#need to sacrifice poses to the pose gods

[venomgaia]

long time no figure study

[targaryen-dynasty]

WORSHIP ME INSTEAD.

Maegor Targaryen x Niece!Septa!Reader

The Gods have been unhappy with your uncle for some time now, but perhaps he's just needed to give them an offering… a sacrifice in return for a healthy heir all along. And what makes a better sacrifice than a septa?

WARNINGS: SEXUAL CONTENT - MDNI; very dubious consent, canon typical incest/targcest (uncle/niece), blasphemy, corruption, corruption kink, size difference, semi public sex, female reader (mentions long, silver hair as appearance)

WORDS: 3K

NOTES: you're all getting some big tiddy daddy as a special treat and to officially end my 3k celebration! thanks to everyone that has participated by asking questions, by writing their own fics, and by just supporting me. also a special thanks to @zaldritzosrose and @arcielee for betaing this. <3

The atmosphere in the newly completed Red Keep is strange. It never was comfortable or calm, not even when your father sat the throne, but it feels as though a dark veil is hanging low over the castle and its staff, not even sparing the king and your uncle, Maegor Targaryen. 

You’ve been gone from court for quite a while, being sent to Oldtown to become a septa by the very hands of the man you’re serving now, which has made the change in atmosphere even more apparent to you. 

Several deaths haunt the castle — Ceryse Hightower’s being the most recent one — and you can only fathom the pressure your uncle holds on his shoulders at this very moment. He does not have an heir, one wife after the other perishes, and the boy that poses the biggest threat to his claim to the throne, your brother Jaehaerys, has fled the castle of Dragonstone with your mother after the passing of the Dowager Queen Visenya. 

You were not mad at being sent to the Starry Sept, for it allowed you to leave the insanity of your own House for an unknown amount of time. It was when you’d been called back to King’s Landing that you could feel your mood sour. You were brought there with no real task for you at hand which forced you to take over some duties Grand Maester Benifer assigned you with. 

Your whole day has been spent in the Keep’s library, making you forgo your hood at one point and therefore allowing your silver tresses to cascade down your back freely. Wearing the hood is no necessity, hence your lack of concern should someone walk into the library and catch you without it. 

With several books in hand, you sort some of the scrolls and books that had been brought to the royal chambers before, putting them back to where they belong. 

You are too engrossed in your task to notice that you’ve been alone for the longest of time, only aware of that other presence the moment the raspy voice fills the room. “Septa,” he almost says it in a mocking manner, and you immediately know who it is that has joined you. 

Turning on your heels, you crane your neck to meet your uncle’s eyes for a moment. “Y-Your Grace.” You dip into a slight curtsy, placing the books in an empty place on the shelf.

Heat warms your cheeks in his presence. Even during your childhood, you have always found a liking for your uncle and enjoyed the way he allowed you to leave the boredom of your princessly duties to take you flying on Balerion or let you watch him train with the sword. 

“At ease, Septa,” he replies, flicking his hand as if he means to dismiss your stiff posture. The library is not well lit, a few candles sparsely placed here and there granting for most of the light, and yet you still notice the way his eyes rove over your form slowly and deliberately. “I trust that all is well in the Keep?”

Your heart races in your chest underneath his gaze, as if he contemplates eating you, and it makes you swallow thickly. “Oh, yes, of course. Everything is well, Your Grace,” you say, trying to keep your voice as calm and polite as possible, though you can not help but feel your pulse quickening at the hunger in his eyes. 

His lips curve into a smile, clearly taking pleasure in the way you’re squirming beneath his gaze. “And your duties? All going smoothly?” He takes a step towards you, looming over your small frame. 

You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to keep your composure, more so as his pleasant scent fills your nostrils in a way you can’t describe. Taking in a shaky breath, a shiver runs down your spine. It’s been easier being close to him when you were all but a child he’s bounced on his knee, not a woman grown.  

“Well enough,” you reply a beat later. “The new midwives are coming along wonderfully. The Queen can know herself in good hands should she be with child soon.”

Maegor just hums in response, reaching out a hand to drag his knuckles over your cheek, his calloused fingers rough against your soft skin. Even from this little contact he can feel how warm your flesh is, and a heat grows in his loins at the thought of how warm and sensitive your skin would be if it was no longer covered by your septa robes. 

“That is good then… Septa ,” he says, hesitating to use your title. His voice has dropped lower as his hand travels to your jaw, his thumb caressing your chin. 

Your eyes widen, but you don’t dare to step away from him for fear of the consequences. “... Your Grace?” You eventually find the courage to whisper. 

His fingers graze your jaw, gently tracing your features. A low hum rumbles in the depth of his chest. You don’t know that he’s always found you beautiful, much more than your younger sister Rhaena, and even more now that you’ve become a woman grown. You’re so unlike the women he usually entertains himself with. “Yes, Septa?” With these words leaving his lips, his hand travels down to your neck, gently wrapping around your throat, grasp firmly but not enough to hurt you. 

Drawing in a deep breath, that is the moment you decide to bring some space between you again, taking a step back. But much to your surprise, his grip does not falter, hand still around your throat with his arm just outstretched. “I–” you swallow thickly, not able to keep your gazes locked. “This… This is highly inappropriate, Your Grace.”

Maegor merely scoffs, and although his hand follows your movements, it’s clear it’s meant to stop you from getting away from him. His thumb gently runs along the sensitive skin of your throat, feeling your pulse quicken beneath the pad of it. “Inappropriate?” he murmurs, his dark blown eyes drinking in the sight of your slightly parted lips. “When have I ever cared for what was appropriate, Septa?”

It feels as though the gentle brush of his thumb coaxes another shiver to run down your spine, and you catch your mind straying to the thoughts of what it would feel like if his fingers were anywhere else but your neck. 

“Must… Must I remind His Grace that it was him sending me to Oldtown to become a septa? I–I have vowed–” you trail off, your voice shaking slightly. “It is not very proper for a septa to be touched in… this way.”

Moving forward again and closing the gap that has formed, his hand around your throat stops you from backing away. “It’s not proper, no…” he murmurs, leaning forwards to bring his lips on level with your ear. “But then again, I’ve never been a proper man.”

You suppress an involuntary gasp as you feel his hot breath fanning over your skin, enough to nearly melt you here and now. Perhaps his grip leaves you more as a willing prisoner to his mercy rather than his prey. A part of you wants to pull away, yet the other part is afraid of angering him by doing so. 

“Y–Your Grace…” you whisper, the sound of your voice almost breathless as his domineering presence makes it difficult to think straight, “... please.”

The wicked smirk on his lips grows wider at your pleading. He can feel himself getting lost in your voice, so soft yet sounding so helpless in his presence. If it hasn’t been obvious before, he takes immense pleasure in the way he towers over your frame, making you appear so small and fragile clad in your septa robes. 

“Please what, niece ?” he says, leaning in even more to brush his lips against the shell of your ear. 

You try to tilt your head to get away from him, squirming in his grasp, but to no avail. “Īlon kessa daor,” you try to reason with him in the tongue of your ancestors, a small flicker of hope that this brings some sort of clarity back to him. We should not. 

But Maegor just chuckles lowly, the grip around your throat tightening slightly. Your breathing is uneven, shaky even, with your body pressed against his, and he relishes in the feeling of your vulnerability. “Kostilus īlon kessa daor,” he replies, a dangerous lilt in his tone. “Yn gaoman sīr jorrāelagon raqagon ra nyke kessa daor.” Perhaps we should not. But I do so love to indulge in things I shouldn’t.

Before you can answer, you’re spun around by him, the movement unusually fluid and graceful, as if he’s done it plenty of times before. Your back presses against his sturdy chest, pinning you between him and the bookshelf with no way to escape. The hand from your throat rests on your waist instead, the fabric of your robe pinched between his fingers.

“That’s much better, is it not?” he teases in a murmur. 

The vow of chastity you’ve sworn plays over and over again in your mind, but does little to stop your knees from growing weak at the proximity. 

“This is not a good idea… uncle ,” you protest quietly. It’s completely out of place for you to address him as such, he is the king and you’re a mere septa that has set aside her last name, but neither the Mother Above nor the Maiden can stop him from getting under your skin. 

“Perhaps, but where is the fun in a good idea, huh?”

You’re a septa, and you’re supposed to be a pious and celibate woman, but at this moment all you can think of is how good it feels to have him this close to you, so very close to giving you more – something you’ve craved for a long time. 

Both your hands are captured by his paw, pinning them behind your back and making you unable to move. While his lips explore the side of your neck, leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses, his other hand rucks up the skirt of your robe, bunching it around your waist. It’s pinched by the fingers of his other hand, held high and allowing him to pay more attention to your undergarments. 

If you weren’t so distracted by the coarse hairs of his beard scratching the sensitive skin of your neck with each kiss he pressed to it, you would have attempted to squeeze your thighs together, making it more difficult for him to tug down your smallclothes. But alas, your mind and body are too far gone from all the summers you have spent untouched and unsatisfied, addicted to the rush his touch sends through your body. 

He is hard and heavy behind you, the outline of his thick cock pressing against the curve of your arse. You're too desperate for something you have only imagined at night, making you arch your back as though you mean to make him hurry up. You can feel him fumble with the laces of his breeches, undoing them one by one. 

“We’ll just have to be good at not getting caught,” he rasps against your neck. The robe you wear offers almost no liberty to push it down to reveal more of your soft skin and the curve where your neck meets your shoulder to him, and so he has to make do with your neck alone. 

Your uncle is met with little resistance as he sheaths his hard cock inside of your warm cunt, filling you up at once. Not even the sharp pain of his teeth sinking into the skin at the curve of your neck grants you enough distraction from the stinging that comes with accommodating his size, your cunt struggling to take him completely. 

“By the Seven,” you whimper, your hands clenching to fists in his grasp while your walls flutter around him.  

Your soft whimpers are enough to drive him further into his need for you already, and the gentle rolls of his hips make your knees slacken, caught by him bringing his free hand to your chin to pull your body against his. “There is no need for the Gods here, my sweet Septa,” Maegor rasps into your ear, emphasizing his words with a particularly harsh thrust of his hips that makes you choke on a whine. “You may worship me instead.”

His grip on your chin forces you to tilt your head back and arch your back against him to hold up with the slowly increasing pace of his thrusts, and your teeth digging into your bottom lip is a fruitless attempt of yours to stifle a moan coaxed past them by that. 

The sound of your moans and whimpers sparks something in him, prompting him to growl against your skin. It tightens the grip he has on your chin to the point it becomes borderline painful with how much he has tilted it back. 

“Don’t hold back,” he grunts, resting his forehead against the crown of your head. “Let me hear you, sweetling.”

Although your mouth is agape, no more sounds than breathy whimpers and whines leave your lips, despite the reckless pounding of him. But when another moan manages to escape your chest, it strains your throat to the point you have to cough once. 

Sensing your discomfort, he eases the grip just slightly, shifting it to your throat and allowing your head to tip forward again. You’re desperate to fill your lungs with air, yet each breath is knocked out of them by the merciless snaps of his hips. 

“That’s it,” he groans, nudging your legs further apart with his foot. “The Gods have been unhappy with me for some time now, but perhaps I’ve just needed to give them an offering… a sacrifice.” He’s just rambling into your hair at this point, and your mind is too hazy to really process anything he says.

You’ve been so inexperienced and have spent so much time completely untouched that even the slapping of his heavy sac of stones against your pearl brings you a pleasure beyond imagination. 

He towers over you, your small frame completely hidden by his significantly taller one. It’s such an easy game for him to keep you where he wants, to use you however he pleases, and at this point you’d let him do whatever he desires with you for as long as you get to relive the sensations you feel over and over again. 

Your peak washes over you in an ambush, the pleasure all but soaring through your veins. But his assault on your cunt doesn’t stop, and when the urge overcomes you to squeeze your thighs together, it doesn’t seize. 

