#maybe she went a little far at the end by trying to destroy the world but that's subjective

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Well I don't think I'll ever recover from the last few episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6

[cup-o-stars]

Relativity Falls Lore Concept- The Oracle and Bill

The Oracle:

I was initially inspired by the Twitter user @SUwu159's depiction of the Oracle in their take on Relativity Falls, and made my own adaptation as I learned about her in canon.

(Assume she can change colors because I couldn't pick what I liked most)

This version of The Oracle isn't malicious per se, and does not desire the same conquest or chaos sought out by Bill. But she likes universes to be organized and quaint (or answers to another high power that demands it), and finds fulfillment in achieving these goals through any means necessary.

The Oracle and Dipper:

(Sorry if this dialogue tastes like a corndog in your mouth. I just needed to write a semi-resolution to Dipper's side of the relationship, ha.)

Getting into the real struggle with the Pines family. Dipper and Mabel don't fight and hold grudges like the Stans (that we've seen of), so my opinion is that they drifted apart in their late teens and twenties, both feeling pressured to be less attached at the hip. My current belief (though I'm very willing to rewrite this section) is that Mabel and Dipper both poured a lot of energy into pretty niche fields, and being very busy meant very short and rare windows to reach out. Both assumed the other was doing bigger and better things and felt self conscious / childish for wanting eachother's company.

I'm still considering Mabel's backstory, since I think she probably hit lower points than Dipper. You know. Starving artist, lol. But Dipper entered into paranormal investigation, pest control, etc. before his ghost + monster catching went far enough for his name to gain some notoriety. Hell, maybe Pacifica's family reached out to him to take care of "rats" that were actually ghosts, cementing his interest in Gravity Falls and giving him a window inter supernatural work.

Dipper was taken on as something of an apprentice to the Oracle 30ish years before canon as word of his good and dangerous deeds spread. However, what was at first a personal dream come true (saving lives with nerd magic) soon became a personal hell as the Oracle began to overwhelm Dipper with knowledge of various futures and universes where everything he cared about could be destroyed. He's always been over prepared and incredibly paranoid, and became obsessed with protecting the world by acting as a partner to the Oracle.

He ends up doing- or not doing- a lot of morally ambiguous things and gaining a lot of enemies. He is too ashamed to face his family- especially Mabel- with what he's done and burden them, giving the Oracle more to use against him to keep him working for her. Basically "you've already done all this and risked it all, there's nowhere to go if you stop now." Eventually this ends in her seeing him fit for her work and convincing him to hide out in and save other universes, which he gets trapped doing for the next three decades.

Little throw away idea: Pacifica could have been an investor or partner, but left as they uncovered secrets about the Northwest family. Maybe she wanted to undo something (debating making any of the Oracle's powers time related just because I hate time travel) or stop a current show of corruption, but Dipper had to stop her for the "greater good."

In the main universe, Mabel goes to Gravity Falls upon news of her brother's disappearance, searching for any loose end to trace back to him.

I love that in canon, Dipper is willing to do anything for Mabel, and Mabel gives it back. Dipper here spends all of his life keeping as many versions of her as safe as he can, and she spends all her life trying go seek him out- maybe even dropping a larger opportunity outside of Gravity Falls for her art and settling on business at the shack. Dipper wants Mabel alive, Mabel wants them both happy. I like the idea that it's Dipper and Mable vs. The Future but the future is a demon, alien thing.

Which leads me to...

Bill Cipher:

I'm actually gonna cover a couple versions of Bill I think are fitting for this AU, because I initially wasn't sure if I wanted him here at all.

Child Bill:

Pretty straight forward. Bill as a baby, child thing is tempting and this is the au where he'd exist. Personally though, I think Ford's friendship with Fidds would be more enriching to his growth, and Bill's personality is so close to Stan's they would likely be competing to fill very similiar roles. (If Bill behaves differenty as kid, I don't know about it.) Honestly, Bill is super similiar to Ford and Stan, and works better as a kind of foil or antagonist because of that (imo). I do find the mental image of Ford carrying Bill around funny. I do not enjoy human bill like, conceptually, so I'm probably never gonna design one as an adult or child, lol.

It would be cool to see a world where Bill didn't accidentally kill his parents though.

Bill - Reincarnated Original

Technically I guess they could all be reincarneted (especially baby Bill), but this version of Bill experienced and holds memories of the original canon events in GF. Beings like Bill and the Oracle can remember recent/soon approaching lives, and catch glimpses of more distant cycles as well.

What I like about Bill's recent role as an antagonist to Ford and Stan is that he constantly describes them in the terms of their worst traits, and sees them through the lens of the roles the world placed on them. In this AU, Bill is the epitome of the past (in this case a past life) coming back to bite the twins. He rattles their progress in communication as well as their sense of inner peace by bringing old Glass Shard Beach issues into Gravity Falls.

(Depicted here-> moments after Ford summons Bill using the same ritual as Gideon.)

The drawback to this is that it feels a lot like covering old ground.

Simply Bill:

This is pretty much just regular old Bill with the same fresh perspective as everyone else, and also the one I'm going with. He tried and failed to get Dipper's trust in the past and had to lay low at the arrival of the Oracle. Once they left, Bill targeted Mabel. I think it could be very interesting for Mabel and Bill to either have a fresh relationship wherein Bill is actively taking advantage of her desperation to find Dipper, or for Bill to be an old betrayal (not romantic, but not dissimilar to the opportunistic exes Stan and Ford have to be wary of and beat back under the rug regardless).

Either he shows himself to Mable early on, or decides that Gravity Falls is both Oracle-free and worth the time after either Ford or Mable summon him. Afterall, 30 years isn't much to him.

Maybe he exists in the background like he's always done, or the kids (being snoopy and disrespectful of Mabel's secrets) discover what Mabel's doing and run into him on their own.

Whether Bill is aware of the original series or not, I think he could be neat to stick in between Stan and Ford again for conflict. My favorite aspect about Relativity Falls is the prospects of the Stans having a larger support system and better tools to help themselves with. Beating Bill faster and better would be the ultimate testament to Mabel and Dipper's skills as functioning role models, even if Mabel is currently blinded by her focus on Dipper.

Stan and Ford will fight and they will make up, but this time maybe they can overcome it on their own.

I also think a good idea is having Ford and Stan's issues be completely Bill free (outside of like an episode or two's worth of relevance, unless he put them into a particularly stinging situation). It would feel fresher and also streamline the plot, lol.

Overview:

- Dipper is stuck travelling the multiverse with the Oracle and keeps himself sane by thinking of Mabel and protecting various versions of her.

- Mabel is investigating his disappearance in Gravity Falls and is working on a portal/portal equivalent with Bill to bring him back.

- The kids may or may not be aware of this.

Looking at the main series of events, I think it'd be neat go back to the apprenticeship conflict, where Ford could be approached by the Oracle (or something else that makes sense) with the promise of being a "hero," but knows better now because of Dipper and his experiences with Bill. It's kind of a more convoluted version of Ford's proposal to Dipper in canon, and they basically learn the same thing, lol. You can hang out with ghosts if you want, but demons are gonna get you. Maybe being a child with siblings is all you need.

(Stan could also be offered this, given the Oracle already knew he- or at least someone with his face- would beat Bill, but I think it's well established he isn't very interested in doing anything without family.)

All in all, things might be a bit crowded with two antagonists. But I do like the concept of Bill's arrival and subsequent chaos triggering Dipper and the Oracle's return to Mabel's dimension. I also love the idea of Bill, the Oracle, and some secret third thing all trying to pull the Pines family apart, and it's like a Man vs. God turned into a Family vs. Destiny thing, idk. Just trying to make it feel bigger.

Thank you for reading all this. It was a lot to draw. Next time I do anything for Relativity Falls, I'm gonna go back to the smaller things like Mabel bonding with the kids and stuff like that.

[just-marauders-fics-i-think]

29. Lonely / October 29 / 689 words / @rosekillermicrofic

“Barty. Barty. Barty.” Evan murmured that name as if it were the most beautiful in the world. It dripped from his mouth like honey, like a promise.

Oh, how he wished to hold his best friend’s hands in his own, and press them to his mouth. But that would never happen. After all, Barty was straight. He was dating a pretty girl, and they looked cute together. She tamed him. She dared tame Barty.

Evan wanted to throw up. Tame? Barty? The only one who’d ever matched his freak? The thought repulsed him.

Yet it was true. Barty was unnervingly calm now. He practically never got in trouble anymore, and… Evan couldn’t keep doing this.

Because why did Barty look straight at him whenever he kissed her, grinning? Did he enjoy seeing Evan die inside? Was it a coincidence?

And now, Barty was probably kissing her. She was probably in his arms. He was probably whispering in her ear just how much he liked her.

If only Evan was a girl… Then, just maybe, Barty would look at him differently.

Oh, how he wished for his hands to be on his friend’s waist. Oh, how he wished for Barty to be his.

But he wasn’t. And he would never be.

And now, Evan was lying on his bed, cold, all alone, wishing to belong to someone who’d never like him.

So cold. But no amount of blankets could ever warm him, at this point. He’d always been a cold person, but now, it was freezing. His heart ached.

Suddenly, the door opened.

“Hey, Evvie! How are you do- SHIT ARE YOU CRYING?”

Evan quickly dried his tears, but it was too late.

“Who did this to you?” There was venom in Barty’s voice. If he hadn’t known better, Evan might’ve believed that his friend cared.

“It’s fine.” Evan was mixed between rage and grief. How odd, for someone who felt so little when it came to people. How could Barty play with his feelings? Would he ever know just how much it hurt him?

“No it isn’t. You never cry.” That was false. Evan had been crying himself to sleep for five months now, the same amount of time that Barty’d been dating that girl. But how could he know? First of all, they didn’t share a dorm, and second of all, Evan never made any noise when crying.

“Please. Tell me who did this. They will pay.” Evan wished Barty hadn’t said that, that he’d never say anything like that anymore. It gave him hope, and it was that hope that destroyed him.

“It’s you.” Well shit. He’d said it.

Barty’s look of confusion felt like a stab in his chest.

“What do you mean? What did I do?”

Evan couldn’t take this anymore.

“Merlin, Barty, aren’t you supposed to be the brightest wizard in our year? How can you be such an idiot?”

“Wait… is this about her?”

Evan nodded. He hated this. He wanted to be as far away from here as possible. Because he knew that he’d end up slipping and telling everything to Barty.

“Holy shit. It worked.”

