#man i realized she doesn't like a lot of people XD

[doorhine]

One of many things I like about Blue Eye Samurai is how it portrays its disabled characters. There's a lot to talk about with each of them but for this post, I want to talk about, not the step dad, but the dad who stepped up, Sword Father!

*Spoilers below

Him and Mizu's relationship is one of my favorite dynamics in the show and seeing how that developed over the years was one of my favorite things about the pilot. It felt very symbiotic and good for the both of them emotionally to have that company and support, especially on Mizu's end.

I really liked seeing how the two worked together and how Mizu accommodated to his needs. I also liked the respect given to Sword Father's ability to take care of himself as an adult even without Mizu's assistance. He's been blacksmithing for years and he's respected in his line of work. Losing his sight did not and does not change that.

I personally think the show does a good job at balancing the reality of him being blind and the accommodations he needs while also respecting him as an autonomous individual and talking about his blindness in a way that feels natural and respectful when it's relevant.

But my favorite thing about this dynamic and Sword Father as an individual is probably the use of audio design in the show in relationship to them. As we see the two of them become a family, and develop this language with each other/way of interacting, sound becomes a key element and that carries over into the entire show.

Being blind, Sword Father relies a lot on his hearing. But we as the audience don't just see this aspect of his character. We're actually made to hear from his perspective and apply that sense to how we perceive the entire season even when he's not present.

The most obvious example is the sound of metal which is used to indicate things like:

Mizu revealing to Sword Father that she forged her sword from the meteorite they found before the camera pans up to the space it used to occupy

The symbolism around Mizu and mixed metal in general

Sword Father realizing that Mizu's at his front door when Ringo brings her and Taigen there which revealed to us, the audience, where Ringo brought them before we see Sword Father come on screen (I loved that moment so much)

and emphasizing the moment of shock the characters in the show had when they heard the sound of gunshots for the first time in the finale in contrast to the clang of swords that we as the audience have gotten so used to hearing.

But the reliance on hearing doesn't just apply to that. In the second episode Mizu encounters Chiaki, a man from her past who she defeats in the present. And you know the biggest tip off the show gives us to recognize him before he reveals himself? His laugh. A noise we would've recalled from the flashbacks he was featured in.

LIKE I JUST THINK THAT'S SO FRIGGIN COOL XD

There's a lot more that can be said about Sword Father and how the show portrays him and his blindness. I personally can't speak on this as a blind person so I'd love to hear what people who are think about it. These are just my 2 cents that I felt like sharing.

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake: Bоnus Stаge (spoilers!!)

Love For Love's Sake (Love Supremacy Zone): bonus stagе is a short spin-off story from the author of the original novel, released in June 2024 (after the drama series). It's about 19yo Tae Myungha (from Game World) being transferred into the future and him slowly realizing how 29yo Myungha has been living happy 10 years with Cha Yeowoon and friends.

I promised to keep talking about it and thank you, guys, for enabling me xD Before translating bits from chapters, here's the full summary of everything that happened in this story – for those of you who are not that patient and don't fear spoilers :] I'll put them under more anyway so those who don't want to read the summary won't read them accidentally!

Warnings: suicidal intentions

Let me know your thoughts about this spinoff *д*

Love for Love's Sake: Bonus Stage (summary)

"If your life was a book, what would you want it be about?" "How would the first chapter begin and what sentence would be the last one?" "I wish it was about love."

19yo Myungha (so before canon timeline) is playing games in PC cafe. He doesn't really have money but wants to spend time so he wouldn't have to live it

On the crossroad, he sees a child running before the signal changes, and he jumps to save them but instead of getting hit, he feels like falling. He sees sunbae who pushes him. Message [World has been changed] appears.

Myungha finds himself in the arms of a handsome man who knows him - but he doesn't know this man. Myungha runs away but the man is faster.

[Mission: Make Tae Myungha happy.] [Reward: Memory] [Clear until (0%) ♥♥♥♥♥] [Penalty: Can't return to the original timeline]

Myungha is diagnosed with amnesia. He should be 29yo now, so he just goes along. Yeowoon decides to start over again and introduces himself.

Yeowoon and Myungha have been living together for 6 years and dating for 10 years. 19-Myungha is shocked to know this.

Ahn Sia, Kyunghoon and Sangwon immediately run to check whether Myungha is okay, 19-Myungha is shocked that people worry about him and they've been friends for 10 years.

Yeowoon asked if Myungha would hypothetically date him - just to make sure - but he still wouldn't let Sangwon in before others come (he's sooo jealous)

Sangwon finds younger Myungha a lot of fun, Yeowoon wants to fight with him. Others come, so they try to figure out what's happening.

29yo Myungha is a teacher respected by kids. The girl in his class wanted to kill herself so she went to the rooftop, Myungha ran after her but ended up falling down, and Yeowoon caught him (19-Myungha)

Sia is a shopping mall CEO and a popular influencer now, Kyunghoon does photography/filming professionally, Sangwon introduces himself as 'the one who Myungha rejected when he was 18yo'.

Everyone wants to have chicken and beer but 19-Myungha is a minor so they have chicken and cola and a group sleepover at Myungha/Yeowoon's house :]

Yeowoon tried to sleep with Myungha in one bed but eventually ran away to the living room, flustered.

They all decide to do a trip down the memory lane, since Myungha is "having amnesia".

Yeowoon is a gold medalist now, and many kids go to Shinyeop school now because he made it prestigious.

They visit old Yeowoon's house, and Yeowoon quietly tells him they had kissed here for the first time (on the stairs) 19-Myungha is flustered because he feels feelings that he doesn't know the source of. But he never had his first kiss, never thought about ideal type or love so he's can't stop thinking about it. He tried to take Yeowoon's hand but ran out of time.

After this trip, in the car Myungha clears 20% of his mission and sees flashbacks from the 10 passed years: how they were grilling meat at the rooftop, how they played at the sea.

Yeowoon went to the store to get ice cream, while Myungha and Sangwon were left alone waiting. Sangwon told 19-Myungha about precious memories with him (dogs!), how he was his first love and he kept regretting what if he made a different first impression on Myungha – and now he can.

So he asks for one more chance to start over but gets rejected because Yeowoon was faster once again. Sangwon accepts that his first love is finally over and walks away.

Yeowoon says he likes Myungha more anyway, but 19-Myungha doesn't know it so Yeowoon says he'll teach him. They go to amusement park (closed again) by the sea.

Myungha insists on going to the popular cafe, Yeowoon is hesitant but doesn't reveal the truth until Myungha meets his mom there. Yeowoon takes him away in a hurry as 19-Myungha wants to talk to her in anger. Myungha cries. He thinks if he didn't have Yeowoon next to him now, his mom's reaction would be his last straw.

Mission is cleared to 40%. 19-Myungha sees 18yo Yeowoon crying and being comforted by "him".

19-Myungha thinks the person Yeowoon fell in love with is nothing like him, so he runs away. Yeowoon catches up with him.

Suddenly, they meet his fans. 19-Myungha is confused to learn he's quite popular and has 100k followers on his YT channel where he's been posting vlogs for 10 years (Yeowoon made him do it). He's used to being widely hated as a Crazy Dog, and not widely loved.

19-Myungha doesn't want to restore memories because he doesn't want to return to his original timeline. But he also feels acutely that 29-Myungha is a very different person from him. So he openly tells Yeowoon about the game mission, and Yeowoon believes him.

They return home, and 19-Myungha notices that Yeowoon still cherishes him like they were new lovers and not 10yo couple that usually feels like a family. Yeowoon was testing his reaction to skinship. Myungha calls him to sleep and teases him for having dirty thoughts.

19-Myungha is scared to sleep because he fears to wake up from a good dream. Yeowoon comforts him, while Myungha teases again and asks whether he's going to kiss. Yeowoon responds he'll wait until Myungha does it himself, like the first time (I guess, it's a bit different from drama?)

In the morning, Myungha learns that his grandma is still alive in this timeline and is in the hospital with injured leg. He rushes there and cries a little seeing her alive. He pleads her to come live with them but the grandma is like 'wtf this kid gone insane'.

His memories are cleared until 60% and he remembers time spent with his grandma.

19-Myungha watches videos on "his" Youtube channel and he sees what kind of life 29-Myungha lived and what kind of person he was. He finds they weren't actually that different and he could become him. He sees how liked he was and what kind of person younger Yeowoon was too.

They go to get groceries, and suddenly 19-Myungha is surrounded by kids that claim he's their homeroom teacher. Yeowoon saves him from awkwardness, it seems like they don't know Yeowoon and Myungha are dating. The kids say that their entire class will always love their teacher Myungha, and 19-Myungha understands why he chose this job.

Mission is cleared until 80%. He sees flashbacks from teaching kids, he still keeps in touch with the ones that left. 19-Myungha starts to smile.

But he still doesn't want to go home, he's also scared that original Myungha comes back and he will disappear. He doesn't want to leave.

Yeowoon tells him he'll be waiting for him even if he goes back to his time. He tells him to return and find 18yo Yeowoon, because he exists there and he will definitely like and choose Myungha.

Myungha is overwhelmed with feelings and goes to kiss Yeowoon. This time he's the inexperienced one.

The timeline written down by Myungha: "First meeting at 19, first fight at 20, living together at 23, passing teacher's exam, Yeowoon breaking the world record, Myungha becoming homeroom teacher, having 5 anniversary trip".

Last 20% are still missing. He's waiting for Yeowoon to come home, he returns with the cake and flowers. It's their 10th anniversary today, so Yeowoon insists he still has to celebrate, despite the situation. Myungha feels bad that he always forgets about anniversaries.

Yeowoon proposes to Myungha. He gives him his wedding plan and prepared funds.

Myungha laughs (while Yeowoon is annoyed :D) and gets positive buff, as he falls in love. [Mission is cleared until 99.9%]. He witnesses more happy flashbacks.

