#loving his base lore im so excited to see where he goes with it

[logicalampshade]

This just in! Old man wants to swap consciousness with chicken. Locals call him crazy, Mined approved

[luceliv]

Oh should infodump about your selfship lore ooooo

HUH!!!! SHOULD I?!!

rubbing my hands evilly….. this is like riling up a dog for a walk and then seeing it run in circles nd get too tired for the actual walk

This might end up being rlly long im so sorry😭😭

SO!! LABSEAL!! Dr Olivia Octavius nd Lucielle Ross! Their story takes place in universe 1612, purposefully very close to Miles’s 1610

Some general pointers about this universe!

The supercollider is not in development. Alchemax is a bit more like Oscorp, based more around biology nd chemistry! And some robotics as well

Kingpin lost Vanessa, but not his son. Rather than obsess over getting his family back, he’s more interested in studying the X-Gene. Tl;dr cuz this is kingpin, his son is a mutant but with a more negatively presenting ability, so that’s why.

This universe has that blonde Peter Parker. Miles lives a happy life with his family and meets Gwen naturally

Liv’s reputation isn’t too bad. She’s still Doctor Octopus, but a lot of her villainy has passed (Remember when Raimi’s Otto had that bank heist? That’s pretty much it. She still attacks him mid-meeting with Mary Jane like in the intro sequence tho.) Most of her criminal status now comes from morally grey experimentation and beating Spider-Man up if he ever gets too close to the lab

Ok now onto the actual ship! Luce is a mutant, more specifically a selkie since I like when those characters line up with myths. She’s around 25/26 at the start of their story and works at the Brooklyn aquarium with a masters!

Alchemax has recently finished some prototypes of stuff and are just looking for mutants to test them on. So, instead of going on the evil offensive immediately, Liv gives the go-ahead for a month or two of requesting volunteers. Lucielle knows Liv, she’s seen her videos and read her published reports, she’s even seen her in public before- Once during a fight with Spider-Man and a few times in passing.

She goes, and that’s where my fic actually begins! The reader (and her) learn just how enthusiastic Liv is that someone volunteered, it was nearing the end of the trial and Liv is just yknow. Weirdly excited.

They don’t need to have multiple meetings, but Liv gets carried away and tries her best to rope Luce into more appointments. She agrees, of course, because she finds the doctor interesting and genuinely wants to assist her work. It begins with a lot of mutual interest, not love at first sight, but curiosity.

It goes on for a few weeks, Lucielle arrives exactly on time, they learn a little bit more about each other every week, and Olivia slowly continues progress on a smaller project of hers.

The relationship in general goes a bit quicker once Liv lets it slip to Spider-Man one day. She does end up slowing down her villainy but not yet, so one day he breaks into the lab Peter B style to try and see what data Alchemax has gotten on mutants. Why does it go a bit quicker?!!!? The two had an out of lab date planned the day after

That date brings Liv finally seeing Lucielle in her seal form, as well as their strange versions of confessions

And from there! It slows down again, it takes them a bit to actually call themselves girlfriends but there’s a lot more dates and overlap nd such!

This got off track so much if you’re seeing this thank you for releasing the beast inside of me I feel like those werewolf pictures

[notebookmusical]

Hi! How are you? Oh where in CA generally? I was here too cuz I live here haha. That's so nice..I'm glad it was sunny for you but it's been pretty cold and rainyish too. It always makes me feel ugh so I'm looking forward to spring next month. I don't have a least favorite really..they are just some im meh about but I guess I'm thinking of I Almost Do and Question I guess. I like the Story of us and Breathe and So it Goes but they're just never my favorites I guess and don't stand out in the album. What about you? Illicit Affairs is 10 and it's just kinda there to me along with the way I loved you but I love Marys song so idk. Maybe it's not that much of a pattern really. For 14, I don't care for you need to calm down Betty or Closure compared to others. I'm kinda nervous for this one and the title, since the comments from her Time interview bothered me a little. I hope it's more metaphorical than anything and has more of a Bonnie and Clyde vibe like we said! I'm just curious how the album will be and how it will sound.

Haha yes I am pretty excited for them all. I have played both Beyonce songs a lot and 16 carriages is a really good song. I will add your recs to my list along with Last Dinner Party, but am not as familiar with the other two. For twenty one pilots, they are supposed to release new music next week. I was hoping it would be the 21st since they did that last time but I guess not. However the easter egg stuff started and they have billboards with the new logo on it! Which is exciting and not what I expected. The new colors are reddish orange and yellow which is kinda part of lore. There's a cool theory about the album being called something like Inferno and also something about trials and evidence based on clues so far which could be like TPD. I am very excited to see if it will actually match up with Taylor again lol and the music and genre. I would be interested to see if you like their music when you can listen to it. Let me know if you want recs but I guess just start with Vessel or Blurryface if you want cuz I feel like I've done my best to explain their vibes lol and I will let you know how the new song is of course. Besides that, I will probably be playing all of Ariana and Bleachers music to prepare for their new albums.

Did you end up seeing the Wicked trailer yet? I did not watch it again since so I guess my excitement isn't really there yet and I mostly agree with you. I think the book is pretty different but it could be cool. It's pretty long so I will have to start it soon haha. I have not been reading that much lately but I really hope that can change by next month. I listened to some audios and videos of Aaron Tveit as Sweeney and think he is pretty good and better than I thought he was going to be. So that was something at least and made me happy. Also the connections category today! I must have done it last night right at midnight and thought it was yesterday's I guess. My sister and I knew it right away..I was kinda surprised it was the green category though and they tried to trick you with hard knocks lol.

A fun fact about me is that I used to confuse A Place in this World and the Outside all the time and did not know which one was which for the longest time, so they are definitely a pair to me and idk which one I like more. My favorites are Marys Song, Teardrops Our Song and Invisible so I'm most excited for those, but also replaying it a lot and being more familiar with ones I don't know as much or hear all the time. I think we will have to wait another year at this point though.. I was wrong about the ones I guessed and I don't think she played rep or Lover either. I keep guessing the Way I loved you and Glitch, so I'll stick with that..since those are two she hasn't performed yet. Begin Again and I think he knows which have similar thematic vibes, and change and starlight or a perfectly good heart. Lol idk if she will play those though. She's also adding some mashups to the mix which is really fun and makes it hard to guess. Wow that question is hard but off the top of my head, and not taking off too much from one era or anything, I think I would cut The Archer, We are Never, Tis the Damn Season, Bad Blood, and Midnight Rain. What about you? These are ones that seem least necessary to me I guess and I am excited to watch the movie again next month! That's a good point about why she wouldn't add a new set for the tour too, cuz the movie is already out. So she announced a new bonus track, so it makes me think the bonus tracks will be similar to Folklore and Evermore that had two bonus tracks and might be a different ending. The manuscript makes me think of the Lakes in a way and has a poets vibe to it and this one, the Bolter makes me think of its time to go, just based on title, mixed with the Archer. I have no idea if that's right but one is my favorite and the other is one of my least favorites lol. What do you think? I'm pretty sure the new lyrics means it goes with that song which is interesting but I'm not sure about the love you it's ruining my life one. I can't believe it's two months away only. I hope it's okay that I still talk to you about Taylor since I've seen some of your posts lately, which is fair and I do agree with some of it so I get it but also Taylor just makes me happy sometimes. I've felt weird and guilty talking to you about it like nothing is wrong since it seems to bother you more. Like you said, she has been a part of my life for a long time but I understand if you don't want me to talk about her anymore either. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner and if I don't reply again it's because I will be stressed but hopefully not after this week. 🩷 Have a happy Wednesday!

hi!! i'm okay! looking forward to the weekend — it should be a good one! but also just looking forward to some down time; i feel like i've just been running around all week. how are you?

i was actually thinking about making a little bat signal 🩷 anon post yesterday, because apple music replay is out for the month of january, and look at who made it into my top artists?

i flew into san jose! my aunt lives about 45 minutes away from san jose :) it was a very quick visit! i'm really excited for spring too, even though that's when prime allergy season is for me — although the allergy shots i've been getting should help with that (in theory). do you have a favorite season? mine is 50-50 between spring and summer!

you don't need to feel guilty about talking to me about taylor, you're always welcome to talk to me about whatever you want — if i don't want to talk about something i'll tell you, i promise! 🤍 i have no interest in doing a public autopsy on her personal life (especially with "blaming joe" or whatever people seem to be doing, or talking about travis kelce at length) but aside from that i'm happy to keep chatting about her music — which is what we've been doing, so all good!! <33

i'm super curious now, what your least favorite taylor songs are. if you have any that jump to mind! and i don't mean songs that you skip because they're sad or whatever, but ones that you really just ... do not like! or wait, you know what would be fun? if you sent me your absolute favorite + least favorite from each album and i had to guess which one was what.

which comments from her time article bothered you? it's been a while since i read it so you might have to jog my memory a little! i am also quite worried about this album :/ i just ... don't really know what to expect, and i think people will be even more invasive and weird about taylor swift, which i'm very much dreading haha. she's been seeping into every work conversation i have which is also kind of annoying but that's fine.

do we think she'll announce another variant/bonus track in sydney? one of my best friends is on her way to sydney right now for the concert and i'm so so excited for her! i helped her get her tickets (she lives in australia) and i'm going to try to wake up at 3 am for her surprise songs 😭 if i didn't have work tomorrow i'd try to pull an all nighter and watch the entire concert but alas...

bleachers is coming to seattle for a music festival after all! so now i'm trying to decide if i want to get tickets for that or save my money. ugh. so many things! i just bought concert tickets yesterday and if all goes well i'm buying other concert tickets today haha. maybe we'll see how much i like the new album before i decide!

i justttt watched the wicked trailer and i ... am not particularly charmed or enthused by it. but the wicked tour is coming to seattle this fall, so i'm going to try to see it at least once! i think i'm actually going to do a 5 (?) show subscription for paramount — back to the future (my friend wants to see that one), wicked, mamma mia (my mom wants to see it), and then probably six and &juliet — might take my "little sister" to one of those! i saw some clips of aaron in sweeney but i'm not super familiar with sweeney so i didn't pass too much judgment! but the connections category was SO fun! i got it right away! i haven't been playing connections/wordle as much lately but randomly opened it yesterday and it felt like fate haha. might try to see company when it's here this summer too!!!

if i had to guess ... i think "i love you it's ruining my life" is in but daddy, i love him and "you don't get to tell me about sad" is in i can do it with a broken heart but i have no idea! curious to see what surprise songs are tonight, and if she'll do another mashup! my best friend really wants change on the guitar, so that's what i'm manifesting!

[shadowynn]

*breathes in* *breathes out* *takes a seat on a chair*

FAMMMMMM?!?!?!?!

Chapter seven was literally everything?! Like, we finally have answers and now the ball is sort of in OC's court. Honestly when you said there were reasons why HJ was so... Lenient with half-daemons, I had an inkling it would be this, but to actually hear it from him gave me goosebumps. That apart, omg more context as to why the humans have treated her the way they have oof— also I knew there was something sus about them. I mean of course we don't have all the answers about the war, but I wonder why humans don't just... Stop? Considering only very few cities remain where they can live safely. But then again, what little we've seen of the humans does align with them not wanting to work things out.

I low-key feel bad for oc. I mean... She just wanted a normal life but fate really had no plans for that whatsoever. I totally empathise with her. But at the same time I also feel sorry for HJ, the first time he truly talks to her... She says that to him. Like ouch, that must have hurt.

(Random, but I've been working on this whole idea of fate vs free will in one of my papers. And... It honestly makes me wonder how much of an effect both have on the daemons, half-daemons, and humans in the world of ILAL. Like I understand that daemons have free will, but at the same time certain things have been laid out for them by destiny (or maetha). Then half-daemons are probably somewhere in the middle, but like I think they have more agency unless they're in a situation like OC lol. Then come the humans. So, even if daemons aren't angels (figuratively speaking), the fact that humans choose to do things the way they're doing just makes humans crueler I guess. Idk if I'm making sense?)

Can't wait to see where this goes from this point ahead. 🥺❤️ Thank you for sharing this beautiful story with us.

Aaawwweeee, thank you so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!! I was struggling so hard, but when I came back with a fresh head after a few days, things really just started flowing.

And, ahhhh, there’s like so much more I want to say and explain then what I put in this chapter, but I have to hold back because it really isn’t the right time or place to say it. I think this is one of the first works I’ve wrote where things aren’t always what they seem and there’s more going on then you know and it’s so hard for me to not just spit everything out. I’m absolutely terrible at keeping secrets, especially with things that I know other people are excited for (like it’s been a pain ordering Christmas presents and having to wait to give them. I just wanna give now.) so Im like, excited for you all to know things but really have to hold back and be like, no, you have to wait.

And fate vs free will is such an interesting topic, but honestly a hard one too. Major props to you to writing a paper on it! I think when it comes to In Love and Lore, i feel very similar to you! daemons do lean much more into fate, based on their magic. And I see this as a major factor on why things went so horribly for them in the end, because hj doesn’t see what he did was wrong because mc is his mate, and like, of course he’s going to do what he did. But mc isn’t from that world, doesn’t comprehend the weight of it, so she sees as his choice led to her not having one. And let me tell you, this won’t be the only time this difference in worlds/traditions is going to be causing problems.

And then I’d say the half-daemons probably lean the way they’ve grown up. They’re not as into fate as daemons, but as we’ve kind of seen with mc, she knows she has less free will than humans because of her status. There’s just certain things she can and can’t do because she’s not human. And I really like what you said about humans. you’re right, it does seem to make them crueler! Knowing there was a choice and yet still deciding to do it anyways.

Thanks for your kind words!! I always enjoy having these long asks/conversations with you!! :)

[transphilza]

Hi!!! Im the same anon that talked about a potential c!Dream confrontation with c!crimebois and it's genuinely everything that I wanted <33!!! Well everything I wanted by that I mean I didn't really want c!Wilbur to traumatize c!Tommy another time by almost ending his life again WSHDHD but that entire prison confrontation (the real one and not the one when c!Wilbir passed out, that scene was a whole new level of incredible) suites his character so well. Was c!Wilbur's anger and need to avenge c!Tommy justified? Yes, but was the method and his actions to avenge c!Tommy right? No, but that's the thing about his character: c!Wilbur can be careless and his love is genuine but messy. c!Wilbur has yet to fully understand the extent of control c!Dream has over c!Tommy and how it's not only limited to the discs, but even him. Afterall, the most beloved item to c!Tommy is not the discs but himself.

This is certainly not the end of c!crimebois and potentially their confrontation with c!Dream given how the ending of the stream felt like a "was it really worth it?" feeling and with cc!Tommy confirming more lore, this is just the beginning of the end.

On a random note, I do wonder how the next stream will be like and how c!Wilbur apologies will continue given how c!crime's relationship feels like it's at the edge of a cliff: one move and it can either fall or be saved. This is but a guess but given how the events of each stream directly follow after the other, I'm guessing that a conversation between c!crime will directly be the key to a c!Niki confrontation given how c!Tommy should technically still be with c!Wilbur in the next stream (unless c!Tommy is absent and there was a timeskip or an indication of him leaving after c!Wilbur gave him the discs). If we're going on the potential route of c!Tommy still being in the next stream then there's a high chance that he brings up the nuke incident (whether on purpose or even accidentally) which will cause c!Wilbur to want to confront c!Niki. Not only would c!Wilbur and c!Niki apologize to each other but it would also be the perfect opportunity for c!Niki to apologize to c!Tommy for what she did. Will this likely happen? Admittedly I'm not sure given how it would be more reasonable for c!Tommy to want to distance himself first from c!Wilbur after the events of the c!Dream confrontation but c!Tommy is known most for his loyalty and love towards c!Wilbur so it's just as likely that he stays by his side. One thing is for sure though is that c!Wilbur has yet to talk to c!Niki and the apologies are still going so I'm excited to see where this goes!

Sorry this was so long! Thank you for letting me ramble and have a good day <33!!!

HI NONNIE once again i completely agree with everything u have to say u are so based and no worries i am soso glad to hear from you again :D i don’t even have anything to add you hit the nail on the head and i’m super excited too !!!

[michibikionmain]

Sapnap's Lore Teaser: Assorted Thoughts and Ideas

we are just being FED sapnap content lately huh god bless i aint complainin its about time

JUST LIKE ITS ABOUT TIME WE GET THE SAPNAP LORE TEASER LETS GOOOO

I havent looked at it super in-depth yet, but I did watch it a few times through and I have some thoughts/theories/discussions to put out from my assorted ramblings in discord lmfao. theyre below the cut enjoy!! tw for torture mentions and fighting ig? nothing graphic or detailed but just in case :)

The glitching/flashing images over the community house for the ending segment aren't just of the community house, they're also pictures of Kinoko Kingdom?? IS HE- IS HE FORESHADOWING?? FORESHADOWING EITHER 1. HES NOT GONNA LET KINOKO KINGDOM END UP LIKE THE COMMUNITY HOUSE MEANING WE GET OVER PROTECTIVE SAPNAP ARC 2. HES GONNA DESTROY KINOKO KINGDOM BECAUSE, SIMILAR TO DREAMS DOWNFALL LEADING UP TO DOOMSDAY AND THE DISK FINALE, SAPNAP HAS REALIZED THAT GOOD THINGS DONT LAST ON THE SERVER, LEAST OF ALL FOR HIM, SO HE'LL GET RID OF THEM HIMSELF

The pathway hes standing on looks like the prime path or the pathways leading up to the prison. you can tell based on like the- the wood and chiseled stone bricks. hes near the community house in the end frame where he pulls out the sword. the fact that he pulls out a sword feels important as well because if he was just destroying things, he would use flint and steel or tnt or some other kind of destructive material. but swords? swords are only good for bamboo, cobwebs, and killing in minecraft. so hes definitely preparing to either kill or fight someone as he approaches the community house.

The flashes of kinoko kingdom that appear over sapnap looking at the community house in both the past and present lead me to believe that he's mentally connecting them, as in seeing history repeat itself, and that the symbols of his past memories are "gone" hence the title. So using that kind of inference, he's probably killing someone at the community house, someone that has some kind of connection to kinoko kingdom and probably doomsday or the past in some way.

that narrows things down pretty well in my eyes to Dream, George, Karl, Quackity, or Sam.

I don't think it's Dream. If he's going to kill Dream, why show the community house and not the prison or something? Or allude to the prison in anyway? I feel like their relationship will be an important factor in the Sapnap lore but I don't think that's who sapnap is planning to fight/kill.

Similarly, I don't think it's Karl. Yes Karl's in Kinoko Kingdom and is connected to memory and time and all that, but... he doesn't have the same connections to the past of the smp. He has a lot of lore but its mostly background type of lore i guess? its not tied to a lot of the major plot events, and while its affected sapnap, I don't think its gotten to the point of sapnap wanting to fight or kill karl yet.

George has been there since the beginning with Sapnap and Dream, so he's got the connections to the past, plus he's in Kinoko Kingdom with Sapnap. We also know due to his Dreaming lore that he still cares about Dream and wants him to come back and be with them again outside of the prison. He wants to ignore all the bad Dream has done because he cares for him more than he cares for the server overall. This could be an interesting conflict between their characters and I think it's possible, though unlikely because this is George we're talking about. My mans doesn't DO serious lore like this.

That leaves Quackity and Sam, who honestly id be satisfied with it being either of these two, but I think Quackity is more likely. I'll explain.

Quackity is not in Kinoko Kingdom, it's true, but this is a source of conflict for him. He's upset that he's not in Kinoko Kingdom, that his fiancées didn't invite him to their new country especially after spending so much time building a new country for all of them together. We also have many shots from Quackity's own lore streams which show him walking along that same path to get to the prison. Could be a coincidence, but personally? Personally I think it's an interesting parallel, especially when you take in to consideration that in Sapnap's prison visit lore stream he mentioned not wanting Dream to escape, but that he still cared for Dream and loved him even though he fucked up big time. Maybe Sapnap finds out that Quackity has been torturing Dream somehow and goes to confront him about it? This situation makes the most sense to me, at least compared to Sam

Sam lines up with the messages about the past and the community house and the connection between the original SMP/history with the current SMP, but he really doesnt have any connection to Kinoko Kingdom that I'm aware of. He could approach Sam possibly for allowing Quackity to torture Dream in prison, or something along those lines, but ehhhh Makes sense, would work for him to do that, but I'm not really sure how to tie that into the Kinoko Kingdom evidence yet.

