#lost wolf saga

[spinnysocks]

i actually can't believe i got all six pups of the year to survive through to the Growing Pups quest! its gonna get tough from now on though.. :{

[rjalker]

the wolf I made for the Saga, playing on Accurate difficulty, with mate death enabled, in Lost River, starting with only a single map hex not controlled by everyone who wants to kill me lol.

[ID: A screenshot from the game Wolf Quest: Anniversary Edition, showing a grey wolf with a radio collar sitting and looking at the camera, surrounded by falling snow, sage bushes, and colorful deciduous trees in the background along with evergreens. The wolf has a grey head and face, and lighter lower body and legs. End ID.]

Our first litter of pups all died from various causes. Second litter started with 6, now we're down to three. Two lost to predators, one to sickness. Not starving this time, shockingly.

You can watch it on youtube if you want to just stare at un-narrated gameplay lol.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Thanks for the tag <333 Here's my ranking on the songs:

soo...i did a thing :3

Link Here!

[anotherlongstoryshort]

Things about the Wisdom Saga that have plagued me all damn day

Legendary

Whether intentional or not, Miguel's Telemachus really sounds like a younger version of Jorge's Odysseus. And that hurts.

"If I fight those monsters, is it you I'll find?" The layers. Could he go out and hunt for his father? Could he find his 'legendary' strength within himself? Or will Odysseus be the 'monster' he finds?

"Somebody help me, come and give me the strength" And his call is answered T_T

20 years.

Antinous fully interrupts this bop. Rude.

Ayron sounds legitimately scary and Telemachus taking a stand is so O.O

Little Wolf

I wanna fight this guy. Love that Athena agrees. (The beat of the song and sharp bursts of vocals really emulate blows.)

The quaver on "I don't know how".

Athena is immediately charmed by Telemachus' enthusiasm. She sounds so fond.

The fact she sees heart in him as an advantage when it was Odysseus choosing heart over mind that drove them apart. Guh.

Did she tell him to bite Antinous? XD

"Oh, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard." The change in her perspective is already so apparent - she wouldn't have admitted a mistake or miscalculation to Odysseus.

We'll Be Fine

"I had a friend before..." A FRIEND? FRIEND?!?!

An admission that she didn't fully appreciate what Odysseus was going through, that she feels guilty for having "missed it all".

It's unclear to begin with if she's come to Telemachus for Odysseus, or to try and replace him. Both are equally heart-breaking.

"I don't know who your friend is, I don't know what he's like" UNKNOWINGLY ECHOING HIS OWN THOUGHTS IN 'LEGENDARY'. NO IT'S FINE I'M FINE.

"The best day of my life because I got in a fight and I didn't die! :D" Telemachus, child, please.

"We'll be fine" using the same run as "this is my goodbye" T_T

Him immediately offering up friendship to Athena, like Odysseus once did, must hit her so hard. "You're a good kid." Yes he is - because he's more like his dad than he knows.

Love in Paradise

"Old friend..." FRRRRRIIIIEEEENNNNNDDDDD!!!!!

10 years.

The memory fragments sounding so fraught and chaotic together, hitting harder because they're hitting Athena all at once. She missed a lot.

"She's my wife." "Anyways..." Calypso, girl, please.

Love that they're singing completely different melodies through the first half of this song for two reasons: because Odysseus is revisiting previous motifs, once more trying to hold onto the man he was, and also because it shows Calypso is not willing to compromise on what she wants.

"Last I checked goddesses can't die." We'll come back to this later.

Then Odysseus realises he is truly trapped and he sings along to Calypso's melody in muted horror.

POLITIES OUT HERE STILL HAUNTING THE NARRATIVE.

Just the words "open arms" are enough to confront Odysseus (again) with all he's lost. All he hears are screams.

And the one he screams out for is Athena.

"He needs my help." NO KIDDING GO GET YOUR BOY.

God Games

"Father, God, King..." There's a lot to unpack in that fun family dynamic.

"To untie apprehensions that were placed on that Greek?" Zeus is like, nobody likes that guy, why do you care?

The gods being called out like X Factor finalists is everything.

So there's a great contrast against the previous song - unlike Calypso, Athena is matching each of her singing partners with their tone and beat as she convinces them. She isn't winning by 'imposing her will', she's meeting them where they are.

Rational arguments work until Aphrodite, where Athena says "please" for the first time. She softens to appeal to Aphrodite, which is why Ares has to step in.

The way she says his name XD

Ares' lines sound like as much of a fighting chant as 'Little Wolf' did, which makes it all the better that the mention of Telemachus is what gets her to 'fight back'.

"His son's my friend!" YES HE IS. And Athena of all people declaring "a broken heart can mend" is fascinating. Can't help but wonder if she's talking about herself coming around to forgiving Odysseus.

"Never once has he cheated on his wife." Handwaving the source material is worth it for this line ALONE.

Zeus is so pressed by everyone openly knowing he cheats on Hera. Stop doing it then my dude.

Ares sounding genuinely concerned for Athena is doing things to me. Goddesses can't die, huh?

Her time motif flitting in and out like a weak heartbeat.

The soft piano of 'Warrior of the Mind', touching on a whisper of 'Legendary', then rising to a triumphant crescendo as Athena regains herself. I will be forever haunted by visions of Odysseus and Telemachus helping her to her feet.

And then, finally, she faces her own father and begs. Because Odysseus and Telemachus deserve a chance to be father and child.

The parallel, by the way, of Athena entering this saga to help an outnumbered Telemachus, and now closing it with him/Odysseus unknowingly helping her win her own battle too. JORGE HOW DARE YOU T_T

[epicthemusicalstuff]

I CRYUNG I NEED SOMEONE TO SUM UP ALL ETM SONGS MY. MEMORY + ATTENTION SPAN IS SO BAD

Let’s speed run epic the musical so far!! (It’s under the cut cause even a summary is gonna take a bit for 35 songs-)

Horse and the Infant:

Giant horse- ATTACK! ZEUS?!?! What are you doing here? I have to kill a baby? But he’s just a little thing-

Just a Man:

This little boy reminds me of my son. Is killing him the morally correct thing to do? Yeet.

Full Speed Ahead:

Let’s introduce our main cast! Wow! Polites- Eurylochus- Odysseus! BFFs forever! We’re hungry- let’s go to this island and look for food!

Open Arms:

Wow Odysseus, you are looking hella tense, maybe you should try being nice and not so mistrustful. Look at these little creatures eating lotus fruit- wow this fruit is bad for you- let’s go to this cave to find food!

Warrior of the Mind:

Athena and Odysseus back story. Odysseus, your actions aren’t very Warrior of the Mind coded. Don’t disappoint me.

Polyphemus:

Let’s kill these Sheep!! NOOO! Scary Cyclops, we killed his sheep, now he will kill us.

Survive:

HES GOT A CLUB. He is killing us- NO POLITES. Oh, Polyphemus is asleep now cause he drank spiked wine.

Remember Them:

Odysseus tricks Polyphemus. They almost get away, and then he GIVES OUT HIS FULL NAME, JOB POSITION, ADRESS, AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

My Goodbye:

Athena is disappointed and they have a big messy friend break up.

