#lucian babbles

[unnocturnal]

im just now realizing i forgot to color in rosarios nails when hes picking up his ranch fry. SCREAMS

[tyrannuspitch]

top five. thor image.

EXCELLENT QUESTION

in chronological order:

baby boy. baby. also evil. sooo young and sweet and idealistic and um. this can't be right. genocidal?

2. becoming his father but don't worry about it! nothing sinister happening here! CH's acting is often hard to capture in stills but in this scene he looks and sounds like he's holding back tears, and he's lying through his teeth (including to himself) about odin being a good dad. and then odin (several thousand years deeper in the same emotional repression) gives him this cold little pat on the shoulder and is like right that's enough parenting for this century.

3. entering the avengers like it's a horror movie and he is the monster!!! mirrors loki's entry because they are The Same <3 extremely undead of him, too. ghost AND frankenstein.

4. codependent twin moment. there is a Hollow at thor's right hand. there is a Missing Piece that mirrors him perfectly. he's not meant to admit it any more, but he can't escape it either. no matter how it hurts he sees his brother in everything and always will <3

5. this specific face. in context this is fucking haunting trust me

[ravenlking]

𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐓

"𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄." when your beloved is finally on stage until the very end

gender-neutral warnings: spoilers for book 5 genre: fluff a/n: please give me feedback :)

Let me know if you'd like more!

(Valentine is just a brief OC, not canon)

In the darkness of the room, you stood before your board. Pins and little notes taped to it as you planned out your great movie to date. But every villain needs a hero and you were down to two actors.

Neige LeBlanche or Vil Schoenheit?

Two of the greatest teen actors of the century; just having them both in your movie would give you the biggest box office income you've ever had. You've seen and worked with them on occasion, but seeing their characters come to life was beyond exhilarating.

Neige LeBlanche or Vil Schoenheit?

You took one last look at the character concept before smiling, picking up your phone to dial your agent.

"Hey, it's me. Mind ringing up Vil Schoenheit's agent? I have a role for him..."

"VIL!"

Epel dashed through the halls of Pomefiore, screaming his dorm leader's name with a frantically ringing phone in hand. He pushed aside his fellow dorm members, throwing out "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!" to them before stopping before the golden doors of Vil Schoenheit's dorm room, panting. The phone was still ringing excessively.

"VIL!"

Heeled footsteps were what Epel last heard before the doors opened, a scowl on the beautiful man's face.

"What," Vil snapped.

Epel hurriedly showed him the phone as Vil's eyes widened, dragging the petite boy into his room before locking the doors. Epel met eyes with a grinning Rook Hunt as Vil picked up his phone, a smirk on his face.

"Yes?"

"Vil, I have the greatest news!" His agent babbled to him as Vil winced, drawing the phone away from his ear. The call was on speaker and her voice was loud. Very loud.

"Valentine, speak properly," He hissed out, rubbing his ear.

"Apologies, but listen to me!" Valentine's excited tone could be heard. "You know the movie, Until Death Do We Part, the first one?"

Vil scoffed, looking at his manicured nails. "Of course. The second one, Raising Hell For You is going to be directed by Y/N L/N, right? The famous up-rising director?"

Y/N L/N, the youngest yet most talented director of the century. Some say you were the Neige/Vil version of director, comparing your success to the teen actors. You arose in the entertainment world not even two years ago, yet your movies have won Oscars left and right. It would be the greatest honor for any actor to be starring in your movie.

Y/N L/N, also known as his secret lover.

"Mhmm!" Valentine confirmed. "Y/N's agent rang me last night and Vil! They want you to play Lucian Dante! The male hero!"

Vil's knees nearly buckled as he held onto his makeup table to stabilize himself. Rook and Epel jumped to their feet to help.

No...it couldn't be true. Vil thought to himself.

Right?

"Valentine, you better not be kidding," He breathed out desperately. A laugh came over the phone.

"What about Neige? Did they not consider him?"

He spat out the actor's name as if it was poison.

Valentine laughed even harder. "The way Y/N's agent told me, and they quoted "Neige isn't even going to be in this show.""

Vil's breathed hitched. He knew the newspaper rumors like the back of his hand. Everyone spoke of them like a duo, a movie being incomplete without the other. To only have one would mean that the movie would only be half of its potential greatness.

To only have Vil Schoenheit in Raising Hell For You...Y/N L/N was making a huge gamble on the movie's success.

And all for him?

"I'm going to have to call you back."

"Wait-"

The phone shut off as Vil tossed it carelessly onto his bed. He collapsed onto his makeup chair, meeting no one's eyes.

"Roi des Poison," Rook proclaimed. "You should accept!"

Epel nodded.

"You've always said you wanted to play the hero, even after your..." He paused. "Your overblot."

"Do not," Vil hissed out, pointing a finger at the young boy. "Remind me."

Epel only raised his hands innocently. "I'm just saying, if the carrot is right in front of you, you should take it!"

Vil only motioned to have his phone back and Rook was quick to do so. He tapped on your phone contact before waiting.

"Hello?"

Vil smiled gently. It's a wonder how your mere voice was able to put him in the greatest of moods.

"Y/N, darling?"

"Oh, Vil!"

Epel scoffed. "There go the lovebirds again..."

Rook laughed.

Vil ignored them.

"Darling, why did you cast me as Lucian in your upcoming movie?" Vil waited patiently for your response.

"So you heard," You hummed. "Vil, I've known you since we both joined the entertainment. It's no secret that you want to play the hero. Epel and Rook was my main influencer after what happened at VDC. They told me how much the hero role was a dream to you, how much you have grown to despise the role of the villain. So, it was an instant decision to have you as Lucian Dante."

Your gentle words made Vil's entire day. No, his entire week.

"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I love you."

"This way, Vil, you'll be on stage until the very end. Like you've always dreamed," You cheered.

The Pomefiore dorm leader blew kisses through the phone before ending the call. He looked at Rook and Epel thankfully.

"Both of you, thank you," Vil smiled at them, for once not caring about the potential wrinkles that may form.

[chavatangakwunua]

sometimes i think about what happens next after one of my failed runs

imagine, anton rayne, cleaned up his predecessors' mess with a vaguely centrist economic revival and a more democratic constitution but gave up to rumburg like a coward even though the army situation wasnt even that bad (it was and i lost to them in this run but let's assume i didnt)

obviously everyone is mad as fuck at rayne for losing all that territory. he just went from a pretty good president to the SCREED OF THE EARTH AND A TRAITOR.

rayne knows this all too well and resigns. retreats out of the public eye and moves to some nondescript house at the edge of the city with the wife and kids.

nobody vists him for years. everyone eventually thinks he died or something. good riddance.

then comes a knock at his door. rayne opens it to see none other than lucian galade himself.

anton smiles at him and invites him in. lucian looks a little taken aback at anton's state. anton notices and says, "not what you expected, huh?"

"it just, does not look like a house worthy of a former president, that's all."