No matter what happens though, I'm SO excited for Sapnap lore becuase I think his character is definitely one of the most fascinating on the server and yknow what? ill say it im biased i just think hes neat

[lunabonita]

My Webtoon Recommendations

These are webtoons that are all 10/10 for me. Of course it doesn’t have to be a 10/10 for you, so just a reminder, do not attack me for liking a webtoon that you do not. These are my opinions and we are not going to have the exact same taste. Please be respectful.

Your Throne

Genre: Fantasy

Chapters: 75

Status: Ongoing

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“Tensions are brewing under the seemingly calm surface of the Vasilios Empire, a kingdom ruled by the Imperial Family and the Temple. Lady Medea Solon has lost her place next to Crown Prince Eros, but resolves to win back whats rightfully hers. Will she reclaim her throne?”

You know whats amazing about this webtoon? The summary leads you to think that what shes winning back is the prince. Wrong. Shes trying to win back the throne. I love how this webtoon doesn’t try to make it a girl focusing her goals on a man, but on power. Medea is such a strong and well written character that you can’t help but love her.

The second protagonist Pschye, who of which is the person who took Medeas place as Crown Princess, is the complete opposite of Medea. At the beginning you hate her, but as the webtoon goes on and Medea and her get a better understanding of eachother due to them switching bodies as a wish from God, you begin to root for them as they team up to take over the throne from the Crown Prince.

The art is so beautiful and I constantly found myself at awe from the amount of detail put into it.

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The Makeup Remover

Genre: Romace

Chapters: 78

Status: Ongoing

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“After years of being told to focus on studying, Yeseul feels lost when she starts college and is suddenly expected to pay attention to makeup. When a chance encounter with brilliant makeup artist Yuseong leads to her taking part in a televised makeup competition, Yeseul begins to question the role that makeup and appearance play in society.”

This was created by one of my favorite webtoon creators Lee Yone. Their art is just so amazing and their stories always include such good topics.

For instance, The Makeup Remover’s theme is loving yourself for who you are. It shows how people treat you based on your looks and as someone whos struggled with that kind of thing for a while, this webtoon really touched me. The main character Yeseul is such a relatable character, even when trying to reject beauty standards, she still came subject to the pressures of living up to the people around her. She struggles with trying to love her own appearance and I really like that this webtoon didn’t try to be like, ‘fuck the beauty standard im better than that screw pretty people!!!’ it actually showed realistically how people struggle with self-image. I also love the main love interest because oh my god, we need more men like him please. He doesn’t care about Yeseul’s appearance and genuinely loves her for her personality.

Also, art is amazing. The author is so talented and you should support them by reading and liking the chapters.

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Surviving Romance

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 14

Status: Ongoing

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“When Chaerin Eun becomes the protagonist of the romance novel she is reading, she expects a fairytale ending with the novel’s love interest, Jeha. But when a bizarre twist makes her realize the story is not playing out as it does in the book, she’ll need the help of an unlikely character from her class to defy the new storyline and find her happy ending - if only she can figure out who this ‘Unknown Extra’ is first!”

Hands down one of my favorite webtoons by a long shot. You ever see a webtoon and think, ‘oh yeah, thats going to be a good webtoon’? Thats how this webtoon was for me. It was so good that I spent hours searching for other chapters that hadn’t been uploaded to webtoon yet on other manhua websites. I discovered it because it was also by the author of ‘The Makeup Remover’.

If there is one thing you need to know about me, its that I am a huge horror fan. So when I saw that my favorite author on webtoon had a horror themed webtoon out? You bet your behind that I binged it. Let me tell you, best choice ever.

Think of it as if ‘Ino’s Law’ and ‘Quarantine’ were combined with amazing art and a badass MC.

The Remarried Empress

I love how it is set up to the point where she cannot ‘quit’ until she completes the novel. Creating scenarios where she must survive while meeting the standards in the book. It is such an amazingly written webtoon and I cannot wait for more chapters to be released.

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Genre: Fantasy

Chapters: 82

Status: Ongoing

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“Navier Ellie Trovi was an empress perfect in every way - intelligent, courageous, and socially adept. She was kind to her subjects and devoted to her husband. Navier was perfectly content to live the rest of her days as the wise empress of the Eastern Empire. That is, until her husband brought hone a mistress and demanded a divorce. ‘I accept this divorce… And i request an approval of my remarriage.’ In a shoking twist Navier remaarries another emperor and retains her title and childhood dream as empress. But just how did everything unfold? “

Am I in love with Navier? Yes.

I absolutely adore how this story was set up. The first chapter begins with the big divorce scene, followed by Navier saying that she was going to be remarrying someone else since he wants to divorce her. This sets up a picture that gets completely shattered as you read the chapters. How everything falls into place with the reason behind the divorce and the remarriage is just so well written. The art is so good and and everything is just so insanely well done.

I absolutely love Naviers character, from her regalness and devoted loyalty to her role as empress, all the way to her petty moments and times of sadness. She is truly a character that you want the best for, and I cannot image anyone not liking her. Also the story is just so capable of making you feel emotions. I’ve laughed, cried, and got angry during the course of reading this webtoon. I love how betrayed I felt when the emperor brought home his mistress. It felt like I was in Navier’s shoes!

This is such a well done webtoon and I'm so excited for Navier to get all of the good things she deserves in her new Kingdom and with her new husband.

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Witch Creek Road

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 74

Status: Ongoing

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“A survival horror about love, acceptance, death, and revenge. And sexy flesh-eating demons. Yeah, it has those, too.”

This series seriously mind fucked me. The way that this story is set up, you don’t see the full picture until the later chapters. Season two literally blew my mind. It is also very gorey so keep that in mind if you don’t like that kind of stuff, but for me that makes it all the better. It is just so wild and crass that you can feel your heart pumping in anticipation.

They even have their own website that goes further into the lore because it’s just so wild. Also the art style is just so amazing, because it complements the story and horror theme so much. You hate most of the characters because they suck, and it is so satisfying when they are killed. Also it has it’s sad moments but I think it is a nice break from the horror so it isn’t so overwhelmingly scary.

I binged this series and I recommend reading only a few chapters a day so you don’t overload your brain.

Other then that, an amazing webtoon. Seriously, go read it, support the author, so much work goes into the story and art that it’s insane.

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Dating With A Tail

Genre: Romance

Chapters: 36

Status: Ongoing

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“On the dawn of her 29th birthday, unlucky-in-love Yunha discovers a shocking family secret: she’s started growing a fox tail, the mark of an ancestral curse. She must find her fated love before her 30th birthday or she is destined to become a fox forever! Even with her new-found enchanting power to attract men using her scent, will one year be enough to break the curse before it’s too late?”

Oh my gosh this is just such a good webtoon. It has amazing art, story telling, and characters. The true love interest was there the whole time, the villain isn’t who you’d expect it to be, and the spirit who cursed her is just! Im not going to spoil it but go read this webtoon!! It is so good and deserves more love.

Also Yunha is just so relatable?? Like she put off finding the woodcutter (her fated love) for 29 years and waited last minute to find him. Homegirl is me trying to do a project for school. Also to get rid of the scent that makes men attracted to her, she just starts eating a ton of garlic and that is just so funny to me.

Also I would go to church for the priest anytime if you know what i mean ;)

-

Omniscient Reader

Genre: Action

Chapters: 53

Status: Ongoing

-

“Dokja was an average office worker whose sole interest was reading his favorite web novel ‘Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.’ But when the novel suddenly becomes reality, he is the only person who knows how the world will end. Armed with this realization, Dokja uses his understanding to change the course of the story, and the world, as he knows it.”

I cannot get over how high quality this story is. The world building is phenomenal, the art is fantastic, and the characters are very fleshed out. This deserved all the hype it has gotten so far and more.

I love the ‘mc thrown into a different reality’ trope so much. Just like with surviving romance, Dokja’s world became the story he was reading. Also a very cool aspect of the story is the level up and the fact that its like a game. Earth has turned into this show for god like creatures to watch and it follows Dokja trying to survive. I also really like that TWSA has a protagonist, but Omniscient Reader’s protagonist is not the protagonist that was in TWSA. There is just so much lore and I’ll say it again, the world building is just phenomenal.

The Ddokkaebi’s and Dokja’s interactions are also just some of my favorite moments from the story so far. And oh my goodness I would die for Lee Gilyoung. Thats it, thats the tweet. That little boy could probably kill me with his giant praying mantis and I would let him if it would make him happy.

-

Not So Shoujo Love Story

Genre: Comedy

Chapters: 45

Status: Ongoing

-

“Romance super-fan Rei Chan is ready for her first boyfriend and she knows just who it’ll be: the most handsome boy in school, Hansum Ochinchin. But her plans for the perfect story are derailed when the most popular girl in class declares herself a rival… for Rei’s heart?! This is the year her not so shoujo love story begins!”

This is just such a cute webtoon. The style is very appealing and while the humor can be childish and weird sometimes, it still has made me laugh a lot. I know the humors not for everyone but just keep in mind that it does get better as the story progresses and gets more serious.

Also its a gl! I’m really unable to find good gls these days that don’t fetishize wlw relationships. Rei being painted as a mean trouble maker whos just misunderstood and Hana being the ‘perfect girl’ who only wants Rei’s attention is such a cute dynamic. They balance each other out and better each other. Also stan Rei for constantly sticking up for Hana even if she doesn’t necessarily like her in the beginning, she has very good morals and sticks to them.

Also the defying stereotypes in this webtoon? Just god-tier. Really makes you think twice when you judge someone just on first impressions alone.

-

Odd Girl Out

Genre: Drama

Chapters: 264

Status: Ongoing

-

“After a successful winter break makeover, Nari is finally ready for her high school debut. But somehow, she ends up friends with the three prettiest girls in school! Follow Nari as she tries to navigate her brand new high school life surrounded by beauties.”

This story has made me cry multiple times. A lot, even. It is just such a beautiful tale of friendship and finding support in people who are unlike those around theme. It also tells a great story about how anybody can be the ‘odd girl out’. Be it the fat girl, the beautiful girl, the rich girl, or the laid back girl.

It goes so deep into its characters that you even feel bad for the minor antagonists. It really makes you feel for the characters and the reasons behind their actions. Also I know its long, believe me I binged all 260 chapters in the span of three days, but oh my god it is worth it. Also I know the art is kind of off-putting, in fact that’s kind of why I put off reading the story, but I’ve honestly grown to love it and the writing is so good that the art could be literal stick figures and it wouldn’t matter.

The story is amazing and also I just love Nari. She’s just the best.

-

Gremoryland

Genre: Horror

Chapters: 67

Status: Completed

-

“Six old school friends are invited to be the first visitors of GremoryLand, a new horror theme park that promises an experience as unique as it is spooky. But once this experience starts there is no turning back, and they find themselves tested beyond what they imagines, facing their most desperate fears in order to survive.”

This is definitely one of those stories were you kind of need to turn of your brain and choose to ignore ‘plot holes’ while reading the early chapters because this story definitely gets crazy if you don’t know the ending. Believe me if you stick with it it will all make sense and the satisfaction you get from finding the ending is just so worth it.

The story is so good, and who Gremory is you would literally never suspect. When it was revealed who Gremory was and how he was able to create Gremoryland is so fucking mind boggling that you would never guess. I had to do a double take. It wasn’t like one of those random characters with a vendetta type of twists, but like one you can pick out from clues throughout the story.

Its so good and twisted and just so worth at least giving it a chance.

-

These were some of my favorite webtoons on the app! Of course it’s not all of them because unfortunately there is a 10 image limit. I also made this because I’ve run out of new webtoons to read and would love if you guys commented some of your own recs. I can also do a part two with other ones I liked if y’all want more recommendations. You guys can even request specific categories like Drama or Sci-Fi and I can tell you my favorite ones from that genre.

Also a reminder - if you disagree with any of my praise of these webtoons be respectful about it. At the end of the day it’s my opinion and you don’t need to be rude when disagreeing with that opinion.

[beekeys-minecraft-blog]

I am going to be a bit controversial, but I promise it comes from a place of love.

But this Haunted Mansion ep was not very good?

The Inbetween bit was good. I am so intrigued by where the story is going. If the Inbetween is evil and talking to Karl through the :] books and who could be the ???? books.

But the Haunted Mansion bit? I dunno..

I think it suffered from lack of direction and too many people. Chaos is fun and a major part of what has made Tales pretty funny so far. But today was too much.

Because they all want to joke and be in the spotlight, right? But then if everyone wants to be spotlight then they talk over each other. Which is a jumbled chaotic mess and if any jokes are funny they kinda get drowned out.

I also think that the episodes with more role play than quests/trials feel more interesting. Masquerade is by far the best ep we've had and it was almost exclusively role play. Wild West and Mizu being great as well. What they have in common is being story focused and the cast seemingly knowing ahead of time what the story is so then the plot feels organic as they all improve their way to the plot.

Tonight's ep has a distinct vibe of lack of direction.

And, Karl seems burnt out. He said he is taking a few days break and I say he should take a week or two. Hes done a Tales almost every week. Boy needs a long break to recoup. He just doesn't seem as into it and Im sure that is only because he is overworking himself. I mean, goodness, he's been showing up on other streams constantly. Karl please sleep.

So, i know i might get hate. People dont like criticism. And thats fair. But this comes from a place of love I promise.

I think for future Tales, Karl should:

* Space them out - not have them every week, but maybe every other or once a month. That way he can get some breaks in.

* Have a smaller cast - less likely people will talk over each other.

* Have different people on each time - let some of the other Dream SMP members shine.

- a friend pointed out that the cast list has felt more clout based than anything. And i while I know that Karl probably feels that certain names are the only way people will watch the show. I sort of agree with my friend? I think Karl should trust in his story and not worry about the numbers. Pick new people, or get people legit excited each time, and it'll all work out.

* Role-Play focused episodes - the casts can riff and shine in the best ways. They are all very funny and honestly the roleplay is the best part of Tales. I feel like Tales being scripted is what has put it above the other parts of the Dream SMP. And i think focusing on small scripts is what is going to make it feel polished.

* Not worry about if the Build is bigger and better than the one before. They have all looked cool but I swear people are not here for the builds. Its about the cast being funny and the LORE.

* The Inbetween has been pretty great and so there is no notes there. I am excited to see where this goes.

Again, these criticisms are out of love. I think Karl has been doing great, and after he gets a break I cant wait to see what he does next.

[miraculouscontent]

(Shanghai-related asks)

.

Anonymous said:

Did you see how, supposedly, the reason Marinette goes to Shanghai is bc Adrien is there. Because you know, that's a totally normal thing to do.

You know, there’s this suspension of disbelief where characters are allowed to do certain things that you’re like, “okay that’s not realistic but it’s fun so I don’t mind.”

Yeah, this is not fun.

Anonymous said:

Based on the new trailer for the Shanghai special, one of my biggest fears is that we won't see Marinette interacting with Sabine's family outside of Uncle Wang, even Sabine is nowhere to be seen in the trailer, please ZAG at least give us one of Sabine's parents, we're starving

I’m still rolling my eyes that there’s not one piece of dialog with Sabine talking about stuff related to her family, though her cheongsam is also flipped so--

Anonymous said:

Synopsis for the Shanghai Special: To join Adrien in Shanghai, Marinette is going to visit her uncle Wang who is celebrating his anniversary. But, as soon as she arrives in China, her purse gets stolen with Tikki inside, whom she needs to secretly transform into Ladybug! Without money and alone in the immense city, Marinette accepts the help of a young and resourceful girl, Fei. The two girls will ally and discover the existence of a new magical jewel, the Prodigious. Hawk Moth, also also present in Shanghai, seeks to finding it since a long time... Yea, cause Marinette still hasn’t suffered enough :p

mAriNEtTe mAkeS a mIsTakE iN eVeRY sToRY

Anonymous said:

As someone of Chinese descent, I felt extremely bothered by how miniscule the boy's , the one on the right (?) taking a picture with Adrien, eyes were when I saw the Shanghai trailer. It feels extremely... stereotypical? Not sure if that's the right word. I mean, he could just be squinting, but it still bothers me. Especially if that's their normal eye shape.

I heard similar complaints when Kagami arrived. They really stress the eye shape when it comes to someone full-on Asian (and if you’re half-Asian then you get wholly round eyes which makes no sense). It also gets weird because I feel like we have characters in the show who could pass for Asian (Mireille at least has the proper eye shape without it being over-exaggerated; I don’t remember if her skin tone is correct or not), but when characters are actually Asian, it’s usually taken to the exaggeration.

My sympathy goes out to everyone of Chinese descent who’s going to have to deal with the special. I’m literally a mish-mash of whiteness (American, French, and German) but even I know it must suck.

Anonymous said:

im tempted to watch the Shanghi special with my family, we're part chinese and have been to shanghi a few times. Then we can laugh and yell at it together, no need for show context

omg

As long as you have fun! Give it a good roast for me!

Anonymous said:

Excuse my french (pun intended) but

WHAT EVER LOVING HELL HAPPEN TO THE SPECIAL!!

Marketing.

Also the writers wanting to make sure you don’t forget that Adrien is a guy who exists.

Anonymous said:

Hi, Clarity! If you don't mind me asking, do you have any thoughts on the upcoming Shanghai special based on the information and trailers we have?

When I found out that Marinette was spending time with her great-uncle Wang, I was so excited. I was hoping that this special will be a breath of fresh air and spontaneously focus just on Marinette and her family for once. Maybe we'd explore Marinette's Chinese heritiage and learn more about her mother, Sabine and extended maternal family.

Then I saw Gabriel in which I eye-rolled 180* like any degree of character development. Like... great... more needless Miraculous lore/exposition. (Can we even call it exposition? I doubt any of the Miraculous-related events will be referenced within the show.) Whilst Miraculous lore is great and does expand our knowledge on the Miraculous, it steals any individual focus that Marinette could potentially have. It also tends to "hands everything" to Hawk Moth, who gets almost everything done his way without him even trying. Hmm, I guess as Shadow Moth, he won't have to use Mayura as his catslyst anymore. He'll have to ruffle his own feathers. (I don't know why I'm making a bird joke about Gabriel here. I hate him snd I couldn't care less about him.)

Also by reading the special's synopsis, it mentions that Adrien and Gabriel go to China for an unknown reason (maybe business related.) So Marinette decides to go to spend time with him (also spend time with Wang concurrently.) This might be a minor issue but I don't want Adrien to always be the centre focus of Marinette's motivations/desires. (He isn't always but I feel he is more than he should be.) Let our beautiful amazing girl just have an amazing time with her family in China. The writers need to stop Adrien being an integral part of Marinette's character. This special should be about Marinette (along with her family) and them solely.

Moreover, I'm worried that Marinette will imminently be embarassed/scolded/humiliated in some way. The synopsis mentions that she loses her bag (that contains Tikki.) Inevitably, she's going to be scolded for this for not being careful. The writers will blame her for the destruction that Hawk Moth will cause and not the actual man terrorising Shanghai himself. And no needless lovesquare drama please. If I'm not interested in it in Paris, don't think I'll be interested in it in Shanghai. And please do not let it be used to cause Mari/LB to suffer. Romance (no matter how contrived it is in this show) should be about finding joy and happiness. It should never intentionally be a burden for anybody, especially if it's for comedic purposes. Why am I worried that CN will yell at LB this time?