Storm:

There is a big storm. Wow! A floating island! Let’s go!

Luck Runs Out:

Captain, you keep taking risks and not thinking this through. What happens if your plans fail?

Keep Your Friends Close:

Hahahahahaha! Here is a bag of wind! Don’t open it! Oh- the winions told you to open it? No!! Penelope- I’m hallucinating! Darn- the bag is opened.

Ruthlessness:

You hurt my son. So now I’m gonna kill most of your men. What’s this- a daring escape? Well- I’ll get you sooner or later-

Puppeteer:

An island. Let’s explore! Oh no- scary lady, she turned us into pigs! Let’s run Captain! Or not I guess.

Wouldn’t You Like:

Hey kid, this scary lady could kill you. How about some magic drugs? Totally safe and all.

Done For:

We are evenly matched- big magic fight! Wow! The magic drugs Hermes gave you really are something. Are you trying to seduce me?

There Are Other Ways:

Wow, you really are trying to seduce me. Too bad- I have a wife I love. Wait- you’ll help us? THE UNDERWORLD WHAT?

The Underworld:

We are haunted by everyone we have lost- Polites- wait- MOM?!? I’m too late-

No Longer You:

This dead prophet should tell me what we want to know- wait- what no- this is actually terrible? We came to you for help but now you’re saying you can’t help us? WHO?!a

Monster:

Maybe Poseidon was onto something, and we do have to be ruthless. Welp, time to become the monster y’all.

Suffering:

Ooo, Penelope, I love you, but you know I’m too shy. I don’t want to get in the water-

Different Beast:

SURPRISE I KNEW YOU WERENY MY WIFE. I actually did become the monster, and now I’m going to kill all your friends you Siren!

Scylla:

This is the only way home. Eurylochus, what do you mean you opened the wind bag back in Keep Your Friends Close. Light six torches- oh no, a giant monster is eating our crew. Me and her are the same you know.

Mutiny:

Captain why did you do that? Fight fight fight! Oh no- Odysseus has been stabbed. I’m hungry, let’s eat cows. Oh no, they were a gods cows. We knew that but still ate them. Now Zeus is gonna kill us.

Thunders Bringer:

Zeus is here. You can live, or your crew can live. But like- Penelope. Sorry crew. Crew dies.

Legendary:

It’s me! Telemachus! I never knew my dad- I wish I could know my dad. All these suitors want to marry my mom. I wish I could fight them. DONT CALL MY MOTHER A TRAMP!

Little Wolf:

Fight Little Wolf Fight- we are going to beat you up just cause you were in the way. WOW. ATHENA?? What are you doing here- we haven’t seen you since the second saga! Ow.

We’ll Be Fine:

I’m going to help you cause I feel guilty about your dad. Bet. We are best friends now. Go find my dad.

Love In Paradise:

Rewind- Morning! You were asleep. I’m in love with you now. Ew back away I have a wife. You’re a goddess??? Oh no- now I’m really depressed. I’m haunted by the ghosts again- ATHENA!

God Games:

Zeus- father- release Odysseus. *lots of convincing Gods* NO, YOU DID WHAT I ASKED SO NOW IM MAD. LIGHTNING BOLT. Is she- dead?

I’m Not Sorry For Loving You:

Yes I kept you trapped against you power, but I loved you- why won’t you love me back? It’s not like you have a whole literally family waiting for you-

Dangerous:

HAHAHAHA. Hello old friend! Let’s do some cool dance moves as I tell you how you will get back home. Here is a wind bag 2.0! Let’s hope you don’t have issues with it this time!

Charybdis:

Another obstacle!! But I know how to beat you!! Woo! I see home- I’m almost there! WAIT NO! NOT AGAIN!

Get In The Water:

Poseidon! Please let me get home- I already told Siren Penelope, I don’t want to get in the water! Can’t we get along? No! Drowning-

Six Hundred Strike:

Use the wind bag! I’m out of the water! SIX HUNDRED STRIKE! You’re beat Poseidon- let me go home. What’s this? You won’t. TIME FOR VIOLENCE. Stab. Stab. Stab. Next to my WIFE.

[pascaloverx]

Moonlight

Summary: You and Edward Cullen used to have a romantic relationship. But fate seemed not to believe in the possibility of a vampire and a potential she-wolf being together. Years after your separation, you return to Forks. Edward is committed to Bella Swan, and Jacob Black has his own pack. What happens when, upon your return, you begin to transform into a she-wolf and both Edward and Jacob seem eager to revisit the past with you?

Author's Note: The characters in this fanfic do not belong to me but to Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight universe. The story blends events that happened in the Twilight saga movies with invented ones. Enjoy reading. This story will contain inappropriate language, a possible love triangle, scenes of violence, and romance.

ONE THREE

TWO

You doze off during the rest of the car ride. When Jacob parks, you open your eyes and find yourself at the place where you spent the beginning of your life. Jacob has brought you near Sam's house, probably knowing that Uley would be upset if he wasn't one of the first to see you when you arrived in La Push.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sam Uley says in the most concerned big brother tone you've ever heard. As soon as you got out of the car with Jacob, you expected to hear comments about your current state.

"So good to see that you're still the same. I'm fine, even though I'm in this chaotic state, in case you wanted to know how I am." You say, walking up to him and hugging him. Jacob stands silently right behind you.

"You let her get hurt?" Sam asks as he steps back from you. He's questioning Jacob, who seems bothered by Uley's questioning.

"She got hurt before I was with her. Not that I'm not used to being the guy who takes the blame for any mistake you find. But it makes me curious that even when I'm no longer part of your pack, I'm still the first one you want to blame." Jacob says, not moving a muscle, looking both irritated by Sam's question and satisfied with his response. Sam, on the other hand, looks quite annoyed by Black's comment.

"Look, as much as I love watching a good fight, I'm not in the mood for it right now. Can you both pretend to tolerate each other while I'm here?" You say, stepping between the two and looking especially at Jacob. He sighs and takes a few steps back.

"Emily is inside making tea for everyone. I'd like you to meet her." Sam says, turning his attention back to you. Your gaze shifts to Jacob, who seems calmer now. You all then walk towards Sam's house to go inside.

"Y/N, did you have to pass through a pack of vampires or something to get here?" Embry almost shouts, rushing towards you as soon as you enter the house. He hugs you so tightly that you almost lose your breath.

"She just got here and you want to bring up those topics, you idiot. No wonder she ran away from us." Paul says, smacking Embry's arm and coming towards you for a hug. You missed all this chaos.

"You definitely haven't changed at all. You two seem like two fools fighting to see who's the biggest fool. But I loved the welcome. Tell me, how's dealing with Black and Uley without me?" You say as you walk towards Quil to greet him. Quil laughs when he sees Black and Uley's reactions to your joke.

"Believe me, without you, we're lost." Quil whispers as he hugs you. You look at him, expecting to see him smile as if he's making a joke, but as you look at him, you're not sure if he's joking.