"it's an okay house, just like how i was an okay president. and my childhood home was much worse than this."

"right." lucian uncharacteristically is at a loss for words.

"if youre wondering where the rest of the family is, the kids have both grown old and moved out. monica is still working to further the rights of women in the country so she isn't at home most of the time." anton's face doesn't change except for a slight tick in his left hand. "or, more realistically, she couldnt stand to see my face after i sold the country off to rumburg. she has her own house now."

lucian sees that all the family photos he remembers lining the walls in anton's old house (hes only ever been there once but he has a good memory) are gone. theres a few left, of deana with her friends in kyrute, franc with his wife in united contana, cut-outs of photos of monica in the newspapers. university pictures of anton and petr.

"what about you, mr vice president? i see you still havent married."

lucian shakes his head.

"no. and i see you've been keeping up with the news." of course. rayne mustve seen at least the headlines when scouring for mentions of his (ex?) wife in the papers. of course he didnt miss his old advisor lucian galade managing to score himself the vice presidency without him.

"im not mad," anton assures. "its hopeful to see at least someone surviving the dumpster fire of my presidency unscathed."

"i know," lucian says. anton laughs at this. lucian just stays tightlipped like he always is.

lucian keeps returning after this. brings him expensive wine and cigars and sweets. anton jokingly accuses him of corruption and lucian shuts him down. they play chess. anton tells him about work (he teaches economics) and his personal life (can you BELIEVE what my next door neighbour did yesterday??). lucian, meanwhile, doesnt ever talk about his work or his personal life.

one time anton babbles about something one of his students spat in his face once. hes laughing it off but lucian is bothered. he asks why he lets his students speak to him like that and anton tries to wave it off. "im used to it," he says. "and he was right."

the conversation turns to anton's old presidency.

"why did you do it?" lucian asks.

"i was scared. i knew our army was good but not good enough, and we didnt have enough allies to fill in the gaps. we wouldve lost. and to save everyone the trouble i wouldve killed myself." he turns his hand into a shape of a finger gun and places it on his own head. he mimes a pow and his brain getting blown. "maybe i shouldve done it anyway."

lucian tells him to knock it off. anton just giggles (its the alcohol isnt it) and mumbles something about simply following petr's path.

lucian apologizes for bringing it up but anton keeps on going. how nobody would miss him anyway, how everyone was right, how hes a stain on the nation that must be cleansed

lucian slaps him hard enough to startle anton out of his funk and says lucian is going to miss him, so he better not do it.

anton sputters out an apology, looking completely flushed (is it still the alcohol?) and then they kiss

[fnaflucasverse]

LUCASVERSE TIMELINE (WIP)

[my laptop has been broken for the past week imagine some cool art here. im doing all this on my phone. also no set dates i cant be bothered sorryyyyy]

NOTE: This timeline is based off the Parlourverse timeline by @fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction. For ease of understanding, italics signify events which are largely unchanged, bold italics signify events which occur in Parlourverse but are significantly altered, and regular text signifies entirely new original events.

PART ONE: THE BEGINNING

1975

Fredbear's Family Diner founded by ████████ and ██████████

1977

Sydney Michaels and Jacqueline Dayasiri begin dating

Jacqueline finds out she's pregnant, goes to the Michaels family for help

Darwin Michaels agrees to help Jaq, takes responsibility for Sydney's actions

████████ and ██████████ have a falling out, ██████████ forced out of ownership of Fredbear's

Sydney hired by ██████████ to sabotage Fredbear's success, poisons and kills/injures eleven children in Fredbear's

Sydney goes on the run; Darwin helps him evade police but prioritizes his new family, stays behind

Darwin refuses to go into witness protection, marries Jacqueline

Lucas Michaels is born

1979

██████████ Industries secures rights to Fredbear's, rebrands to Fazbear Entertainment

Byron Brown appointed as owner and general manager of the first Freddy Fazbear's Pizza

Jeremy Fitzgerald Sr. appointed as Head Technician, tasked with monitoring and testing animatronic behavior

1981

someone should be here but i left her behind

1983

Vincent Dayasiri hired as Assistant Manager at Freddy's

Vincent found murdered, assumed robbery gone wrong

Lucian Enfuego hired as Assistant Technician under Fitzgerald Sr.

1986

Jacqueline and Lucas caught in car accident; Jacqueline dies from injuries

he showed up one night, didn't wait before dad got the door open to let himself in. i was hiding under the kitchen table but he found me anyway, like he knew exactly where i'd be. "hey, little mouse," he said, smiling knife-sharp. "i'm your—

Lucian promoted to Senior Technician

Child found dead behind Freddy's; case dropped due to corporate intervention

PART TWO: THE BITE

1987

Violet Dayasiri and Mike Schmidt celebrate shared birthday party

where was i that day? hiding, always hiding, in that dark, dark room with that hollowed-out yellow corpse of a bear. or was it a rabbit? i was supposed to be watching her, you know? i sure watched all of it. i saw everything. everything.

Several children lured by costumed man into back room at Freddy's

i did it. it's my fault. i should've kept my hands to myself, i shouldn't have tried to help at all, i just fucked it all up. but what was i supposed to do? leave them in there? i could hear them still breathing. they were alive in there. they were still alive.

Mike Schmidt crosses safety line, skull crushed by Foxy the Pirate; Darwin rushes Mike to nearest hospital

have you ever heard the sound of a springlock snapping on human flesh? i was lucky not to get blood on me, he said, otherwise everyone would know what i had done. he said he'd keep my secret, though. i could trust him. i wanted to trust him.

Five children declared missing, including Violet; police called to investigate

Security tapes reviewed and found to be tampered with; suspicion falls on Lucian

Lucian evades arrest and goes on the run, writes letter of innocence to his son Alex Choi

Further investigation calls Fitzgerald Sr.'s innocence into question, Fitzgerald fired

Lucian found dead inside Freddy's after Jeremy Fitzgerald Jr. found exiting pizzeria covered in blood, babbling about the "purple man"

Fitzgerald Sr. reported missing, never found

Missing Children case dropped due to corporate intervention

Scott Bell hired as Night Watch

PART THREE: THE HAUNTING

1988

Darwin and family move to Florida

i was so afraid people would find out what i'd done. i'd wash my hands, scrub and scrub and scrub until my skin was raw and bleeding. it didn't get rid of anything, the smell of old blood. i couldn't talk to dad, but why would i want to? all he smelled like was cheap beer and the salt of misery. dad stopped trying when mom stopped breathing. maybe i did too.

1995

i was the first, but i didn't know it. she was the second, but she wanted it. but then he took clara and it made me feel sick to even look at her. i got her food once, and she slipped me a note to take to the cops. i ran away instead. i don't think she's still alive anymore. i hope she isn't. maybe if i'd helped her like she begged me to—but there's no use in regret.