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic. I hope that the writers actually have them communicate properly about this time. Like they should both be honest (an important aspect of healthy relationships), to build clarity and to avoid confusion. Like the needless drama in NY could have been avoided if Adrien didn't ignore Ladybug and actually TRUSTED her by telling her the truth about him going somewhere instead of complacently lying to her, then losing her trust. Both could have told each other that they are going to NY "for personal reasons" without giving too much detail. To prevent suspicion, the writers could have included the American superheroes hosting an event inviting them or asking for their help to defeat that Micromonster guy. LB and CN could have both then collectively made a decision that if anything were to go wrong in Paris, they could quickly use the Horse Miraculous to transport to France in time (like Marinette was advised to do in "Startrain") or use the Rabbit Miraculous to travel back in time/manipulate events. There was no need to make Marinette suffer for the sake of needless lovesquare drama.

However, I love the animation for the special. It is mesmerising and beauitful and the graphics look superb. The atmosphere looks so clean and the nature-aspects (Hawk Moth's hideout) are intricately detailed. The lighting also complements the charactrrs and the settings' colours. A huge round of applause to SAMG for their excellant hardwork for animating this special despite the pandemic!

If you have any worries about the special, free free to do so! I want to conclude my message by thanking you so much for being such a lovely, kind, confident and resilient person. You always confidently express your opinions and strcture your essays clearly and legibly. I always look forward to reading your posts. I know I can always count on you to express our frustrations with the show's writing on our behalf and speak up for Marinette's mistreatment and inustice! 😊

Firstly, thank you! I gotta defend Marinette because we know the show won’t!

Anyway, I agree with basically everything you said. My biggest comments on it are like--

- I’m already tired of places just being used as set pieces for specials. I actually have a history of disliking specials/movies for shows because its purposes is usually just to get people hyped up, but that means big plots with big stakes and I end up thinking, “okay, but why can’t we have that in the show?” That’s always the issue I take with it; movies/specials prove that they can come up with high stakes plots, but we can’t have equivalents in the show because...?

- I officially tune out now anytime Marinette’s crush on Adrien is mentioned. It gets tiring and it just makes me feel bad for her and simultaneously angry at the writers for treating her this way. Add that onto the “Marinette always makes mistakes” rule and it’s clear that they’re creatively bankrupt and needlessly restrict themselves for the sake of making Marinette suffer. I’m just insulted that Gabriel is going to Shanghai for his fashion business but Marinette being into fashion is ignored.

- The animation is nice but whenever I see it, I’m reminded that we couldn’t have much SAMG in Season 4+5 because they were busy working on the special. The show should always take priority over some lame special/movies. I won’t judge the special for it but I’m salty about it regardless.

[dreamerboo]

Dream SMP headcannons|| 🍃

before i start i just wanna say these headcannons WILL follow the storyline, meaning stuff like family SBI are not going to be in here.

(seriously guys stop saying Tommy is Philza’s kid. Its been stated multiple times that Phil is not Tommy’s dad. It is lore, cannon. Found family can work for Wilbur and Tommy, BUT THEY ARE NOT RELATED.)

- While Kristin (Phil’s wife) is not stated to be canon in the DSMP lore, i think she is the Angel of Life. For death shall never consume her, and she shall always bring life and happiness wherever she goes.

- Opposite to Kristin, Phil is the Angel of Death. For life is always on his side, and he shall never succumb to that fate. Although he is a loving and kind man, he will, without hesitation take your life if he see’s fit.

- Both of they’re jobs include:

Phil:

He’s in charge of leading people to they’re ultimate fate (and also transporting they’re souls to the afterlife). If your a kind; loving person with a heart of gold, your death shall be peaceful and serene.

On the other side, if you were... lets say someone like Dream. A manipulative tyrant, trying to get everything you want, even if that means manipulating his own son Phil shall make sure your death will be one for the history books.

Kristin:

She’s in charge of leading people to a new start (transporting them to they’re new dimension to start a life). She always asks questions that would best suite you, and tells you about the different dimensions and all the creatures you can be.

If you end up with a bad life; and do not deserve it, she will absolutely try her best to make things right. Take Ranboo; he deserves none of what he’s getting, so she set up opportunities such as Micheal or the Antarctic Commune for him!!

Although if she does not like you; her angel will come after you, and beware, death is quick.

- Techno has 3 forms, Full Piglin, Hybrid, and Human! His favorite is his Piglin form, as he thinks it suits him the best. Although, he uses his Human form the most as its more easy to do things in. Although there have been a couple occasions where Phil steps into Tech’s house, only to see a giant Piglin cuddling with a polar bear

- I can never decide if i like Tanuki (Raccoon)! Tommy more, or Winged! Tommy more, so have headcannons about both:

Tanuki Tommy:

- Tanuki’s can shapeshift! He likes to use his powers on a daily basis, whether its trolling some of his friends, or getting into fights

- He has a natural connection with leaves, since they resemble transformation! Because of this he has a small collection of leaves; as well as a bracelet with a cute little leaf charm!

- He loves Sam Nook because Sam Nook, like Tommy, is also Tanuki! They get along quite well!

- Tommy’s tail is super fluffy, and quite big. You can often find Tommy walking down Prime Path with his huge tail swinging back and forth, as he hums a tune he likes to call “The Able Sisters”

- His ears are also surprisingly fluffy as well, although currently the only one allowed to touch them are Tubbo. As well as this, like most Tanukis he has a little pattern on his face that looks like a mask!

- Whenever Tommy is upset he goes into his full tanuki form; he basically looks like this:

and whenever this happens, he always scurries off to Tubbo, and proceeds to be clingy. Days like this often end up with Tommy asleep (PLATONICALLY) cuddling with Tubbo. How cute :]

Winged Tommy:

- Tommy’s wings have never fully developed. This is because when he learned that Wilbur had wings, but were cut off, he binded his own out of respect for Wilbur

- Whenever he’s happy, his wings involuntarily will flap!! This is always a tell tale sign that Tommy’s excited, happy, ect!

- His wings are white! They have no symbols, just pure white, semi-fluffy wings

- Even if he never binded his wings, he would still never know how to fly or properly take care of them. As his parents abandoned him at the young age of 4.

<—————>

- Speaking of which, Tubbo was abandoned at 5. The reason Tubbo and Tommy are so close is because while adventuring, they stumbled upon eachother and have been inseparable ever since

- Wilbur, did in fact, have wings. But as payment for L’manburg, Dream cut them off and kept them. This is one of the first events that caused Wilbur to go insane

- Eret hosts pride parades for the server! They always like to look stylish and gaudy; so if you see him in a ball gown with tons of jewelry; know its that time of year!

- George is actually a witch! Although he’s a baby witch, he wants to learn the art of potion brewing. This has also led to many cottage explosions, much to his dismay

- Whenever Sapnap gets angry, he flames up, completely engulfed in flames. He basically looks like the shape of a human but... well... fire. Because of this, its been advised people carry a small spray bottle with water, just in case.

- Skeppy taught Sapnap how to swear, much to Bad’s dismay.

- Antfrost was the first person to know Sapnap liked Quackity and Karl. The only reason Sapnap told him first is because he knew Ant wouldn’t judge him

- Puffy is called ‘Mother Puffy’ by the rest of the badlanders. ‘Grandmother Puffy’ by Sapnap.

- Quackity had pastel yellow wings! He loves to fly around at dawn and sing while the sun comes up

- No one knows exactly what dream is, nor does anyone really want to...

- Tubbo is a goat, like Shclatt! (Dad!Shclatt anyone?)

- Whenever Tubbo gets excited, others often have to grip the base of his horns to calm him down.

- Ranboo has a tail and horns as well! Whenever upset, Ranboo swishes his tail around, similar to a cat.

- Sometimes Ranboo sleep talks, with often coming out as garbled endermen noises

- Fundy will never tell anyone, but his favorite food are berries

- Niki dyes her hair everymonth, nobody knows why but they cant say its not lovely!

- Sam has green freckles. Thats its thats the po-

- Everyone really likes Jack’s eyes, because they’re two different colors

- Phantommy has two different eye colors. One green, and the other purple and white, to resemble his discs.

- Phantommy also a heart stitched into his shirt/jacket. Its a green heart, with a smiley fave over it. To resemble the fact Dream took all of his (canon) lives.

- Ghostbur likes laying in fields with sheep, liking that they’re fluffy and good cuddle buddies.

- Whenever Eret is gone, Ghostbur and Friend are in charge of the castle. They have they’re own crowns and everything!

I might make more posts like this but hOLY COW THIS IS LONG IM CUTTING IT OFF HERE

[starlightkun]

sweet girl ; ayakashi ❧ kun [five/fin.]

❧ word count: 10.1k

❧ warnings: violence, cursing, very mild body horror, mentions of death (warnings vary by part)

❧ extra info: heavily based off yet another otome game, ayakashi: romance reborn ; bc of this, all the lore used in here is inspired by/based on/taken from the lore of the game, not the actual lore of traditional ayakashi/yokai stories

❧ DISCLAIMER: some aspects of plot and character traits are directly lifted from the otome game ayakashi: romance reborn and utilized in the character equivalents in this story; the base lore, plot, and characters were heavily inspired by the game, but it has all been transformed into my own story. there are no spoilers for the game by reading this series

⤷ prologue*  ⤷ prev.

*you need to read the prologue before reading any of the individual routes

You felt a little guilty. After all, today was one of the rare days that Jaehyun got to do a lecture as a TA, and he seemed so excited about the subject, an Edgar Allan Poe work. You weren’t even concentrating well enough to know the name of the work. Mark hadn’t been in your class that morning, and you hoped it was because he’d gotten a cold or something, and not that he was back at the shrine trying to summon the mega-wraith again. Even if your mind was drifting, you’d usually have taken some cursory notes to distract yourself, but no, your focus was on your phone in your lap, where you were texting Kun from.

[kun: Are you sure you don’t want me there? Work is nowhere near as important as you being safe]

[you: he’s not even in class today]

[kun: Oh, so you’re not talking to him at all today, then?]

[you: no, ten does research in the same building as my chem class, im gonna ask him about where mark is]

[kun: I really don’t like the idea of you talking to the Jorogumo by yourself, we don’t know anything about him]

[you: i know he’s fucking weird, he’s a spider who experiments on spiders in the entomology department]

[kun: Dear god, he sounds like a psychopath]

[you: i’ll be fine, kun, and if im not, youre at the top of my ‘cry for help’ list]

[kun: That’s not as reassuring as I think you meant it to be]

[you: sorry, sorry]

[you: don’t you have super important work to be doing?]

[kun: Unfortunately I have a meeting in a few minutes with my father]

[you: oh good luck with that!]

[kun: Good luck with talking to Ten later, let me know how it goes, okay?]

[you: you’ll be the first person i tell, promise]

[kun: Fine, be safe, I’ll see you later?]

[you: no patrol tonight so we can do dinner or something]

[kun: I’ll cook for you again]

[you: i’d love that]

[kun: Then it’s a date]

[you: it’s a date!]

[kun: Oh, and have you started packing for Greece yet?]

[you: no, im a little busy with studying]

[you: also don’t you have a meeting like right now???]

[kun: Now I do, bye!]

[you: can’t believe i ever thought you were an intimidating serious businessman]

He didn’t read it, and you figured he’d turned his phone off to actually begin his meeting, which you were fine with. He was supposed to be working, not worrying sick about you, or playfully nagging you to pack for your trip. When you looked up from your phone, you saw Jaehyun closing out his powerpoint, and all of your classmates packing up and leaving the classroom. You hurried to do the same, putting away the notebook and pencil you hadn’t even touched after half-assedly writing the date at the top of a fresh sheet. Which was still blank.

Slinging your backpack over your shoulder, you were barely out of your seat when Jaehyun called your name from the front. You detoured to see your friend, nodding politely to your professor seated at his desk in the corner, who had been grading papers the whole time while Jaehyun was lecturing.

“Well? How was it?” Jaehyun asked you hopefully, and you froze.

“Oh, uh, it was great, Jae!” You lied, feeling very guilty now that you were having to fib to your friend. “You’re going to be an awesome professor one day, seriously!”

He was grinning brightly as he tucked his laptop into his shoulder bag, “Thanks, Y/N!”

“Of course,” you smiled back, fingernails tapping along your phone case.

Jaehyun started towards the door, and you joined him, both of you giving your professor a farewell on your way out.

“So how are you and Kun?” Your friend began a new conversation, elbowing you teasingly.

“Oh, we’re really good,” you couldn’t suppress your literally lovestruck grin when you thought of your boyfriend. “After finals next week, we’re going a trip, actually!”

“Where?”

“Greece, for two weeks.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I’m really excited. I’ve already got a whole list of things that I want to do.”

“I hope you have a lot of fun,” he wished you well sincerely, holding open the door for you to leave the building. “Where are you headed now?”

You jerked your head towards the direction of the library, “Studying in the library. You know, finals and everything.”

“Ah, good luck with that! I’m getting breakfast now.”

“Have fun with that, Jae! I’ll see you around!” You waved goodbye to him as the two of you broke off, him for the dining hall, and you for the library.

“Bye, Y/N!”

Rushing to be the first person out of your Chemistry lecture, you looked around with sharp eyes, trying to spot Ten before the throngs of students whose classes finished at the same time as yours filled the space. He’d been eating out on the steps before, but there was no guarantee he’d be there again, you hadn’t seen him there since then. Or before then, you realized. Had it been a little ploy to rope you into a conversation after they realized you’d gotten your powers?

You didn’t have time to think about that. Shaking the thought from your mind, you couldn’t see Ten in the main lobby or out front. Not wanting to give up yet, you took a sharp right turn down the hallway you knew contained the entomology department. Your supernatural radio had returned since the Wraith spike short-circuited it for a moment, but it wasn’t as accurate. All you could sense was that an Ayakashi was in your general vicinity, nothing actually helpful.

You tried looking in the windows of rooms you passed by as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting anybody to get weirded out or—god forbid—actually come out and question why you were peering in the windows.

Finally, you peeped your eyes into a window and caught sight of the man you’d been looking for. Right as he went to open the door. Into your face.

You leapt back barely in time, tripping backwards over your own feet, and narrowly avoiding falling to the ground by catching yourself on the wall behind you.

“Oh. It’s you, baby Onmyoji,” Ten acknowledged you abruptly, stopping in his tracks to look at you with a curious eyebrow raised.

Avoiding addressing your little mishap that just happened, you leapt right to your focus, “Hey, Ten, where’s Mark? He wasn’t in class this morning.”

The Jorogumo turned slightly suspicious as he questioned back, “Why?”

“I want to talk to him about some things that have happened recently,” you said vaguely, not sure how much Ten knew, and not knowing if anybody nearby could hear your conversation. “I want to figure out what’s going on with him.”

“He’s at home,” Ten started down the hallways with a quick pace, and you hurried to follow him. “I can take you to him…”

Taking in the fact that he wasn’t wearing his lab coat and his rushed exiting of the building at the same time you’d seen him go back in beforehand, you had a feeling he wasn’t following his typical schedule now.

“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

“But I have to warn you, he’s in rough shape. He tried to do something stupid the other day and it didn’t go well. Something… you know, supernatural.”

“The spike in Wraith energy,” you stated, watching his features intently.

He grimaced at your mentioning of it, “Yeah, he did something he shouldn’t have. I’m not going to say anything more, you should really talk to him. And don’t worry about your safety or him trying to do anything… he’s much too weak for that.”

“Did he try to summon the mega-wraith under the shrine?”

He seemed very reluctant about whether or not to actually answer you, instead giving you a sidelong glance before shaking his head and repeating, “You should really talk to him.”

As you followed Ten down the city sidewalks, you texted Kun to give him an update.

[you: hey so i’m going with ten to his and mark’s apartment right now to see mark]

[you: ten says he’s in rough shape, from the summoning probably. too rough to try to do anything to me if he even wanted to]

[kun: What about Ten?]

[you: what do you mean?]

[kun: He’s not too weak to attack you if Mark ordered him to, right? He is Mark’s True Ayakashi, Y/N]

[you: you’re right, but i trust him for now. i think he just wants his friend to be safe]

[you: but here’s their address, just in case. i’ll let you know if i need you here, okay?]

[you: 2234 Duke Pkwy, Apt. 46B]

[kun: Alright, I’ll be right by my phone if you need anything]

[you: thanks, kun]

[kun: Be safe]

[you: i will]

“Making sure your eight million Ayakashi know you’re going into enemy territory?”

You were pretty sure Ten’s statement was meant to be a joke, but his voice was hollow, negating any humor it was meant to hold.

“Uh, something like that,” you admitted, still unsure of how light-hearted this conversation was meant to be. “Kun’s worried, I was just reassuring him.”

“Right, Qian Kun’s your boyfriend.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Mark told me.”

“How’d Mark—wait, never mind. That.”

As soon as you remembered the time Kun had tried to make a business deal with Mark or whatever for him to leave you alone, you couldn’t help but furrow your brow just a bit more and for your free hand to clench into a tiny fist. Having the image of how Kun looked all cut up from the Onmyoji’s talismans flashing in your mind just pissed you off all over again.

Ten nodded, “Yeah. That.”

You two were silent for the rest of your walk to their apartment until you reached the building. As Ten and you stepped into the elevator, he spoke once more.

“He’s going to say… some things,” he began his preface. “But please, listen to what he’s saying, not just the words he’s using. He’s a good kid that’s doing some dumb things for good reasons.”

“You want me to talk him out of summoning the mega-wraith, right?”

“It’s almost killed him once, and he wants to try it again. He’s only complying with my putting him under house arrest because he can barely walk to the bathroom by himself.”

“Why do you think I’d get through to him and not you?”

“You’re an Onmyoji, like him. I’m just his Ayakashi.”

“Oh.”

The elevators opened to their floor, and right as you got to apartment 46B, Ten stopped you with his hand on the door handle. He sighed before saying, “I just want you to know, if this gets to the point where there’d have to be a fight or something, between him and your crew, I’ll be by his side. I’ll be fighting for him.”

“Even if you don’t agree with him trying to do this,” you stated.

“He’s my Onmyoji, and more than that, he’s my best friend, and he needs me. He won’t say it, but he does.”

Understanding the horribly conflicted position he must be in, you nodded solemnly, “Of course, Ten. I truly hope it doesn’t come to something like that.”

“Me too.”

With that, he pushed the apartment door open, and you followed him in. The apartment was surprisingly tidy for being inhabited by two college boys—well, one college boy and a man of unknown age; Ten might be a lot older than he looked, being an Ayakashi and all—the odd food wrapper or dirty plate here and there, but not that much messier than your own apartment.

“I’m back!” Ten called out into the seemingly empty apartment, and got no response.

He gestured for you to follow him further back into his home. You could barely sense Mark’s Onmyoji wavelength. Even with your own problems with your sensing abilities, he shouldn’t have felt that weak. Ten was right, he was not doing well on the supernatural front at that moment.

“He’s been taking a lot of naps,” Ten explained as he came to a stop to knock at one of the three doors in the hallway. “Mark, you up?”

A mumble of some kind came from within, and Ten turned the door handle, “I’m coming in. I brought someone that you should talk to. Or at least listen to.”

With that, he opened the door, revealing Mark’s bedroom to you. The other Onmyoji was lying in bed, tucked under a couple very comfortable looking blankets. His face was flushed red, and you saw that his forehead has a thin sheen of sweat along it. He squinted his eyes open to look at the two of you, immediately coughing when he saw that it was you.

“Why did you bring her here, Ten?” He spit out at his friend.

“You two should talk,” Ten crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at his rather sickly-looking roommate.

“Why would I—” Mark was about to go off on Ten again, but you cut him off sharply.

“Might I remind you that you’re the one who fucking tripped me to try to convince me to talk to you? I’m here, so talk, Mark.”

Mark clenched his jaw, “Ten, can you make me a cup of tea?”

“You hate my tea,” Ten snorted. “Just tell me you want me to leave.”

“Leave.”

“Gladly.”

With Ten out of the room, it was just you and Mark. He let out a deep breath, relaxing back into his pillows again now that the Jorogumo was gone.

“The Wraith spike Monday night, Mark,” you began, holding nothing back. “Was that you trying to summon the power under the shrine?”