"We can't complain. Jacob left the pack and took two with him, which made the pack less chaotic. Who knows, maybe you, Y/N, can convince those two that their split in terms of the pack doesn't mean they're enemies." Jared says as he helps a woman make tea. She must be Emily.

"That's literally what it means." Sam and Jacob say in unison, and everyone in the room laughs as if they were kids. Of course, everyone except the two boneheads.

"Poor girl. Just got involved in some accident, and you guys are expecting her to solve an ego battle that's been going on for years. No wonder she ran away from you all. No offense, dear." Emily says as she sets the cups on the table and kisses Sam's cheek.

"Sorry for the rudeness. I walked into your house without even introducing myself. My name is Y/N." You say, greeting Emily. She smiles sweetly and shakes your hand.

"I'm Emily, and don't even worry about apologizing. This pack drives anyone crazy. But I don't need to tell you that. I hope you're here to stay with us." Emily speaks kindly as she serves tea for everyone. You look at her and then glance at Jacob.

"She's staying with me." Jacob speaks quickly, surprising everyone. Sam looks at you and then at Black, as if trying to understand what's happening.

"And it's almost like nothing has changed…" Embry tries to whisper. However, everyone hears him, and Emily looks confused.

"Don't you think Y/F/N would be disappointed in you for dishonoring his daughter even though you're in love with Swan?" Sam says, holding his tea cup, looking at Jacob as if he wanted to provoke a big commotion.

"Unlike you, I'm pretty clear about what I want and who I want. I don't deceive anyone or take advantage of feelings. Y/N and I have been friends for years, there's room in my house, so obviously she's staying with me." Jacob responds to Sam with a certain sharpness. The two clearly aren't able to interact with each other peacefully. You set your tea cup down on the table and step in between Jacob and Sam.

"Sam, I find it disrespectful for you to bring up the memory of my late father in such a ridiculous situation as this little spat with Jacob. Jacob, I think you owe everyone an apology for your behavior. Now, I hope you understand, but I'm going to go clear my head. If anyone follows me, it will be the last thing they do on this earth. Consider yourselves warned." You say and leave, without seeing anyone's reaction or caring about being rude. The truth is, you were waiting for a good excuse to go see Carlisle. You know Edward well. If you don't go get examined by his doctor father, he'll surely bother you. And you need to forget about him. Walking, you arrive in a short time at the spot that used to be the meeting point you and Edward used for your romantic encounters. You remember how you used to spend the whole night together, talking about the future.

"Miss Y/N, it's been a while. Would it be very vampiric of me to say that you've aged?" Carlisle speaks, obviously trying to show his humorous side. You smile a little as you approach him, carrying a medical bag that looks just like any common human doctor's.

"Mr. Cullen, you have youth on your side in many aspects, but not in the humor department. Would it surprise you to say that even though I'm older, people still treat me as if I have no choice?" You say, sitting on a tree trunk nearby. Carlisle begins to examine you.

"Edward has the best intentions in his actions, I can assure you. He still cares a lot about you." Carlisle speaks compassionately, as if genuinely justifying Edward's actions. You smile, thinking it's nice that they care for each other in this way.

"So, how am I?" You ask, changing the subject. Carlisle smiles a little as he finishes examining you.

"With superficial wounds on your face and arms. No signs of concussion or anything like that. But going to the hospital for an X-ray would be most appropriate." Carlisle says as he packs up his medical items.

"Thank you for the consultation, Dr. Carlisle. I'll take your recommendation seriously. And do me a favor, ask Edward to stay away from me." You say to Carlisle, who seems to know that you've noticed Edward hiding behind a tree not far from you.

"In my opinion, you two should at least have one last conversation. To finalize the relationship. But know that my family and I will always have regard for you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out." Carlisle says, looking kindly at you. Seconds later, he disappears. That must be one of the best parts of being a vampire.

"Do you think it's fair to come after me while you're committed to someone else?" You say loudly, making sure Edward hears and responds.

"I can't get you out of my mind. But I agree it's not fair. So far, my love for Bella has made me the kind of vampire I always wanted to be. And you know, it's an uncomplicated love. Sure, our situation is complicated because she's human, but the feeling has never been complicated. With you, it's like you're consuming me." Edward appears suddenly in front of you and declares this as if it were the best thing in the world.

"If I'm consuming you, why are you here? Go back to your beloved. Forget about me and do everyone a favor." You say, approaching Edward without realizing that you're almost face to face. You were immersed in old feelings when you let yourself get so close to him. His cold hands gently touch your face, pushing back the strands of hair that were in your face. He leans in, as if to kiss you. You feel that it's wrong, but you want it so much that it's like you're out of control. Before you realize it, your lips touch his. A gentle, slow kiss. As if you both wanted to savor every second of it. Or prolong the kiss because you know that this moment signifies many things. It signifies infidelity on Edward's part. Betrayal on yours. And it signifies that there are feelings between you.

[saixria]

@angels-bullshit well you asked for it TELEMACHUS RAMBLE

I’m sure there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Telemachus represents open arms. For one, he immediately accepts Athena as his friend with open arms and offers the goddess of wisdom some wisdom in We’ll be fine, that’s just. Peak open arms behavior.

Besides the obvious, we can look into the motif (literary, not musical) of light vs dark in the musical (which might also be obvious but anyway). Even if we ignore Polites’ whole cut song “Your Light” about being Odysseus’ “light”, the light motif is actually kept in Open Arms — “we can light up the world here’s how to start”. I think this motif symbolizes the positive impact of open arms. Much like Circe said, “maybe showing one act of kindness leads to kinder souls down the road”. If you inspire the world around you by being kind, you will in turn be treated with kindness. This is contrasted by the motifs of darkness in “I am your darkest moment” and “the world is dark” signifying ruthlessness. Instead of trying to change the ruthless world around you, you must become ruthless too to survive. There’s inherent selfishness to ruthlessness since you’re ensuring your own survival over others.

WHAT A TANGENT OK HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO TELEMACHUS? He has this line in Legendary “so I could bring the world some light” which references Polites’ whole “light up the world”. Let’s not forget “tell me Athena why you came to my aid” has the same melody as “what keeps you up so late at night my friend” from cut song Ismarus where Polites is asking Odysseus this. (HM I WONDER WHAT OTHER CHARACTER IS UNABLE TO SLEEP DUE TO GUILT)

The light thing comes back so many times in we’ll be fine. “Then his light went dark” (can be interpreted as Polites, his “light”, dying, but I prefer to interpret it as him basically getting traumatized, losing his original enthusiasm in his belief that everything would go smoothly and he’d be able to get home with all 600 men as he suffers his very first casualties) “life could be that bright” — Not only is Athena talking about Odysseus losing his light, she herself has also lost hers as she lost her one and only friend and the positive impact he had on her life, and now it feels as though her life has gone dark.

“I know it’s light you’ll find” — Telemachus is literally acting as Athena’s light here as Polites was Odysseus’ 😭😭 he encourages her to help Odysseus, to embrace the Open Arms ideology of making a positive impact on the world around you and you’ll end up positively affected as well. In bringing Odysseus light, perhaps she herself will also regain hers. From all this, Telemachus clearly represents Open Arms and is to Athena what Polites was to Odysseus.

