose to go berserk. 

Yes, I thought you didn’t need me anymore. If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning.

For him, it was Lea. 

Saïx hesitated for a second, and Roxas ran at him.

He blocked the Keyblade.

Long ago—I remember, I didn’t hate fighting. Saïx flung his claymore at Roxas.

And so, Saïx remembered things from a long, long time ago.

My theory is that Saïx would need to meditate on his purpose before he could go berserk. Before he went berserk fighting Roxas, he thought back to a time before he hated fighting. Back when he had someone to protect and fighting actually had meaning.

Assassin

A murderer of an important person in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons.

One of the things I disliked about KH3 was its characterization of Axel/Lea and seemingly retconning his role as an assassin. On the clock tower, Axel and Saïx revealed their shared goal of finding Subject X. Saïx wanted to work his way to the top of the organization hierarchy so he could find out what happened to her. Axel said that he couldn’t keep up with Saïx and his willingness to do the icky jobs Xemnas wanted them to do to achieve that rank.

This flies in the face of ALL the hints from the previous games about their shared objective:

In order for Sora—no, for Roxas to live, and also for us to accomplish our own goal, Zexion is in the way. And, if it’s for the sake of our own goal, we already decided what to do, that time.

In the novel, Axel references their shared goal and how they decided to do whatever it took. Zexion was in the way and Axel killed him.

Given the right memories, the Replica could mimic the powers of the original. Which meant that if he were implanted with somebody else’s memories, he would, hypothetically, gain other powers. Somebody’s—or maybe even a Nobody’s. He had one particular Nobody in mind. All the members of the Organization were still influenced by the memories of their human lives.

Here, it references Axel’s memories of his human life as a reason he wants to use the Riku Replica to defeat someone and absorb their powers. Sounds like Axel was, at least partially, motivated by revenge.

Axel let out a breath. “Look, I knew Vexen and Zexion would cause trouble for you. That’s why they’re not around anymore.”

That sounded more like he was justifying it to himself, Axel thought. Their lack of hearts didn’t render their actions meaningless. It wasn’t as if they never thought carefully or acted without objectives in mind. Humans and Nobodies alike would pursue their own purposes.

“The dirty work doesn’t bother me,” Axel went on. “You just make for the top.” There was nothing false in that, and he looked Saïx in the eye as he said it. Saïx stared hard back at him. Right. We have our own agenda.

Again, it demonstrates how Axel was always the one willing to do the dirty work to achieve their goal.

“Everything is back to normal. Of course this is for the best, isn’t it?”

The reason I’m unable to answer Saïx is probably because I depend on him, thought Axel.

“Xemnas has also been irritated at the recent changes in plan. Everything has to go back to normal, for the sake of our goal too… Lea.”

Axel finally looked over at the sound of that nostalgic name. Saïx was looking at him. It made him think of his time as a human, and the memories came surging back.

Here, Saïx is trying to coerce Axel into killing Xion for the sake of their goal. He never even considers doing it himself. It sounds like Axel was always the one who handled the icky jobs like killing, not Saïx. Because, obviously, that was Axel’s job. He was the assassin.

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

Axel was at first willing to kill Xion. And who was he doing it for? Isa. And for himself. Because he needed Isa. He emotionally depended on him. Saïx knew Axel needed him and manipulated him by calling him “Lea”.

Axel didn’t care anymore about what the Organization needed, what Xion or Roxas wanted, or even what was supposed to be good for the worlds. He had been using the Organization for his own ends from the start. The only thing that had changed in the meantime was who it was all for. Maybe Saïx would call that a betrayal. But his world had changed.

It doesn’t sound like Axel’s willingness to kill had anything to do with Subject X or finding information about her. It sounds like Axel was wiling to kill for Saïx. He and Saïx wanted to take over the organization for Saïx’s sake.

What were you really after, Lea? We joined the Organization at the same time, and formulated our plan. At this point, it’s just an idle fantasy. Everything changed. You, and me.

When Axel refused to do what Saïx wanted and left the organization, he apparently didn’t need him anymore. And Saïx couldn’t handle that.

Yes, I thought you didn’t need me anymore. If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning.

Of course, Axel’s motivation was retconned in KH3. Instead of Isa being his reason for staying in the organization, it became Subject X/Skuld. And along with that change, Axel’s role as an assassin was whitewashed. Maybe the idea of the fan-favorite Axel being happily willing to ruthlessly murder people didn’t seem appropriate anymore. Especially if it was no longer not for his best friend, but for a girl who is basically a stranger to him. I dunno. But I think it’s BS.

Dancer

A warrior who dances across the battlefield, garbed in colorful raiments. Tends to have low stats and specializes in support magic.

Demyx was a dancer.

DemyxFrom the beginning he was created as a light-hearted character, but his voice actor really made him stand on his own as a character despite the short appearances he had. He is by no means strong, so I think it’s funny how you don’t see it coming when his abilities make him a formidable opponent. His line before exiting was something I thought of on the spot and had them add in.–Nomura

He is described as not very strong. We never got to see him as a human, but he was probably a performer.