Lucas returns to Utah, stays with Mahogany Brown

Lucas unofficially hired as mechanic / handyman at Freddy's, befriends Scott

1997

Scott found dead during last week as Night Watch

scott wasn't lying. your eyes really do pop out of the mask. the worst part was watching mahogany call corporate with shaking hands, see the burning hate in her eyes as she met with the suits, hollowed-out husks themselves. it was the first time i had to sign anything. backstage smelled like bleach and disinfectant for weeks after.

Lucas steps in as temporary Night Watch

i saw them that night. i saw all of them. but i couldn't stay, i couldn't stay or he'd kill me, he saw what i did, he knows what i know, i know what he did—

Mike Schmidt hired as replacement Night Watch

1998

Mike Schmidt protects a child from animatronics during night shift, almost dies; corporate claims it was an attempted robbery

Freddy's gains increased publicity and funding, begins renovation

2000

Fazbear Entertainment releases new Toy line of animatronics; ██████████ Industries discards majority of Funtime line

Freddy's reopens with new animatronics; Mike Schmidt promoted to Head Security Guard; Lucas promoted to Assistant Manager / Head Technician

it was tough calling corporate myself, the first few times. they'd scrub the whole place clean and the missing notice would go up, never to be answered. mike took their deaths hard. i understood. when i found one of them in the suit, saw them twitch, death rattle in their throat, i knew it would hurt mike more to watch them suffer. i did what i had to do. what i learned to do.

2002

Jeremy Jr. hired as replacement Night Guard

what the hell does this kid think he knows?

Attempted robbery at Freddy's goes wrong; Mike Schmidt shot and kidnapped

and the future is yet unwritten

[hellhoundslut]

Kinktober Day 8: Breeding

(Lucian is transmasc and uses he/him pronouns in this, Mars is genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns in this. If I see some misgendering, I'll fuck yall's Moms AND Dads!)

The creak of the bed frame was all that Mars could hear, aside from the stream of moans coming out of Lucian’s mouth. Their grin was wide and wicked as ever, their eyes glued to the spot where their cock pounded into Lucian’s soaked hole. Lucian’s eyes flutter with every thrust, constant groans filling the air as Mars continues to fill him. Mars leans down closer, pinning Lucian’s knees to his chest and his wrists in one hand. They hover just out of reach, laughing as Lucian tries to lean up to kiss them then whines when he realizes he’s not quite close enough. 

Mars’ hips soon speed up, heat and desire pooling in their balls, drawing them closer and closer to the edge. They can feel the same happening in Lucian as well; the way each thrust draws more wetness from him, how his moans grow more and more feral. Mars leans down, skirting just past Lucians lips to drag their sharpened teeth over his neck. 

“You’re close aren’t you?” Mars whispers in his ear. All Lucian can do is nod in return, not trusting his brain to come up with actual words. “I can tell darling,” Mars replies, “You’re fucking soaked and practically milking my cock. You want me to cum in you that badly?”

“Fuck yes!” Lucian cries out, another gush of wetness spilling onto Mars’ cock. It wasn’t his obvious desperation to cum that fought through his fog-addled brain, but the idea of being filled with Mars’ cum, to be bred and marked as theirs. It was enough to have him babbling and begging for it. “Please breed me! Please, I need your cum so much! Please!”

Mars’ eyes widen at the whimpering display from their lover, only fueling their arousal and need to fuck Lucian into oblivion. They bite down harder, sure to leave a mark but neither of them can find a reason to care. Mars slams into Lucian, their thrust growing erratic and stuttered as they pant into his neck. 

“Gonna fucking fill you up…stuff you full!” Mars growls through their teeth, Lucian’s moaning directly in their ear sending them over the edge. With a final slam of their hips and bite of their teeth, Mars bottoms out in Lucian and starts to cum, covering his cunt in their load. When Mars’ teeth break skin, Lucian cums with silent scream, his pussy clenched so tightly around Mars’ dick that they have no choice but to stay in place. 

Mars finally lets go of Lucian’s neck, their tongue on the bite mark sending a shiver down Lucian’s spine. They both lay there breathless, Lucian wrapping his arms around Mar’ body once his arms are finally free. Mars nuzzles into his neck, hands sliding over his chest and through his hair soothingly. Lucian shivers and whimpers again when Mars eventually pulls out, his eyes fluttering as he feels their cum slowly drip out of his pussy.

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

Okay so, Doctor Spriggan keeping Lucian captive, tied up as a good little victim, doing some sort of villain exposition monologue or simply doing doctor style sci fi babble. The moon, completely by coincidence, full. Lucian goes wolfy. Doctor Spriggan fascinated (presumably not having lived through the wetewolf episode). Something something dogs and sticks. Cool fight. Someone gets pinned to the wall of the cave. There is some sort of tension. The possibly alive victims trapped in plant matter deeply uncomfortable with where this is going.

I snorted coffee up my nose seeing the Doctor Spriggan thing, I don't know why that's so funny.

Sounds good! Let's see what I can write up!

Warning: kidnapping, lycan transformation, the Spriggan is a prick but he's a delight so it's sort of forgivable, kinda. Also, there are dead people being used as fuel in the room but that's... neither here nor there. Oh, and blood.

For those of you reading this but having read the first part, here's a link since this is gonna be a continuation.

On with the fic!

--

The kiss was a little rough, tasted like dirt, and was too damn familiar for Lucian to be comfortable with. He snarled and pulled his head back, disappointment clear as day on the Spriggan's face. "Why stop? You seemed into it."

"You cannot just kiss a man you don't know!" Lucian snapped at him.

"And yet you do know me though, that has to count for something."

"It does not when you are not the man that I know, Spriggan."

The creature sighed, crossing his arms. "I am the Doctor, just... a slightly different one. At least from the one you know, but I am still them, as they are me."

Lucian glared hard. "You are not the Time Lord that is my friend."

"Of course not, I'm not a Time Lord." The Spriggan said. "Well, not in the way your Doctor is. He is a Lord of Time, yes, as am I, seeing as I have a TARDIS, but I am also a Lord of Life."

He held out his hand, where leaves and small, white flowers bloomed and grew from his palm, only to wither and fall to the ground in seconds. Lucian watched this, before feeling the ground shift under his feet, and more roots shot up, snapping around his limps, forcing him to drop to the ground on his knees before the creature.

He looked up, seeing the Spriggan staring down at him, he swore he could see a glow to the thing's eyes. "I control this place with ease, the whole forest is mine. No one can leave without my permission, no one can enter without me knowing. I am always aware of any life here, and that includes yours, you mysterious, handsome stranger."

Lucian shivered at the cold touch against his cheek from the Spriggan's long, bony fingers. "Your life is so... strange, like that creature that had come into my home. It was alive, and yet dead, curious. A vampire, yes? A strange kind. What of you? You look human, but you're not quite... something more, yes. Something much, much more."

His smile showed teeth, and he was leaning in closer, turning Lucian's face this way and that. "What are you? Tell me your secrets and I may just let you leave without... too much taken from you, my sweet."

