#motifs so it's fine!! but yes now you know what i mean when i was saying their colours are like a watermelon and i'm kinda obsessed with it

[arklay]

DANI HAINES x CLAIRE REDFIELD / template.

[madrone33]

THE WISDOM SAGA IS OUT AHHHH

It was SO much better than I anticipated. Like, I knew it'd be amazing to listen to - 'cause practically all of Jorge's stuff is - but I was less attached to Telemachus as a character than Ody, so while I was settled in for a fun time I wasn't as invested as I had been for the previous sagas.

Little. Did. I. Know.

HOW DO THE SAGAS JUST KEEP BEING SO GOOD LIKE WHAT JORGE DO YOU SLEEP

Anyway, now that it's officially out for everyone, here's 1000+ words worth of excited screeching/rambling/word vomit from my immediate reaction to the audio, when it released at midnight for me! (I'm australian, so I got it 15 hours ahead of the americans lol, but also means I hadn't seen the animatics from the Live at this point)

Also, heads up there's a lot of swearing and I wasn't very coherent, 'cause my brain-to-type filter was non-existent at midnight while in the middle of a HYPE adrenaline rush lol

I feel so awake rn, even though it's midnight lol.

Started smiling as soon as I heard him. He sounds so GOOD!! MICO you're knocking it out of the park!

"Come and give me a sign!" Ayyy the Athena motif!!

Ooh they merged MICO's audition way of saying "if you're dead... or just tooo far"!

"Can I do whatever I takes to keep my mum safe?" aww don't worry bebe Athena's coming!

"Where is the man who'll have to wife?" ooh they really did use the Man of the House lines!

And they dropped that it's been 20 years! That's good, a proper timeline needed to be established at this point or newcomers might get confused.

ohhh shit! That growled "Boy!"

(Also, edit from after I watched the Livestream: HE DID NOT JUST THROW A BOWL AT MY BOY OH HELL NO-)

"Why don't you open her room so we can" oh FUCK OFF ANTINOUS!

oh the LINE! The CHAMP line!

"If I fight this monster" THS MONSTER! It changed from those monsters to this monster, because while he might be having fun thinking of conquering distant monsters out in the world, the real monster is living in his home and he needs his father's strength more than ever and AHHH

(Another edit from post Live: he decided to fight for his mum's honour and thought he'd get a beatdown or DIE in the attempt and STILL put his fists up oh my goddd!! And also, HIM STEPPING INTO THE SPIRIT OF HIS FATHER AHHH)

Ok I hate Antinous already. Like, I really love his voice, it's perfect, Ayron did amazing, but Antinous? What the FUCK! FUCK HIM! And I decided I love Telemachus. He sounds so helpless in that last line 🥺 ATHENA STEP IN!

Listening to Little Wolf now! Oh god I'm scared for Tele

(Edit post Live: YOOO IT'S FULL ON STREET FIGHTER STYLE!)

"Wanna entertain me?" oh EW Antinous!

I just have a permanent stink face on rn lol

"Wanna entertain me?" Still ew, but also aww he didn't do the growl like in the demo

Clock sound effect! ATHENA!!!

she's giving TE/MO type vocal vibes, more than Act 1 Athena lol

"What's going on here??" lmao he's confused about Quick-Thought, like ody wasn't

"Uppercut him. Now." AYYYY FIGHT ADVICE

she's doing the verse melody but for him!

wait what'd she say? "I've no respect for bullies! Those who [something something] will!"

SHE CALLED HIM A DOG HA! What's a dog to a wolf hey antinous >:)

"One young wolf has a larger heart than all these men combined!" awww Athena <3

YES!! SHE'S SINGING THE CHORUS BUT IN HIS FAVOUR!!

the HARMONIES!!

"Oooh, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard..." lol she's too used to ody who is used to her

oh FUCK OFF antinous!

"Tell me, Athena, why you came to my aid..." wait WAIT HE SUNG THE "what keeps you up so late at night myyy friend?" MELODY??? HOLY SHIT!!

Ok that was awesome. We'll Be Fine time!

SHE CALLED ODY HER FRIEND!!

OMG SHE'S DOING THE "MIIIND" RIFF!!

awww she regrets <3

NO THE "SLEEP AT NIGHT" CALLING BACK TO ALL THOSE TIME ODY COULDN'T SLEEP FROM REGRET

omg but her HIGH notes

ooh? 👀 The line changed from "sailed to an island" to "and I didn't die?? What does this mean for HTD's "I heard he's on a diplomatic mission" line?

oh now HIS high notes!!

THEIR HARMONIES!!

awww their motifs mixing! <3 <3

(Edit post Live: lmao him trying to lean on her shoulder and accidentally falling through her instead XD)

Well that was nice! Time for LIP... What am I in for bro

AHA I was RIGHT! The music from the cover art reveal IS here at the start of this song!

OH HOLY HSIT NOT HIS "REMEMBER ME" OMG WAIT GO BACK

The "ohhhh" motif from Remember Them!

TIME DIVE! WITH LYRICS!

oh yo! THESE scenes! We called the Sirens, Scylla, and Thunder Bringer on the discord, but the lines that are being used are INTERESTING

(Edit post Live: the animatics are going CRAZY this saga!)

calypso time...

Ooh calypso's voice is much gentler than the snippets! (I'm determined to not let my bias against her character in the Odyssey colour how I feel about her performance, because Wangui is a lovely person, and her voice is beautiful.)

lmao the awkwardly long pause and then "... ANWAYS!" is always funny XD

the electronic elements when she reveals what she is!

"Time can take a heavy toll." uh oh what's that mean

Damn not the "all I hear are screams"-

...

... holy fuck. Um. My jaw literally dropped what. What. Ok first, her "ody" fuck that. Second, the LEDGE?? Um. UM. I need to rewind please

Oh shit

Oh my goddd JUST LET HIM GO

NOT THE OPEN ARMS NO WHAT THE FUCK NOT POLITES OMG EURYLOCHUS OH FUCK ANTICLEA TOO OH SHIT

no him calling for athena! 😭

the slow clock omgggg

YES GO HELP HIM HE NEEDS HELP

... wait I need to rewind wait shit I'm shaking

ok. Pause. That was.

I guess I called correctly, but it turned out to be a BIT of an understatement when I said there'd be an UNEXPRECTED EMOTIONAL MOMENT! What the FUCK. Oh god that was incredible and I teared up and ah fuck wtf fuck who gave him the RIGHT

TIme for God Games. Shit. Am I ready for Beast Mode Zeus??? No. But I'm doing it anyway! :D

ok that was beautiful. Also her calling him "father" was unexpected but welcome

"... Odysseus." commander motif!!

god I love his voice but I hate him

ok I love how he says "AphroDITE!" I'm smiling, I'm getting into this

also, wait why does he say "or" instead of "and" like the snippets did?

The voice teasers! Ah shit I can't believe I'm going to HEAR THEIR VERSES IN A FEW SECONDS WHAT. Also Hera's voice is VERY interesting!

Apollo? YO?? Wait wait I have to go back and actually listen to the words lmao his voice is cool!

oh the sirens??

Huh. I... don't really get that logic? Athena just said "yeah but they had it coming and now they'll know better" and he replied "understandable have a nice day"?

wow what is that accent? Lemme go back and understand lol

damn those went by quick. Also, not what I'd thought their issues would be. Tho I think someone called the sirens one!

ooh wait I've always loved aphrodite's, this is BEAUTIFUL. I need to go back to the start of the song so I can get her full impact after pausing so much.

ohhh she's the first one to reject athena!

Ares!!

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE NOW! HIS SON'S MY FRIEND!"oop you done fucked up ares

oh I LIKE hera's voice! It's kinda airy but still hella powerful!

damn my jaw hurts from smiling

I hear cheering 👀

ohhh THAT'S what he meant by "or"! Athena was supposed to face either the five gods or Zeus?

"You DARE to defy me!" DAMN Zeus! That growl!

THUNDER BRINGER CHORUS!

lightning bolt to the face lmao

oh? The Wotm motif?

wait. Is the. Is this the "anime character on brink of death thinks of their friends and powers up" moment???

(Edit post Live: shit, zeus. Someone call CPS)

"Let him go..." oh wait that's IT?? NO WHAT SHIT

... lemme hear that end bit again.

WAIT reading through the comments and JORGE'S DAD VOICES HEPHAESTUS?? HOLY SHIT THAT'S EPIC! Now we just need his sister lol.

Oh that's right, I can see the cast now! Brandon McInnis as Apollo, POSEY as Hera, and Mike Rivera as Hephaestus. Nice.

It's 1 am now. Holy shit that was a wild ride. Damn. Hats off to Jorge and all the cast and editors and EVERYONE, that was absolutely incredible!! 💙🙌🏼🎉

... but also JORGE! WHEN I CATCH YOU JORGE-

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 17, MAG 17 The Boneturner's Tale, Spoiler-Free Version

Honestly, if my high school bully got their hands on a demon book I think basically the same thing would happen.

MAG 17 analysis, spoiler-free.

Facts: Statement of Sebastian Adekoya regarding a new acquisition at Chiswick Library.

Statement Notes: "Books are amazing, aren't they?"

The first line of this statement is so hopeful. Sebastian approaches what happened to him with this strange light pouring out of him. He takes on the world with a realistic yet deeply optimistic outlook. His character feels out of place in the Magnus Archives world because, although he's afraid, he isn't sick or sad or angry or desperate. Despite the horror he finds himself facing, there isn't any actual disruption to his routine, meaning he doesn't have to change in the face of danger. Adekoya is a static character in a dynamic setting.

As a book lover, Adekoya uses a lot of flowery language in his statement. He spends the first minute giving a speech on the beauty and power of language and the written word. He serves as an incredible contrast to Jared. They don't necessarily have conflicting beliefs, but conflicting focuses. Adekoya deals in the beautiful and abstract, Hopworth deals in the messy and real. Language is art, humans are meat.

Since Sebastian and Jared are around the same age, and Adekoya just graduated college, we can assume Jared is about 22-23 during the events of this statement. His characterization was very realistic. People often joke about hearing the bully of their secondary school getting arrested, but it's very different when you realize the violent but ultimately harmless kid you knew has become a violent and harmful adult. Often, that violent energy is turned against family members first. Those who tried to help, those who enabled, those who don't deserve it.

The end of the statement was very frightening. The violence enacted against Adekoya is a show of power by Jared and, in turn, The Boneturner's Tale. The Bonetruner's Tale holds an eldritch power no human can possibly understand. It is capable of enacting violence no human can understand. Its power is so great, we are left to assume a car killed Sebastian, because no living thing could do that much damage. Right?

In addition to Mike Crew's strange strategy of dropping the Leitner off in a random library, he chose to file it as Trainspotting of all things. This means that not only did Crew check out Trainspotting from the library, but he now owns the copy. Does this matter at all to the plot or metaplot of TMA? No. Does it matter to my heart? Yes.

I also noted how Sebastian didn't seem attracted to Boneturner at all. There's a motif with Leitners regarding them "calling out" to people and drawing innocents into their dark ways as part of the cursed object trope. But clearly, it's not indiscriminate. The isn't an apple of discord or ring of power situation; Leitners are capable of choosing who they want to attach themselves to. While I don't know much about the Canterbury Tales (feel free to educate me in the notes), it does seem that as the book makes Hopworth stronger, he makes it stronger by feeding its written desire for blood and violence.

Character Notes: Who speaks to their boss like that. Who. "Fine, fine, I'll be more lovely?" Tf? You sarcastic bastard?

This is a...weird intro to Elias to say the least. While of course Jon is being rude and they're passively sniping at each other, Elias does seem calm. He seems responsible and put together. He's not antagonistic in any way. If anything, Jon is the aggressor in the conversation. Up to this point, Jon has been the listener's only lens to view this world through. So when we are presented with a new character to compare him to, and Jon is snippy and rude, we are compelled to see this character as calm and rational.

Also Elias calls him "Jonathan." That doesn't mean anything but god to be a fly on that wall.

[zmediaoutlet]

happy wincest wednesday!! you used a crowley gif so ..what did he hear in 5x20 that convinced him they were together?

Absented from the playing field he may be, but Crowley sees no reason not to keep the radio tuned to the broadcast. As it were. The morons really are blundering their way to the apocalypse but he thinks, hopes, prays (or whatever passes in his crippled heart as praying) that they manage to pull through. He really has zero interest in finding out what fresh sort of torture Lucifer may invent if he wins; Michael's victory, so far as he can imagine, won't be much more pleasant. His imagination, unfortunately, is rather good.

The morons manage not to give up the Michael sword to heaven. Barely. Crowley's on the run from half of hell and isn't terribly impressed. A charming bungalow in the Seychelles, cheerily bright for tourists, is his most recent hideout, and he closes his eyes against the sunlight and holds the charmed coin between his hands and his mind flows across oceans and continents to -- good heavens, a stretch of abandoned highway not far from Van Nuys, California, where it's a dark midnight and that ridiculous beast of a car is parked under a tree, hidden even from the stars, and he hears:

Seriously, you okay? // Stop asking. // Just checking in, man. I mean, I don't know if your lungs bleeding is a weekly thing for you but it seems, you know. Not great. // Dean, I'm fine.

