#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

[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 🤔

[abigail-pent]

John Gaiusposting, Nona spoilers below the cut

FUCK THIS GUY FUCK HIM SO MUCH

like when we got the preview with his POV/ him recounting the story to Harrow-as-Alecto in Harrow's dream, it actually seemed kind of reasonable for a minute for him to see himself as a hero type. Certainly the trillionaires are plausible and appropriate villains. But as it goes on and you realize over time that this is JUST ANOTHER INSTANCE OF JOHN GAIUS PAINTING HIMSELF IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT, I just want to throttle him

like after everything we see of him in HTN it's not surprising, not at all. But it is *interesting* to see him set the scene, set himself up to look reasonable actually, and then turn up the heat on that narrative until we the audience are the frog in the pot of boiling water. by the time we get to the nuclear option, it's too late for us, but looking back, can we really see exactly where everything started to turn?

and the way it's told, it's almost like EJG is implicitly asking Harrow/Alecto/the audience to believe that that's how *he* experienced it. As the frog in the boiling water. but ... that can't be true.

he had competent people around him! specifically he had Cassy, who asks him to choose one goal: destroying the trillionaires' project or saving Earth. he says they're the same thing and seems incredulous that anyone could believe otherwise. but that is so, so, SO obviously false. where was the rest of this conversation? surely our girl C -- would not just let him say that unchallenged.

nope: she had to have told him that's bullshit. maybe he didn't believe her. maybe he did, and didn't care. he had so many "yes" men around him (especially Gideon and Cristabel), and cared so little about anyone but himself, that he must have been far beyond reason at that point. absolute power will do that to you, I guess.

just like. the way he took off Gideon's arm. (ps: what happened to it? is this a Chekhov's gun for ATN? also why was that necessary?) the way he accepted Cristabel's suicide and used it *immediately* to destroy the whole world. the way he LITERALLY SACRIFICED ALL OF HUMANITY TO GET VENGEANCE ON A HANDFUL OF ELON MUSK TYPES. and tried to make it look like everything was their fault, when in actuality, yes they were awful, but John is the guy who threw the baby out with the bathwater. He could have just taken a few deep breaths and gotten on with the actual lifesaving work.

And he was so rigid in his idea of what the solution to a dying Earth should be! He could have tried his hand at fixing things before evacuation, like Augustine suggested, but he was too inflexible to even consider it. My advisor always says "good research is nimble" and this is the opposite of nimble. This is nothing but rank unchecked ego.

*maybe* this story is the way John honestly experienced it. *maybe* this is what the inside of your head looks like when you're desperate to try and save humanity and you throw yourself too hard into research and you make breakthroughs that change everything about what you think you know to be true and you get royally fucked over by funders who then smear you in the press. but even if that's actually how he experienced it: we know that the version of John who recounts this story is actively lying to Harrow-as-Alecto towards the end, about the order in which the nukes went off, and he gets mad when she points this out to him. *this* version of John is STILL ACTIVELY MANIPULATING HER, even *if* he's not purposely structuring the way he tells the story to make his audience think there's some hope and reason left in there.

Augustine was wrong, actually. Someone still does need to be punished for what happened to humanity. But that person is John Gaius himself.

[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.

[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?

[altraviolet]

reader polls for Echo Garden

Every once in a while I make a poll and take the winning answer into consideration for writing Echo Garden :) Important to note that I like all the choices- I don't think setting yourself up for something you don't want to do is a good idea in a poll.

This is a long post so after the first one I'll put a cut :)

1) puns

This is the only poll I've ever made, I think, where the answer was 100% yes xD I wasn't sure if puns were Rodimus-y or not (he hates hats, for example. his tastes can be esoteric) so I asked. This is why he makes cold puns in Ch 23, Enceladia. Poll date: Mar 28, 2021 Ch 23 upload date: Aug 20, 2021

more 👇

2) spark jewels

I was trying to think of a scientific name for the spark equivalent of kidney stones and liked a few options, so I asked for opinions. The colloquial term used in Ambulon's dimension is "spark jewels," a phrase that Velocity does not know. He switches to the medical term, "lapides stellae," to which she replies "asterliths." I recall not being able to satisfactorily combine Latin and Greek words for "star" with scintill or spitha so I went with both options in the first choice. This scene is found in Ch 26, Fuel Furnace. Poll date: Nov 29, 2021 Ch 26 upload date: Dec 9, 2021

3) other rarepairs

I had a secret goal (it's not a secret anymore cuz I've told you) to put as many of my rarepairs into the fic as possible. I wanted to include more of either of the above, so let readers decide. I had a feeling Nautica/Blaster would win. I'm legit surprised Bluestreak/Hot Spot got as many votes as it did. Hmm. Looking back on this, maybe I'll try to give them another little nod before the fic ends. Anyhoo, yup, sprinkled throughout the fic are little bits of Nautica/Blaster. I like what they have. It's really loving and supportive :) Poll posted Dec 10, 2021. At that time the fic had 24 chapters.