Gambler

(Bakuto, 博徒) were itinerant gamblers in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of the forerunners of the modern Japanese crime gangs known as yakuza. Bakuto plied their trade in feudal Japan, playing traditional games such as hanafuda and dice. They were mostly social outcasts who lived outside the laws and norms of society.

Luxord has still not received a backstory. I think we can tell a lot about him with this, though.

LuxordIn all honesty he is my absolute favourite Organisation member. I like how he treats everything as a gamble, like Setzer from FFVI of old. I actually wanted to make him stand out more. At least I got him to say some things during the meeting scene added to KH2 FM+… but Luxord should have been able to do so much more…–Nomura

Nomura wanted to do more with him.

The nation of Lucis was said to have worked akin to a mafia crime family since the nation’s ancient beginnings, and despite its peace was said to have engaged in strict rule, including a ban on firearms and a lockdown in the capitol city. Noctis was the crown prince, and Regis the current king. Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto—Noctis’s team members—acted as his entourage akin to a Yakuza kyodai-shatei structure.

Maybe his gambler/bakuto job is the reason why he’s apparently going to have a connection to the Verum Rex world. In Re:Mind, Yozora’s driver sounded like Luxord. And Luxord’s wild card is apparently going to be what helps Sora return.

Reaper

Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper causes the victim’s death by coming to collect that person’s soul. Other beliefs hold that the Spectre of Death is only a psychopomp, serving to sever the last ties between the soul and the body, and to guide the deceased to the afterlife, without having any control over when or how the victim dies.

The Reaper and Ninja Nobodies were introduced in KH3. I think Marluxia’s intentions were supposed to be known by the time KH3 started. He wanted to bring his sister back. That’s why he wanted to control Sora and the Keyblade and take over Castle Oblivion. That’s something that should have been explored in the Dark Seeker Saga, explaining how Marluxia became a vessel. Maybe Xehanort convinced him that if he helped open Kingdom Hearts, he could reunite with his sister.

Ninja

A ninja (忍者) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included espionage, deception, and surprise attacks. Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the honor of the samurai.

Larxene’s backstory is a Keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales. But why was she a knife wielding ninja archetype character? What was her life like before she became a Nobody and tried to take over Castle Oblivion? How did she get so twisted and when did her hatred of men develop? What is the nature of her feelings for Marluxia? That’s what I wanna know.

[lacobscur]

hey u wanna see me write some rly incoherent stuff thats berserker and kariya behind the scenes because i kept thinking about it and since f/z didnt give us any deets and matts not around to supply the real kariya facts, its my city now. this hops around at random and ill add to it whenever i feel like it.

and also sometimes my homestuck past rises up from the depths and grabs me by the throat until i write something in second person.

“Who is that?” you ask, interrupting Kariya’s thoughts with your own.

“Sakura,” he replies quietly. “This war is to save her. Fight for her sake.”

Sakura turns at the sound of Kariya’s voice, likely under the assumption that he’s speaking to her. A question begins to form on her lips, but you take the opportunity to manifest, ignoring the pained inhale from Kariya as you do so. The girl doesn’t flinch at all, or even react, just stares at you with the blank stare she’s had this whole time.

You take a few steps forward, out from behind your Master, to kneel before her with your hand extended towards her. Nothing changes in her countenance. “You’re... what Kariya summoned?” she asks quietly, her voice coming forth as if echoing over an insurmountable gulf. 

“Yes,” you answer, coherent enough.

Sakura lays her hand delicately upon your own, and it feels like she is a doll that someone else is puppeteering. Perhaps she is lost, but it will take more than you to help her. You both know this. “Be careful of grandfather,” she says, looking into your face.

“I don’t fear him.” It’s something like this: you’d like to say that you could protect her if she wanted, but you offer the truth instead, as minuscule as it is. You’ve never been one for lying. She can take what she wishes. 

Sakura nods minutely and then slips her hand from yours. “Neither does Uncle. You two should still be careful.” Her eyes meet yours directly, and she does not even minutely flinch away from the lurid glow of your curse and the biting despair within. You give her a nod in return, and she walks away without further comment, disappearing down the hallway like she’s already a ghost.

You stand and return to Kariya’s side before dematerializing. “She didn’t fear me,” you inform him, with a mourning sort of wistfulness.

“Neither did I,” he replies, stubborn over something-or-other you don’t have the inclination to figure out.

“Do you really think that you’re so well-off that someone sharing a trait with you is a good thing?”

Kariya falls silent at that, watching the empty hallway for a long while before he finally sighs and turns away.

----------

You don’t watch Kariya when he stumbles into the church. You can’t. It’s too much, too personal, too familiar, the rising sense of regret like bile in your throat as Kariya acts out a role it’s too late to avert. It was always going to end like this, and you knew it. Instead you watch only the figure on the second story, who eyes the scene from the transept like it’s the climax of a play. Perhaps it is. You’re not one to judge that -- you just watch him, under the ostensible excuse of protection, guarding your Master from the only threat here that never mattered at all, and you know it.