Typical. Talking about their feelings, per tedious usual. Very little makes Crowley more relieved to be a demon than hearing humans go on about their bleeding little hearts.

What are we going to do? // I don't know. Going out with a bang was pretty much my only play. Don't suppose Lucifer'd be cool with deciding the whole apocalypse thing over a game of checkers. // Dean-- // Or, I don't know. Yatzhee.

A laugh. Very short.

I was so... pissed at you. // I know. // Like, really. Like, if Cas hadn't done it for me I might've tried to pound your face in. You've just... // I've what? // I don't know. Not like you don't got every right, but... you've been scaring me, man. How you haven't been...

A longer pause. Hasn't been what, Crowley wonders. Dancing? Practicing his Estonian? A rustle, and then a sharp hiss of breath, and then this scratching noise. Stubble.

Been a long time, Sam. // You remember? The last... // Before I went down. 'Course I do. In Colorado Springs, that motel with the... cowpoke motif. A/C was busted and I think you were trying to fuse with my back, or something. Woke up welded together, practically. // I know it's -- it's screwed up, man, and I know I haven't -- if you didn't want -- // Sammy-- // I'm just saying I miss it. Miss you. Feels like -- I don't know. If it all falls apart I don't want to regret this. // This isn't a 'let's screw before the world ends' speech, is it? Because, Sammy -- // I mean it. I'm sorry. But I really do. // I know you do.

Stubble, again, and -- ah. Mouths, tongues. Wet. Love, or whatever passes for it. Crowley can't see but he can imagine -- both big men, clinched there on the seat of that absurd car, gripping and grasping and pulling at each other's jackets, and shirts, and now -- yes, belts, jeans. Et cetera. Not exactly a surprise, considering everything else about them that he's ever seen or heard or known, but a bit bold to commit incestuous buggery when all of heaven and hell are looking to chew them apart. He'll give them this: it has panache.

[qoldenskies]

Taking a break from homework to ask 11, 12, and 30 from that ask game you reblogged (I’m super super interested in the way other people go about writing their fics lolol 🙏)

YIPPEEEEE

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

truthfully it kind of depends! whenever i write i tend to have The Scene in mind and if i get impatient i'll usually write it, but i try to avoid doing it because i notice it messes with flow (but flow and pacing is something im just very conscious of, even though i observe that because im writing it my brain is reading it faster/skimming so its partially a me problem LOL)

in caged lungs im skipping around only because im trying to go with a draft format instead of editing as i go, since its so long itll help when i see everything connected, and there's a few scenes i plan on changing/rewriting completely when i get it all out. technically everything ive posted up to this point is a first draft, and its a habit i hope to break !!

12. Do you outline your fics? If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

i doooo yes, its mostly just a list of things/interactions i know i want. for cvd i have plans for up to chapter 9/10 or so, and just a bunch of scripts/concepts for later. with canary continuity i have a description for each scene on the google doc and i just add the content in as i go, with my actual notepad (thing i discovered i had on my laptop and have been using liberally) i mostly have quotes and passages i want to put in the story

and also for cc in particular im keeping really close track of the motifs and how i want to work them back around. already thinking about the healing part of the arc and implanting scenes/chekhovs guns that are going to loop back around WAY down the line is very funny... i actually do some of this for cvd too, i love to write intentionally like that.... i am weirdly pretentious and earnest about my turtle fanfiction. people have no idea what im going to do with that lamp and i bide my time. also the clocks. and the laundry room. and the ocean (actually that one's fine its just a parallel). and the rooftop. and the cameras oh my god the cameras. i plan on committing so many horrors

really just things i know i WANT to be consistent with is the biggest thing i keep track of (although sometimes things will just pop up AS i'm writing and i roll with the punches, like the security system being a metaphor in coming undone, and also all of the very intentional trust fall parallels and the way it conveniently worked with the chapter names. fun fact for metaphors, i REALLY planned to expand on the chess thing between leo and donnie but it messed with the pacing so im keeping it for cvd.... ive got some ideas)

OH EXCEPT FOR THAT SEP AU IVE VAGUELY TALKED ABOUT. i have EVERY SINGLE chapter plotted out, its 52 chapters long. i am NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW its a far in the future thing. but its also the only au i have that isnt like,,, specifically canon divergent, so i wanted to pay close attention to how i set things up. 4 later (currently the working name for it is where we went wrong, after the song by the hush sound, and honestly im tempted to keep it because it makes the acronym wwww which is beautifully ironic because they take NOTHING BUT LS ITS JUST ONE AFTER ANOTHER OH MY GOD)

30. How much do you edit your fics?  Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

OH I KIND OF ALREADY ANSWERED THIS ABOVE OOPS. im trying to break out of the habit but i mostly just grammar correct through google docs and then throw out the first draft haphazardly, and it can kinda come off polished anyway because i tend to edit as i go. sometimes it means i'll fix mistakes in fics like a month after releasing them, impatience is my Weakness

wow i yap a lot LMFAO the yapperrrr

[saitama-division]

It was late in the evening when the Saitama division team returned to the Miyuki residence. Though Sayaka insisted on staying home for her birthday, her best friend and surrogate sister, Lola, refused to take 'no' for an answer (It also didn't help that Yoshiko had sided with Lola, wanting to go out to eat, as well). As such, the birthday woman relented, though she was firm that the group return home no later than 10 P.M., as it was still a school night and Yoshiko had class in the morning.

Upon returning, the group of women stopped as they looked as the porch was covered with a multitude of boxes, no doubt all for the birthday woman, herself.

"Are... are these all for me?" Sayaka asked, speaking out loud.

"Well, it is your birthday, Mama!" Lola answered, as she was holding Yoshiko on her shoulders, who was enjoying being above everyone else.

"It seems like there are more here than last year." Kureha stated, as she began picking up the gifts and carrying them in the house as Sayaka unlocked the front door. Within a few minutes, all the gifts were moved from the front porch into the family living room.

"Can we open them now, Mama?!" Yoshiko asked, only for Sayaka to frown.

"Not tonight, sweetie." Sayaka answered. "It's already past your bedtime."

"Aww!" Yoshiko pouted.

"Oh, come on, Sweetness!" Lola said, already holding one of the boxes. "I want to see what you got myself."

"Lola..." Sayaka said, frowning at her friend, before sighing. "Fine, but only a few of them."

"Yay!" Both Lola and Yoshiko exclaimed, making Kureha wince as she gingerly rubbed the inside of her ears. Picking up the first gift, which wasn't very heavy, but not light either, the matriarch unwrapped the gift and pulled out the item.

The first box contained a black leather jacket with a butterfly motif on the back, as well as 'SAYAKA' written at the top.

"Oh my," Sayaka said, looking at it from all sides.

"Try it on, Sweetness! I want to see how it looks!"

Looking at Lola, slightly exasperated, the matriarch obeyed, nonetheless, slipping the jacket on. She had to admit, it felt sort of good.

"Look good, babe!" Lola complimented, giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh hey," Kureha said, walking up to Sayaka and pulling something off of the jacket.

"A note." She said, holding up a piece of paper with writing on it. Handing it to her mother, Sayaka unfolded it and read it:

"Happy birthday, Butterfly! Sorry for delivering this so late! The girl I had design it was taking her good, sweet time, but she delivered. Make sure you wear that thing from now on. It'll earn you kudos points when you go out. Trust me. Enjoy the rest of your birthday!

Sincerely,

Aranai "Ride or Die" Norikoru"

"Hmm, not bad." Lola said, hearing that jacket was from Aranai. "Kid's got good taste."

Shaking her head at her friend, Sayaka sat back down on the couch as she opened the next gift, which was smaller than the first.

It was a small, yet perfectly maintained bonsai tree with butterfly decorations on the branches. What really cemented it was the fact that Sayaka's full name was at the glass dish, and a photo of Sayaka underneath the tree.

"Mommy, it's you!" Yoshiko said, pointing to the photo.

"Ha, yes, it is, sweetie." Sayaka said, looking at the tree, surprised but happy.

"Did it say who it's from?" Kureha asked, looking around the tree in her mother's hands.

"Umm... oh, hold on."

Reaching into the box the tree came in, she pulled out a note similar to the Aranai's. Unfolding this one, she read it:

"A most joyous happy birthday once again to you, Sayaka-san! I pray that you are enjoying this day that the Lord has blessed you with. I've been practicing on pruning bonsai trees, and this was the first one that I was thoroughly pleased with, so I decided to gift it to you. I hope you enjoy it and take good care of it. Happy birthday once again, and may God bless you with many, many more!

Sincerely,

Shisuta"

"Ugh, I know she means well, but she really needs to work on gift-giving skills." Lola said, rolling her eyes at the tree and note.

"Lola, be nice." Sayaka said, frowning at her friend, as she looked back at the bonsai tree, smiling at it. "Truthfully, gifts like these mean a lot. I'll have to thank Shisuta for this on her birthday."

"Whatever."

Ignoring her friend, Sayaka turned to the next gift, which was the smallest so far. Opening it, the matriarch gasped silently.

It was an engraved fountain pen with a butterfly motif on it. Sayaka gently picked it up from all sides and looked it, fascinated with it. On the top of the box it came in, there was another note, which read:

"A very happy birthday to you once again, Sayaka-san. I truly hope that it was a good one, as always. You mentioned a few weeks ago that you had misplaced a particular pen you had liked, so I thought you might like this. I know it won't replace the one you lost, but I hope you find it useful, regardless. Your work, as always, is always greatly appreciated. I thank you once again for all that you do. See you at work again sometime. And once again, a very happy birthday to you.

Sincerely,

Kisouna Yuzairu"

"A pen?" Lola questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Does your job even require you to use to write often? I thought you were a crime scientist or something, Sweetness."

"The proper term is 'forensic scientist'." Kureha corrected.

"And I still have to write up reports on my findings when I'm done." Sayaka explained, before looking back at the pen with a smile. "So, a pen like this is going to be very helpful."

"If you say so."

Placing the pen back in its box, Sayaka turned to her fourth gift. She sighed as she was halfway done, thankfully. This next gift was a lot smaller than the previous one, making it the smallest out of the bunch; no surprise since it was a jewelry box.

It was a gold bracelet with different colored stones embedded in each opening. Holding it up, all of the women looked as the stones glistened off the living light, making it sparkle.

"Wow, it's so pretty, Mommy!" Yoshiko said, staring at it.

"Yeah, this gift is a hell of a lot better than the previous ones." Lola agreed. "Who sent it?"

"Umm..." Looking inside the gift box, at the top, there was some writing, which said:

"Sayaka-san, a very happy birthday to you. You mentioned in our last class that your birthday was coming up, so I decided to make you something, as thanks for your dedication in coming to our yoga class when you can. It's a chakra bracelet, meant to symbolize balance and inner peace. I hope it can provide you with just those things. Look upon it when times are tough, and I'm sure your burdens will be lighter. May your birthday continue to be a great one.

Sincerely,

Ivelisse Martinez"

"Ugh, great. And just like that, the gift is ruined." Lola said, pouting.

"Is there a particular reason you're being so vocal this evening?" Kureha asked, frowning at her friend/annoying mentor.

"Probably because I expect more from these gifts! So far, they've been one bad gift after another."

"Why are you even complaining? None of them are for you. They're for Mom." Kureha argued.

"And I actually have liked all of the gifts I've gotten, Lola." Sayaka said, frowning at her friend as the chakra bracelet was now on her wrist. "So please stop complaining. These gifts were given out of love."

"Fine, fine." Lola said, holding her hands up. "I'll keep my comments to myself."

"Much appreciated."

Turning to the fifth gift, the matriarch noted that this one was small as well, though not as small as Kisouna's or Ivelisse's. Opening it, she and the others looked at what was inside.

It was a music box adorned with a butterfly motif, like the rest of the gifts. What made the gift even more enchanting was the fact that, like Shisuta's gift, a drawing of Sayaka was present.

"Is... is that me?" Sayaka asked, looking at the drawing.

"You look pretty, Mommy!" Yoshiko said, getting up close to the music box, smiling at the drawing.

"Thank you, Sweetie." Sayaka said, rubbing her child's head, a small blush on her cheeks.

"Who's it from?" Lola asked.

"Why?" Kureha asked, looking back at her with a frown. "Wanna complain about this gift too?"

"I'm just curious! I wasn't going to say anything about it."

"Uh-huh."

Looking around, Sayaka couldn't find any indication of who sent it. Opening it up, she and the other women present listened as a small tune started playing, which sounded familiar to Sayaka as the tune continued playing.

"Where have I heard this before?" She wondered, listening deeply and closely to the melody. Not able to place it at the moment, she simply smiled as it was a very nice one. Looking inside, a note was placed, which she picked up and read:

"Happy birthday to you, Sayaka-san. I hope it is going well for you. I apologize that we haven't really talked much up until now, but it is always good to hear you doing well. Zakari mentioned that he heard from Kensaku-san that your birthday was coming up, so I spent the better part of a week making this, along with his and my wife's help. She did the drawing while he helped put this thing together. I only contributed to the music. It was a beat we worked on together back during the TDD days, but it never got released because... well, I'm sure you know.