Now how does Telemachus embody ruthlessness? This part is much shorter since we don’t have as much to analyze (perhaps we’ll get more in Ithaca saga) but Telemachus doesn’t shy away from being ruthless when the need arises either. He fights Antinuous in Little Wolf to defend his family’s honor, and in Ithaca saga he will also help kill the suitors (perhaps we will get more on his mindset here, but don’t take my word on that). He is willing to do what it takes, even if it’s cruel like hunting down all the suitors, to protect his family, and killing the suitors IS what’s necessary and an act of ruthlessness.

(Though actually this is making me realize “boy I wish I could so I could bring the world some light” was referring to… killing monsters. Maybe this shows that even in Legendary he’s wanted to make a positive impact on the world by being ruthless in a way, further showing that he’s the true balance of Ruthlessness and Open Arms)

Anyway, Telemachus was really only able to achieve this balance because of his circumstances, just as Odysseus was forced to fully embrace ruthlessness because of his. While Telemachus has faced hardships (the suitors) that requires ruthlessness to be dealt with, hes also a crowned, sheltered prince, largely unaffected by even darker aspects of the world like war and death as Odysseus has been, so Telemachus was able to retain part of his innocence and his “light” while Odysseus’ was stripped from him. Both of them were products of their environments, and it’s quite fitting how Odysseus went to war to protect his son, and his son ended up being a “better” person than Odysseus was forced to become. Telemachus means “far from battle”, and indeed Odysseus has succeeded in keeping his son far from the darkness of war and its aftermath.

[monimccoythings]

For Better or Worse

Third part of The Way We Were Saga. This is from Reader's point of view. Getting ready for the fatal encounter, maybe a chapter more.

Word Count: 1547

Tags: angst, past abusive relationship, alcoholism, violence, blood, past toxic relationship, f!reader.

Part I, Part II

Loving someone like Logan was an arduous task. Yet you still gladly did it. Because you knew that under all that brooding, all that snark and anger, laid a vulnerable heart just wishing to be cared for.

It wasn't hard to be attracted to Logan, you just had to take a look at those huge veiny arms, and all common sense went through the window. But to actually fall in love with him, to slowly tear down the walls he had spent centuries meticulously building, was as hard as it was worth it.

You had always loved him with your entire self, you had given your all without complaining. And you knew he loved you as much in return, even if he didn't know who to properly express it.

The day you gave the 'I do' to each other, was actually one of the happiest in your entire life. You had been married to the most wonderful man to ever walk this earth. And you made sure to tell him so, loving the way his cheeks were suddenly tinted pink.

You were the one to encourage him to join the X-Men, knowing that being around people who were like him and could help him understand his gifts would do him so much good. You liked them, from the very beginning they had been nothing but kind to you, despite you being a human. You knew they would take good care of Logan when you couldn't.

Logan was too proud to admit it, but you knew that deep down he appreciated them as well. Even if he refused to go out there dressed up like a 'Mustard clown' as he called his suit. Sometimes, Logan's pride got the best of him and sneaked out from the mansion, just to go out for a drink with his lovely wife.

Then, one day, everything went to hell.

He had run off again to you, trying to act like the though lone wolf he thought he was. They had called him. Several times, but he refused every single one of those calls.

Until the phone stopped ringing.

When he returned, the only thing he found was death. His friends and colleages' corpses, along those of the students were scattered across the entire mansion. He had been too late.

He lost control.

The guilt and self hate drove him into a downward spiral. Each night you stayed awake , with your heart in your throath, waiting for him to come back home covered in blood and reeking of whiskey. Sometimes you had to drive wherever he was passed out and drag his nearly 500 pound body towards your truck until you felt like you were going to pass out. Other times, he disappeared for days, even weeks, only to come back and act like nothing had happenned. Those were the worst, as you silently waited near the radio for some knews saying he had been found dead or something much worse.

You so desperately wanted to help him heal. If only he trusted you like before.

Logan didn't talk to you at all. Whenever you tried to start a conversation with him, he just grunted in dismissal, and if you tried to push your luck and try to help him open up to you he would smash the bottle he was currently holding against the nearest surface, or tear anything with his claws, making you wince.

You knew he would never hurt you.

You dreaded to think that one day there could be a 'yet' following that statement.

Sometimes you thought he blamed you for him being away that night. You could feel it in the way he made love to you, if that could be called making love. It was rough, animalistic, lacking any affection or emotion.

Yet you continued to support and take care of him, because you loved him and knew he was grieving; ignoring the fact of you were also drowning in your own grief, they had also been your friends, your family, and to think they had found such tragic endings made you lose hope on humankind.

But what really tore your heart was watching your husband self destruct. After months, quietly swallowing your own pain and tears, you found your last straw in a stormy at that dive bar on the road.

You begged him to stop hurting himself so much, you cried, screamed, finally letting out those feelings you had been repressing for so long. You couldn't just stand there and watching him destroy himself.

Apparently, that was the last straw for him as well.

When you felt his claws on your neck, you realised this was no longer the man you had married. A stranger had taken his place.

When he left you, in the middle of the rain, you sank to your knees and cried, actually sobbed your heart out. Completely numb to the cold or the dirt that covered your pijamas. You didn't know that your troubles had just begun.

A couple of weeks later you found those two dreaded lines on the pregnancy test. You cried again, cried tears you didn't know you had left, you cried to the point that your own sorrow would swallow you whole. But this time, those feelings of self pity were short lived. There was a growing life inside you, a tiny life who didn't deserve all the misery and hurt you had endured.

A switch had been flipped in you.

You needed to take action.

Back home, your husband's nefarious reputation had broken havoc in your life. You knew what they called you 'The Bride of the Wolverine', 'The Mistress of the Monster', people looked at you with disgust clearly etched into their faces, someone even insulted you when you walked down the street. Back at your hospital, they had decided to lay you off for 'classified circunstances' as they had called. It would be a matter of days before they kicked you out of the apartment too.

Swallowing your pride, you packed up what little you had left and moved to another place, away from all the pain and suffering. Like hell you were going to allow your kid to go through this too.

Your new neighborhood wasn't exactly the Hamptons, but it was discreet and allowed you and your growing belly to pass unnoticed. A rundown clinic at the end of the street was not exactly the job of your dreams, but at least it would pay the bills. Your child would never lack anything, not on your watch.

You worked hard. Harder than you remembered, taking multiple shifts and not stopping until your pregnancy made it impossible for you to move.

It was tiring doing the work of two all by yourself, it was exhausting and you had to admit that having to push in that baby without anyone to hold your hand or give you soothing words of comfort made you feel lonely than ever.

However, the second you were allowed to hold the little bundle that you had taken nearly six hours to push out of your body, whatever remaining grief in your heart dissipated.

She was perfect. Your little Ava. She was so small, so delicate. You knew from the first moment you saw her you'd never let anything harm her, ever.