Attention only wavers from the overseer when Kariya hauls his way out and you disappear with him. He finds himself in the street, curled over himself on the ground screaming something incoherent between his sobs. He screams at you, too, when you materialize and heft him up over your shoulder, wordless. He weighs nothing, save the weight of scars, and it’s almost as if his hatred and regret and despair could melt right into your own fog.

He screams himself raw, which doesn’t take long, and retches when you put him down in what might ostensibly be called his home. When Kariya finally manages to look at you again, you can’t tell if his gaze is accusing you specifically of betrayal or if it’s directed to the world at large. There’s nothing to say, so you don’t try.

You just sit down next to him, and wait.

“Why,” he asks you eventually, once he’s ran out of tears and his throat can produce something other than cracked screaming. “Why.” Hoarse and broken, just a final plea.

There’s nothing you can tell him. Nothing will make it better, that this is merely a tragedy on loop and if you knew how to fix it you would have done something already, if you knew how to remove yourself from the tracks set out, neither of you would be here. But an ‘I don’t know’ means nothing, so you give him no reply, just rest your hand on his shoulder and hope that provides some stable reminder of existence, as if that were enough. 

You aren’t sure, when his breathing evens out, if it’s because he’s exhausted himself to sleep or because he’s fallen unconscious. 

----------

this also goes here (link)

----------

Command seals are new. You’ve never had them used before, almost surprisingly (though your attention is quick to flicker to the King on the battlefield, Kariya’s also too far gone by those points to care, and this is the only Grail War you’ve ever been in). Unsurprisingly, you come to the conclusion that you don’t like them. Kariya’s hand glows and then fades, two of the red squiggles dying out as the shadows around you roll and boil in clear anger. You told him this wasn’t how For Someone’s Glory worked, and you told him that Rider had nothing to do with either of you, and yet --

Kariya stares at you with a fixed expression. It’s hard to sway him once he’s fixated on a goal, which is something you both know and respect, but find it extremely irritating at the moment, when he tells you to wear the guise and get out.

“I - don’t - want - to.” You snarl out, each word punctuated with sharp irritation. It’s the angriest you’ve been at him, the only time you felt genuinely collared, the command seals like an over-tight chokechain around your neck.

“You have to.”

“Says who?” 

The shadows roil around you, spiking up and giving you a malformed facsimile of Rider. It hurts to take this form, the furious buzzing in your brain (bugs, bugs, isn’t it? Biting and painful, swarm without form, you can’t fucking think). The fog was never meant to be used like this and it complains when forced, command seals dragging Rider’s guise onto you and keeping it there. 

Rider’s face must look strange, warped and glowing in a furious scowl.

Kariya matches it with angry determination of his own. (You’re forced to remember, that this is a scar, an empty swatch, it shouldn’t be surprising that it’s easy to lead around a corpse.) “Me. The seals.” The seals burn as if a reminder, but that’s not the answer you want and he knows it too. You raise your lip at him in a silent snarl, expectant and waiting. After a few seconds:  “Kirei,” Kariya answers, and you don’t bite back the furious, bitter laugh that bursts in a single syllable past your teeth.

Ah, the priest. Of course, of course he would continue puppeteering, and force you to do something like this. It’s too late for you to do anything else, and besides: the command seals have been laid. Ignoble and wrong as it may be, you’re stuck. You stand, at least enjoying the feature of Rider’s height that lets you loom over Kariya better than usual. “Fine,” you say before disappearing, word falling bitter to the ground.

Irritating, irritating. The things you do for a war you both know neither of you will win.

(You’ll forgive him, of course, he is merely buffeted around in the same ocean you are. But sulking makes you feel better. Gives you something to concentrate on other than the pain and skittering dysphoria currently over your body. Damn bastards. All three of you, Master and priest and your horrid fool self.)

----------

There’s no map, but the directions Kariya gives you are simple enough. A few streets away, off to the side of the city, somewhere in the depths of a parking complex where weapons have been left behind for you. Unobtrusive, an easy place to stage both an ambush and a battle. Kariya sighs and closes his eyes when he finishes describing where the parking garage is. “Go there,” he says, leaning back against the concrete wall, “and fight the King.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Kirei told me.”

You know better than him, you know that the priest is a liar. But what good would it do to say that? Going to the King is what you’ve fought for all along. Besides, Kariya is attached the the priest -- one show of kindness, or even showing a lack of blatant dislike towards Kariya is enough to earn that, considering how rare either are -- and you have no inclination to remove that one minor consolation prize from him, no matter how falsified it may be. It also serves your purposes just fine. The king is the reason you came here, the reason you took this form, and informing Kariya anything he might already suspect will only distance you from that. So, you stand. “Alright.”

“I’ll stay here,” he says, and smiles up at you, tight and forced and barely a smile. Perhaps just a side effect of the scarring.