4) liminal Cybertron

Ok ok ok, so originally, Mirage's Cybertron was a destroyed, insecticon-infested world. I actually have most of a full chapter written in this original setting- Rodimus, SW, and Mirage going back to retrieve Skywarp. I might put that scene (and other discarded scenes) up after TEG is done, if people are interested. I don't have the exact date for when I wrote the original insecticon chapter, but I was still considering it in March of 2022 because I put foreshadowing for it in Ch 29 Progress, uploaded March 3, 2022. I don't remember now what made me think of doing a sterilized world instead, and then after I thought of it, I couldn't decide which to do. I was surprised by these poll results. The poll predates when I wrote the foreshadowing chapter, so I was still thinking of doing insecticons months later... I don't remember what ultimately changed my mind, but I remember why: insecticons have been done. The chapter I originally wrote was exciting and there were parts I was sorry to put aside, but a desolate, haunting, sterilized Apple store world was appealing because it hasn't been done before (as far as I know). I think people really liked the aesthetic and horror feel of it, so I'm glad I made the change =) Poll posted Jan 6, 2022 We first see 2938 Cybertron close up in Ch 39: Firelove Part 2: The After Burner, posted March 19, 2023.

5) Most Recents Club storytime

I honestly couldn't decide who to have tell a story at the club, Ambulon or Trailbreaker, so I had readers choose. Ambulon was chosen, so we got some of his background story in Ch 30, Distress Call. I thought his story was hilarious. I laughed a lot while writing it. I suspect readers didn't find it as funny, though, as iirc only one person wrote about it in comments xD Poll posted March 6, 2022 Ch 30 posted April 25, 2022

6) ruining a big moment

I've posted about this one before, but I'll put it here for posterity. This refers to the use of the ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ in Ch 43 Firelove Part 6 The Shattering. The original scene was supposed to be very heavy and dramatic. The After Burner fleeing a bursting and breaking Cybertron, everyone beat up and kinda shocked after the encounter with Megatron. But ahhhhhhh the idea of including the emoji got the better of me. I wanted to do it! So badly! But I didn't know if it would be good for the chapter! So I had readers choose, lol. People seem to like it a lot so I'm glad it went in xD Poll posted March 29, 2023 Ch 43 posted Sept 10, 2023

~

That's it for now! Thanks for reading =)

[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.

[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

[hezuart]

Mono and 1.) Dynamics?

Headcanon Ask game:

DYNAMICS. Which one do you find the most comforting? Most intriguing? Is there a particular set that you would like to explore more?

Dynamics in terms of character: Mono is a very tough kid. He's strong, but not very fast, which means he can fall behind. When he sets his mind to something, he does all he can to accomplish it. He may perhaps, be very lonely deep down. He may also know the world is harsh, and because of this hardship, he extends a hand of kindness to those around him. (Even as the Thin Man, he gives Six the beloved music box, along with the room full of toys to entertain her) Though he is not afraid to defend himself and others (attacking the bullies, and killing the Hunter) Because of his potential amnesia, the only thing he knows, is the signal emitting from the tower. Ever committed, he rescues his previous self, only to doom his current self. A tragic hero of his own story. A little offtopic, I find Mono's isolating circumstances odd at the end of the story. The thin man could manipulate the tower, could he not? The thin man went through the tv screens in the past to collect children, did he not? He conjured himself a plain, dull room with a chair... and perhaps new clothes... you truly expect me to believe he didn't try to entertain himself over the course of what, 7 decades plus? It's too strange. What on Earth is the signal tower beast, and who has control over whom? The missing information eats away at my sanity

Dynamics in terms of relationships:

Previously mentioned Mono and Seven's dynamic: Seven and Mono are both highly empathetic and value teamwork and companionship. Despite RK's parallels with Six, their actions make them different people; and Mono would take to Seven/RK more than Six, had they met.