Throughout his journey through the woods, Lucian had felt the all-too familiar pull of the moon above him, hidden from sight by the thick treetops. He had not changed form due to the possibility of being spotted by the villagers, but even now, inside this abomination of a TARDIS, he could still feel her grasp on his true nature.

"You wish to know what I am, Spriggan?" Lucian asked, staring into those familiar, yet so-off eyes.

"I do." The smile was wider. "Tell me."

"What if I show you instead?" Lucian felt the change start, his eyes no longer hazel, instead pale as the full moon herself.

The Spriggan stared, tilting his head, before removing his hand from Lucian's face as he snarled and growled, his clothing tearing and falling to pieces off his torso. The roots wrapped around his limbs snapped and broke as he rose to his true height and in just a matter of moments, there was a lycan standing before a fae Doctor.

They stared at one another, before the Spriggan bared his teeth, throwing up his hand to shoot up roots and vines to ensnare Lucian. But these were easily dodged, and Lucian snapped his jaws, dropping to all fours so he could charge.

The Spriggan was quick for someone covered in bark and wood, moving just out of the way of Lucian's charge, grinning wildly. "Fascinating! A werewolf? Or something else, oh, I would love to see what I can take from you!"

More roots rose up from the ground, thrashing about to try and grab at the lycan, who ran and jumped about, even biting at a few to make them back off. He jumped on top of what he thought was a giant mushroom, but it felt too solid, almost metallic under his paws.

He looked at the Spriggan, who held up a hand, pointing a finger at Lucian. There was a still tension in the air, before a harsh howl of pain came from the beast as the finger suddenly extended to an impossible length to impale him in the side.

The finger retracted back to its normal length and the Spriggan brought it to his mouth, licking at the blood. "Did you know that blood and flesh make for delicious food for plants? Just as you enjoy the use of their bodies, they enjoy the use of yours. Think you can provide for my TARDIS if you bleed out here?"

Lucian growled and clutched at his side, already feeling the wound start to heal. He jumped from the weird mushroom and moved fast once more on all his paws, slamming his head right into the creature, hearing him shout.

He rammed him right into the wall, moving fast to pin the Spriggan to it with his clawed hands. Lucian could sense someone looking at him, a quick glance to the side indicated that, oh fuck, there was someone alive in one of those strange chambers around the room. The poor, young human looked close to death, yet their discomfort seemed to be drawn towards himself and the squirming creature under him.

Lucian looked away.

"You're... hhh... you're a lot stronger like this, little man." The Spriggan tried to laugh as he struggled to get out of the powerful hold. "But remember, I can still pin you down easily too."

Lucian was grabbed by roots around his legs, but that didn't stop him from doing his best to stand his ground. He growled, showing his fangs to the alternate version of his Doctor, who just looked amused, almost... fascinated. It was creepy how much that reminded him of his friend.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful... how to make you mine..." He mumbled quietly.

Suddenly, Lucian was shoved forward, pinning the Spriggan against the wall with his body now, something thick and wooden pushing on his back.

"Oh, this could be a start." The Spriggan chuckled, licking his lips. "You're going to be so entertaining to me. You know, I rather like human faerie tales, probably because I am one to them. Are you one as well? Hm? The big bad wolf?"

Lucian felt the tip of a massive root push his head down, he was much closer to the other's face now.

"Are you going to eat me, Mr. Wolf?" He asked. "Will I taste so sweet to you?"

Lucian hoped the human trapped next to them was finally drained of their life, he was sure they did not need to see whatever was going to happen next.

--

Spriggan can extend parts of his body apparently, he literally stabs a woman in the heart with his finger from across the room.

Also, I think these two are gonna hate fuck, I have no idea where this is going, but I feel like the Spriggan is trying to get it to go in that direction.

[sincerelyrushwriter]

Chapter 22: Hunger Without End

Just off the coast of Dover, England. 3:21 pm

She opened her eyes. Darkness. She was still in the box, but there were sounds around her, rocking beneath her. The movement of a ship.

Someone was walking on wooden boards, circling the box, tapping what sounded like paper against a palm. She held her breath, listening, her first instinct regrettably that of fear. The last time she had woken in one of these boxes, the cover had been wrenched off, followed by Rena dragging her from its interior.

She looked down, spying the empty bottle where it had rolled into the corner. The effects were not as strong as Bikavér, but she still had a faint headache. Her knees were getting sore. The walls of the box were too close. Suppressing the fear, she spoke out calmly…

"Is that you, Lyosha?"

Her prowler said nothing, but from the right, she heard a muffled laugh, the babble of water that was Sabine. She breathed, some of her fears melting away. The girl might be precocious, but the gift of the comb, however illicit, had more or less softened her heart towards her.

From inside, she knocked against the side of the safe-box, the black cloth muffling the sound of the wood. "Sabine," she murmured cordially, using the familiar form of Russian address. "…if you please, I am trying to sleep. Ask Lyosha to stop being so loud."

The girl must have been sitting on the same level, for she heard the laughter multiply, the sound of a seated girl rolling back as if the humour were too much for her. Through the wood, she heard Sabine stand, the rustle of cloth followed by the soft knock of two feet landing upon her box. Reinette looked up. The girl was standing directly above her, facing what certainly must be Lucian. Had he forgiven her yet for arguing with him in the tunnel?

"Lyosha," the girl declared boldly in Russian. "…you are too loud. Be quiet."

"You are too short. Grow a little."

Hearing the rolling sarcasm of Lucian, she felt her lips stretch further by a very small margin. There he was. Sarcastic bastard. Until he answered, she had mildly considered that it might be Raze on the other side, in which case, she was antagonising a lycan over two times her size.

Sabine's voice piped up again. "Can she come out?"

"Not yet."

Prelude: An Underworld Fanfiction.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/749807/chapters/8198495

Source

https://unsplash.com/photos/x3s0hLzxew8?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

John Cuneo, Mar-a-Lago Sewage :: [Robert Scott Horton]

* * * * *

Trump's spiral staircase: down, down, down he goes, where he stops, nobody knows

LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV

JUN 20, 2023

Who knew that the name of a two-bit spray-tanned Fox News hack would be destined to be mentioned alongside the David Frost interview of Richard Nixon as a classic of the genre, but it appears that is where yesterday’s Bret Baier “Special Report” interview with Donald Trump is headed.  Well known celebrity interviewer Frost asked Nixon whether the president could do something illegal, such as taking action against certain anti-war groups “if he decides it’s in the best interest of the country or something,” to which Nixon infamously responded, “Well, when the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.”  Forty-five million television viewers watched that night, a record for the largest audience for a political interview in history.

A much, much smaller audience was watching Fox last night when Trump claimed, for what must have been at least the thousandth time, “First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot, okay?  Let’s get that straight.”  Baier, holding a sheaf of paper that appeared to have lists not only of questions, but of facts, pushed back by reciting a long list of evidence to the contrary: “There were recounts in all the swing states.  There was not significant evidence of fraud,” to which Trump replied, “We were trying to get recounts, real recounts, not just numbers of votes cast.” 