Evan’s vision went red. “It worked”? Was this all on purpose? Was Barty doing his best to hurt him?

“Explain yourself, Crouch.” Evan was dead serious, now. More than he’d ever been. This moment, right here, in his room, when there was no one else but them, this moment would change their relationship. Now whether it was enemies or something else that they’d become, Evan had no idea.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for three years, and making you jealous is only the most recent way I’ve been doing that. Happy now?”

Evan was speechless. So it was all on purpose. The pain. The suffering. But… Barty liked him? Him?

“You’re horrible.” Grabbing Barty’s collar, he pulled him closer and kissed him.

Shit. Shit. Shit. This was the most amazing thing that Evan had ever experienced. His head felt so light, and his body was on fire. Softness and desire overwhelmed him. He wanted to devour Barty. To make him his.

“Barty. Barty. Barty.”

[not-5-rats]

I made this mf as a joke...it was a joke, I took it too far, I adore them <3

Guess who made a second Bug :3

(sorta-? more of a Gator Boys oc lol)

☆---------------☆

Xanthe (Zanthe) Rhys

☆×.------------------------.×☆

'Red isn't a natural hair colour-' go away, this world has gator boys let my gay child have red hair 💥

☆---------------☆

Basic Info;

Nicknames: Xane, Dumbass, Simpy-Bug

Pronouns: All (They Change)

Gender Id: Genderfluid

Age: 19

Height: 5'10

Sexuality: Pansexual

Voice Claim: Kristofferson (Fantastic Mr Fox)

Alignment: Chaotic Nuetral

B-Day: 17th April

Conditions: Dyspraxia & Autism

Current Job: Tavern Bartender

☆---------------☆

Family;

(Relation - Name - Age - How Close They Are / 10)

Father - Marcus - 52 - 2/10

Mother - Dhalia - 48 - 1/10

Sister #1 - Imogen - 28 - 8/10

Sister #2 - Astrid - 26 -6/10

Brother - Helios - 21 - 9/10

N/A - Xanthe - 19 - N/A

☆---------------☆

Lil Bits;

They wear a choker which was 'gifted' to them by Jasmine (explained in backstory) it has a heart in the centre which is actually a lock, the key belonged to Jasmine who never returned it, so they physically can't remove it....well they could, but they couldn't bring themself to destroy it inorder to remove it so...it remained a constant reminder

The scarf was originally a way to cover just the choker as he was ashamed of it but as time went on the scarf became another part of Xane, she was never without it, it covered their mouth which meant they didn't have to put as much effort into their expressions

When he was super little Xane wanted to do sports, but due to her dyspraxia they really struggled to learn. And hell maybe if he bad kept trying she would've made it...but they were quickly convinced by a certain person to give up, they still wonder if they could had a chance in that field

They will flirt with everyone, there's no actual feelings behind it, it's just part of her 'personality' this includes the Bugs, if somebody doesn't like it though Xane stops instantly! Like several apologies and he gives them some space

LOVES FOXES, would beat a bitch up if they hurt a fox <3

Sends letter to his siblings everyday and tries to see them often <33

She enjoys painting, been doing it since they were little, it was the one things Jasmine wasn't able to take away from them. Well he took a break after the break-up because everytime she tried to paint just ended up being her...it was haunting. But they soon got back to it!!

To add onto the last point, when she meets the Bugs she instantly starts painting them. Even if he doesn't have any romantic feelings for them they still find the Bugs pretty, stunning even, so paints them and stores all the paintings in a box...maybe one day he'll share her talent...maybe

The weird bracelet thing they have (the purple, green and blue one) is a bracelet that all the siblings have, each colour represents one of them so each is slightly different but they all have them and all wear them 24/7 (the colours match the colours on the names)

☆---------------☆

Personality;

Upon first meeting them many people are quite disturbed by them, not because he's rude or talks about harsh topics but because she's so...different

He is extremely energetic and never tries to dull themself down for anyone else's comfort, she never feels the need to be quiet, they always have something to say so why should they remain silent? But the thing that really gets to people is just how...ehm...odd some of the things he says are. Most of the things they say could fall into one of three categories;

1) Self-Deprecating - It would be reasonable for anyone to guess that Xane hated himself, the way she spoke of herself, the jokes they made at his own expense, it's all quite harsh. She would call himself things such as, a fool, idiotic, irresponsible, expendable, useless, meaningless, really saying there was nothing Xane was good at. Many don't appreciate this sense of humour

2) Flirtatious - She seems to, in lack of a better word, 'simp' for almost everybody and isn't afraid to admit it! They never say anything intrusive or of a gross nature, it's just small things, such as mentioning that somebody is pretty or that he would love to take them on a date sometime

3) Confusing - It's like she speaks in riddles, you can't tell if what they're saying is just a load of nonsense...or if whatever he said secretly has a much deeper meaning to it. When first meeting them all of these are passed of as nonsense, but as you get to know them you realise that some of it isn't so random

Thanks to their way of speaking many don't want to talk to her, their often avoided by coworkers and strangers alike. Yet he doesn't change their ways, she remaines herself, refusing to turn into a different person just because others don't like their personality

If somebody decides that they don't mind, or even like, Xane's personality so stick around they'll soon start to see the cracks in her facade

As time goes on they realise that he becomes quite shut off as the evening comes, Xane seems to shut themself off certain days, she tries to reason why he isn't available...but often their excuses are lazy & clearly untrue, and if they do manage to drag him out on those days she just seems tired, distant even

Finally they'll find out that the only reason he's so vibrant & joyous is so that they can avoid facing their trauma, if she keeps a face of positivity, carelessness, inner freedom then he never has to accept the turmoil that bubbles inside of them

They want to let people in, so that he can finally let somebody see how hurt she is, show them the damage he holds...but they can't. She wants friends but he can't stand the idea of letting people get close, they don't want anybody to get any hint that he might not be as free from feelings as she seems

So they keep up the walls, she appears very odd, very intense, so that people will leave them alone. But as soon as somebody decides they still like him despite these oddities, she can't help but let them in

☆---------------☆

(cw!!!; manipulation, abuse, neglect, SA)

Also this probs doesn't make too much sense/ is repetitive, sorry babes'

Backstory;

Xane was born into a shitty household, there was no denying it

Her parents never loved one another, they simply tolerated each other. Sure they might have been in love when they initially married over 20 years ago but alot can happen over 20+ years...alot can change, so no they're not in love if anything they despise each other

This hatred flowed through the parents and into the children, both parents tried their hardest to convince their children to hate the other parent...little did they know most of their kids really needed very little convincing

Both parents were so caught up in their hatred for one another they forgot that they were meant to love their children, they had the first two kids because it's what they were told married couples did but the last one were only conceived to be used as a weapon in this war the two were fighting. So the children grew up with a dislike towards both parents, Xane was included in this

Xane was the last born child of the Rhys household, so whilst their siblings did try to protect him from their parents fight...it simply wasn't possible. So instead they just taught her how to ignore it, how to remained neutral, to stay out of their way

This meant Xane had to mature quickly, they had to leave their childhood behind and become a silent figure which haunted the home. It was awful, he barely felt like a real person, Xane felt like she was forced to be nothing in this stupid house...which is probably why it was so easy for her to take advantage of them

Xanthe met Jasmine when he was 9 and she was 10, the two met through their older siblings, the two were friends and due to how lonely Xane felt they were instantly obsessed with the idea of having a friend who was just as weird as them! It was amazing for Xane...but it soon took a turn

Jasmine asked Xane to be their 'partner' within the first year they met, obviously it wasn't a super serious relationship given their age but to Xane it was super serious, she was so happy! Not only had they just gotten his first friend they had also gotten their first girlfriend! That joy quickly dried up as Jasmine began to do...things, which Xane didn't like

She made them feel alone, more alone than they already felt, she convinced them their siblings hated him, they never cared, infact they were planning on abandoning Xane, leaving her alone

(What didn't help was that very soon after she started planting these ideas in his mind the eldest child left the household as they were now old enough to do so)

It left them feeling trapped, that Jasmine was all they had, if he left Jasmine he had nothing. Nobody else would be as 'accepting' as her, nobody would 'love' her as she did. And by the time Xane was 10 Jasmine had them all to herself and that's what made it so easy for her to do what she did

Jasmine's hands started wandering, Xane would protest but she convinced them that this is what people who loved one another did, and since he had no role model for what love looks like...Xane reluctantly accepted this reason

For three years Xane was trapped in Jasmine's grasp, she slowly got worse, the things she called him, the things she did to them...they way she violated her, these were things that, even after Jasmine left them, Xane never got over

When they were 13 Xane started to stand up to Jasmine, they never outright denied her but she started to push back against the things Jasmine was doing...so she left them. She abandoned them

This broke Xane, Jasmine was all they had for so long and now she was gone. What the fuxk were they to do? So he shielded herself off, hid away in their room, never speaking to anybody, never doing anything, just rotting there, day upon day. She had given up. What was the point anymore...

Luckily there were three people that never gave up on Xane. Everyday his siblings came and checked up on her, making sure they ate and drank, they even managed to drag him outside every few days! They were always there and since they were always there they obviously asked what was going on with her, why he was hiding away...but Xane refused to tell them

She wanted to, they needed to tell somebody...but he couldn't bring himself to...because they thought it was their own fault. She spent all her alone time pointing the finger at himself, they let Jasmine do these things, he didn't ask for help as it was happening...so what right did she have to blame Jasmine. There was also the fact that...Xane didn't think anyone would belive them. Jasmine's family were massively loved in the local community, his own mother was overjoyed to know Xane was friends with her!! So why would they believe them if they told everyone what she did...to add to this Jasmine was 11 when she started doing all these things...who would believe that an 11 year old would do this...nobody would believe them

So she never told anybody and instead learned to build a person around it. They never accepted their trauma, they ignored what happened and began to paint a new picture of who they were. Whilst inside the home Xane remained the blank canvas they were raised to be outside Xane became a new person

She was confident, careless, flirty, daring! He spent ages working on his new persona, learning mannerisms to keep up the look they decided to pick up. They became...what many would call a freak, she became the odd individual that everyone knows today...and he admired herself for it

Strangers didn't come near her, nobody wanted to risk talking to them due to how odd he was, people avoided her and pretty soon Xane realised why they loved being like this, they realised that now he was exactly who he needed to be back when they met her...cause if they were like this back then she wouldn't have done it. She wished they had changed earlier...but decided not to dwell on that for too long...they were safe, nobody would come near him anymore, this persona was their saviour

So the years passed, this persona growing stronger and stronger. Xane began to grow a reputation around the local area, the creep that lived round the corner, which led to them leaving town as soon as they became 17. I mean their siblings had already left, why would they stay?