Mono & Six: Mono is very attentive to Six and always comes back to rescue her. He is a very open, trusting person, while she is the opposite, very skittish and cautious. Overtime, they become good friends, both protecting each other and helping each other. Six starts to show her sadistic side by snapping a bullies' head and also snapping the fingers on the mannequin hand; however, to be fair, the bullies kidnapped and hurt her (and whether the bullies are even alive or not is the question; along with some bullies being able to... survive?? With only partial heads?) and the Mannequin hand wasn't attached to any living body part, which means she really isn't hurting anyone, and also, who wouldn't snap fingers considering actual tiny hands were attacking Mono throughout the hospital? She's taking steps to ensure an advantage if they come to life as far as I'm concerned... (and hey... its a way to pass the time ahaha)

Six opening up to Mono. Even when he hides (he's actually in pain, when the Thin Man kidnaps Six; he is unable to help her in that moment) she reaches out to him through the tv, actively trying to escape on her own and calls to him for help. Even when she becomes a monster, she recognizes Mono's voice and scent, offering to share her room and her music box with him.

It isn't until Mono attacks her music box, destroying her peaceful illusion, that she betrays him. As to why she did such a petty, awful thing, is still unclear. We don't know the context of that music box. I highly doubt she realized he was the thin man; especially if he came back to rescue her. And if her glitching remains and hunger have anything to do with her sudden decision and attitude change... that too remains a mystery... (and Six's glitching remains following Mono, leading him above... and also seeming to have a mind of her own? what's tha' all abou'??????????? hello??? so many unanswered questions.)

But it is my firm belief that Six and Mono were friends. But everything changed in that radio tower.

Mono & Yellow Raincoat girl is again tough to say, because she doesn't have a personality, but she does collect jack in the boxes, so maybe she likes toys? Maybe that's something they would like. To play together. Maybe because she has a braid and a pony tail band, she could make him a friendship bracelet? He'd be fond of that.

Mono & the DLC kids. Mono would get along with the DLC kids I think. He'd want to collect and save as many people as possible. Recovering and perhaps reuniting them with their glitching remains. He'd feel a sense of fulfillment, and perhaps even redemption, if he knew the Thin Man was at fault, (and if he knew the Thin Man was a version of himself.)

[nicklloydnow]

Frankie Boyle's Farewell to the Monarchy

“I didn’t make any jokes when the Queen died. I maintained a strict silence. . . as I tried to sneak back out of her bedroom.

(…)

Famously, the public drew strength from the Royal family staying in London during World War Two. Presumably, they thought the Luftwaffe might hold back if there was a risk they’d bomb their own.

(…)

Richard III in many ways set the tone for what would become the modern, British monarchy: a child-sacrificing cult of violent, ruthless ambition which the British public is happy to tolerate in exchange for a long bank holiday.

(…)

Henry VIII is one of the few husbands Johnny Depp can feel superior to. Only England can watch a man abuse six different women and think “Maybe every school child should learn a rhyme to remember how he did it.” Henry also invented modern divorce and so it’s his fault you’re watching this at home, alone and unloved.

(…)

Every royal coat of arms is richly symbolic. For example, before he became King, Prince Charles’ crest showed a lion mounting another lion while a horse looks patiently on. Whereas the Duke of York’s shows a lion paying twelve millions pounds to a sex-trafficked lion cub that the lion claims it never met. And from Queen Elizabeth I, today’s royals learned a valuable lesson: understand your own symbolic function. Elizabeth, in a time of conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism, understood that by presenting herself as a sort of Virgin Mary incarnate, she could dilute those tensions. And indeed, she went on to shape the worship that took place in the Anglican Church, creating a sort of Catholicism for pussies.

(…)

Victoria had her first sight of Scotland after arriving by ship at Leith. If ever a four-foot-eleven woman with nine kids and clinical depression was going to feel at home, it was going to be in Leith.

(…)

With conditions miserable for many Brits, Queen Victoria did the obvious and spread that misery around the world, much like a U2 tour.

(…)

Personally, I try to deal with the injustice of the British monarchy in my own, small way; giving swans bread soaked in LSD to try and liberate them from their mental shackles.

(…)

Conspiracy theories about the royal family being lizards disguises the fact that they’re something even worse: a slightly dim German family to whom we’ve inexplicably given billions of pounds.

(…)

I used to be outraged by the British class system, how it destroys lives. Then I bought a ‘Live Laugh Love’ magnet for my fridge. Now it all just washes over me. The monarchy is ending. When that happens, let’s not be bitter. Let’s get out in the streets and raise a bottle to them. . . filled with petrol and a burning rag.”