But it suddenly came to my mind when I was thinking of a song to put in. I hope both the tune and this box can remind you of happier times when everything was right with the world. A happy birthday to you again. I look forward to seeing you and your team later on in the year during the Collab Event. Until then, stay safe.

Sincerely,

Kai Quinlan"

"Oh! That's where I heard it from!" Sayaka said, suddenly remembering.

"You know this tune, Mom?" Kureha asked.

"Kai and I came up with it back when we were with TDD, but... it never got released, unfortunately." Sayaka said, sadly.

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that, Mama." Lola said. "Hey, at least you have something to remember it by now."

"...True." Sayaka nodded, looking back at the music box with a smile. As the tune ended, she closed the box and put it off to the side, promising that she'd find a special place in the house to put it. She then turned to the sixth and final gift. This gift was far bigger than the rest.

"I'm pretty sure we all know what this one is," Lola said, smirking.

"This would be the only gift that you'd get excited about." Kureha said, rolling her eyes, to which Lola simply shrugged.

Inside the last gift was, not surprisingly, a two-layered birthday cake with butterflies adorning it. In the front of the cake was written, 'Happy Birthday, Sayaka' in cursive. Inside the box it came in, a letter was written, which read:

"Dear Sayaka-san,

A very happy birthday to you once more. I hope that it has been a good one. And I hope this birthday cake helps to make it even better. May you celebrate many, many more years.

Sincerely,

Luis Kōkyū"

“Wooow, lovely, seems like you’re getting more and more popular with each year, how does it feel, Ms. Miyuki, to be the most loved contestant in the whole D.R.B.?” Lola grinned while holding out an imaginary microphone to Sayaka who only laughed and bashfully pushed her hand away. “Oh stop it, Lola, that’s too much, I just simply treat people how I want to be treated, with kindness and respect, such things go a long way, y’know?”

“Yeah, I doubt Lola would know what those words would mean.” Kureha shot at Lola who only responded by sticking her tongue out at her best friend. “Oh hush, Ms. Anti-Social, at least I have more than 3 friends and won’t scream at the sight of sunlight.”

Kureha rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Freakoff Queen.”

“Girls, enough, it’s much too late for that.” Sayaka gently reprimanded both women who responded with half hearted apologies. Luckily, Yoshiko wasn’t listening in as the little girl was much too focused on the glittering cake in front of her, she reached up to tug Sayaka’s sleeve, “Mommyyyyy…” She looked up at her, smaller wide amber eyes clashing with bigger ones, immediately all three women knew what she was thinking and as much as Sayaka loved and cherished her baby girl even letting her get away with things more often than not, she knew that she had to firmly put on the mom hat and put her foot down.

The older brunette woman hoisted her daughter onto her lap and patted her head. “Sorry honey bunny but the party is officially over and you have school in the morning, it’s already way past your bedtime as it is.”

Immediately, Yoshiko deflated in her mother’s arms, slumping dejectedly against her, it was quite comical how she went from excited to disappointed in just a matter of seconds. “But mommy, please? With sprinkles on top?” She begged, even jutted out her bottom lip for good measure.

Lola bit her lip to keep from giggling and even Kureha cracked a smile, Sayaka wanted to grin too but she kept strong as she knew that if she did so right now, that would only give Yoshiko more motivation to keep pushing. “Nope and speaking of sprinkles, you’ve already had some and more today, both from the cake Kanra-chan gave us and from when we went to dinner and you had that ice cream sundae, I think you had enough sugar for today, sorry baby but now it’s time for you to get washed up and put to bed.”

Sayaka saw how sad Yoshiko was getting and booped her nose to make her feel better. “You’re a good girl, Yoshi, so I know you won’t fight me on this but I tell you what, how about I read a few chapters from your favorite book, would that make you feel better, hm?”

Yoshiko pouted and furrowed her brows, a clear sign to Sayaka that told her that she was thinking very hard on her offer before letting out a large puff of air and nodding. “Okay, but you have to do the voices! Auntie and Big sis too! It won’t sound the same!”

“I-“ Kureha went to protest but was cut off by Lola slapping her hand in front of her mouth, a large grin on her own face. “Of course we will, munchkin, as long as you listen to mama and don’t cause her no fuss.” The model beamed and Kureha glared daggers at her but made no move to remove the hand from her mouth.

“Yay! This is…” A yawn had cut Yoshiko off, it seemed like the excitement of celebrating her mama’s birthday had finally wore her down, she tiredly rubbed her eye as she continued. “This is gonna be awesome! I can’t wait to know what happens to the Queen and the knight and the magic lady!” She leaned her head on Sayaka’s shoulder as the older woman carried both herself and her daughter up the flight of stairs to the bathroom to get started on their nightly routine.

Sayaka chuckled and gave the side of her baby’s head a kiss. “Soon, my baby, soon.”

Thank you for the gift!

[kafkaoftherubble]

聊237有些群众的反应 // On some of the comments re: CH237

This post touches on Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 237. It also touches on Buddhist philosophy and ideas.

Right. So seeing strawman arguments popping up since CH236 is to be expected.

There's one that pissed me off from the "My Country Mangaka, Right or Wrong" crowd, though. This one:

---

Now. This is the sort of post I actually like reading, even if our opinions differ. I like seeing other people's interpretations of a work. I love meta, especially because it appeals to my compulsively analytical brain.

But one still gotta be aware that they are applying a very specific reading to excuse Gege's execution, right?

One still gotta be aware that this doesn't excuse nor explain glaring storytelling issues, right?

All of that paragraph merely justifies the need to have Gojo out of jujutsu society, which honestly? Most of us already agreed, mai brutha.

I personally predicted Gojo would be out because of his Buddha allegory—if he's enlightened, then he should be the last 6 Eyes user. "This is the last birth; there will be no more re-becoming."

Whether that means the only way for him to go out is death... that's already grounds for reasonable debate. I mean, if Yuki's dream of removing everyone's curse energy comes true, Satoru will still be the last 6 Eyes user. And he'll also get to be just Ken Gojo-Satoru-the Not-Weak-Not-Strong-Mortal-Dude. Hell, it even ties shits up in a neat thematic bow while cementing Yuki's (well-deserved) importance in the story.

Last but not least: "samsara" does NOT mean fate. Gosh, maybe the person who posted this was trying to explain it in ways they believed the "Western audience" would understand, but... that's a tad patronizing, don't you think?

Samsara does not mean fate. Buddhism itself is opposed to fatalism, as seen in its opposition to the Ājīvika school (which is one of the six Śramaṇa schools Buddhists debated way back then). Instead, Buddhists believe in causal determinism.

Ironically, the dude's explanation of "kaisen" as "cyclic" is itself a good proxy for the meaning of samsara. Samsara means "cycles of existence", and it's got nothing to do with fate. Nope, "karma" does not mean fate either. It doesn't even constitute fate in a Buddhist's conception (karma means "action").

---

But this person has more takes, man. When met with a cheeky response saying they are "Gege's alt account", they have this to say:

Here's the part that starts to piss me off.

Do I think Jujutsu Kaisen has a lot of Buddhist motifs, philosophy, religious ideas, etc. baked into its backbone, to the point that some of them fly over non-Buddhists' heads? Yes.

Sure, I'm also not someone who studies Buddhist philosophy for my major (my major was my darling cognitive science). I simply read up on them for no reason beyond curiosity and intrigue. And agreement, sure. I agree with many of its tenets. Ya know, like when people agree with absurdism and Kantian ethics and stoicism and whatnot. It's actually why I'd die on the hill of Satoru being self-less. I simply think the concept of anatta flew over a large group of JJK enjoyers' heads, and that's fine. Those who get it explain them to those who don't. No big deal. Someday I'll talk about anatta and sunyata as concepts exemplified by Satoru, too.

Do I think there are Japanese cultural ideas flying over non-Japanese's heads? Yes, that's likely to be true.

I'm not Japanese. I'm just some person growing up in a Chinese-dominant family in a multicultural Southeast Asian society. Even then I'm quite sure I miss out on a lot of implied Japanese cultural phenomena when I consume their stories.

But how does any of that even translate to justifying shitty execution in this story, including Gojo's death? Are you saying Japanese people will lap this up because, to them, this is "not bad storytelling" but "a Japanese cultural thing lost in translation"?

Are you serious?

And what the hell is with that strawman of "Western audience"? "Killing Gojo is heresy because something something Gojo is God something perfect unkillable flawless"?

Yo, who the hell actually believes Gojo is "god"? All I see are people connecting Gojo with the Buddha himself, which is a legitimate connection anyway. I'm sure those who genuinely see Gojo as a god-in-flesh are a minority who probably, I don't know, take the story sideway to some hardcore fanon territory.

Most of us are not arguing against taking Gojo out because "the audience only knows Judeo-Christian ideas so this is heresy." Most of us are just arguing that the story hasn't been written well lately. Most of us are just pointing out Gege's lackluster-to-subpar execution and other storytelling issues.

Also, if we are supposed to argue this through the this-is-way-too-Buddhist-for-yall defense, then I would have loved it if this person pointed out what this "singularity" concept in Buddhism itself is.

Because as far as I know, there is no such thing as a constant in Buddhist philosophy. One of the Three Marks of Existence is deadass "Anicca" (impermanence). The point is "nothing is constant /permanent. Permanence is an illusion." The cycle of samsara itself changes constantly.

So how does Satoru being "a singularity" actually make sense in an argument hinging on Buddhist ideas?

Also, for someone who rags on others for missing out on Buddhist ideas, dude also made the mistake of taking Satoru's lack of reaction and remorse to Riko's death as "a trait of his sociopathy" much like one not familiar with Buddhism might.

No. It doesn't show sociopathy. Just as "rising above the cycle of hating your enemies" ain't some strange "juxtaposition" to Satoru's sociopathy either. These two traits are from the same source.

What that alludes to, sir/ma'am/dude, is simply "Upekkhā", or equanimity.

Believe it or not, even Buddhists are cautioned against mistaking "equanimity" with "apathy". Apathy is a "near enemy" in the sense that it superficially represents equanimity when it is not; the latter is related to "non-attachment" and "renunciation".

Apathy, meanwhile, occurs when one does not possess Right View.

This is what I meant when I said, yes, sometimes non-Buddhists may miss out or misunderstand. Hell, my best friend was raised in a very ardent East Asian/Chinese/Pure Land Buddhist family, and yet when I talked to her about equanimity, she thought it was the trait of a sociopath too. Really, 'tis not a crime to not get these things.

It is really irritating though if you actually act like what you say is end-all-be-all, okay?

Satoru didn't express anything when Riko died because it already happened—and there was no use being fixated on what had happened. This was fresh off his Awakening period, too, so Satoru was still in that weird state of jhāna or something, I don't know (Gege makes me doubt myself now). He's in an equanimity state, and therefore "hates no one". That's really it.

---

Gosh, the fact that I'm actually quite passionate about debunking this Redditor's statement is surprising. Honestly I never even thought I'd ramble at length about JJK at all, because it's such a large fandom with so many galaxy brains who outclass me by lightyears!

I think I'm just irate when someone touches on something I know, and expresses this weird "I know Japanese. Do you?" superiority while straw-manning anyone who disagrees with them. Like man? Respectfully, fuck off.

Another Redditor did reply to them though:

FOR REAL, SOFT_PAY5834! GET 'EM!

...Anyway, this person's reply to Soft_Pay5834 deadass mixes some Japanese in their reply, because I suppose showing off you can write Japanese or something is a legit reinforcement to your arguments now. Wow. I'm really trying hard not to call them a "w_ _ a b _ _".

So yea. Can some people please stop straw-manning any critic as Gojo dick-riders already? Or use any other strawman, for that matter? Thanks.

---

Thank you for reading my ramble. I know, it's a bit dense with a lot of links.... Hyah?

[moondirti]

Idk if I've got this wrong, but looking at the dynamic between Wraith and Miguel and how its evolved for now, it almost seems like she subconsciously looks to him almost as a salvation-like figure? As if his approval of her is what'll give her salvation (that is to say if it'll ever happen). Maybe not entirely him, but in a (kinda unhealthy) way still. But maybe I've misunderstood it entirely, but if thats how you wanted their dynamic to be like then it FUCKS. I adore religious themes/symbolism so much so yeah

you are spot on, that’s exactly it!!

for the year since wraith left her earth, she’s grappled with her own morality. when we meet her in chapter 1, she’s at the point of repression - with the mindset of ‘well this is who i am now i guess and it’s fine.’ it’s only when miguel calls her out on it in chapter 6 - hits her right where it hurts and opens the gaping wound to fresh air - does she realise that maybe she isn’t okay with it after all. in that way, he’s the one who establishes some sort of ‘commandment’ for her to adhere to (which is justified, sort of, but comes from a place of deep misunderstanding of her full situation)

not only that, but he’s the leader of the spider society, a force of the universes best heroes. in her perspective, he has to know what’s right for the greater good! it’s literally his job! and for a girl who’s only ever tried to fulfil the hero role she was forced into, his approval on that front means the world to her. it’s validation for her efforts, a reassurance that what she’s doing won’t fuck things up again (like we saw with the convenience robbery)

anyway, those themes will extend into the next arc for sure, and perhaps will be more clear as he starts to mentor her. super super excited for y’all to read what i have planned tho! it’s so fun just to think about <3

also, u have no idea how happy it makes me to hear this sort of analysis towards my work?? like? YES! i put so many little motifs and easter eggs for u guys to pick up on and to see someone paying such close attention fills my heart with joy. I love yall fr

[beevean]

Some more Hector and Isaac headcanons:

Hector grew up well-off, thanks to his father. This means that he was educated in certain subjects, and in particular he was taught to read and write, in Romanian, Greek and Slavic (what we now call Old Church Slavonic). Sure, Dad didn’t care much about his son, but that status symbol that he so craved, am I right?