Baier forged ahead: “There were lawsuits, more than 50 of them, in front of judges you appointed, that came up with no evidence, no evidence, and they looked at every potential case of voter fraud in six battleground states, and they found fewer than 475 cases.”  Trump, babbling over Baier the whole time: “You know why?  They weren’t looking at the right things.  They were counting ballots, not the authenticity of ballots.  The ballots were fake ballots.  This was a very rigged election.” 

But it was when Baier got into the meat of last week’s indictment of Trump for improperly removing and then mishandling top secret government documents, that the interview really went off the rails for Trump.  Baier asked him when he was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice for the documents he held at Mar a Lago, “Why not just hand them over then?” 

I wish you could hear Trump’s tone, which resembled nothing more or less than the voice of a little boy who had been caught with a rock in his hand standing on the lawn of a house with a broken window: “Because I had boxes! I wanted to go through the boxes, and get all my personal things out…(sputters)…I don’t want to hand that over to NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) yet, and I was very busy, as you have sort have seen.”  A B-roll of the indictment appears on the screen as Baier tirelessly presses on: “But according to the indictment, you then tell this aide to move [boxes] to other locations, after telling your lawyers to say that you had fully complied with the subpoena when you hadn’t.”  Trump looks frantic: “Before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out.  These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things…uh…golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes…there were many things…” 

Baier manages to intersperse a short question, “Iran war plans?” Here's Trump’s face as he hears the question: “Not that I know of!  Not that I know of!”

Baier then turns to the Iran war plan document referred to in the indictment in the transcript of a recording of an interview with ghost writers for Trump’s final chief of staff, Mark Meadows, made at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in 2021.  “The Iran attack plan. You remember that.  You were recorded.”  Baier continues, reading from his typed notes: “The indictment says, the recording and the testimony from people in the room say you showed it to people in the room there, that day.  You say on tape, that you can’t declassify it, so why have it?”

“There was no document,” Trump asserts. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn’t have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories, and articles.”

“I’m just saying what the indictment says, there were people in the room, who testified…”

“These people are very dishonest people.  They’re thugs.  They’re thugs.  If you look at what they’ve done to other people…”

Tobias Barrington Wolff, the Jefferson Barnes Fordham Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, Carey School of Law, posted on his Facebook page a primer in the law, describing exactly what happened in Trump’s interview with Baier.  Helpfully referring to Trump as “the grifter,” Wolff explained:  “The only way the grifter's own spoken words could be forcibly used against him at trial is if he chose to do exactly what he is now doing: talk obsessively about the charges against him on camera at rallies and in interviews, hoping that his weaponized narcissistic bluster would once again allow him to escape accountability. Your Fifth Amendment right protects you against being ‘compelled’ to incriminate yourself; it poses no barrier if you want to bull your way in front of a camera and insist on doing so. And one of the main exceptions to the hearsay rule is a statement made by the party himself, which is helpfully referred to as an ‘admission’. The category of admissions is a broad exception to the hearsay rule. It means that other witnesses, like his former lawyers or Walt Nauta, could testify at trial to the things the grifter said to them while executing the conspiracy to obstruct justice. And it means recordings of the grifter's own out-of-court statements can be used to establish the elements of his offenses. It is just that, in a normal criminal trial, the prosecution does not have video of the defendant's own incriminating statements. But the grifter is helpfully providing those video admissions with every campaign speech and every interview he gives to a right-wing news outlet.”

The Florida magistrate in the case against Trump issued an order earlier on the same day of Trump’s interview with Baier forbidding him from disclosing “the Discovery Materials or their contents directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense, persons who are interviewed as potential witnesses, counsel for potential witnesses, and other persons to whom the Court may authorize disclosure.”  The magistrate went on to warn that disclosure of discovery material “may result in contempt of court or other civil or criminal sanctions.”

It is unknown at the time of this writing if any of Trump’s interview, particularly the part involving the Iran attack plans, amounted to disclosure of “discovery materials.”  It is known, however, that pretty much the entire interview, from beginning to end, may one day end up as evidence in trials of Donald Trump in the classified documents case as well as any potential case the Special Counsel files against him for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

[gnattyplayssims]

1935 Pt1 - A Lonely Birth

Back in Henford the Mizrahi's were catching up, "Things seem to be getting much better for you, Kinley."

"It is. Of couse it's been hard with mom passing and Gabe's arrest, but Lucian's been such a rock" She nodded toward her husband.

"Just doing my job as a husband"

Little Rosalie started to cry and Lucian excused himself from the conversation. He was grateful for the excuse as he knew his wife was about to get mushy. "Hey little bean, what's going on?"

She babbled an explanation and he just nodded.

"Why don't we go find Ivy, hmm?"

"Ya, ya"

Rosalie found Ivy playing with Belle in the sitting room. She patted Belle on the head and the cat hugged her. "What're you munchkins up to?" William looked at the two charmers and could barely hold back his smile.

"Daddy, mu mu" Ivy pointed at the the object of her desire

William crossed to the GrammyFone and Ivy clapped excitedly as the music flooded the room. "Are we having a dance party?" Lizzie peeked into the room

"Come on Mrs. Pigulock let's show them how it's done!" he pulled her against him and the babies laughed as he twirled her around"

Soon everyone was in the sitting room. Esther was making excuses for why her husband and the twins weren't there. Reuben was trying to connect with Esther's "too cool" son Samuel. And Rachel...was 8-going-on-13 and eventually decided to just go sleep off her emotional meltdown

Soon all the guests left and despite trying to fight how tired she was, Ivy eventually passed out. Lizzie found her and brought her back to her bed. "Night sweetpea"

Lizzie felt a little dizzy as she straightened. "Aight Mommy?"

"Mommy thinks Ivy might be a big sister soon."

Lizbeth really hoped it wasn't true. Things were hard enough without another baby. But she needed to know for sure. Her heart dropped, it was true. She took a deep breath. Okay this wasn't the end of the world. She liked being a mom, things would be tight but they would be okay.

"Will...I'm pregnant"

He paused "Um okay. That's...not part of the plan...I guess we'll figure it out." She worried her lip "Come here." She sat beside him "We had a plan but we can adjust it. It'll be hard but we'll love him just as much"

"Him? We don't know"

"I'm believing!"

Back in Evergreen, Anabelle was trying to come to terms with her own pregnancy. She had gone home until she started to show too much and then left before they could find out. Now alone at the Harbor Station she was trying her hardest to stay positive.

"Are you homeless?"

The lady waiting across from her watched with a frown. The baby sleeping next to her calmed Anabelle a little and she nodded "We were homeless when Astrid was born. It's a hard place to be." The woman gave some much needed advice until her husband returned with their tickets.