“Perhaps the Gods haven’t been giving me a healthy heir because they need me to fill you up,” he growls as if he’s been waiting for this since the moment he’d sent you to Oldtown, his voice raspy and thick with need. “Perhaps the Seven will bless me with a son if my seed quickens within you.”

His words nearly send you to your knees if it wasn’t for his muscular arm wrapped around your frame. A renewed wave of your arousal oozes out of your cunt at the thoughts of you carrying his child, yet it also makes you shudder, a feeling of guilt lingering in the pit of your belly. “By… By the Gods… T-The Seven would not–” you protest weakly, your voice a little more than a gasp. But even to your own ears your protest sounds more like a pleading than denial. 

Pulling you even closer against him, Maegor nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck, teeth grazing the exposed flesh of your shoulder gently. “My little Septa,” he murmurs, the nickname almost sounding like an insult and a taunt. “You say we can not, yet you press yourself against me… are you so desperate for my cock?”

That is the moment you lose any resemblance of restraint you’ve held before, your mind becoming blank, his merciless pounding, and words forcing every thought right out of your brain. You whine a string of incoherent words, rambling one ‘yes’ after the other. 

It’s as if he’s just as desperate, because you can feel his thrusts becoming more and more erratic, a sign that lets you know he is about to topple over the edge. With a few more thrusts, he forces his thick cock into you, until a strained groan heralds his peak. His twitching cock spills his seed deep inside of your quivering cunt, and you squeeze him ever so tightly in response, all but milking him for every drop. 

He squeezes your flesh and trails both his hands over your body, mapping out the curves hiding beneath the robe. His thrusts grow leisurely, the feeling of pure bliss subsiding rather quickly for him. 

Shame and guilt for what just has happened overcomes you, growing stronger the moment he pulls out and you feel the remnants of his spend idly trickle down your thighs.

You don’t dare pull around. You don’t want to meet his gaze, to see the smugness and satisfaction written over his features at having convinced you to give in to him. 

“I suppose I have kept you away from your duties for long enough,” he says, his voice dripping with irony. “You’re a septa, and I believe you have some more duties to tend to.”

Nodding weakly in agreement, you can’t shake off the feelings of being exposed and vulnerable under his piercing gaze. It takes a moment for your brain to function again, the fog of need and pleasure only slowly clearing from your mind. 

“You’re right, Your Grace,” you say, voice weak and shaky. “I should… I should get going…” Dipping your head in a nod, you’re quick to scurry off, hastily looking around on your way out of the library in hope of no one having seen you in your moment of indiscretion.

Maegor Taglist: @hypocritic-trash-baby @k4marina @foxyanon @peachysunrize @nats-whore

@palmer-hjp @sinarainbows @luvdella

General Taglist: @arcielee @userhotd @multyfangirl @zaldritzosrose @black-dread

@wintrr13 @winter-soldier-101 @thought--bubble @dixie-elocin @beautbuck

[moonjellysfeast]

Hanna and Arthur- Romans 8:36

cw; cult, power imbalance, worship, smut, minor dubcon, implied/mentioned pregnancy(both and not during smut), dacryphilia, vaguely mentioned human sacrifice.

A god is deserving of worship, a truly pure and good flock which he may shepherd and tend to. You had put great efforts into gathering your flock, all true believers weighed down into your web by many different factors. All walks of life followed your saccharine words. The best examples of this variety being Hanna and Arthur . Hanna had come to you quite early in your cult's formation, having previously been unreasonably devout to the god her parents had worshipped, she followed you for the freedom and power you could give as well as her belief that her previous god was a vile mockery of your truth. Arthur , however, sought guidance in you regardless of what you may be able to provide him. He came to you just recently, lost and burdened by immense self-loathing. To him, you were an answer and a relief, soothing the ache in his heart with each order you gave.

Despite his newness, Arthur  was very quickly gaining your favor. He was a perfect ewe for you, unquestioning and eager to please, he didn't even consider the concept of disobeying your orders. Your growing adoration for him was unfortunately something Hanna despised. She was of the belief that none of your followers deserved to know you existed, much less be as close to you as she was, as close as he was getting. You knew you would have to convince them to become friendly and ensure that Hanna wouldn't simply kill off Arthur . It surely would be no problem to the cult, they had already accepted the idea of sacrificing humans to you when need be, so you taking consorts would be unobjectionable.

And so, you summoned the pair to your abattoir at the end of the day, when all chores were finished and the flock was off to bed. Hanna had been beside you for several hours prior, cozied up to you and vying for your attention even as she was given all of it. When Arthur  came into the room, she scoffed and slumped into your bed, acting as if she hadn't just been posed and batting her eyes at you. Arthur  bit his lip and kneeled before you, head bowed and hands clasped in reverence. 

“My lord, you had called for me? Wh-What may I do to aid you?” he looked up, not moving his head as if to attempt to hide the shine of adoration in his milk and honey eyes.

“Stand, I have come to an important decision for you both, my sweet disciples” at your words, both stood and instinctively leaned into each other, fear and anticipation oozing off the pair, “I have found a need unfulfilled, left wanting. You both must work together to satiate me”

Arthur shouted out “Anything!” nerves only building from lack of understanding what you were implying. Hanna, however, broke into a grin, dropping to her knees and thanking you as she clung to your leg. You chuckled at them and lifted Hanna to push the pair onto the bed, watching realization dawn on Arthur as a matching ruby hue bloomed across both devotee's faces. Hanna quickly began peeling off her clothes, giddy at the prospect of giving you claim over her body. Arthur took a moment before following her footsteps, awkwardly shedding the robes your followers tended to wear.

“Please, Lord, I-I've been wishing for this, I'm-I'm so grateful!” Hanna tried to pose herself seductively, her excitement and nervous attitude evident. “I… Hope I can please you properly, my lord~”

“Ah, ah, ah. Don't get too ahead of yourself, angel~ As I said, you both must work together, that means you mustn't be greedy” You scolded, though you did slide your hand between her thighs to let her begin to ride you fingers all on her own. “Arthur come here, put your mouth to good use~”

You guided him to take your cock down his throat, pleasantly surprised by how little gag reflex he had. As you gently instructed him in how to properly suck your dick, you pulled your fingers from Hanna to harshly flick her clit, telling her to focus on the lesson more than her pleasure. She yelped and shuddered, grinding down harder on your fingers and trying as hard as she could to obey, even letting her mouth hang open as she tried to practice the movements to help herself focus, glazed eyes studying Arthur's weeping face as he diligently choked you down. Soon you pulled him off, relishing in his gasping whimpers, mouth still open as if waiting to be used.

You flipped him to his back, fully removing you hand from Hanna's pussy. “Use his mouth, Angel”

“N-No! Lord, I want you~” she whined, desperation evident. Though when you offered her a reward for being obedient, she straddled Arthur's head, face twisting in disgust and pleasure as he wordlessly obeyed you.

His legs were spread wide, welcoming you stretch out his hole. Once you pushed into him, Hanna was whimpering along with him, miserably grinding on his face and begging unintelligibly for you to fuck her already. Arthur's skin was cool to the touch, however his insides were warm and soft, pulling you deeper into him with each thrust. His velvety walls greedily clamping down on you. You quickly gained speed, humping Arthur as if to show him he was designed to be a toy for you, a sentiment his body clearly agreed with as he only squeezed you closer to him, ass milking you cock dutifully. You looked to Hanna, who moaned and spasmed, cumming on Arthur's face the moment you made eye contact. Once she caught her breath, she scrambled off of him only to begin rubbing her folds as she pouted at you. Once she was off, Arthur was no longer muffled, suddenly free to scream and cry out, shifting all of his attention to what really mattered, taking your cock. He let his upper half limply writhe on the sheets, babbling thanks and praise. He snorted and whined pathetically as more tears streamed down his cheeks and his own cock shot cum up his chest. Not stopping for him to recover led to more pitiful sounds and the near constant spasms of his hole, until he could hardly mimic any words.

He was nearly sobbing by the time you came, filling his tight ass. He was in a puddle of fluids, on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. You, however, were not done. You turned your attention to Hanna, who splayed her legs, pleading for her reward. When you thrust into her, she spasmed and rolled her eyes in the back of her head, clearly losing consciousness for a moment. Yet her pussy did not stop fluttering, damp heat seeming to be actively trying to make you cum. She clung to you, clawing her nails into your back in an attempt to press your bodies closer. Her moans were animalistic, half formed words cut off by gasps and squeals you would've never expected from her regal persona. Hanna pressed sloppy kisses on your neck, biting down on your nape as she spasmed again, only drawing more lustful noises from where you connected. At that, you pulled her off, shoving her back down to the bed and holding her down by her neck as she whined and tried to claw her way closer to you. You soon gave in, folding her in half as you flooded her insides before pulling off of her.

Letting her rest, you focused you attention back to Arthur, who had regained his composure and was now shyly watching you. You pounced on the poor boy, giving neither worshipper time to truly rest through the night. In the morning, it was already no secret that you had claimed two of your followers as brides. However, to formalize, you brought them out, loosely dressed and limping as they clung to your sides for support. You announced to your followers that the pair were now your ewes, destined to serve you and bear prophets, demigods, your children. The crowd cheered for them, some muttering to others in amazement, few whispering in shock that both would be able to bear children though they did not doubt it. Arthur buried his face in your side, flustered by the cheers and holding his stomach reverently. Hanna, on the other hand, beamed at the crowd, attempting to show off that she was full of your seed, though there was no real evidence by now. You assured your followers that with the change, more work would need to be done, there would soon be more mouths to feed. Most importantly, their devotion would need to be true or they would be unworthy of communing with your ewes and children. There would certainly be more sacrifice.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[Spoilers below cut]

I'm absolutely terrified, it's not even funny. I can't even click it. But I have to... for the LOREEEEEEEEE... okay, let's-a go....

(The following is my live reaction:)

ay the TADC plug, of course

"Born to shit, Forced to wipe" - not smg3

wise words Three

also, the Ferris Wheel and rollercoaster thing is still there in the background (Ferris Wheel wedding, my beloved...)

I knew someone was going to bring up Meggy and her disappearance

LEGGY! MEGGY, WE'LL RESCUE YOU I PROMISE!!!

THANK YOU THREE for asking the right questions here

oh... not what I expected. at least the crew knows this is obviously Mr Puzzles

NAME DROP

OK, a LOT to digest here:

These are all the possible minigames that we might see in WOTFI. Well, at least all the attractions we could see...

a Mr Puzzles Chonk plush (in the bottom right)

a Tunnel of Love attraction... hmmmm.......

Huh, I didn't know this was by the coast of the Mushroom Kingdom. Or it could be an island/peninsula.

The what now, Leggy?

YEP I knew that once they found out, they would want to leave

...and of course, Mario wants to stay

Yeah, Luigi said it himself

but also, look at the Mr Puzzles cardboard cutout in the back, he's wearing Meggy's cowboy hat from Western Spaghetti

Alright, but before we go in, we gotta have a buddy system, guys

All these critiques are going to make Mr Puzzles lose himself even more than he already is

I think I saw someone posted about submitting a water gun game so congrats for getting in!

Leggy Plush!!

also spider-man plush... symbiote... venom... GOOP!4????

...Once Upon A Perfect SMG4?

[*points at Four and Mario*] The sillies

ok, but like, why is Three smiling like that while everyone else looks so disappointed?

They did the buddy system!

Bob: "Those dumbasses will see ANYTHING and get excited."

I feel seen and I don't like it.

I don't like this either. I already know this is a trap but like noooooo

Three just standing there like a dad watching over his kid

Someone else also submitted a mini-game involving a ducky fishing game

GOD DAYUM.... why did you have to pose like that, Three? You're not beating the allegations, huh.