“Alright.” A pause. 

He says he stays because it’s the closest he can get to your leyline without being eaten. Both of you know better. He stays there mostly because the walls are soundproofed and he knows how badly your fighting will hurt, and he stays because it will be easiest to clean up his body when it’s here. Just kick it into the pit. No one will have to see him die, this way. Because he knows this is where you both die, and so do you. There’s nothing else from here -- and if there were, who would chase it? There is no Tohsaka family for Sakura to return to; Kariya failed, so chasing the grail loses all direction, only a mad aimless flailing, guided only by Kirei and Kariya’s lack of understanding. You chase nothing but the King. The only option is to die, and hope that it might mean something to someone one day -- or at least, not hurt anything any more than living already has.

You stand and bow to him, and then you leave. “Farewell.”

“You, too."

What an unfortunate joke this is.

[loretranscripts]

Lore Episode 53: Trees and Shadows (Transcript) - 6th February 2017

Credit for transcribing this episode goes to @laqueus-ludovicus! A big thanks to her for helping me with this project, it’s massively appreciated.  

tw: animal mutilation

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

Some of the things we see aren't what they appear to be. Heather Bowie and her cousins learned that lesson back in 1989. She was eleven at the time and according to her mother, Karen, it was a bright winter day, the sort of day where the sun reflects off every inch of snow, which always has a way of making dark objects like houses and trees stand out. Heather and her cousins were walking along a small country road that ran between their town and the next when they saw a dog sitting in a stream near the roadside. Well, stream might be too strong of a term, it was just a bunch of run off, the sort that passes beneath roads through those big metal tunnels. It was a drainage ditch basically, but kids love dogs, so Heather and the others veered off the road side and into the snow to walk toward it. They assumed it was a local pet that had wandered a bit too far from home, so they planned to check its collar and see what they could do. But even from a distance it looked a bit odd. To be specific it looked too big to be a dog. They took one more step toward it and then stopped. They stopped because that's when the dog turned to look at them. And as it did so, it did something they weren't expecting - it stood up on its hind legs like a human. Obviously frightened, the girls ran home as fast as they could. Humans have always had a connection to animals. We live with them in our homes. We depend on them for food and resources. We identify with them, sometimes even treating them more like people than beasts. We speak to them, we name them, and we project human personalities on them. For thousands of years, we've treated them as if they were more than animals. But of course, that's just our imagination. If we believe the stories, though, it might be more true than we expected. As I said before, some things aren't what they appear to be. Sometimes, they’re worse. I'm Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

Our connection to animals is nearly as old as humanity itself. We've almost always treated them as important parts of the world around us, although different cultures have expressed that importance in a variety of ways. The common thread, though, is that animals have always helped us better understand our world. Some cultures have revered them as gods to worship. Others have seen them as valuable sacrifices to offer to whatever deity they wanted to please. In many cultures, animals have served as our companions through daily life, and in others they journeyed with the dead to the afterlife. Just think of what we know of ancient Egyptian culture. There were entire cults built around specific animals, like bulls and cats, their dead were frequently buried alongside animals that held personal or spiritual significance, and many of the Egyptian gods and goddesses were represented through simple animal symbolism. Anubis, for example, was part man, part jakel. Sekhmet was a woman with the head of a lion. Ancient Hindu teachings for thousands of years have demanded deep respect for the animals around us. In China, the ancient philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism both stress the same thing. With the Hindus, that respect is founded on the idea of reincarnation, in China, it's rooted more in moral responsibility, but the result is the same. Animals are and always have been important to us, and yes, I know that ancient cultures focused a lot of their religion and practice around the sun and moon and stars, but they often framed those complex systems with simple animal language. Thats why so many cultures have their own zodiac symbol, where the major constellations are represented by animals. The Greek root of zodiac, by the way, literally means “circle of little animals”. Just an aside – the ancient Egyption word for cat was meu, which sounds a lot like the noise that cats actually make. And that classic stereotypical dog name, Fido? It comes from the Latin word fidelis which means loyal and faithful.