They left town and ventured out, she soon found himself in the town in just beside the swamps which a certain couple of gators happened to inhabit. He got a job at a tavern (the job came with a free room upstairs of the bar...so how could they refuse) and actually became pretty popular at work, patrons of the tavern enjoyed bantering with Xane, the drunk liked her oddness alot more than the sober, so they leaned into it and people seemed to really like that

Of course they still haven't forgotten what happened...they doubt he ever will, but she feels better in life, even if he's living a lie atleast the lie is having a good life, the 'Xane' people know is happy...even if Xanthe herself isn't

☆---------------☆

How They Met The Boys/ Their Relationship;

It was late one evening, Xane didn't have work so decided to spend some time drinking in the tavern. They had heard myths about the 'creatures' since she moved in...yet he was sceptical. Sure she believed in the 'monsters', he'd been taught about them since she was young, but they doubted the creatures would live so close to a town!

So in her drunken state Xane decided he would go out into the forest and prove there were no 'monsters' out there, the other patrons were reluctant to let them go but she was quickly able to convince them

As he slumped through the trees they weren't paying loads of attention to where she was going...which led to them falling into the river. He splashed, trying desperately to bring themself to the surface...but she couldn't. They felt their life fading and their eyes falling shut...just as she passed out he was pulled from the water by our fav Gator-Dad <3

They were taken back to his cottage where he aided them, making sure he was alright. Xane tried to laugh of their incident...yet they weren't allowed to leave, Bodie wanted to ensure they were alright so encouraged her to stay for a few days...they agreed

At the time Xane arrived in the swamps Bug had already been there for a while, so they ended up talking quite alot. Bug still being injured and Xane not being sure where to go. Bugs relationship with Xane obviously depends Bug-to-Bug but I hope they get along ^^

Bodie defo gets the worst of Xane's flirting, he constantly ask if Bodie would ever consider dating a non gator, how he felt about marriage, even if she could steal a lil kiss for the road when they first tried to leave! He's never serious and Bodie can tell, which is why he just ignores her comments and questions. Bodie is the first one to realise that Xane was masking their inner feelings, he was the first to get under their facade...and he was the first person she ever spoke to about Jasmine. Something about his presence was comforting enough for him to tell. So now she's stopped making flirty comments towards him...mostly and sees him more like the father they never had

Timmy makes him laugh, his clumsy demeanor, the way his personality mirrored theirs just in a watered down way, she instantly liked him. They made little flirty comments towards him...and he just called them crazy, apart from that he bad no idea how to respond, be even seemed flustered at some points yet the more she did it the more he began to find ways to respond. Sometimes he played along and the rest of the time he just laughed with her. They're like best buddies

Marco...hm, they didn't spend much time together but Xane thinks he's the prettiest of the boys (totally not projecting-) like no she doesn't have a crush on him he just thinks Marco's a pretty lil croc. So he's when they first met she did make a couple comments which was...weird lol. Marco found the way they spoke to him kinda odd, he chose to ignore it but when it became clear she was making him even slightly uncomfy Xane stfu. Like bro apologised so quickly and never made another comment again. So yeah they don't really know one another but I feel that's for the better, they probs wouldn't get along too well

As time went on and days passed Xane found he didn't really want to leave, she appreciated the Gators and Bug, so they hung around for awhile :3

☆---------------☆

That's all I can think of! ^^ (this character is a bit of a projection of all my unhinged thoughts abt the boys lol (and kinda some of the backstory but we don't talk abt that) so yeah no don't take them too seriously-)

And here's him without the scarf!!!

[misty-moth]

*Gil route spoilers toward the end*

You know the isekai stories where the character reads a book at some point, doesn’t pay very close attention to it, but then is thrown into that book (and often are “born” into one of the book’s characters, so they start as a baby)?

Isekai AU where that happened to Chev.

He read a book outside of his usual genres on a whim, and he was launched into it soon after. He was an adult when it happened, and a rather competent one at that. Now he had been born into a position of royalty and was fairly convinced he could rule the entire continent with his knowledge. He just needed to win the story’s war against Obsidian, where the story’s timeline had ended.

So he knows *almost* everything that happens, especially key points that would otherwise be impossible to guess. He knows the tragic end of his mother, so he didn’t try to stop it. He knew about Bloodstained Rose Day, so he accepted his decision as necessary. The closer he stuck to the original plot, the longer he’d know what was going to happen.

The problem with the book for Chev was that he thought it was stupid. Because it was a romance novel. He hadn’t really considered looking for it until he came across a ~random~ romance novel in his stack of books, and soon he’s been reading every romance he can get his hands on, on the off chance he finds the book again. He’s hoping there’s a “rare book” somewhere that would become a prophetic treasure for him…

He knows about Emma the future Belle, but he’s convinced that Belle is a pointless position because he plans on firmly changing the plot once she comes into play. By the end of the book, he will no longer need to bother with romance— he’ll have secured an entire continent instead. Surely Emma can pick one of his brothers, so it’s fiiine…

So he’s pretty close to the original timeline, but he’s still a little thrown off when a woman in town slaps a drunkard in front of him. He wasn’t expecting to meet Belle on a random day and in such a weird way (did the original Chev point a sword at Emma’s throat? New Chev can’t seem to remember that part happening…)

Then he had to be on his game as far as pushing her away, toward any of his brothers (he was positive that whoever she chose, they would love and cherish her). He’s spent all of his new life preparing, so it should be easy enough to push one last person away. No time for kindness or love if he wants to rule this fictional world.

And, well, we’ve seen how well that went for him in his route 😅

And his route could end with loving Emma, how it was originally written, even having known everything beforehand. Dude’s a certified genius now, but he couldn’t destroy fate…

Sure would be a shame if another “genius” was isekai’d into an enemy prince’s body that would also want to take over the continent and meet Belle (essentially the perfect, ideal woman with the purest heart). A prince who ended up in a body/family/life that tore his own pure heart to shreds.

He’d read the romance novel because he liked happy stories, and he’d liked how lovely and strong Emma was. So ending up in the last possible person to meet her was a huge blow for him.

Gil couldn’t find the novel in the fictional world, either, though he didn’t try quite as hard as Chev (who he’d met as a child, not realizing that the gallant prince in the story was now the grumpy kid reading in a corner).

Gil gave up trying to find it after realizing survival had to be his ultimate priority. Eventually in his adult years he was able to think about her again. He’d looked back on the stories the bookseller told him, which were curiously similar to the Belle he had read about. Maybe if he couldn’t find the romance novel… he could write it?

And finding out that Emma had finally become Belle at the same time he’d learned he’d had nothing left to lose? Time to visit Rhodolite.

Two isekai’d princes, one the pre-destined lover of Belle, the other an enemy who was born into the life of a doomed side character who had to make himself a main character to survive.

Neither knows the other came from their original universe, so they are both pretty perplexed at how competent the other is. They’ve been side-eyeing the other their whole lives: Gil eventually realizes he’s talking to Chevalier, the ML, but that he’s a lot grumpier than he remembers. Chev doesn’t understand where this prominent enemy character came from or why he wasn’t mentioned in the books 🤔

[cawyden-gaming]

Given your recent revelations about Venria, I’m curious, how does she (and you) see Theodora and Calcazar? Plus the rest of the Calcazar’s acolytes that we meet.

Oh, that is a very interesting question, thank you!

I think my personal view pretty much matches Venria's (aside from her past experience of course). Let's see:

Theodora: Of course, a few minutes of talk wasn't enough to make her care about Theodora and even worse, Venria's every step as a new Rogue Trader was still overshadowed by her, seeing how everyone was comparing Venria to Theodora (with the implication Theodora was better in every regard). And on top aside from the wealth and fame all the issues she inherited.

Given her knowledge later she sees Theodora as a heretic, not a chaos follower or a cultist, but someone willing to use everything in their arsenal that could provide a little advantage for her own gain and went too far, actually harming and weakening the dynasty in Venria's opinion. She is actually glad she wasn't forced to longer serve and follow Theodora's orders which would very likely have been against her beliefs. For sure Theodora would also have tried to get rid of Heinrix (unless she would find a way to use him) and Venria shudders to think she might even have tried to use her against Heinrix.

Calcazar: He has a lot of qualitities that Venria admires. He is charming, intelligent and observant. But she despises his ruthlessness. That he saved her makes her thankful at first, but she knows he did it not out of kindness but because he saw her as an asset. If she had indeed become part of the retinue she is sure he would have discarded her eventually like Emelina and Tanakia. There are similarities to Theodora, but while Venria feels appaled by the actions of both of them, she does think that Xavier is still acting out of belief he is doing the right thing, in contrast to Theodora who seemed to have been only out for herself.

Emelina: She wished she could have met Emelina how she was before, how Heinrix had come to know her, maybe playing a game of regicide with her, too. She is glad Emelina was there for Heinrix and feels sorry for them, seeing that both valued and cared about each other. It was cruel that they met again under these circumstances and not only did Heinrix lose her, but he was the one who ended her life as well, even if it was the most merciful way. For Venria it seems that she was a kind person that only fell to chaos because she wanted to help the people to survive.

The way she was discarded was brutal and reminds Venria very much of her own experience with the Inquisition. People are treated like assets, and tools, not as humans. And it is another reminder of her own past - pretty much the only person who had been nice to her during her time in the Ordo Xenos was the one person who ended up betraying every one of them and who she had to put down when he was threatening to destroy a pilgrim ship.

Achilleas: Venria liked Achilleas, he even prevented her from falling down the stairs when she was trying (for the first time in her life) shoes with high heels for her Magnae Accessio. She was also thankful for the information they received from him. That the Inquisition has spies on the important worlds of her dynasty is pretty much a given for her but at least he was someone she knew (at least by name) and Heinrix seemed to trust and value him too.

The attack on Dargonus made her a little suspicious when he was the single survivor in that room and hardly injured. But then she remembered her own past, how she survived against all odds with nearly everyone else dead around her - more than once. Being a survivor had been difficult for her too and she thought she saw it in Achilleas as well. She feels sorry he had to go through the torture and isn't as upset as Heinrix that he betrayed them; of course, he still had a choice but he was also broken.