Ava grew up happily, she was optimistic, curious and joyful. She loved ice cream, fries, animals and Monster High. There were no signs of the mutant gene on her, eventhough it was still to early for it to manifest. Not that you'd love her any less. But the less features she took from Logan, the better. Who knew what those people could if they found out the infamous Wolverine had reproduced.

And who knew what Logan would do if he ever found out. Maybe the Logan you married would had been esctatic, though would try to hide it under his 'cool guy' persona. It didn't matter because, that Logan was long gone and you had serious doubts he'd ever return.

So for nearly ten years you lived in peace. Or what could be considered as peace given your situation.

Still, fate found a way to screw you over. As always.

─────────────────────ⓧ─────────────────────

Blood ran cold in your veins. It was like watching the Ghost of Christmas Past suddenly appear before you.

He looked older, tired even. As if he had finally relieved himself of he huge weight he carried on his shoulders.

Why was he here? How had he found you? What did he want? Your arm shot backwards, trying as best as you could to shield your little girl from the man accross the street, desperately holding onto the hope that he hadn't seen her yet, despite his enhanced senses.

You quickly rushed her in, claiming to have forgotten something back home. You know you both will be late for school and work, but you didn't dare to get out if he was out there patrolling the streets.

As if this door was enough to stop him.

You peek through the window. For a couple of seconds you don't know what to expect. Would he still be there? Would he come after you? Did you want him to? Fortunately for you, he was gone, although that wasn't enough to calm your racing heart, because, deep down, you knew he had seen her. You had seen the way his eyes had slightly widened, the way his nostrils had flared, the way his mouth had opened slightly in disbelief.

He knew.

[karleksmumskladdkaka]

DIABOLIK LOVERS LOST EDEN Vol.4 Mukami Saga

Original Title: LOST EDEN Vol.4 無神編

Translation: [Track 1] [Track 2] [Track 3] [Track 4] [Track 5] Massive thank you to @otomehonyaku for her hard work in ensuring everyone gets the full experience of these CDs ⸜(˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Audio: Here (CD owned by me). Please do not reupload anywhere.

Starring: Ruki Mukami (CV: Takahiro Sakurai), Kou Mukami (CV: Ryōhei Kimura), Yuma Mukami (CV: Tatsuhisa Suzuki), Azusa Mukami (CV: Daisuke Kishio)

Plot: The Mukami brothers arrive at Eden, and are saddened (and in Ruki's case, also angered) to discover the profound state of ruin it has fallen into after Karlheinz's death. Before they can decide the measures they ought to take to preserve and protect their former home, a familiar arrives carrying a letter from Carla, urging them to go to Banmaden at once to fetch Yui, who has been left behind there all alone. Concerned for her, they hurriedly leave to go get her and bring her to Eden.

In between having her blood sucked and listening to reminiscenses of Karlheinz and Eden, Yui takes the opportunity to tell the brothers about a powerful new threat: Kino, Karlheinz's illegitimate son, who intends to seize control of the Demon World and annihilate not only the Vampire but also the Vibora, Adler, and Wolf Clans. Despite Kino's formidable power, the Mukamis resolve to combine their strengths to protect both Eden and Yui when the time comes, no matter the sacrifices.

My Thoughts: This CD is so good, you guys (though talk about ending on a cliffhanger ;> <)! Man, I love the Mukami family so much. Their dynamic is honestly one of my favorite aspects of the franchise, and this CD definitely delivers on that front!

What I adore most about it, though, are the interactions Ruki has with Yui. He's so soft, caring, and, for a moment, even vulnerable with her, which really speaks volumes coming from someone like Ruki, who normally can't stand the thought of anyone seeing him like that. In short, you can really tell how much he trusts and values Yui now and how much he's changed since his More, Blood days. uwu. As usual, Sakurai brings his A game here and the tenderness in his voice near the end of the final track absolutely kills me (as do his soft grunts during the bloodsucking that comes right after oh lordy).

The other voice actors do fantastic jobs with their scenes too — scenes that I hope will particularly satisfy all of you Kou, Yuma, and Azusa stans ( v^-゜)

As always, enjoy listening (*^▽^)/♡

[randomciabatta724]

@koko-blueturtle asked for an AU where Polites lives, so here's drawings of all of mine!

(which I didn't color because I'm lazy)

LONELY WOLF AU

Odysseus dies at the Cyclops, and Polites is the only one who makes it home.

(get it? Because the crew is referred to as a pack of wolves and Polites has no one left hehehehe)

Text in case you can't read it:

Grew out his hair and beard

Took Odysseus' cloak to remember him

Tried to save Eurylochus from Zeus' lighting, could only save his sword

Lost his arm to Scylla, Calypso made him a wooden one

Doesn't really know what to do with his life

SEA MONSTER AU

(aka the one I should be writing about lol)

To get revenge on Odysseus, Poseidon turns Polites into a sea monster, erases his memory, brainwashes him to make him loyal, and sends him to kill Odysseus and the crew.

(This was based on the time I thought about the Sirens scene in Percy Jackson but with Epic characters and everything spiraled from there)

Text in case you can't read it:

Glowing scars from the transformation + lost his left eye

Gills on his neck

Clawed and webbed hands

Twelve tentacles

A lot of long and sharp teeth

Blue eye to stare into your soul

Lost his glasses

Poseidon took his headband (which compresses his hair like crazy)

LOTUS KING AU

After seeing Odysseus' decision to not raid the island, Athena is worried that her warrior of the mind is becoming soft, so she organises an emergency training session. Meanwhile Polites, left alone, succumbs to the power of the lotus, and Eurylochus has to find a way to make him snap out of it.

(This was based on the fact that for months I thought Open Arms was the Troy Saga closer instead of Warrior of the Mind and thought Athena was mad because he didn't raid the island and Polites was trying to console him afterwards. I'm an idiot sometimes lol)

Text in case you can't read it:

Adopted and named all the lotus eaters

The lotus eaters gave him a leaf coat and a flower crown

Purple eyes because of the lotus

Living his best life

The happiest out of all three

And some silly doodles because why not

Text in case you can't read it:

Poseidon: Go. Kill people

Polites: kay

Polites: My first boyfriend turned into ashes

Calypso: That's rough, buddy

Polites: Eury come meet our new 239746511184111 children

Eurylochus: wtf

And guess what? THERE'S EURYPOLI IN ALL THREE HAHAHAHA

[ilivingonmyway]

Something, something, part II about Ninja Team headcanons! Part I here

Lloyd

• He knows things he shouldn't know. Spending a good part of your life at Darkleys does that to you. That was a school for future gang leaders, psychopaths and other types of crazy people. You can't tell me that at no point in his life did he learn how to dismember someone by the right way.

• He memorized all the names of all Starfare volumes and sagas. He's a complete nerd about these comics. And it's worse when he and Jay are together.

• Sometimes, he goes out with Nya, Pixal and Skylor just to gossip. These four together talk about everything and everyone that exists in the world.

• Even during the few times of peace in Ninjago, he suffers from insomnia. Often because of nightmares and some night terrors, but also because of his genetics. Both the Oni side and the Dragon side are more nocturnal. So he often stayed up all night just because he wasn't really tired and managed to stay that way until dawn.