Isaac, on the other hand, was a normal farm boy and grew up in poverty, so when he started to study magic arts in Castlevania he had to go through crash courses in literacy, much to his chagrin. (I like to imagine that Hector taught him to write his own name :) )

Isaac never knew his mother. Whether she died in childbirth or ran away because she thought she gave birth to a strigoi is unclear (read: i’m undecided). Mr. Laforeze was tolerant of his son’s oddities, being a sorcerer himself, but a lifetime of persecution and living on the edge of society also left him emotionally distant.

Mr. Laforeze at one point remarried (perhaps out of convenience?) and had Julia, meaning that she and Isaac are actually half-siblings, which explains why they don’t look anything like each other. The other wife, of course, only saw Isaac as an extra mouth to feed and had no interest in a literal redheaded step-child, so in any case, Isaac never had a mother and basically raised himself. You can imagine the kind of troublemaker he became :P I have this image of him kicking the big cross in the village church out of spite.

Isaac enjoyed teasing Julia, maybe even going too far at times, but he was fiercely protective of her from everyone else; he took his role of older brother seriously. This is where his complex of being appreciated and deemed useful started.

(I also wonder if this also started Julia’s own Stepford Smiler tendencies - she pretended to be fine and happy so that Isaac wouldn’t worry about her even more... or hurt other kids who might have harmed her)

Hector is not very good with people. As a child, he struggled with even talking (even as an adult he’s not the best conversionalist once you go past polite pleasantries), and he doesn’t understand others unless they spell things out for him - this explains how he could trust Zead but not St. Germain lol. Isaac has learned to read people better, perhaps due to fear. Both of them are terrible liars, but Hector is better at keeping a stoic face, while Isaac is brutally honest and wears his feelings on his sleeve; and both of them have low empathy for others - there is a reason Hector’s rebellion stemmed for self-centered reasons such as “I’m human too” and “I’m not a tool to be used”.

Just like Hector’s favorite animals seem to be cats according to the MF manga, Isaac’s were bats and wolves. Bats, because he has a slight bat motif going on (the Chauve-Souris), but I don’t know why I associate him with wolves. I guess he has some wolfish traits.

While Isaac comes off as being confident in his appearance, he’s actually self conscious about his hair for obvious reasons. I also don’t think he had the bangs at first, that was the result of letting his hair grow during those fateful 3 years (yes this is against the depictions of the manga, but it makes more sense to me).

Isaac actually tried to welcome Hector when he was accepted in Castlevania, but Hector wouldn’t talk to him, because he was still traumatized by the church incident and because he had an innate distrust of children around his age. Isaac broke his shell by showing him his Devil Forging :) of course he was also very eager to bask in Hector’s admiration lol.

Hector planned new Devils by sketching them on paper - he’s a decent artist at best, but the point was more about carefully planning and deciding on their characteristics. Isaac, who never held a pen in his life, relies on his imagination only.

Isaac had the idea of Devils, Golems and Mages; Hector had the idea of Fairies and Birds (his logic being that armies need more than simple brute force). As for the various evolutions, they created most of them together.

Abel is Isaac’s very first Innocent Devil. The Ends start off as Gales. I just love the idea that Isaac’s first Forging was a literal little devil lol. (and look at that, it has a little trident that kinda looks like the Chauve-Souris!)

Alucard and Isaac could not stand in the same room for five minutes without arguing, and Isaac was fond on going on tirades against “that brat” and “that momma’s boy” who wouldn’t allow him to do his job properly because he was oh-so-sensitive (to anyone who knew him it was obvious that he was highkey jealous lol). Alucard and Hector respected each other, with Alucard considering Hector highly intelligent and Hector taking his opinions into account during reunions, but they never became close friends, both because Hector was joined at the hip with Isaac and because the more Alucard grew older, the more he started to be disgusted by how his father groomed two human children. This becomes much sadder after Lisa’s passing...

Both of them held “Lady Lisa” in high regard, and perhaps they even considered her the closest thing to a loving mother figure. When Lisa died, Isaac was particularly furious if not even hurt, because being persecuted for being magic users (or being accused of such) is personal to him. Hector had more trouble empathizing with that, because he would have been glad to hear that his mother died, but he still felt sorry that an innocent, well-meaning woman was wrongly killed - hint hint...

Once, Isaac asked Dracula why he wouldn’t turn him and Hector (mostly him lol) into vampires. Dracula responded that humanity is a key element in the process of creating life, so Devil Forgemasters can only be human. Alucard himself is the proof of this, as he was born from a vampire and a human. Isaac was disappointed but never insisted, Hector was glad because the idea of being a vampire, a slave to his basic needs, repulsed him. (sidenote: I also like the explanation given by Netflixvania that keeping Hector and Isaac human assures their loyalty)

[orangeoctopi7]

Who was that Mysterious Figure?

I hope it’s OK to count chapter 16 of my Spider Stan AU for week 1 of @stanuary .

AO3 Link:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/17607854/chapters/111035395

Ford didn’t even remember blacking out, but when he came to, he was no longer in his basement lab. He was in town, perched on the vertical wall of the church tower in town square. He looked down at his reflection in a dark stained glass window in awe. 

He was completely covered in a fine webbing of black and gold, completely unrecognizable. It wasn’t far from the sketch he’d made of the new suit he wanted to make for Stanley, but with a sort of pyramid motif instead of one of spiders. His suit had enormous, slanting yellow eyes, and a large yellow inverted triangle on his chest. Whatever it was made of, it was clearly more advanced than any earthly fabric. It moved with him as he moved, almost like another set of muscles had attached themselves to the outside of his skin. He ran a finger along his arm, and despite the fact that it covered his fingers as well, he could feel the texture. It was fibrous and wiry and shifting, like it was alive.

SPOT ON AS ALWAYS, SIXER! 

By now, Ford was used to hearing Bill’s voice in his head from time to time, but now it seemed amplified. Almost overwhelming.

SO, YOU READY TO TAKE THIS THING OUT ON A JOYRIDE, SEE HOW IT WORKS?

“Yes.” Ford spoke aloud, but it sounded strange. Like his own voice had been thrown into a blender with Bill’s. He cleared his throat, and even that sounded wrong. This was going to take some getting used to. “Wha-- hmm-- uh, what do I do?”

THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF THE SYMBIOTE! IT SHARES THE SAME PSYCHIC LINK I DO WITH YOU, SO IT’S COMPLETELY INTUITIVE, LIKE THE MINDSCAPE! JUST THINK IT, AND IT WILL DO IT!

“If that’s the case, then how did I get out here?�� 

SINCE IT’S THE SAME PSYCHIC LINK I SHARE WITH YOU, I CAN TAKE CONTROL IF YOU’RE EVER KNOCKED OUT OR EVEN IF YOUR HUMAN BRAIN IS JUST TAKING TOO LONG. JUST THINK OF IT AS A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND.

Ford’s heart swelled with gratitude. He remembered a time when he didn’t dare hope that Bill could reciprocate his feelings of friendship, but now, not only were they friends, they were working together as one, as a superhero, trusting each other more than perhaps anyone had ever trusted another.

SURE I TRUST YOU, BUDDY! IF I CAN TRUST YOU TO BUILD THE PORTAL FOR ME, THEN OF COURSE I CAN TRUST YOU WITH THE SYMBIOTE.

Ford’s thoughts were thrown off track. That hadn’t even been directed at Bill, not even fully formed in his own head, how had he--?

OH YEAH, AS LONG AS YOU’RE WEARING THE SYMBIOTE, I HAVE FULL ACCESS TO YOUR THOUGHTS. IT’S NICE, I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO GO AROUND OPENING DOORS LIKE WHEN I’M IN YOUR DREAMSCAPE! 

Ford panicked and tried to bury a number of embarrassing thoughts before Bill could “see” them. Which of course, just brought them to the forefront of his mind. 

AHAHAHA, WHAT’S THE MATTER, FORDSY? WORRIED I’LL THINK IT’S PATHETIC HOW DESPERATE YOU ARE FOR MY APPROVAL? DON’T WORRY! I’M FLATTERED YOU CARE SO MUCH! NO NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED! WELL, MAYBE IT IS A LITTLE EMBARRASSING. BUT IN A CUTE, ENDEARING WAY, YA KNOW?

Ford felt himself flushing under the symbiote mask. This just caused Bill to laugh some more. 

SEE THIS? THIS IS WHY WE’RE FRIENDS. NONE OF THE OTHER FLESH SACKS WHO I WORKED WITH BEFORE GOT MY SENSE OF HUMOR LIKE YOU DO, IQ! HOW LUCKY AM I THAT YOU’RE BOTH SMARTER AND A BETTER SPORT THAN ANYONE ELSE!

“Th-thanks…” Ford stammered, before quickly shutting his mouth. He still didn’t like how this different voice sounded. 

If you can see directly into my thoughts, why can’t I see directly into yours? He switched to a directed thought instead. 

WELL, I MEAN, YOU COULD. IF YOU’RE OK WITH YOUR BRAIN EXPLODING IMMEDIATELY AFTER I OPEN THE CONNECTION. I’M KEEPING THAT BLOCKED OFF FOR YOUR SAFETY. 

Oh.

YEAH OH. NOW ARE WE GONNA TAKE THIS BABY ON A JOY RIDE OR WHAT?

Bill must have been impatient because Ford felt the symbiote start to move his body without his direction. Not liking the sensation, he quickly jumped back into control and climbed to the very top of the church steeple and took in his surroundings. 

He had no web shooters, but he instinctively knew that the fibrous symbiote could stretch itself to behave in much the same way. This was so much easier than it had been riding along with Stan! It was completely instinctual, and the one time he slipped up and missed his mark for a web anchor, Bill took over and shot out another line directly from his back and caught him before he fell more than a couple of inches. Soon Ford had the hang of swinging webs not just from his hands, but from any part of his body. The symbiote seemed to be able to stretch itself infinitely. 

They were swinging over the police station when Ford spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. A hooded figure in dark red robes was darting away from the back door of the station, where the thugs who had attacked them just yesterday were being held. Ford was about to go after the hooded figure when Bill held him back. 

WHOA THERE SIXER! WE DON’T KNOW WHO OR WHAT THAT THING IS, BUT THIS IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR LITTLE MOBSTER PROBLEM. 

What? What do you mean?

DON’T FORGET THESE JERKS KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. SOME OF THEM EVEN KNOW YOU LOOK JUST LIKE THE SPIDER MAN. IF THEY GO BACK TO THEIR BOSS WITH THAT INFORMATION, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOUR BROTHER LEAVES OR NOT. YOU’LL BE A TARGET.

They’re in jail, they won’t have the chance to pass anything along. 

OH, THEY’LL FIND A WAY TO PASS IT ALONG. DOESN’T YOUR DUMB JUSTICE SYSTEM GIVE THEM ONE PHONE CALL OR SOMETHING?

Oh, right, he’d forgotten about that. But I’ll have you. I’ll have the symbiote.

TRUE! STILL, THESE ARE BAD GUYS, RIGHT? THEY’VE BEEN HUNTING DOWN YOUR BROTHER FOR WHO KNOWS HOW MANY YEARS. THEY’RE THE REASON HE’S BEEN ON THE RUN AND HOMELESS. I THINK YOU’LL AGREE, THEY DON’T DESERVE ANY MERCY.

Ford found he did agree. Rage was burning through him like a fever, coming on suddenly. He easily tore the back door off its hinges, giving him easy access to the cell where the thugs were being held. The four survivors were lazing about with blank stares when he found them. They all screamed when he reached through the bars and grabbed one by the throat. The symbiote stretched out beyond the natural reach of his arm and slammed the man into the back wall. It was the one who’d held the knife to his throat earlier. 

“Wh-what!?” The thug choked out in a panic. “What is that thing!?”

His compatriots just cowered and whimpered in fear. 

“You’re going to stop hunting the Spider Man.” Ford growled in his strange new voice. 

“Wh-wh-what is that? Is that what you are? I’ve never seen anything like you before in my life!”

SEE FORDSY, THREATENING THEM ISN’T GONNA WORK BECAUSE THAT’S ALREADY WHAT THEIR BOSS DOES. THE ONLY WAY YOU’RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF THESE IDIOTS IS THE PERMANENT WAY. 

Bill took over again and his muse spoke through him in that same blended voice. “Oh-ho, you wish I was the second-rate hero who landed you in here! I’m Venom, and I’m not some sap who’s just gonna send you off to jail and hope you never bother anyone again. I’m your worst nightmare!” With that, more of the symbiote branched off from his arm and formed a long, sharp spear, aimed straight at the man’s head.