It's easy to see then how animals have helped us understand our world a little better. They help us find our bearings and keep us company in a big, wild world. More significantly, though, they've helped us understand ourselves by giving humans a sense of identity and purpose, a theme or a banner to unite around in a sense. Sometimes those themes are took the form of religion, as was the case in Egypt with the bull cult. Sometimes it's more of a totem thing, where an entire tribe or community built their identity around a significant animal in their environment. Sometimes they did it for a feeling of safety, sometimes it was a symbol of power. In Icelandic folklore the Norse warrior class known as “berserkers” were members of the bear cult. Berserkr in Old Norse literally meant “bear shirt”, but it also embodied tha fierce, powerful nature that they wanted for themselves as warriors. They were often depicted wearing bear skins and sometimes even bear heads as head coverings. That's a tradition that still survives, by the way. You can see it in the ceremonial military caps worn by some personnel in multiple European countries. The most common tribal animal, though, has always been the wolf. It's a global fascination, with examples found in Mexico, North America, India, Mongolia, and the Middle East, and this is probably because wolves represented so much of what early humanity identified with. They moved in packs, they hunted their food, and they have a distinct social order. Any hunter-gatherer community would instantly admire those qualities. And like bears, wolves were also seen as brave and powerful warriors. Ancient Persian and Hittite warriors were known to dress in wolf skins for battle. Interestingly, though, they also had a reputation for tossing their weapons aside and just jumping on their enemies, literally biting them like wolves. For a very long time, you see, humans have wanted to be animals, which of course led to stories where that was the case - animals that became people, people that became animals. It's an idea so powerful that we can find it hiding inside the folklore of dozens of cultures. The Native American skinwalker, the Nagual of Central America, and of course, throughout much of Europe, there's the werewolf. These are stories, of course, artifacts from another time, when animals were gods and humans desperately wanted to imitate the divine. And yes, these stories also address our dual nature, because we are in so many ways nothing more than animals ourselves, but those moral lessons have a way of distracting us from the plot. For thousands of years, people have told stories about mysterious beasts – and it turns out those stories might be more real than we care to believe.

In 1989, a woman was driving along the same country road that Heather Bowie and her cousins had just walked along weeks before when they sighted that strange creature. In Lorraine Endrizzi’s case it was well after sunset, so she was doing the responsible thing and scanning the edges of her headlights for wild animals. Wisconsin has plenty of deer, after all, and deer don't mix well with windshields and front ends. Lorraine worked as a manager at one of the local bars in Elkhorn and had just wrapped up a very long, very tiring shift. All she really wanted to do was get home safely, but when she did notice something unusual, it wasn't in the periphery of her headlights. It was right in the road in front of her. Seeing it early gave her the chance to slow down and swerve to avoid hitting it, but it also helped her get a good look at it. From a distance it looked as if there was an animal hunched low to the pavement of the oncoming lane. It's head was gently bobbing at an irregular rhythm. She couldn't tell for sure, but it almost seemed to be eating. As she slowly passed it, she claims she saw everything. It was eating, alright. Whatever it was, the creature was hunched over a pile of roadkill, pulling big chunks of flesh off the dead animal. Lorraine said she could clearly make out what appeared to be long, white fangs that protruded from a gray snout. Together with the pointed ears, she couldn't help but think of as a wolf. The trouble was this wolf was kneeling on the road, like a human. It's one story, I know, and stories that are born in the middle of the night after an exhausting day of work are often full of flaws. That might very well be the case here. I think we've all had moments where we've seen things that don't make sense, so Lorraine’s story could just be a bit of midnight confusion, I suppose – if it wasn't for the other stories.

Two years later – on Halloween night, in fact – it was Doris Gibson’s turn. She was just 18 at the time and had been driving out to pick a friend up for some trick or treating back in town. Like Lorraine before her, she was driving that same stretch of country road, named for the old Bray family farm that it passed. According to the story Doris later told to a local reporter, she’d briefly taken her eyes off the road to switch channels on the radio when she felt the car lurch. It was as if, she said, she'd run something over. Frightened by the possibility of what had just happened, she stopped her car, put it in park and then got out for a look. Doris, it seems, wasn't a big horror movie fan, because anyone who knows anything about horror films knows that you never, ever get out of the car. Ever. Still, there wasn't a scratch on her car. The bumper was spotless, there was no sign of blood or fur or anything else that might hint at fresh road kill. And even more convincing, there was nothing on the road, no dead animal, no unlucky farmer out for an evening walk, not even a pothole. There was no clue anywhere that could explain the bump shed felt. She was about to turn and head back to her car when movement caught her attention. There was something in the trees and shadows along the roadside. According to her, it was a large figure that stood upright like a man but seemed hairy and very muscular, which (as you might imagine) was a pretty shocking thing to see on a dark, lonely country road. So Doris did the smart thing and bolted for her car door. As she did, this thing, whatever it was, chased after her. Doris said she could hear the heavy thud of the creatures feet on the pavement behind her and the sound of the deep, panting breaths. Thankfully, she managed to get into the car and shifted quickly back into drive, but as she pulled away, she felt her car shudder once more. When she looked in the rear view mirror, all she could see was the dark silhouette of the creature filling her back window. It had jumped onto the trunk.

Whatever her attacker was, she claims that it fell off when she got her car moving quickly enough, but she wasn't willing to stop for another look. She did, however, continue on to her friend’s house and eventually they both headed back to town for some Halloween fun. Later that night, on her way back along Bray Road to drop her friend back off at home, Doris swears she saw the figure one more time. It was far off in the distance, at the edge of her headlights, but it was the same unmistakable shape. Tall, thick and very animal like, but standing upright on two legs. It wasn't until the next day in the safety of her own driveway and by the light of the noon day sun that she took another look at her car. There, on the trunk, she found evidence that something very unusual and very dangerous had taken place the night before: long, vicious scratches all grouped together as if they were made by claws.