Because it's legally difficult, Yeowoon still wants to get married. Myungha tells him if he proposes again in 10 years, he'll accept. And teases him for being in such a rush to speedrun the relationship.

He remembers all memories from 10 years of their life and love together, he tells Yeowoon 'of course' and finally decides to return home and meet Yeowoon in his own timeline.

But Myungha is scared because there's still 0.1% to fail. He remembers the sunbae who pushed him before the world has changed. He wonders who that was.

He sees himself talking with sunbae, who asks him what is happy life to Myungha and if his life was a book, what would it be about.

"If your life was a book, what would you want it be about?" Someone is asking next to me. "...love. I wish it was about love." I wished that this thing, which was so common that I could hear about it everywhere but have never really felt it, could exist in my life too. The sunbae smiled quietly. "I just decided on a title".

Sunbae tells Myungha that humans are made of stars and apologizes that he was so late. He asks him to live the way he wants to.

He pushes him again. Message [The world has been changed] appears.

29yo Myungha wakes up next to Yeowoon and immediately goes to hug him. He finally feels like his soul and body are perfectly aligned, and he remembers how lonely he was when he was 19.

He tells Yeowoon they'll go see stars on their honeymoon trip. But first, they want to take a trip to Taiwan and the grandma is bitter they're not taking her with them because she's convinced they're gonna secretly get married there. But Myungha and Yeowoon want to get married in Korea.

[Mission: Make Tae Myungha happy is completed with 100%]

29-Myungha goes to meet the girl in his class who he saved on the rooftop. They both talk about how they don't want to die anymore and they should never give up. The girl also says Yeowoon suits him well, and Myungha promises to invite her to their wedding.

[END OF THE GAME.]

[LOADING]

19yo Myungha gets back to his conscience on the street, as someone asks him if he's okay. He is surprised to see Yeowoon, while Yeowoon is displeased that Myungha knows his name since they never met before.

Yeowoon walks away, but Myungha starts running after him.

[ENTERING THE LOVE SUPREMACY ZONE]

That's it 🥺 Of course, there are many amazing and touching moments in the story itself but I wrote down the main points. Aren't they precious?!

Tag list: @pickletrip @bunni-bun @illuminutiae @kaleidoskuls @delesaria-blog @maybe-boys-do-love

[tyttamarzh]

Tallulah is Phil and Missa's daughter.

This will probably be very long, so if you want to read it, go grab some popcorn and get comfortable.

I have to talk about this because it's eating me up inside. I think I shouldn't give so much importance to comments coming from sewers like Twitter and much less Tiktok, but it makes me so sick (and I'm such a masochist that I even spend time looking for the shit they say to make me angrier and debate them xD).

I am very happy that it was finally made official, with papers certified by the federation, that Tallulah is the daughter of Philza and Missa, I think that was not entirely necessary for them, because they had assumed it for a long time (let's assume that Tallulah needed the pappers to end her W arc), although I suppose that more than anything it was done for those people who still cannot accept it or who deny the paternity of Phil and Missa (With Missa, although it bothers me, I can even understand it, he He hasn't been as present and many people don't know him, but god, it would be a crime to deny Tallulah's paternity to Phil, the man who has kept her alive and given everything for her throughout her life).

I'm glad that, although I have seen negative comments, the majority have been positive (even if it hurts them, it doesn't matter, it's official, screw them). Mainly, the negative comments have been from defenders of W and their arguments are so poor and weak that they are easily refuted. It is obvious that these people do not know Tallulah and have never met her, many do not even know how things turned out and say nonsense like that the current Llulah is an imposter, that it is not fair that they "rewrote" history and erased W (which It is false, Llulah's words make it clear that history was never changed, she simply moved on and that person remained in the past).

I refuted all those arguments on Twitter but screw Twitter, I hate the fucking character limit. So I'm going to expand (I have a lot of poison to get out of my skin). I have some points:

1- "That's not Tallulah" Of course it is her, those who witnessed her life and her growth during the year that passed, can realize that this was her natural evolution. She is the same girl who grew up overcoming her limitations, who suffered, who felt alone, who had abandonment problems, who everyone saw as a poor abandoned girl and who found comfort next to someone who has always loved her like a father and a brother who gave everything for her.

2- "They erased all her lore" No. Tallulah's lore is the one she built with Philza and Chayanne over the course of the year they lived together. Her relationship with W and her longing for him was only part of her story (although people made a lot of emphasis on that), but it was not the only thing that defined her, it never was and only people who never got to met her think that. They see her like an extension of that other person, as the only thing that kept him on the server, but did not see her as an individual character and definitely did not watch Phil's Vods and they never really knew her lore.

3-"How do they explain this in the lore?" Simple, there was someone in her life, someone who was her first father, but who spent very little time with her, who left a long time ago and who is currently no longer part of her life. She learned to let go of the past and focused in the family she has in the present, the family that loves her, that watched her grow up, that makes her happy and gives her security to believe in herself and that is the Death Family, Chayanne, Philza and Missa. Time passes, not all people stay, treasure those who are by your side and let go of what never brought you anything but pain.

4- "They should have created another egg and replaced her" Why replaceher? It has no sense or reason. She is a character who built her own story with her family, a story that never really involved that other person other than with one or another sporadic mention, why eliminate a character that evolved by itself? Little by little she separated herself from what she was at the beginning and that bond that she had with that first father was practically non-existent. What would be the point of eliminating it or replace her with another new character?

5- "No matter what other parents and appearance give her, she will always belong to W because she still carries the name he gave her" No. She never belonged to him. She lived with that man for 2 days and apart from leaving him the promise of a reunion, she did not contribute anything else to her life. She formed her own path, her passion for music was not because of him, it was something she already had before, her love for nature, for animals, everything was built in the days she lived with Philza (even with uncle Bad). She suffered for her first father but she moved on, she matured, she discovered her link with death and her powers as a medium, she acquired her own personality and little by little she built the Tallulah she is now.

She never belonged to anyone but herself and she always fought to prove that, but people insisted on dumping trauma on her and reminding her that she was an abandoned child waiting for someone who at a certain point was nothing more than an idealized dream, because There was never a real relationship between them, they never lived together long enough. She little by little made her decisions and chose the people she wanted to be her parents (and it's not that she had few options, Quackity, Bad and even F wanted to adopt her at the time and asked them to, but she was not a girl who was looking for parents). She could choose and she chose Philza, the person who had always been there for her and later she chose Missa, someone who despite not knowing her very well gave her his love unconditionally and gave her security when she needed it. Then she was able to feel the warmth of being part of a complete family.

6- "They should change her name because W gave her that name! That impostor is not Tallulah!" Why? Her name is not anyone's intellectual property, at the time it was given to her, it belonged to her for better or worse and yes, in some way it will always be a tie to her past, but a past she has already left behind and managed to overcome by creating new memories and dreams.

To a certain extent I understand those who became attached to her because she reminded them of that other person, but if they couldn't see her as her own character, it means that they never cared enough to make the effort to get to know her.

It would shock us all if a character we liked suddenly changed drastically and left behind what like us in the first place. But if they had really watched her, they would have realized that the change was not sudden, it was gradual.

She found in Phil a protective and understanding father who always put her and her brother before anything else, who suffered with her her pain and outbursts of frustration due to the depression caused by the absence of her first father. She found in Missa a cute and loving father who always showers her with love and helps her to have confidence in herself. She doesn't lack anything with them. She has closed a cycle of pain in her life and now she can heal.

She chose the look that makes her feel finally free to be herself, whatever the external reasons that led to that, she finally has a future ahead of her unbound by the past and prefers to be more like the people she considers her family now. If you can't see what all of this really meant to Tallulah and her evolution, it's because you never cared to see even 20% of her story. Well, since the middle of last year she began her journey to break away from a name and be herself, fighting to be seen for who she was.

If those people decide to continue supporting someone despite his shit, that is their right, but the server and the admin were also within their right to decide to kick him out and want to distance themselves from a person they consider unpleasant.

7-There were comments of another type, mainly from people who are really very lost with the lore, people who consider her the daughter of Quackity, even confusing her with Tilín (saying that Q didn't know if she was the daughter of W or Luzu and that she should get a DNA test), when we all know that from the beginning she was W's daughter as a single father and that the only reason Quackity could have become Tallulah's father was if to marry W, but that never happened, W didn't come back and Quackity was never able to develop that relationship with Llulah, she considered him a possible father because she knew W loved him, but Q always being kidnapped or something, they never really related much. There are people who, even with a certificate, continue to insist that Tallulah should have been given to Quackity to raise with Luzu (she had a tender interaction with Luzu and people were already asking him to adopt her, saying that she was alone and had no parents, I seriously hate them!) I shouldn't take seriously people who obviously haven't seen Philza even once and I know that many of those people are hispanic and are limited by the language barrier but if they don't have the slightest idea They shouldn't give their opinion��� Tallulah is not an object to be passed from hand to hand, she chose and in order to do so she had to go through a very long and painful arc.

8- I firmly believe that it is a great win to now have a certificate that endorses who the people she considers her parents are, but I insist, it was not necessary, because that has been known for a long time and I am sure that if it was created it was to close the mouth mouth to all those people who are not capable of accepting that.

Tallulah is the daughter of Philza and Missa (and no one else), she is part of the Death Family, that is her story, it is not a whim, a whim is continuing to link her to something she is no longer a part of or wanting to make her a part of a lore that never happened or wanting to give her other parents different from the ones she grew up with (Quackity already had Tilín, Richas and now Pepito, I don't think she needs more children and Tallulah doesn't need any more shitty drama in her life).