“Is the Coronation going to be a flop? It is impossible to be sure as we know so little about it, but far too many of the signs are bad. How can things go well when the official food for the occasion is a sort of vegetarian flan?

Will our new King be dedicating his life to God, as his mother did, or to Net Zero, as he seems to want to do? How Christian will the ceremony be? I am all for welcoming other faiths, but it is our Christian laws, customs, culture and civilisation which have drawn so many to come to live here. And I believe it is our Anglican settlement which creates the tolerant space in which other beliefs rightly flourish among us.

Few people realise that we are the last nation in the world to have such a ceremony. The other remaining kings and queens of Europe have low-key inaugurations, about as majestic as the induction of a new head teacher.

Ours is a ritual of memory, power, loyalty and acclaim, stretching back a thousand years into the very origins of Christian Europe. And if you read the order of service from the 1953 event, or watch the film of it, you will get a strong sense that the monarchy of the time was not ashamed to exist.

(…)

When the Queen died last year, I was moved enough to queue for hours to see her lying-in-state. But I have never forgiven the authorities for the muffled, underpowered ceremonies surrounding her death. This was the most important death since that of Winston Churchill in 1965 – which was marked by a great triumph worthy of the Roman Empire and ending with crowds lining the railway tracks as he was carried home on a steam train to the heart of the countryside of the nation he saved.

(…)

Well, I shall never be a Royal adviser. Charles long ago decided I was unacceptable and cancelled a meeting he had originally wanted to have with me, because his politically correct aides warned him against it. But if I had gone, I should have said to him, and say again now, that it is no use trying to please or placate the enemies of the Crown. Do what you like. Submit to taxes, embrace political correctness, wear a mask and sit alone at your own spouse’s low-key funeral, cut back on the pomp, sideline your embarrassing relatives. It will do no good.

The radicals who rule the country see all such moves as signs of weakness. And those who treasure a thousand years of majesty know that it will not last much longer if it carries on like this.”

[thegeminisage]

tng liveblog of the day, because, plot twist, we went ooone more evening. this evening's episodes were "the battle" and "hide & q."

i thought "the battle" was GREAT actually. 38 minutes into this episode i told cathy it was watchable and i had to STOP so she could watch it with me but i was genuinely invested and i thought the premise and the effects were generally very cool. even wesley only had one annoying moment that was 5 seconds long. EASILY my favorite tng episode so far

things i loved: introduction of the picard maneuver, the implication that he had maybe fucked up a lil bit (even if they didn't have the spine to follow thru with it), the ferengi first officer relieving his captain of duty when he realized the guy was bonkers, the "ghost" effects during the flashbacks, the SCORE, the empty burned out little spaceship ambience!!

it was actually giving conscience of the king a little bit - something set entirely aboard the ship concerning the dark past of the captain. i really wish they had leaned harder into solving the mystery - i had to rewatch to understand that picard's "confession" voice log was indeed the one faked, and we never found out why the ship picard destroyed attacked them to start with

i feel like whether or not they had had a good reason, picard showing more genuine remorse to the feregi captain for having to take his son's life, especially if we knew he had lost some of his own people, would have really brought together the emotional arc they were trying to sell. it was really REALLY good compared to the other episodes so far it just felt like it needed another ten minutes

also i'm having this problem, and this IS a me problem, this is not any crime tng is committing, but whenever tng DOES do anything good i'm like "damn imagine if this had happened in tos" and so i'm now just imagining that the father of a captain of a ship kirk destroyed came back and gave him ptsd flashbacks to cause him to fire on the enterprise as a means to revenge and bones keeps trying to treat him and gets told to buzz off so he goes to spock behind kirk's back and then when kirk is brainwashed and crazy spock has to decide on whether he should FIRE BACK or LET THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE BE DESTROYED and and and and and.................

and i get lost in my mind palace wishing for an episode that doesn't exist. sigh. big task they had, those tng writers. i bet the housewives were doing this too.

"hide & q" was not good at all, although they had the bones for a good episode in there. i think hide & q could also have used another ten minutes at the end, but actually they did have the time! they just wasted it all on q wearing funny costumes and napoleon aliens. which. sure.

almost all of my problems with this episode could have been fixed with another ten minutes. for example: after getting q powers will went nuts too quickly. i think if he had gotten them at the start of the episode and remained steadfast and not cracked until they found the dead girl i would have believed it much more.