This is the point in the story where you're probably expecting me to clarify what the creature was. All of the physical descriptions certainly point toward the folklore regarding werewolves, but almost no one in Elkhorn made that connection. Maybe that's because there were never any stories of humans transforming into the monster, or perhaps it's because the sightings weren’t limited to full moon nights. In the end, whatever it might have been, the people of the area took to calling it the Beast of Bray Road. There were other theories, of course. One common suggestion was rooted in the Native American folklore about a giant wolf known as the Shunka Warakin, which was described as sort of a hybrid between a wolf and a coyote. Others have made comparisons to the Inuit stories of the Amarok or the Waheela, both of which were enormous, monstous wolves. But honestly, there are far too many human charactristics attributed to Bray Road creature to make the comparison stick. Then, that’s without taking into account the additional sighings. Because Lorraine and Doris weren’t the only witnesses to see something strange along that stretch of country road and once they spoke to a local reporter, others found the courage to come forward with their own tales.

Marvin Kershnick was one of them. According to his testimony, he had his own encounter way back in 1981, a full decade before Doris Gibbson. Unlike the others, though, his sighting didn't happen in the dark. He'd been driving along Highway 11, which runs just north east of Elkhorn, and as he approached the turn off for Bray Road, he saw an unusual animal in the trees along the side of the road. Kershnick slowed down when he saw it and then pulled over to get a better look. The way he described it, much of the creature was obscured by the underbrush, but it was clearly wolf-like. They stared at each other for a moment before the beast moved toward the car. Frightened, Kershnick drove away quickly. Five years later, in 1986, Diane Koenig was traveling in the same area, returning home after a day in nearby Berlington. From a distance, her headlights didn't give her a very clear view so at first it just looked like a tall man was walking along the side of the road with something heavy in his arms. As she drew closer, though, all of that came into focus. According to Koenig, this man had the head of a wolf, and the heavy burden that it held in its arms turned out to be a full sized deer. Unlike Kershnick though, Koenig didn't stop for a closer look and instead sped up, just in case the creature decided to give chase. She kept the story to herself for years out of fear that she’d be considered a lunatic.

More stories flooded in. One unnamed girl told the authorities that she'd been chased up a tree by a wolf then had to stay there for over an hour while it paced around, trying to find a way to climb up after her. What struck her as odd, though, was that the wolf walked around the tree on its hind legs. When she led her parents back to the tree the next day, they found large claw marks on the lower portion of the trunk. Even Scott Bray, who lived on the family farm that gave the road it’s name, claimed to have seen unusual things, including enormous wolf tracks on his property. Local animal control authorities were called to several homes in the area to examine and collect a large number of mutilated animal corpses. A few townsfolk tried to blame that one on Satanic cults, but everyone else agreed it was just the Beast of Bray Road. There was a good amount of fear in town, as you might expect, but the sightings were also creating something else that's lasted to this day. A reputation. The bar where Lorraine Endrizzi worked created a menu item called the Silver Bullet Special. A bakery in town started making wolf shaped cookies. Think Roswell New Mexico and UFO collectables but with wolves, and I think you'll get the idea. Even Chuck Coleman, a local state representative, got involved by using the Beast of Bray Road in his election marketing. He ran an ad that showed a man dressed up as the Beast casting his vote for Coleman. Perhaps proof of the popularity of the Bray Beast stories, Coleman won his election. Doris Gibson's encounter also seemed to have been the last sighting of the creature by travelers on Bray Road. After that, Elkhorn Wisconsin sort of became quiet – for a while, at least. You see, in the spring of 1992, county animal control officer John Frederickson was called to a field outside of town, to the east near Bray Road. This is a man who was used to the occasional road kill or injured farm animal. He’d seen a lot in his career. But when he arrived at the field, he was well out of his depth, because there, laying in the pasture, were the bodies of five horses. Their throats had all been slashed.

It seems that people are drawn to animals and we always have been. And if the internet’s collection of cat videos and dog tricks tells us anything, it's that our passion for these animals isn’t fading any time soon. Perhaps they meet a deep, unspoken need in our soul or maybe they just trigger the right pleasure center in our brains. Whatever the reason might be, animals are significant to us. But every time I see someone dress up their dog in a sweater, I can't help but think of how, for a very long time, humans used to be the ones dressed up as animals. We envy their grace, their strength and their power, and that envy has woven itself into the very fabric of global folklore. But what if there's another reason why we tell stories of animals that act human? What if, deep down, we fear the possibility, or that our ancestors told just enough stories about human-like animals that we wonder, just a little? Whatever it was lurking in the trees and shadows of Elkhorn, Wisconsin back in the early 90s remains a mystery to this day. No answers have been uncovered, no unusual corpses have been found in the woods or along the roadside, no nests or dens, or whatever sort of dwelling a creature like the Beast of Bray Road might have lived in. All we have is story. Sometimes all we ever have is story. All of the witnesses who came forward to tell their stories seemed to agree on the details, and surprisingly all of them appear to be telling the truth. When a documentary on the events was being produced in 2008, all of the witnesses agreed to take a polygraph exam, and each of them passed. It's not irrefutable proof, I know, but it's enough to make you wonder.