• Sometimes he finds himself thinking about Akita. Missing her. Those few days with the wolf girl had affected him. As much as Lloyd tries to deny it, it was better than with Harumi, in more ways than one.

• He loves sweets, but not just any kind of sweets. He likes those that are sweet and at the same time refreshing. Because this way he doesn't get sick and can eat more.

• After the battle against the Oni, he often thinks about the "dream" he had about his Grandfather. He told Master Wu once, but he just smiled and said it was a dream.

• He is extremely protective of his family. Brothers, sisters, uncle, children... You will never lay a finger on any of them and leave in Punishment if the DragOni is around.

• Being the Green Ninja and the guy who is on the front line in both defense and attack, he is very precise with his powers and strikes. One stumble and things could turn out to be fatal.

• At some point, he developed Wu's tea addiction and Garmadon's plant worship. This runs in the family and is completely inevitable.

Nya

• Her eyes were brown, exactly the color of wood, like her father's. But after spending a year as part of the ocean, Nya's eyes changed, now having prominent blue-gray spots on the irises. At some point they returned more to brown, but whenever she uses her powers on a large scale, her eyes return to the blue.

• She's better than Kai at making weapons. Swords, axes, clubs, arrows... She always had a lot of free time in her childhood and early teens, and while Kai was busy being a ninja, she had all the time in the world to practice making weapons.

• After she was brought back from the endless sea, for a long time she had these bouts of overpowering. Most of the time this manifested itself in her physical form, with the ends of her hair randomly turning blue and floating as if she were underwater. She also remained with the marks of the transformation, but this has faded over time, almost like a really old scar, you won't notice it unless you're paying close attention.

• She is equally impulsive and the voice of reason. She will think at least 20 times to make sure the punch she will hit you and break your nose.

• Don't be fooled, even though she is usually very calm and is part of the voice of reason trio Zane and Pixal are the other members, Nya can be extremely jealous. She is related to Kai and was raised by him, so she ended up getting this overprotective and jealous instinct. Jay and Lloyd are the main targets of this instinct, because they are her Yin and her little brother. Although she often tries to hide it or not care, she will always end up being somewhat possessive of her loved ones.

• She can still hear the voice of the ocean, more specifically, Nyad. But this time they're not calling out to her, they're congratulating her on finding what she lost.

• She is a master of Aikido, I just think it's matches with her, being the Water Ninja, she long ago learned to go with the flow of the fight. Water never takes you where you want to go, you are the one carried by the force of its flow. Some time later, she trained Lloyd in this style.

• The amount of times she called Kai "dad" as a child is insane. She used to call him that in the most mundane tasks that used to remind her of Ray. Kai held back crying every time that she called him that.

• She was never a heavy sleeper, always having difficulty for fall sleeping and often waking up in the middle of the night. This only got better after she started living at the Monastery, as she felt that so much Kai and she were safer.

• She has a collection of weapons. Swords and spears are what she collects most, she keeps most of them hidden in Samurai X's cave, but there are also some in her room, for emergency purposes and also because she thinks it makes the decor look cool.

Zane

• I got this from some post, but I don't remember who the author was He talks in his sleep. At some point in his life some parts of the voice control were damaged and even after Nya and Jay took a look he continued talking in his sleep. He just can't stop. The worst is on nights when he has nightmares, as he begins not only to scream, but to narrate the dream, right down to the noises in the scene.

• Every time he gets very nervous he starts to freeze himself or the people and things around him. He tends to distance himself when this happens, as he prefers to freeze his own circuits than the people he loves.

• Sometimes he refuses to sleep, not for any worrying reason, but because he wants to do some tasks that he couldn't do while it was daylight. Washing the dishes, sweeping the training yard, putting the clothes to wash... Any household chore that he didn't do due to some unforeseen circumstances, he does at night.

• Whenever he hears an unfamiliar term or slang, he tends to do a quick search. If he doesn't find the meaning, he will ask Jay or Kai later, since they are the two who most spend time online.

• The Ice Emperor episode left him with a lot of trauma as well as some survivor's guilt. Zane never stopped to think that he could actually kill frozen people or commit genocide if his 1s and 0s weren't actually aligned correctly. He never forgave himself and started using his powers less.

• Birds are his favorite animals, of course. But there's one thing no one knows: He can't decide between the hawk or the snowy owl as his favorite kind of bird.

• He has a mental list of all the food preferences of all his ninjas and other friends.

• In the hottest summers, the ninjas fight to spend time with Zane, as he is a walking air conditioner. He finds this particularly funny and always laughs when they start arguing with each other.

• He and Pixal often play board games and experiment human things.

• Before discovering he was a Nindroid, Zane often did non-human things that others found strange. One time, when it was just him, Cole and Jay, they went out on a little scouting mission, and in the middle of the whole thing they ran into some highwaymen who they ended up fighting, and in the middle of the fight, Zane hit his head on a rock, and while Jay and Cole were in complete panic Zane was confused because he didn't feel hurt. The next few days were filled with worry and jokes about Zane being a blockhead.

[book--brackets]

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler (2005)

This is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself.

Weaveworld by Clive Barker (1987)

The Fugue, a magical land inhabited by descendants of supernatural beings who once shared the earth with humans. The Fugue has been woven into a carpet for protection against those who would destroy it; the death of its guardian occasions a battle between good and particularly repulsive evil forces for control of the Fugue.

Fractured Fables by Alix E. Harrow (2021-2022)

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.

Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld (2004-2006)

A few nights after Jessica Day arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, she wakes up at midnight to find the entire world frozen. For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. And only a small group of people--Jessica included--is free to move about then. They are The Midnighters.

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (2019)

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster—and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also uncover the truth, and the answer to the question—How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (1980-1987)

It is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession - showing mercy toward his victim - and follows his subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus.

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (2004)

In the future, in a place called Satelite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill enters the world, unwanted by his parents. He's sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, Freight class. At Clarissa Frayne, the boys are put to work by the state, testing highly dangerous products. At the end of most days, they are covered with burns, bruises, and sores. Cosmo realizes that if he doesn't escape, he will die at this so-called orphanage. When the moment finally comes, Cosmo seizes his chance and breaks out with the help of the Supernaturalists, a motley crew of kids who all have the same special ability as Cosmo-they can see supernatural Parasites, creatures that feed on the life force of humans. The Supernaturalists patrol the city at night, hunting the Parasites in hopes of saving what's left of humanity in Satellite City. Or so they think. The Supernaturalist soon find themselves caught in a web far more complicated than they'd imagined, when they discover a horrifying secret that will force them to question everything they believe in.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (2006-2009)

Poor Creel. She can't believe her aunt wants to sacrifice her to the local dragon. It's a ploy to lure a heroic knight so that he will fight the dragon, marry Creel out of chivalrous obligation, and lift the entire family out of poverty. Creel isn't worried. After all, nobody has seen a dragon in centuries.