AND ANOTHER THING: giving everybody their heart's desire. this was easily the best scene in the episode and we rushed right through it. the worf stuff was fucking horrible - this snarling woman in fishnets who gets slapped around and has no dialogue - but his line, "that world is now alien to me," was REALLY intriguing and we got nothing else about it. also we got a throwaway line talking about the klingons being defeated? girl since when?? i'd looove to know anything about worf ever. unfortunately.

it's a particularly cruel trick with geordi and data - data at least got to refuse and explain why (i did love his momentary panic though), but geordi's whole shit got rocked. he's gonna be thinking about those 30 seconds of sight for the rest of his life and kicking himself for turning it down. if this episode had leaned into that moment of cruelty, even done with good intentions, it would have held up the moral a lot better. instead we got weird klingon sex rituals and also whatever was going on with tasha

here's the thing. i kind of like that she cried despite being so stoic all the time otherwise bc it gives her depth, right? in spite of how horribly they treat her she's definitely my fav female character rn. but firstly the reason she cried was kind of dumb and SECONDLY when picard was like "tears on the bridge are excused when one is in the penalty box" in the kindest most fatherly tone ever and REALLY endeared me to both of them they immediately ruined it by having her FLIRT with him???

anyway, that episode could have been better. conceptually it kind of fucked. execution wise it sucked. also lmao riker didn't grant any of the women's wishes <3

[bullet-prooflove]

Donna’s Wednesday Radio Show Prompt List #9

Hey guys! As some of may know I do a weekly radioshow on Wednesdays and I thought why not put together a prompt list from some of the songs I’ve been playing. I thought it would bring some fresh prompts into our world!

Feel free to pop any of these prompts with a charcter I write for (You can find these on the pinned post on my blog) into my ASK box!

Also don't forget to put the entire prompt in and not just the number!

I'll never be your chosen one

Only one of us gon' make it out alive and it's not you

See, anybody could be good to you You need a bad girl to blow your mind

I love when she says, what's wrong with right here on the counter?

Don't you dare come running back to me

Bad bitch, diamonds in my collarbone

I was drunk, I was gone, that don't make it right

Love her even though I'm not supposed to

I make these boys get on their knees

honey, hold my hand, you like making me wait for it

No matter what I say or do The message isn't getting through

Are you scared?

I need her so bad Sometimes I feel like I can taste it

She got a body like an hourglass But I can give it to you all the time

She's more than worth it

I've been waiting patiently

If he hanging, we banging,

With or without makeup

I get tired and upset And I'm trying to care a little less

anybody could be bad to you You need a good girl to blow your mind

Searching for a new high, high as the sun, uncomfortably numb

Late night watching television But how we get in this position?

And you're listening to the sound Of my breaking heart

Got to be a better way to come down

Think it's time we got this straight Sit and talk face to face

I got a new tattoo,

It feels good to hold the knife, cut me out just right

Back-back seat of my car

I don't care what the people may say

Well I just want to let you that he's mine

I promise there were no feelings involved

Still your hot and you kiss me back and it Feels real good and I know you love me

But you're blind if you can't see That his love is all in me

I killed a man in a far away land

But you came home around three

Don't you say one more thing to me

I'd fall to pieces if I went anywhere without her

Just wait a minute, let me take you there

I can say things I don't mean

Pack your bags up and leave

You can't destroy this love I found Your silly games I won't allow

I don't care what the whisperers say

Scattered around on the floor

And I will not speak of your sins

How long has this been goin' on?

Got nothing left to prove to you

I really want you to really want me

I'm so misunderstood, but I live for this

Maybe I should drop it It's a touchy subject

 I've been dancin' on the floor darlin

He said without me he couldn't make it Through the day,

There's a light in the bedroom

This is just another night And we've had many of them

Won't you shut it up, you can't explain

When we get home darlin'

my heart was flawed I knew my weakness

From the truth you can't escape

This is what it feels like when you become one of the drunks

I know you want to know what's right

So hold my hand Consign me not to darkness

I took the road and I fucked it all away

And time's running out as often it does

Can I come in from the cold?