Mark narrowed his eyes at you, but answered truthfully nonetheless, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“My father. He was an Onmyoji, and he was killed. I want to bring him back.”

“How did he die?”

He broke his eye contact with you, turning his head away from you to look at his wall, “None of your business.”

“Mark, Ten said you almost killed yourself trying to do the ritual on Monday.”

He was silent.

“It’s too dangerous for you to do. Don’t you understand that?”

“The Jorogumo shouldn’t have brought you here, he should’ve minded his own business.”

“‘The Jorogumo’ is your friend, Ten, and he’s fucking worried about you!”

“That’s not his job!”

“Holy shit, dude, it’s called a relationship, a friendship! You two aren’t in a working relationship, you’re literally spiritually connected!”

“What would you know? You’ve been an Onmyoji for a few months.”

You took a deep breath; you weren’t here to yell at his for his apparent disregard for his friendship with Ten.

He spoke up again, “You’re right though…”

You perked up hopefully, but his next words cut right through that hopefulness:

“I can’t summon it alone. But you and I can. Together.”

“No, Mark,” you shook your head firmly. “No way. I haven’t been an Onmyoji for long, but I know that summoning someone back from the dead by way of waking a great evil is not a good idea.”

“If you’re not going to help me, then leave.”

“I am trying to help you. I’m trying to help you not do something stupid, like killing yourself, or summoning a great evil! Or both!”

Suddenly, Mark sniffled, and you hadn’t even realized that he’d started tearing up, “I-I miss him, Y/N.”

“Of course you do,” you agreed with a soft voice. “But just because you miss him doesn’t mean you have to do this.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“What we all do when we lose someone, Mark. Be sad, cry, eat junk food, get shitfaced for a night, go to therapy, talk to our friends, watch shitty movies to distract yourself, heal without hurting anybody else. You’re not alone in this, everybody’s lost somebody. We just don’t all try do this.”

He bit down on his lip, clearly trying to hold back his tears, “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, I’ll try that.”

“Seriously?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“I’ll leave you to think about it and rest, okay?”

“Take my ritual book,” he stopped you before you could take leave of the room. He nodded towards his desk, “Over there, the big black book. It’s got the ritual for summoning the power under the shrine in it. I don’t have it memorized; I can’t do it without it.”

You gingerly picked the book up and dropped it in your backpack, zipping it back up, “Thank you, Mark.”

He made a noise of acknowledgement, but had already turned over on his side in his bed, his back to you.

“Bye, Mark. Heal well. And I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to, or watch shitty movies with, or eat junk food with, whatever. Alright? I’ll see you around.”

With that final farewell, you left his bedroom, walking back out into the hallway. Ten was in the living room, eyes flicking up to you immediately. Waiting.

“He said he’s going to try grieving his father in a healthier way, and he even gave me the book with the summoning ritual for the mega-wraith in it,” you informed Ten.

Instead of celebrating, or being some kind of relieved, Ten instead demanded, “Double-check the book.”

Cautiously, you took the book back out of your bag, and the Jorogumo came over to flip through it, looking for a specific page. He stopped, letting out a breath of relief, “He actually gave it to you.”

Jabbing his pointer finger to the page, he looked into your eyes with a startling intensity, “When you leave, tear this page out, burn it, and flush the ashes.”

“I will,” you promised, dog-earing the page to find again later before tucking it back into your backpack.

“Thank you for this, by the way.”

You smiled genuinely, having a feeling that Ten wasn’t someone who just threw out ‘thank you’s a lot, “You’re welcome, Ten.”

“I’m sure I’ll see you around, baby Onmyoji,” he walked you to their front door and opened it.

“See you, Ten.”

In the elevator, you texted Kun as promised.

[you: i think i managed to talk mark down from the ritual. i’ll tell you about it tonight]

In Kun’s penthouse that night, you were at your usual spot sitting atop his kitchen counter, watching him cook.

“So tell me about how it went with Mark,” he prompted you, stirring the contents of the skillet.

“Oh, right, right,” you swung your feet a little. “So I went to his and Ten’s apartment, and honestly… he looked like shit from trying to summon it. Boy could barely sit up in his bed. You were right though, he just wanted to bring his dad back. He even gave me the book with the ritual in it, said he couldn’t do the ritual without it.”

Hopping off the counter, you went over to your overnight bag, where you had stuffed the book in. You had yet to get rid of it like Ten asked, and had planned on doing it here. You opened one of Kun’s drawers, grabbing the lighter you knew was in there.

“If I burned a piece of paper in here, would it set the fire alarm off?” You questioned, flipping through the book until you found the page that Ten had pointed to. You’d gone through the book earlier, tucking away some bits of information here and there: Onmyoji’s Oath, fire manipulation, other things for a rainy day.

You skimmed over the page once more, it was definitely the ritual to summon the thing under the shrine. Even the book didn’t have a proper name for it, it was just called ‘a great evil.’

“Uh, maybe?” Kun cocked an eyebrow as he left the stove to come over to where you were, looking at the book over your shoulder.

“Ten told me to rip it out, burn it, and flush it,” you explained, lifting the page up with a finger to prepare for the first step. Curiously, you looked over the back of the page. It was another ritual, this time to kill the mega-wraith, permanently rid the universe of it.

Your boyfriend had noticed what it was as well, “That might be useful.”

You took your phone out, snapping a picture of the second ritual. Just in case.

With a short inhale of breath, you ripped the page out, all the way next to the spine, “My parents would kill me if they saw me doing this to a book.”

Kun chuckled, watching as you grabbed the lighter, clicking it open to spark the flame. Looking to him for reassurance, you held the paper and the lighter over the sink, touching the flame to the edge of the paper. It immediately caught fire, and you watched the flame travel up until it was too close to your fingers, then you promptly dropped it into the sink. Once it was all ashes, you turned the water on and grabbed the little hose sprayer, making sure it was all down the drain.

“So that’s it, then?” Kun asked, and you knew his apprehension over believing all this to be over. It all felt too… anticlimactic.

“I hope so,” you sighed, moving to put the lighter back in the drawer.

When you turned back around, you spun yourself right into Kun’s arms. He held you closely, and you immediately hugged him back, both your body and mind relaxing.

“You did a good thing today, Y/N,” he murmured, pecking your forehead. “My sweet girl.”

Lugging your suitcase behind you, you exited your bedroom, excitement coursing through your veins. Taeyong was waiting for you in your living room, his own suitcase packed as well.

“You’ve got everything you need?” You asked him like a worried mother.

“I can come back if I need something, Yuta’s place is still here,” he snorted. “You are going to be on another continent. Do you have everything?”

While you and Kun were to be in Greece, Taeyong was going to be staying at Yuta’s apartment. Not because you didn’t trust Taeyong by himself for two weeks in the apartment, but he had admitted that he didn’t want to spend that long alone. Not surprisingly, Yuta had offered up his place for him to stay in, and very surprisingly, the Nekomata had accepted.

“Yeah, I should. I double-checked my list at least five times.”

“And if you forgot anything, Kun can buy you twenty more.”

You gave him a frank look, but it broke into a humorous grin anyway, “You’re right, you’re right.”

Your phone buzzed in your back pocket, and you quickly pulled it out. Kun calling.

“Hey!” You picked up cheerily.

“Hey,” your boyfriend’s voice reached your ear. “I’m just around the corner, you ready to go?”

“Yep, we both are!”

“Great, Yuta texted me his address this morning. We’ll drop Taeyong off then head to the airport.”

“And be in Greece in just a few hours!” You finished the plan excitedly.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I just pulled up; I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay!”

With that, he hung up, and you did a final cursory scan of your living room area for anything you might be forgetting.

“Kun’s at the building, he’ll be up in like… a minute,” you informed Taeyong, who slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

Just a few moments, there was a knock at your door, and you grabbed your suitcase before opening the door. Kun was on the other side, bright grin already on his features as he pecked your cheek, “Hey! You two got everything?”

“Yep!” You responded brightly, following him out into the hallway.

Taeyong locked the door behind the three of you, and you all set off for the stairwell.

“So what are you guys going to do first?” Taeyong asked from the backseat of Kun’s car.

“After settling in at our rental it’ll be fairly late, so we’ll probably just walk around the town and get acquainted, find something to eat,” Kun explained, squeezing your hand that he was holding over the console.

You looked over to him with fondness and giddiness, “The real adventuring starts tomorrow. The Parthenon!”

“Sounds fun.”

“Y/N has a whole alphabetical list of things we’re going to do.”

“Kun would just stay in our rental and laze around town for two weeks if it were his choice.”

“No, not necessarily. I just don’t care exactly what we do, as long I’m with you.”

At a red light, you gave him a lovestruck grin, leaning over to kiss him for a moment. When you pulled back, you heard Taeyong making a gagging sound, but didn’t pay him any mind. Soon, you three were at Yuta’s apartment building, and the Kitsune was standing outside the lobby waiting. He waved to the car, walking up as Taeyong opened the door and Kun popped the trunk. As Taeyong got his bag, you climbed out to give your friend a hug.

“Thanks for this, Yuta,” you said, pulling back from the hug to watch Taeyong struggle momentarily with his things. “He has a key if he needs to go back for anything, uh, some cat food packed, and more in the pantry back home if need be.”

“Y/N...”

“I know, I just feel like a mother leaving her newborn for the first time since giving birth.”

“I’m my own person, Y/N, as you like to remind me,” Taeyong snorted, but threw his arms around you nevertheless. This would be the longest you two had been apart in the year since you’d gotten him, both of you were a little antsy about it.

“I’ll take good care of him, I promise,” Yuta swore, then pointed at the window the driver’s side, which Kun promptly rolled down. “And you better take good care of Y/N.”

“When doesn’t he?” You retorted with some amusement as Kun physically climbed out of the car as well.

“Of course I will, Yuta,” Kun promised, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to pull you into his side.

The Kitsune nodded satisfactorily before turning to the Nekomata, “Alright, ready to go, Taeyong?”

“Yep!” He nodded, white hair flopping around a bit. “Bye Y/N, Kun. Have fun on your trip!”

“Thanks, Yonggie, have fun here! And give the others our goodbyes too, I’m sure you all have plans to drink at Lenticular tonight.”

Yuta grinned mischievously, “You know us too well.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened, and you listened to them as Yuta started guiding him towards the apartment building, “Wait we’re going to be drinking? I thought it was just going to be a dinner.”

Before Yuta could respond, and before you and Kun could start back towards the car, you were nearly knocked off your feet by a considerable spike in Wraith energy. Your supernatural radio had barely just finished recovering from the last one, and you let out a scream with this one, slapping your hands over your ears as if that could help at all. It was stronger than last time, and you fought to even keep your eyes open, seeing that Taeyong and Yuta had ran back over to you, and Kun was currently right by your side, fretting.

“Fuck!” You groaned, opening and closing your jaw in an attempt to relieve the uncomfortable pressure in your head. The sensation was more powerful this time, but thankfully wasn’t as incapacitating.

“Y/N?” You could actually properly distinguish Kun’s voice this time. “Can you hear me, Y/N?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you nodded, finally taking your hands off your ears and standing up. Your head still hurt like a bitch, “Can somebody call the café? And Sicheng and Jeno? Tell them to meet us at the shrine.”

The spike wasn’t going away this time. It wasn’t a spike, an unsuccessful summoning. It was a new plateau, Mark had succeeded this time, and you had to get to the shrine as soon as possible.

“I’ll call the café,” Yuta took out his phone.

“I’ll call Sicheng and Jeno,” Taeyong’s was already in his hand.

“I’m going to have Doyoung meet us there as well,” Kun kept a soothing hand on your back as he did so.

You took deep breaths to try to re-center yourself and help block out the mega-wraith frequency. You needed to get back in control of your perceptions, or they’d overtake you like last time. Fumbling your phone from your pocket, you went into your camera roll, to the picture of the killing ritual that you’d taken on a whim. That whim was unfortunately right.

The ritual prefaced that it should be done by a well-trained, powerful Onmyoji with all five of their True Ayakashi or death would be a likely result. You froze, your eyes stuck on the word ‘well-trained.’ You’d been doing proper Onmyoji training for just a few months, there was no way you could be considered ‘well-trained.’ But you were the only hope for getting rid of the great evil that you could now feel reverberating through the very air flowing down from the shrine, getting more powerful by the moment.

Reading further, you busied yourself with mouthing the incantation, memorizing it.

‘Heed these powers of the Onmyoji! Cleanse the earth trodden upon by this great evil! Repair the disruption wrought by it! Cease its powers for eternity!’

The three had all hung up, and Kun ushered you towards the car, informing you that they’d all be meeting you at the shrine. Your eyes were still scanning the words, even as the car flew down the streets, took sharp turns, and soon left civilization for the abandoned trails leading towards the shrine. Eventually, you reached a point that the car could no longer go further, and you were ushered back out. When you finally looked up from your phone to watch your step, you noticed the Ayakashi around you were in their battle forms.

Yuta’s black ears and three bushy black tails were out, teeth now noticeably much sharper, all looking to be canines. His sweats were replaced by something similar to an elegant lilac yukata, but with the shoulder and arm pieces of samurai armor over it, those in a dark eggplant color.

Taeyong’s hair was pulled back from his face by some kind of pin between his two white cat ears. The ends of his two white tails poked up from behind his shoulder, and his whole getup had changed as well. A light brown tank top now clothed his torso, intricate white swirls detailed the fabric, and he had a thin gold choker adorning his neck.

Kun—whose battle form you had seen before, but in poorer lighting and with much more panicking happening—had his horns out, obsidian in color. In his hand was his katana, blade glinting in the rays of sunlight that reached it through the tree canopy. Both the scarlet kimono he was wearing, and the black dress shirt underneath hung loosely, exposing much of his chest. Gold accented the tips of the dress shirt collar and threaded along the red fabric in stunning lotus blossom designs.

“I’ve always wondered why my battle form has lotuses on it,” he mused aloud, the realization dawning on you when he came to rest his hand on the back of your neck.

“You don’t choose what your battle form looks like?” You questioned through the swelling of your chest at his sweet words, taking his free hand in yours to begin leading your small group up towards the shrine.

“After the first time an Ayakashi turns into their battle form, they can. I never have, I always liked mine.”

“We get it, you guys are like soulmates or something,” Yuta scoffed from behind you two, accompanied by Taeyong making more gagging noises.

That idea only made a spark of electricity jump along your skin, a distinct blush come to your cheeks, and funny feeling swirl around in your stomach. Kun simply chuckled, squeezing your hand.

Yuta suddenly gasped dramatically and pretended to swoon, “Wait, four other people have the same bond mark as Y/N, does that mean they’re your soulmates too, Kunnie?”

“You know a bond mark is representative of the Onmyoji, not the Ayakashi, right?”

“Oh! You learned me something new today, Kunnie. I didn’t know that.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Yuta, I’d listen to him, his katana is bigger than you are,” Taeyong warned his friend with some humor in his voice.

Your friends’ banter faded into the background as you read through the ritual again, memorizing the banishing incantation. The wraith sensation was getting more and more overwhelming the closer you got to the shrine, but you continued your deep breathing, forcing it away from your mind as you desperately tried to focus on the words. But your eyes still drifted back to the beginning. A ‘well-trained’ Onmyoji. Which you were not.

When you knew that you were getting closer to the shrine, you kept your eyes peeled. Jungwoo said he and Sungchan had left the shielding cloak over it when they left, but who knows if Mark had done anything to it. When the tip of Kun’s katana he had been wielding in front of you two suddenly disappeared, you knew you were at the edge.

Before you could step through, you heard sounds of people running through the forest behind you, and whipped around just as Johnny, Renjun, Jungwoo, and Sungchan came into view.

“Y/N!” Johnny yelled out, waving an arm covered in inked eyes.

“Hey, guys,” you greeted them back, unable to muster up much cheerfulness in the current situation.

They were all in their battle forms, and rather out of breath.

“Holy shit, did you all run from Lenticular to here?” Yuta asked as Renjun desperately sucked in air.

“Yes,” he panted, glaring at his employer. “Johnny insisted it wasn’t enough of an emergency to hotwire a car.”

“What’s the point of saving the world then going to jail for grand theft auto?” The Domeki argued back.

A form suddenly descended from the sky, Jeno landing right beside your small group. He gave everyone a short nod, seeming the most awake that you had ever seen him.

Jungwoo focused his attention on you, “How are you faring with the new level of Wraith energy, Lady Onmyoji?”

“Fine, as long as I don’t focus on it too much, but I couldn’t sense you guys coming…” you answered absentmindedly. “Anybody know where Sicheng is?”

“He told me he was on his way before we hung up earlier,” Taeyong piped up.

“He wasn’t in Bibiliophile Books when we left,” Johnny added.

“I’m here!” A voice yelled out from much further down the mountain. Looking to Kun for confirmation, he nodded. Sicheng was here.

Sure enough, the Mizuchi dragon came running through the trees. He was in full battle form as well, patches of scales flashing in the small bits of sunlight, barely out of breath himself as he slowed to a stop with the rest of you guys. Interestingly, another Ayakashi was with him: Doyoung.

“Uh, we’re here,” Sicheng corrected himself. “Ran into the snow spirit on my way up.”

Doyoung nodded politely to everyone, in his own battle form too and wielding a spear.

“We’re right on the edge of the shrine, correct?” Your friend questioned, receiving nods from you all. “Has anybody gone inside yet?”

“No,” you answered with a shake of your head.

“Alright. Do we have a plan?”

“I have the ritual to kill it, I’m memorizing the incantation now.”

Jungwoo and Sungchan exchanged hesitant glances.

“Lady Onmyoji, I have to inform you of some things before you decide to go through with the ritual…” Jungwoo spoke up.

“Well, we don’t have a lot of time, Jungwoo,” you reminded him shortly.

“I know. But there is a reason that the great evil still exists, despite there having been a ritual to kill it for as long as I can remember. Many Onmyoji have tried and failed to kill it, and each one died in the process. Eventually, we had to seal it away under the shrine because too many Onmyoji who were not ready and not powerful enough were dying.”

You chewed on your lip nervously, feeling Kun’s grip on your hand tighten just slightly.

“What other choice do we have?”

Jungwoo and Sungchan exchanged hesitant glances, “My brother and I could seal it away once more. But…”

“But what?”

To your surprise, it was Sungchan who answered your question, “We would die. We used up most of our power sealing it away the first time. Sealing it away again would cost us our lives. And save all of yours.”

“No,” you said firmly. “No way. That would definitely kill you. I actually have some kind of chance of surviving this ritual.”

“Y/N,” Kun sighed. “I don’t want to tell you to sacrifice your friends, but I can’t have you sacrifice yourself either.”

“You said it yourself, I’m the most powerful Onmyoji in a millennium!”

Johnny interjected, “But you aren’t trained, Y/N.”

“You’re not ready for this at all,” Renjun agreed.

You felt your blood boiling when a hand on your cheek caught your attention. Turning to look at Kun, you could see tears welling up in his eyes, and your anger softened.

His voice was soft, cracking as he was trying to hold his tears back, “It’s not that I don’t think you can do it, I think you could. But there’s still the chance of you not coming out of it. And I don’t want you to take that chance. I don’t want the chance of losing my sweet girl. I know it’s your choice, but I’d never live with myself if I didn’t try to convince you otherwise.”

The hand on your cheek numbly slid down your skin, fingertips brushing over the back of your neck, sparking a familiar feeling. Your bond mark. He’d activated your powers once, he was an older Ayakashi, a powerful one. He could do more than activate them, he could channel them, manipulate them.

“I can do this, Kun. With your help,” your voice raised as you hurried to tell them all of your plan. “Kun can channel my powers for me for the ritual, and that in combination with my bonds with all five of my True Ayakashi would be enough to do the ritual, right? An old, powerful Ayakashi channeling the powers of the most powerful Onmyoji in a millennium, who has all five of her True Ayakashi’s powers harnessed as well, some of which are older Ayakashi as well.”

“That has much better odds of success, yes,” Jungwoo agreed, and the others seemed to be coming around to your idea as well.

Except for Sicheng.