The rage seething inside Ford almost led him to let Bill follow through with the threat, but he balked at the last second. He’d never killed anyone, unless you counted those zombies, and he was pretty sure they became completely mindless after a few days. What’s more, something was wrong here. These guys were too scared for thugs who worked for the mob, and it wasn’t just fear in their eyes, it was confusion.

“Do you know where you are right now?” Ford took over and pulled the spike away, letting up from his choke hold on the man a bit.

The man and all his compatriots shook their heads.

“Does the name Gravity Falls mean anything to you?”

Again, they all shook their heads no. 

“Do any of you remember how you got here?”

More head shakes. 

“What’s the last thing any of you remember?”

That one they did have an answer for. Most of them answered that the last thing they remembered was a casino, while another said the last thing he remembered was a long drive from Portland. To where, he didn’t recall. None of them seemed to remember anything about the last 24 hours. And none of them could remember anything about a Spider Man. 

THEY COULD JUST BE FAKING IT SIXER, ARE YOU REALLY READY TO TAKE THAT CHANCE?

But as Ford looked into their eyes, he was certain they weren’t faking it.

NO OFFENSE IQ BUT YOU’RE NOT THE BEST AT SPOTTING LIARS.

I’m not about to kill them either way!

Bill didn’t respond immediately, but after a beat he laughed.

SURE, IT WOULDN’T BE VERY HEROIC TO KILL THEM LIKE THIS, WOULD IT? IF THEY DO END UP SENDING MORE MOOKS AFTER US, WE’LL TAKE CARE OF THEM THEN. 

Ford pulled the extended symbiote back to him, letting the thug he’d been harassing drop back to the floor. He was trying to think of something witty to say to the criminals as he left when he heard a familiar voice.

“Sweet Moses, what happened to the door?” The Spider Man was whispering, but with the symbiote’s enhancements, Ford could hear him all the way in the next room. He began to panic. What was he supposed to do? How was he going to explain this to Stanley?

OH, DEFINITELY DON’T TELL HIM. REMEMBER YOUR SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT? REMEMBER HOW JEALOUS HE CAN GET?

It apparently wasn’t up for debate, because Bill took over again and climbed up to the ceiling to sneak out the back door. Unfortunately, Stan was also on the ceiling. 

“What the h—” He was cut off when Bill whipped him in the face with a tendril of symbiote.

“Meet your replacement, Spider Man! I’m Venom! I look forward to outclassing you in the future!” And with that he scurried away.

That was more malicious than necessary.

OH PLEASE, YOU ACT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER DONE A LITTLE SIBLING RIBBING BEFORE!

I don’t think he’ll see it that way, especially since we’re apparently not going to tell him it’s me.

THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT SO GREAT! FINALLY, A SECRET YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOUR TWIN!

Normally, Ford would argue that Bill’s existence was already a secret he didn’t have to share with his twin, plus over ten years spent apart, but he found himself agreeing with his muse. His usual arguments were shoved back to his subconscious faster than the embarrassing thoughts he’d been trying to purposefully bury earlier, before he even consciously noticed he’d been actively thinking of them. 

-line break-

Stan had just been going to try and interrogate the remaining four thugs to see how much they knew about Ford. Thankfully, he hadn’t been using his real name when he’d worked for Rico, so at least they couldn’t use that to connect them, but he couldn’t really do anything about the fact that they looked pretty much identical. How many of these jerks had just assumed Ford was him, and how many had worked out they were brothers? What could he possibly do to buy their silence? Maybe give them some of Ford’s science junk? Any criminal would be happy to have these web shooters, even if it took super strength to actually swing around on them without pulling your arms out of their sockets. But would that really be enough to keep them from going back to Rico with such juicy black mail?

This wasn’t his first time breaking into, or out of, a police station jail. Normally, he’d observe the security cameras, crawl up on a wall or ceiling in a blind spot, and then crawl up close enough to cover whichever ones were pointed at the window or door he wanted to enter through. Then he’d pick the lock and be in and out before anyone noticed the camera wasn’t working. 

Unfortunately, someone got here first who wasn’t nearly so careful. 

“Sweet Moses, what happened to the door?” It had been pulled off its hinges from the outside by something powerful. Maybe even more powerful than him. Stan gulped. So either Rico had already sent someone else, maybe even found someone else with super powers, or some cryptid had crawled out of the woods and decided the jail was a good place to get a midnight snack. 

Well, whatever it was, his spider-sense wasn’t going off, so it was long gone. For now, he’d just look for clues. Maybe Ford could help him figure out what it had been. 

His heart sank. Maybe not. He’d have to leave tomorrow to try and get these jerks off Ford’s tail.

He climbed up onto the ceiling to avoid any security cameras, and was about half way through the room when something else entered into the room from the direction of the cells, also climbing on the ceiling. 

Stan’s jaw dropped. It was almost solid black, with golden yellow webbing spreading across its surface, an inverted triangle of gold emblazoned across its chest like a shield, and huge glowing yellow eyes. If Stan had to guess what Ford’s crazy cryptid publications thought he looked like, this would be it. 

“What the h—” He didn’t even get the cuss fully formed in his mouth before a tentacle or something shot out of its arm and slapped him across the face like an offended mother. 

“Meet your replacement, Spider Man!” It spoke with no mouth, its voice somehow simultaneously gravely and whiney. “I’m Venom! I look forward to outclassing you in the future!” It scuttled away before he could respond, like a cockroach, human shaped, but inhuman movements. It gave him the willies. He wasn’t sure he wanted to follow after it.

So he didn’t. Whatever that cryptid was, and whatever it wanted with him, it didn’t really matter. He was going to be gone by this time tomorrow, and from what Ford said, most of the local weirdness didn’t leave Roadkill County. He had much bigger fish to fry. Hopefully whatever that was didn’t kill these jerks. Sure, these guys were ruining his life just when he was thinking things might finally go his way for a change, and they’d probably kill him if they thought they could get away with it, but if Stan stopped caring about human life when it was convenient, he wouldn’t be any better than Rico.

Thankfully, they were all still alive, but whatever that thing had been, it had obviously roughed them up. What’s more, none of them remembered a thing about him. They all huddled in the corner like a bunch of scared kittens as soon as he entered the room, and none of them recognized him, or even remembered the last 24 hours. What the heck was that thing, and what had it done to them?

-line break-

Everyone slept in the next morning, and everyone looked exhausted once they finally pulled themselves out of bed and to the kitchen for breakfast. 

“Is your insomnia acting up again?” Ford asked McGucket between guzzling cups of coffee. 

“Eh, not exactly.” Fiddleford’s gaze was glued to his own mug. “I, uh, had some calculations I had to work on late last night.”

Ford nodded. His friend had always triple checked their calculations instead of just double checking. 

“You?”

“Oh, well I was…” Ford felt the condensed ball of black and yellow goo in his pocket twitch. “I was studying the meteorite that saved us unexpectedly.”

Stan rolled into the kitchen with a loud groan. “Yeesh, what a night.” He yanked the coffee pot out of Ford’s hand without even asking. “I was packing until I thought things were probably quiet enough at the police station I could slip out there and interrogate Rico’s goons, see how much they know before I try and get him off you guys’s trail. Only when I get there, all their minds have been wiped by some weird black and yellow tentacle cryptid!”

Ford and McGucket both looked at him with surprise. 

“You think the cryptid wiped their minds?” Ford asked incredulously.

“No, Ford, I think some other random thing came along and wiped their minds before I found them with the cryptid.” Stan answered sarcastically. “Seriously, what else could it be? Unless you know some other kinda weird thing that can erase minds.”

The researcher glanced at his assistant, whose eyes were once again glued to his mug. “No creatures that I’m aware of, no, but that sound suspiciously like—” 

“Y’know, I reckon I saw that cryptid last night too.” Fiddleford interrupted him. 

“Really, when?” Ford asked, surprised. 

“Oh, eh, I was, er, on the porch, uh, emptyin’ out my spitoon right before I went to sleep late last night, thought I saw it up in the trees. Human shaped, black silhouette with a yellow triangle on its chest and big ol’ yellow eyes.”

“Yep, that’s the same one I saw.” Stan nodded. 

Ford frowned. He thought he’d been so careful not to be spotted when he came home last night!

“Well, it's not a cryptid I’m familiar with.” Ford said.

“Great, sounds like you’ll have something new and exciting to study instead of my dumb powers.” Stan said, finishing off his mug of coffee before slinging his duffle back over his arm. “Welp, better hit the road. I’ve already wasted enough daylight sleeping in so late today.”

Ford grabbed him roughly by the arm. “Stanley, wait! Surely the fact that their minds have been erased buys us some time?”

“Sure it does. That’s why I can’t waste it.”

“I can’t just let you leave and put yourself in danger to protect me! I’m not a helpless child anymore!”

Stan sighed, turning away from his brother. “Ford, we’ve been over this. Stop making it more difficult than it has to be.”

“No! I’m not letting you leave like this!” His grip on his brother’s arm tightened and he felt the symbiote crawl out of his pants pocket and slip under his shirt.

Stan turned back to his brother and grinned dangerously. “I’d really love to see you try and stop me, Sixer.”

“I’m more than capable of protecting myself!” Ford growled.

“Good, that means you don’t need me anymore!” Stan went to yank his arm out of his brother’s grip.

It didn’t budge.

Stan looked at his brother with eyes as big as saucers. He’d never seen Stanford so furious, not even when he’d confronted Stan about the broken spider habitat. The con man was about to ask his brother what the big deal was, when McGucket spoke up again. 

“Y’know, I do have an idea that might make this whole argument a moot point.” 

The brothers looked at him expectantly. 

“These folks couldn’t find any of us, if we moved our research to a secret bunker in the middle of the woods.”

Stan looked at the inventor incredulously. “You, uh, you just got one of those lying around, do ya?”

“No, but there’s plenty o’ tunnels and the like under this here valley, wouldn’t be too difficult to fit one out for our needs. I’d already been thinkin’ about buildin’ one, just in case the portal goes critical—”

Stan paled, “Is that likely?”

Fiddleford didn’t answer Stan’s question, but he did shoot a meaningful glance at Ford, “—so I’ve already got a location in mind and some basic schematics drafted. Shouldn’t take more’n a day or two to build with the proper help.”

Ford’s demeanor immediately brightened. “That’s perfect!”

Stan was more apprehensive. He’d already made peace with his decision. This was always going to happen sooner or later. Leaving while Ford still wanted and cared about him was honestly the highest note he could go out on.

Obviously sensing his brother’s hesitation, Ford yanked his duffle bag out of his hands. 

“You’re staying.” 

It wasn’t a suggestion or even a declaration. It was a demand. One with a far more aggressive edge to it than Stan was used to hearing in his brother’s voice. Not that Ford couldn’t be aggressive. Just not about this kind of thing. In the past it had only ever been when he was defending his scientific research, or his nerdy interests, or even the rare occasions when he would talk back to his bullies. 

Finally deciding that the argument was no longer worth the effort, Stan rolled his eyes and left the kitchen. “Guess I’ll go unpack then.”

Ford turned his intense gaze to Fiddleford. “What did you do with the memory gun?”

McGucket did a spit take in surprise. “I-I dismantled it days ago, I told ya!”

“Really? Then why do none of the criminals from yesterday remember the last 24 hours? Or the Spider Man, for that matter?”

“S-stanley could be mistaken. They could just be playin’ dumb to try and fool him!”

“And more tellingly, why did Stan assume their memories were erased by the cryptid? Why didn’t he even ask you about the possibility that your memory gun had been used?”

“B-because he knew I dismantled it!”

“Stanley isn’t that trusting, or stupid! Even if he was 100% certain that you’d dismantled it, he would have asked you if you thought anyone might have swiped the blueprints, or if you’d ever shared the designs with anyone outside of the three of us. Unless he somehow forgot about its existence altogether.”

Fiddleford’s face contorted into a guilt-stricken frown, clearly caught in his lie. “Stanford, I’m so sorry—”

“Where is it?” Again, it wasn’t a simple question or a suggestion. It was a demand. One with more fire behind it than even Ford’s thesis defense. 

“P-please, I need it! I-I’m not like you, I-I can’t live with this knowledge! Without it, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, it’s like every moment I’m just waitin’ for an alien invasion or— or some monster to come crashin’ out o’ the woods, o-or that th-thing you’re obsessed with to-to do somethin’!”

“I told you, that device is far too dangerous!”

“No more dangerous than your portal! I’m still running the simulations, but there is definitely a non-zero chance it’ll go critical.”

“They said there was a non-zero chance the first nuclear bomb tests would ignite the entire atmosphere.” Ford scoffed. “You’re a brilliant engineer, I know you’ll be able to find a way to mitigate the risk.” 

“Oh, so that’s it? My concerns are just unfounded hogwash, but I should throw away the only thing that makes it possible for me to sleep at night just cuz you’re worried about possible misuse?”

Ford fixed his friend with a dark glare. “My device can’t be used on the unsuspecting without their consent.”

“Oh, really Stanford?” McGucket put his hands on his hips. “You plannin’ on gettin’ a permission slip from Town Hall when it’s time to power up that portal? How about the State Legislature? The White House? The United Nations givin’ you the go ahead?”

Ford gripped his friend’s shoulder tightly and it was anything but calming. “Where. Is it?”