Aw, Three really wanted to enjoy a carnival if Mr Puzzles wasn't involved (writers, write that down + carnival dates)

OK NOPE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW

🫵 🏳️‍🌈⁉️

oh c'mon now, it's just plainly obvious. Not that it should be surprising, everyone's part of the skittle squad (tm)

STRONG WOMEN we love to see it

...that can't be a real thing... can it?

same Luigi same

YES PLEASE CAN WE?

sorry dude, they really locked in

also what the hell is that building in the back?

Luigi (or rather the SMG4 fandom): "See? I can handle this! I'm not afraid anymore! Do you hear me? I'm not afraid-" [*horror jumpscare*] [*scream*]

NOT EVEN MELONY'S GOD POWERS COULD HELP US, WE'RE FUCKED

NOOOOOO NOT KAREN AND SAIKO

THREE WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW

NOOOOOOOO THREEEEE I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE THE LAST ONE TO MAKE IT OUT

[*sobbing*] he sent one last text to warn them :( he really does care

AND HE SENT IT TO FOUR [*head in hands*]

the contact names they have for each other.... (I'm not well)

WE GOTTA GO [*runs*] GET OUT GET OUT

Leggy... why did your face change like that?

WHAT WAS THAT CRYPTIC CAPTION?!

Mario, please don't sacrifice yourself... oh, thank god! They really are having me panicking for the smallest things

wait... OMG THEY SAW MY SUBMISSION! THEY SAW IT!

the mini-game challenge that I submitted:

Pop & Whirl: Everyone gets a bag of popcorn. The winner must keep all of their popped kernels in their bag, without dropping a single one... while being chased around the carnival by a collapsed Ferris Wheel (Professor Layton style)!

I DON'T CARE IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN IN WOTFI, I'LL TAKE IT. But if it does happen, I'll draw lawyer Meggy with a redesigned Ace Attorney-esque outfit (somehow)

please don't tell me the green pipe is also a trap...

...the exit door from TADC?

oh god, why does this remind me of the dark web?

and the eyes on the mushrooms... [*IGBP flashbacks*]

heh heh, funny mirrors... AH SHIT PUZZLES, DON'T JUMPSCARE ME LIKE THAT

actually, now that I think of it, Mr Puzzles hasn't revealed himself this whole time...

THE DIDNEY ENGINE ROOM?!

...holy shit

so was I right about us getting to see Mr Puzzles' "truest form" and the whole "Eye of Ra" thing?

are those his arms? and the circle things, it could be part of his cyborg texture but they also look like eyes.

the fog part is really interesting because they could've gone with any "spooky" color but they chose this. It's the creative vision, the one Didney had in this room.

This really reminds me of the goo from IGBP and Wren's wire simulation in Western Spaghetti, but also from this angle, a bit of Zero's "no legs" body design.

"His obsession becoming his identity" - Puzzles connected himself to the single star Didney had. You got it right, past Ink.

HUH?! YOU CAN'T END IT THERE

AND THEY GRAY-ED OUT OUTRO, NO MUSIC! IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN, GUYS

also congrats to Nikej1708241 for making it to the credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

That was a pretty solid episode ngl. Probably not as "plot twist-y"

(i know that's not a word) as the previous episode but my spaghetti gods, it delivered! Not Marty again, we may have to rethink this one.

Ok, I've made a list of all the attractions and mini-games there are in the carnival grounds in Puzzle Park:

Ferris Wheel

"Tender Tunnel" (Tunnel of Love attraction)

Merry-Go-Round carousel

Basketball arcade game

Hammer game

Bumper Cars

"House of Crazy" funhouse (also that fits Mr Puzzles somehow)

A spooky cart ride

Water gun game

Rocket ride

Arcade (just flat-out an arcade)

Clown Ball Game

(There's apparently a cafe???)

Ducky Pond fishing game

Pizza shop (....marty?)

It's probably not all of them, we would just have to wait and see, but if you submitted a mini-game that involves any of these, congrats, you likely got in!!!

I still very much enjoyed this episode and some of what I theorized could possibly come true. And some didn't, which is totally okay with me. I'll cherish the Ferris Wheel chase scene regardless :)

We still have to wait for a trailer or a special video in regards to WOTFI, which I will have to analyze and see what's to be expected. From the looks of it in this episode, it seems like it's up to SMG4 and Mario to rescue their friends one by one by completing the mini-games. The more people they rescue, the more help they can get to complete the games. And that includes saving Meggy at the end.

Now, personally, I don't want Mr Puzzles to die. Not yet. There is still a lot of potential that could go for him. A similar redemption arc just as Three went through. Puzzlevision 2. Goop!4. Marty. Anything could happen. Then again, he could die.

Now you might think he might not die because he has a plushie, but there's literally merch of Axol and Desti and they're dead. Puzzles isn't safe from this possibility.

Put in your final bets, my dear fellows, because nothing will ever be the same again...

[yandereunsolved]

Yandere self-aware Visenya Targaryen—yandere material if there ever was

cw(s): yandere themes, sacrificial murder, and kidnapping

Yandere Visenya has always denied her use of sorcery. It simply started as a passing interest in the supernatural when she was but a few moons from her ninth name day. The interest grew, like a dragonet, into something fiercesome and all-encompassing. She would spend the moon's hour researching and worshipping the gods of old. In return, she gained 'naejot ūndegon aōla' (to see yourself).

She met the love of her life that night. Both of your sets of eyes connected, and she felt an intangible spark. When she reached out to you, she could not touch. The connection faltered, and she was left alone without you for the first time.

Yandere Visenya had madness simmering under the surface because of you. People were gossiping at the thought that it was simply another woman falling into their 'womanly madness'. None in her family could get a word out of her about why she was so on edge.

She'd snap at a servant making the littlest mistake. She'd ignore her future husband and her sister. She'd spend days upon end stuck in odd rooms doing what was whispered as forbidden magic. She would ignore the claims and always present a strong face, but those closest to her knew that she had fallen for something, whether it was in love or a scheme.

Yandere Visenya had to marry her brother, for it was her duty. She loved no other than you. She only ever thought of you. They just thought of her as 'lumie' (sick). She did not want to be touched or seen by others. She seemed to grow paler and had aches and pains all over her body. What else could it be?

Yandere Visenya chose to ignore her health in order to continue working on the ability to contact you. Bit by bit, she'd grow stronger and could concentrate for longer. Soon she was able to see your visage clearly. She could make small contact with you—a hand on your thigh or a pat on your head.

You became her place to escape to.

She'd ramble to you about everything and anything. She'd get excited. Her voice would grow more expressive. Her hands contort into various poses as she does so. Giggles end up escaping her as well.

Those moments are the happiest she's ever had.

Her favorite topics are about dragons, magic, and weaponry. The topics are specifically her dragon, Vhagar, and her weapon, Dark Sister.

Yandere Visenya is aware that she is scaring you. She does her best to ease you into her naejot ūndegon aōla. She makes herself appear as harmless as she is able. She manipulates the text to hide her darker intentions and darkest moments.

She just wants your love. She gets enough confusion and fear from everybody else.

Yandere Visenya learns of a ritual to temporarily erase the barriers between worlds. She has to sacrifice those closest to her. It's easy. She lures her husband and his second wife to her chambers at night. She stabs them through the heart and sacrifices them to the gods that will help her.

Everything around her melts away as she is finally able to have you.

Yandere Visenya doesn't waste a moment. She takes your sleeping body into her realm before the ancient spell wears off. Only a handful of your belongings are taken with you. She knows what is most valuable to you, so she grabs those things.

While waiting for you to wake up, she snuggles into you. She grows drowsy and slowly fades into a state of slumber.

The sleep is perfect.

She needs nothing more than you by her side.

[wayward-engineer]

A group of hooded figures watch from high in the trees as a lone lamb picks flowers from the forest floor below.

"Something's off..." An opossum shifts in his perch on a branch. "The crown, where is it?"

The badger on the branch next to him flashes a manic smile from underneath his black hood. "That's the thing! They lost it! They're vulnerable. Grendal, you and me, we can be the ones to finally kill them."

Grendal fidgets nervously with the pick he grips in his hands. "The way I've heard it, they've fought gods Flitch. You think we can take that?"

The badger next to him scoffs, rolling his eyes at a cowardly opossum. "Please. All the power they've ever had, it all came from their fake god. Can a fake god stand up to the might of the bishops?"

Grendal shrinks down into his arms, "Well... no...".

"Exactly. And guess what, they don't even have their fake god's power anymore!" Flitch grabs his compatriot by the wrists, and shakes them, as though he could wring the cowardice out. "They've lost the crown. They're nothing now. Just a little lamb, waiting for slaughter."

"Right," Grendal gives the signal to the others waiting in the tree tops "just a lamb"

Half a dozen warriors drop to the ground below, armed to the teeth with picks, knives and magic of the old faith. The lamb is outmatched and outnumbered, all on their lonesome carrying nothing more than a basket of flowers, and a bag slung over their shoulder.

They hardly seem surprised by their sudden appearance. Stopping in their path, they simply stand there; hands folded in front of them, quiet and relaxed, waiting patiently.

"Just a lamb. Just another sacrifice."

---

Grendal gapes in horror at the carnage around him. Corpses cut to pieces and burned bodies surround The Lamb, blood dripping down the steel of their blade as they stare at him expectantly.

It had all happened so fast; the violence, the killing. He believed himself to be an expert, but how many times has The Lamb danced this dance? Dozens, hundreds of times? How foolish was he to think he could fight that?

Shakey hands raise his pick at the lamb. They don't react. They don't need to. What threat could one fool pose to such an efficient killer?

There is a long, agonizing moment where neither of them move, each staring at the other, waiting for their next move. Eventually, The Lamb begins to step toward the terrified heretic.

Grendal drops his blade, falling prostrate before his target. "Please, spare me! I was wrong! I shouldn't have come after you!"

He hears the sound of hooves on dirt as they approach him, and flinches as they kick his weapon away. "Please..." he sobs "I'm sorry."

Gently, a bundle of flowers and two rolls of bandages are placed before him. "Your friend, the badger, he still breathes." They motion to a body leaning against a tree at the far end of the clearing. "Clean and apply pressure to the wound. Grind the flowers into a paste and lather it on the cut when the bleeding slows. It will stave off infection and help with clotting."

They rise from where they crouched before their assailant. "Work quick, and you should be able to save him."

"...why?" Grendal cautiously brings his eyes to meet The Lamb's. "Why not just kill us?"

Their mouth turns down, and eyes droop to the forest floor. "Because I never wanted to in the first place."

[kradogsrats]

One Truth: The Nature of the True Heart

The Dragon Prince has long dealt with contrasts and tensions between idealism and pragmatism, particularly as a source for character conflict. From Harrow, Sarai, and Viren clashing over the Magma Titan to Callum, Ezran, and Rayla deciding whether to pursue killing Aaravos or securing his prison, principles weighed against practicality is a never-ending battle for the characters of this world and story.

Since the story never purports to give us the answers to the moral questions it poses, we as the audience are left to form our own opinions and judgements. One of those that is fairly consistent across a lot of the fandom is that Ezran is naive in his pacifism and reliance on negotiation. My opinion on this has largely always been "yeah, he's naive... but he's literally twelve years old and that's developmentally appropriate, even without the trauma."

We knew Ezran and his growth would be challenged in s7, but what we also got was a codification of that process as a tangible in-setting phenomenon: the true heart.

The true heart is described to Terry, Claudia, and us (the audience) as a way of seeing the world that is innocent and good-natured, without the complexities introduced by adult concerns. All children begin life with this worldview, but it is inevitably challenged over the course of their growth by situations that it cannot necessarily react to without being inherently altered.

It is possible, though rare, to hold on to the true heart past childhood into at least the beginning of adulthood—it is revealed to us that Terry is one who has, against all odds, retained his true heart. This allows him to read the map to the Garden of Innocents, the final resting place of unicorns. However, it's Ezran whose arc through s7 is most related to the true heart, as he confronts new challenges in the world around him as well as changes to himself and those he loves.

But what is a true heart? What does it actually mean to have one?