He was already shaking his head, “Y/N, I don’t think you should do this.”

You let out a short sigh, trying not to lose your temper with him. you needed the consent of all of your True Ayakashi for this to even have a chance of working.

“Why? Because he’s an Oni?”

Refusing to make eye contact with you, he guiltily looked down at his feet. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed his elbow to drag him further from the group, just a few feet, but it gave you some feeling of minute privacy. Now was not the time for his prejudice.

“Sicheng, please, I need your help. I— Hold on,” you cut yourself off, rushing back over to Kun’s side. He raised his eyebrows questioningly as you leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I love you. Just thought you should be the first to hear it.”

Then you ran back to Sicheng, resuming your same serious tone from before, “Sicheng, please, I love him.”

Your friend crossed and uncrossed him arms uncomfortably, rubbing at his face for a moment before throwing his hands up, “Of course. I apologize. Let’s do this.”

“Fantastic!” You breathed out in relief, rejoining the group to take Kun’s hand back in yours. Looking at each of the Ayakashi around you, you asked, “Ready?”

There was a chorus of ‘ready!’s, all in varying degrees of enthusiasm. But you didn’t let that deter you, pulling on Kun’s hand to lead the way past the cloaking spell.

You expected absolute disaster to be waiting for you beyond the barrier: a hailstorm of fire and brimstone, Wraiths abound, death, destruction, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. But instead, it was eerily silent. Sure, it felt like pure evil was seeping through the air and wrapping itself around your appendages, but nothing looked any different than when Jungwoo and Sungchan still peacefully resided there.

“The altar that the summoning ritual would have been performed at is around the back,” Jungwoo informed you quietly.

“Jungwoo, when I do this… will all the Wraiths in the city be gone too? Since you said its where all the Wraiths get their power from?”

“I do not believe so, Lady Onmyoji. If a mother passes away, her child does not pass as well.”

“Oh.”

Your group moved around the building, towards the back clearing of the shrine. At first, just the altar came into view, a stone slab with worn down carving all around it, dedicated to the deity that the shrine was originally meant for. Then, you saw Mark, crumpled up on the ground, his chest rising up and down heavily. He was at least alive for now. Ten was sitting on the two short steps between the grass and the back of the shrine, his head in his hands, looking rather resigned. And standing in front of Mark was a black humanoid form, its glowing red orbs seemingly focused on the Onmyoji at its feet rather than any of you. Despite it having a distinct outer shape and facial features, the matter that made it up swirled around endlessly, churning. It was definitely the great evil.

Ten’s head suddenly shot up out of his hands, his eyes landing directly on you. They were red, bloodshot, as if he’d been crying.

“I can’t… stop him,” he shook his head, his voice shockingly weak right before he tumbled forward off the steps.

You rushed to help him, Kun moving along with you, and you were sure the others were cautiously taking in your surroundings. You each took an arm to help prop Ten back up, your boyfriend taking it upon himself to let the Jorogumo weakly rest against him.

“Ten, what happened?” You demanded, wholly caught off-guard by the fact that you hadn’t been attacked or even really acknowledged by the mega-wraith.

“He had it memorized, and we came here, and we summoned it. And it’s taking his energy and power. But he told me not to do anything to it. I can’t do anything, other than give him mine…”

You could see Ten getting weaker by the moment. He was keeping Mark alive by draining himself. Mark coughed, and your attention perked over to there. For a split-second, he seemed to be getting better, able to prop himself up on an elbow, but then he collapsed once again. The mega-wraith, on the other hand, didn’t physically change. However it was definitely getting more powerful as every second passed by.

If you didn’t stop the great evil, they’d both be dead in a matter of minutes. You knew it deep in your gut.

“Everyone who won’t be involved in the ritual, guard the great evil,” Sicheng ordered. “It doesn’t seem interested in us now, but I have a feeling it will be very soon.”

Taeyong, Yuta, Sungchan, and Doyoung moved to form a half-circle between the mega-wraith and the remaining seven of you. Reading off your phone screen, you instructed your True Ayakashi to stand at the points of an imaginary pentagram, with you and Kun in the center. You had to start by activating your own individual links with the Ayakashi.

“Sicheng, my friend that I have grown with, lend me your powers.”

The mega-wraith still seemed much more interested in Mark than you.

“Johnny, my supporter since the beginning, lend me your powers.”

The mega-wraith glanced over at you momentarily before focusing back on your Onmyoji classmate.

“Renjun, my friend who will always push me to be my best, lend me your powers.”

The mega-wraith fully turned to watch you, and your friends shifted uneasily in preparation.

“Jeno, my strong accomplice, lend me your powers.”

Doyoung brandished his spear towards the advancing evil, keeping it at bay. It was definitely interested in you now.

“Jungwoo, my gentle friend and wise mentor, lend me your powers.”

The mega-wraith finally lunged at your friends, and you watched them keep it at bay for you. You quickly refocused on your very important task, and stuck your phone out to Kun.

Kun looked at it for a moment before bringing his free hand up to your cheek, thumb stroking tenderly over your skin. He kissed you, short and sweet, but it still made your eyes water when he pulled back to declare, “I love you, Y/L/N Y/N.”

“I love you too, Qian Kun,” you pushed the phone into his hand. “Now do the damn ritual so we can go to Greece together, okay?”

“Okay,” he nodded solemnly and wrapped his fingers around the device.

You planted your feet firmly on the ground and closed your eyes. You could hear the sounds of your friends struggling to hold back the great evil, and a distinct ‘shink!’ came from right beside you. Kun had sheathed his katana. You figured it was so one hand could hold the phone and the other could be on your bond mark, but instead, you felt his fingers lace through yours. His hand smacked down over your bond mark with just as much stinging force as last time, and you wondered in the back of your mind if that part was really necessary. But the thought was quickly gone from your mind when Kun began the incantation.

“Heed these powers of the Onmyoji! Cleanse the earth trodden upon by this great evil! Repair the disruption wrought by it! Cease its powers for eternity!”

Fire coursed through your veins, scalding every square inch of your insides as it raged through you. White was all you could see behind your eyelids, a single shrill, piercing note the only thing you could hear. You felt like your atoms were being ripped apart and reassembled at the speed of light. Yet at the same time, your head rolled off your neck and across the ground; your fingers and toes grew and stretched and tied themselves into knots, boneless; your heart had been ripped through your chest, leaving your ribcage to now shrink in on your lugs, the pink tissue bulging through the spaces between them as it still inflated and deflated with every breath you took. Except you weren’t getting any oxygen from those breaths.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millenniums passed you by. You were definitely dead. Right?

Then you opened your eyes. Outside was so bright, but you could at least tell that you were outside. You took big, gulping breaths, slowly realizing that you were on the ground, cradled in someone’s arms. Kun. Kun’s arms. Then, you felt the lack of evil in the air. The ritual had worked. Your mouth tasted metallic, and you leaned forward to spit on the ground. It was red. From the pain that was starting to register from your body, you guessed that you had bit your tongue during the ritual. Hard. Kun ran a hand up and down your back, and you were barely able to turn yourself to nuzzle into his chest. He held you comfortingly.

Next, you realized that he was speaking.

“You did so good, Y/N. You did it, you killed the great evil. You saved everybody.”

“We,” you spluttered out hoarsely.

“Huh?”

“We saved everybody,” you corrected him.

He chuckled, relief relaxing his features at your ability to still quip, “Right, of course. Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay, Y/N.”

Squinting your eyes, you were able to see clearly now that he was crying. With a shaking hand, you brushed futilely at one, “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweet girl,” he pulled you flush against him, hand clutching at the back of your head. “I’m so glad… that I didn’t lose you.”

“It’ll take a lot more than a mega-wraith to get rid of me, Qian Kun.”

“I’m sure it will, Y/N,” another voice joined the conversation, one that you didn’t recognize until an accompanying two fingers tapped the top of your head, and your physical exhaustion was gone. Yuta.

You didn’t want to leave Kun’s arms for pretty much the rest of your life, but you knew that you had one final thing to do. Numbly, you began trying to untangle yourself from Kun, and he helped you out, aiding you in standing up once more. You had enough physical strength thanks to Yuta, but you knew that you wouldn’t be doing any sort of divining for quite some time.

Lumbering over to where Mark was laying on the ground, Ten hovering over him but not looking too much better, you knelt down beside them.

“Now you’re done, Mark,” you declared sternly.

For a moment, you weren’t sure if he was unconscious—or maybe even dead—until he let out a groan and a mumbled, “Fine.”

“He won’t even be leaving his bed for a while,” Ten pointed out, raising one of the Onmyoji’s arms and letting it go. It limply dropped back to the ground.

“At least not for the next two weeks, alright?” Kun added his own warning. Right, the two of you were to be flying on his private jet, no need to reschedule your entire vacation. You could still go to Greece today.

That wasn’t good enough for you, “I know he won’t, because he’s going to make me a promise. An Onmyoji's Oath, to be specific.”

“Am I?”

“I just saved yours and your friend’s life after you lied to my face, tried to unleash a power that could destroy our city, and beat up my boyfriend. It’s the least you could do for me,” you growled, not putting up with his petulant child act in that moment.

“Fine, I will. I understand that you can’t trust solely my word after this.”

“You know what happens if you break an Onmyoji’s Oath, right?”

He sat up a little straighter then with the help of Ten, and you could see how rough of a shape he was in, bleeding heavily from both nostrils, gaunt, with the darkest circles you’d ever seen around his eyes. He deadpanned, “Certain death, I’m aware.”

“Fantastic. I just so happen to have a talisman with both our blood on it,” you reached forward to grab a paper talisman that had been sticking out of his back pocket. You spit on it, your saliva still tinged a dark pink.

“That doesn’t have—” You harshly grabbed the back of his head, forcing him to lean over the paper, gravity dripping his blood from his nose onto the stark white paper. Once you’d released him, he glared up at you, “I would have done that willingly, Y/N.”

“I can’t take any chances of you ruining my vacation. Again. Or destroying our city, alright?”

Mark seemed too tired to even be angry, easily giving in and taking a deep breath before beginning his oath, “I swear on the Onmyoji’s Oath that I will not try to summon any great evil again, or endanger myself or others trying to bring my father back, or control Wraiths to do my bidding, and if I break this oath, I will face certain death.”

“I accept this Onmyoji’s Oath that he will not try to summon the great evil under the shrine again, or endanger himself or others trying to bring his father back, or control the Wraiths to do his bidding, and that if he breaks this oath, he will face certain death,” you echoed back his words. Setting the talisman on the ground in front of him for him to take, you let out a sigh of relief, “It’s done.”

“Finally!” Yuta exclaimed, and you could feel the atmosphere of the clearing changing.

Celebratory phrases were being thrown around, spirits were raising, and you smiled.

Back on your feet, you spoke directly to the other Onmyoji, “My offer still stands, Mark. If you need someone to talk to, watch shitty movies with, eat junk food with, whatever, I’m here for you. Except not for a couple weeks, because I’ll be out of the country, okay? When I come back, my offer still stands. That make sense?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Mark looked up at you, the corner of his mouth quirking up just slightly. “Thanks, Y/N.”

“We’re going to rest here for a moment, then I’ll take him home,” Ten informed you.

“My brother and I will stay to make sure you two are alright,” Jungwoo announced, and you looked at him curiously. He stepped forward to take both your hands in his, “I will forever be one of your True Ayakashi, Lady Onmyoji. I will continue to serve you as your Ayakashi, mentor, and friend, whenever you may need me. However, with this threat gone, my brother and I would like to return to the shrine. Our home.”

“Of course, Jungwoo,” you let go of his hands to hug him tightly. “I’ll visit you for tea, just like I said I would. Once a week sound good?”

“It sounds lovely, Lady Onmyoji.”

“We’ll start as soon as I get back from vacation, then,” you patted his back before releasing him and turning to his brother, who was just behind him. “Thank you, Sungchan, for your help through all of this as well.”

“I’m glad you succeeded, Onmyoji,” he nodded to you.

They both headed for the shrine, their yukatas not changing. Perhaps that was a more comfortable form for them than the modern-day clothes.

Then you had barely turned when you were knocked into by Taeyong, who was practically vibrating. Either with worry, terror, or excitement. Or maybe all three. He clung to you, “You’re okay! That thing was so scary, Y/N! And you got rid of it!”

“Yeah, it’s gone now, Yonggie,” you hugged him back, reaching up to ruffle up his hair between his ears. “Thank you for helping to protect me, Taeyong.”

He froze at this, and when you drew back, you could see his chest underneath his plain white t-shirt puffing up with pride, “Uh, you’re welcome! For protecting you.”

With a giggle, you turned away only to be enveloped in a group hug consisting of Yuta and Johnny back in their true forms, both of them seemingly fighting over who would muss up your hair more, leaving you laughing with a wide grin splitting your cheeks open. Jeno was just off to the side, his wings folded up behind his back, but wearing his comfortable athleisure again. Renjun was beside him, the Satori making sure to stay away from the massive human contact zone you were in. He had half a smile on his face, “So you weren’t so useless after all.”

“Still stupid though,” Jeno added.

“Still stupid,” Renjun agreed.

“Thanks, guys,” you managed to retort between giggles.

You finally broke away from that mess and made your way over to Sicheng, who was still warily in his battle form. With no hesitation, you flung your arms around his neck, “Thank you, Sicheng. I know you made a lot of personal sacrifices along the way to help me. And I thank you for that, and for opening your mind as well.”

“Don’t act like you’re never going to see me again,” he retorted, patting your back. “We’re still friends, I still work in your parents’ shop, we’re still spiritually connected, for fuck’s sake.” He flicked the back of your neck, and you pulled back with a pout on your face as his voice softened for just a moment, “You’re welcome, Y/N. And thank you, for forcing me to open my mind and realize the truth of my own past. It’s helped me… move on.”

“I’m glad, Sicheng. I’ll see you in a couple weeks, then.”

“Of course.”

Letting him go, you bounded over to the edge of the clearing where Kun and Doyoung were. Doyoung was out of his battle form, once more back in a formal suit. You tucked yourself under Kun’s arm—which was still clothed in red and black—as your boyfriend finished up whatever he had just been saying. Doyoung nodded, and the two of them were silent.

You took this opportunity to say, “Thanks for your help, Doyoung.”

His icy gaze locked on you, and you swore it might have warmed for just a moment as he said, “You’re welcome, Y/N.”

“So are you headed back to the office, then, Doyoung?”

“Somebody has to make sure Wong Kunhang actually works while I’m out,” Kun said pointedly, and you lightly elbowed his side.

“You know Kunhang does his best and is fucking terrified of you, right?”

“Then the sheer thought of me should do the trick. Doyoung, you know what to do.”

“Yes, sir, I do,” the assistant nodded his head. “I’ll be off then. Have a good trip.”

After the two of you gave him your thanks and farewells, you looked back to your other friends. Jungwoo was bringing out a tray of tea to Mark and Ten—surely spiked with some kind of healing remedy—while his brother sat some distance away, watching them as he tinkered. Yuta, Taeyong, Johnny, Jeno, and Renjun seemed to be about ready to leave together en masse.

“Sicheng!” Yuta called out to the lonely Mizuchi dragon. “Johnny’s feeding us all at Lenticular, you coming?”

“Oh, sure,” his gi turned back into his modern clothes and his scales faded into skin as he accepted, joining their group.

He was looking at you and Kun with his ocean blue eyes as the group started passing you by. Yuta slung an arm around his shoulder, “The soulmates aren’t invited, they’re going off on their romantic getaway now.”

Sicheng’s eyes were brown as he uttered, “Ah, I see.”

With a fond smile on your lips, you waved to them, “Bye guys! See you when we get back!”

“Bye, everybody!” Kun waved to them as well.

They let out a dissonant chorus of goodbyes, good lucks, farewells, and a couple sexual innuendoes before disappearing around the front of the building. You leaned into Kun’s side, feeling a huge weight being lifted off your shoulders, a weight you’d been carrying ever since you’d learned of Ayakashi.

Then a phone rang.

Kun's battle clothes turned back into his casual clothes as he then rushed to dig his phone out of his back pocket, frowning as he picked it up, “Hello?”

You couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but your eyebrows shot up as you listened to Kun’s side, “Yes, this is he… That’s wonderful, Mr. Y/L/N, could you hold for just a moment?”

He brought the phone down from his ear, looking at you incredulously, “Y/N, did you not tell your parents we were dating?”

“No, I did. Why?”

Kun stuck the phone out to you, and you graciously accepted it, bringing it up to your ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Y/N! You are with Mr. Qian right now?” It was your father, his surprise turning to recognition, “Oh, that’s right, you two are on vacation, correct? Tell Mr. Qian we will hold his book until you return, okay? Have a good time! I love you!”

“I’ll let him know. I love you too, Dad.”

“I’ll hang up now, goodbye!”

“Bye,” you listened to him hang up, then gave your boyfriend his phone back. “He still calls you ‘Mr. Qian’ because you’re still a customer. I’m guessing he found your first edition Don Quixote?”

“Yes, he did.”

“My dad never could disappoint a customer. He’s holding the book for you until we get back in two weeks,” you slipped out from under his arm to lace your fingers with his.

As the two of you started down the mountain, Kun's horns disappeared in preparation to reenter the human world. He mused, “I was thinking of extending it to three weeks now…”

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“Let’s do it,” you repeated, accepting your phone that he held out to you. “I’ll let Taeyong know.”

“I’ll let Doyoung know.”

Just few hundred feet from the car, Kun stopped you. You looked at him curiously as he went to cup both of your cheeks. He pressed a gentle, loving kiss to your lips, and you eagerly kissed him back. As usual, he kissed your breath away, and as usual, you could never get enough, pressing yourself against him, wanting to be even closer than was physically possible.

Tilting back for air, you let out a breathy but still genuine, “Hey, I love you.”

Kun rubbed his thumb over your cheek, pecking your lips once, twice, three times before murmuring, “I love you too, sweet girl.”

route fin.

⤷ select another?

❧ epilogue unlocked

[well-shit-im-a-morosexual-now]

I'm here, queer, and I want a summary for the new lesson (whenever you get around to playing it of course)!

-35 Anon

NEW FIC + LESSON 44 SUMMARY 

Hii! I'm sorry this took like a week BUT as an apology/compensation I wrote a lil' something based off this lesson :D   ;

Familiar Strangers

Mammon gets a little more time with the strange angel his little brothers picked up and picks up a few things of his own.

ok ok so this lesson holy shit??? This is probably one of my favourite lessons!? It just gives so much and ahhh it was so good! It gives more angel backstory and lore, shows what got Levi into anime in the first place and answers the question I asked in the previous lesson summary; about why Mammon made a pact with MC in the first place when he said in lesson 43 that he wouldn't make a pact with a random human. And look i'm too excited to wait to reveal this in the end (plus with the way om lessons are structured there won't be a big reveal, just a gradual realisation) so im gonna reveal it here immediately.

LESSON 44 SPOILERS

MC once again fucked up the timeline :')

MC's the one who got Levi into anime in the first place. (but the only reason they got him into anime was cause they already knew he liked anime but he liked anime only because they got him into it and so on and so on, one whole horrid circle)

A time paradox was already in play at the very beginning of S1, meaning MC's first meeting with the brothers was never in S1 but instead thousand of years before the main storyline even began. Meaning MC was never a random human and holy shit???????

I'll talk more about MC and Mammon's pact after I summarise everything, as well as about their sins and their lives in the Celestial Realm Vs the Devildom cause everything is blowing my mind . Additionally, even though Mammon shares more or less equal screentime with his brothers in this lesson it adds a ton of character depth to him and i adore it.