But when the beast actually appears, Creel not only bargains with him for her life, she also ends up with a rare bit of treasure from his hoard, not gold or jewels, but a pair of simple blue slippers-or so she thinks. It's not until later that Creel learns a shocking truth: She possesses not just any pair of shoes, but ones that could be used to save her kingdom, which is on the verge of war, or destroy it.

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry (2017)

There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan's first--and favorite--lost boy to his greatest enemy. 

Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter's idea of fun is sharper than a pirate's sword. Because it's never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock--the kinds of playthings that bite. 

Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter lies.

The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock (1965-1977)

It is the color of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair that flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody... He is Elric, Emperor of Melnibone, cursed with a keen and cynical intelligence, schooled in the art of sorcery and the hero of Michael Moorcock's remarkable epic of conflict and adventure at the dawn of human history. 

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

EPIC THE MUSICAL SONGS RANKED BY ME

With the release of the Ithaca Saga, I can finally rank all the songs from the musical! I did this before, for Act One, so I naturally I gotta do the whole show.

Before we dive in some disclaimers:

This is my personal opinion, and forewarning here, there are some hot takes and very unpopuplar opininons below. If you disagree you are welcome to talk your shit on the notes because there is nothing I love more than arguing with strangers on the internet. No really, I mean it. Give me your worst. Just have some decorum, dont get your panties all twisted

ALL SONGS ARE GOOD. I LOVE THE ENTIRE SHOW. Just because a song is low, it does not mean I dislike. I just like it less than the ones above them.

I am ranking based on overall quality, replayability, personal enjoyment, basically just what my silly little brain thinks about it.

40 - CHARYBDIS

Truly a nothing burger. She's just...there.

39 - SIX HUNDRED STRIKE

This song is to me what The Godfather is to Peter Griffin from Family Guy. Do with that information what you will. Also, first impressions unfortunately matter, and that CG animatic...yeah.

38 - GET IN THE WATER

Poseidon should've a second verse before Ody had his. If he did, i'd like this much better. And by now you can deduce what is my least liked saga LMAO, and I really didn't want it to be so, but these three are probably the only songs in the show I actively dislike. Unfortunately the hype was too high on these, and they did NOT live up to it. I fear we lost a little bit of the plot after the Thunder Saga, although Wisdom was (much) better than Vengeance.

37 - POLYPHEMUS

It's slow, heavily dialogue-y and is not very fun to listen to outside of a full listen through of the show. Just not my vibe at all. Still love her tho <3

36 - STORM

My opinion on her has not changed in the slightest since the last time I ranked it to be honest, but the addition of the 20 other songs made her plummet. Still think she lacks a little bit of flavor, a little something. Haven't felt her since tiktok teaser days, still don't.

35 - LUCK RUNS OUT

I said it once and I'll say it again. I am pissed at the change from the teasers lmao, the rappy version of Eury's first verse was SO much better and I am still salty about it, but it is a good song overall and I like Eury's character beginning to blossom here.

34 - LITTLE WOLF

Don't shoot! The song is great, i love Athena's part, but idk, it's so weird to put it before We'd Be Fine. Like, I just can't put my finger on why, it's just my truth.

33 - THERE ARE OTHER WAYS

We have officially entered No Skip territory. 33/40 is a great score.

The intro and the duet are amazing, I am a sucker for duets between man and woman: Bad Idea from Waitress is one of my fave broadway songs of all time, and that last high note is life changing but Circe's second verse is kinda meh. It has grown on me quite a lot since last ranking.

32 - PUPPETEER

Anyway, I love me some Puppeteer. The intro is amazing and fooled me, i thought Eury was going to profess his love or something. The Lyricism, the dynamics between Ody and Eury, perfection.

31 - KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE

She is weird but she is good. Another song I love that plummeted in the rankings because of the second act lmao. Jorge has since then showed us the twink.

30 - THE UNDERWORLD

My opinion hasn't changed but I'm tired of Polites showing up everywhere lmao

29 - LEGENDARY

Pretty good song to introduce Telemachus and Antinous, silly and fun, but not much else to say. Very solid, good song, nothing to complain about.

28 - ODYSSEUS

She is incredible. The edge, the villain era, the violence and the climax of it all, remarkable. The vocals are insane, the extras, all. I screamed when Telemachus appeared.

27 - DONE FOR

Oh how the might have fallen LMAO this was ranked 7th last time, but the competition is STEEP baby. The second act songs just blew it out of the park, plus many songs I ranked low last time went up so yeah. Still an amazing song, and i will always love it as the one teaser that truly got me into this musical.

26 - MUTINY

ARMANDO JULIAN. Stellar performance, and that Just a Man reference my GOD.

Truly insane how low this song is, when this is song TWENTY SIX the other 25 have to be absolute bangers, which they are.

25 - FULL SPEED AHEAD

The harmonies, the character intros, the simplicity, the naïveté, the HARMONIES, YES, AGAIN THE HARMONIES. Troy saga best saga, and if you disagree you can eat my ass

24 - WARRIOR OF THE MIND

This song was second to last on my Act One ranking and I would like to apologize, as I ranked all athena songs kinda low back then. The cultural impact this had alone makes her stand above many. Great song.

23 - DANGEROUS

Hermes wouldn't disappoint me, even among the Vengeance Saga he shines. I love this song. Animatic on the live stream kinda sucked, (no shade to the artist, I loved your work on I Can't Help But Wonder) but the song has been stuck in my head since before Troy was cast.

22 - HOLD THEM DOWN

YES. YES. I LOVE A VILLAIN WHO IS JUST IREDEEMABLY EVIL. God, I love Antinous's character so much, and Ayron Alexander's performance is simply insane. His death was SO FUNNY, truly, I love this song.

21 - LOVE IN PARADISE

Another song that snatched my ass during teaser era, I adore Love in Paradise. The percussion, the immaculate vibes and the emotional whiplash at the end, i just love it.

20 - GOD GAMES

I'm so sad she isn't better LMAO, the gods' arguments were too short! This should've been an 8 minute song, and I am so serious. Either way, despite my gripes with it, I love it, and I want Luke Hot to step on my neck, respectfully.

19 - OPEN ARMS

A classic. What's not to love about her? The dialogues get a bit meh, but c'mon, who cares? Love Polite's solo moment. I just with it had more duet-y parts.

18 - SURVIVE

This song grew on me tremendously. I didn't like it as much at first and i ranked it pretty low last time, but holy shit. This song is so ALIVE. it fills me with, idk, gas? You get it, right? PUSH FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWAAAAAAAAAAAARD!

17 - DIFFERENT BEAST

The payoff on Monster, a masterpiece tbh. Great song, very dark and violent, just how I like it. First time Ody actually scared me.

16 - MY GOODBYE

Perfection, but I wish Ody and Athena really had a proper duet, like harmonizing together and stuff at some point on the show, and I feel like here would've been the perfect opportunity. But the song is phenomenal, and the JUST A MAN REFERENCE? Lifechanging.

15 - REMEMBER THEM

Top 15 mean we have entered perfection. All songs from here on out are 10/10, with zero notes. Perfection. Immaculate. No suggestions, no way to be better, no. PERFECTION. The rankings are just numbers atp, ngl, except for the top 5.

She is serving rock pauleira, serving angst, serving outro. Like, she is neither man of mythical like, what else you want me to say?

14 - THUNDER BRINGER

My GOD. Oh Luke Holt, you are so sexy, just one chance please!

13 - THE HORSE AND THE INFANT

What an opening. That duet, the set up for the best song on the show (spoilers IG), THE DUET WITH ZEUS? HELLO? (have I mentioned I find Luke Holt attractive?) Perfection.

12 - SUFFERING

Oh she is SO FUN and so catchy, and Anna Lea? I have to stan.

11 - WE'LL BE FINE

This is so beautiful, honestly, Mico's voice is the sweetest and I said before i LOVE duets between men and women, idk why, it just hits all spots on my brain. That first "MAYBE" they sing together sounds fucking angelic.

10 - NOT SORRY FOR LOVING YOU

@ghostlycollectorchaos hates to see me coming at 5:50 am belting this at the bus stop. Calypso they could never make me hate you. She was just in a silly goofy mood u guys!

9 - WOULDN'T YOU LIKE

Oh Hermes, I love you so much. The TikTok snippets had me on a chokehold. (Hermes, however, is not my fave character anymore. Penelope snatched his spot from his hands)

8 - THE CHALLENGE

Speaking of the Queen, OH THE CHALLENGE HOW I HAVE LOVED YOU FOR YEARS! For those who don't know, this and NSFLY have been (kinda) out for a long time before release because Jorge presented them on workshop before even the Troy Saga came out! And The challenge has always been one of my favorites. Anna Lea delivered a spectacular performance. It brought me to tears to finally see it out.

7 - I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER

I wish I could forget this to listen for the first time again. Tears, every single time. Also ATHENA IS ALIVE YALL.

6 - MONSTER

I mean, come on. Do I even have to say anything? When he quoted Poseidon. The venting about all he lost, THE CONFIRMATION THAT HE DID, IN FACT, KILLED THE BABY. HE BECOMING THE MAN TIRESIAS SAW IN HIS PROPHECY. I MEAN, COME ON

5 - NO LONGER YOU

Wig? Snatched. This was my favorite song for a while, I even auditioned for it lmao. Deffo my favorite one to sing, still. Mason DEVOURED this track, and the prophecy? Odysseus's scream? Setting up Monster, AKA one of the best things in this show? Gagged me, your honor. I can't stress enough how much I love Mason's performance here.

4 - RUTHLESSNESS

I was INSUFFERABLE when this came out. I made this song my entire personality for a good 3 months. Ask anyone close to me. She was on repeat for WEEKS. Steven Rodriguez, man. God. That man's voice. That man in general, actually.

3 - SCYLLA

The most hype song in the show, sung exquisitly by who can only be described as vocally insane KJ (have yall seen the video of them belting her lungs off while KAYAKING?) But honestly, what I love the most about the song is the lyrics in the chorus.

"Die in the blood where you bathe" will forever be my favorite line in EPIC.

2 - WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AGAIN

Tears. Every single time. Shit, i'm beginning to tear up writing this. The voices, the harmonies, the rage, Penelope's gambit, THAT RIFF ON "FOR YOU", THE JUST A MAN INSTRUMENTAL THAT MAKES ME CRY. The fact that the show ends in "i love you". I just can't describe in full how much I love this song. I can't wait to see the many actresses that will play penelope on broadway.

1 - JUST A MAN

Remarkable, showstopping, absolutely the best song ever made in a musical. The lyricism, the production, the poetry, vocal performance, I really don't have much to say because it's not needed. All of my favorite moments in this soundtrack, unreleased songs included, are moments in which this song is referenced.

I love this song so much i literally can't think about things to write that can represent how much I love it. Shit, this entire part is straight up copy paste from my act one ranking.

My life's dream is to go to broadway once to see this fucking song live, and i know it will be life changing.

[markerofthemidnight]

I wanna tell yall about the best Epic AU idea I’ve ever thought of.

So, I was thinking about what would happen in an alternate universe where Odysseus chooses his crew over himself in Thunder Bringer. And if that happens, well, Eurylochus has lost the motivation to even keep trying to get back home, so the suitors would succeed in their plan in this universe, right?

I thought so too. Until something hit me.

The events of the Vengeance Saga never happen in this universe, nor do the events of Love in Paradise or God Games… but Legendary, Little Wolf and We’ll Be Fine still happen. Which lead me to an absolutely hilarious mental image:

The suitors have got Telemachus overpowered just as they said they would. Antinous is about to slit his throat… before a noticeable blue glow appears behind him. And when he turns around, he realises three things:

1. It’s no surprise that the old king was such a cunning warrior.

2. It’s no surprise that Telemachus was suddenly able to fight back against him during their fight last week.

3. The odds of him surviving what’s about to happen are ridiculously slight.

The rest of the suitors then proceed to run away screaming as they see their leader get absolutely bodied by Athena.

[sillythingsndmore]

Thank the Maker, it's over.

Finally finished Veilgaurd.

I literally had to uninstall other games to motivate myself to finish it instead of putting it off.

My review was as follows:

"55 hours of my life I can't get back. Combat which was fun for the first 5 hours and became a boring slog for the remaining 50. Plot which couldn't find a pace that made sense and decided to flip back and forth between world-ending catastrophe and menial errand running. Characters which ranged from wasted potential at best and lifeless husks at worst. An ending that tried and failed to pull on my beloved memories of better times in Thedas.

The ending slides were a big mush of sentimentality, about how we must "respect and honor the stories that brought us here" meanwhile the entirety of the plot, the setting and the narrative continuation is nothing but disrespect to the stories that got us to this point. In the miasma of emotions, there is a resounding feeling: sorrow. Spoilers ahead as I orate an Ode to Dragon Age.

To my Inquisitor, I give my most heartfelt apology. This should've been your story, this should've been your moment to finish what you set out to do after finding out your friend, your companion, even your lover was the Dread Wolf. You did not deserve to be relegated to the sidelines. To my dearest Ferelden, the place where my love for Dragon Age began - you deserved so much more than to be obliterated offscreen. To my jovial and always confident Hawke, you deserved more than to be forgotten by people who would parade around puppets of your dearest friends. Wherever you walk in the Fade, I hope that you walk proudly and find your way back home. To the remains of Kirkwall, your people fought hard and clung to hope amidst so much hardship - only to be felled without even being spared a second glance. You overcame too much to be lost in this. To the glittering halls of Orlais, you were a beacon of progress and culture - torn down with nothing but paltry words to show for your loss. You were worth more than this. And to my dearest Warden, you who were the start of this saga, words cannot express how heinous this disrespect is for you. To be the one who stood against the Fifth Blight, who defied odds, who conquered Darkspawn hordes with barely more than a hope and a dream. Once the mere mention of your title, The Warden, was enough to strike awe into the hearts of Thedas' people; now it seems you are nothing more than a faded memory. To my dear Warden, you will always be more than that to me."

Now time to edit all that footage down into videos that's slightly more engaging than watching paint dry.