Simple and Clean: Language Surrounding the True Heart

First of all, I think the way the true heart is intended winds up being difficult to articulate properly because even the most neutral language used to describe it is loaded with baggage. Innocence, purity (though "pure" is a word used only by Kruha, who demonstrably struggles with human language), light and darkness, simplicity, and even childhood are all concepts that carry cultural connotations that skew our perception of what's being discussed.

In the heavily Christian-influenced culture of the West and USAmerica, the concepts of childhood, innocence, and simplicity in combination carry associations that become protectiveness, condescension, or dismissal. While childhood and innocence are valued as things that should be protected in those who have them, that leads adults to dismiss children as essentially lesser beings. Innocence and simplicity together are indistinguishable from naivete, another feature associated with a need for protection, but with a nice slice of contempt on the side. If you weren't so naive, you would have known better than to get hurt.

Finally, from a perspective saturated with Christianity, innocence is also conceptually inextricable from the concept of sin. Like, one of the central myths of Christianity is that the first humans were enticed to defy God and eat the forbidden fruit that granted knowledge of good and evil, which made them aware that their naughty sex parts and female-presenting nipples must be covered, which meant they had to be expelled from paradise into a world of struggle, pain, and death. This transgression was so severe that it tainted every human ever born, until a few thousand years later when God personally came to earth as a self-cannibalizing sacrifice to essentially pay bail on letting their souls into heaven. (This is a very serious and 100% theologically accurate summary, don't @ me.) As a result, we get fucking weird about innocence and its "loss."

The point is that in the setting, it's strongly suggested that there is no inherent "better" or "worse" to whether you have a true heart or not. You aren't morally superior for having one (though the nature of the true heart aligns more with compassion and openness, it doesn't have a monopoly on them), nor are you necessarily wiser or more mature for not. There are roles and circumstances where one might serve better than another—the likelihood of Ezran being able to continue indefinitely as king with a true heart has always been low, but an argument could definitely be made that his true heart was necessary to change the world, and the setting would not be what it now is without it. The true heart—as well as people who retain it into adulthood, like Terry—is a vital part of society, in that it inspires people toward an ideal. Terry calling out Claudia on her cruelty toward Rayla shames her enough to go back and correct it. Ezran giving up the crown in exchange for the safety of any moral dissenters within the Katolis army gives those dissenters space to take a stand—something crucial to their eventual victory.

So here's how I propose thinking about it in a way that's slightly less loaded with unnecessary associations: instead of innocence, the true heart is about faith. Specifically, an unwavering faith that people are inherently good. From that faith, several important conclusions are derived:

People are inherently good, therefore all people want the same or similar things both for themselves and for the world: peace, plenty, and community

People are inherently good, therefore if someone is intentionally doing things that hurt others, they either don't understand the impact of their actions or are lashing out as a result of fear or pain

People are inherently good, therefore treating everyone with dignity, respect, and compassion is the natural state of any society

These form the basis of the worldview and resulting behavior of those with true hearts.

The Tides are True: Depth and Complexity

Despite all of that, Aaravos describes the true heart in a fairly neutral manner to Claudia:

All children have a true heart. But as we grow up, we are forced to make choices, sacrifices, compromises. And they change us forever. Childhood innocence gives way to something... complicated.

and later to Terry:

The true heart is a gift of childhood. For a few wonder-filled years, we each have innocent eyes to experience the world's beauty in a simple way. I have seen generations of humans and elves accept the darkness that lurks in all of us beside the light. There is no black or white, only shades of gray. We must all carry complexity. But please believe me that there is beauty in this burden. Your heart will be a little heavier. But now, there will be no more half-truths.

In both explanations, he refers to what replaces the true heart—what we grow into—as "complicated." We learn to accept that nothing, including ourselves, is purely one way or another, but at some gradient point in-between that will be different from everyone else's. The words he uses—"light" and "darkness," "black or white," "shades of gray"—all carry strong connotations of a scale of morality, and the understanding that nothing can be fully good or fully evil, but is instead inevitably... complicated.

However, I think this is meant to be a little deeper than just that surface-level association to tie in with the overall light/dark and complex morality themes of the show overall. These are things we've heard in another context: of all the primal sources Callum could have focused on or arcana he could have unlocked in arc 2, there's a reason what we got was Ocean.

A better way to refer to the "darkness that lurks in all of us beside the light" is as those depths you can't see—it's not about good and evil, it's about clarity and obscurity. Simplicity and complexity. People, even people you love, aren't all the same. They don't all want the same things for themselves and the world.

There are depths within you that you may not see or understand, but even more so, there are depths in others that you will never see or understand. Even if someone is only lashing out because they're hurting, there are hurts you cannot heal. There are people who will refuse to allow their hurts to heal. There are people (and by people I mean Aaravos) who would rather make the entire world hurt along with them than ever allow themselves to heal. You can't heal these people for them. It's beyond your control, and all you can do is respond appropriately to their actions and mitigate the harm they do.

When you accept that, you will treat those people differently. You may decide to keep trying, but with the knowledge that it will be an uphill battle of strategy, compromise, and progress so slow that few will recognize your work as worthwhile. You may decide not to waste your time and effort on them anymore, and focus your attention on doing a broader range of good more efficiently than struggling to change a single heart or mind. You might decide to make them the enemy, and purposefully antagonize them because you are hurting, too—maybe even because of them.

The point is that there is now "us/me" and "them," and that's what's antithetical to the true heart. You can't fix everything simply by reaching the part of them that's the same as you. You will have to compromise.

A Just King: Ezran's True Heart

Before examining Ezran's true heart arc in s4-s7, I want to point out a much earlier, and perhaps unexpected, appearance of a textbook child's true heart:

Yes, back in s1e2, Callum had a true heart. (By the standards with which I'm describing it, at least.) Where did it go? When did it go? Someone more interested in Callum could probably write a very long essay about that. You could probably make a case that being possessed by Aaravos the first time is the final vestiges sliding away.

This also highlights my personal theory that the true heart of childhood is not usually lost in a single, all-or-nothing event. It's like losing your baby teeth—under normal circumstances, it happens one or two at a time over the course of a few years, until you've Ship of Theseus-ed your whole mouth. (Also, in contrast to things like "losing" your virginity, there's no weird purity or moral connotations to it. It is a completely normal thing that happens to everyone as part of growing up.) However, it's also possible to have some, a majority, or even all of your baby teeth traumatically knocked out of your head at once.

Oh, wait.

Let's roll back a bit, first. Ezran's arc, like... well, everyone's, gets its initial setup in s4. In fact, it kicks off s4: the major event starting the season is Zubeia's visit to Katolis, which is clearly one of Ezran's first big initiatives toward not just peace, but potential unification.

In the lead-up to Zubeia's visit, Ezran's true heart is on full display in his behavior and the assumptions he's making:

Zubeia is a good person, and good people will understand and accept that both she and other dragons should be treated as friends.

Everyone will approach this meeting with open hearts, because everyone wants to grow toward peace and understanding.

Even when the meeting, where he is honoring the Dragon Queen in the final resting place of human kings and queens, no small number of whom (including his own mother) were killed by dragons, is sabotaged by a relatively mild act of vandalism, look at his response:

The person who did this is obviously lashing out because they are hurting—they are angry, and that anger needs to be soothed. He affirms that he and the people are the same, inside. They are all angry and in pain... but, like him, they all want to not be angry and in pain anymore, and understand that the way to do that is to move forward.

This is not to say that he's wrong, or even ineffective—he speaks from his true heart, in a poignant call to both himself and his people to acknowledge the past while looking to the future, and to reach for that future in every way they can instead of clinging to the hate of the past. It's a key scene for all of arc 2, and one that is returned to over and over again, thematically.

However, it's also a point where he demonstrates how his true heart leaves him ill-equipped to approach Rex Igneous's selfishness, or Sol Regem's hatred, or even Karim's petty arrogance... much less the shit Aaravos has going on.

(Speaking of Sol Regem... he not only refuses to be healed, but instead demands to be remade into an engine of indiscriminate death and destruction. He really does out-bitter Aaravos, on occasion.)

Then s7 hits, and two things happen: Katolis is destroyed, and Runaan is returned to the living world. Well, both of those technically happen in s6, but Ezran actually has to deal with them in s7.

For all that Katolis being destroyed sets Ezran on a path toward the complex politics and morality of nuclear deterrence, it's really the situation with Runaan that both tests and exemplifies Ezran's true heart. Aaravos's initial explanation of the true heart ("Childhood innocence gives way to something… complicated.") is directly overlaid on Ezran's dealing with the aftermath of Callum helping Rayla and Runaan escape the Banther Lodge. I don't think Ezran ever really expected to have to deal with Harrow's killer, since Runaan is presumed dead, so he's unprepared to be confronted with it—particularly given that he has convinced himself he's over it, when he really isn't. He's tested both in suddenly facing a person he can't see as good, deep down. Runaan wasn't lashing out because he was hurting or scared, nor can Ezran conceive of them wanting the same things. There's also the sense of betrayal at Callum and Rayla differing so deeply from his own reaction, when they were previously so in tune—literally banding together despite being born on opposite sides of a millennia-old war, because they recognized the goodness in each other and that they all wanted peace.

Ezran's reaction to Runaan is definitely affected by what happens to Katolis—he's denied not only any kind of justice for Sol Regem's attack, but any explanation. Runaan's fate is something he can ostensibly control, in a situation where he feels both responsible and powerless. Now, an entire separate post could be done about s7's recurring exploration of punitive versus restorative justice through Rayla's trial, Ezran and Runaan, Janai and Karim, Terry, and (as always) Aaravos, but to briefly recap part of my meta on Terry's true heart and growth: Terry, in being challenged during s7, comes to realize that even if he chooses to continue holding to his true heart's faith in the world and others, he is complicit in the harm Claudia and Aaravos have done, and he feels compelled to start doing the work to repair that harm as much as he can. While he hasn't necessarily done anything that would warrant punitive justice, he recognizes that truly doing good requires work and effort, and sometimes doing difficult things. There's not really anything Runaan can (knowingly) offer to make right what he did, beyond his confession that he has come to realize everything he believed at the time was wrong, and he did grievous harm to Ezran that night. However, in that confession, he says something crucial:

Ezran's true heart led him to rule in a way that changed the world for the better, moving toward an unprecedented era of peace—something that, to Runaan's eyes, required a great deal of strength to put aside completely legitimate pain and grievances that could have easily rekindled millennia of war. (See also: "It's a strong name" in that Terry meta.)

I think it's in part because of that reminder—the description of the kind of person and king he wants to be—that Ezran chooses compassion and working toward forgiveness with Runaan. He's not choosing the true heart as a core part of his identity the way Terry does, but his own past true heart inspires his current self to make a decision that's right, but also hard. As with Terry, he is discovering that goodness can take work—true, concerted effort to both determine and follow the right path.

Does Ezran retain his true heart throughout s7? I don't know. I don't think it's entirely as simple as a yes/no state, and he has definitely lost some of his earlier confidence and beliefs. Ultimately I'm not sure it matters. He took a solid punch to the mouth, but either way... it seems like he's going to come out of it okay.

Not Worthy: Claudia's Skewed Perception

And now, a final tangent.

All that stuff I said earlier about a true heart not making you better or worse, and its "loss" being morally neutral? Well, there's at least one person who doesn't see it that way.

In s7, Claudia's inability to read the map and Terry leaving her (as she knew he would, when he learned the truth about her and her behavior) both contribute to the insecurities she has carried for most of her life. Claudia derives most of her self-worth from being very good at dark magic, and therefore loses emotional stability when either she "fails" at something magic-related or dark magic itself is questioned.

This is an interesting connection, because the true heart and/or its loss isn't inherently linked to dark magic. A true heart doesn't shrivel and die at your first dark magic spell, but it's inevitable that the practice of dark magic will at some point become impossible to reconcile with the core beliefs of the true heart simply because they're inherently incompatible... you can't see sapient magical creatures as "people" the same as you and as resources for spell ingredients. So while it's not surprising that Claudia no longer has her childhood true heart, it's not necessarily because of her dark magic... and yet, some part of her perceives it as an indictment against her.