The stranger had told her of a midwife that ran an orphanage in Conifer Station. She had just enough money to get a bed at the Station for the night and a train ticket for the next morning. She went to bed that night feeling better than she had since she had left Kye.

Anabelle took the train to Conifer Station the next morning and met Maci the Midwife at the Canal Corner Orphanage. "Don't worry dear, you're safe here. Whatever the situation and whatever your plans, I'll help you get through it."

Relief flooded Anabelle at the woman's words.

For the next 5 months Maci helped her through all the stages of her pregnancy. Giving her advice on how to be more comfortable and letting her talk when all the changes and choices became too much. She even had a chance to work on her parenting skill by helping with the children.

One night Anabelle woke up to her first contractions. "Okay Anabelle," She breathed, "Okay, you've planned for this. Okay okay okay" She tried to breathe but as the contractions became closer together she knew, whether she was ready or not she was in labor. "Maci! It's time!"

Maci sat with Anabelle until the sun came up. "Wait why are you leaving."

"Don't worry dear, there's still time. I have to feed the babies and give the children some instructions. I'll be checking on you and I'll be here when it's time. Just keep breathing."

Then she was alone.

Maci checked on Anabelle but for the most part she was left alone with nothing but haunting thoughts. Hezekiah should have been there. It should have been him holding her hand. Him telling her she was doing great. Him waiting outside the door for news that his child was born

"Anabelle." She wasn't certain when Maci had returned but she was holding her face. "You have to stay focused. Keep breathing"

"I can't do this!"

"You can, come on dear, breathe. It's almost time to push. "I need...I need...him"

"You don't. You can do it without him. Breathe"

Maci helped her out of her clothes "Okay dear, we're almost there. Just a little longer."

"I can't do this! I can't be a mom. I can't take care of it. I want you-

"Shh. You don't need to make any decisions right now. Let's just focus on a healthy baby first."

Despite Maci's encouragement Anabelle shook her head. "No, no, it'll be safer here. It'll have food and shelter. I can't. I can't-"

"Okay it's time to push." Anabelle did as she was told. "It's a boy!"

"A boy?!" Tears filled her eyes at the word. She had a son.

Maci handed her the baby and she held him close. She had never felt so much love. Her son was there in her arms. She ran her fingers over his skin, so dark...like his father's. Pain filled her. Something was wrong. Maci took her son and the world began to fade.

"Anabelle!"

1935 Pt2 - A New Camp

[littlcfreaks]

worry is tearing through him on a level that he didn't know he had - the hair on the back of his neck is standing straight up and his heart is pounding in his chest. neither of these are unusual reactions to cruz being in his arms. what is unusual is instead of butterflies, his gut is twisted into something else that he usually only feels about himself, "okay, when'd you last eat, baby?" he's fully willing to have to trick him into eating at some point if he has to, beg even. he thinks that he would do anything to never see him look like this again. he really doesn't know if cruz should be smoking, but he does know that it typically makes him feel better, more relaxed and lucian is more than willing to try anything, "okay. i'll roll up inside." he lets cruz lead him around, his movements almost robotic and lucian just sinks deeper into the pit of worry. he doesn't let it show on his face, doesn't let cruz see that he's bothered at all by this new show of emotion - even if he is. its not that lucian doesn't want cruz to share this with him, he wants to be able to fix it. lucian stays close to him, hands moving to cup his face as he starts babbling. he lets his voice drop lower, "hey, hey, hey - shhhh," lips press to his forehead, "first off, i don't give a shit what we do as long as you don't kick me out, okay?" just let me be here for you. he wants to say, but he doesn't want to make this about something else, "second, that's exactly what we're gonna do, but first - we need supplies."

he thought about sending cruz off to the room alone, but honestly, he didn't want to be apart from him. something in his brain was yelling at him that it was wrong that they be apart right now. instead he leads cruz to the kitchen, only letting go of him to gather a few bottles of water and some snacks - even though cruz said he wasn't hungry, lucian will try to make him eat something at some point. "bud in your room?" but he knows it is, so without really waiting for an answer, he jerks his head towards the bedroom, "lets go lay down, baby."

arms wrap around him and it's a strange feeling, one he's not quite used to. his siblings had hugged him maybe once or twice, but as a whole they weren't a very affectionate family. comfort from them was usually found in a look, a subtle hand on the shoulder. this was new. it's nice, comforting, warm. it makes him want to unravel completely, let it all out. but in the same breath it almost makes him want to tell lucian to go for no other reason than he's afraid to let the other male see him like this. knows it's just the start of a decline that happens every time without fail. wonders how long it'll be before he starts questioning everything, before he convinces himself lucian couldn't possibly love him. " i'm not hungry, " quietly retorts, stomach turns at the thought despite being empty. " but smoking sounds good. " hand find's lucian's, doesn't even realize how tightly he's holding on as he guides them to the house, let's them both inside. somehow his chest feels heavier when the door is closed over, nowhere to hide what he's feeling. " m-maybe we should just get some sleep. i'm tired, and i— shit, sorry. i know we were supposed to hang out, but do you think we can just lay down ? " truth be told, he isn't sure how to do this in front of someone else. is trying to push off the heaviness that tends to wash over him after spending time at his old home, but it always seems to push him down, engulf him. it's perhaps his oldest friend, there from the start.

[unnocturnal]

alright so i have a little HEADCANON im sorry this is messy

CW: FAMILIAL DEATH

what if sebastian was in his dads custody after they got divorced. and later so robin and demetrius get together and have maru. but then suddenly his dad dies so he has to go live with robin. which fuels sebastians hesitance to get closer with demetrius because he was essentially thrown into seeing this guy he barely knew as his new dad when his JUST died and hes scared of getting close because he doesn’t wanna replace his OG dad so he comes up w petty reasons to hate demetrius… and demetrius recognizes this and decides to keep his distance bcs thats what sebastian looks like he wants and he wants to respect his son’s wishes!! but it just turns into a feedback loop of misunderstandings and maybe along the way demetrius recognizes this as well and is like hey, this is kind of not working, do you wanna talk? do you need help? but sebastian is stubborn and still doesnt like him… it explains why he doesn’t mention him in his dialogue since he honestly doesn’t know him that well but WISHES he did and he gushes about maru bcs duh ur child is interested in the same field of work u r how can u not be excited and ALSO shes a woman of color in the stem field so obvi she’s a fucking chad for that AND GUESS WHAT ELSE TIES INTO MY LIL HC SO seb doesnt like maru because he’s jealous that she still has her father figure in her life and that her life is perfect because her parents are still together, she’s smart and pretty and friendly and basically the Epitome of everything sebastian WISHED he had so ofc hes gonna be mean to her ab it and it also explains why its mostly one sided cuz maru wants to get close to him but sebastian is just bein a lil shit thinking emoji 🤔

[alientoastt]

ok i drew that tim like two (?) nights ago and havent drawn anything really since then but what if. what if i draw tim in mollymauk’s clothes. i miss that purple fuck

[percyinpanties]

since we’re already on the topic… what I like: bi headcanons of characters from my favourite shows what I don’t like: bi headcanons for the sole purpose of m|m fetishism. bashing female characters who get anywhere near said bi characters.

[saturdaylemon]

Take all the time you need! And please ping me when you expand on those thoughts - if you don't mind.

Okay, back to designing.

I'm moderately opposed to making the Shades talk for previously mentioned reasons, but I could see giving "X speaks of Y" style summaries in the action popup. They're not really the people who died (or almost died), more like impression fossils. The lights are on, but nobody's home. We think.

The Ku Flame

Your idea for Hikari are a worthy inclusion, the only question is how. And the answer to that depends on how the fight works. If I were programming a game I'd be more inclined to do a mostly-standard boss fight with some extra narrative. If I were writing a fic, however, the 2v2 with Path Actions, Talents, and Latents all getting involved would be easier to pull off in that format. The quote would be something like "Ageha, you are relieved of duty!" In a more standard boss fight it fits better as "entering second phase" or maybe post-boss dialogue. In the 2v2 narrative puzzle it can be a Full Boost quote. It really only makes sense to say once; and maybe Ageha's Shade could seem to respond to it? You probably get prompted to activate Light's Radiance for the final blow.

Ageha's Shade shouldn't get minions. He was a general in life, but like you said, he's the last vestiges of the old Ku. He doesn't have an army anymore. On a side note I want this guy to yell "FIX BAYONETS" so bad but guns aren't available yet. Need to pick out a Boost message, a Boost Attack, regular moveset because it can't be all support... so everything. Definitely gets Rally Troops or a similar move by the same name though.

Tanzy was an aspiring playwright, but it seems she never published. In Giselle's troupe she served as director, so it could be fun (more fun in a standard boss fight where there are more characters) to let her Shade mess around with turn order. Like, oh, you were setting Hikari up to counter Ageha's shields off? Haha no the adds just got moved to the top of the round and used up the Vengeful Blade stacks, Ageha's Shade is shouting orders, and Tanzy's Shade is about to hand you your ass. Speaking of adds, the most obvious basis is the other troupe members... but Tanzy pretty conclusively left them behind. Another possibility is to reference her unpublished scripts with unfinished marionettes, or if we want to have some fun, give Tanzy's Shade the same minions as Arcanette. Tanzy begins praying.... -> BREAK HER SHADE NOW! If this is a 2v2, Ruinous Kick makes sense as the Boost Attack because that's half your dudes. In a more standard fight, the Boost Attack should be something a bit more powerful. Regular moveset has the summon, the turn rearrange, probably a buff or two, and maybe a physical attack that inflicts something.

Agnea's Boost quote is mostly babbled interrogatives.

The Crackridge Flame

Ori's Shade is weak to Polearm/Dagger/Bow/Fire. Guess why. (some kind of Light element attack because come on it's in her name) Stop the Presses! / So Tired: inflicts Speed Extremely Down Dear Diary: equivalent to the Merchant job's Rest. Name does not change after Ori's Shade is broken for the first time. Ori can't do this anymore. -> this is gonna hurt

The Final Night sounds like it should be the Boost Attack for Lucian's Shade, but it would also be really funny to have it be the weakest attack. We'd need to name Lucian's other works to name the Shade's attacks... think we could crib Nearer the Flame from the Stormlight Archive? Lucian retrieves a notebook.... -> this is gonna hurt slightly less

Temenos starts going through all of Lucian's works, trying to line them up with the Shade's attacks, and Osvald is experiencing the internal conflict between "not my SpIn, not my problem" and the knowledge that it is Very Much His Problem. Castti is probably in the background like "oh shit I have seen that girl before."

Osvald will offer to explode the person responsible even if you hit Crackridge after Flamechurch. There is no expiration date on Grandpa Blast.

The Toto'haha Flame

Hm, fair point. I figured Castti's usual Slightly Unhinged Boost quotes fit the emotional charge well enough, but this wouldn't be that long after Trousseau. The metaphorical wound is still raw. She could have a Boost quote demanding that the Apothecary's Shade get out of her way. It can't understand her, but she doesn't know that. We could give the apothecary a name, but it also works to leave him completely unknown. Just another cooling body.

Keep the Grotesque Monster's weaknesses (Axe/Bow/Ice/Light), mostly physical moveset since the Apothecary's Shade is handing out debuffs. Give it the Grotesque Monster's Piercing Cry, because if I heard someone like Petrichor start screaming out of nowhere I would be pretty freaked out. Petrichor gives off an ominous aura! -> Apply axe to face, repeat. Hunt the Weak: single target physical, damage increases with number of debuffs and afflictions on target. This is kind of a dark mirror of Drastic Measures, but it works.

Someone's Shade is passing out every negative effect in the game. Bow weakness works, maybe also Dagger and something else for game balance I dunno.

Ochette's Full Boost quote for this fight is "I can't forgive you!"

At some point Temenos makes the connection between some of Petrichor's comments and Roi's disappearance, promptly flips out.

The Flamechurch Flame

The design philosophy here is basically OKAY EVERYONE, PUT ON YOUR ARCANETTE HATS, TODAY WE ARE BEING MEAN TO TEMENOS! And part of that is making him watch two of the most important people in his life aid and protect their killer. So that's 3 and 4. 3 has the extra gutpunch of making him wait for the other shoe to drop.

Crick's Shade can keep his playable moveset. Weak to Sword/Staff/Dark. You know why. Crick is watching Temenos.... -> For a moment, a player could mistake this for a "skip a turn" message, maybe a hint that the people who left the Shades behind are still in there (this is intended to be perceived in-universe)... NOPE THAT'S THE BOOST MESSAGE. Also a callback to the Felvarg. Should we make Crick's Shade have a Boost Attack that sacrifices itself, or is that too limiting in Mean To Temenos potential?

Pontiff Jörg's Shade gets the Standard Cleric Weaknesses of Sword/Dagger/Axe/Dark. It has reason to use the Cleric moveset, but I was thinking we could nab something else from the Claude fight and give it Reflective Veil from the OT1 Cleric. Also, Lock Away. The move that prevents the target from recieving aid or items from any other party member. (And a slight nod to Whatever Was Up With Alpates.) Starts battle by using it on Temenos.

(Balance-wise, Temenos can break Crick with his base kit but not the Pontiff partially because this works with the story - Temenos hitting Crick's worldview with a metaphorical sledgehammer vs That's Your Dad - and partially because between Temenos' Latent and Throné turning into a protective blender it's probably fine.)

Throné uses her "Sorry, but I won't hold back!" Max Boosting quote for this fight, but even using the same voice clip it's meant to come off in a slightly different light. (You ever think about how her HP Thief bark is a sarcastic "You're too kind." and her "healed by Temenos" bark is a much more genuine "You're too kind, Temenos"? Because I have.) Temenos tries to talk himself out of a breakdown when Max Boosting. He fails. Possibly devolving from "keep it together, that isn't really him" early in the fight to beaten-dog whimpering in the second phase.