The sound of shattering glass broke them out of their intense staring contest. They turned to see Stan with the memory gun broken in his grasp, smaller bits of it littering the floor at his feet. 

“Super hearing, remember?” He grunted. “I remembered the thing as soon as Ford mentioned it.” He tossed the two largest pieces in the trash and grabbed a dustpan to sweep up the fragments on the floor. “All I had to do was dig around your room for a bit.” 

Fiddleford looked stricken, as broken as the memory gun sitting in the trash. “H-how could you?” He whispered.

“Look, I get it.” Stan said sympathetically. “I swear I do. But do ya really think I’m gonna trust you with that thing again after you used it on me against my will?” 

The inventor didn’t seem to be able to hear him. “How could you!?” He exploded. “How could you doom me to this— this madness!? To the eyes and the laughter—”

“Yeesh, dramatic much?” Stan rolled his eyes. 

That was the last straw, Fiddleford stormed out of the room, and they heard the front door slam open and shut as well, followed by the sound of the McGucket’s truck revving up and speeding away.

-line break-

Ivan was sitting by the side of the road anxiously wringing his hands. The carnival was packing up, and his coworkers were shooting him glares for not helping, but he'd agreed to meet someone here. Someone important.

He was surprised when the truck he was expecting came early. Fiddleford McGucket climbed out, shaking like a leaf. 

"Oh thank goodness you're still here!" The inventor hugged Ivan like a lifeline.

"Of course, sir, I told you I'd wait after what you showed me last night."

"The prototype was destroyed this morning. Have ya still got the upgraded version I left with you for safe keeping?"

Ivan nodded and pulled out the fancy wooden box McGucket had given him last night. The inventor breathed a sigh of relief and opened it up, revealing a new memory gun. His shaking stopped the moment he held it in his hands.

"It ain't safe to keep this here computermajig where I'm stayin' anymore. Can I trust you to keep it safe a while longer?"

"I'd be honored, sir!"

McGucket clapped the younger man on the back. "You, me, an' this here device is just the start of something big. I already got other folks in mind. We're gonna save this town. Welcome to the Society of the Blind Eye."

FFW EEJB HBAZE A GIVL WM LA DGEPFE HBSF AJTDP USGGDW WKEJQBA UGJL. XZVV WZ A’Y NDTCZVU CL EYXX EEL IMAZE LAI JGAVAARW MS TWBNJAJ ZBQ ZVGNWMB GY SLBFCYTR HHWJMGMAZE KBBVZ, HBSF RZBRX KCODP QLBPC LC MGYC VTQROS.

[basementcreation]

1 2 and 21 for your personal fav oc

OURURFHGHHH THANK YOU…. (STARTS FLAILING AROUND LIKE A REALLY EXCITED WORM)

my personal favourite oc is a (previously lobotomy corp oc but now in my own universe) character named Rostya ( ´ ▽ ` )b (this got kind of long, so most of it is under the cut)

does your oc have any motifs?

(cw for imagery of death/rot) yeah!! sorry, this section will be a little long, i have a lot of thoughts about themes and stuff. possibly a little generic but it's fine hehe.

most commonly, i relate him to crows/dead birds. i like the imagery of a dead bird swarming with maggots for him - it relates to his feelings of emptiness. his main struggles are depression and lack of control of his life; basically, things keep getting worse for him and he's almost given up. like, y'know, a dead animal being consumed by rot. also, crows are typically associated with death - something his character arc is related to (i mean. he does die at the end of it. so). could also relate to independence (he pushes away other people) and freedom (is struggling to free himself from his mental health struggles and the pressure/manipulation of his mother, even if he isn't in contact with her anymore).

the second thing i've related to him (although, this one is a bit new, so it's not too well thought out just yet) are apples! they're commonly used to represent temptation and sin (eg death note, the bible (yes i thought of death note first, what of it)) but i like it as a metaphor for life. this sort of stems from a scene i thought up with him and his (future partner, but at the time) enemy, who threatens rostya by crushing an apple in his hand. apples are hard on the outside but are pretty easy to cut up with a knife - the fact he crushes it with his bare hand shows the power he has over rostya's life. i'd love to go on more about this, but i think i need to mull this theme over some more first.

ALSO okok i can't believe i nearly forgot about this but. black ink. goop. nothing much to say about this one he's just a goopy guy. actually, no, disregard that, i have thoughts. so there's two versions of the universe he's from, and he has a (spoilers) madoka magica witch transformation moment in both of them. both of these times his other form is made up of black ink. it's basically just a metaphor for his despair. like, depression can feel like it's totally consuming you and dragging you down, right? that's his whole thing.

okay i promise pinky style that this is the last one but. masks. he's constantly masking his real thoughts and feelings. maybe a little heavy-handed, but it fits (he even has a dark shadow, like a mask, cast across his face when i draw him. look at the art below to see). he also wears a mask in both of his transformations - it's sort of similar to a theatre one, look at it below.

fuck i feel like gambling is also a motif for him. my brain is sort of short circuiting now because of all the writing (i know it's not that much. i am tired) but just. trust me. there's stuff there. and sorry for breaking my pinky promise. i'll repent.

2. describe your character's voice. do they have a voice claim?

this one's a little trickier - i generally don't have voice claims for my ocs, and just come up with them in my head, so i'll also talk a bit about the way he speaks. he has a fairly deep voice, probably about average for a guy. he's russian, but moved to england at a young age, so i don't think his accent is very prominent. he doesn't really speak unless spoken to, and tends to use shorter sentences. he can also be very snappy, mostly when people are trying to be nice to him (⍪_⍪) for context - he's a quiet person, but will put up a front of hostility when people try and get too close, which is. kind of anything past small talk for him (vulnerability scares him because of his past). although, after a while, he does calm down a bit with his antagonism.

21. hobbies your OC enjoys?

he really loves music! before he pawned them off, he would collect records. he enjoys singing a lot (in an au he's an opera singer) and secretly wishes he could make a career out of it - which, he totally could. he's a great singer. in the past he played the violin, and he still has some love for it, but as an adult he has too many bad feelings associated with it.

he also LOVES trains. he would love to save up enough money to collect miniature model trains, but can't manage it. at some point he and his coworkers have to go on a luxury train to investigate something and the whole time he is freaking out about it.

thanks so much for the ask!!! rostya is so fun to talk about. as a bonus, here's some art of him!!

the hair strand across the face is essential!

rostya ponytown... think i might remake this soon.

mock cover for the chapter where he dies! <3 this isn't what his transformation looks like, but the mask is the one he has.

one of my first drawings of him... his design has changed a little. and my art has changed a lot

this isn't rostya. i forgot why i drew this

[convxction]

ooc. here we go. buckle up, guys. we are diving in. ofc all under read more because lots of pics and stuff. this post is only art thingies!!! lines for another post~ mwah hahaha

the first pic i appreciate the allusion to his famous pose by kozaki

but this allusion is a false one u know because this chrom is not the chrom you know. in a wise blond man's words 'FAKER!'. also it is funny that he got this new supposedly looking like a sword made out of grima's ...fang? horn idk man and yet the man keeps Falchion's sheath behind him. that swiggly thing wont fit into Falchion's sheath buddy.

now to the ... THE CAUSE of his death.

the pikachu lightning bolt he got is shown!!!!! this detail is important because again this was his cause of death in some parallel worlds, or crippling him in others. idk if they mean that this wound is never ever healing and it will forever be 'hurting' him.

there is an old hc post about plegia and all on my old mm blog [here] and i talked about plegia's name / the flower/ and how it looks like grima and

it feels like an overstretch to assume the crystal thingy on the sword is similar. i thought it might be but ...not really. maybe if i want to personally hc it and there is nothing wrong with that~

something that caught my attention this morning when i saw the art was his cape.

for me, it looks like a torn butterfly wing. and we know butterfly motif in awakening signifies going back in time to fix things--moving forward; hence the butterfly following lucina when she made the jump (and the butterfly following lonqu--ke'ri's soul helping him to move on??) remember chrom's resplendent cape?

something similar in the motif. chrom's cape tells you more about him in each alt imo. in his fell version it is just a broken butterfly that couldn't defy fate.

kinda wished for something cooler than just mark on his arm; something like the outsider mark on zeal's arm haha. like... idk the mark eroding the entire arm that bears naga's brand u know~ maybe i will hc that too~ CUZ IT FUCKING MAKES SENSE THAT TWO 'POWERS' WILL CLASH IN THE SAME BODY OK??? and since he is dead he is basically in grima's domain more than naga's right? so expect more of the fell brand affecting his arm.

the ripped part is honestly ... really ... lame. like the whole armor is so intact and yet you see this part only ripped. unless you count the mark of thoron is one and the ripped part is well, grima's way of mocking by ripping it off chrom's armor to in return mock naga that her favorite lad is in their hands now then...oke. or chrom himself ripping it off but i ...would've again imagined something would be done to it, like scratch marks, maybe *insert nami from 1piece scene and what she did to her own tattoo* u know???? but since i always take what they give us and do whatever the hell i want i say again his arm is all corrupted and naga's mark is damaged by scratches or whatever. break dance.

i thought it was familiar until i saw oscar's tweet. bless u iris prince number one. Kimihiko Fujisaka is doing all the glory works to preserve chrom even in his fell mode. god bless your soul. give that man a big beary hug.

how can a ded man still be seggst yes? the eyes chef kiss. thanks Fuji-san!!!! the hair~ OH WAIT I AHVE NOT CHECKED IMPORTANT THING...ZOOOOOOM ENHANCE

dang it fuji san... the eyebrows tho... tis fine. .... *taking points from the art because no cool eyebrows pinocchio nose*

again... chef kiss expression. personally, i feel like dead chrom would not ...feel pain u know? he ded. he wouldnt have much emotions right? but i dig that look. cool cool cool. love it.

also. WHY THE FUCK YOU COVER THAT PART HMMM? MEANS THAT THE INJURY IS SOMETHING OF A KEY ELEMENT TO HIS 'CORRUPTION' RIGHT? of all things he would protect, he protected the thoron injury. man is so brainwashed lmao.

look. the circular whatever vortex thingy around him. my brain was like hmm what does it mean??? then OK BUT AS I SAID TWO POWERS???? THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SICK IF THERE WAS LIKE A HINT OF NAGA IN THERE YES YES? chrom being the catalyst of both good and evil at the same time wahahahahaha.

overall the design is like ... 6.5 at best for me, personally. i just dont find 'red' chrom color no matter what. there was a reason why kozaki did not go for a red cape design for him initially and went with white so he does not be 'ike copy'. i get that they want 'fell' colors but there is some kind of irony in keeping the white but 'taint' it for more impact. like look at the cipher card RKC

the simple visual mistake you gonna make if you saw him from the back that he is chrom but once he turns viola thats not chrom my fried. that illusion that he is still him is what makes me like the lighter tone for RKC. it dos not try to SELL IT too hard that he is 'dead and dangerous' u know? simple things like the glowing dangerous and perhaps lifeless eyes, pale skin, corrupted falchion?? things that are 'clothes'. Grima didn't 'mmm lets give you a new look' when they turned him. like why bother??? it is honestly scarier to see someone somehow look the same but suddenly get the 'out for your life' treatment than someone who looks like they are out for your life u know? its just me. then again, like the design but too edgy to make him 'fell'. like ....idk man??? the colors just kind of made him ..unseen? can you really see 'Chrom'???? all i see blackish and red things and little of him. anyway anyway!!!!! i am still happy he is there. good. perhaps we can see kozaki in the future give his um... version🥺 👉👈 i know he said that he kind of found it challenging to draw chrom again for the legendary one but ... sobs..kozaki san know i love your chrom please. SAVE THE EYEBROWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

aaaaaand thats it ??? oh wait. check the chibis!!!!!!!

tiny dead lad.

[bujorulgalben]

[ does there seem to be anything out of place in anica's home? anything new, perhaps? it might be easy to miss it--this time slavko hasn't opted for a grand spread like the last surprise... or so it seems! but that doesn't mean he's gone and left her nothing for valentine's day! if she has a careful eye, she'll notice that on the mantel above the fireplace, something new seems to have appeared. it's a vase of sorts, with that distinctive, semi-canteen shape that marks it as some serbian venture. the glass has been painted a distinguished, matte red, with fine, traditional patterns down the sides in whites, blues, and yellows. and among those distinctive forms, the discerning eye will note crosses and stars typical of kilim motifs; clearly, whoever has painted this has left some sort of a message there between the forms for its recipient. ]

[ and inside of the vase, standing singular, tall, and proud, is a single, white rose. it almost looks like a mistake at first, that there's only one, but this seems like the sort of thing that can only be deliberate, doesn't it? it's as if this single rose with its long, gentle stem comes with an ellipsis above its petals, urging the recipient to be patient. oh, and there's also a bottle of montenegrin wine, for the sake of keeping this present halfway traditional in its delivery. tucked underneath is a card, red to match the vase, in a plain, white envelope. it reads: ]

Ana,

Срећан Дан заљубљених, драга. Come back and check the mantel every day. And save the wine. Make nothing of my brevity, душица, it will have its purpose soon, as the disc of the sun at dawn awaits its rays. And if I am to be as lucky, then I shall play the sky for another such sun. Волим те, моја срећа.