Tallulah is a beautiful being, both with her old look and with the new and as Missa says "She deserves only the beautiful things in the world"

Tallulah is Phil and Missa's daughter!!! Tallulah is Phil and Missa's daughter!!! Tallulah is Phil and Missa's daughter!!! And I can shout it a thousand times because it's true and she always was, but now it's certified by the government and no amount of complaining or tantrums can change that fact.

Sorry for my bad english. See you!! jajaja ando re agresiva, pero es que nadie se mete con mi familia xD

[chiibinomonodamon]

WHO WANTS TO HEAR ME RAMBLE ABOUT GAY FURRY DEMON SEX? XD

(damn, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say....)

Okay...so I see some Stolitz confusion and bashing online and I need to type up a defense here because I won't be able to sleep otherwise lol

I consider myself to be a Ship Critic and someone who takes shipping rather seriously.

What I mean by this is, I like to analyze and break down romantic relationships between fictional characters because it's just interesting to write for me. I especially take delight in friendly debating with opinions that I strongly do *not* agree with.

Let me start off by saying I am NOT a "this ship is awesome because gay furry sex lol" type of girl.

FAR from it. I'm generally more passionate about hetero ships between human characters (because I can relate to them more) among other reasons. So if you wanna dismiss my defense as "shallow fangirlism", you can forget about that lame excuse.

I fell in love with Hazbin Hotel when it was finally released in February and suffered waiting for each new two-parts per week. During that time, I decided to watch Helluva Boss as well, after a friend showed me a particularly soul-crushing clip (Moxxie's childhood trauma about his mother).

Yes, I like funny sex jokes as much as the next goofy adult but scenes like this, scenes that carry a very heavy emotional weight are what really get me in the end, even moreso when VERY little dialogue is exchanged. I knew I had to watch the entire episode run after seeing that the creators had a talent for this.

I saw people asking:

"How did Stolas go from using Blitz as a sex toy to being painfully in love with him?"

Oh I can tell you. I can tell you the EXACT moment this is revealed. But it's not spoon-fed to you; it's quite subtle actually and this is why lots of people miss it.

See, one of the strongest talents Vivenne has shown me is that she REALLY knows how to get her characters to communicate their feelings to the viewers JUST from their expressions and body language. These can be 'blink-and-miss-it' teeny little scenes and it may require a couple rewatches.

But since people demand time stamps for all information others post here, I'll rewatch a few scenes from S1 E7 'Ozzie's' as I'm typing this.

'Ozzie's' remains to be not just my favorite episode of HB...but probably my favorite episode of any adult-targeted animated show outside of Japan (aside from S2 E7's Mid-Season Special)

It has this huge reveal for both Blitzo and Stolas.

We'll first address Blitzo's irrational, stalkerish behavior of Moxxie and Millie.

He's obsessed with them. He finds both of them very attractive, fantasizes about threesomes with them and is constantly inserting himself into their personal lives.

Why?

Because they have everything that he badly badly wants for himself.

They have the perfect marriage and he is trying to live THROUGH them.

This was hilarious to me at the beginnning of the show but it's slowly revealed that it's one of the most tragic and depressing things I've ever seen. And it's scarily realistic too.

But you know this already so let's move on...

Blitzo follows the couple to Ozzie's but he can't get in without a date. So he calls up Stolas and yes, this is very low but he doesn't realize how much this means to Stolas (hell, I'm not sure even Stolas realizes it himself!) but the owl man is giddy with joy, he rushes over and they enter Ozzie's.

When Ozzie and Fizz mock Moxxie for being so sappy towards his wife, this strikes a chord with Blitzo (because they're his IDEAL relationship) and he speaks up to defend them.

NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION; THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

Fizz, still holding onto his past grudge turns on Blitzo to humilate him:

"Some nerve you got commenting on a relationship"

Time Stamp: 11:37

As Fizz says "-ship", Blitzo VERY QUICKLY makes eye contact with Stolas who has a look of panic on his face. Blitzo is seeking VALIDATION from Stolas in this sharp, subtle second of screentime, as if to ask

"Well, ARE we in one?"

And then what happens next...Stolas remains silent, Blitzo's ex joins in to announce how selfish Blitzo was in bed with her, tearing him down further. Stolas stands up like he's going to put a stop to it but then Ozzie notices him and interrogates him about sleeping with Blitzo.

Blitzo looks incredibly ashamed and guilty as Stolas blushes with similar feelings...and hides his face behind his menu; HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE IN THE SERIES SO FAR.

Time Stamp: 12:24

The look on Blitzo's face as he grits his teeth and darts his eyes away basically says

"Yeah, I should have known...boy am I an idiot for trusting him to stand up for me".

(look how SHOCKED he is...wow, this hurts fr ;_;)

This is a silent betrayal on Stolas's part. Afterall, his reputation is on the line, so if he were to defend Blitzo, it confirms they are in fact, dating. He chose his pride over Blitzo and Blitzo is crushed by this betrayal.

Moxxie finishes his song and kisses his wife tenderly. Stolas watches this and also wants to have an affectionate moment with Blitzo (who is rightfully glaring daggers at him) and tries to reach for his hand.

Blitzo rejects his touch and suggests they leave. As they do, Blitzo still looks furious and hurt. Stolas is now realizing how badly he screwed up with a "What have I done?" face (13:41)

He even looks disappointed with himself.

After Blitzo drops Stolas off, he thanks him and tries to smooth over the awkwardness with sweet talk but Blitzo just rolls his eyes in disgust and pulls on his face like "I don't want to hear this bullshit".

He responds coldly and curtly, "Yeah." Stolas makes more suggestions to spend time with him, which just makes him even angrier and he snaps

"I'm not fucking you tonight, okay!

I'm really just..." (14:28)

he pauses to wipe a tear because at this point he can barely hold it together (top notch voice acting and animation directing btw)

"...not in the mood, Stolas."

Stolas still tries to talk him into doing couple things unrelated to sex.

Blitzo's face switches back to anger and frustration because Stolas isn't getting the message so he goes for the blunt tactic;

"Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but YOU wanting ME to fuck you, okay?"

(14:42)

"You make that really clear all the time."

(again his voice sounds like he's about to break down)

"But I-I just can't do it tonight, okay?"

(Finally meets his eye)

"...I'm sorry."

I believe this is code for "I'm sorry we're even in this situation and how your reputation got damaged. " Or, more painfully, "I'm sorry I'm such an embarrassment to you".

Stolas replies "Okay" and takes a deep breath to compose himself. They say goodnight and depart.

An important note here is that Stolas calls him "Blitzo" instead of "Blitzy" to show more respect.

As Blitzo zooms away coldly, Stolas looks up at the sky with tears in his eyes, surprised at how much it hurts.

He then sits down with his head in his hands in anguish...because he's getting that

"Oh...no. These feelings are real" epiphany.

And as if this wasn't enough angst, Blitzo collapses onto his couch at home, goes through the memories on his phone and starts sobbing.

I'm going to be real with you; this is the most heart-breaking shit I have ever seen in an adult show of this type. It's also the first time a show of this type got me to cry.

The last six minutes have revealed so much information without spoonfeeding it to the audience because the show RESPECTS its audience.

To recap:

*Blitzo takes Stolas on a first official date to use him

*Stolas is extremely happy about it

*Blitzo gets humilated and looks to Stolas for validation

*Stolas betrays him and breaks his heart

*Blitzo snaps that their relationship is nothing more than lust-driven sex

*Stolas realizes he's actually in love with Blitzo and it's a huge problem because (he believes) that it's unrequited.

*Blitzo breaks down because the ONE person whom he thought would protect him didn't do so.

So these two are convinced that neither one loves the other...while the irony is, it's quite the opposite.

Because if Blitzo REALLY didn't feel anything towards Stolas, he would not have gotten this emotional.

Yes, they are both lonely...but I really don't think that's all there is between them.

So..........we know WHEN they started falling...now the question is why;

I think the answer's quite simple; single-target affection.

It was mentioned in S2 that Stolas and Stella did sleep together ONE TIME...but Stolas didn't enjoy it at all. He is stuck with a wife who hates him so much that she put a HIT on him...and a daughter who thinks he's a loser. Blitzo is pretty much the one person in his life who is able to make him happy. That one small, bright spot. He enjoys the sex with him but he also simply enjoys his company, as shown in Ozzie's episode. He is thrilled to simply talk to him about his day...and do anything else that couples do. They're complete opposites. Stolas is an intellectual but naive and sheltered. Blitzo is poorly educated but cynical and street-smart. Opposites attract...though this is likely more from Stolas's POV than Blitzo's.

In other words, Stolas is into bad boys xD lmao

In Blitzo's case, Stolas is the only character who shows him physical affection which he desperately craves. He's pretty tsundere about it most of the time...but I think he actually does enjoy that attention...especially when he's always getting disrespected by Moxxie and Loona..and quite a lot of people around him. BUT he's too scared to get serious with anyone because of past trauma and he also believes that no one could possibly love him as a person. :(

Reasons I Think This Love is Real

Aside from what I pointed out in the Ozzie's episode...there's quite a lot of evidence, esp from Stolas's POV.

After he realizes he's in love, he goes to Asomodeous for an ALTERNATIVE method for Blitzo to use so they will no longer sleep together. He wants to set Blitzo free. Which means he DOES truly love him because love is about being generous to the other person. He COULD be totally selfish about it but he isn't.

Asomodeous mentions how against love potions he is and Stolas agrees. He thinks that's out of the question.

'Look My Way' music video. Lol I don't have to say anything more.

In S2 E6 OOPS

This exchange at 16:57

Fizz: Seems your taste has gotten more 'regal', lately?

Blitz: Yeah, well unlike you, I fuck who I want WHEN I want. I'm not gonna be tied down to some big blue-blood asshole.

Fizz: You coulda fooled me the way Prince was cozying up to you at Ozzie's.

Blitz (gets very defensive) HEY! Stolas only cares about have a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress, okay!

It's nothing...(gets hesistant and looks away)...you know...