Ok so the lesson starts with;

Mammon, Beel, Satan & MC bursting into Asmo's room. Mammon yelling about how he's gonna kill Asmo cause of the leak, only to find his room empty. They check his bathroom (which in my humble opinion is the first place they should have checked, but then again this is asmo so maybe they wanted to keep that as the worst case scenario option), MC says they should turn the water off immediately and mammon confirms that yeah if lucifer is actually still alive and finds out about this all of them will be murdered on the spot. They find Asmo passed out in the bathroom. MC uses the healing spell they learn back in s2 to take away some of his pain. All 3 brothers seem very worried and when Beel asks Asmo if he's okay, he says that he's not but that MC kissing him may make him better (my man's on his death bed and still tryna smash, an absolute icon). Mammon immediately tells Asmo to go die, and Beel says he shouldn't have worried about Asmo cause it was a waste of energy. and look that instant turnabout is peak comedy :'). Asmo calls them out on being assholes and that he does still feel dizzy and Satan says that if he's able to joke about he's fine. Asmo says that he still wants to sleep it off and that he wants MC with him. Satan once again proving that he's the best brother says that him and Mammon will go make soup, Beel will clean the bathroom and that MC can take Asmo to bed. Asmo gushes about how good Satan is and Satan blushes (a year ago this sentence would have been so messed up wtf happened). in bed MC ends up telling Asmo all about their day and Asmo gets sad about not being able to go to the cafe, MC complains about Simeon being a sadist who put them to work (or they can invite Asmo to come the next time) and Asmo says he's jealous that he wasn't there to see them all suffer. Asmo says that while he was asleep he had a dream that he was still an angel and that it's been so long since he's seen Michael who was stunningly beautiful and who was gushing about lucifer, and that he was glad he didn't run into raphael cause he scared him. MC falls asleep while Asmo talks.

MC is woken up in a bright forest by angel Asmo, who asks them what they were doing sleeping in a place like that and says he has never seen MC before. MC can ask him what he's doing dressed like an angel or can ask him if he's actually asmo. He basically says either i've always looked like this unless you're talking about my nails which i painted a different colour or duh obviously you know who i am, who doesn't. He then asks MC who they are. They can ask him if he has forgotten them or if he's kidding. He says either that if they'd met before he wouldn't have forgotten them or that he always means what he says even if people think he's kidding and then asks for their name. MC can ask if they are dreaming - Asmo takes it as them flirting with him/using a cheesy pickup line which he thinks is adorable - or they can ask where they are - the celestial realm. Asmo asks them if they work for Raphael cause Asmo had snuck into the human world to go to 'something called a party' which he had never been to before and that he'd had a lot of fun. But that raphael says 'it's a wicked and immoral thing'. He then asks MC what they think. MC gets to either say that it's up to him to decide or to agree with raphael. If you choose the first option Asmo is suprised, and then says that since it was so much fun it'd be a tragedy never to experience it again and that he thinks he should be allowed to have fun. Asmo had found MC while he was hiding from Raphael who was pissed about the party. Asmo goes to propose something to MC but gets cockblocked by Beel. Asmo asks beel if he could open the celestial realm gates, beel says no and then asks who the fuck MC is. Asmo introduces Beel as a cherubim and a guardian of the gates of the Celestial Realm. And says that Beel is a very famous angel, and that there's a rumour that lucifer recommended Beel to be promoted to seraphim. Beel says that lucifer hasn't mentioned it to him and that it's just a rumour. Beel asks MC if they are okay and if Asmo has tried anything on them cause Asmo hits on anything that moves. Asmo gets pissed and says that it's not that he'd happily sleep with anyone but that he cares about who they are and that he feels love towards everyone he meets. And that the reason everyone loves him so much is cause he loves everyone due to his ability to see the good in people. Beel changes the subject by telling MC they look hungry and offers them a few sweets he got from Michael. MC basically goes wtf why aren't you eating them. He says he's not hungry and that he has eaten too much recently and gained weight and is now on a diet. MC probably looks like they had a stroke cause Beel asks if they are okay. MC tells him that they like the fact that he eats a lot. Beel blushes before asking Asmo if that's a compliment and if he's supposed to thank MC. Asmo who's pissed off snaps at beel about MC and Beel flirting while ignoring him. Beel says he came here looking for belphie.

Beel proceeds to shake a tree until Belphie falls out... Belphie takes one look at MC and asks what the fuck a human is doing in the celestial realm (i forgot that this was back when he still liked humans and thought we were back to square one and he was about to start throwing hands). MC can say 'You think I lool like a human?' vs "Excuse me? What are YOU doing here?'. for the second option Belphie just says screw you I asked first. For the first he's confused that they are not, Asmo saves MC's ass either by telling Belphie to go get his eyes checked while Beel says MC's an angel. Belphie says he does detect angelic vibes from MC (Lilith's bloodline???) but also something humanlike. Asmo says Belphie probably senses that cause all he ever thinks about are humans and Belphie says it's cause humans are interesting and wishes he was born as a human. Asmo yells at Belphie not to say things like that cause if Raphael finds out they'd be in trouble. Beel asks what they are gonna do about their new lost angel and Asmo asks if they can keep MC. Belphie says no cause they're supposed to bring lost angels to Lucifer (how often do angels get lost????). MC gets to choose whether they want to go with Beel, Belphie or Asmo to find lucifer. I chose Beel cause he was anyway going back to Lucifer with Belphie (⚡⚡Efficiency🌟🌟) which is when belphie finds out lucifer's looking for him cause he skipped a meeting. '???' cuts in with a "Mmhm, I THOUGHT I heard some awfully familiar voices..." it turns out to be Mammon who's been looking for all of them (minus MC for a change and isn't that the weirdest thing to happen in all this).

Asmo scolds Mammon for scaring him and tells him not to appear outta thin air like that (that's such a 'Lucifer Trait' tho that i don't think we've seen from Mammon before?) - Mammon says he'll do what he wants. He then asks if MC is Asmo's 'newest plaything'. Asmo says no but can you imagine tho😍 After Belphie and Beel introduce MC as a lost angel, Mammon sounds oddly skeptical and says he's never heard of an "MC" before. Beel introduces Mammon as a throne who acts as Lucifer's assistant. He says that Mammon can be trusted cause outta all the thrones he's Lucifer's most trusted. Asmo says that Mammon used to be a troublemaker and that Michael hadn't known what to do with him but that he's grown into someone who, more than anyone else in the Celestial Realm, can do anything he puts his mind in to. Mammon says he doesn't like the way Asmo introduced him and Belphie says it's true though cause they all thought Mammon was just a step away from being cast out (fdshgfwdygds explains why Lucifer worries so much over Mammon in the present cause he's gone back to being a troublemaker). MC can ask about 1.) the being cast out thing - Mammon says the others are exaggerating even though things have changed. 2.) being a throne - blushing Mammon says that he was an archangel and that Lucifer recommended him as a throne. 3.)question him about being able to do anything - he snaps at them for looking disbelieving and says he's talented.  Belphie says mammon used to be awful and ngl these made me laugh - mammon brought back pigeon feathers from the human world and tried to sell them to the lower rank angels by telling them they were Raphael's feathers, he also ordered around the army of angels for fun and said he was playing angel chess. Mammon says they were just innocent pranks and were no big deal and MC ever the enabler agrees with him. Mammon says it seems like MC's actually got some sense and says he likes them and that they're cool. Mammon then stutters and asks MC why they're staring at him 'like that' and imagine the amount of shit going through MC's head at seeing Mammon like this? From all the brothers he's arguably the one they're closest with (even if it's not in a romantic sense) so seeing him in a world where he's respected by his brothers and has this kinda calm confidence that he doesn't have as a demon, imagining what must have happened between then and the present for things to change the way they have, finding out he's still a troublemaker, still wholly Mammon, and just has to squash down those urges here, remembering all the times the more responsible side of him came out as a demon and getting to see a version of himself where that side is more prominent. Seeing him so easily say that he likes them without any of the protests he had as a demon. Realising that Mammon's more 'tsundere' characteristics are all a defense mechanism to protect himself from opening up and being hurt and that in the present after realising they genuinely care about him he starts dropping them. realising that as both an angel and a demon he took a look at them and thought 'this one, i like.' Just!??? Ah. :). Anyway back to the chapter- He starts blushing and tells them to stop staring. Belphie asks Mammon if he wants to be like Lucifer, blushing Mammon asks so what if he does. Belphie says that's never gonna happen so he should give up while he's ahead (made me wanna punch him) and that Mammon is not Lucifer and is instead Mammon and that he can't become something he's not (made me wanna hug him). Mammon tells Belphie to shut up and asks why he cares anyway and that with enough time one day he might do it and that he doesn't care what belphie says and that they should just watch him. and isn't it sad that Mammon will never get that time, and yeah it's a good thing that now as a demon he's just being Mammon without trying to be lucifer but he was never given the time to figure that out for himself and it explains all the issues/complexes Mammon has regarding Lucifer and shit imagine losing MC to the man he respects and loves but who he will always see himself as second best to and who he was always trying to reach, the man he believed he could have become until the fall and until he gave up and let his sin and his more real self takeover?? Since Mammon never had the time to realise that it's better to be yourself than someone else if MC ends up choosing Lucifer he'll always have that 'what if' in the back of his head and that shit hurts dude. MC can then say something about them all really loving Lucifer, Mammon blushes and stutters and said that nobody said anything about loving lucifer. Beel, Belphie and Asmo all say they love Luicfer (but not his lectures). Mammon growls and says he hates them and Asmo calls him out on being really obvious about loving lucifer as well, Mammon blushing says he doesn't. Or they can tell Mammon they're rooting for him. He's suprised and then stutters and blushes and asks if they really will. Then still blushing and stuttering he tells MC to stop staring at him like that again. MC's such a pining idiot i can't handle it.  Beel changes the subject and asks why Mammon was looking for them. Lucifer had sent Mammon to find the twins cause Beel never returned with Belphie. He also tells Asmo that Raphael was walking around with his spear looking for him. He then calls them to head to the Celestial Palace. Asmo says that if the Seraphim find out about MC it'll make things worse and who knows what they'll do to all of them. They decide they should hide MC someplace.

Inside the palace Mammon yells at MC to stop looking at everything with wide eyes (did this happen before? when he was showing them around the devildom during the first lesson? I can't remember but my love for parallels is praying it did) cause they're already sticking out by being a bunch of high ranking angels gathered together. Asmo tells Mammon he needs to be nicer. He says that there's no reason to worry cause Lucifer and the others are on the higher floors. Belphie says that this makes it the perfect spot to hide when they wanna skip work. MC says that even angels need a break sometimes. Asmo says the seraphim are bossy and never cut them any slack. Beel asks MC if they are close to any other angels. If MC says Luke no one knows who that is cause the baby hasn't been born yet🥺. If MC says Simeon, Belphie's surprised and Beel says that outta all the Seraphim Simeon's the most easygoing. AND holy shit??? During the last lesson Simeon said he was an archangel which means that he was demoted at some point?????? And considering how close he was with Lucifer and possibly the others as well,,,,,,,,,,could it be possible that he was demoted after the fall? That though he didn't come with them he helped them escape in someway? or looked aside while they escaped? or knew about Lilith and her human? Or knew Lucifer was becoming more disillusioned? Belphie says it's not that Simeon's easygoing but rather that the others are too intense. Mammon asks if they should hand MC over to Simeon and Asmo says another Seraphim would spot them before they reached him. They stop outside their secret room aka the slacking off room. When the door is opened MC and possibly Beel get drenched in water while Belphie, Asmo and possibly Mammon manage to jump away. "???" says that to get entry they need to say the secret phrase.

belphie asks if they really need a secret phrase and levi says they never know when the seraphim will show up, mammon says that if they do show up a secret phrase wouldn't stop them from coming inside. Levi says whatever and asks who MC is. Asmo scolds him for the way he worded the question but still introduces MC. Levi suspects that MC is one of Michael's agents who was sent to verify that levi is 'as much of an useless waste of space as I seem to be'. MC snaps 'That's not true!' and Levi is startled and blushes. And Mammon, holy shit Mammon says what in my humble opinion is one of the funniest lines in the series,: "That's right, Levi. It's not true. I mean, just look at MC's face... See that absentminded stare... like there's nothin' going on upstairs? Does that look like the face of one of Michael's agents? I don't think so." WHY did he have to come for MC so hard!???? this came literally outta nowhere and it made me laugh so hard??? Worst of all? it made me realise a horrid horrid truth; Mammon considers himself a morosexual I'm in tears???? Levi says it's better to be absentminded than to be a waste of space. Belphie says that Levi commanded Lotan and the army of angels in the war against the demons and was basically their general. Beel says that now that the Celestial Realm is at peace Levi feels like he has no purpose. Asmo says that someone from the younger generation took over the Devildom which is why the war ended, though Mammon says the transition isn't official yet. Levi tells them to shut up and Mammon tells him that sitting around being grumpy wouldn't do anything and that he should at least enjoy them being at peace. Levi says that he doesn't wanna hear that crap from Mammon cause Mammon being Lucifer's favourite means he can be an airhead and still have his future secured, while levi would be a dead weight, a leach and a burden to the entire realm without a war to fight (and i mean a lot of what levi said is pretty messed up but Mammon did get promoted from a warrior to Lucifer's right hand possibly after the war was over? while Levi's still a general in a realm at peace). When mammon gets pissed off at Levi's comment the others say that considering this isn't the first time that levi got into one of these moods mammon should just ignore him. Levi immediately latches onto that and says that they shouldn't interact with an useless bore of an angel like him cause it's just a waste of time. MC suggests that Levi find something else he can be passionate about and he says that there's nothing else for him. MC can recommend either anime or manga.  since he doesn't know what these are MC then explains it to him in detail. he's interested but doesn't think a boring angel like him could actually get interested in anything like that (oh baby...). Belphie and Asmo are surprised that MC seems to know so much about the human culture when even Belphie doesn't know this much. '???' voice finds them and says it's interesting how much free time they seem to have. Kinda sad to find out that Levi got into anime cause he needed something to make him feel less useless in the aftermath of a war...

The brothers all freak out about being found by lucifer, who yells at Mammon for not bringing the twins to him and at Beel for not bringing Belphie and then at Belphie for oversleeping and missing the meeting and at Asmo, who he says should take care of the situation before he finds himself at 'the pointy end of Raphael's spear. do you think the Seraphim have divisions that they each head? Lucifer doesn't seem inclined to punish Asmo for breaking the rules like he would have in the Devildom and rather lets Raphael take care of it. Mammon trained under Michael before he met Lucifer - so when he was an archangel. And now as an archangel Simeon works for Michael. It's implied previously in this lesson that Lucifer had other thrones working for him. So? Lucifer then asks who MC is. MC says 'I know you' which makes Lucifer's affection meter go up but he says duh obviously you know me, everyone does (and I mean this in the most affectionate way possible but like what a fucking asshole). Asmo introduces MC as a lost angel and says they were planning to find Lucifer. Lucifer asks if they decided to hide MC cause they were scared the other seraphim would find out and this brings up so many questions - How mean exactly are the other seraphim? We know that the brothers are scared of Lucifer but comparatively Asmo's terrified of Raphael and Mammon of Michael. What exactly would the others do to a lost angel? Ik they said simeon was the most easygoing but is it possible Lucifer's the nicest? I mean he did adopt 6 oddball angels, he seems to be trying to help them rise through the ranks, he seems to deal with lost angels regularly, he knows about their slacking off room and hasn't told the others (to be fair tho if anyone needs a slacking off room it's lucifer), they trusted him not to get mad about their room and about the weird 'angel' they found... Mammon changes the subject by asking Lucifer if he was supposed to be heading down to the devildom, when Levi asks why he'd go there, Lucifer says the price is asking to meet with him. Lucifer's says he doesn't like going but that it's his job and that he doesn't have a choice. with the free 50 pulls I got the devilgram about this first meeting and holy shit?? Lucifer was such a bitch and Diavolo STILL took one look at him decided 'damn I'm gonna love this man'?????????? Also the prejudice the angels have against the demons is just??? Lucifer was surprised that education was a thing in the devildom????? The fact that diavolo wanted not just peace but to build a bridge between the three realms and lucifer didn't believe him cause 1.) ew demons are evil but more importantly 2.) 'if that was possible why hasn't my father tried to achieve that?' - just them showing lucifer slowly starting to question everything he was brought up with and his father who looked up to and practically hero-worshipped?? The symbolism of Lucifer finding the devildom clothes he was provided with more comfortable than his angel's armour? Lucifer warming up to diavolo in the end and i dunno guys it was such a good devilgram. i also got the devilgram where lucifer gets jealous of Barbatos, sulks about it, then whines to MC and finally tries to bake cookies for Diavolo... it's not significant to anything i just needed to say that out loud. Back to the main storyline; MC can ask him whether he doesn't like demons or whether he doesn't want to go the devildom. his answer to both is basically 'ew of course not'. He then tells MC he'll ask Michael to help them. MC tells him to have fun with Diavolo and to be friendly. Lucifer is shocked cause it almost sounds like MC knows Diavolo, and he says they're odd cause he feels like even though he just met them it doesn't really feel like that. Asmo agrees and says when he talks to MC it feels like he's talking to someone very dear to him. Mammon's surprised it's not just him who feels that. Belphie says it's a mysterious feeling and Beel says maybe they've all met somewhere before. Levi says maybe MC reminds them of someone they know. Belphie says: "Hey, wait a second. Does MC remind you of Li-" He's cut off by the whole screen going white and '???' saying 'oh dear, what a mess...'

The voice laments about how often Solomon messes shit up, and asks how he could possibly create food that has odd effects on both humans and demons, and that it can't even be classified as food anymore and should be considered a magic potion. They say that Solomon doing these kinda shit without even realising is the worst part. The voice says that MC's consciousness was sent to the past through their dreams cause of Solomon's cooking and that solomon had created an immortality elixir by accident too once. the voice says that despite being a decent human with a good head on his shoulders Solomon can sometimes be more troublesome than the demons cause despite the way he acts he doesn't actually understand his own power. The voice says they'll send MC back home and that they'll forget everything that happened but the effect they had on the brothers as angels will carry on to the future and that in order to ensure the effect doesn't have negative consequences someday the voice will keep an eye on MC from now on. And that the voice will have to think about Simeon as well. They say goodbye until they meet MC again. MC wakes up next to a sleeping Asmo in his bed. When Beel tells them they're finally done cleaning up the bathroom MC tells him they had a wack dream but that they can't remember what it was, Beel says maybe it's something they're better off forgetting. There's a locked chapter that i can't open :')

The lessons over but I've got notes so hear me out!

1. ) The paradox of Mammon and MC's pact- in the previous lesson Mammon said he doesn't make pacts with random humans except as far as we knew then MC was a random human when he made the pact with them. Mammon being the fastest of the brothers also means he could have easily gotten Goldie back without making the pact. This lesson reveals that MC was never a random human and that they'd met thousands of years prior to their 'first meeting' and though neither Mammon nor MC would have remembered that meeting the effect of it would have still carried on. The effect of MC supporting Mammon's schemes and his dreams, the effect of him being flustered by them, of them staring at him in a way that made him blush, of him deciding he liked them, of him feeling like he already knew them and being able to comfortably tease them. And it's probably all of this that led Mammon to make a pact with them. Except MC was stared at him and supported him as an angel cause they already knew him and cared about him as an angel cause they had a pact together and were friends. tldr; the only reason Mammon made a pact with MC was cause they were familiar to him, the only reason they were familiar to him was cause they were nice to him when he was angel, and the only reason they were nice to him as an angel was cause they already had a pact with him and were friends and so on and so on.

2. ) They have so much freedom in the Devildom holy shit??? They went from having a council of scary vaguely sadistic control freaks to just one. They can do whatever they want without any real consequences while in the Celestial Realm a party was seen as something evil? None of them have any real duties in the devildom while they were so busy in the celestial realm they needed a secret room to slack off

3. ) the seraphim seem so much more controlling than diavolo? I mean the man takes any excuse to throw a party and is currently whining about not being allowed to go the human world. While in the celestial realm just talking about wanting to be human is a punishable offence. And yeah sure you could say that I'm comparing the past celestial realm vs the current devildom and that the current celestial realm has probably eased up a lot EXCEPT 01.) in the devilgram with Lucifer's and Diavolo's first meeting Diavolo seems exactly the same as he currently is. 02.) Luke - who is a fairly new angel- 's attitude when he first arrives in the devildom is scarily similar to Lucifer's attitude in the devilgram where he first meets Diavolo 03.) the angel event proves that the Celestial Realm still has a set view on what angels should be like and that the brothers never fit this view

4.) Forming of their sins - the brothers were definitely the odd ones out in the celestial realm even if they were pretty famous and they all had less intense versions of their sins even back then. MC who knows them for only their sins, reinforced them when they were angels which probably led to them embracing these sins more, which would have helped with their fall and with fully developing their sins

5. ) I feel like we might actually get to see michael???? They've been dragging and teasing about finally meeting him for so long.