We also know exactly where she probably internalized that view:

Puzzle House is actually where we first encounter the concept of the true heart, as a yes/no state that allows you to access the map to the Garden of Innocents. Kruha, the map's guardian, doesn't ascribe any moral value to being able to see the map or not—noting that he, himself, is "too old" to see it, anymore. However, a single note from Kpp'Ar, combined with her own insecurities at a point of emotional turmoil in her life—her mother has left her, Kpp'Ar has (apparently) left her, she's acting out by attempting increasingly complex self-taught magic and keeps getting in trouble because of it—lead even a 7-year-old Claudia to question whether she might also be unable to see it due to being "not good."

We still don't know why Kpp'Ar was seeking the Garden of Innocents and what caused his "change of heart," but if it's at all comparable to Viren's experience, he was going through The Horrors(tm)—it's not surprising that he'd indulge in a little self-loathing in what's meant to be a private note. Claudia, meanwhile, has her faith in him as a mentor figure she wishes to emulate shaken—he imprisoned Kruha, keeping him collared like an animal, away from his home and family. She knows that's wrong, and struggles to reconcile the Kpp'Ar she knew with someone who would do that. If Kpp'Ar is somehow bad, and she didn't know, could she also be bad and not realize it?

This is particularly interesting to me because she doesn't have this crisis when Viren quits dark magic, even when he explicitly tells her he led her down the wrong path. She does question whether she should also quit dark magic, but it's from the perspective of "it seems like it might have done him a lot of good, emotionally... maybe I should also try it?" rather than "my dad thinks I'm evil, actually," or even "my dad explicitly said he hopes I'll take a different path, one day... am I betraying him if I don't?" She's remarkably chill about it, though to be fair, she's probably still in a state of emotional shock and dissociation. She gets progressively more sensitive about it again during s7, particularly as she receives validation from Aaravos.

Anyway, just a little window into which little wheels are spinning in Claudia's head when she insists she hasn't changed:

I'm sure that won't be significant as she starts her Dragon Girl Summer (and Autumn, and Winter, and Spring).

[storkmuffin]

Korean Catholicism and Yunho

Random disjointed tidbits for your reading pleasure.

Marian Worship

Korean Catholics are very pro Marian cult. God the Father being vengeful, violently unreasonable, and demanding huge scary sacrifices of the Son who weeps and cries and finally, in the end, dies in despair is very familiar. (We also had a king who straight up tortured his son to death in full view of the crown princess and the grandchildren so like I say VERY FAMILIAR). As a consequence the variety of Catholicism I was raised with gave me the sense that there isn't much point talking to God, and you feel mostly pity for Christ, so the one you talk to and pray to and seek solace from is the Virgin Mary.

In case you need it, the statuary right above Yunho's head is the ethnicized portrait of the Virgin and Child. I think where he is might be one of two locations - either the courtyard of his parish church with an outdoor shrine to the virgin OR a graveyard or ossuary where the remains of family members are, and this is the outdoor shrine there for the Catholic mourners.

Miracles of the Catholic Church

It pains me to admit this, but arrogance is kind of the main trait of Korean Catholicism. Why? Because the existence of Korean Catholics is a Catholic miracle. I'm not exaggerating. This is the story Korean Catholics are taught about ourselves. And it's not unjustified. We were not converted by a persuasive visiting Jesuit. No. In the 1770s a study group of Korean aristocratic scholars (privileged nerds, hello, ancestors) decided to read Catholic texts translated into Chinese (which they could all read, because Chinese letters were the lingua franca of the aristocracy across N.E. Asia) because they wanted to know else was going on in the world, and decided they really liked this Catholicism thing, and just began practicing the religion on their own. They later realized through further reading that this is not actually proper, and then imported priests who had been sent to China by the Vatican. The urge to know everything through to the end and by reading and not being particularly interesting in talking to anyone else about it until you absolutely have to are trait that I have even now. And we OWN this religion, Catholicism, because we are descendants of a self-taught, self-awakened set of Catholics.

Catholicism is also much more egalitarian, and less misogynist (yeah for real!) to me than the clenched-up and radicalized version of Confucianism that was the one that we remember with short historic memories. This is yet another thing a Japanese invasion fucked up by the way - the OG Confucianism that lasted for most of the 500 years of Joseon wasn't actually as terrible and inequal as what came after the trauma of 임진왜란 but if you care about this you can learn about the problems having a violent barbarian neighbor on your own time.

Sacrilege

I find these distinctions tricky so I wanted to make note of them: heresy vs sacrilege vs blasphemy vs apostasy. Heresy is a teaching that contradicts the orthodox beliefs of a school of thought. Sacrilege is disrespect for something sacred. Blasphemy is basically spoken sacrilege - blame god for evil is sacrilege, or denying god credit is also sacrilege. Apostasy is when you reject an entire philosophy.

Use of religious iconography is neither religious nor sacrilegious, according to some, and others interpret such actions as appropriation of religious symbols for personal gain or to attract attention, which either is sacrilegious or at minimum, distasteful.

The lines that Yunho draws in his performances waver and wobble, because he does a duck and slide away from confrontation at every single opportunity.

For example he will take this pose for this photograph in a shirt that has this collar, and this fan took it exactly as intended: Instead of '아멘' (A-men) she wrote 호 (for Yunho)멘 (and apparently isn't very aware that Ho-Men might be an entirely appropriate but unintended pun in vernacular english. So HE may not have committed appropriation or sacrilege but he definitely got one girl to do it for him, and in praise of his beauty, which - double the sin.

Well if she can do that, I can do this. LOOK. (Also this is Passover week and this Friday is Good Friday and this Sunday is Easter and .... ) (Whatever. I'll just go to the Catholic part of hell. It's fine).

Why did I need to make the above? Well because Yunho does this shit. That he does. Did. Will do. During Halazia on stage. And is willing to demonstrate back stage. This Catholic gesture that caught my eye and made him suddenly much more interesting to me and I have ended up all the way here.

gifs by user nunutiny

The thing is, when he's asked in a jokey joke way, during the course of a Yunho Pop, to make the sign of the cross because the girls want to see it for their ... purposes, he does the thing that Yunho does when he is definitely not going to give you what you want.

At the start of this clip, he talks about going to a very big cathedral in Oakland. He also attended mass at this Cathedral. Ha Ha Ha "You want to see me make the Sign of the Cross? Why? I didn't expect that Our Atiny would so like my making the sign of the cross. Our Atiny - I didn't know Our Atiny would like my making the sign of the cross this much. Oh, you like it?" He's actually really offended, which is why the mirthless laughter, the asking the why, the saying he didn't know they'd like it this much (telling a blatant lie.) He heard the screaming that happens when he does this in concert. The Atiny that made this edit ends it where she ends it, so I actually ended up looking up the Live in order to check if he actually made the sign of the cross on demand during mass phone sex, oops sorry, Yunho Pop, and I was going to go after him like the Inquisition, but actually he doesn't. He stared down the camera for a very long silence before moving on to the next topic.

I heard an attorney once say that there's a hugely disproportionate number of attorneys and legal scholars who are Catholic.

Korean Catholics Feel Ownership Of the West

Yunho goes to a mass or a cathedral in every city he stopped in, on the European tour in 2025. Or at least, he said so, and he buys rosaries all the time. I also do this. I think most Korean Catholics, even the cafeteria catholics who don't go every Sunday to mass or do confession every week like you're supposed to. There's such a traumatizing history of mass executions (103 Korean martyrs were canonized at the same time in the 1980s) in Korean Catholicism, and I feel a weird ownership of all the Cathedrals in the world. I'm allowed to go there, I'm supposed to go there. My forebears bought entry to all the Cathedrals in all the world through their deaths. I think a lot of Korean Catholics of various levels of commitment feel this way. And absolutely all of us have a Rosary fetish.

Father Ateez WTF WTF

Did you know the CEO of Ateez is also a Catholic? I suspected that he must be, since a rosary bracelet is not a normal gift that agnostics or atheists give people.

The fact that this man has his charges call him FATHER is even more weird to me than ever. Korean Catholics do not call our priests "Father.'" We the Laity address God as Father, but we do not at all ever not a single time address any priest as "Father." We call priests literally, Sir Priest (Shinbu-nim 신부님), bishops Sir Bishop (주교님) etc. We don't call them Father. So this Catholic man has his mostly irreligious business charges call him FATHER which ... I really find this more disturbing than I did when I first heard it now that I learned from Yunho that his boss is Catholic.

The religiosity of the lyrics in the songs (and the set up of the lore being about otherwordly saviors, self sacrifice, going into battle even though you know you are outmatched) makes a lot of sense though, if the CEO is this openly religious.

St. Stefano

Korean Catholics have a concept of a Baptismal name. You 'take on' the name of a Catholic Saint in addition to your given Korean name when you are baptized in to the church. We call this 세례명. In most other countries, I think the baby just get baptized with the name they're going to use - or maybe as a middle name or whatever. But see, Korean Catholics are very aware that we are working with an imported religion whose roots lie elsewhere. So you have an identity as a Korean (Yunho Jeong) and you get an identity as a Catholic (Stefano).

In the official roster of Saints to serve as Baptismal Saints - that is, someone who can serve as your role model and mentor in the church, there are three separate Stephanos. 1) St Stephen (Festival day 12.26) the very first martyr of the Church. 2) St Stephen (Festival Day 2.8), founder of the Abbey of Grandmont. 3) King St. Stephen (Festival day 8.16) of Hungary. Why we call all of them Stephano in the Korean Church, I do not know. I also don't know which one is the right one for Yunho. If he was baptized as a baby, it is possible that they chose the saint closest to his birthday (which would be the founder of Grandmont since his birthday is in March). If he was baptized into the church later than that, and got to choose his own baptismal name, it's anyone's guess.

[aezuria]

*ੈ✎ be my, be my baby!

—be my baby; the ronettes

content: leo valdez x daughter of aphrodite! reader

╰┈▸ back cover: part I | part II | part III

╰┈▸ warnings: cursing

librarian's annotations: guys i realize this would technically be a twoshot.. ANYWAY yall already KNEW i had to make a part 2 also i had to search up 'villain hand pose' to get the word STEEPLE -the more you know ig

loveloveyn shared a note "mom if ur reading this set me up with yk who I BEG"

you sighed and put down your phone. this was honestly getting embarrassing. you hadn't even had a single conversation with the love of your life! maybe you'll sacrifice an extra nice portion of your breakfast to aphrodite. yeah, that's what you'll do.

you hated to say goodbye to the best part of your maple-syrup drenched pancakes, but it was for the greater good. please give me a real sign mom!! you prayed silently as you scraped the rest of your plate into the fire.

love wastes no time apparently, because as soon as you turned around to walk back to your table, leo stops short in front of you with his plate, the both of you almost bumping into each other. oh my gods. you've never been this close to him before! "uh, sorry." you muttered and walked around him before he could see how embarrassed you were.

'uh, sorry!?' what the hell is wrong with me!? you went back to your table, mortified at your awkwardness. where was your charisma when you needed it!? you put your head in your hands. piper noticed and poked you. "what's up with you? love problems again?"

you stayed stagnant, staring into space. "i think i'm the problem."

alldaladiesluvleo sent a message to: water, fire, air, and frank "BIG RED BUTTON"

jason ran into bunker 9, percy and frank mere steps behind him. "what's going on? what's the emergency?" he leaned against the door, panting. percy was doubled over on his knees, frank not looking much better.

leo swiveled around in his chair and put his elbows on the desk in front of him. his hands a steeple in front of his mouth, making him look like a villain talking to his henchmen. this was probably the most serious he's looked in his life.