(Fizz gives him a 'bitch please' look xD)

"it's nothing else."

Fizz: Then why were you even there?

Blitz: OTHER very important reasons of course.

Fizz: Whatever. I don't actually care.

Blitz: Stolas is just a loud, thirsty BITCH!

(Fizz is rolling his eyes again)

Blitz: He loves feeling the thrill of getting dicked by the lower class.

It's a novelty to him.

Fizz: LITERALLY just said I don't care!

Blitz: And then he'll call me and try to see how my day was!

And he'll pretend to care about me and comment on my photos laugh at my jokes...

Fizz: (Smirking) OH! That's definitely your clue right there that it's all bullshit!

Blitz: I KNOW, RIGHT??

Fizz: (Making a 'What in idiot' expression, shaking his head)

Blitz: HE'S JUST A FAKE, PRIVELEDGED ASSHOLE...

Fizz: Sounds like you just hate him for being a prince!

No one (laughs) and I mean NO ONE pretends to care that much just for a cheap lay.

All right. IF ANYONE knows what real love is like, it's Fizzaroli...who is in a very HEALTHY relationship with Asomodeous. He recognizes the signs because he's IN that place. He sees it...and he's annoyed that Blitzo keeps denying it and brushing it off...yet clearly can NOT stop talking about Stolas (amusing irony)

To sum up (this freaking essay lol) 'Stolitz' ABSOLUTELY has the potential to be pure and true...these two just need to communicate...or Stolas has to PROVE to Blitzo that he's serious about his feelings in another way.

There is no doubt that this ship is 100% endgame and is a case of the 'Earn Your Happy Ending' Trope. I look forward to the rest of the journey. Ron is putting my feelings about Stolitz in a perfect phrase:

[skittzdaskittle]

WL Soup Group. ... thoughts....

I was gonna say, "i wish they collabed more," buy then just remembered, I can just watch their hermitcraft povs 💀

I know i said I'm taking a break, I am, it's just that I've been thinking about Soup Group a lot for the past week LMAO

So I guess what I mean by "i wish they collabed more" was that i neeeeed a Soup Group life series team up

I need a Gem or Impulse win

Hopefully, impulse first because, holy shit he needs to win

My guy just be losing

Mans can win mcc, but not the Life Series 😔

Of course, a Gem Life Series win would also be epic

Though I feel like the reason they each should win are vastly different XD

Wet cat luckless man who's been losing since the beginning deserves to win, and girlboss woman who's newer and is really good at killing people deserves to win, are two sentiments that can be true at the same time

Also, the reason I left Pearl out is obviously because she won, but that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to win again, it's just the other two need to win one

Also i just realized Impulse and Gem were both betrayed right at the end by a close ally, who could've teamed up with them and would've had a better chance of winning

And also, Scar was there on the side of the betrayer during the betrayal, and then killed that betrayer

Just wanted to note

[kenandeliza]

A Marvel Family Fantasy AU

A few days ago, I randomly dreamt of Drawing Billy and Tawny in a fantasy setting.

Billy was this kid wizard and Tawny was his companion (or an animal to ride on like a horse)

Then it got me thinking, maybe in this setting, Mary could be someone of high status in this fantasy setting (since she's in a rich family in the golden age comics)

I'm inclined to think Freddy would be a captain of a ship for irony-sake but I have a feeling pirates and fantasy settings don't match well?

It's just funny for me to think of him with a peg leg xD

After further discussion with @the-brash-spud :

Warning: Too many text :>

These are the ideas we have so far (if there are quotation marks, those ideas belonged to @the-brash-spud ):

—

Maybe Billy and Mary were prince and princess separated by birth, (i'm not sure if its a kidnapping or the baby got lost on his own) but the wizard founded billy and trained him.

At the ripe age of (insert young age below a teenager's), The wizard decided to grant him the power of shazam to turn him into the world's mightiest Wizard!

Captain Marvel!

Wizard dies and then Billy and Tawny have adventures together, maybe helping people along the way (maybe somehow found out that Mary is his sister :p idk)

“ I think you could go angst if you made the wizard get brutally hurt in a battle to protect Billy and the rock of eternity so in a last ditch effort he transports the rock to its own pocket of existence and then giving Billy powers of shazam because its as ready as he'll be able to make the kid :) and it's his last effort for Billy to be protected even if he has to do so himself because he has failed :)) made Billy cry as Wizard turns into dust in Billy’s hands :)))”

—

Uncle marvel can be a con-man/thief who took pity on Billy or realiz, teaching Billy that the world isn't always honest and he's like, "Billy, don't always give money to the poor on the streets, sometimes they faked their illness to be lazy”

" Billy: "The man in the shadowy corner needs my help."

Uncle: "No, the hell he doesn't!”"

—-

How Billy Met Freddy

Billy probably met Freddy in a bar fight. How did the kid get into a bar?

Billy looked at the man exiting the pub with a bottle.

Billy: Ohh! So this is where you get refreshments here! I wonder If they have enough Milk for Tawny..

Pub sign written NO KIDS ALLOWED!"

*Billy can only read magic scrolls and not regular alphabet*

Cue him meeting Freddy (who's armwrestling with one of the people there)

(Insert Bar fight for some reason because The child decided to drink a white cocktail thinking it was milk and the fact that Billy is a Kid)

“Freddie is definitely that kid having his ass thrown out of the bar/pub/inn”

I'd like to think he and his brother are a team, prolly sailed a ship together.

“Yes, they target slave ships. Unless you wanna go different routes. Then, he is focused on certain nations' flags that have a whole lot of red in them

Also, he goes to the bars just to start bar fights over drunks being mean/nasty to the landlady. The landlady doesn't appreciate it bc now she has a broken table and four broken chairs”

Freddy faces the Captain Nazi equivalent of a pirate [Captain Arian? Like Aryan?] XD, Freddy lost his leg the same way, from his encounter with Captain Arian.

Kit (probably a necromancer or a ghost who's cursed to be bound in the ship Freddy's in, making Freddy more attached to the ship) can still summon crewmembers.

Maybe they both meet mary during the birthday ceremony parade

Maybe Mary snuck off from her family (disguise herself as a regular girl, i know, generic plot) and then meet Billy accidentally

Billy: It's my birthday today!

Mary: What a coincidence! It's mine too!

The-brash-spud: “Billy, in his innocence, thinks ,"There must be something to us sharing birthdays!" While Freddy calls him stupid, Billy tries to get a look at the princes and then cue the lung-fu panda rocket incident, but maybe something else more fitting with Freddy being pulled along”

On an unrelated note, i think Billy knew about Freddy's peg legafter either a pirate slashed it clean and Freddy just used it to bonk his head.

Billy is still screaming from the shock and immediately casted healing spells (i'd like to think everything about billy is lightning based- so yes getting struck by lightning is a healing spell for him :D) Freddy got shocked lmao

And what about boarding Tawny on the ship?

Billy:"Please???"

Freddy: "I'm not letting a tiger into my ship."

Kit who absolutely adores animals: "YES"

Freddy:"NO!”

Kit:" Does he love belly rubs??"

Billy:" yes but you have to ask him politely for his permission-”

Freddy rolled his eyes, realizing he has to clean cat fur everyday off from the furnitures.

___

How did Mary, a royalty tag along with a kid wizard and a pirate?

“Yeah, I guess forced separation would work better. Hell, go with a scenario that will allow them to have Mary with the parents' blessings as long as she's kept safe (she isn't, but that's because she is the danger herself)”

Mary and Billy: "Yay adventure"

Freddy: "Oh great, now I have to take care of two kids and a tiger in my ship!?"

*Freddy looking at Kit and the kids + a tiger playing together, kit seems happy*

Freddy: "...i guess it's alright..”

___

How Freddy and Mary found out about the wizard?

“Hmmmm, maybe Billy takes them to the rock because they were in a pickle, and unforeseen effects happen?

They got surrounded maybe?

Also I can see the aftermath

"You were raised by THE Wizard!? THE Wizard?! A Wizard of legends so often told he is recognisable even if his name was lost?!"

"Oh, his name is Shazam-" *BANG*”

____

Hopefully i could draw these AU ideas, I don't plan on making this into a story, i just like the concept that my dream gave my a few days ago and I’m just expanding it. Sorry for too many text xD

I don't mind if you want to add something to this silly lil AU, It's just a fun thing for me to do :p

[moonspirit]

Jealous aruani are fun and all, but...what if it's their friend that's the reason for the jealousy??? No love triangles.

Annie suddenly feels a twinge of irritation when she sees Pieck say something to Armin and they laugh together. Or maybe Armin overhears gossip about how Annie Leonhart and Connie Springer look so cute together. The next time he sees Connie, his stomach twists. And it's terrible!

Considering how Armin and Annie both have self-esteem issues...well, I can see how that could happen. Irritation, doubt, jealousy, and self-loathing for feeling that way about a friend. it's just painful, stupid and awkward. I have no idea how they will solve this😗

Hello jealousy anon! As promised, and thank you for the ask, it made me laugh xD

Because of-fucking-course there's nobody more capable of causing problems for Aruani off more than their very own family xD If you ask me, outsiders don't have the type of talent the other four have in creating misunderstandings and unnecessary chaos xD Plot-required-3rd-party-love-interest who? Move over, here's Connie the Springer man!

At first it's all quite unintentional. Connie spends time with Annie because Circumstances and Coincidence and hardly notices Armin's watery puppy eyes gazing at him from a depressing corner. It's not like Armin ever says anything out loud either because of course, he's happy! He's happy Annie has a silly friend that makes her laugh and forget that she's awkward and possibly frightening around people. He's glad Connie comes prepackaged with a whole lot of shitty jokes that happen to tickle her. He's really fucking glad Connie treats Annie like he treats everyone else!

But. Connie can also... dance. Really well. Like the guy's got those moves and can easily take Annie for a nice spin. He also... makes her laugh, like... a lot? A lot lot? Hm.. has Annie ever laughed like that with me? Uh... yeah, nevermind that, um- oh god, Connie's been looking pretty nice lately in those suits and he's rather good with the whole easy-fashion thing and uh- well shit, it's Connie, he's my friend, he's not- no, I mean, that photo in the newspapers was just an accidental shot, of course Annie was just laughing at his bad joke but well... she did look really happy with him and, oh shit--

Man.

Pieck on the other hand, doesn't fuck with people more than necessary. I don't actually see her getting *too* close with Armin but they do become very good friends! They have a lot in common, (for example music) and vibrate on the same atomic level of "yeah this is wrong and backhanded and probably will get us arrested in 18 countries but lets do it hehe". Hc that they probably get off to a slightly rocky start as Pieck doesn't put much faith in Armin's "naivete" and harbours resentment for his blowing up of Liberio's port, but as time goes by, they grow closer!

Maybe... too much closer for someone's liking 💀

Because okay? Annie gets it, she finds politics too boring and her takes end up being too cynical and skeptical in the room. Technically, she's glad Armin has someone in Pieck who will humour his ideas with a generous (but nice) dash of realism. Also, they enjoy picking out records together and she often finds them nodding their heads to a new tune once home.

She's glad, okay?

She is, she really is-

*sound of a thigh being stabbed followed by sounds of Reiner screaming*

Pieck is a cheerful girl tho 🥲

On a serious note, both Aruani are going to feel like total crap about this jealousy tho. Because as you said, it's their friends, their literal family who they share a lot of time and space with, and if anything could be clear it's that none of them want to see Aruani unhappy. So its not real, it's not anything to worry about, it's all just in their heads-

And yet.

Tbh the extra funny bit about this is gonna be when Connie and Pieck realize what they're doing to their poor lemonheads xD

"What! We're making you jealous?! wHAaT?? ... Hell YEAH, LET'S TURN IT UP!"

🥲🥲🥲🥲

I mean what else did you expect lol, Pieck and Connie are that duo who are going to derive more entertainment from their very own organic, homegrown family-drama than the moving pictures being shown in the town-square.

Suddenly it's all: "HEHE Armin, I bought Annie CAKES, see? FIVE Cakes! FiVE delICIOUS cakes and *I* am going to give it to her! Me!"

and: "Annniieeeeeeee~~ Oh no, why the long face this morning? Btw did you know Armin wants kids? Like a lot of kids? He told me- oh, he didn't tell you? Hehe I thought you'd be the first to know hehehehehe"

Their approaches to fanning this dumpster fire are different 😌

Their solution when things get too Sad?? Lock Aruani up in a room. Always ends well.

[evil-by-noon]

That one thing I wrote about controlling relationship forcemasc except it's the recovery-

And yeah the dude was totally an egg but after realizing his relationship was super unhealthy and controlling once getting out of it, it feels like absolute shit to try to regain his old self and realize it's not him anymore.

Did she have that big of an impact on him?

He was a girl before meeting her, right? He was his own person with his own identity, she's totally just been hijacking it and controlling him! And that's all it is. Right?

But now when he tries to grow out his hair, stops taking HRT, buys new dresses because she threw out all his old clothes it feels wrong and sick and disgusting.

And he doesn't know whether that feeling is truly his or whether it's just another thing she did to him.

Because there are certainly things she did to him- he struggles from extreme decision paralysis now. He gets panic attacks from being alone, his self esteem crashes when he feels unneeded, yet he feels fear when people ask him for help because they might be manipulating him like her-

He misses her. Extremely. He worries about her. He thinks about contacting her in prison. He takes comfort in the rituals she forced on him.

So he knows, not all of his feelings are "true". A lot of who he is was built up by Whumper, and he's slowly trying to tear it down and find himself beneath.

So just the whump of him, making himself detransition and grappling with whether his internal resistance is due to his trauma or due to actually being transgender.

Basically the recovery negates the whole appeal of forcetrans XD not having to worry about how this is a choice you're making and whether you're right or not! Instead, not only does he have to worry about "damn am I trans?? Should I transition??? What will everyone think????" He also KNOWS his judgement and sense of self is warped and impaired so it's even HARDER to trust himself and his own feelings!

Bonus uhh what do his parents think? Do they have photos and stories of him, "You were always such a tomboy!"

Or are they horrified and all, "My special girl, out of all the things she did, this is truly despicable. You were so beautiful."

Do they insist that they can help him return to being that girl that they love? Even if he realized that was never truly him, would anyone, including him, believe that when they know he's a victim of such intense manipulation?

(For anyone who wants a happy ending, consider Whumper probably had a very narrow definition of masculinity suiting her own particular taste. Now that Whumpee is free from her, he can be any kind of man he wants. In the end, even though she initially dragged him down that road, his choice to continue walking has nothing to do with her.)

[sigmasoyboy]

https://www.tumblr.com/sigmasoyboy/768558092630835201/hello-im-new-to-your-page-and-really-love-your?source=share

Heyhey, i just saw this answer and realized that we need more lore about our trio ;)

Everyone seems to be talking about them on other "pages" of yours too and i have to admid they are getting more and more intriguing xD <3

long time coming but I'm happy to report I have finally finished Elov, Wallace and Lesley's profiles in my OC directory ! ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

also here's some slightly reworked titbits about them that are still relevant from an old retrospring answer, as a treat:

Elov:

- he was his father's muse up to his late teen (replacing his mother who resented him for it). His father's work was very controversial because of it's eroticism being present even when photographing his underage son, though nothing was ever done about it as the work remained ambiguously artistic. - he started going to clubs meant for adults as early as 13 because his parents knew a lot of people. He almost never hung out with people his age. - his need for thrill is def pathological. Boredom drives him insane, he has to be doing some sort of stupid, dangerous shit constantly and only thrives in chaos. This has led him to self-sabotage a lot, including fucking up his relationship and chance at stability with Wallace. - he thrifts most of his clothes and has very rarely worn an outfit more than once since he started killing. His goal is to look as trashy and provocative as possible so he has no qualm picking lingerie, tiny dresses, mini shorts and skirts in the women's section. He sometimes also steals clothes from the villas he breaks into; he discards those all the same. - his modus operandi is to hitchhike in the evening and wait for an unsuspecting guy to pick him up -if he gets picked up by a woman, a couple or a family, he will simply hitch a ride without harming anyone. When it is just a man he will usually wait either for an empty stretch of road or for the guy to respond to his flirting, wether by stopping and engaging in more or flipping out and trying to attack him/get him out of the car. Elov likes to play rough and fight, the thrill comes from the uncertainty of his own survival so he will pick men who are bigger than him (not complicated). He's not scared to strike when the car is still moving but his favorite situations is when he gets to make the first move when sex was initiated, totally surprising his victim, though he sometimes treats himself to striking at climax. - he's a messy, careless killer. Once his victim is dead, he steals whatever he needs from them, changes his clothes (he always has a spare in his bag) which he will just throw in the next container and at most drives the care a little further off-road, but that's the most he'll do in term of disposal. Leaving tons of evidence behind is part of the thrill. - his favorite food is those little canapé with fish roe, creme fraîche, chopped red onion and lemon. In general, he loves tiny appetizer food, probably because he grew up eating mostly this since his parents were so often invited to gallery openings and such. It does means he quickly developed a palate for very 'grown-up' foods such as raw oysters or blue cheese, in part in an effort to act mature for his age.

Wallace: - before his arrest, he was a cellist for the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra. He would also offer private cello lessons on the side. - he also had a cat named Mitzi who he was really fond of. Sadly for Mitzi and despite his sister trying to pretend a family member did indeed take her in after his arrest, she was put down. He wasn't fooled in the slightest by the lie. - nonetheless, he still has a fondness for cats. Their feisty temper amuses him. On the other hand, he doesn't like loud and unruly dogs much. - he was closeted until his arrest. During the only phone-call he had with him after, his father made it very clear that to him the most vile part of his murders was their homosexual nature. - the only family he still has contact with is his younger cousin. They sometimes dine together once he is free but rarely as she lives in the capital, is busy with her studies and, despite holding onto the memory of the nice cousin who shared her fondness for music strongly enough to still see him despite everything, she's still just wary enough not to feel comfortable staying at his place, even though he has never harmed a woman. This hurts him, but also that's what you get when you killed people, so he doesn't say anything about it. - he doesn't have much of an opinion on his nickname but dislikes being called like this to his face. - he successfully sued for breach of physician-patient confidentiality when his unauthorized biography was published. This went public and stirred much conversation about wether or not someone like him should be allowed the right to privacy. - his very first kill was actually reported as an accidental death by auto-erotic asphyxiation that he merely 'discovered'. It was only revealed he had intentionally left his friend, who he had offered to "spot" for, die after the publishing of said biography, as he hadn't confessed to it even to the court. He told his former therapist that he was so deeply transfixed by it that he found himself unwilling to help, he also mentioned the unreciprocated romantic feelings he harboured for the victim and admitted to masturbating to the scene before calling the police, details the press ate up and he wishes had stayed private. - before meeting Elov, Wallace wasn't really interested in trying to apply for parole even if he was nearing the end of his 18 year sentence, in part because he believed it was both hopeless and that he had nothing to return to anyway. Elov convinced him by showing his interest in him wasn't merely edgy morbid fascination- or perhaps he just let himself be convinced that he saw more in him than just a potentially dangerous boyfriend to titillate his adrenaline addiction. - even though he has explored much of the underlying issues that led him to murder in his youth and has agreed to how wrong what he did was, he cannot grasp remorse beyond the concept itself, which frustrates him greatly. Nonetheless, this awareness did lead to his therapist judging him to no longer be a threat to others. - before Elov grew tired of having to wait for his parole to end, he had planned to use his Scottish citizenship to move there with him and start anew, even thinking of registering for civil union. That's how infatuated he was with him. If his prescription hadn't ran out he might have been able to move on from the relationship, though with much difficulty. - he learned quite a bit of cooking in prison but became most interested in it when he applied for parole, as him and Elov made plans to live together. He was a decent cook before he was arrested but he tended to neglect feeding himself correctly, generally only eating real meals during family dinners and when eating outside. - his favorite food is black pudding with a simple side of mashed potatoes. Funnily enough, he does prefer the swedish blodpudding to the scottish one, though he likes both and did crave a full scottish breakfast as soon as he knew he would be released, which he did get to eat (though it paled next to the real thing). He is no picky eater and has always been eager to try new cuisine.

Lesley: - he currently has seven rats and an old Irish Wolfhound named Thaddeus that used to be the family dog. He cares for all of them as diligently as he tends to the garden and the orchard. He's most comfortable when he's surrounded by animals and plants, but he's also deeply lonely. - he only vaguely identifies as male, but it's mostly because he has trouble identifying as a person to begin with. His body feels foreign to him and he prefers not to see too much of it, stripping only to shower, where he tends to dissociate heavily. - he had trouble with people following the incident so he was home-schooled. - to this day, he feels uneasy being driven anywhere and prefers to be in control of the vehicle. He drives an old beat-up 1980 suzuki carry to work. - his grandfather was quite interested in "new" technology and would let him play on his computers (starting with a commodore 64). This is what got him into tinkering with computers. - his modus operandi is to befriend suicidal users online, offer to meet in person, drug them and slit their throat to offer them a quick death wether or not they still spoke of wanting to die when they did meet. - he was only nineteen when he first killed, making him the one who started the youngest, but he also is the one who has killed the least, as befriending his victims is slow and does not always work. - despite Elov thinking he is one, he does not considers himself a killer. On the other hand, he's more preoccupied with being unable to tell wether Elov does wish to die or not than with the fact that he has a killer under his roof. Elov's promiscuity is not helping with either, and Lesley is too touch-starved for reason to prevail. - his favorite food is curries in general and his grandma's hand pies which contains, you guessed it, curry. He has learned to make them and still do to this day. He also kept the habit of drinking 'Chocolate de Maní' (a sort of roasted peanut and cinnamon warm drink, which despite the name contains no cocoa) every week-end even after his grandparents passed. Ironically, even if he is ok with seafood, he dislikes fish. He's very set in his habits and does not really seek new flavors.

[moonshine-nightlight]

It is a statement of how good the story is that I was like "Oh, now I'm gonna reread NWWD and comment as I go :)" but suddenly I'm near the end of the story and realized I just automatically kept clicking next chapter because I had to keep reading hdkshskshs So I guess a third reread of the story is soon to come with actual comments XD

In the meantime! I had a question! So Bilmont is my favorite secondary character in the story. I know he doesn't appear that much after the first act but the moment he established himself as an ally I couldn't help but become very fond of him haha

So I wanted to ask! If I'm not mistaken, protag doesn't tell Dale during the story that the steward knows of his identity as well. (Obviously there wasn't much of a chance), but afterwards if she does tell Dale, what is his reaction? Especially since that now means not one, but two humans found out on their own about his nature and decided to help him stay hidden. (Even if of course it was the protag that carried most of that responsibility). Bilmont was the one to warn protag of Archibald's suspicions after all.

Though the thought of both Dale and Bilmont continuing to coexist around each other with that small piece of info unrevealed is also pretty funny XD

Oh! And I had another thought that technically Bilmont is one of the few people that the peotag and Dale wouldn't have to worry about when they eventually have children because he would not be a cause of worry if they accidentally showed their demonic nature around him XD

@roaring-letters

Thanks for sending in this ask months ago! Between work and tumblr inbox errors/spam, I didn’t hav a chance to answer until now so thanks for ur patience!

aw, that’s such a wonderful compliment to the story! thank you! I’m glad it holds up on multiple re-reads ^^

Bilmont is an interesting character, even if he might not seem like it on the surface, because he’s kinda boring? (but I like characters that on the surface seem boring lol) He’s just trying to do his job and manage everyone in the castle as best he can with the least amount of drama. He is also supposed to representative of the attitude of a Northridge servants in general in the story: they do their jobs and try not to get involved in noble shenanigans. They see the nobles as sort of, prone to lofty ideals/games/messes and prefer to stay out of it which is really why Dale hasn’t been turned in. Northridge servants in particular are very good at just, I’m cleaning this fireplace and I don’t see or hear anything else lol There are a couple of reasons for that and it does have to do both with the general culture of the area and the Northridge family in general, who are less interested in petty rivalries—except human Dale, which he learned more in the palace when he was training to be a knight, spending a lot of time away from home, without parents/siblings/etc to discourage that sort of thing and with highly dramatic friends who encouraged it

Everytime human!Dale came home, the servants did notice that attitude and were mildly concerned for when he’d take over, especially given how quiet things had been the last decade with grandmother retired and before that, spending as much time in the legislature away from Northridge—letting the fief run itself more/from a distance. Which is what they hoped Dale would do, go be frivolous in the capital and leave them to themselves lol

Digressing from all that and focusing on ur actual question lol, Dale knows that Bilmont knows. Bilmont doesn’t know that Dale knows he knows. His valet, Mr. Murray, knows—hard to keep it a secret from someone working so closely with you and Dale asked Murray about how he was found etc. Human!Dale did know the servants in general knew about at least some of his demonic studies, he just correctly guessed they’re mind their own business and was enough of a self-centered and short-tempered man to have arranged for the one person who did said something to his grandparents about some books he definitely didn’t have sent very far away and injured. He bribed/threatened Mr. Murray while he was “sick” after possessing Dale’s body and knew Bilmont was involved in finding him. Originally, demon!Dale was in survival/getting the hang of things mode, trying to see if he’d even be able to keep his identity under wraps and he hadn’t decided if he would stay. He was testing Bilmont to some degree in chapter 4, to see what made him take notice and what didn’t, to see if he (as a standard northridge servant) would try to spill the beans. Bilmont didn’t, but he might have—if the reader hadn’t talked to him, not that Dale knows that.

Dale isn’t sure he can manage to stay/wants to stay until the tournament arc is done and he realizes he really really wants to keep this life. That’s when he revealuates how he’s handling things/people.

Dale was only surprised the reader knew because a) he’d specifically tried not to let them know (especially once deciding he wanted to stay and he decided he liked them) and b) the reader isn’t from northrige and so he thought they had no reason to do something for the sake of keeping peace in northridge, and c) is a noble who could enact change/be believed on a larger scale. He just never thought the reader would find out and do nothing without a “good reason” to keep his secret to which he didn’t see the reader having in the way he saw the servants did. Also he thought he was on top of who knew, again why so surprised reader did know without him realizing.

He was counting on Bilmont thinking he wasn’t any worse than human!Dale or at least not worth the trouble or too scared of him to do anything. In the beginning at least. Once Dale works directly with him more and is able to see past human!Dale’s more negative opinions of him, he switches from keeping Bilmont wary to bribery like the others lol. Very, if I take care of u, u take care of me and we can all just live our lives. He’s also able to better appreciate that Bilmont is damn good at his job, in a way human!Dale kinda couldn’t due to his own experiences/prejudice. Demon!Dale, while having the memories of a noble was not one. He’s been on lower ends of the ladder in different demon places and knows often you just let the boss do their own thing and keep your head down.

They do not have an honest conversation until, like you mentioned, the topic of kids who can’t control themselves becomes more of a thing that cant be ignored. Bilmont is very uncomfortable with the whole conversation and Dale is amused by that. They work better together when Bilmont forgets Dales a demon now and doesn’t get freaked out by it. And Dale isn’t the best at setting people at ease, if he even thinks to do so beyond general pretending to be human. The reader helps keep everything steady with them. Bilmont is very unsettled by the children though lol. One in particular thinks Bilmont’s very funny when he freaks out. that gets better as they get older.

Now, Dale does try to keep more servants from finding out once he decided to stay, but he knew that Murray, Bilmont, another footman, and a maid—Ms Dearden actually from chapter 2—all knew about his nature due to being involved in finding him/caring for him while he was still getting strength/control in the beginning. Again, he threaten/bribes them and then leaves it alone beyond keeping an eye on them. Bilmont is the highest ranking one which is why he tried to feel him out first. Murray of course he works with most closely in general.

Sorry for the very long answer, I think I went on a couple different tangents, but it’s a part of the story that I didn’t get to explore much on the page so to speak. The limits of the story being reader POV lol. I’m always happy to ramble about NWWD though!

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Question about midsummer murders lol. Do jones and winter have a lot of interaction? Is the show still going? Are they still in it ? 😂

Part of why I keep lamenting my insanity is that Winter and Jones have roughly eight minutes of interaction in one single episode and that's it. XD

The show is still going, far as I know. The release dates are weird which is why I make up my own timeline, episodes apparently get released literally years after they're filmed or something. Winter is as of the last one still Barnaby's sergeant.

Jones is still the sergeant who was around the longest (nine seasons) but hasn't come back since his guest starring episode Last Man Out (where he met and interacted with Winter). I keep begging the TV gods to bring him back but the TV gods are cold and uncaring and ignore my pleas.

I want to emphasize for anyone who's not seen the show...