Славко

[ /who knows how many times anica walked past that mantle and didn't notice the vase. once? twice? it is only with the daily dusting of the icon corner; the back corner, between the mantel and the archway into the library, that she notices something else is there. how odd! a floral arrangement would often occupy this space, yes, but a lone rose? a white one, no less! she plucks it from the vessel, and brushes the petals across her fingertips, against her cheek.

the fragrance of a lone rose is subtle in its sweetness. her mind pulls up meanings behind a lone white rose and she reads deeper still: innocence, unity, true love and sincerity from the heart... ah. she breathes deep from the flower; her nose pushed into the petals, head dropping over the upright bloom.

and so the origins of this flower become clear. anica's eyes flick back to the mantel. oh! and only now does she spot the vase! the stars and crosses! the paintwork, those motifs, it all keeps an earnest smile tacked on her face. she knows who left this here. lips part to sigh a breathless smile, and the grin grows wider still when she drags the wine bottle off the mantel. thank goodness she pulls the card out at the same time, to tumble to the stone below! otherwise, she likely would find a way to open the bottle there and then!

now, now, anica, you know better than to open your presents before reading the card.

the bottle is next to carefully meet the hearth, as anica seats herself on the rug in front of the fireplace to keep the rose in her lap and opens the envelope. she reads the card, muttering out loud as she does... her serbian needs a bit more work, and she needs to say 'zaljubljenih' more than once until she is satisfied with how it sounds. but oh. oh, why must i wait longer still? you cruel man! surely i have waited long enough! what could you be planning now!

it must be mentioned that this melodramatic introspective comes with a dry chuckle, the slow, relaxed slump of her shoulders when she traces his handwriting with her finger, slowly. she muses into the flower with a whisper: ]

Moja sreća.

[ /anica folds the envelope over that letter. she presses it to her chest, over the rose stem she gathers up, and she unfolds from where she sat to rise slowly. that's that, then. this will become part of anica's daily routine, for the time being; until the fate of that wine bottle becomes clear. even now, anica's stare blinks between the rose and the wine, and the gears slowly begin to turn. and she puzzles. and she itches to open the bottle... but fine. she will follow the card's request, for now. eyes fall to the floor and she returns to her poetic musing over that darling rose; flower nesting in the hollow of her neck. ]

[leynaeithnea]

(Okay, I am kinda curious now so if you want you can totally send me the list of youtubers but I honestly don't know if I'm going to enjoy the format of watching people react so I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes :)) )

( Also I do not know much about what is to come , I know about the story in the Odyssey and how it ends but I don't know much about what's coming in Epic so if you want to spoil it a little for me in private I'll all ears )

23 SCYLLA OUR GIRL

You're so right every female voice goes so hard but Scylla is just something else her voice is so powerful jajsjsjsjsjjs

Aaaah the way Odysseus sings kaksksksjsj

OH MY GOD Scylla's lines having double meaning and both Ody and Eury hide a reason for shame AND THE CREW DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT SCYLLA IT ALL FLEW RIGHT OVER MY HEAD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLAINING IT TO ME THE SONG IS EVEN COOLER NOW

( Yeah I'm assuming that's what Scylla means by saying that they are the same but now I'm not sure of anything I just *have* to look up her mythology too )

OH MY GOD NOT ANTICLEA SEEING THE SHIPS AND KILLING HERSELF AAAAAH EURY FOR FUCKS SAKE

( oh god leaving them feeling betrayed broke the bonds that you made being also foreshadowing for mutiny I'm not okay I need to sit on the floor for a while until the world stops spinning AAAH)

Everytime there's a callback to full speed ahead my heart breaks a little bc it takes us back to the beginning where things where a little rough but SO MUCH BETTER , the whole song is about struggling to get home and get food but it's so hopeful and catchy and nice bc the worst is done , they won the war they are heading home everything is going to be fine now , right? Right?!?

NOT EURY HOLDING ONE OF THE TORCHES ( but also yeah, my man Ody is defeated and ready to do what it takes but he'd still rather have Scylla do the dirty work bc yes, he can't trust Eury anymore but this is his brother! Obviously he doesn't want to kill him himself)

"Hello ( creepy pretty haunting)" YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES JSJDJSJS

Love the silent moments followed by screams like in the underworld after anticlea and here they are just SUPERIOR AKSKNSNSB

OMG YES give up your honor and faith , live out your life as a wraith IS Odysseus completely losing himself but also 100% EURY LOSING FAITH IN ODY AND TURNING ON HIM oh god the foreshadowing is delicious!!!

"We are the same you and ... / AND the OdY JOINS IN ON THE "I" BECAUSE This song HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN ABOUT EURY ITS ALL BEEN ABOUT HIM AND His WILLINGINGness NOW TO SACRIfice hiS OWN MEN TO GET IT HOME ALIVE" YOU'RE JUST SO GOOD AT THIS OH MY GOD AKSKKSSKSMNSNSNS *shaking the bars of my enclosure* MOREEEE

( but no rush obviously , write the next one wherever you feel like it bestie <3 )

FINIALLY OKAY Oh boy, here we go

24. Mutiny

First hectic notes I wonder if thats also the Danger Motif???? (i wish i knew)

"Tell me you did not know that would happen

say you didnt know how that would end

look me in eyes and tell me captain

that you did just sacrifice six men" Eurylochus knows thats EXACTLY what happened. Odysseus knew, he was willing to do it, Odysseus can't muster to look him in the eyes. He just sacrificed six of his men, Eurylochus represents the crew, he just tried to kill Eurylochus and it failed. DESPITE THIS:

"Use your wits to try and say im crazy and mad

that this is all some trick the gods have sent,

tell me you did not miss home so painfully bad

that you gave up the lives of six of our friends"

"when we faught the cyclops you were quick to hatch a plan and when we fouhgt with circe it was you who left behind no man but when we saw this monster we didnt take a stand we just ran"

HE IS BEGGING Odysseus to lie to him. To gaslight him into doubting that maybe just maybe it wasnt Odysseus fault. That it was the gods, or his own soldier brain connecting the dots wrong because this is Odysseus, King of Ithica who went to war despite not wanting to, who made sure none of their six hundred men died during the war, who was trained by a goddess (athena), who faces monster (polyphemus, scylla) and gods (poseidon, zeus?) and tricks witches (circe) and dares to casually communicate with the gods (aelus, hermes) He is a walking myth and legend and he went back for his crew. He faught them and used his wits and skills to bring them out of dangers and peril and the biggest lost they had were Eurylochus fault because he opened the windbag. how could this man change so much that suddenly he is willing to sacrifice them? he talks to gods why did he not try to find a way out, a trick to pass by Scylla without sacrificing six of his men?

"Say something" defend yourself for fucks sake

"I CANT" because eveything he just layed out infront for EVERYONE remaining on the ship to hear is true, and Ody cant deny that he has become the monster rawr rawr rawr

"then you have forced my hand" *draws a biggus giagantus sword* (tbh not my favorite design choice because it takes a bit of the realism from it, like yes, there are huge swords, but not those twice the size of his body and also not back in greece----but alas Jorge likes is anime and video game references) but also "You turned on the crew, my purpose is to speak for the crew, under your current command we can not trust you, you turned against us, so i have to turn against you"

"Eurylochus lower your weapon" (i dont want to fight you, why cant you accept that this is what i have to do to get (us) home?)

"no can do" still confused is thats grammar

"you miss your wife so bad youd trade the lives of your own crew" yeah, he had a whole solo song about this, didnt you notice? thats the whole reason for this whole story, youre in eury

"dont make me fight you brother" we both know im the better fighter, you will loose, i dont want to bloody my own hands with your blood, scylla should have done so

"you know youd have done the same" youre married to my sister, you better be doing the same (it was an arranged marriage, so probably not) and yeah he might have done the same in a different universe

"if you want all the power you must carry all the blame" that line hits hard"

and then the chanting of the crew, first Eurylochus because they stand behind him, then Odysseus, because it become obvious that he will win the fight

"there is no price he wont pay" they realize that Odysseus is not only going to defeat Eury, he will also kill him

"i am not letting you get in my way" he just confirmed it

*stabbing noises, Ody gasps*

Perimedes (voiced bc the same singer as the one for Antinous btw)

stabbed Ody from behind

Odysseus is shocked clutching his side and falling to his knees as Perimedes withdraws his sword

"my brothers, why?" (so theyre his brothers now? ody rly,did you think your actions would have no consequences?)

"how are we supposed to trust you know?"

this is the first time we hear a voice of the crew that isnt Eury or Polites sing a line alone, but the rest of the crew joins in right after

"now your time has come your lucks run out, now the time has come to shut you down you relied on with and then we died on it, woah" THE CALL BACK TO LUCK RuNS OUT OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCh

Eury punches Ody unconscious

"Argh my head" Ody, you got stabbed right through, hows your head worse than your abdomen??? fine fine, yes thats the only way to tell the audience that the bump was him getting knocked out

"where are we" unfornulately again in some gods realm, youre not very lucky buddy

THE MUSIC; THE MUSCIAL CALLBACK TO HORSE AND THE INFANT AND SURVIVE THE INEVITABLENeSS OF THE SITUATION THE DespeRATION TO SURVIVE

"some island, the first one we found" how long as ody unconscious i wonder...mmhhh

"its bursing wiht cows just roaming around begging us to eat, so much meat and hunger is so heavy" he sounds in trance in that one ngl, i wonder how much time passed between the sirens and this island that they have come to the brink of starvation again

"this statue the god of the sun, down know where its from" OKAY this one is realllyyy interesting because in the myth its helios cattle, but they just call him sun god here AND they dont know who's it is, i wonder if in later songs it turns out those were Apollos cattle in this version??? or do they dont know which sun gods because Helios is kind of a forgotten god at this point because apollo is replacing him?? mhhhhh excited to learn about it! hopefulyl ijseigj also Ody is tied to this statue, LOVe that detail

"but heres where we found all these cows to hint, right in front and hunger is so heavy (hunger is so heavy)" Eury is telling Ody the situation the plan, they commited mutiny, but they took care of his wounds, they brought him to the island, they keep him updated....mh.....also they must be REALLY hungry

"please dont tell me youre about to do what I think youll do"

AND THe CALLBACK TO LUCK RUNS OUT AGAIN, ODYS VOICE IS SO SOFT AND BROKeN

"ody" ODY??? ODY???????

"we're never gonna get to make it home, you know its true" at this point hes being suicidal, better to get killed by a god than starvation? maybe

"You dont know thats true" HE gets desperate he tries to fight against the restrains despite his wounds

"this is the home of the sun god" DONT Do anything stupid youll get us killed, this is the home of a god, how many times to we have to get punched by the gods, we cant fight against them

"Im starving my friend" ...ouch

"but if you kill his cattle who knows what he'll send, this is the home of the sun god" ....he'll kill us all, you know that, dont do it.

"im tired my friend" very suicidal im afraid

"but we're so close to home, this can't be where it ends" we were already almost home, despite everything we are back, almost home, we're so close

AND THEN AND THEN THIS MF DROPS THE MOST BEATIFUL VOCALS AND MY FAVORITE PART OF This SOnG ODY SINGING IN FALCETTO AGAIN iD DIE FOR THIS voicE IStG THE WHOLE SECTION OF ODYS LINES

"how much longer must i suffer now?" therapy saga when?

"please dont do this" HIS VOICE SO ANGELIC; ITS SO BROKEN; I LOVE HIM

"how much longer must i push through doubt?" you couldve just trusted ody int he first place then you WOULDNT BE HERE NOW

"I need to get homee" HE needs to get home, yes, the rest also deserces to get home but if he has to ody will sacrifice all of them because he needs to get home and see his son and wife because theyre in danger and hes been away for about 12 years or so

"how much longer must i go about" (might be stepping lcoser ot the cattle)

"eurylochus" (grows more desperate to stop him)

"my life like this, when people die like this? woah" like this? like how? mhh idk

"how much longer must we suffer now?" AND NOW THE CReW JOINS HIM BECAUSE TheYRE ALSO TIRED AND EXHAUSTED AND DOnE

"Reconsider" HEARTBREAKING SO BEAUTIFUL

"How much longer must we push throuhg doubt" such great ensemble voices

"We can get home" suddenly its "we" again? ok....but also the break before he sings home??? i feel like he would use that moment to try to break through the bonds agian, maybe he tried before that but has to take a breath because his wounds hurt him...mhhhh......anyway

"How much longer must we go about"

"eurylochus" trying to reason with eurylochus because he is the "captain" right now

"our loves like this when people die like this woah?" maybe "like this" like trusting you, like being at the mercy of the gods and lost on the sea

Eurylochus draws a knife and steps infront of a cattle

"Im just a man" NOT THE JUST A MAN CALLBACK OUCH

"Eurylochus, NO" no more singing, pure desperation, Ody finially manges to loosen his bonds

the chants beginn, a choir, its not the crew. a god is approaching, theres shocked silence

"you"ve doomed us, you've doomed us all Eurylochus", his first action as a captain and he gets everyone else killed, good job Eurylochus you failed, Ody is shocked because Eury just signed their death sentence, HIS death sentence but HE NEEDS to get back to his family, he gets up, clutching his stomach

"Captain?" ......i have a lot to stay but rly Eury? really? pushing all responsibility back to Ody RIGHT when you mess up? aw man thats not nice, but hey the crew trusts ody again...haha...