Pls come talk to me about this lesson! I'm desperate rn i need to hear more thoughts and theories!

[welcometotheocverse]

🌟 for Elliot pls?

:D aaaah! I’ve had him in the brain a lot lately okay sorry this got long And also im rewatching rn so its sorta season 1ish.

Elliot is Rory’s younger twin. He was given Christopher’s middle name. He’s mostly grateful it was the middle name.

He and Rory are super close. It was just the two of them ( and then Lane) The Twins That Read A Lot. Because they had each other they didn’t have much incentive to make friends outside of each other ( Elliot more than Rory) and extrapolating from the Pilot where Rory doesn’t seem like she has a lot of friends ( or any sans Lane) and is lowkey scoffed at for reading the assignment I’m gonna go with “other kids weren’t that keen on making friends with them either”

Rory’s the talkative one, he’s the quiet one. This is a bit of Rory also being protective of him/noticing when he looks overwhelmed and just...talking up a storm as is her wont and subtly getting attention away from Elliot. For a lot of the early season they’re not seen one without the other ( keeping in mind their arch is to learn it’s okay to have different dreams and even go different places ) 

Sorta shy and a bit more introverted than Rory. Once you become his friend however he pretty much would die for you and his face absolutely lights up when he sees you as opposed to his usual reserved nature and he talks to you albeit not as much as his twin ( unless hes super excited or talking about something he finds interesting then the resemblance kicks in lmao but thats the exception)  its like a switch ( seen with Rory, Luke, and Lane in canon and Sophie/Paige in their xover)

Likes hanging out at Luke’s. They both sorta enjoy... being quiet around each other. Elliot thinks he has a really calming vibe …when Taylor’s not there.

Ms Kim doesn’t like him because he’s a boy so he’s not allowed at Lane’s like Rory is ( honestly the feeling’s mutual bc “I’m pretty  sure locking you up for days and keeping you from school falls under child abuse also wtf” and lowkey the girls are like “lets just keep you not in the house” Lane might be closer to Rory but they still talk music together. She’s part of the reason his music taste actually started deviating  from  Lorelai’s and Rory’s.)

He doesn’t like unfair treatment of other people. It really gets to him. Examples are Ms. Kim to Lane and his grandparents and father to his mom. Later examples are Mitchum Huntzberger, and Marty. ( he’s pretty unimpressed with Marty and how his feelings for Rory make him act in general tbh but what he does with Lucy is just...it really bothers him he’s adamant that  Rory should tell Lucy the truth.)

Highkey  he has about zero patience for bad/toxic parents partly bc of his own feelings about Christopher and to an extent his grandparents that he keeps minimizing so they get projected on...everyone else with bad parents lol.

 Logan’s still a bit amazed that this shy soft spoken kid he met in his junior year went off like “He’s not your fucking property” when Mitchum went on his “You’re available when i say you’re available” tirade ( Elliot was ngl intimidated/scared of Mitchum who pretty much went “Who the hell are you??!” but Logan’s his friend and that wasn’t okay and he kept eye contact with the asshole until Logan diverted his attention back to him/the fight they were having and made sure he at least told Logan afterwards because “but he shouldn’t..” and “he shouldn’t have” and “No! No..it’s not Okay. “)

But also like constantly “it’s not a big deal” when it comes to his aforementioned feelings about Christopher and pretty much anything he might be angry about. 

Lowkey spends a lot of time Rory goes through relationship drama between “????” and “wowww dodged a bullet” Rory throws pillows at him for the latter because “If I’m gonna rant at you El, you could at least give me sympathy.”

He does have some insecurities about his orientation born out of just..f.eeling othered due to isolation and also some stuff he’s heard his dad say.

He figures out he’s asexual before he figures out he’s aromantic and has to deal with a lot of “Are you sure?” and “is that..is that normal?” from some townsfolks before he figures out Luke can scare them off and he lowkey spends a lot of time at the dinner during this time. Luke smiles at him and gives him muffins tho he’ll deny deny deny if you mention it.

A bit more sensitive than Rory like on the pilot episode when he notices Lorelai is worried about Chilton/having to ask her parents for money he stops at the base of the stairs and asks “is...everything okay mom?” and is kinda just in tune with how the people he cares about are feeling/picks up on things like that.

He...doesn’t super like his grandparents because of how they treat his mother.  Emily already made him a bit anxious because of her passive  aggressive nature ( he’s giving me some anxiety vibes tbh) and the fact that he thought the fact that his mom kept them away sorta ominous.  A lot of season 1 is him looking down at his plate and tensing with every “your mother’s golf clubs are in the attic along with the rest of her potential” and Richard’s “he ( Christopher) always was a smart one that  boy, you two must take after  him” and “as a maid with all your brains and talents” and it sorta...yeah he spends a lot of time looking at his plate and swallowing resentment. There are times where it gets better but overall he’s never completely at ease around them. He’s very quiet but civil around them even as he grows some affection and builds bridges with them along Lorelai and Rory. And I haven’t even figured out the fallout with the thing they pull at the wedding.

Emily at least once asked off handedly why Elliot wasn’t seeing anyone and I’m still figuring out if she says something like “that’s not normal” before Lorelai or Rory intervene.

(( Full disclosure Emily reminds me a bit too much of my own relationship with my mom and its really hard to write her favorably though I at least try to be fair. So Elliot is sometimes  a bit harsh on her and very in Lorelai’s corner when Emily and Richard are...less than nice. ))

Sort of a mamma’s boy. Rory and Lorelai have their special connection but so do Elliot and Lorelai. Rory was a bit more extroverted and would play/hang out with Lane while Elliot was perfectly content as a babie curling up with his mom and reading. It worried Lorelai a bit, how hard it was for him to reach out ( she never had that moment she had with Rory and Lane of “my kid has a friend” with him) but he always had Rory yknow so she calmed herself with that. Sometimes when Rory’s with Lane he’ll hang out at the Inn and work there. He somehow got in to Michel’s good graces ( “because you are quiet and unobtrusive”  and got him to teach him French 

Very tactile. When he’s getting nervous Rory will reach out and grab his hand or Lore will put her hands on his shoulder and he’ll calm down. He does the same when wanting to comfort friends or just wanting to show affection ( will lean on Finn and Colin a lot as he gets closer to them or accept that they’ll just throw an arm around him)

Meeting the LAD bridgade kids makes social events with his grandparents so much easier like ohmygod subparties with Logan Colin Finn and Rory  become lifesavers. ( its not so much the drinking as having someone you can laugh with while dodging your grandparents friends and the girl they told to look for you yknow)

He has more resentment towards Christopher than his sister and doesn’t see him with the rose colored glasses Rory sees him in their younger years. His absence hurts him a lot. He hides it well and is nice enough towards him because he loves Lorelai and Rory and wants them to be happy/have a good time but if you catch him on a bad day you might get a rant about how little Christopher knows about them and how little he was there  and “he just drops by, spends like a day with us and leaves yknow...it’s...and we’re supposed to be happy???” and the fact that he doesn’t wanna tell Rory or Lorelai bc he thinks it’ll upset them just  sorta...makes it worse.

And then at some point  Christopher pops off with “and how long are you gonna entertain this phase of his Lore, a boy his age should be dating” and while Rory’s making angry noises and Lorelai’s saying “Outside. Now” ( though they don’t know the twins are listening) he just gets...this thin unsurprised smile and...yeah it’s not great. 

Very supportive of people he loves. He’s constantly telling Rory through the Chilton years that she’s smart enough, more than smart enough to get through this and helps her study. He makes sure he tells Lorelai he loves her or hugs her if he can tell the dinners are a bit hard on her. Honestly a total cream puff. The resentment for his grandparents and father is mostly buried and comes out like when he’s upset/they do something that provokes it. Mostly he’s a really soft boy and kinda soft spoken, loves reading about science and space ( he balances out Rory’s preference for literature and history though they both like poetry and Elliot occasionally reads prose as Rory lets him infodump sometimes about science journals) and loves his friends so so dearly. Will get angry a la Beware The Nice Ones if you hurt them though the first thing he’ll do is comfort them/try to cheer them up.

He loves Stars Hollow but being the only aroace person he knows of there ( and fielding well intentioned “are you sures?” and “oh honey you’ll find someone someday”s and just..alot of early 2000s Star Hollow-ness ( “Hey kiddo you gonna bid on a basket this year?” “oh you’re getting handsome, gonna find yourself a girl for the starlight festival?” “is he..youknow?” is just...a lot? He wants to spread his wings and find his place/people like him/feel less isolated.

He still loves his town though as its his home and raised him his sister and in a way his mother. He visits while he’s at Yale ( the distance helps tremendously as does the ability to just...leave again) like Rory and says hi to Miss Patty and Gypsy and Andrew ( he loves Andrew omg. One of the few people who didn’t just assume he and Rory were always reading the same books) He helps the 30-Something gang find jobs/fine tune resumes  though im not including anything else form ayit and checks in how they’re doing bc..its still his town. They’re his family. “my nuts-o, extended...well meaning but sometimes overly invested and too-pushy-and-slightly-overbearing family.” even as he dreams of getting out a lot and once he does he...really likes it. He loves them

He goes to Yale because Rory goes to Yale (because again the whole Learning To Be Independent From Your Twin...kind of a slow process for him) and gets sibling-adopted by Finn and Colin  in a turn of events he’s pretty much confused over like im p sure they were like “hes ours now” and Elliot was like “im ...you’re...w..what?” and Logan who Knows Finn and Colin is like “don’t fight it” and lowkey adopted him too.

Im cutting myself off bc this got Long and im sorry lol

Thank you so much for the ask <3

send me a ✨ and i’ll tell you about a random OC

[faunusrights]

OFFAL HUNT REMASTERED LIVEBLOG // CHAPTER 18

IN THIS EPISODE OF ROBLOX OOF NOISE:

“Yes.” Glynda couldn’t hang up, not without: “I’m—I’m sorry. About what I—”

“It’s alright. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Okay—” The feed cut. Softly, Glynda said again, “Okay.”

GLYNDA DISCOVERS WHY BEING CINDER FALL SUCKS

do u know how hard it is to wake up and play animal crossing whilst knowing this chapter looms over yr shoulder,

OKAY HERE WE GO

She was fidgety; even Cinder mentioned her pacing, shooting a critical eye her way. Glynda sat, intent on stillness; moments later, Cinder mentioned her bouncing leg.

i LOVE it when a chapter calls me out just right out of the gate hahaha who gave u the right

"Really?" How long had they been doing that? How long ago had Cinder noticed? "Should I stay?"

cinder: maybe i should tell glynda abt that /see glynda pacing a dent into the floor cinder: ooooooor i could. NOT give her an excuse to bully them for something to do,

On her way down the street, Glynda couldn't help but stare at the car, its tinted windows revealing nothing within. As she passed it, she kept glancing over her shoulder, expecting an attack or something. But nothing came of it.

HJGDFSGSDFHKGHJDF GLYNDA,,,,,,,,,,, can u imagine being in the white fang, and sittin in yr fuckin. TINTED WINDOWED like BULLETPROOF CAR and yr sat on yr ass watching out for cinder “dumbass” fall and suddenly glynda goodwitch, The Top Bitch, comes out and starts GLARING YR CAR DOWN,,, like ah. i think she knows we’re here. hrm. hm.

i would just like. drive to mcdonalds and get some nuggies at that point.

She had a clutch of flash-images and a wash of emotions and impressions, the raw materials of memory, stored as-is without refining. She was quite used to that—most of her missions were hazy and rough in her memory, mere sketches of events.

i cant wait for glynda to become a vlogger if only so she can actually have physical proof of whatever the fuck happens whenever she goes out and about. get her a go-pro.

It told her: despite her restlessness, despite the arduous journey here, and despite the way Vale seemed to call for her from somewhere beyond the horizon, she felt quite content to be where she was.

the difference having a gf has huh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, u got a whole ass home (being cased by the fang) a real nice city to live in (its floating and atlas wants yr number) a bunch of unread msgs (from a [redacted] who [redacted]) and its a nice day!!! its all coming together. but probably not for very long,

(i got very distracted at this point making a line graph for the animal crossing stalk market so here we go, x2 edition,)

That meant the nightlife would soon begin. She had never liked crowds; too many people, too much input at once. It was hard to focus, to be comfortable.

/chefs kiss

autistic glynda did u kno: id die for u,

Since she’d blocked Ozpin’s number, there was no chance of receiving anything directly from him—but there was still a moment of pause each time she checked her Scroll, as if expecting his smiling face to appear somehow.

OH YEAH LMAO SHE DID THAT SHIT HUH,,,,,,,,,, i still cannot BELIEVE that happened. GOD. cant wait for this to bite her entire ass right off her body,

By the time she reached the top landing, Winter had replied: “I wasn’t aware that you had additional support on this mission, Professor. I will need their full name and Hunter’s license number.”

To answer Cinder Fall and she doesn’t have a license, but she does have several warrants for her arrest felt like inviting Winter to question not only her integrity, but her sanity as well.

SDHGJFKSKGHDJFGJHDKF i cant say what makes this funnier because 👈😎👈 but HOHOHOHOOOOO could u imagine the fallout if she did just, say that shit. if we just went and fuckin said it like it was no biggie--

Finally, Glynda let her shoulders relax, exhaling deeply, like she would before rushing a Grimm. She wrote it plainly: “The clearance is for Cinder Fall.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

MA’AM WHAT THE F U C K

winter rn:

She’d just have to wriggle her way out of having to talk face-to-face, then return the game to a field she felt slightly more comfortable with: text.

okay this is so funny to me cause i just keep thinking of her sending ‘no reason’ to oz. a MASTER of textual conversion. un fucking PARALLELED in this field, UNRIVALLED,

Glynda tossed a look at the door as well, her mouth pulling into a line; what if Cinder came outside? What if—

Could Winter track her exact position using her Scroll signal? She minimized the projection of Winter’s face and hurried off in a random direction the instant she hit the bottom of the stairs.

i LOVE these two because this is the first time we’ve rly seen glynda like. Actively do smthng to defend cinder in this sort of way? she’s been pretty passivve abt letting cinder take the lead when theyre together but on her own shes thinking of all the contingencies to make sure winter cant find cinder and u know what. thats gay. what will u do for yr not-gf when yr talking to someone who would kick her ass in a hot second,

also im TAKING to grab choice lines here to comment upon but honestly this next section is SO GOOD that im rly struggling to find a line to encapsulate how much i am LOVING this convo. i cant say exactly WHY im loving it because again thats 👈😎👈 BUT KNOW THAT THIS IS VERY GOOD FOOD AND I AM ENJOYING IT. and im also enjoying this line a lot

Winter’s voice was decisive: “Professor, if you hang up on me, I am flying to your location—tonight.”

winter: if y’all dont shut the fuck up back there i am turning this car, city, and continent AROUND,

It was the same thing, over and over: people didn’t understand her and she didn’t understand them. It was an exercise in futility that only gave her grief. In the end, she gave up on trying to explain herself. She resigned to being wrong, to always being wrong, even when she knew she wasn’t.

OOF OKAY WHAT THE HELL IS UP W/ THIS FIC AND CALLOUTS. HUH??? ME BITCH!!! I FEEL THAT!! AND IT SUCKS,

/reads the next bit

oh are we donning our tinfoil hats? we’re donning our tinfoil hats.

It was so easy. Glynda didn’t stumble over her words even once; didn’t waver. She was built for doing harm. Her anger burned hot and clean; it excised all the hurt like a malignant tumor.

Maybe she really had learned something from Cinder—channeling her frustration, her guilt, her pain, all of it into anger like this was something Glynda was new to. But it felt good. She leaned into it, letting it take the reins; the distressing memories vanished like wisps of smoke, vaporized by the heat of her wrath.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS god this is. SO EXCITING. i also love it when ppl rub off one one another its my FAV thing in the WORLD and this anger is. WOO. this anger is. DANDY. its also a very short-term burst of pleasure glynda so enjoy that hollowed-out whoopsie feeling that i sure get when i Blow Up,

“She butchered my friend!” Winter snarled, the camera shaking as she slapped the desk. “She butchered my friend in the streets like he was cattle! And I have done everything in my power to help you! Everything! To keep her from doing the same to you, and you’ve blown me off or lied or—” Winter’s voice snagged. “And now you tell me—you accuse me—”

It was early evening in Umbraroot, but it must already be night in Atlas. The shadows revealed the unclean angles of Winter’s face: the bruises of exhaustion under her eyes, the lines of stress at the corners of her mouth.

im sorry im just copy-pasting wholesale at this point but OH this is GOOD. i cant rly explain. like. the difference-- because you’d think from the og version this is just a bit more flavouring right? its like getting a bit of hot sauce on yr chicken wings and yr like ‘okay it adds smthng but its not like a side meal’ BUT IT IS A SIDE MEAL this is like a whole basket of fuckin. cheese-baked fries. winter DESERVES this screentime she DESERVES to have presence in this fic and OH does she USE IT im LIVINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Glynda wanted anger. She wanted fire and brimstone. She wanted a fight.

What she got was the glisten of tears on pale lashes. A hand covering Winter’s trembling mouth.

The ashy taste of remorse in her throat.

THERES THAT HOLLOWED-OUT WHOOPSIE FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERE IT IS RIGHT ON TIME. its like CLOCKWORK,

She didn’t have anything. Nothing against that. The possibility that Winter might truly care what happened to her had been so insignificantly small and easy to trample. She had forgotten about the losses Winter shouldered the moment Cinder had whispered inheritance.

it’s just like clockwork,

also this chapter feels lengthy but maybe its just cause i got distracted with animal crossing so ill have to do a wordcount check at the end

/checks

no its lengthy this is a thicc one,

“I know,” Glynda said. “I know. I know how this sounds. But she’s the only person who makes me feel like—like I make sense.” In her mind, Glynda lay in the darkness of Cinder’s bedroom, watching the glaze of streetlights along her lips as she said you.

you,,,,,,,,, we,,,,,,,,,,,, our,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, its all that gay shit,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that Cinder Fall is a tremendous liar. She could convince you it is raining in Vacuo, given enough time. Two years ago, I was working on the Argus base, where I met her as a client; she told me she was a merchant seeking entrance into Atlas—she had all her documents in order, her entire persona set up, and she sold it perfectly. She was flawless—and all of it was fake. She gave me no reason to doubt her. She was—”

Winter cut herself off, abruptly. Then: “Once I was comfortable and safe, she burned down my office and murdered my friend.”

YES,,, SLOWLY THE LORE PIECES TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! winter is once bitten twice shy, but mayhaps we mean,,, once burnt,,,, twice shy,,,,,,,,,, hrmmmm,

Glynda told Winter everything.

OH MAN,,,, we’re really getting this messy fucking trio up in this bitch i am SO excited. i am THRILLED. here! we! go!!!!!!!!!! also i said it before but again im so glad winter gets to Be Here for this. sure this has nothing to do w/ her destiny or w/e but shes here now. shes in the uber. she waiting outside.

The dying potted plant Glynda had spotted last time on the back wall’s shelf had been replaced with a new one; this one’s leaves were beginning to shrivel at the ends.

dsfjhhkljsdf side note: is this like that scene in finding nemo where all the new fish see the niece and go ‘oh no we’re gonna die’ but instead its plants getting taken into winters office? they go ‘im sorry, mate, but once you go into her office, you come out TOTALLY dead,’

okay so this whole convo happened and if i try to pick one section ill end up picking it all AAAAAAAAAAAAAA im dying out here. WINTER BLEASE,,, BELIEVE THAT SOMETIMES CINDER CAN TELL A HALF-LIE. A SORTA-TRUTH. A SEMI-HEMI-DEMI HONESTY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

How different would that mission have gone? How different would her life have been?