Midsomer Murders is not a show you get into for an overarching plot or character development. They will even just... not follow up on stuff. In one episode it's set up that Jones is probably going to try and ask Kate Wilding (the pathologist) out at her birthday party that night, and then it's just... never brought up again? Subsequent episodes have them interacting as usual and never allude to any romantic feelings or attempts. Later on Kate is briefly his roommate when she moves to take a professorial post in Brighton but Sarah Barnaby in Last Man Out offers to Kam (another pathologist) to introduce her to Jones in a romantic fashion after Kam repeatedly brings up how good looking Jones is, something Sarah would never do if she thought there was anything romantic between Jones and Kate. Which, I personally have had fun making Kate aromantic based on some other comments Kate's made, and I love the idea that you can try being romantic with someone and quickly realize "oh we're better as friends," I wish we saw more of that in media, but it is, uh, WEIRD? That it's just NEVER BROUGHT UP after an ENTIRE EPISODE of Jones preparing to make a move???

They will also kinda retcon stuff for fun. There's an episode I don't like because it retcons previous behavior Jones has shown and basically has him making a massive error and being incredibly stubborn about it, in a way that doesn't match his usual characterization. I've excused it by saying he let his rebellion against the new Barnaby keep him from admitting the man might be right about a suspect but it's still very annoying. Winter was initially shown as incredibly cocky (to the point where it reads as overcompensation) and then the writers seemed to realize this was not endearing him to anyone and pivoted to make him a secret, massive geek (which then definitely makes his previous cockiness come across as overcompensation) and hopeless at reading people (especially whether or not someone is flirting with him).

To a certain extent, the behavior, competence, and intelligence level of the sergeants will shift based on how bad or good it will make the main Barnaby look and how comedic the writers wanted the episode to be.

So when I say I am very much making a mountain out of a molehill with these characters and spinning entire backstories out of crumbs I really mean it. XD

LUCKILY, however, because of its allergies to overarching plots and stuff following from episode to episode, the show ALSO makes it incredibly easy to headcanon that Jones has moved back to Midsomer at some point after Last Man Out. You can even easily headcanon that he and Winter get together at some point as long as it's post-deadly-fish episode (if you know you know). So even though he's not seen, there's nothing to stop you from assuming he's there just right off screen, either.

But yeah. Eight minutes of interaction. I've officially jumped the shark.

[lety-ufu]

I've noticed that most of the posts about Mozeqiu are about things that are a bit out of character for their characters. I'm not saying it's bad to have fun when there's still a lot left to reveal about their stories, But if you want a devoted and protective couple, there's one already, that's Fexiao and Jiaoqiu. How, did you actually read the game's dialogue?

There's no need to add those things to Mozeqiu, when they have their own interesting dynamic, with Moze growing up in a cult, having a distorted idea about “family.” (+here comes Fexiao and what she means in his life+the murder attempts). Having to re-enter the world, realizing the bad things from his previous life, which he is not yet willing to accept, so he pretends not to recognize it. He is not a sweet and protective boy, he is a traumatized person who is assimilating things at his own pace, he is not a good person either, He has gotten his hands dirty more than once because of his job, which he only does because of a promise of revenge, revenge that no longer seems to be his only motivation, but he is willing to comply anyway (he is very loyal to his beliefs). A complicated man + dubious origins + questionable morality.

Now why the hell did I mention all this and why is it important to Mozeqiu? Because that's mainly what makes it interesting., Moze doesn't have the best experiences with health treatments, so a doctor should be a red flag for him, either before or after being rescued. (“Fexiao's surprise adoption”), Since the doctors of the alliance represent everything opposite to what they were taught, as traitors or ignorant of their work by rejecting abundance to follow the archer lord "demon”. It must have been quite a journey for Moze to really start to trust Jiaoqiu (start to care about people other than his “family”), and from the voice lines + the story of the game he has shown us the respect and affection he has for her, a more discreet affection expressed because this man has problems with healthy communication between individuals due to his experiences. They are really missing out by not exploiting such information.

I also like to pamper Jiaoqiu after the main quest, but at least do it according to his characters, I'm not saying that Moze isn't frustrated by his failure, but he's not going to recite poetry, He didn't even go to school xD

I'm probably getting into a mess trying to explain my reasoning to you, But the point is that what makes their dynamic so interesting is that he is a traumatized man with questionable priorities. + A war-traumatized fox doctor who wants his patients not to commit suicide. I recommend reading the character info if you have it, both to understand Moze and the dynamics of his ship (the last section)

[quitealotofsodapop]

Stone Egg theories + Luzhen

All are asks are connected to this post made about: what if Stone Monkeys could naturally reproduce asexually via converting their body into a new Stone Egg?

All images have transcripts btw.

1: Possibly. Wukong has a *lot* of immortalities. But accidentally creating a Stone Egg asexually takes a lot out of him physically and spirtually. His soul gets a permanent hit to it. The whole point of the Stone Egg is for either a monkey with a large familial group to produce an heir without a mate, or the last of a troop to fling a piece of hope into the future. Most don't survive, but some do. It helps to have a lot of magically talented friends/family around to stabilize your body once the egg-creating process has begun so you can heal. Though I bet most single monkeys prefered adoption if at all necessary - accidentally giving the Stone Monkey kind a hyper-active parental instinct towards non-related infants of similar species.

He probably gets cravings for a lot of rocks, metal and bones in the process.

2 & 3: (@soniclozdplove) Guanyin realised that she gotta put her stone monkey on birth control if they were gonna keep him underground. Her brain jumped to "He's made of rock right? rock spirits eat metal... right?? Crap, it's the only thing down here." and cue molten copper and iron pellets for dinner. The question is; was it even that painful for Wukong? Man takes out his organs a bunch of times and bathes in hot oil in Jttw without complaint. Odds are in the moment it felt like the worlds worse heartburn/spicy food burn since he really is made of earth materials. XD

He probably felt super grateful once he realized why Guanyin was feeding him molten metal. He didn't want kids in that circumstance either!

4: A furiously confused pregnant Wukong! He immediately starts yelling at Gold Star for answers, and has to be talked down from trottling the Buddha himself for this. Tripitaka is panicking, he's never been around a pregnant person before!

Wukong doesn't even need the circlet in this verse. Guanyin just gives him false labor contractions and he's behaving immediately. He probably has to lug the egg in his body around for some extra time, maybe even until the Journey is over depending on how funny the Buddha or Bixia Yuanjun (goddess of childbirth) is feeling.

Macaque sees Wukong pregnant this way and is confused, dismayed, and yelling "Who's the father!?" at every Pilgrim. It takes him a while to understand that the Stone Egg happened cus of SWK being essentially slow-cooked underground for 500 years. Even if Macaque plays nice with the Pilgrims afterwards, he's still glaring at anyone who comes near Wukong and "their" egg.

Wukong endears himself to many people simply because he's with child. Probably gets an extra godly nickname (something like "Meihou-Wangmu" a pun on his Handsome Monkey King title + Queen/King Mother) refering to him as a fertility figure - women seeking luck with having/not having children approach Wukong asking for his blessing, and odds are it works because of who his creator is. XD

But he also attracts unique threats that the pilgrims have to personally destroy to protect him - Krasues and Manananggals anyone?

The second the Journey is over, Wukong kneels over and with an literal earth-shattering scream out *pops!* a little Stone Egg. All happy and cracking open minutes later. His and Macaque's first born isn't told the details of their creation for a long time.

5 & 6: Gold Star gives Shadowpeach the Stone Monkey version of The Talk and warns them never to get buried alive unless they're 100% sure about it. Macaque and Wukong are terrifed into not having kids until Guanyin let sit slip that the "regular way" should work too.

In "The Monkey King and the Infant" au; Gold Star was a little more than shocked to hear about MK/Xiaotian's creation XD

Macaque is sadly unlikely to ever carry a "clone egg" to term or survive the full process. His body is a lot smaller/weaker than Wukong's and he was deprived of a lot of nutrients as a newborn (stuck on the moon = very few vitamins). So if he ever got triggered into parthenogenesis, his body would likely just refuse to create an egg. No gas in the tank.

Baby Luzhen is born from SWK, and he immediately takes out the roof/part of the Jade Palace with eye lazers. Giggling, he fails to notice the looks of horror on his family's faces.

Pigsy shoudl be just used to this nonsense by now. In the TMKATI Au; MK was a rogue comet Harbringer baby, the twins were freebies from Diyu, Yuebei was the reincarnation of one of their greatest enemies, the twin boys are likely reincarnated lunar node deities, and ofc now Luzhen decides to spawn in like a chicken egg.

I love the idea of Tang hearing all these gory details like;

Tang: "This is like finding a living dinosaur egg or a thylacine! Imagine if any of your children married a regular monkey demon- it could completely bring back your species!"

Wukong + all Three Realms shudder at the thought - Wukong mostly because he aint never doing that again. Gold Star of Venus and Lao Tzu hum, intrigued at the thought.

Tang starts crying when he realises that single-parent Stone Monkeys would likely be born orphans. It's so sad! :'(

6: Nah, Luzhen pops out all newborn baby. You see, being born fully-developed from a Stone Egg is a huge rarity; only occurring when the whole troop has died out and the egg is left on its own for thousands of years. If a Stone Monkey parent is "awoken" early enough (like within say 500-600 years) in the Egg's development and tended to quickly, their bodies stabilize into a long, but far less dangerous form of pregnancy. Its a safeguard for in case the pregnant survivor of an extinct group is found by a new troop, the parent survives and can live to possibly reproduce with the new unrelated group (higher chance of viable mates).

The only sacrifice being that the babies in these "soft-boiled" Stone Eggs are a lot weaker, premature even. The eggs themselves having a much higher chance of being empty or just absorbing straight back into the parent. Many who survived the process just sighed, it was the law of nature - why risk a possible baby for the parent when survival is preferred?

Luzhen is able to be born simply because Wukong has such a solid support system and healthcare available to him.

Ty for all these asks! I guess I should make a special "Stone Egg talk" tag for these ideas!