Tanakia: Venria had not really an idea about her (aside from Heinrix apparently valuing her skills) until they met her on Epitaph. Her situation and condition were pitiful but Venria was upset and angry to see how Tanakia treated Heinrix and insulted him. But somehow she has the feeling that wasn't the first time and Heinrix had to endure a lot during working with her in the past.

Aishara: an overconfident brute for sure and like Tanakia obviously not a close friend of Heinrix.

Both Tanakia and Aishara reminded her a lot of her own time in the retinue of an Inquisitor. While Heinrix was lucky that he had Emelina, Venria was mostly left alone and glad if people just ignored her. There were others who would not stop insulting and threatening her.

This is why upon seeing (or better hearing) these two speaking with Heinrix she is taken back to her past but this time, it isn't intimidating her, it makes her angry and protective of Heinrix.

Thank you so much again for your ask! I hadn't thought about that in detail before and only now saw the similarities to Venria's past.

[jlilycorbie]

I still have no idea why fandom culture, and especially fanfic, passed me by. I went to my first con when I was 12. I've run green rooms. I should be all over it, but I'm just...not.

I passionately love books and movies and shows, but no matter what, I end up writing my own little things instead. Sometimes there are bits and pieces and inspirations from things I love in my work, but I've never really tried to set up my own stories in other people's worlds.

The exception is when a story makes me mad. When I get spun up about how some worldbuilding doesn't work or how some idea seems wasted, then I'll get into what could have been fanfic, but always spins off far enough to end up being my own thing.

I've got a backburnered cyberpunk WIP. It takes place in a future US that's no longer a world power, outside and inside an arcology. Some things in the world have gotten better, some have gotten worse. People can attend virtual school, which was theoretically designed to erase class differences between students, but it's not like kids haven't found countless ways to draw those lines between themselves anyway. The MC lives outside the arcology, and her dearest goal in life is to become a teacher so she can get a coveted place living comfortably inside the arcology. She doesn't know how crap life can be if you work in maintenance and live in the cramped maintenance levels, and she and her BFF, who's an agoraphobic kid who won't leave her bedroom in the arcology, accidentally uncover a terrorist plot to plant a bomb in the arcology and frame the maintenance worker's union in an attempt to both destroy the union and push through new legislation that would allow the corporate owners of the arcology to essentially turn all of the maintenance workers into indentured servants.

That story started while I was complaining about Ready Player One.

The underpinning for Magic School Dropouts is probably immediately obvious. Around 17 years ago, the MC and her BFF managed to escape the creepy magic school they'd joined. The MC's family had moved without telling her while she was in the boarding school, so she had to figure out how to live her life while fleeing the magic police who would track her down for what she'd done at the school. She and her BFF separated, and now she's gotten a message from her BFF's sister: her BFF was pregnant when they escaped from the school, and she died shortly after she had her daughter, who her older sister raised. Her older sister knew nothing about what happened to them in the school, so she didn't see anything wrong with sending her niece to the school. Except now she's gotten cryptic messages from her niece indicating she needs help. The MC is the only person the sister knows who went to the school and can maybe help, and while trying to figure out what to do, the MC learns there's a whole thriving magical culture that has nothing to do with the isolated school that preys on children born into normal families who don't know better.

And yeah, that came from many, many discussions about Harry Potter. Most of them before Rowling let the mask drop.

The Tom Cruise Mummy remake had me on a path toward some kind of story, but there were problematic elements I never managed to iron out enough to get a good plot together.

I guess when it comes down to it, when I love something, I'm happy to love it and enjoy what I've gotten from the original makers, and when I get mad about something, I go spinning off too far into the ether to write fanfic.

[dailycass-cain]

Birds of Prey #5 kicks off 2024 with our first appearance of Cass in the new year! It is also near the end point of the series' first arc!

So how's it going with the fill-in artist? Well, time for my thoughts...

I think I'll start with the only "minor nitpick" and that's we're on the fifth issue and well I'm so accustomed to Leonardo Romero's version of Cass I'm thrown a little off that we're back to "normal" looking bat ears Cass by Arist Deyn for the issue.

It took a moment for my mind to adjust to the fact, "Oh right another artist's interpretation of Cass." And that's when my mind went back into the story. Besides the other cues of the Romero tweak is there with the blue hue inside the cape.

Sides...

It's an artist I've never seen draw Cass. I'm good with it. Moving on.

Cass has a surprisingly meaty role in the issue going back and forth throughout. I was expecting a lesser role like in #3 but nope every member gets a good chunk in this issue.

Cass is mainly in "go-to" position. She's one of the first Birds who sees Dinah after Sin is taken. She's given the task to fetch something, is the witness to Zealot/Wonder Woman "round 2", and---

-- well to quote a famous web series I love to rewatch, "Multiverse theory is a bitch". See we get another clue as to why Babs and maybe a few others aren't in this arc (or why some are and still events are going down as they are).

From this brief exchange between Meridian (gosh I want to call her "Mirai Maps" from now on given the way this issue clicked).

It's obvious that Mirai Maps has been playing a game. A game to try and stop Megera from absorbing Sin, achieve "perfection" and destroying the world.

So far, the "attempts" at trying this has seems like A LOT, and you can tell Cass catches on with the last bit. I'm just a bit surprised she didn't inquire more into the OTHER outcomes.

It sounds like Dinah knows this, hence why she's been following Mirai Maps' rules of not letting Babs in on this (and I'm curious what happens if Babs finds out).

Regardless, it seems like A LOT of attempts have been made, and this just happens to be the latest against Megera.

Also one tiny little note, I love that Megera is literally the panel-lines in this issue. They are EVERYWHERE after being unleashed last issue.

I wonder if it'll continue next? Be nice if it still goes on until the issue's end given the implications of this issue that multitasking without a host is quite hard for Megera.

However, they do possess the mega rod. So there is that.

This issue was fun ramping everything up even more with the arc's villain staying their plan, showcasing their powers (their strengths and weaknesses), and well all the Birds get a fun moment.

I'm really curious how writer Kelly Thompson will wrap this arc up, and given the seeds throughout these issues how the next will go? Not to mention how they pertain to Cass?

Gawds I almost wish we had Batgirls around still with Cass absent with this going on while Steph/Babs have an adventure. That'd be SWEET.

So yeah, another stellar issue from the GOAT of series at DC right now. Gosh, it hurts as much as Tec waiting for that next issue to drop next.

[abarbaricyalp]

Written for the @sambuckylibrary summer bingo prompt: Beach Day! Had to get one more in under the deadline.

Rated T, gets a little suggestive at the end

Okay so ages ago @katatonicimpression posted about Sam getting a Captain America 'suit' from Namor that was actually a speedo and well... (Funnily enough, I had not seen the original tags on the post until I was done with this story. I agree: Bucky would be fuming)

Namor's characterization in this kind of melds the MCU with the comics, since we didn't really get to see a lighter side of him in BP:WF. ("Or you could just wear a suit" joke line, my beloved)

(Sea) Star Spangled

Bucky had brought this upon himself.

He didn't usually like to take responsibility for things that had even a slightly contested origin. He thought he'd had plenty of shit laid at this feet egregiously, so, no Sam, it was not his fault there was only a swallow of milk left in the jug in the fridge.

But this one... This was his fault.

("You're welcome, self," he also thought.)

Here's the thing. He knew Shuri had told him about another actor, another nation, another hero who dealt with Vibranium. But, to be fair to himself, things had been pretty hectic for the both of them at the time and she'd said this guy lived under the ocean, so he really wasn't Bucky's priority. And, in this brave new world of "supervillain" teammups and consequent subterfuge, Bucky hadn't thought about the fish guy, merman, aquaman person since that brief mention.

By the time mermaid Barbie did catch up to him, Bucky had been at this game long enough to be practically working for Shuri instead of de Fontaine. She and he had worked out a nearly flawless repertoire of information sharing without getting caught and Bucky was pretty sure his new bosses were none the wiser. It had been Shuri who'd told him about an odd deposit of vibranium in the shallows and sandbars of a remote beach island.

Bucky had been investigating that lead when he met the submariner for the first time.

So, hey, maybe he could actually blame this all on Shuri.

It had been harder to convince Namor that he was a friend, not a foe. The alliance between the Atlantean and Shuri was evidently not as steadfast as Shuri had led Bucky to believe those weeks ago. Namor was intense and smarter than most people Bucky had been dealing with recently. (Shuri obviously excluded) He nettled and prodded at Bucky and his story for hours. Sharks literally started to circle at one point and Bucky had to let the Atlantean know that his threat was received perfectly clearly.

When all was said and done, when Namor was reluctantly on board with the plan though not any happier about it, when Bucky's research vessel was so thoroughly destroyed he didn't even bother trying to fish pieces out of the water, Namor took him to shore and asked who should be contacted.

Bucky had said the first name that came to mind.

Hours later, when the sun had scorched Bucky's chest, shoulders, and face, Sam appeared on a boat. Because of course he knew how to drive a boat. Bucky knew that and yet his heart still tripped over itself in his chest to see him looking like some dashing privateer. A privateer in board shorts at any rate.

Sam read people better than Bucky did. Bucky was great at threat assessment, but that was usually as far as his skills went. (Barring his ability to get free sweet tea from his favorite waitress) Sam knew how to work any angle on any person. He knew to show up dressed down instead of in his full Cap gear. He knew to cut the engine well before the rudders could damage the shoreline kelp life. He knew to approach Bucky and Namor with a somber but not cowed cadence to his steps.

Steve told a story constantly about the first time Sam met T'Challa. About his nigh on irreverence and familiarity. Bucky could see him assessing now if that kind of banter would work. In the end, he went for the safer route, turning his attention to Bucky and narrowing his eyes. "What did you do?" he asked.

Bucky wouldn't say Sam and Namor got on easily. Namor was not as quickly swayed by Sam's pervasive charm and ready smile and moral dignity. But the half-snarl curl of his lip had disappeared and the tension in his shoulders ebbed the longer he and Sam talked. Sam was good at this, winning people over long enough to rectify a situation and get back out of it.

And he did get Bucky out of it. Bucky got an earful on the ride back to some place with a plane, but it was worth it once he got into the cabin and out of the sun.

The next time it happened, Sam showed up in his Captain America uniform, and Bucky felt vaguely betrayed that Sam had been doing real Captain America things without him. The conversation between Namor and Sam flowed more easily as Bucky's shoulders continued to sunburn.

The THIRD time was not Bucky's fault. In fact, Bucky found Sam and Namor already in the midst of a fight that they had started in the shallows off an uninhabited island. Surprisingly, Bucky's new bosses weren't involved, so Bucky had no idea what was going on, but people were throwing spears at Sam and that was unacceptable.