"we need to get away from this island now, grab an oar with all the strength your arms allow, these cows were immortal they were the sun gods friends, and now that we've pissed them off who do you think he'll send?" good question, who will show up i wonder? also Ody saying "we" pissed them off, he's part of the crew he does take responsibility for them...

the most desperate full speed ahead reprise we've seen so far, painful to listen to because its no use, theres no way they can outrow a god, ody realizes that too, when the storm rises up further and then the sky opens with thunder and lighting

"We're too late"

[declawedwildcat]

yknow what that’s fair 😌 under the readmore for convenience

Ok so - it’s not even necessarily that the animal choices themselves are bad (I do generally also think that, but given that I don’t really like the new characters in general I haven’t really done any introspection about their animals much til now), but it’s more about the presentation/inclusion of them at all and kinda ties back to the reasons why I, and probably much the same reasons for much of the rest of the fandom, just wasn’t into season 3 altogether. In season 1, you only had 5 main cast members and it was a fun little gimmick to give them each an animal motif - it would tie into the story or at least the imagery, sometimes to the point of being pointlessly over-the-top and cheesy, but it least had a place within the series, you know? It gave you another thing to separate the characters out by and to play with for making fanworks, and yes, for them to use in official merch designs. When season 2 rolls around, you get three new supporting characters and three new animals to go with them. They’re still referenced in the imagery, though Momo is really the only one who gets explicit ties to his animal the way the Style Five do; the other two are far more understated though it does show up from time to time. But it’s fine, and they get their matching merch lines with the original team so they don’t seem left out. With the season 3 characters, it feels like they were given animals purely for the purpose of merch. There’s not a single reference in the series itself to what their animals are, and I only learned that they had them at all when I stumbled on them by chance on the fandom wiki. Maybe one of the audio dramas somewhere references them, but none of the DTTF ones I’ve seen translations for do. The only purpose it would serve to give them motifs that are never even hinted at in the series is so that they too can join in animal merch lines. To me that’s one of the reasons season 3 felt so soulless: not only are the old characters getting done dirty with rushed plotlines because they’ve expanded the cast so much they literally don’t have enough time to actually cover everyone, but even the new characters aren’t getting the old level of attention that would make the audience care about them. They tried to fit in so much at once that they might as well have added nothing. Hiyori got nearly as much attention in the plotline as Souske did in his position during season 2, yet I couldn’t tell you a goddam thing about him. He swims backstroke, I think? And that’s only bc I just recently rewatched it. Apparently his animal is a polar bear, but you might as well have told me he was a jackrabbit and I’d have believed it equally. The animal choices I don’t really have a solid ground for saying they’re bad besides a knee-jerk reaction, but I just don’t understand them. Haru’s a dolphin, obviously - graceful, carefree, and everyone and their brother has compared his swimming to one. Makoto being an orca generally makes sense - he’s bigger, more powerful, not totally unlike a dolphin but distinctly separate and more of a threat than he looks. Nagisa is a penguin because he’s small, unassuming, and playful, but still swims very fast and nimble, and Rei is a butterfly because unlike the rest he doesn’t come from a water background but he’s still beautiful and graceful and succeeds in his own way. And because he, yknow, swims butterfly. And Rin is a shark because of the teeth. (And also because he’s incredibly powerful and threatening yet misunderstood and more bark than bite, but I mean. C’mon.) Aiichiro’s doesn’t come up much but he’s a duckling! I love that, even if a fair amount of the time his character winds up being more of the “capsized duck” à la Cabin Pressure - “paddling like hell on the surface, but deep down he’s really calm.” Sousuke is a whale shark, which goes in compliment with Rin and Makoto - he’s got a broad, wide muscular build, arguably a slower threat than Rin’s direct antagonism but in the end not as bad as he comes across to everyone. And Momotarou as an otter of course makes perfect sense - incredibly fast in the water, but unpredictable, known for being playful and chaotic (maybe moreso river otters than sea otters, but still). Maybe I just haven’t spent as much time with the post-season 2 characters, but I don’t see as much immediate direct connections with them. Hiyori is a polar bear, because... he’s ice cold and over-protective? I guess that one I can see. Asahi as a ribbon seal I don’t really see anything other than they both swim, maybe his somewhat lithe build suits a seal a tiny bit. Ikuya as a beluga doesn’t make any sense to me other than for the same reasons as Makoto’s, the only change being belugas are smaller. Natsuya as a tiger shark? Sure I guess, probably the same reasons as the other two sharks except he’s never an antagonist so it’s strange. Why does Nao even have an animal? I mean looking up what a northern gannett is the bird kinda suits him but none of the other non-swimmers ever got motifs, they really wanted us to care a lot more about him than the few minutes of screentime he ever got outside the light novel. (Also in looking up these animals, it is absolutely CRIMINAL that Kaede and Albert are listed under “main characters” in the wiki while people like Gou, Momo, and Ai are all under “supporting characters”. Main cast my ass) I don’t really have a conclusion to all of this, but I think that’s enough venting on that haha. If anyone else has thoughts or other Free stuff they wanna hear me ramble about, yall can hit up my ask box whenever 🌊

"he would not fucking say that" but for symbolism enjoyers

[lilliankillthisman]

Lucy Ellingson Posting

OK so after posting this I physically couldn’t stop myself from going back and reading the chapter where Lucy confronts Paul, Stolen Away 2.4

And WOW these chapters are perfect presentations of Lucy’s character progression. And I don’t mean that as “these are good examples of how she used to be compared to how she is now”, I mean “Wildbow has written these chapters as deliberate mirrors to showcase her development”, and I am absolutely obsessed with it, because Lucy has genuinely become the person she wanted be in 2.4. Yes, she’s gone from an honestly cool, put-together but isolated and insecure 13 year old learning about magic and struggling with keeping secrets, to an absurdly cool practitioner, with close friends beyond Verona and Avery, who she supports and who support her back, with a tentative but really, really positive relationship with her mum, but more than that she’s now a very literal hero.

The most obvious counterpart scenes in these chapters are with Paul and Anthem, that I’ve already mentioned - Lucy confronts a shitty dad who doesn’t look after his kids and abdicates responsibility when they’re struggling. The change that instantly strikes you is how much more badass Lucy is now - instead of chasing a guy out of a convenience store and (however magically) stabbing his car, she’s chasing a warmage while transformed into a beam of light before stabbing straight through the road and setting his car on fire with mystic runes. But she’s also far more in line with her ambition to a person who unabashedly stands up for what’s right; compare:

“Remember what I said at lunchtime?” Lucy asked, quiet.

“About needing to cut loose,” Lucy said.  “And needing backup when I do something stupid.”

with:

“Someone please tell me I can do something about this,” Lucy said, quiet.  “And that the council won’t get mad at me, or that people won’t try to stop me.”

“Lucy,” her mom said.

“If you can,” Toadswallow croaked, as he led Liberty toward a side street.  “If you can’t, that’s fine too.”

It hurt too much.

“Lucy, you really shouldn’t-” her mom started.

She knows this isn’t the sensible action, but the reason she’s doing it isn’t because she feels like acting out; it’s because she knows she’s right, and that’s why she’s ignoring Toadswallow and Jasmine instead of asking for support. That’s not to say her confronting Paul isn’t a brilliant moment or that it wasn’t incredibly impressive when it happened (it’s one of my absolute fave moments from Lucy), it’s just that she is now much more what she wanted to be back then. The other change, though, is even more important in terms of her self-perception. She’s no longer lashing out for herself, she’s taking drastic action for the sake of her friend. That’s been key to Lucy the whole time; she’s wanted to do right by her friends, and she’s finally managing that instead of just managing to keep her head above water in her own life.

However, reading the whole of both chapters gets you a more subtle, extremely touching parallel outside the drama. I hadn’t realised it was in 2.4, but this is the first time we find Lucy’s motif of being bulletproof. It’s just as striking as I remembered it:

She moved to her bedroom, and picked her clothes with a similar mindset.  She hadn’t said as much out loud to even Verona or her mom, but her mindset when it came to picking clothes was that she wanted her things to be bulletproof.  Not in the literal sense, but in the sense that it had no weak points, gave her critics nothing.  No fading, no rips, no tears, no stains.  The material was often from the higher-end athletic brands, because it was hardier and tended to hold up better over time.  Anyone who pointed and laughed at stuff branded with the Vikare swoop or the Dassler waves just looked like an idiot.

She settled on a hooded top that stopped just past the ribs.  White, sleeveless, moisture-wicking, with the Mission Canada logo on the breast.  She put it on, then immediately removed it, changing bras, before pulling it on again, so she wouldn’t be flashing hot red through the hole of the sleeve.  Her pants were looser, black, with slits all down the sides and inside of each leg, to let the air flow.  She dug sandals out of her closet and slipped them on.

Hair… clothes… the stuff she needed to put in her bag.  She included a spare umbrella, because she wanted to be triply sure she didn’t get her hair wet.  She weighed everything against the day to come.

Against the mundane day to come.

She tries incredibly hard with her appearance and presentation, and it’s clear that her classmates’ opinions and her teachers’ unfairness are getting to her - she’s struggling emotionally day-to-day, and more than that she’s struggling alone. She isn’t just hiding the practice from Jasmine, she’s hiding the problems in her normal life too.

Now we come to 18.7, and the contrast getting ready here is incredible. I think this is a deliberate callback to 2.4 - the drawn-out, detailed description of every outfit choice, the fact that it’s armour for the day/challenge to come, even the fact that in both chapters she overhears her mum talking with someone about how cool she is. But instead of her making herself bulletproof visually for the “mundane day to come” all alone, her friend and mother are helping her protect herself from violent magical danger:

Lucy handed Liberty the brassy-gold metallic marker.

Chainmail hooded sweater, runes on her neck and arms.

“Thank you for trusting me to do this,” Liberty said.  “And for the nice dinner.  It’s been a bit lonely.”

Liberty left, and Lucy’s mom came in.

“Is there enough done by Liberty, or is it clear enough for you to finish that up?” she asked her mom.

The development in her relationships and her deepened bonds and support from her mother are wonderful to see, and the payoff is made practical later - her defences hold up (just) to Slaygarrrr who Slavishly Slays, probably the most physically imposing Other she’s faced. But while rambling to my sister-in-law about this chapter and how great the character development was, she said something that made my head rattle around: this is a Homeric arming scene. And it is! In-depth descriptions of her arming and armouring herself, going into the background of special items, constant references to metal, mail and metallic-coloured decoration make this more than just her getting ready, or a call-back to 2.4; this is her being presented as an actual warrior hero. She’s moved on from worrying about school and being 13, but rather than moving on to become a mature adult like her mum or aunt in 2.4, she’s become exactly what she wanted to be - someone who takes to the battlefield to protect people.

My biggest but also most tentative takeaway from all this is that Lucy is going to beat Anthem. I think it’s going to work. I don’t know how it’s going to work, but I think in a few days we’re going to get a really satisfying resolution not just to the Tedd family drama that’s been building for a dozen arcs, but to Lucy’s arc of becoming someone who can throw down and protect her friends.  Because Wildbow is screaming at us that sure, a lot of things in Pale suck, but as a coming-of-age story it’s overwhelmingly about things getting better and our protagonists becoming more amazing in a way that we’ve never got to see in his other works. 

That theme of things getting better, by the way, brings us to another contrast between the two chapters: the Others. It’s been a long, long time since I read the Hungry Choir arc and I had completely forgotten how fucked up they are, but I’d also forgotten they come to Lucy’s home.

The sound of high voices filled the house, all at once.  Seven waifs stood in her upstairs hallway.

Five boys, two girls.  The waif closest to Lucy was a black girl, nine or so, her hair in two braids, and she had one hand at her mouth, teeth digging and chewing at her own fingertips, which were in ruined tatters.  The waif’s shoulders flinched inward as she bit through a part of her middle finger, a fresh trickle of blood running down to her elbow.  The ruined fingers of the girl’s other hand clutched at a dress with tiny flowers in a repeating pattern.

Six sets of hands seized her from behind, grabbing at her arms, the back of her collar, the back of her top.  She could feel the fingers of the one waif at her arm, grooves cut into fingertip by teeth and filled in with scabs and scars, the edges rough.  Another had ragged long fingernails, painted canary yellow where the paint hadn’t chipped.  Others were just small hands, incredibly strong.

In 2.4, the Others Lucy deals with violate her home and her privacy, they threaten her, they grab her. They leave her shaken and terrified. And now in 18.7, we have... Flopsy and Lewdtube. The cutest, most polite goblins you ever did see. They come to Lucy’s house... for dinner with her mother, who’s fine with them.

I don’t think the choice of friendly Others here, and their placement in this specific chapter is an accident; I think they were made specifically to be childish so that they form a more obvious counterpart to the Hungry Choir. This is WIldbow showing that it isn’t just Lucy who has changed, the world/people/Others around her have changed for the better too. That isn’t a coincidence - in befriending Liberty, and in helping to defeat the Hungry Choir, she has changed the world around her for the better. I’ve believed for a while that we’re going to get a happy ending to Pale and a happy ending for the trio, and it’s exactly because of things like this.