[razzek]

Reading Pern fic and realizing that it's always queen riders or future queen rider Mary Sue type characters who here all dragons and I am now desperate for a green rider with the ability. I know in canon it's rare and has to do with bloodlines and is a women only talent that's maybe twice in a generation. We got Lessa and Ariana (? the gal in Renegades who has such a bad time she avoids dragons) and maaaaybe Moreta (it's been a long time since I read that one). But if it's going to crop up in fanfic and RP constantly, I want to see someone that everybody pins all these expectations onto and they end up riding green to the dismay of all but them. (I love greens, second best dragons to me, only topped by blues which seem to be the only dragon an ace person can ride, but the culture around them and the way their riders are treated is fascinating.) If the green rider in question was a trans man maybe no problems there or nothing would change (though that's a story I'd be interested to read in general, a trans man in canon Pern society riding green, which had to have happened at least twice in their 2k year history). But if you had someone who was being brought up and expected to ride gold and she gets a "crappy" green, the political fallout alone would be fascinating.

Man I wish I had the stamina to write longer fics. I have so many ideas for Pern stuff (most of them horrible; I am somewhat disappointed that purity culture in fandom spaces has kept people from exploring and digging down into the real canon implications that were always present in the books; I understand not wanting to do that on a personal level, but it's disappointing that a lot of writers will avoid it solely for fear of purity assholes coming after them). If Anne herself was allowed to write really shitty attempts at confronting some of this stuff (looking at you, Skies of Pern, ugh) why aren't fans allowed to tackle it honestly and better instead of just pretending it doesn't happen? But on the flip side, where's the exploration of queerness in it’s entirety from fan writers? I've seen trans women green riders and of course lots of gay men, but where my ace blue riders and lesbians and trans men and so many others be at? Aaaanyway....

This became a tangent. tleadr: it's been like 60 years of fanfic and I'm bored of the same old runaway rich girl who hears all dragons becoming a queen rider stories. XD Nothing against that sort of self indulgence, everyone gets to write that kind of wish fulfillment. :) I'm just bored and I wanna read something new but don't have the energy to write it, alas.

[lightfeltmemories]

Hmmm, how about an Hiei x S/O or his crush headcannons? Which the S/O who's a goober, like a sweet and adorable and a very romantic one (overdramatic one...) And like thinking that the S/O is like tall (like I guess 5'10 or smth idk 😅) and he's a smol angry demon man like he doesn't know why he dated/developed feelings for a human that's like this but secretly loves them (I just love the opposite attract and tall and small dynamics xD)

oooooh i love this idea!! i decided to do both (starts off as a crush then he becomes a lover) and ngl i kind of took the enemies to lovers route with this one since i feel like it fits his character more. i also decided to go with the "goofy but very strong character" trope with the s/o because honestly? why not lol.

i surprisingly had a lot of fun writing this and it got longer than expected, he's a little ooc in some parts but eh it's not that big of a deal tbh.

tw: injuries, reader almost dies at one point, brief mention of reader having trauma,

lets be real, hiei found you annoying at first, not as annoying as kuwabara but damn near close.

when you were going to fight he didn't have much hope in you, you would probably die in under a second knowing your nature, but as soon as you put in work it almost made his jaw drop.

how he developed feelings for you was at that very moment, he doesn't realize it until much later.

the way his stomach gets this thing called "butterflies" when he's near you, he doesn't move away or threaten you when you get near or touch him (he did at first threatening to rip your arm off) but then he can't help but grow hot... uncomfortably hot.

he's thinking you put him under some type of spell, why does he feel this way? especially over a human? sure, you show courage, sure, you fight well, but guaranteed that there are others who do as well...

but then he comes to the realization, he's never met a demon that has ever made him feel this way.

and a certain red head can see right through it.

kurama eventually asks hiei if something is wrong, but hiei states that he's fine, it takes a bit of time to convince the fire demon to come clean, that something is wrong with him, whilst he was ranting, kurama was listening.. and then he came to the realization.. hiei had a crush on you.

when kurama tells him, he denies it, saying that you were just some annoying human, and that he doesn't have crushes or has the time for a relationship, but kurama knows all of that is a lie, he likes you, and him denying everything just makes things worse.

it was made very clear that this information was kept between the two demons, and eventually, hiei would have to tell you.

some time passes by and you manage to get into a scuffle, you end up injured and hiei comes to the rescue, but tells you not to think of it too deeply.

you don't say anything, but hiei has been acting strange, it's gotten to the point where yusuke and kazuma notice, but don't say a word, it's even weirder when it's just the two of you, he's a lot more.. quiet, and noticeably kinder to you, he doesn't insult you as much anymore, other than that, things remain the same.

while your tidying up your wounds you still managed to keep a smile on your face and a sense of humor, going as far as to make fun of your loss.

hiei would've called you an idiot and told you to shut up, but he can't bring himself to do it somehow, the way you talk, your laugh, your smile, the butterflies get stronger and the blush on his cheeks start to grow darker.

damn... what's with this woman?? why is she so... so....?

it would take so much of his ego and pride to just man up and admit that he likes you, he's not good with words unless it's telling people off (he gets better with this, i promise).

eventually, you got into another fight, and your opponent was tough, so tough in fact you almost die fighting, and you ended up passing out for hours upon hours, the team thought you would die.

hiei put on his cold front as usual, but on the inside he's panicking, he can't lose you, not right now at least.

when it's just him in the infirmary, he looks down at your unconscious body feeling the urge to shed a tear, your happiness is... gone, staring down at nothing but a blank face.

he hoped that you didn't die, he made sure that when you wake up, he'll tell you that he likes you... though it's easier said than done, it'll still take a lot out of him.

eventually he gets in a vulnerable state, kurama yet again see's him, noticing that he's shaking, sitting in the grass at the edge of a cliff, staring into the sunset.

they talk for a while, kurama eventually convinces him that if he can't just flat out tell her, he could just write her a note, and even better, give her a gift.

but what would she even like?

he heard in passing with your talk with his sister, yukina, that you really liked cupcakes (im sorry if you don't like cupcakes just try to imagine it's like some other desert), so, he gets some cupcakes.. from somewhere... somehow... and writes you a letter about how he wants you to be his mate.

and when you say yes.. you're locked in.. forever.

eventually you do wake up, find the cupcake next to the table and eat it, noticing the note and reading over it, it comes to you almost as a shock... hiei? likes you? no way, this has to be some type of elaborate prank.

you do end up seeing hiei, who can't even look at your face, i mean you have to admit.. he's cute, a cute little short guy, while you're taller than him by some inches, he doesn't seem to mind this, he knows he's stronger than you, height doesn't mean jack shit to him.

and so, you accept his request, and now, the two of you are officially dating! or at least that's what you think and he wants.

at first, nothing changes, he's still a tad bit nervous around you, he ordered that there should be no pda in front of the team, he's not ready to tell everyone yet.

when you two are alone, he still had barriers up, not feeling the most comfortable with you yet, the two of you talk and get to know each other, realizing that the reason you were the way you were was because of your trauma, so you masked it with humor.

it takes a while for the two of you to be more intimate (not sexual), holding hangs, hugging, kissing, of course when there wasn't anyone around.

the only person he trusts in regards of knowing about the relationship is kurama and mukuro, no one else.

it takes him a bit to admit that he definitely loves his s/o, and you might've been one of the best things that has happened to him.

[blackjackkent]

Quick stop to talk to the other bard hanging out in the center of the party.

In the last six months, Rakha has started learning more about how to play actual music as opposed to simply picking at the strings, so she's curious to see this musician, who seems quite adept at his craft. However, she's also wary, because he is an unfamiliar face in this reunion, and she is still careful with strangers.

"Oh. Hello. Let me guess, you've got some suggestions about the music choice," the man says dourly, glancing up from his lute as she approaches.

Rakha's temper has also gotten better controlled over the last six months, and she waits out the flash of irritation at being greeted so peremptorily. But she answers equally curtly - a habit which has not changed in the preceding half-year. "The music's fine. Unwanted guests are not," she says coolly. "Who are you?"

The man grimaces. "You- you've no idea who I am," he groans. "Withers couldn't even find a *bard* that knows who I am."

Rakha debates explaining that the vast majority of the people she does know are standing in this clearing right now. But instead she just shrugs and looks at him steadily. "Go on, then," she says. "What's your name?"

"Milil," the man says acerbically. "Though if the lack of song-prayers is anything to go by, that name carries less weight than it used to. I'm washed up, I'm afraid."

Narrator: [RELIGION] You feel a pang of divine guilt. Musical prayers went out of fashion among bards when Milil, Lord of Song, offended the god Cyric and was ejected from the pantheon.

(A/N: LOL. I'm gonna go ahead and say Rakha learned this from some bard in the city from whom she's been learning a bit about the actual way to play the lute, because I can't think of any other way she would have picked it up. It also occurs to me that she never had occasion to figure out that Withers is Jergal, so this is a bit more of a surprise than it was for Hector - and we know her feelings on the gods, so she's a lot less impressed than Hector was, too.)

Rakha doesn't know quite how to respond to this. She blinks a few times, rapidly, trying to determine whether she ought to somehow pretend she recognizes the man, or sympathize with his obscurity, but no response comes to mind. She supposes that telling him that he is probably better off having lost his divine status probably wouldn't go over well.

"I'd like you to play a different song, please," she says, changing the subject with all the delicacy of a brick through a plate-glass window.

Milil sighs. "Go on then. What should I play?"

(A/N: I was excited because there's a dialogue tree in the files here where you can request he play a song honoring a dead companion - including Alfira, which I thought would be nice. But then I realized that that conversation path is marked "deprecated." While I could, I suppose, bring it in anyway out of the files, I think it's kind of funnier this way. XD )

Rakha hesitates. She hadn't thought this far ahead in the conversation, and realizes now that she hasn't the foggiest idea what any of the songs he's been playing are called, let alone what she might suggest to replace them.

"Actually, what you were playing before was perfect," she says awkwardly.

Mili gives her a narrow look. "Suppose I'll get back to it then."