The fight didn't last much longer after Bucky joined. Sam and Namor had had it mostly under control before he showed up, so the extra brute force only helped. The combatants disappeared into the water exactly like the sea monsters of his childhood stories.

"What are you doing here?" Bucky asked Sam so he didn't have to think about what else lurked in the water. He did follow Sam out of the shallows quickly though.

"Your friend picked up your bad habits," Sam answered in a half-teasing, half-stressed kind of way. He wiped his face free of salt water.

Namor scowled at him. Bucky wondered if his own scowls were that unconvincing. It was kind of impossible to actually get angry at Sam. "He is not my friend and I did not call you for help. You stopped yourself."

Sam shrugged. "You looked like you were losing."

"I do not lose!" Namor insisted again.

"Well, hey, next time you aren't losing and don't need help, you know how to reach me," Sam said with a grin. And then, to Bucky, he added, "We share seagulls!" A phrase Bucky completely did not understand.

The next time Namor showed up, Bucky hadn't even bothered him. He and Sam had detoured away from their return home from a mission because they were flying over Nassau and neither of them were passing up the opportunity for a beach vacation. The first two days had been flawless. But that night, tangled together on a high sandbar during low tide, a sudden wave, tall enough and dense enough to blot out the moonlight, crashed over them and left fish and kelp and so much salt water in its wake. It practically flooded the sandbar out and left bits and pieces of their uniforms floating in the water.

"I can see you!" Namor called from somewhere far away, or maybe right under the water. Bucky could never tell. "Go elsewhere!"

And yet. AND YET. They were here now.

Maybe he could actually blame Namor. Thinking about it again, he could definitely blame Namor. Bucky had only accidentally introduced him and Sam. Namor had done this.

"It looks pretty good right?" Sam laughed, smoothing a hand down his perfect body that Bucky should really be napping against right now instead of suffering in the middle of the ocean. How was he actually glistening? He wasn't even wet. What was this golden glow? There was cloud coverage.

It was about the only coverage on this boat.

For an ocean where a battle had just raged with too many combatants and interests at play for Bucky to keep straight, the sea was calm, the sun warm, the bird call familiar. It could almost be any other day on the boat. Except for the blood growing tacky in Bucky's hair and the bruise sprawling down Sam's shoulder and back. He needed to get an ice pack on it.

Actually, he needed to put a shirt over it.

"It is made of the same fibers as all of our warriors' clothing," Namor explained about the "outfit" Sam had quickly changed into. "Yours and mine are the same." And he looked entirely too smug as his gaze flicked to Bucky momentarily.

Despite joking about it, Bucky knew Namor didn't actually wear a speedo. It was shorts and he had fantastic thighs that would make any clothing look smaller. Those shorts--battle garments, his ass--were even smaller on Sam. They were practically molded to his ass. There was almost nothing down the back of his thighs. They were fighting for their life to cover his ass and stay around his hips at the same time. They were a dark navy with subtle, darker striping around one leg, not that anyone could tell because they were so damn short.

"If you're going to spend so much time on the water, you should be equipped to do so. No, Barnes?" Namor looked at him again and was definitely smirking. Suddenly Bucky preferred the scowl.

"Sam flies," he ground out.

"Yes. He's very impressive," Namor agreed. "And then he rescues you from the water all of the time."

Bucky ground his teeth together even harder.

"I know you have many suits for many different reasons. I just wanted to offer a gift of my own," Namor continued. "Talokan is grateful for your help and friendship." He reached out and clasped their forearms together.

Bucky seethed.

This was not a suit. This was obscene. There was a star right over the crotch, for God's sake. (Okay, slightly left of the crotch, whatever) Namor didn't even buy into nationalism. He hated it. It had been a huge point of contention until Sam had explained to him his own struggles with representing a country or ideal that outright rejected him over and over. If anything, this should just be navy. Plain. And longer, dammit. Bucky's brain was going to overheat. He needed to look away from that damn star.

"I appreciate it, K'uk'ulan," Sam said earnestly, like he wasn't standing around looking like a soft core poster. He bowed his head a little and held a hand over his heart. God, Bucky wanted to eat him.

Then Sam kicked his ankle and Bucky turned his irritation towards him. It wasn't enough to make him want to eat Sam any less, but it eased some of the burning need in his chest. Sam subtly tried to nod towards Namor, eyes wide and imploring.

With a sigh that gathered up all of Bucky's willpower, he turned to Namor and tried to ease the scowl on his face. "We will always help Talokan and the Talokanil," he said, and surprised himself with the honesty in his voice. He did really like Namor's home and his people. What of it he had come to see and understand. "I would rather help them than whichever evil bastards are trying to pull the reins up here."

The flash of gratitude over Namor's face was only that--a flash, but Bucky saw it and he tucked that information away. But it was too quickly replaced by a grin. "Then you agree. It is good that the captain now has appropriate dress."

The scowl got deeper by three fold and Namor's grin only turned more gleeful. And, oh. Namor hadn't put Sam in a speedo to leer at him himself. He'd done it to tease Bucky. The asshole.

"We should get Bucky one," Sam joked.

Bucky and Namor pulled twin grimaces, which made, Sam laugh and laugh.

"We need to head out," Bucky said to Sam. "We'll have a better chance of holding off alphabet agencies and suits if we're not right on top of the fight.

Sam frowned, tipped his face up to the sunlight because he was genuinely some kind of sun god and needed the replenishment as far as Bucky was concerned, and then sighed. "You're right," he agreed. "One day, we'll have to meet under better circumstances," he said to Namor. He offered his hand out to the not-merman and they did that gladiator hold thing again. Namor clapped a hand on Sam's uninjured shoulder.

"Yes, I agree. Alas, we both have people to protect and our enemies are becoming bolder. It doesn't leave much time for socializing."

Sam nodded his understanding and then hoisted his wing pack onto his back. He should really put on a shirt before using it, Bucky thought. And pants. "Come on, grumpycakes," he said to Bucky and offered out the harness they had developed together for exactly these kind of low stakes, short hops.

Sam gave Namor a lazy kind of salute and Bucky managed a cordial nod. Namor only offered another smirk and even a thumbs up. He was truly nothing like Bucky had anticipated.

Sam dropped them on the far side of the nearest island. They would have to await extraction--maybe island hop a few more miles away--but there was no rush. They hadn't called for help yet.

Bucky considered the fine white sand of the beach. It was soft and warm, verging on hot. He could lay Sam out right here and get those shorts off. But he remembered trying to untangle kelp from his hair, and discarded the thought. Instead, he walked Sam back into the tropical foliage several meters away and then sank to his knees without a word.

Sam's fingers fell to his hair, head dropping back to the tree behind him. Which was a shame because Bucky liked Sam's eyes on him. Liked to be able to look up and catch his gaze, see exactly what Bucky was doing to him based on the sparkle in his eye.

"Yeah," Sam agreed to their silent understanding in a breathy sigh. "We definitely have to get you some of these shorts too."

[stromuprisahat]

Do you think Leigh Bardugo planned to write the King of Scars duology? At first I thought so, because of Nikolai's scars from the Merzost. But given how the duology is ultimately written, I don't think so at all. I also have the impression that all the characters are the spokespersons there to remind how horrible the Darkling is, which is objectively ridiculous. She even went so far as to tell Alina that Nikolaï, Zoya and the others are trying to repair the damage caused by his wars with him... Whereas the Darkling barely caused a civil war in the original trilogy, and no has nothing to do with the wars against Shu Han and Fjerda. So what is this shit dialogue?! What plural wars has the Darkling caused?! Why is he held responsible for Genya's rape?! Why do we demonize the creation of the little palace?! Why would the Darkling tell Zoya "you and I are going to change the world" as a manipulation technique?! What fucking use?! Why are the characters like, "Let him be the hero or not?" in the end, whereas if he doesn't sacrifice himself EVERYONE DIES?! This duology is such an absurd demonization of the character that it gives me a headache...

I think she planned it the same way it usually looks she does. She has some nice ideas, puts them together as she goes, and doesn't much deal with implications. What's sad is that neither does her editor, whose job should be to poke and prod.

I've read the books as soon as they were out, so my memory hopefully isn't the best, but:

Yes for author's mouthpieces. Especially poor Genya got reduced into just that and a victim. Then there are the bigot twins or Zoya, especially her famous Darkling's crimes speech.

“That’s the moment? Not in manipulating a young girl and trying to steal her power, or destroying half a city of innocent people, or decimating the Grisha, or blinding your own mother? None of those moments feel like an opportunity for self-examination?”

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 9

I'm pretty sure I've encountered antis with the very same list.

Alina's just heartbreaking in case you survived her epilogue in R&R unscathed. What we see resembles an empty shell taught equally empty phrases to repeat in public. When viewed through reader's lenses, it's just another mouthpiece, paraded around to remind us Alina had it all coming and the Darkling bad (in case you haven't caught onto that yet).

“No. But every child I help heals something inside me, every chance I have to tend to someone left in the wake of your wars. And maybe when our country is free, then that wound will close.”

Rule of Wolves- Chapter 14

What I find hilarious, is how the Righteous Gang™ dealt with their neighbouring countries. They tricked Shu Han into signing a treaty about peace and alliance... only to have it broken in the very same book. They won a war with Fjerda in a single battle, because Zoya threw their strategy to the wind, but appeared soon enough to be proclaimed Saint for being a dragon or something?!

Sorry, but LB's idea of how politics, religion and warfare work is beyond ridiculous.

The Darkling's obviously responsible for Genya's rape, because he's been micromanaging late King, which is why his Coup went so smoothly... and we can't have the reader question how fair has been the late Tsar's punishment, how well it prevented repetition of his crimes, or if getting rid of him in the first place might've prevented his reappearance and role in challenge to Nikolai's legitimacy.

Little Palace needs to be discredited, so we don't question The Gang's decision to abolish the law that takes children from their loving families. Don't. Just don't delve into it. There's no point.

I've read pretty good explanation of that catch up line. Zoya's often lying. If Alina's an unreliable narrator, due to her damaging upbringing and prejudice, Zoya's simply happier to see the world as she pleases. She's consciously choosing delusion. Alina might have mentioned what the Darkling told her, and Zoya's always been his special girl, right?! Even current regime's propaganda calls her the Darkling's favourite...