She found herself saying, “He had so many chances to tell me. Instead, he let me think I was reckless. That I was a danger to other people. I stopped working in teams. I didn’t have many people in my life to begin with, but afterwards was worse. He saw to it that he was all I had, and he let me think it was my fault.”

ROBLOXOOFNOISEDISTORTEDWITHDELAY.MP4

OOF!!!!!!! O O F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! honestly OOF that shit HURTS BITCH!!!!!!! thats BANANAS. WILD. im also loving (hating???) the increase of painful glynda lore and honestly everyone feels like they have So Much More that builds them up and im THRIVING off it. im also suffering for it.

With the video feed closed, Glynda could see she had new notifications. Missed calls. From Cinder.

Glynda’s stomach lurched. She stowed her Scroll before she could think about them.

At the mouth of the alley, she could see the shape of Cinder’s apartment in the distance. She stood there for a long time, staring, uncertain what to do with her hands, unsure what to do with her heart. Her jaw flexed. She remembered the tears on Winter’s lashes. The friend she’d lost.

Glynda took her first step toward the apartment.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and so the soft domestic shit ends. but nowhere near as explosively as id thought???????? HUH. H U H. must b because we’re gearing up for smthng honk honk honk

ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. this chap was SO good its astonishing (despite the [several] times i got distracted by animal crossing rip me). WINTER!!!!!!!! BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant believe this disaster trio is coming together. also cant wait for glynda to tell cinder the shit she just pulled. oh no,

(also the wordcount was 5,931. just in case u were curious)

[tfw-no-tennis]

hunty movie 1

sooo ruth and i watched the first hxh movie holla

me as soon as we’re done w/the yorknew arc: OH FUCKY ITS ANIME MOVIE TIME

i love anime movies. theyre so often Entertaining As Hell, and also Not Very Good. its a very fun intersection 

overall this movie slots pretty easily into that category. it was a good time but nothing revolutionary. which is ok! and that makes sense bc its not canon apparently 

this movie was basically the ‘killua and kurapika have Trauma(tm)’ movie lmao 

we open w/killua having a trauma dream abt illumi, rehashing the stuff we saw in the hunter exam arc....we see this a few more times in the movie, and it really drives home how killua is still rlly scared of illumi and kinda just goes into a dissociative trauma state whenever illumi is around (even fake doll illumi or dream illumi, in this movie). poor kid :( :( 

regrettably tho ruth and i agree that illumis outfit in this movie was pretty sexy 

ok that whole beginning part where kurapikas eyes get stolen happens SO fast hvbfhdjshfsk its like ok guess thats the status quo for this movie!

jesus poor kurapika. they cant catch a fuckgin break huh

also that kid was totally the kid that was alluded to by kurapika at the end of the yorknew arc...so i guess that was included in the anime as a setup for this movie? 

also apparently that stuff was based off of a short story thing the author did a while ago which is p cool

leorios terrible drawing skills is hvhbjsdfbsdfngsjkdf

also leorio is so tender w/kurapika hhhhhhh im gonna die. im gonna gay die

and gon and killua are just. tiny soulmate boyfriends ok 

ah yes i see the obligatory movie original character who befriends the protag

it kinda cracks me up how hostile killua is to retz like vhbhskhdfbaj i get that its bc of Trauma and his fear of betrayal/betraying but it also reads as killua being a Jealous Gay which is kinda hilarious 

ruth and i when hisoka shows up: [prolonged annoyed groaning and dismayed yelling]

hisoka literally just shows up to sow chaos and throw around information to stir shit up huh

of COURSE the villain is the former 4th spider thats like. easy choice lmao 

it might just be the fansubs but i feel like there were strong implications that hisoka and 4th spider guy fucked bhjdfashfdjnakn

the most unbelievable thing abt this whole thing is that hisoka didnt kill that doll guy lmao 

ohhh shit its uvo

OHHH SHIT NOBUNGA AND MACHI....its so bad but i really like the troupe members and when they show up im like !!!!!!!

machi is so cooooool

aughhhh its like....i feel bad for nobunga for having to face down uvo like this....and THEN when pakunoda shows up too :( and nobunga tells her doll ‘rest in peace now’ or something when he cuts her down....oof. but also like theyre evil murderers so im!?! conflicted?!?!

also the shadow beast guys that uvo killed showing up and then proceeding to do LITERALLY NOTHING was kinda hilarious

and damn so technically the troupe is on the same side as the main crew, what with all of them wanting to wreck omokages shit

also omokage looks like sephiroth lmaoooo 

ill be honest i barely know what sephiroth looks like but ruth said this and i felt in my bones that its true 

ok i gotta talk abt the kurapika backstory stuff bc OUUGHGHGHGHGH my fucking UWUS BITCH!!!!

seeing a bunch of kurta was sad....and seeing baby-er kurapika OUGH and also pairo is sooo cute and him and kurapikas friendship is so pure 

kurapika is so different :( theyre like, so much more innocent and excitable....thats so damn sad bro wtf 

pairo pulling some slick moves swapping that little potion thing - all while using his blindness as a cover - was so good...no wonder he and kurapika get along so well 

also gotta say its even more brutal that one of the main reasons kurapika didnt get Big Murdered w/the rest of the kurta is bc pairo pulled this stunt - if he hadnt, kurapika wouldve failed the test and never would have left 

also kurapika saying theyre gonna find someone who can help w/pairos eyes ;_; the similarities w/leorios backstory/motivation makes me die 

and seriously im still caught up at how innocent and pure kp is oooof ough 

tho still defs the kurapika we know....theyve seemingly always had a temper, what with the reaction to the dudes in the market 

like, kurapika did NOT hold back...even after finding out that they were just part of the test! tho i do get it bc they insulted pairo...kurapika’s love for their friends/stalwart need to defend their friends is clearly a big thing 

also the market people’s reaction to seeing kp’s red eyes is rlly interesting to me...are the kurta like, known to anybody? or are they more of a vaguely talked-about group that like, ‘probably exists’? or is it that people know abt them but not the red eyes thing? it seems like these people, if any, would know, bc this market is seemingly a day’s travel from where the kurta live....i want more kurta lore bro!!

i big love pairo helping kurapika cheat like that....such an interesting twist, and makes it obvious that theirs is a friendship of equals 

anyways i loved that flashback stuff and it just drives home how absolutely fucked up and horribly sad kurapikas whole existence is, especially in this movie w/pairo’s doll being used against them

n e ways back to the non flashback stuff

i love that gon’s super nose returned for this movie omg 

im just auhghghghgh gon and killua know each other so well uwu....

aaaand illumi (well, doll illumi) is back to fuck shit up for poor killua

ugh it still gets me how clearly terrified of illumi killua is...we dont really see him act like this any other time :( and the fact that doll-illumi was able to scare killua enough to get him to run away and leave gon behind (albeit briefly) was oof 

gon jumping in front of killua and getting his eyes stolen instead....baby boyyyy oughhh

also can i just say thank fuck they didnt replace illumis eyes w/gons bc THAT wouldve been some serious nightmare fuel lmao 

cant believe killua then ran away again and walked emo-ly on the train tracks 

and THEN he saw a train coming and was like oh well :( guess ill die :/ JESUS KID 

but gon w/his Big Sniff Powers comes to the rescue!!

it was so cute how gon told killua that killua didnt run and abandon him - they were working together to fight :’) gon understands killua so well 

i love how the squad then squads up to fight omokage...with half of them being blind lmao 

and in the half that isnt blind is leorio, who STILL doesnt know nen, and literally brings a knife to a nen fight 

i totally saw the whole ‘retz is a doll and her older brother is omokage, and retz actually died a while ago’ thing coming lol but still, not bad

all omokage does is talk abt the beauty of his dolls or w/e like ENOUGH bro 

kurapika fighting pairo and killua fighting illumi (AGAIN) was all so fucked up they shouldve switched opponents for less trauma oof 

and poor leorio is literally no help vhhvdijfhjbashkj he just gets throw around this whole time

kurapikas fight against pairo was sad bc it was such a fucked up situation...kp did gr8 tho, i liked them saying that this isnt the real pairo, cause pairo would never say/do these things. still and extremely sucky situation to be in! 

meanwhile its the gon and killua vs doll-illumi rematch...and this illumi is like, a version of illumi drawn from killuas mind/heart (or something idk, it was kinda glossed over which i understand), which means that hes extra scary and focused on telling killua how much hes just a mindless killing machine who cant have friends 

but luckily we have gon here to help snap killua out of his trauma haze, which certaintly wasnt the case at the hunter exam - so it was kinda nice to see how things went w/gon around :’) they work so well together oughhhhh....and they love each other so much broo gay preteen love real 

hisoka just fuckgin materializing in the house place to help sow more chaos....unbelievable 

me: i bet hisoka wont want to fight doll chrollo bc its not The Same as real chrollo 

ruth: no i think he will bc hes a whore 

hisoka: [fights doll chrollo] 

me: oh shit u right 

kurapika: ok omogake its time for you to FUCKING DIE- 

and then killua stops them and says that he’ll do it, be he doesnt want kurapika to kill anymore :( :( :( bro im sooo fucking sad. killua rlly b out here thinking that hes already too far gone to matter when it comes to murder, but he doesnt want his friends to end up like that, so he might as well take on that burden, because whats one more person’s death on his hands? (EVEN THO HE SAID HE DIDNT WANT TO KILL ANY MORE...but theres exceptions when it comes to saving your friend’s souls and whatnot) :( :( AUGHHH

but luckily retz comes THRU with some good ole fratricide

killua: [takes notes]

the fact that the phantom troupe just fuckgin shows up and is like oh hey its you guys. this casual enemy stuff kills me lmao i love it 

then they just fuckgin LEAVE and theyre like welllll we cant rlly fight u bc of chrollo’s state so by i guess. its NOT On Sight but someday it will be! YOU TOO HISOKA DONT THINK WE FUCKIGN FORGOT ABOUT YOU. 

dramatic house burning! and rip retz, saw that one comin tho 

when they all went thru and said their life goals and then killua was like shit i dont have a cool definitive anime goal LMAOOOO

but THEN gon said his goals should be to stay by gon’s side UHMMM???? baby gays AUGHHHHH and killua is just like lovestruck AUGHHHH 

Gays Win 

then they all peace out to resume the next arc lmaoooo

and then we see flashes of other characters, like the blonde girl (who ruth and i totally thought retz was, seeing thumbnails from this movie....we were like w8 hasnt that girl not been introduced yet??? lmao)

we also see some dude w/long hair and a hat who ive never seen before but ruth went OHHH ITS SCYTHE GUY!!! so i guess hes gonna b important?? lol 

and then we saw chrollo....still in the same place the squad left him vbhajfdjkahsbfkdjabhsukfdj CAN HE NOT GET DOWN FROM THERE W/OUT NEN OR AN AIRSHIP??? THATS SO FUCKING FUNNYYYYYY ARE YOU KIDDING ME 

general thots:

so this was very much an Anime Movie, in that they cant like, advance to plot or develop the characters much, bc its a movie. and this one is non canon

it was enjoyable but i do feel like it was much more typical shounen then hxh usually is...like, i feel like this was made by the same people who make like, the naruto movies or w/e, and w/the same sort of approach/attitude 

this isnt necessarily bad - i LIKE shounen for a reason - but it was a bit noticeable bc it wasnt quite as smart as hxh is usually, and it rehashed a lot of stuff weve already seen in this show itself 

but still i think it did a good job w/what it had, and it had some good angst, and everyone was very gay which is good

the art style was SLIGHTLY wack but it wasnt as bad as i thought itd be 

overall a fun time like most anime movies. didnt reinvent the wheel but i had a good time. im excited for the greed island arc, and im also disproportionately excited to watch the hxh musical bc that is a thing that exists and i MUST see it asap bc that sounds like the kind of hilarious wackiness that appeals to me specifically

so thats it...later! 

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Fl4k Fl4k Fl4k Fl4k Fl-

i didn’t die i just fell in love with that skill tree creator and have done nothing for the past few days but make skill trees and sleep for 3 hour intervals. im very excited for the gameplay on Wednesday but oh man oh me oh my i gotta catch up on a lot of posts lol

tl;dr: Fl4k is a badass. Stop misgendering them or I’ll show up at your home at 3am local time every time and then eat your spine. Bonus: Mr. Chew being an ‘Eridian skag’ is probably due to some funky mutation from eridium/slag/eridian stuff. Kinda like how Threshers have the ability to make singularities because they are native to Elpis, which is a big ol’ Eridian base (which i totally addressed in this post lol). I also gave my opinion on Fl4k’s skills in general, if you’re interested in that. Overall, a very awesome trailer! Definitely lived up to the hype.

i said it before, this trailer was one of the best ones. definitely #2 for me, Zane is still at #1 because i actually laughed during it. the music in this one is definitely the best out of all 4 tho. seems like they’re all variations of the same song, i like this one best. I need this soundtrack sooo bad.

also i know probably no one else following this blog watches one piece but like

that first footstep with the studded boot and the sound effect immediately flung me back to katakuri. god katakuri was a badass. i was so excited to see that fight animated.

mr chew spinning around is my favorite thing ever. i love that you can tell the personality of the pets just from watching the intro. 

i know fl4k is like a real badass in this trailer, but i get the feeling they’re going to end up being at least a little soft for their pets. i mean... they have stuffed animals of them ffs.

so... we’re near Sanctuary-III in this trailer? I gotta keep my eye out then. i also want to see if that one claptrap area guess i had is correct or not... this looks like an entryway for the garage so im guessing i wasn’t, but let’s seeeee

there is a raised bit up and to the left

also im wondering if this means we’re going to have to rescue ellie from the CoV.

hmmmmmmmm

hmmmmm i don’t think the signs match up.

mr chew is the goodest boy. im so glad we can pet/interact with him!! i want to know what the names of the other pets are

also, a bit off topic but

i could have sworn fl4k’s jabber was cryo/shock. it was blue, wasn’t it? i wonder if they changed it or if it’s skill upgrades change its color. i thought the upgrades just gave it better guns.

yeah it was! i guess possibly upgrading it with the guns gives it a new color scheme? maybe? this could be the gunslinger upgrade!

it looks like their jabber went through the most design changes out of all of the pets. that or this is yet another upgrade (since each pet has 3 states). maybe this is the beefcake version.

‘bitch’. i love how expressive fl4k is with just the eye. very well done.

ohhh you know what that building is in the back?

[we’re near the intro to the game!]*

and tbh i don’t think this place has the building for Ellie’s Scrap in it... i don’t see it anywhere. maybe this is the actual scrapyard and the building is on the other side?

not quite sure tbh. but at least we know this place may also be near sanc-iii, just maybe not the same area as the actual Ellie’s Scrap.

i mean... there IS a shitload of cars everywhere. i wouldn’t surprised if it’s near her garage cause it looks like a scrapyard.

but also where in the fuck are all these ‘normal’ looking cars coming from?? it’s not like we see them being used on pandora. all the ones we see in bl1/2 are clearly dilapidated and rusting. big thonk. at least the vans/busses kinda make sense.

oh yeah that is definitely the same building. [it’s the recruitment center!]*

this scene with the rakk is my favorite out of all the trailers. so fuckin cool

i do hope the jabber goes back to being blue at some point. i like the red design too, don’t get me wrong, but i much prefer the glowy blue. it’s my favorite color and you guys know i love glowing things 👀

<Huge Selection!!!> lol

cat/doggo/monkey. mr chew is my favorite pet but i love the jabber panting like a dog lol

i never knew this is where spiderant mouths were

i always assumed they were below that... f r e a k y

“he likes to chase cars”

fl4k probably took them to the scrapyard for this exact reason ngl. fl4k being a big softie to their pets confirmed

(also, notice how fl4k uses ‘he’ for mr chew. it’s almost as if they understand the concept of gender, chose their own pronouns, and your argument that they only are nonbinary only because they “don’t understand yet” is invalid! Fl4k is canonically nonbinary and uses they/them/theirs pronouns as confirmed by both SungWon Cho and their in-game skills. 

Now that you know, use they/them/theirs for Fl4k or get off my blog. Because by not doing so, you are disrespecting the devs’ wishes for this character AND the nonbinary people who find representation in them and I won’t support that. if you feel like arguing your reasons to purposefully misgender them even after knowing this, please DM me so I can block you. thanks! 

For those of you out there actually making an effort: mistakes happen, especially if Fl4k is the first NB person you’ve learned about. Just make sure to correct yourself then move on, and we’re okay. Everyone has to learn sometime and it’s better to put in the effort than not care at all. It will become second nature.)

Fl4k is such a badass, they really are way different than i expected (personality-wise), but i am not complaining. gearbox knows me better than i know myself, so i know i’m going to end up loving Fl4k anyway. ProZD did such a fantastic job, i honestly did not recognize him at first! i can tell with certain words now, but wow i am blown away. 

i hope we’re able to climb that bird’s nest lookin’ thing in the back. it would be perfect for sniping and/or placing ur clone for maximum coverage.

seriously, what a badass.

idk i feel obligated to give my opinions of Fl4k over here since they were recently released. I am digging them 100%, tho i was kinda surprised (not in a bad way) they’re not as... i guess soft as i was expecting from their character design with the plushes and the face on the backpack and the smiley face pin, but i imagine that’s different when they’re interacting with their pets. im super curious to see how this VH group’s dynamic is going to go. 

mechanically, their skills seem perfect for people who loved sniper Zer0 and in general Mordecai, with a splash of Salvador tossed in for good luck. I am a dirty melee Zer0 main and i prefered Phasewalking over Bloodwing (altho i still play mordy bc he’s best bl1 VH) so, while I am definitely going to give Fl4k a go, they’re not my main bl3 Vault Hunter, that’s reserved for Zane and his lovely ability to befuddle enemies and run around. Funnily enough, I’m not even a fan of pet classes, so Fl4k being second in my play order is pretty funny. Tho, yeah, Amara being last is also pretty weird. I guess I don’t necessarily enjoy melee, I just enjoy messing with the bad guys lol

ohh, also, I am most interested in the upgrade for mr. chew that gives him the ability to create singularities and is called ‘Eridian Skag’. 

so I’m not saying my theory that the threshers on the moon were connected to Eridians was right, I’m just saying they’re the only form of wildlife we know that has a singularity ability (outside of Mr. Chew, apparently). 

im just saying gearbox, you should hire me to write your deep lore for you cause i’d do it for free

im wondering if we’ll be seeing skags with wormhole abilities in bl3. maybe the constant exposure to slag is starting to mutate them further beyond just elemental bonuses (on badass skags). We know Maya’s phaselock has a singularity ability (so does Amara’s phasegrasp), and that is sorta ‘occurring naturally’ (you know, as natural as siren powers can get) unlike the singularity grenades we encounter which use our known technology. plus, uh, whatever happened to the destroyer’s eye in TPS that made it create a singularity/wormhole by injecting it with a fuckload of slag. that probably has something to do with this as well.

but geez i really hope mr. chew is okay with being all slag/eridium-ed up. i guess being badass elemental skags doesn’t appear to hurt them, just make them more powerful, unlike humans. maybe that has something to do with sentience, if slag/eridium/eridian stuff actually is driving bandits crazy. could explain why/if the jabber doesn’t get an element like the skag (eridian skag) and spiderant (fire) do, since they’re described as semi-sentient...

anyway.

Fl4k is cool. Definitely a neat trailer- my second favorite for sure- and the skill tree drop blew me away because i was not expecting it. im expecting a lot of Fl4k mains in the first few weeks of gameplay because they look like a lot of fun!

EDIT: i was wrong, in the newest IGN vid, it turns out we ARE near the recruitment center, because that IS the recruitment center

they gave them little orange flags! good to know!!