Sometime after the events of the early 90s, a local who lived along Bray Road looked out his window to see a man standing in his driveway with a handgun. Obviously frightened by the sight of an armed stranger in his yard, he called the police, who quickly arrived. José Contreras was immediately arrested and his handgun, along with 50 rounds of ammunition, was confiscated. He eventually went to trial and his lawyer attempted to build a case around self defense. Contreras, he told the judge, was looking for the Beast of Bray Road, which he believed was a werewolf. That meant, according to his defence, he wasn't a danger to anyone else. The judge, though, dismissed the notion and convicted Conteras anyway. His reason? Apparently none of the bullets in the gun had been silver. Maybe it's fantasy, maybe it's real, but it's amazing in the very least how parts of fantasy can become so accepted that they play a role in something as significant as a criminal trial.

One final tale. Just six years ago, more witnesses came forward about a new sighting. One night in October of 2010, six people were driving together down Bray Road. Down the road ahead, they watched as shadows seemed to move across their path. As they drew closer, they watched the shape run into the open field to their right. What they say might seem hard to believe, so we’ll have to take them at their word. They claimed it was an animal, covered in fur, and similar in appearance to a wolf - except it was running on two legs and not four. Once it reached the field, the beast dropped to all fours and bolted off into the darkness. One final detail sets this report apart from all the others, though, because unlike every other encounter dating back over 30 years, this one finds a way to make the Beast of Bray Road even more frightening. According to the witnesses, it wasn't a single creature. There were two of them.

[Closing statements]

[heroes-hq-blog1]

PARITY IS OFFICIALLY READY TO JOIN THE ACADEMY!

› LEILAH AINE › 23 YEARS OLD › POWER BALANCE › 4 YEARS IN THE ACADEMY

POWER

Basically, Leilah is able to stabilise or manipulate the balance of things. Not in terms of literal balance (though that is a small part of her powers), but more like in the scales of balance, but literally and figuratively. She can neutralise something if someone’s power is far too unstable, or boost someone’s power, magical, physical, mental using her own manipulation of power balance.

STRENGTHS

Power Neutralisation/Balance: The most basic of all her powers, Leilah is able to stabilise, contain or suppress, or boost any type of power or thing, as long as it works on the idea of neutrality or balance.

Bomb Creation: With the boosting or suppressing of the powers, Leilah is able to create bombs using these pure sources of energy, however she requires to tap into other’s power sources or magical sources in order to create those.

Negation Field: When Leilah fully and purposely loses all her control over her powers, she literally scatters power negation all over the place, creating a field with herself as the core centre that negates every single kind of power in existence, when she tips the scales of balance towards the negative side of the scales to entirely erase powers

Berserk Field: When Leilah fully and purposely loses all her control over her powers and boosts everyone’s powers within the radius of her field, creating a field with herself as the core centre that boosts or replenishes all offensive and defensive powers by leaps and bounds as she tips the scales of balance towards the positive side of the scales to entirely boost powers

WEAKNESSES

Power Neutralisation/Balance requires a great amount of control, concentration as well as precision. With this amount of control, also comes the great amount of focus that Leilah definitely needs, which tires her mental capacity out if she doesn’t have enough mental stamina. She also has to rely on her 8 sided dice totem to help decide the degree of concentration that is needed. If she rolls an 8, the lesser the amount of control needed, since the totem will act as a medium, but the lower the number she rolls, the more the amount of control, as well as the deeper the mental duress.

Power Neutralisation/Balance also makes her incredibly vulnerable to physical attacks, because she has to fully focus on the essence of balance and control whilst using her powers, and focus everything on her mental stamina and state.

Bomb Creation’s weakness is the fact that Leilah requires a SOURCE in order to create these bombs of power. She has to tap (physically touch the person) into a pre-existing source in order to create these power bombs, and she cannot create bombs out of inanimate objects. It needs to be something like electricity, magic, hex/chaos powers, viruses/ sicknesses etc.

Bomb Creation’s other weakness is that it requires immense focus and imaginative visualisation. If the visualisation of the form of the bomb and the focus to accurately suppress the bomb’s power is not enough, the bomb may end up exploding before its even used, and injure Leilah in the process.

Negation Field’s weakness is that it has her as the core centre, whilst releasing all her power’s reigns means that she’s able to wreak havoc in other areas, Negation Field only has a range of 25 meters, and its only in circular form, like a dome.

Negation Field’s other weakness is that it has a time limit. Leilah is only able to hold the field for 10 minutes, before everything starts automatically balancing out due to the innate nature of her own powers.

Berserk Field’s weakness is its time limit, which has a duration of 15 minutes. Leilah can hold the field longer if she experiences intense emotions, but she cannot control who she boosts within her field, which also means that usually her enemies get boosted as well, as soon as they step within her Berserk Field. However, she can narrow down her focus into wrapping the field around specific individuals and connecting them by a thin line of connection, which would render her mentally tired after using it (usually requiring sleep), as well as physical vulnerable when she’s concentrating.

Berserk Field’s other weakness is its backlash, the scales of balance cannot tolerate the sudden boosting of powers without dealing an equal backlash on the user, hence Leilah suffers all the punishment of whoever uses their powers within the Berserk Field freely for the duration of 15 minutes. (she will fall into a coma for a couple of days, physical wounds will appear etc.)

ORIGINS

Leilah doesn’t remember her parents. For as long as she’d remembered, she’d been just called Girl, for most of her childhood life. After all, there were far too many orphans within the orphanage in Ireland, and the matrons of the Aife Children’s Orphanage didn’t want to get too attached to the children that all seemed to die so easily. Or at the very least—that was until Leilah appeared.

They tell her that it had to be a goddess of Celtic origin that had sent her (she’d been found, wet, bundled and abandoned on the doorstep of the orphanage) , fed her the fantastical story that all children wanted to hear—a child of a moon goddess, perhaps, for her skin as pale as moonlight. Moon-kissed, blessed by the gods—though that was only found out when she lived within that orphanage, nameless, for five long years. Leilah had always been more intelligent than the other children, more..self-aware, as though something else was within the solemn girl.

The event that had bestowed Leilah her name had been a tragic one. One of death and sickness, or a close shave with death. Sister Miranne had been ill, and Leilah couldn’t bear to watch the woman who had been on of the nicer matrons that had taken care of her, just simply…fade away. Her tiny feet had shuffled into the sick room, quarantined for all their safety, and staunchly guarded, the eight sided dice that Sister Miranne had given her as a birthday present balancing perfectly in her palm as she braced herself on her toes and spun the dice.

If the number lands on anything above 5, I will touch her.

Leilah had the inkling that she could do something, though the something was something that she didn’t understand or know…yet.

The dice falls to an eight, and Leilah reaches for the woman’s hand.

…

Sister Miranne miraculously stabilises the very next day, the illness still ravaging her body, but less rabid, less….unequalised.

Leilah is on the swing, apart from the other children of the orphanage, who despise her for her dark hair, dark eyes and Asian features—but the touch of Sister Miranne’s hand on her back is a deeply reassuring one.

“ Thank you.” She tilts her head up and blinks at Sister Miranne, whose cheeks were still sallow from her ordeal. “I felt you take something away. Thank you.”

Wrong. Leilah didn’t bother correcting her, simply shrugging in a laidback manner, eyes lightly flickering.

“ I’m glad you’re alright.” She’d always been too matured for her age, unsettling even, at times, but Sister Miranne smiles at her for once, eyes creasing as the corners of her lips curl upwards happily.

“I’ve decided a name for you, want to hear it?” It’s the first time that her interest is stirred, and Leilah shifts in her seat.

"Leilah Aine. Leilah is for the night, the dark haired beauty, and Aine—radiance and light, after the goddess wealth and summer that we believe in.”

….

Leilah doesn’t remember how the academy finds her either (rumours of a girl with the ability to counter death and heal had reached the academy’s ears)—partially because she didn’t really care, and partially because she truly forgot all about it. But they did, and she ends up enrolling in (one of the sisters told on her) the school for heroes. These people whisk her off from the orphanage that she’s known as her home for her entire nineteen years of her life, amidst screams, tears and the refusal that warps Leilah as they pry her fingers away from Sister Miranne’s hands, who lets her go as quickly as she grabs her hands, who she’s come to see as someone like her own mother.

Such betrayal. She only watches as the Sister takes another child’s hand with a smile and leads the younger girl back into the house, the words of the heroes that had come to take her in ringing in her ears.

That woman. She gave you up to us. Leilah’s eyes only fall on the 8-sided dice, spinning it between her fingers as they seek to find the answer to the kind of power she has.

Power Balance. Neutrality. Equilibrium. Even they couldn’t pinpoint a singular name to what was described as her power.

It’s a good power. They keep telling her. You can save people. Be a hero.

But the point was—Leilah didn’t want to be a hero. What was so great about being a hero? She just wanted to be Lei. Normal, gentle, and quiet—Lei. To her surprise, school is pretty normal—at least until they find out that she can balance and negate powers, and she’s almost everywhere in case any mishap. Training sessions, regular sessions, anger management classes—literally everywhere where there was an ounce of danger—Leilah was there.

And fuck did she really hate it. It wasn’t as though she was immortal, or could get away from any danger—she was mortal, and injuries fucking hurt.

But powers weren’t choices either, and apparently, being heroes weren’t choices either—because within months of her being everywhere negating powers and saving people, she received the invite into the Divine Nine.

“…Can I reject this?”

“Don’t you want to save people?”

No—she doesn’t tell them that as she accepts the card after rolling the 8 sided dice in her pocket. I just want to be normal and alone.

The number lands on the lucky number 7, but Leilah is anything but lucky.