The only BUT I see is that for some reason, Aleksander uses the very same sentence on one of his Starless minions. Then again, that Aleksander has no fucks left to give, and even he suffered Zoya-praising disease, so excuse me, when I don't trust the author with her own characters and keeping them IN CHARACTER.

The ending is a mix of absurdity and heartless cruelty. The Darkling's constantly called monster, accused of NOT caring about the damage he causes... but reading the last few chapters made me despise the author's Coolest Female Trinity beyond measure.

I've delved into this somewhere already, but what I appreciate in real people and fictional characters alike, is kindness. Not blind or endless, but kindness. Having a bunch of "children", who barely lived a few decades, condemn a person to eternity of suffering, is beyond detestable. I might understand they all feel wronged by him (I don't.), but they all also owe him pretty much. And they're in no position to judge him.

If such short and relatively easy lives made them this unsympathetic, he should've been congratulated for hanging on so well.

It also wouldn't do any harm to cut about a quarter of those books, including the obvious fanservice.

[moonfurthetemmie]

Imagine real quick. You have spent one hundred years trying to make the world a better place. Some people say your methods aren't...ideal, but you're confident you're making a positive impact.

You have created so many new branches since you first founded your organization. There's medical research. An exceptional hospital. An orphanage. Apartments. Rehab for criminals and addicts.

Most everyone you know is here. Your friends. Maybe a few you'd think of as family, though after all this time you can't really bring yourself to get too close to anyone. Especially after them. But still.

This is your home. Your life's work. You've poured your heart and soul into this.

And now imagine, one day, somehow, it was all destroyed.

No warning. The castle that had served as your base of operations--you're home--has been turned to dust.

You know there were no survivors. Their emotions burned so brightly, and now there was an empty void. The only ones who'd survived were you, and maybe a few of the teams you sent out earlier that day.

In an instant, everything you had was ripped away. Everything.

And you know exactly who did it.

This is how Lucidity ended up losing his goddamn mind.

I was just going to have one big essay with some vaguely defined sections, but then I realized it was so ungodly long it'd probably take three years to read, so i'm going to cut it into three or four (or. maybe five?) pieces. This is part 1.

The Catalyst

It started with the resistance in JMV finding Dreamswap.

At this point in time, Nightshade and Dark have unofficially moved into the manor. Nightshade has decided helping Shale would be entertaining (also they’re gay), and Dark is trying to quietly and gently get Jade out of there (with little success, presently). The resistance is not having a good time with Jet now being part of the team.

So, after hearing a lot about JR, Peridot decided to ask Lucidity for help. Some details still need to be ironed out on my end, but she had a whole plan. Their request, a partial solution to suggest, and some way to repay him for his help.

Their potential solution was a weapon they had been working on for a while. An explosive device powered by positivity, which takes the little bit of positivity it’s given and very quickly produces more, before exploding. The explosion would be partly your typical bomb explosion, and partly a violent boom of highly concentrated positivity. A corrupt that survives the initial explosion would more than likely be killed by the positivity.

But they hadn’t been able to test it yet.

Because the only two people in the multiverse left with the Tree’s positive magic are Jade, who’s stuck in the manor, and Quartz, who’s constantly on the run and would probably rather chew her own arm off than give that away.

They may, with an incredible amount of effort on Peridot’s part, have been able to simulate a very small-scale version of it.

But, either because Peridot (a spirit) didn’t come to DreamSwap herself and saw how much magic was just sitting in the air around JR, or they didn’t realize how sensitive the prototype was, they brought it to show Lucidity, and it reacted to the ambient positivity in the area.

This ambience was a result of both Lucidity’s radiant ass living there for about a hundred years, and the positive emotions of the hundreds if not thousands of people who staff and/or live in the castle.

No human or monster can feel it, but any spirit who doesn’t live there (literally anyone except Lucidity) would notice. Immediately.

And it turned out, the weapon didn’t store a certain amount of energy before exploding. It exponentially increased the amount of positivity that it’s given. The strength and concentration of the positivity also affects the size and strength of the less magical part of the explosion.

And there was far more positivity in the air than they could’ve ever hoped to acquire in their home MV.

So…they pretty much brought a radiance nuke to JR and it went off because the air was too magical. There’s a lot of lingering positivity in the area. There will likely be severe consequences in the environment and any life in the area that wasn’t killed by the initial explosion.

It was an accident.

But they would never be able to make it right. Not in their own eyes, and especially not Lucidity’s.

Lucidity was not in JR. But he was in the same universe. He was taking Champion out. He hasn’t been able to get out much with Champ, so he’s taken the whooole day off to both relax and to spend time with his dog.

They’re close enough to the castle that they can see it. And while they’re not close enough to get hurt, they’re close enough that they can feel the shockwave from the explosion. 

Lucidity sees JR start to crumble before the shockwave reaches them. 

Lucidity is losing his shit. He’s very, very not okay. He’s in shock, grieving the loss of damn near everyone he knows, his home, and his lifelong work, and he’s fucking furious.

Lucidity doesn’t know who these people were, but he does know that they were part of an organization. The idiots who brought the weapon noticed it had been activated, and managed to run far enough that they hadn’t been vaporized in the blast. He found their clothes, several meters away from the rubble, and each had an unusual pin with a logo he’d never seen before.

There must’ve been more of them.

And this is the official start of his descent into (relatively) minor madness. 

[twilightknight17]

Last time on P3R: fun, not-fun, and another full moon!

Also, Koromaru <3

So I went back into Tartarus because two people wandered in like… three days before the full moon. So I gotta go get them. BUT. Elizabeth informed me that there was also something else in Tartarus I needed to rescue.

HOW did you get to the 72nd floor, kitty??? I mean, we got him out, he’s fine, but just ?????????

Elizabeth also requested another outing, this time to Naganaki Shrine. We had a great time. It’s actually really refreshing to have Elizabeth around. In a world where everyone seems to be some shade of unhappy, she’s full of wonder about the small things.

She recognizes a slide and a jungle gym, which means she’s seen them before somewhere. Do you think the Velvet attendants were kids once, like Lavenza? Now I want a whole room of the Velvet Room that looks like Discovery Zone.

Anyway, it’s full moon again. We’re off to an… abandoned underground military facility on the north side of the city. We didn’t have any trouble getting in, but once we arrived and determined that the shadow was deeper underground, we were surprised by two out of three of our weird trio of midnight assassins.

At least they’ve introduced themselves now.

Strega is pissed off that we’re trying to destroy the full moon shadows and Tartarus, because… they’re selfish, basically. If we get rid of the Dark Hour, they might lose their powers.

They like running around in a hidden hour, playing god. They like being untouchable assassins. And they don’t actually think Apathy Syndrome or anything worse that might come is something to worry about.

I mean… he’s not wrong, considering how many times over the course of Persona canon that humanity has almost destroyed itself. But like… dude. We still have to try.

Takaya and Jin lock us in the underground facility. Kudos to them, I guess, for not just shooting us dead right there. If they’re not killing anyone but their targets… at least they have some sense of decency? So, rather than banging on the impenetrable steel door, we’re going to head down into the dark to go look for the shadow.

...fun.

There are OLD ROCKETS AND DEAD BODIES DOWN HERE. Why would you just leave this stuff like this, wtf????

Anyway, something like 30 meters underground, we find the Justice Shadow! Or maybe Chariot?

Or both! It splits in half when you hit it hard enough. Which… the only thing that seemed to hit it hard enough was my theurgy abilities, so that was kind of a slog. They also do the thing where if one dies, the other revives it, so you have to balance your attacks so you can kill them in the same turn. I liked it. And the designs for these were cool. Half the full moon shadows so far have had really good designs, and the other half have just sort of been “...okay?” XD

So after the shadows are down, we call Ikutsuki to inform him that we won, but we are stuck in the base.

...sir, you could be a little more concerned???

Who are you sending, it’s still midnight???? Are you making us wait out the Hour? Hello????

We all make it back safe, though, and Pharos comes to visit literally the next night. I feel like I should be concerned that he showed up right away, but that’s fine. Hi, dude.

...baby boy, you could be a little more specific. X’D If we’ve got a traitor, that’s kind of important info.

Elizabeth gives me a chain-of-deals sidequest the next day, with the weird stipulation that she doesn’t want anything specific. She just wants me to trade the random bandage she gives me and turn it into something cool. I traded all over Iwatodai and ended with…

If she’s happy with what I got her, I’m glad. ^_^

Mitsuru calls a meeting in the evening, and we learn that Koromaru is better, and officially joining the team now!

No one’s really sure how this tech works, but with Aigis translating, we learn that Koromaru wants to help us because we saved him. He’s such a good boy. T_T

With the shadows eliminated and our fluffy new teammate, I’m ready for the rest of summer to be aweso---

...you know, Mitsuru, when I jokingly called you “mom”, it was just that. A joke. You didn’t have to do this to us. I’ve already had a week of mandatory track practice.

Fuuka claims that it’s only for “a few weeks”, so we should make the best of it. Actual school starts again in less than a month!! When do I get a break!! There’s at least two part-time jobs I haven’t even managed to try out yet because there’s no time!!

At least if I’m back at school, maybe I can rank up some of my school social links…

But first, we’re going on an outing with Junpei for some summer fun. We’re gonna smash a watermelon! And learn some more about Junpei in the process.

Instead of using Junpei’s childhood bat, Akihiko smashes the melon with his bare hands. Which… holy shit, senpai.

Adding injury to insult in terms of my summer break, Ikutsuki has decided that we all need to go to the doctor. You’re not my dad! Leave me alone! But I cannot refuse. We’re going one at a time, and my appointment is on the second to last day of summer school (which is only a week, btw, Fuuka).

Summer school sucks, though. Like… not only is it another week of just “go in, see cutscene, go home”, it takes my evening slots away too! Six days of getting nothing done, and the worst part is, even though it gave me points towards my academics for each day, my academics still didn’t rank up!! Ugh. X’’’’D

Thank god you can pet Koromaru.

When Friday rolls around, it’s off to the hospital for a checkup, which… goes very weirdly. Apparently Minato’s took much longer than everyone else’s, because his persona power is so unique. They had to run so many more tests! But, uh… what kind of tests are you running on personas at the hospital? That’s weird, Ikutsuki. What are you testing for?

He comments on how we’ve been making so much more progress since Minato arrived in Iwatodai.

Well, I am the Protagonist. B)

Apparently my fucking doctor’s appointment took so long that by the time I get back to Iwatodai station, it’s midnight. Like, wtf, Ikutsuki. Fuuka’s on-call with Lucia to make sure I get home safe, but before I can go anywhere, she detects a shadow in the city, like the night Koromaru got hurt.

LET’S GOOOOOOO, MOONLIGHT BRIDGE.

Sprinting off to Moonlight Bridge, I do not get to actually run around, but I do find Takaya and a weirdly fucked-up-looking Abbadon.

Minato and I are not willing to leave anyone to die, even if it’s this dude, so we team up to take out our common foe. Takaya’s gun is really effective, but we also get to see him summon his persona.

Dude looks like he’s in pain while summoning, and no wonder, considering what his persona looks like.

We successfully take out the shadow, and Takaya leaves before Mitsuru can show up to get me. But not before acknowledging that he owes me for my help. We’re enemies, but he doesn’t leave his debts unpaid.

Dude’s bonkers, but again, apparently has some sense of decency in there somewhere.

The summer festival rolls around, and it’s nice. We went with Aigis and Mitsuru, to give Aigis some more regular human experiences.

...I just suggested that we hold hands!

Koromaru is also a regular part of the household now, so you can spend time with him like you do your other teammates. Either going for walks, or…

You know what? Okay. Let’s do it.

Outstanding.

Lastly, since NONE of my school confidants are available to rank up, I guess we’re going out with the Gourmet King, again. Who is 100% legit in a cult and I am uncomfortable.

DUDE, NO. I’m not drinking your damn kool aid. I’m going home to watch more documentaries with Koromaru. X’’’’D

Next time I need to head back into Tartarus to see about the new area that unlocked. I’ve been trying to go for like a week, but stuff keeps happening at night! God, P3, I’m trying to manage my time and you are killing me. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not gonna max everyone’s links this time around, but I want to at least try, you know?

[foxydivaxx]

Zosan: Look What You Made Me Do Chapter 6

Sanji POV

I began to observe something about myself, something that I had been denying for years. I am not so different from Nami. I want the finer things in life. I want to be loved,I want to be free. That was why I became a Strawhat in the first place. But my approach to life is different. 

Nami is Miss Independent, driven by a traumatic experience no thanks to a certain smelly fishhead. I on the other hand am driven by grief, neglect and sorrow. I lost the only support I had who happened to be my mother. Sure, I had Reiju but she could barely do much. I still love her though.

I was bullied, tortured and ridiculed for years. I was brought down to nothing for showing my emotions, for displaying what was seen as a weakness in the eyes of my brothers and fathers. As far as they were concerned, I was never a real man. I was a mistake.

All that time I spent all alone in that dungeon wearing that mask,I was begging for death. I never gave myself the chance to be selfish. I was always acting in service to others but ignored myself because as far as I was concerned, someone as messy as I was deserved none of that good shit.

So imagine my surprise when the others came to rescue me from the wedding plot. Like Luffy has saved everyone else so why me? I am just a mere cook. Well according to Luffy, no food equals no life. 

No one has ever given me respect for jackshit or love. At times I wish I did become evil and destroyed the world and everyone else around me. Maybe that is why Zoro is with me now. Could be that the others have been sensing whatever dark energy that lay dormant within me and may be trying to distract and protect me from myself?

But why bother? I can barely keep myself together. One minute I am as sweet as sugar and the next I snap like a fucking fire breathing dragon. I act as though there are two people with me. No one knows what that’s about just yet. But there is a part of me that fears that whatever evil demon that is inside me is about to go on a rampage. 

I have days when I am fine but there are days I lose my mind. Like I would wake up in the middle of the night and just start screaming. My heart begins to pound as I pant heavily. I look around and realize that I was back on the ship. Meaning that we have left that island a long time ago. A sharp pain hits me in the chest and then I remembered why we had to leave.

A couple hours ago, we were attacked on Greenville Island by none other than my father and the Germa army. Turns out Akuma placed a tracker on me during one of our sexual rendez-vous. Hmm…well played.  Either way, Zoro destroyed that tracker once he found out and went feral almost immediately.

Either way, they attacked us and I immediately jumped into action and went to fight my father head on despite Marimo warning me not to do so. Perhaps I should have listened because once again, I was up short. I could not stand a chance against that bastard. Oh and he proceeded to stab me and slash my chest with that stupid sword of his, leading to me losing a lot of blood. How cute. Definite winner of the Father of the Year Grand prize. Pfft…yeah right. 

I lost consciousness after that and we all fled the island. It seems my stunt with Akuma rattled the old fool and so now he is after us and wants us dead. Well, me more so than the others because I was the one that killed that old oaf’s guy. 

I find it hilarious that the motherfucker would care about Akuma like that. Like Akuma was meant to be a means to an end. So why care about him? Unless my little theory about their relationship is true. 

Now, I never met Akuma prior to our sexual relationship. But I also cannot help but suspect that father dearest might have been a closeted bisexual and only married mum because he needed heirs to his now tainted throne.

Germa has a very bloody history that spawns 300 years of bloodshed, slavery and racism which was why I stopped referring to myself as a Vinsmoke even though the world refers to me as such. 

I guess Marimo is on watch duty today because he is nowhere to be seen in this room. I try to get up but thanks to the sharp pain, I decide to lay back down. All this time I have been trying to run away from my past, to discard parts of me that I thought never made sense because the world I found myself in never supported or accepted certain aspects of my personality.

Like me showing kindness to others for instance. Or my love for cooking. Or even me being attracted to guys. My deep internal turmoil is so great that I literally cry myself to sleep almost everyday because who would understand my pain?

“You okay Sanji?”

I look up to see my beloved captain Luffy sitting next to him, a caring smile on his face. I still cannot believe that this guy right here still cares for me and was willing to protect me back there. Him and the entire crew. I cannot believe that some people actually love me and are willing to help me regardless of my flaws.

“I…” I could not put m feelings into words because how could I? I just started sobbing. For the first time in a while, I felt like the little boy that was trapped in that dungeon. The kid Judge disowned and pronounced dead to the world because I was not good enough for him.

Luffy just pulls me into a gentle hug and does not say a word. It is almost as though he understands my pain. It was then that I feel another soul outside feeling worried about me. Marimo. Marimo and I have always had this strange emotional link with each other. Whenever one was endangered or was feeling blue, the other would know and would try and send as much caring energy to the other.

Marimo listened to my heart and understood my fears and worries and was trying to reassure me in his own way. Luffy probably felt it from wherever he was and came down here just to check on me.

“It’s okay Sanji. You are gonna be fine. You’ve got us.” says Luffy. I just nod and sob and pout. I do not have enough strength to face the old man now. But I will need to gather strength as soon as possible. 

“That reminds me. Nami got in contact with Law. He said that we should go to the next neighbouring island and stop there. I believe there is something that could help you there. Who knows?”

I hope so because I need a lot of power to take down that old bastard and destroy him for good. I am sick of being hunted down by that bastard. I want him wiped off the face of this Earth. After spending Lord knows how many hours in tears, I eventually sleep off in Luffy’s arms.

[mxstball]

Cynthia's Birthday

Undella Town, Unova

Hilda showed up in front of Caitlin's house. While Caitlin was still a part of the Elite Four, the lull in travelers and the warmer weather meant that she was free to nap more... and also hang out more. So, Hilda was excited to see her again so the two can spend the time talking. Heck, maybe they could both sneak in a nap or something at the same time.

Hilda didn't bother to knock on the door. Instead, she just let herself in.

"Caitlinnnn~" The trainer shut the door behind her. "I'm here! Thanks for letting me--"

Hilda stopped talking as she looked around. No one seemed to be home.

"... Huh? I'm sure she said that she'd be here." Hilda pulled up her C-Gear as she turned back around to leave....

... but the door was locked??? She couldn't get out!

However, before Hilda could take the time to be confused, the lights went out, causing the entire house to be pitch black. Then, after a second, the lights went back on.

... and sinister music could be heard--

"Oh, Hiiiildaaaaaa~"

"!!!" Oh, she knew that voice. "C--C--C---Cynthia--" Hilda slowly turned around to see the woman calling her name.

"You didn't think I'd forget about you, now... did you?"

Hilda could feel the last of her warmth leave her body. Oh, she has the worst feeling in the world right about now. Hilda looked around her. On the far end was the source of the sinister music: Cogita and Seth doing a duet on a piano, with Bede giving accompaniment. They really were setting the mood of this encounter.

But why? Ever since Cynthia retired from her position as champion and gave her role to some kid, she's been hardly seen from since! Encountering her has been like encountering a ghost, both in Sinnoh and Unova.

"My, my... did you forget what day it is today, Hilda?" Cynthia chuckled as she slowly rose out of her seat and walked to the center of the room.

"Wh--What uh... what day is it today, C--Cynthia--"

"Today's my birthday, of course.... And you know what I enjoy doing on my birthday, don't you~?"

"!!!!" Oh no. Not today. She wasn't prepared for something like this today! Hilda reached for the door again to try to open it. No use. The door was still locked.

"[Garchomp.]" Garchomp joined her trainer at the center of the room. There's no running from her, Hilda.

"Garchomp!" Oh, Hilda's so screwed. Please, let her out! Please! She doesn't want to battle Cynthia's team now! Let her bring Victini or Enamorus or something more than just Zekrom! She's going to be destroyed!

"...oh? Not feeling up to the challenge today, Hilda? Intimidated by little old Garchomp here? I thought you were always ready for a battle."

"Eep!" Hilda jumped. Oh, she's so screwed.

"She's missed you, you know? She missed battling you and crushing old Zekrom to bits. You're not going to wish to entertain my little girl, or any of my friends today? How about a friendly match for old time's sake?"

"....." Oh, why her? Why her why her why her? There was no way out of this... and no hope for her or her friends.

It was best to just get it over with.....

Hilda... slowly reached into her pouch and shakily took out a Pokéball.

"That's more like the Hilda I know. Let's catch up, shall we?"

You are challenged by Pokémon Trainer Cynthia!

---

Meanwhile, from the outside, Caitlin has been using her psychic abilities to keep the door shut and locked. She was starting to feel the tides turning.

It seems that this prank was all worth it in the end... and all she was required to do was to wait an extra day or two to get her nap partner back.

[curse-04]

Written for @hinnyfest

Prompt 18: Sharing a Sweater

A/N: This is a sequel to my Prompt 4 submission. It was the one with the locker room submission.

-------

Harry and Ginny were talking in very hushed tones about something, and Fred knew that this was more… intense, at least as far as their secrets went.

After the War, it was like Harry and Ginny were inseparable. Everyone had been in their own heads for quite a while, but even still, they all noticed Harry and Ginny getting closer and closer, and no one was surprised when Harry started calling her his best friend.

Fred and George had both wondered if there was more than friendship going on there, but neither had asked, mostly because Harry and Ginny seemed to go on many trips, in different parts of the world, and they seemed quite content after they came back.

But now wasn't the time to think of that, they had a prank to pull after all. Their latest invention, the Secrecy Sweater, was about to be tested on none other than their own family, and Fred and George couldn't wait for their reactions.

Honestly, it was a brilliant piece of Magic, inspired by that of a Secrecy Sensor. It would detect who in a room- except for the one(s) who activated it- had the biggest secret. And it wouldn't come off until the Secret was revealed, or until the Sweater was otherwise destroyed.

They waited until the end of dinner to set it off, though. While their Mum was okay with their Joke Shop, pranking anyone at Dinner was huge 'No!'

As they'd expected, a white mist swirled around the Dinner Table, much to everyone's alarm. Bill, Harry, and Ginny had even drawn their Wands out, trying to make a way through it, to no avail. The Mist was a mere illusion. He suspected they were trying to avoid getting Poisoned if the mist wasn't.

The mist suddenly went for Harry and Ginny, and they were trapped in a Get Along Sweater that said, "Secret Keepers,"

"What the actual Fuck?" Harry asked.

"Fred and George Weasley!" Ginny snarled at the same time, surprising everyone into silence. For a second Fred almost pissed himself, but he felt proud that he kept it in.

"You've got a big Secret you aren't telling us," George said with a smirk, pointing at the T-shirt.

Fred sighed tragically. "Oh, look how secretive they've gotten, George," he said, shaking his head. "They were such innocent children once."

"Tragic, really," George agreed, wiping a tear from his cheek. "Our little sister-"

"How are we getting out of this?" Ginny asked. "Do we have to fight you in this and win somehow? Or do you take bribes?"

"You have to tell your secret," Fred explained. He was certain it would be that they were dating, but he'd wait and see.

"We were about to do that now, anyway," Harry said, glaring at him.

"Well, then by all means, go ahead," George said, smirking at him.

"Maybe we don't want to now," Ginny said, trying to cross her arms, but failing. "Ugh!"

"I could set it on Fiendfyre if you want," Harry told her seriously.

"Hmm…" she trailed off in thought. "Yeah, alright, burn it away."

"WHAT!?" A lot of their family members exclaimed. Using Fiendfyre in a closed space only led to disasters. It was taught in Fourth Year DADA classes. How did they miss that?

"It's only fair," Harry explained, shrugging. "They trapped us in this sweater, I'll burn it to get us out."

"Technically, you trapped yourself," Ron pointed out.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, but Ginny just waved him off. "Eh, semantics," she said.

"You could just tell us…" Mum suggested helpfully.

Harry cocked his head and turned to Ginny, both of them seemingly having a silent conversation before they both let out a frustrated breath and nodded.

"Alright," Harry started.

"We're engaged," Ginny finished.

The effect was instantaneous, Fred's eyes almost popped out of his head, and George nearly spat his drink out. Mum and Dad smiled a few moments later, Ron, Hermione and Percy had their jaws on the floor, and the rest of them just seemed confused.

"But, but," some of them spluttered.

The sweater, however, didn't move.

"It's only a prototype," George explained nervously at their livid looks. "There's a good chance it might not work as intended."

"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked Ginny a while later.

"Well… since it's a prototype, I do think we should test out how durable it is," Ginny suggested with an impish smile, causing Harry to smirk.

"That's a great idea!" George exclaimed as Fred nodded at him.

"In private, of course," Harry said, smirking wider.

"Wait, what?" George said as Harry and Ginny quickly said a goodbye and ran off, promptly disapparating when they were beyond the Wards. "I swear I didn't know that's what they were talking about."

"Fred, George," Ron said with a sigh. "You're both idiots, you know that?"

[quibbs126]

Ninjago “Reboot” notes (Part 2: characters)

Alright, let’s talk about the characters

So Lloyd is adopted and a normal human. When he was little, his town was destroyed (but we’ll get back to that), and Garmadon happened to be in the area and saved his life. Since Lloyd’s family was dead, and the kid wouldn’t leave him alone, Garmadon just sort of decided to take him in

In the incident, Lloyd’s left side got pretty horribly damaged, and he’s got scars on that side, being blind and deaf on that side, and eventually needing his arm amputated. He’s cool with it though, it happened when he was young and he’s spent far more time without those things than with it

Lloyd does have a mechanical arm, given to him by a friend (whom we’ll also get back to), but he only uses it sometimes, since it’s kind of heavy and he’s just not used to it

Lloyd’s older in this world, being around the same age if not a bit older than the others

Lloyd had a biker phase, and also had a girlfriend who was a biker (this version of Camille), but they broke up and Lloyd eventually grew out of it. They haven’t talked since but if they were to, they’d probably be able to talk amicably, once the awkwardness was out of the way

Lloyd is also fully aware his dad is an Oni, and they actually have a pretty good relationship with each other (especially given they don’t spend super long stretches of time separated from each other)

Also I don’t think I’m gonna give him an elemental weapon, though he does have a staff, since I have a plan for him to get his normal green powers later on

Lloyd also has a fear of white haired ladies, but not old women

Let’s talk about someone else now

Jay is a Serpentine in this au, and was almost definitely adopted (or should I make Ed and Edna Serpentine too? I’m not sure)

Jay wears a wig to cover the fact he has no hair. While he’s fine with being a Serpentine, he wants hair. It’s like this whole thing with him

Jay is still an inventor, and has no problem with the fact that he grew up in a junkyard. Also might be a bit of a hoarder

He sometimes just makes random inventions with no real purpose

Zane is still a robot, and aware he’s a robot, but he also has no memory of who he is. He lives with Jay in his family’s junkyard while Jay tries to repair him (he might have just found him there one day all broken and decided to try and fix him, only to find Zane’s fully sentient)

Cole’s something of the team mom of the group

Also something about Cole, so his family is cursed. Some generations ago, a member of his family went to the Shintaro mountains and fought an evil sorcerer, like in canon, and was a wielder of the Earth weapon, but at the end they (and the rest of their bloodline) got cursed as a final act by the sorcerer, and basically over time it would spread and they’d eventually crumble to rock. And the curse spreads faster after using elemental powers

Cole’s mother ended up dying to the curse (maybe she used the Earth weapon at some point as well, causing her curse to work faster), and since his mother first fell ill to it (well, to the extent it would kill her), Cole’s been looking for a way to cure it

The curse first manifests as something like his lava arms, only black, and it spreads further and further up the arms and then to the rest of the body until it completely envelops and they crumble

Cole is the only one aware of it as he doesn’t tell the others, as he doesn’t want to worry them, and he hides his curse with increasingly longer gloves. The others do get a bit suspicious when they realize just how long they’ve been getting and that they’ve never seen him without them, but he doesn’t tell until it’s relevant in whatever season focuses on it

Also yes, because he uses his Earth powers, his lifespan gets shorter and shorter each time. While currently he’s not in too much danger, if he doesn’t find a cure, he could end up succumbing to it before he’s 30

One thing I had for Kai was the idea of genderswapping him, mostly because ROTTMNT did it with Casey, and I think because there was a female Kai in Pokémon Conquest, but I’m not sure about it

But regardless, Kai thinks he is and tries to be the cool one, but he usually ends up more like a team mom like Cole, having to be the responsible one

At the beginning of the story, he works at Chen’s noodle shop with Skylor as his coworker. They’re friends

Also this Chen probably isn’t a villain, but in the past there was someone more closer to the original show Chen, but we’ll get to that

I don’t really have much on Nya though, other than she’s a lot more chill than her other counterparts and will sometimes prank people

Sorry I don’t remember much on her

Also she and Jay get along very well, but I’m not sure if they get in a romantic relationship 

Pixal is here too, but here she’s a cyborg, whether because of natural health complications or because of a terrible accident, and is also Borg’s biological daughter 

Her real name isn’t Pixal, it’s (I believe) Cynthia Borg, but she likes Pixal more because it sounds cooler

She’s also Samurai X, and is definitely a bit more flashy

Her cybernetics aren’t just “limbs but metal”, as she can do stuff with them, like turn her arms into cannons or swords, or stretch them far. Because of that, Samurai X is largely speculated to be either a robot or cyborg 

Samurai X is already an established thing by the time this show starts, with the ninja showing up after her

Pixal and Lloyd used to be good friends (and she’s the one who gave him his robotic arm), but they had a falling out and are still bitter about it (Lloyd more than Pixal, as he didn’t really have many friends at the time and it stung a lot more for him)

Oh also about the Serpentine thing, so the Serpentine War did happen, but it was centuries ago, and unlike the show, had a peaceful solution as both sides realized they were being manipulated (possibly after Wu and Garmadon stepped in) and got rid of the people responsible, and over time they eventually found peace and both humans and Serpentine live in relative harmony, hence why no one raises an eyebrow at Jay

Morro is also here, but he’s a centuries old ghost. It’s a long story, but basically he was from a farming family that had the golden scythe, but it got stolen and he spent his life trying to get it back, only for him to be turned away and eventually meeting a horrible end, then coming back as a ghost demanding the scythe. But the scythe couldn’t be found so he just wanders the area bringing horrible tempests

Lloyd eventually finds it and gives it back to him, giving him peace and letting him move on, though he tells Lloyd to find a proper successor

Harumi is also here, but she��s kind of two people

“Harumi” is just the name of the girl being inhabited, the character more resembling Harumi being an Oni that Garmadon once fought

Her power was sealed away into the Oni Masks, meanwhile she body snatches people to try and get her power back, while Garmadon tries to stop her when he can

I’m thinking when she body snatches people, she turns their hair white like hers

One of her previous bodies was the one that destroyed Lloyd’s town, since it had one of the masks, but Garmadon was able to stop her and destroy that one. This is what left Lloyd with a fear of white haired women, since he knows she was the one to destroy his village and left him for dead, and that she uses different bodies

She does eventually show up, and this is where Lloyd’s fear is explained. Prior to this it’s just shown as a weird fear of his that isn’t explained

I’m thinking maybe the original Harumi gets saved (though her hair’s still white), but I’m not sure what to do with her afterwards

Also, is she too similar to Lady Bone Demon? That wasn’t my intention but she feels that way

Anyways yeah, next part will be plot. I haven’t finished everything for that, so I don’t know when I’ll post it. But I thought I should talk about the actual characters