"as you all know, everyday i have dedicated my offerings to the goddess of love, hoping to receive a sign to pursue fajita." he paused for the ultimate dramatic effect. "and i have gotten an answer."

the three boys broke out into a flurry of overlapped reactions.

"are you still calling her 'fajita?'" jason raised his eyebrow, focusing too much on the small details. it was a very unconventional codename.

"i love fajitas, and i love her!" leo broke his stoic attitude for a second. "it makes perfect sense!"

frank's tired expression morphed into a very, very, unamused look. "you used the emergency codeword for this?"

"hey! the big red button was absolutely necessary!"

"oh. my. gods," percy gasped, immediately standing up straight. "no way."

leo nodded solemnly, back on his stoicism. "yes way."

jason looked at him skeptically. "are you sure it was a sign sign? or are you just being delusional again?"

the curly-haired boy shot him a look, though not very intimidating. "i am completely sure! i specifically said, 'please make her bump into me as a sign' and guess what happened at breakfast!?" his serious front gave way into an ecstatic smile. "she did! that's the most definite sign i've gotten!"

frank and jason had a silent conversation with each other. wait, that is the most definite sign he's gotten. frank's eyes seemed to say. did her mom finally listen to his begging? jason's eyes responded. percy was too busy jumping for joy and congratulating leo to notice.

the boy in question was jumping along with him, before clearing his throat. "guys. i'm gonna follow her." he pulled out his phone to prove it.

shocked gasps ensue. they all crowd around him, looking over his shoulder as he went to your profile. the bright blue 'follow' button stared back at him, taunting him. he took a deep breath of courage and pressed it. the button smiled and turned into a more forgiving grey of 'requested.'

"i did it." leo looked at his friends in disbelief. "i did it!"

"he did it," jason and percy breathed out.

"you know you still have to wait for her to accept, right?"

"oh, fuck you, frank! you ruined the moment!"

loveloveyn sent a message to: so coquette 🎀🏹🔪 "CODE RED I REPEAT CODE RED"

mere moments after you sent that text, piper came running with hazel and annabeth in tow. they caught sight of you laying in the grass and rushed over. annabeth knelt before you, shaking your shoulder. "y/n!? oh my gods are you dead!?"

you opened your eyes and blinked up at her. "oh hey guys, you're here!"

the blonde was very much not amused. her cheeks were tinted a dusty shade of rose as you were in fact, not dead and she had made a fool out of herself. (it really wasn't that embarrassing, you're okay girl!) "so what's the emergency? i thought we agreed to use that in important situations."

you sat up straight, almost knocking her head in the process. "this is super important. like, the events of my life have aligned perfectly and created this moment. wrench.." you paused, also for dramatic effect. "followed me."

the three of them stared at you, disbelieving.

so, you turned on your phone and went to your instagram notifications. there, at the top, it said:

alldaladiesluvleo requested to follow you. 1m

"oh my gods," they said in unison as they stared at your phone in shock.

"hurry! accept it!" hazel insisted, and shook your arm.

"wait, don't do it right now! give it like, a couple hours," piper shook your other arm.

annabeth stayed silent, probably pondering the pros and cons of both choices. you were quiet too; for an entirely different reason, that being a well-thought out love life of you and leo, reaching all the way into marriage. what type of house should we get? how many kids will we have?

"in fifteen minutes." annabeth finally spoke up, startling you from your nice home life built inside your head. "accept it in fifteen minutes. that way, he won't think you don't like him by waiting hours, but he won't know how desperate you are if you accept right now."

"was that jab really necessary!?" you huffed, but you knew she was right. "alright, fifteen minutes it is." you went to your clock app and set a timer.

"did you seriously just set a timer?" piper asked incredulously.

"how else am i supposed to know when exactly to follow my man!?"

librarian's annotations: THERES GONNA BE A PART 3 I JUST WANTED TO SEPARATE THEM

[pancake404]

Catnap, don't hurt Baba. She wasn't thinking straight because she's hungry.

“That is…one way to deal with Baba Chops’s hunger…just feed yourself to her until the hostility stops. It doesn’t pose as life threatening as you are unable to die but the experiments still feel pain so most wouldn’t go that far. 1188 really does lack a sense of care. Even for himself. Guess selling away each part of your soul to a ‘God’ makes it easier for self sacrifice no matter if it’s needed or not.”

[angeliqueiguess]

''Focus!'' (Vacation Edition)

(must read after reading the fic)

W. Counter: 1k

Warnings: Alcohol consumption and mention, wedding mention, baby mention.

The morning sun bathed Cancun’s pristine beaches in a soft, golden glow. The soothing rhythm of waves crashing against the shore brought a sense of peace to everyone there. Well, almost everyone. Y/n, despite having dreamed about this getaway with her friends for weeks, was back at it with her camera.

Near the edge of the infinity pool at their rented villa, she focused her lens on Jaehyun, who effortlessly posed against the shimmering water. His slightly tanned skin caught the light perfectly, and his platinum blonde hair looked almost like it was glowing under the morning rays.

“Okay, babe, that’s enough,” Y/n finally said, lowering the camera with a playful shake of her head and a smirk. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, not auditioning for your next campaign.”

Jaehyun grinned, his dimples making an appearance as he ran a hand through his damp hair.

“You’re the one who said the lighting was perfect, baby. I’m just being cooperative.”

With a cheeky glint in his eye, he struck an exaggerated bicep-flexing pose, earning a burst of laughter from Y/n. Before she could respond, a dramatic sigh broke the moment.

“Oh my god, can you two not?”

Both of them turned to see Ten strolling onto the pool deck, wearing a brightly patterned shirt billowing in the breeze. His oversized sunglasses—ones Y/n relentlessly mocked—covered most of his face but couldn’t hide his signature deadpan expression.

“Some of us are single and trying to soak up the vibes. Nobody needs this over-the-top Instagram couple energy right now.”

Y/n laughed, slipping the camera strap off her neck.

“Didn’t you say last night that being single was a personal choice?”

“That was last night,” Ten replied, collapsing onto a lounger like he was auditioning for a soap opera. “This morning, I’ve decided love can find me—ideally while I’m holding a cocktail.”

Jaehyun chuckled as Y/n shook her head, amused.

The villa soon buzzed with energy as the rest of the group emerged one by one. Johnny appeared first, a beach umbrella slung over his shoulder like it was a fashion statement. His unbuttoned linen shirt revealed his already bronzed skin, and with his usual swagger, he slipped on aviators and surveyed the scene.

“Where is everyone? We’re wasting prime beach time.��

“On their way!” Haechan’s voice called out from inside. Moments later, he strutted out, wielding a GoPro on a selfie stick like it was an Olympic torch. “Today’s vlog is gonna be ICONIC.”

Behind him came Mark, juggling a volleyball and a bottle of sunscreen.

“Alright, broskis! Who’s ready to get obliterated by Team Markhyuck?” he shouted, trying to spin the volleyball on one finger. It lasted about two seconds before it hit him square in the face.

“Doesn't even sound like a team name,” Yuta muttered as he walked by, smirking.

Down at the beach, the sun burned hotter, but the volleyball match was even more intense. Johnny and Jaehyun ended up on opposite teams, their competitive streaks in full display.

“That’s your serve?” Johnny called out, shading his eyes dramatically as he tracked the ball.

“I’d call it better than anything you’ve got, grandpa,” Jaehyun shot back, smirking.

“Grandpa? We are slightly the same age” Johnny placed his hands on his hips in mock outrage, earning laughter from everyone else.

Meanwhile, Ten was actively dodging the ball whenever it came his way.

“Why am I even here? I’m a makeup artist, not an athlete!” he cried, just before tripping over his own feet trying to hit a serve, landing face-first in the sand.

“Content! Content!” Haechan yelled, capturing the scene on his GoPro while cackling.

Y/n dodged a stray ball that Ten had missed, laughing so hard she had to lean on her knees for support.

“Ten, you’re supposed to hit the ball, not sacrifice yourself for it!”

“Sorry, not all of us were born athletic,” Ten quipped, brushing sand off his face and shirt. “I bring beauty, not brute force.”

The game ended as chaotically as it had started when Mark accidentally popped the volleyball, eliciting groans from everyone except Ten, who looked relieved.

After the game, the group headed to a beachfront restaurant. The air was filled with the smell of sizzling tacos and grilled meat, and colorful plates and tropical drinks quickly filled the table.

“So,” Johnny started, leaning back in his chair with a tequila glass in hand. “When’s the wedding?”

Silence fell as everyone turned to Y/n and Jaehyun.

“Uh… we’ve been busy?” Jaehyun said casually, shrugging.

“Busy making a baby,” Ten teased, earning a swift kick under the table from Y/n.

“Can you not?!” she squealed, her cheeks turning pink as she buried her face in her hands.

“Wait… are you?” Haechan asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

“We’re thinking about it,” Jaehyun admitted with a shy smile.

Johnny nearly choked on his drink.

“Thinking? You’re telling me I’m going to be Uncle Johnny soon?”

“Please don’t call yourself that,” Y/n groaned, though she couldn’t help but laugh.

The conversation shifted to lighthearted teasing and shared stories, the table echoing with laughter and clinking glasses.

That night, the group gathered around a firepit back at the villa. Soft music and the sound of waves crashing in the distance set a mellow vibe. Ten, manning an impromptu cocktail bar, handed out drinks while Haechan insisted on playing Never Have I Ever.

“Never have I ever… walked a runway at Paris Fashion Week,” Haechan said, pointing directly at Jaehyun, who rolled his eyes but took a sip.

''Not fair'' said Jaehyun drinking.

The game spiraled into hysterical confessions, snarky comebacks, and fits of laughter as the night deepened. At one point, Y/n looked around at her closest friends, her heart swelling with gratitude.

“Guys,” she began softly, “I know I don’t say this enough, but I’m so glad and happy we’re here together. This... this is what really matters.”

“Awwww, we love you too Y/n!” Mark shouted, wrapping her in an overenthusiastic hug.

“Alright, enough with the Hallmark moment,” Ten said, raising his glass. “Here’s to more vacations, less drama and maybe a baby... or two in the near future”

Laughter and cheers rang out as the group toasted under the stars, their night perfect in its simplicity. For now, the world outside didn’t matter—this was their time.

---

Focus Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Christmas Edition // next

Angie's note: FIRST POST OF THE YEAR! Hope y'all read this! I don't know if this is important but it is to me, this was the first full-fic I've ever written and finished. So this being my first post of the year means a lot to me, thanks for reading this part or reading my work in general. ILY ALL <3 and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Taglist: @apolloxxivmin @aerivrs @chan-yeoldelling @livingdoll-hara @cryingforjae @heavenjae @milanco @sibwol @neocupidd @minkyuncutie @miniature-tragedy @kukkurookkoo @kodasity @injunnie-lemon @thegracerammy @hahaechans @illitzen @pandagirl753 @flamingi

[cryingbluez]

Since I haven't posed in a while have this chibi doodle I did of me making a new oc. He's a HonkaiStarRail oc, but I can use his for other stuff lol.

I just don't have any art to post, so y'all can have this, I originally didn't want to post this since it's not a proper ref, but I just haven't made any other art.

anyway lore under cut ig lol. Info on his species under the cut at the bottom as well. Also I'm not the big fan of hsr, nor a lore person, any lore I mention is most likely wrong, so no need to yap at me in the comments, I know its wrong lol. I just adore the vibe of hsr/astral express.

Name: Loki Height: 6’ft Age: 27 Gender: He/They/It (Falcon’s: It/They) Faction(?): Bounty Hunter/Planet documentation Rarity: 5 star Element: Quantum Path: Destruction

Loki is an emanator of Mythus/Enigmata. Doesn’t exactly follow Mythus, but likes a lot of the ideas that they stand for.