2v2 narrative puzzle ramble One reason I'm more inclined to use this for a fic is that the Journey For The Dawn locks you out of your daytime Path Actions. Sun's not rising. In writing, there's less trouble with carving out an exception in the game mechanics. The idea I had was that the Shade battles would yank the corresponding travelers into a sort of dream space where it isn't day exclusive or night. Kind of like a cross between Temenos' "The truth lies in the flame" Detective Vision thing and whatever was going on while Hikari duked it out with his shadow. (Said shadow: "Not me this time. I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole.") From the outside, the two fighting appear to be asleep standing up, twitching and mumbling as if caught in a particularly vivid dream. Temenos "Commitment to the bit" Mistral sees two people snap out of that trance for the first time and immediately goes "Welcome back. ^_^" Throné may or may not be winding up to smack him.

This also works with having both the Arcanette fight and the Shade fight at Flamechurch. Arcanette certainly looks like she could cast Spell of Really Bad Trip. Basically Throné and Temenos are in the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Boss Fight while everyone else is trying very hard to kill Arcanette with hammers.

Back to Path Actions, I still don't know how all of those would work. Going down the list

Agnea: Entreat to get "Tanzy" to show you her journal works, Allure doesn't. Both these people have chosen their paths. Hikari: Challenge is a little redundant but potentially serviceable, Bribe less so.

Partitio: Purchase and Hire could both work for trying to coax "Ori" back to the land of the living. Purchasing a paper moreso. Osvald: Trying to get at Lucian's notes fits Scrutinize or Mug, although Mug is again redundant. Let him see that!

Ochette: Provoke is already happening, especially with Petrichor's Shade dropping everything to focus Ochette down if she summons one of the Creatures of Legend. Befriend is... not happening. Petrichor can starve. (Party pretty sure this is the first time they're heard Ochette curse.) Castti: Inquiring to get the unknown apothecary's name so the party can effectively lay him to rest is kind of sweet. In that vein, Soothe has already been done with Malaya and also believe her she's trying!

Temenos: Guide has also been done already, and Coerce is not only kind of already happening but isn't going to work on Shades. Sorry, Temenos, no chances to say goodbye for you. Throné: Stealing in combat is already part of the Thief kit (also pickpocketing Temenos' family in front of him is Not Cool Dude). Ambush is OP in anything resembling an actual fight, so that's another no.

So we're 4/16, 5.5/16 with partial credit included. Unless you have better ideas. Still wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Latent Powers, Talents, and EX Skills though...

All Together Now... probably not. Dance Session maybe. Song of Hope a more positive maybe Learned Skills would be great if this were Jin Mei's Shade. See Light's Radiance prompt above.

Hilarious though Negotiate Schedule may be, nothing of Partitio's really works here. Teach... maybe?

Indomitable Beast into Beastly Fangs looks fun. Or Indomitable Beast into Provoke Beasts. Get her ass, fellas! Concoct has potential for showing the Apothecary's Shade how it's done... except it's mindless.

Moonlight Judgement: hehehe. Could have it not proc at the start of battle, wait until Temenos pulls himself together enough to effectively fight the Shades. This works better in the Arcanette + Shades version of the fight. Prayer for Plenty and Heavenly Shine both have story potential. Blessing of Darkness: "Consider the following: mine's better." Veil of Darkness is also good here.

Took "standard class weaknesses" from the Dolcinea fight with Love's Marionette, for the record.

Things about Octopath Traveler 2 that I think about WAY too much 2/????

Under the cut for late game spoilers, loose and speculative nonsense

So the four sacred flames and their connections with the gods connected to each one.

Brand and Sealticge to the Ku Flame

Alephan and Bifelgan to the Crackridge Flame

Dohter and Draefendi to the Toto'haha Flame

And Aelfric and Aeber to the Flameschurch Flame

Going to go ahead and put it out there, that my head canon is that the Moonshade order successfully completed the sacrifices line out in the Book of Night in this manner: Pontiff Jorg (Cleric, Temenos chapter 1), unnamed apothecary in Canalbrine (Temenos Chapter 2), scholar in Canalbrine (who's name I don't remember, also from Temenos Chapter 2) Tanzy (dancer/Sealticge aligned), Petrichor (Hunter), Ageha (Warrior), Ori (merchant), and Crick (Thief, as mentioned in some dialogue in Stormhail about his background).

I feel like, in a lot of ways, these flames would have been great spots for boss fights. I feel like, for a game like Octopath Traveler 2, just getting to relight the flames with ease was a bit too easy. There's a couple of different routes I personally would have taken with them.

Option 1 (least favorite) - the party fights a shadow creature of some type (excluding in Flameschurch because there is already a boss fight there). Alternatively, remix the chosen travelers' final chapter boss fight.

Option 2 - the party fights the shadows of the sacrifices associated with that flames gods (so Ku would be Ageha and Tanzy, Crackridge would be Ori and the scholar from Temenos Chapter 2, Toto'haha would be Petrichor and that unnamed apothecary from Temenos's Chapter 2, and Flameschurch (after Arcanette), would be Crick and the Pontiff (not a fun fight for Temenos especially)). Standard boss fights would be cool, but you could go a step further and have it a two on two fight with the chosen travelers against those shadows where path actions and skills came into play in defeating the shadows. Also makes the relighting of the flames a bit more personal. You've got potential either way with this option for some really cool character exploration and thematic resolution. This one is probably my personal favorite.

Option 3 - the party (or just the chosen travelers for that flame) fight the gods themselves (as a test). There's a few ways to do this too: 1. fight images of the gods. 2. the statues of the gods by the flames come to life and you fight those, not dissimilar to Osvald's chapter 4 fight with the Golem. 3. You fight a being of combined powers of the two gods, a strange and otherworldly combination of Alephan and Bifelgan for example, staff and scales in hand, plying magic and calling allies, making it rain in leaves as easily as flashes of magic lightning, or Brand and Sealticge (which I think would look something akin to Hinoekagura). This is also a personal favorite just to see how when faced with the gods, our travelers might act, when within the world itself the gods are mostly pretty hands off. The situation with Vide is an urgent one, and I think the gods would be willing to test their chosen in the final hour to make sure that they are truly ready.

I just think it would have been neat

[charlottedabookworm]

sparklecryptid replied to your post “i’m not saying that i feel the need to give Cor all the children but...”

*join me in giving cor all the Kids*

you have convinced me

this is Virtus, named after the god of bravery and military strength, and he is a cor kid who got his dads eyes and fangs (and messy hair if Cor was ever to grow his out)

he was born from a teenage-hood fling of Cor’s

i’m thinking he’s a part of a time travel au? or maybe a soulmate thing? or possibly both? i dunno i just get that sort of feeling from him, he’s not a normal au type of guy