You better take cover, there's a quiet storm

I feel like I need some more and I Feel your body close to mine 

We are the last people standing At the end of the night

I'll admit, I was wrong, what else can I say

I know it's killing you inside

Good times, remedy your sorrows

Close the door behind you, leave your key

I really wanna stop, but I just got the taste for it

[ultramarine-spirit]

I'm sorry if i'm bothering you, but i just wanted to know...If Claude ever had a mana explosion just like Athy when he was a child 🤔 It happens when someone has too much mana right? Perhaps maybe Claude didn't have much mana like Athy but it was still very strong so there was no mana explosion and he did not have any beast like blackie ? Because Lucas also didn't have a mana explosion when he was a child (if we ignore how he got injured when he attacked his master) so does that mean Lucas as well has strong mana, but still less than Athy's? So does that mean only Athy can reincarnate since she has too much and powerful mana? But according to the manhwa Diana also got reincarnated despite her not having strong and big amount of mana... Probably reincarnation doesn't have to do anything with how strong or big your mana is, but then again, i can't help and wonder how both Athy and Aetarnithas managed to get reinccarnated without any godly power😅

Lots to unpack here (not a bother though!)

Claude and Athy's mana, Sacred Beasts, and Everything Being Aeternitas' Fault

It hasn't been stated anywhere that Claude had a mana storm like Athy had, so my answer would be no. However, the manhwa did confirm that he had a Sacred Beast like Blackie (chapter 101), and that when the Empress abused it, it made Claude sick. Lucas said in the novel that Sacred Beasts were more common years ago, especially in the royal family (that's why he goes to the palace to try to find one and recover some mana), because they manifested when a person had an amount of mana too great for their body. Going by that, we can assume that Claude and Athy had a remarkable amount of mana, even for royal family standards. Even so, Athy's mana storm didn't occur "naturally", it was caused by Blackie making contact with her and the cursed ribbon Jennette gave her.

Another relevant thing is that Athy's mana is especially unstable because of Aeternitas' actions. Lucas said in the novel that Aeternitas ate all of the Sacred Beasts and even went as far as messing with his own descendants' mana (this is how he was able to reincarnate multiple times). That, in most cases, resulted in the next generations lacking in magic or, in Athy's case, having an incredible but very unstable amount, to the point it was dangerous for her body. That's what caused her near-death experience when she was little and was saved by Lucas.

Lucas, the most powerful being in the whole world and prettiest boy-warlock in all the realms!

Indeed, it isn't stated anywhere that Lucas had a Sacred Beast of his own. It could be a possibility, but the extra about his backstory doesn't address it. One could argue that because of his innate talent, his body didn't need to manifest his mana in another sentient being and could handle it all on its own, and that's why he (presumably) didn't have a Sacred Beast. Whatever the case, I don't think Athy (or Claude, for that matter) has more mana than Lucas, since the Wizard of the Tower is canonically the strongest person in the world, and Lucas (also canonically) is literally able to destroy the continent and even bring the end of the world if he wished to do so.

The most special girl in the whole world, literally

Athy's reincarnations are interesting. In the manhwa, everybody reincarnates, as Diana explains in chapter 100. Lucas further explains in chapter 109 that when a human dies, their spirit usually returns to the Sacred World Tree, the picture implying that the Tree is what makes the reincarnations possible. It's also stated by Lucas in chapter 75 that Athy's mana waves were something "he had never seen before", in chapter 80 that "she's a human who has traveled through time and space", and that it was very likely that she was able to have revelations of what happens after her death (refering to Athy's multiple visions of TLP's ending/Obelia burning to the ground). This is just my guess but, taking all of that into account, and how Diana said she had already reincarnated incompletely "somewhere in the continent" (as a swan, if volume 7's cover is literal and not metaphorical), I think what makes Athy's mana special is her ability to reincarnate in different worlds (Korea and Obelia) and times (presumably turning back time in Obelia in her third life). She also has some kind of special connection to the World Tree (who seems to be the literal god of wmmap's world, or at least "a god"). Make of that what you will. Athy is Jesus.

Everybody, pay your respects to our Lady and Savior Athy

In summary, for all the talk about the royal family being "immortal" and "eternal", none of them truly lived forever, they just have extended lifespans. The only one that has proven to be immortal in some way is Athy. Aeternitas didn't reincarnate with his own mana or ability (noted by Lucas to be particularly lackluster), he ate so many Sacred Beasts that he made them almost extinct, and he messed up and stole his descendants' magic. Anastasius' corpse got reanimated/brought back from the brink of death by Aeternitas, so again, not really his own doing, and that was closer to necromancy than reincarnation. My speculation (so not confirmed!) is that Athy's connection to the World Tree stems from it recognizing her as the one who could save/rule Obelia, and the only one of the royal line that truly lived up to the immortal name.

Hopefully that was helpful! I double checked my facts, but if a wmmap scholar Lithi has something to add/correct, please do!