Has a mecha that is sentient, the mecha is thousands of nanobots that act as a hive mind can replicate/destroy at will. Loki calls the Mecha/bots “Falcon”. But most people don’t know this, so call the mecha (and Loki as they think Falcon is a robot w/no pilot) “Whisper” or “Space Angel”. The Mecha can take any shape/size, half the time it takes the form of a spaceship in the shape of the ‘North top b-2 Spirit’ jet (Falcon mainly is black and white, sometimes copies Loki’s red, or his ‘flames’). Around the time Loki was born, the IPC finally turned their attention to his planet. Also around this time is when a sentient experimental bot destroyed/escaped a lab/research facility that a Genius Society member was running, also killing that member in the process of it’s escape. It destroyed all mentions of itself in its escape. Though the GSMember’s assistant survived having just left the facility moments prior, and started to try to track down the being. Falcon (the mecha wasn’t named at this time, but using its name to make writing about it easier) managed to escape and hide on the planet Loki is from.

The ICP took over the planet with the prospect of ‘saving’ it and bringing space travel to the planet, but instead started to destroy it, killing both animals and plant life going after the planet's rich resources, basically turning the whole planet into a mining operation with no regards to the Dregers that lived there. The Dregers would move around the planet, trying to avoid what the IPC were doing, but after a while they couldn’t avoid it any more.

Loki was a very shy child, often staying in his lane, he was semi afraid of the adults, due to religious trauma to do with the adults, taking solace in the adults who weren’t big on the religion.

The Dregers started to sacrifice their young in an effort to try to make their god see and help them. Loki was one of the children that got sacrificed. He had his eyes removed, and his body cut open while he was still alive, a lot of his organs were removed and his mouth was slit on both sides. Falcon quickly found him after the fact, Loki barely clinging to life. Falcon used It’s ability to self replicate/create things to recreate his (Loki’s) organs, and stitched his body back together. Falcon didn’t give Loki back his eyes yet, as due to how dark the planet was, his eyes weren’t really needed. But it did keep his eye sockets from getting infected. Falcon lived within Loki for a while, two beings who had been mistreated by the ones that were meant to protect and love them, now they acted as one.

Loki wanted revenge for what happened to him, so he tracked down his tribe, and murdered everyone with the help of Falcon, Falcon able to transform itself around Loki being able to give him weapons that are attached to his arms, etc. After the murder of his whole tribe, Loki gave it the name Falcon, though the name ‘falcon’ is a bird, on his planet the falcon is a giant floating orca like creature that is highly dangerous.

Loki continued to live on the planet avoiding the IPC, while also trying to sabotage the mining operations. As well as having Falcon start a video diary log for him, e.g. Loki wanting to try to record what was left of his planet, as well as record his thoughts/feelings. After a while Falcon finally took on the form of a mecha, that could act as a spaceship. It taking Loki away from his planet to try to find a different planet for Loki to be on. Once arriving at a new planet, Falcon finally gave Loki an eye, it being able to function, but his vision was different, better than what it was, as well as having visual noise in his vision, such as if he was to focus on someone a red line would appear which would show him where to follow to get a hit/kill in on that person. Loki had never seen light before, so often had his eye closed due to how overwhelming everything was.

Due to what had happened to him, he became a terrible child, violent and trigger-happy, though Falcon would try to reel him back in. Most people on the new planet would ostracise him, try to chase him off, or even hurt him. Loki would still make video logs, even if half the time he had his eyes closed, he would rely on Falcon to do most of the filming for him, so he could watch it back later and feel slightly less overwhelmed about the world through watching the video back.

He would continue to planet hop with Falcon, doing the same thing as what he did on the previous. Till the 4th new planet, an adventurer started to try to befriend Loki, leaving him food, talking to him from a distance, leave him books, sing to him. Loki stuck around, since he wasn’t sure what to make of this sudden kindness, and eventually let this adventurer close. The adventurer was called Vicky, and traveled around planets on her ship called B-12. She wanted to take Loki with her, to try to show him how kind people could actually be, that he didn’t have to be so violent. (Vicky followed Akivili/The trailblaze, though she had never seen the Astral Express.) Vicky was able to have Loki’s video camera for a while, leaving him a video of encouraging words and promises of a brighter future, since she knew Loki always watched the videos back, wanting to give Loki something he could look back on. Telling Loki in the video that he should “always choose love”, that it costs nothing to love like how it costs nothing to hate, but that showing love and patience can make a situation more bearable. When she finished her video she left the camera in its usual spot, along with some heavily tinted sunglasses, knowing the light is the reason Loki walks around blind. This video when watched back by Loki and Falcon made Loki finally join Vicky on her travels, to try to figure out how to be a person. They travelled planet to planet for several years, Vicky teaching him how to be kind, and helping Loki figure out how to use Falcon to the fullest.

They visited a war-torn planet (around when Loki was 15), Vicky wanting to teach Loki how to help in dire situations. Them splitting up when they got to the planet, going off to help people both sides of the war being effected, but after a day of helping people out Loki went to go find Vicky, being unable to find her, and her ship B-12 being in ruin. After a few days of trying to find Vicky and being unable to find her, Loki/Falcon flew into a rage, forgetting all the lessons Vicky had taught him about kindness. Using the form of a giant mecha, Loki/Falcon attacked both sides of the war, effectively stopping the war for both sides. The planet got evacuated due to Loki/Falcon’s rage leaving Loki/Falcon alone on the planet, eventually Loki/Falcon left. They couldn’t confirm or deny that Vicky was dead as they couldn’t find any trace of her not in the ruins of her ship or anywhere else. Falcon finally taking the shape of the ‘North top b-2 Spirit’ jet.

This whole time Loki would have still been making video logs, and wouldn’t stop. Having a relatively good documentation of his life and planets he visits. After about a year and a half of travelling around on his own, he was convinced by some bounty hunters to become one of them, saying he can document any planet he comes across on the way. Saying he could use Falcon for good and get rid of the scum in the galaxies. Loki having no real way of getting money, accepted this offer, and trained with the bounty hunters for several years before he finally went off on his own. He still kept the message of ‘always choose love’ but only gave that to the innocent people, often trying to help out anyone on any planet he visited, making good friends with both natives on the planets and travellers.

He hated the idea of something being set in stone, e.g. destiny. He was always told he was going to become a monster, or a recluse. But he’s become a kind, outgoing confident person, who a lot of people see as a hero. He thinks a lot of things just should be left up to chance, that not everything needs to be known, a sort of ‘go with the flow’ sort of mindset. He started to hate the aeon Nous, due to their predictions and how their predictions were basically fact. Not liking how Nous basically doomed several planets/galaxy systems, e.g. the predictions about Rupert I. This hate for Nous is what got the attention of Mythus, leading to Mythus gazing upon Loki and granting him the emanator status. Loki gaining unnaturally powerful abilities, and his other eye (that Falcon still hadn’t replaced) to flare up and gain an whole different sight in that eye, everything being warped and colourful within the star eyes vision. Several different places on his body started to flare up due to the immense power he was given. Would start to use this power to give to Falcon to make it even stronger.

Extras about Loki/Falcon (no particular order):

-Falcon can’t speak out loud, can only really speak to Loki (speaking to him in his head basically). Falcon normally communicates via animalistic noises such as clicks/whistles/growls/etc, Falcon also learnt how to gesture for things, and also learnt sign language but has found majority of the time it can’t be used.

-As he travelled with Vicky, he became nicer, and a lot more confident in himself. Falcon became more like Loki as well.

-Acts sly, semi sleazy, like he knows something you don’t.

-Fairly smart, often when visiting planets he’d pick up books, or sit in on studies. Would even take random online classes. He does like to learn, but doesn’t really care to discover the unknown.

-Despite being somewhat smart, he prefers to act like an idiot, partly because it means people won’t expect much from him, or would underestimate him. He also just thinks it's more fun to act like an idiot that some smart person. He only really offers some sort of wisdom when it’s needed.

-Soft spot for cute things. Will go out of his way for something if it’s cute.

-Fairly calm person, semi hard to make him annoyed/mad.

-Thinks internet slang/trends/etc are fun, doesn’t take them seriously, is willing to blend old internet slang with new internet slang. Is also 100% willing to use new internet slang incorrectly when around kids/teens, finding it funny when they cringe about it. Will also make up random new slang words himself and convince kids/teens it’s a new word. There are a few slang words that he directly caused this way, because it caught on.

-Likes to poke fun at people, tries not to over step or take it too far, but he still struggles with picking up on social cues, so from time to time ends up accidentally upsetting people. Will try to apologize for it/make it up to them.

-His videos act as a diary, and also documents what worlds look like, he also likes to record little random moments, such as a random convo he has with someone, a random view, etc. He also uses the videos to record thoughts and feelings. If someone was to look back at all his vids, it’s basically a life story from when him and Falcon first meet, to current day.

-His phone case is artwork of a crane (black/white/red bird).

-Doesn’t really tend to visit the same planet twice, often only keeping in contact with people via text, most of the friends he actually meets up with are people who travel around too.

-Has been on the lookout for Vicky on his travels, as he is still unsure of if she somehow made it out or if she’s dead.

-Good singer, doesn’t really share that fact though.

-Fairly good with kids, may be a little bit of a chaotic influence on them though. Doesn’t want any kids to suffer the way he had.

About his species:

species ‘Dregers’

Dregers have a semi toxic relationship with religion on their planet, e.g. if something terrible is happening, they think sacrificing people to their god (that doesn’t exist) would make it stop. (think of toxic traits of any religion, and chances are most Dregers had this relationship with religion) Dregers also had different tribes that would represent the different faces of their god. And some that worshipped a completely different god from the others.

Common features of Dregers: -Can have unnatural hair colours -Marking like scales on neck a bit on the chest/shoulders, and sometimes under the mouth -Scales on arms/legs, could be solid or gradient -Tails, can be any length, almost bone like with their spikes, tails tend to be semi skinny. -Scales running down their spine, sometimes can have spikes/foldable spikes on their spine. -Sharp teeth, has two sets of them (teeth can be unnatural colours) -Possible bioluminescent markings (not all the time, ones with markings needed to watch out as animals on their home planet would be attracted to the light) -Can have unnatural eye colours, eyes can glow. Eyesight tends to be bad due to the planet the species is from. -unnatural insides colour (e.g. inside their mouths/body. Can also glow) -Dark blue blood, some of their blood can be dark purple as well. The higher the altitude they live their blood will be more purple, the lower it's blue. (If they don’t live on the planet, their blood is dark purple leaning into pink) -The whites of their eyes still stay white Features specific to Loki and why: -The ‘flames’, they appeared when he became an emanator -His dark eye whites (the white of his eyes is dark purple). It’s because of his ‘sacrifice’ as a child, his mecha replaced his eyes. He has slightly better eyesight than the average member of his species. -Dark pink-redish blood, due to his mecha being a large part of him now, and paired with the fact he no longer lives on the planet. -’Stitched’ mouth/mouth that can open up a lot more than normal mouths. From his mouth being cut due to the ‘sacrifice’ -No tail, was cut off during his 'sacrifice'.

Came from a planet where the upper atmosphere was so thick it barely let any light shine on the planet. The planet had giant fauna (animals) a sort of deep sea gigantism (without the sea). A lot of animals also had the ability to float like they were in water. The planet’s animals often looked disturbing (e.g. think of giant teeth, alien looking, bioluminescent, see through). The plant life tended to be large as well, often Dregers would use the plant life to hide their homes from the animals. There were a lot of ‘man-eating’ plants, plants that feasted on live organisms. The planet WAS very rich in resources e.g. wood/ores/ect.

The planet didn’t get many space visitors as due to the thick atmosphere most people found it very hard to land on the planet safely, and the planet was also too dangerous for the average person due to the animals, and dangerous plant life. The perpetual darkness turned a lot of people off from the planet too, as most couldn't navigate around like the Dregers could.

The IPC finally turned their attention to his planet. The ICP took over the planet with the prospect of ‘saving’ it and bringing space travel to the planet, but instead started to destroy it, killing both animals and plant life going after the planet's rich resources, basically turning the whole planet into a mining operation with no regards to the Dregers that lived there. The Dregers would move around the planet, trying to avoid what the IPC were doing, but after a while they couldn’t avoid it any more. (see the beginning of Loki's story for 'sacrifices')

[gothgleek]

"You , you love it how I move you

you love it how I touch you my one. When all is said and done, you'll believe god is a woman"

billy loomis x Reader fluff

(the song lyrics are from god is a woman Ariana grande)

Note: Hi! Sorry for the late response, it took a while to hear writers block. The god worship and the fluff is a little toned down than what you’re probably expecting but I think it came out short and sweet. At least, this is what I’d like from a slasher lol

Notes: Rated PG-13 for offscreen death, everything else is cute and sweet.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are appreciated!

You raised your head at the sound of knocking on your window to find Billy Loomis smiling at you from the other side of the glass.

“Hey,” Billy greeted as if it was totally normal to enter a home through the second story window.

“Hey,” You laughed and pulled him through. “What are you doing here?”

“There was a horror movie marathon and I started to think of you,” He started, walking around your bed room, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“That’s flattering,” You said with a smirk and your hands on your hips. Billy chuckled at your pose.

“It is flattering. It was a Japanese film. I can’t recall the title,” Billy stopped in front of a map with various pins marking places you wanted to visit. Billy had spent hours listening to you talk about all the places you wanted to see after graduation.

Unlike the rest of your classmates, Billy listened to you talk about the architecture and culture of these countries. As the two of you grew closer, you even taught him some dance steps from some of the countries you wanted to visit. Billy wasn’t super graceful but he liked the way you smiled at him when he made an effort. Billy even started to get excited about going with you. He rented foreign movies for your date nights, even if he couldn’t understand most of the dialogue. Since the video rental was pretty limited with foreign movies, the two of you would often rewatch them and make out during the boring scenes.

“Anyway, it was a Japanese film and I thought about all the places you wanted to go to after graduation. Senegal, Spain, Brazil, France, Egypt… Japan.” He turned to face you with a small smile.

“And you started to miss me?” You teased lightly.

He nodded, his hands shifting around his pockets. “I did. I thought about all the places you wanted to see and how much I wanted to see them with you.”

“Then I remembered how Mr. Bateman wouldn’t give you the A you needed for your parents to approve your summer abroad.” Your bright face faltered a little as you gave Billy a confused look. He drove all the way here to remind you of this?

“And as nice as it was to have you cry on my shoulder, I hated seeing you upset.” Billy walked to you and tilted your head up to look him in the eyes. “You are too important to me to ever make you upset. And I will do everything in my power to make sure you are always smiling.”

Billy pulled out one of his hands holding a kitchen cloth. He held it out to you and you gently unwrapped it. You let out a gasp when you saw the blood soaked knife.

“You’ll get that A now baby,” Billy smiled at you and pulled out his other hand. Two plane tickets to Tokyo dated for the day after graduation. You covered your hands with your mouth as you gasped. “And we'll travel the world together.”

Your eyes were filled with tears of happiness. You didn’t think anyone would have ever done something like this. “Billy I don’t know what to say-“

“Don’t say anything babe,” Billy said with a relieved smile. “I promised I will do anything I can to make you happy. Mr. Bateman was just a sacrifice I made to make sure you are happy.”

You pulled him close so you could kiss him hard. You hoped he could feel every bit of love and warmth you could give him, grateful for him.

“It’s you and me forever baby, don’t you ever forget that.”

[thelastsirenssong]

I'm thinking of Bakugou's hands. Calloused palms and slender fingers, digging into your shoulder blades as you groan, the act unexpected as he asks you a question with two hands, and two words: "Long day?"

The chair you were sitting forward in is wooden, and his thumb pads are diligent as they are gentle seeking out the knots in your muscle.

The night has dragged on seemingly longer than the day, but you find ridicule in his question- as though you had any right to answer what was posed when one of the hardest working people you know is standing at your bowing spine.

"Not really. Just tired, I guess." You push against his hands, and you turn, to face his offended glare. "What?"

"I was working." You laugh, and his scowl deepens as he grabs you by the shoulders. "Turn back around, I ain't finished." You shake your head, facing the back of the wooden chair- examining the grooves, the lines of what once had been rings of age.

"How about I do yours? You sit?" And Katsuki, for how much he has learned, has not learned patience for the self sacrifice of others. His lip curls up, in a familiar disgust- something you don't see in your peripheral- before he bows his own spine to face you, red eyes mere inches from your own.

"Turn the fuck around." His expression is half as cruel as his words are, maybe even half of that still, but you are determined to not meet his gaze, eyes still on the chair.

"I don't wanna." When his hands cup your face you don't expect it. To be pulled from facing a wooden chair by the soft tips of his fingers is all you need to look him in the eye as he strokes your cheeks with his thumbs.

"'S too bad I ain't askin'. Come on. Turn around." And so you do, with a slow spin, settling back into the chair rigidly with your face aflame as you feel his fingers find their way back around your shoulders, and he squeezes, forcing you to cave into him again.

"Swear to god everyone around here's always gotta act so fuckin' tough." He pushes harder, his fingets finding another particularly vicious knot, and you groan, but he makes no sound behind you. No snort of gleeful scorn, no scoff of impatience.

"I'm not. I'm not acting tough."

"Then you're lyin'." You laugh softly, and if he smiles behind you, you can't see it.

"Fair point." He grunts, and you hiss at his hands as they move lower, pushing closer to the center of your back.

"I'll let it go if you promise you won't try that shit again."

"Promise?" Your voice is strained with disbelief at being held to an impossible standard, and Katsuki rolls his eyes behind you, something else he knows you can't see.

"Fuck, I can't even get that? Fine. Give it your best shot then, at least. Fuckin' useless." Silence, for all that it is worth, fills the air between you for a moment as his hands find the pain in your back, and pull it apart. You open your mouth, and he hears the relief in your voice as he works another knot away.

"I can promise that." "Good." He wonders if you can hear the relief in his.

[blueorchid-95]

So I’ve been thinking about book IV lately. I have a bit of a theory about how the dream situation works, especially in the context of the Summoner’s apparent power… and its implications.

When Kiran summons a Hero, they form a “contract” together. Lore-wise, this contract is primarily used to better coordinate combat and expand the summoner’s tactical options. However, it does NOT cause a shift in the Hero’s personality. That’s how we end up with Grima and Chrom staring each other down on either side of the home menu while Robin stands awkwardly just above them.

So, through these contracts, Kiran connects with their summoned Heroes. Which would mean, naturally, that the Hero is connected to Kiran as well.

Freyja’s position as a goddess of dreams provides her with the perfect position to take advantage of this. By sneaking into Kiran’s dreams, she can trick them into forming a contract with her, which enables her even greater influence over their mind. From there, she imprisons them in slumber so that she can use the necklace to take Freyr’s power from him, so that they may be together forever.

However, the Summoner unconsciously senses Freyja mucking around in their mind through the contract, and therefore fights back in the only way they can: calling for help. Through this, Kiran draws his three closest friends—Anna, Sharena, and Alfonse—into the dream realm with him. Freyja realizes the threat they could pose, even if they’re unaware of the dream—when she takes Freyr’s power, nightmares will run amok on Askr, and the four of them will no doubt start finding answers to questions she doesn’t want answered.

To remedy this potential issue, Freyja draws them into the Dream Realm and messes with their dreams: she causes the Summoner to dream that they’re Alfonse, and separates the REAL Alfonse from the group and subjects him to the control of nightmares. This ends up directly leading to her brother’s sacrifice.

Now that her brother is dead, Freyja needs the dream to stay together, so that she may recreate her brother in the way that she sees fit. She’s the goddess of nightmares—any version of Freyr she creates for herself beyond the dream will be her worst nightmare. But according to the law of the dream, she can bring her brother back just how she wants him without facing that consequence. All she has to do is prevent the Summoner from awakening. So, she lies: she tells them that Alfonse is dead and that they took on his identity out of grief.

Right now, her only goal is to manipulate the summoner into wanting to remain within the dream. So she presents herself as a reasonable figure, carrying only their best interests in mind.

And as the summoner resists her, she gets more and more aggressive and dangerous.

Freyja’s attempts to bend Kiran to her ultimately fail, and they do awaken—but it’s worth noting that she managed to get into their head in the first place. She used the summoner’s power against them, and the only reason she failed to keep them under control was because they became aware of it. Now that the summoner has supposedly lost their memories of the incident, they have no way of realizing the issue with their power, which leaves them open to being attacked through a false contract again. And to make matters worse, if Freyja rises, she can 100% drag the summoner back into dreams… and this time, she knows to prevent them from reaching out.

Now, which gods just might have the power to reach into Kiran’s mind…?

TLDR: the summoner’s contracts allow them to be manipulated against their will, which caused Book IV and could cause more problems in the future

[ineadhyn]

Playing Astarion good aligned and what that meant for his character - a completely unnecessary but fascinating analysis

So the idea was: entirely good aligned Astarion origin playthrough

However I can't just do that, it has to fit into his character somehow. It has to make sense to me, so I did analyze and justify and this is what I came up and how it is going:

Normally Astarion escapes Cazador gets tadpoled and is a menace, a violent bastard who lashes out, barely contains how hurt he is and tries to get people to like him the only way he knows: through sex.

What if Astarion is the main character? The leader? If he figures people would like him if he is good or at least pretends to be. He notices quickly that people approve of good deeds and oh, how good the praise and gratitude feels. So Astarion tries being good for a change. People are easy to believe he's genuine because they want him to be, especially good souls like Karlach.

He still hooks up with Lae'zel, but figures quickly that his body is far less powerful than his arrow in the right throat. It's not worth it getting on his back anymore. Also he has set his eyes on the wizard (Gale was very suppportive about Astarion's vampirism).

As Act one closes he is too deep into the being the good person to drop the act now. Halsin is with him and he would annihilate Astarion if he ever found out how much he actually loathes the tiefling party. No, he is in this now, he has to carry on.

Entering the Shadow Curse and meeting Jaheira he remembers his own hero: Drizzt do'Urden and, now expecting more great things from himself and having to live up to the expectations of others, he tries to become Drizzt. His most asked question to himself is: wwdd - what would Drizzt do? It becomes his compass for decision making.

Gale finds himself in love with Astarion and Astarion is very pleased about that, a bit of genuine softness feels nice and also, hello, there's delicious hunger for power hiding under these purple robes amongst other things.

Now we come to the core problem this version of Astarion has: His heroism is an act, a mask. He has picked it up so quickly he never had the chance to be terrible and start to heal. He is as full of fear as he was at the beginning of the game and desperate for protection. He's reaching for every straw that will give him an advantage not caring for himself in a healthy way. He's ready to make sacrifices. He bit Araj.

He encourages Gale to go for the crown. He even toyed with the tadpole's power. Not ready yet to give up his beauty and become half-illithid but maybe after the spawn attack he panics so much he'll consume it. (I wonder if Cazador reacts to that, seeing his spawn like that, his beauty ruined) What a powerful protection against being sexually abused again. Gale will still love him, no matter his appearance.

And most likely he will ascend and pretend it didn't affect him. He needs to keep the mask up, can't risk to fail against the Absolute and reveal the weak spawn he (thinks) he really is underneath it. He needs the praise to keep coming, he needs to protect himself and his lover and Gale needs to protect him. So ... god Gale is also very much possible.

I am now entering Act 3 and will keep this updated because it is an unusual but very fascinating path to me. Astarion, glowing on the outside, the hero of Baldur's Gate, the good vampire, the one people trust - but on the inside he's more rotten than ever, more afraid than ever. The only real thing about him is his relationship with Gale, he genuinely loves him, which sadly makes it worse for both of them.

Note that I do feel bad for him, but am too intrigued to stop.

Here he is, drizzting his way through my game. Nailing the hero pose, just as he nailed the smile when he lured a target: