#one reason she ends up in odd places is probably just that they don't use the same pathways as people do

[skyheld]

just like there's a recurring theme where you run into old friends of ameridan, there's a recurring theme of meeting merrill in places where she definitely shouldn't be and which she has no idea how she got to. she has a diagnosed lack of directional sense and no ability to make a mental map of places. she got lost in the druid's grove

baldur's gate will be her death

[ccrisntok]

Your Masterminds, Whit Young, and Ace Markey! (mm! whace au)

(Spoilers lol)

what normal fellas ahahahahaha (I have poured my entire soul into these two there is nothing left of me)

A basic summary of their relationship:

Whit has spent like, over a year manipulating Ace into being complacent in his plans. In his own eyes, Ace is a sorta-stupid lacky, who he's constantly love-bombing to keep obedient. Although, he is a bit glad for the company... it was sorta empty when Ace was "dead" and they couldn't really talk. And maybe Ace almost dying from his fake execution was a bit disturbing. But he's sure its nothing! (He fell in love with him like a moron.)

Ace has fully fallen in love with Whit. He's not happy about it, but it happened. As a result, he's basically ruined any semblance of his own morality, just so he doesn't lose Whit, or the affection he knows is mostly performative. He's more than happy to kill his fuck-face classmates, after a... bit of prodding, and honestly, he'd do anything Whit asked at this point, even die. He'll still complain about it, though.

i tried to be as original as humanly possible, but I'm def giving credit to @talkativeanonymous, @acethehorseishere, and @a-blog-for-kat all for inspiring these two in one way or another (esp. a-blog-for-kat lol).

anyway there's the art, here's the promised lore. warning for like a million words. I'm serious. It's 1,400 words. you can stop here i don't blame you.

also sorry for the odd looking bullet points, didn't realize you couldn't have gaps lol!

This au operates on a probably un-canon assumption that I pulled out of my ass. That is that Mai Akasaki is both a student in the class of 27, and that she is the "time loop" student. She is usually a part of the killing game, but she isn't this time, for reasons I'll explain in a sec.

This specific loop, Mai is attempting to dissuade the (usual) mastermind from wanting to start a killing game in the first place. That mastermind is Whit Young.

She goes about this by trying to curb Whit's main reason for his descent into despair, his resounding loneliness, by giving him championship. Charles hasn't softened up to the others in any regard yet. But that wasn't the main reason, unbenouced to Mai.

In this loop, and this loop alone, Mai sets Whit and Ace up to be friends. She hopes they can help each other, since they usually end up more or less alone in their school life.

Surprisingly, it works. They get along decently well, although a codependency starts to develop on Ace's side.

Around this time, Whit takes up an internship at XF Future, which Mai doesn't realize. He innocently wants to explore other job options, "Matchmaking" not really being a stable career forever.

Obviously FX Future isn't a normal Tech Company. Whit starts to change, in a barely noticeable fashion, the longer he works there.

Ace notices Whit's contacts start looking a lot more vibrant after Whit takes a couple weeks off school for a "company trip." He thinks it's... sort of pretty.

(Whit's time at XF Future showed him a side of humanity he didn't realize existed. Insane levels of greed, using the concepts of "ultimates" to guide a stupid pubic where the Government wanted them, generally a dystopia. It feeds into his existing detachment from humanity, until he hits a breaking point, setting his sights on ending the "Ultimates" concept by killing the newest class in the public eye, including himself.)

(XF Future develops a new sort of technology, prosthetic "eyes" that basically turn you into a living remote control, able to connect to an entire building if its connected via a computer system. Security cameras, doors, fucking air conditioning- everything.

(Whit offers himself as the test dummy, and it goes perfectly.)

Anyway, Mai decides to talk to Ace, since she's starting to realize he's becoming a bit... softer after hanging out with Whit so much? And hopes like, for once, he'll actually accept help for his mountain of problems.

He doesn't take this conversation very well.

Mai, with knowledge from dozens of loops, accidentally brings up an extremely traumatic event, simply mentioning the name "Tyler" once.

In a blinding mix of rage and horror at Mai's knowledge of the event, that Ace has literally never even spoken about in this timeline, Ace shoves her away from him.

She falls backwards, and splits her head on a desk, killing her instantly.

Ace, in a horrified frenzy, calls Whit, literally his only friend.

Whit shows up. Ace expects him to freak the fuck out, call the cops, or something like that... But he doesn't.

Whit simply tells him they were going to hide the body together, not even remotely caring about Mai's death.

yeah that's a little fucking weird, and its terrifying, but going to jail is scarier sooo Ace goes along with it!

After this, Whit wraps Ace into uncharacteristically cruel pranks against some of their classmates and others at Hopes Peak, oftentimes resulting in physical injury.

He acts like these are completely normal and funny, while Ace is both freaked out by it, and sort of enjoys enacting pain on people he didn't like.

Along the way, Whit notices Ace starting to fall for him. Horrible news for Ace, since Whit plays into those emotions by becoming much more physically and emotionally affectionate. Which he doesn't enjoy, like, at all... not a bit...

Whit convinces Ace to assist him in greater and greater acts of violence until Whit just straight up kills someone (not a classmate, a stranger.)

Ace is of course tied into everything way too deep to stop now, and after all this... he doesn't really want to. So he stays as Whit's accomplice for months, up until Whit's weirdo behavior arrives at the idea of the killing game. He references the "First Killing Game", which Ace had never heard of.

The idea is a bit intense for Ace, but at that point, he didn't have anything beyond Whit. If it took this to stay with him... He'd do it. Even if in the end, they both were going to die.

So they get to work!

Ace had been taking engineering classes at Hope's Peak in hopes of getting out of jockeying, and he'd helped his family build sheds and shit since he was a kid, so he focused on the construction and executions.

Whit wired the building an all-encompassing computer system he could control, as well as stealing "Mono-TV" from XF Future, a robot he can fully control to be the "host" of the game.

He also steals the "mind wiping" technology from XF Future. It's weirdly easy to steal stuff from this company, hm? It's almost like they aren't protecting it...

Whit also uses another piece of experimental biological technology... on Ace.

A screen connected to his brain, a lottt less invasive than Whit's eye surgery. It doesn't impact Ace mentally, it just gives him the ability to produce visible projections for easy construction, communicate with Whit remotely, (and give Whit a way to always know what Ace's condition.)

The screen is unclipped when the game starts, but the brain implant is still connected to Whit, so he can detect Ace's condition.

After kidnapping the class of 27 and wiping their memories... It all starts. A killing game, streamed live to the entire nation.

Whit and Ace start off as a part of the class, interacting with the others like normal, a pretty decent show. Things go roughly as planned, putting everyone in the positions Whit wanted them. Untilll... chapter 2.

Ace gets his ass jumped, and almost dies prematurely. This is fine, Whit privately makes sure the wounds properly cleaned, but it does fill Whit with an... ominous feeling.

Ace still kills Arei, a part of the plan, and gets "executed", so he can more easily upkeep the executions and such behind the scenes.

After the screen playing the fake execution turns off, Whit checks to make sure Ace didn't get injured in his running around... but can't detect anything.

At all.

Ace's heart wasn't beating.

He actually, seriously, had a fucking heart attack.

(Ace's heart attack was for a combination of reasons. Firstly, his heart was actually in pretty bad condition as a result of his eating disorder, something Whit had figured was "over" by now. It wasn't!)

(Second, in that moment, the idea that maybe, just maybe, Whit could have been double-crossing him came to Ace. What if Whit loaded the guns? What if Ace's use was done, and Whit was finally getting rid of him? It was terrifying because he could die, and terrifying because... It'd make sense. It was all that ever happened to him.)

So he had a heart attackkk lameeeeee

This makes Whit tweak the fuck out, internally. (lol pretend his spooky ass sprite happens AFTER the execution, not before. shh its all made up its all pretend)

After Levi gets taken to the infirmary, Whit drops Charles off at his room as quickly as he can, then fucking BOLTS IT to a hidden passageway in his room to the like... Mastermind area, with the execution chamber.

Whit manages to resuscitate Ace in time, barely. And even after that, he's in pretty bad condition. But he's conscious and mobile.

Whit gets him as comfortable as he can, and after spending the night, he sort of... has to leave. He does some tweaks to Ace's brain screen thing, creating a functional heart monitor that Ace (and he) can watch.

As often as he can, Whit sneaks off to the Mastermind area at night to make sure Ace doesn't fucking die in his sleep. But Ace gets... decently better quickly, and returns to his duties overseeing the killing game.

Whit still visits almost every night to make sure Ace wakes up, which he can't really explain to himself. Ace was... supposed to be disposable anyway. Why would it matter if he died?

Anyway yeah the rest of the game happens. No clue there.

In the end, Whit and Ace come out as masterminds (happy pride).

I have a comic planned for how the end goes, soooo... that's it!

holy fuck! my fingers! hi the whole 2 people who made it down this far... uh... did you like my lore.....? do you want me dead now for having you read 1,400 words of two evil homsexuals...? 😅 love you thank you im sorry.

[asidian]

Set breakdown time! Next up: Niko's room.

As before, I've circled the points of interest and numbered them to make them easier to talk about. Cool? Cool. Let's do this!

1: Niko's mom's name! This part is her and Niko's surname. The kanji are 佐々木.

佐 – sa, meaning help or aid

々 – an iteration mark. When you see this, basically it means "exactly what the last one said, one more time." So another sa meaning help or aid

木 – ki, meaning tree

It's really neat that they picked a last name for her that doubles down on her role in the narrative. Just like Niko is there to support and help other characters in whatever way they seem to need, her surname hammers it home by including 佐 not once but twice.

2: Riza (リザ) Niko's mother's given name. Somewhat odd here is that it's written in katakana and not kanji. Without getting sidetracked too much (you can pop over here to read more if you're interested) most Japanese people write their names in kanji.

Katakana seems like a bit of a strange choice here, unless a) Niko for some reason doesn't know the kanji for her own mother's name (weird, given that she's in high school) b) her mother is a foreigner (a possibility; foreigners usually write their names in katakana) c) the set designer/whoever prepped the letters didn't know the appropriate kanji for "Riza" (seems unlikely, given how accurate all the rest of this is) or d) some sort of personal habit. An interesting side note is that her letter to Niko also puts Niko's name in katakana.

3: Cutesy stationery, used for marking your place in a document or book

4: A cute blue purse!

5: Watermelon! Judging by the shiny material and placement near the other bag, I'm going to guess this is another purse

6: Niko's clothes :>

7: Pink luggage

8: Lots of instant noodles

9: A rice cooker

10: Rice vinegar

11: This girl LOVES her some plants

12: Probably food items…? The one on the right looks like it might be a five-pound bag of rice, but I don't recognize the brand

13: Lots of unwashed dishes

14: A toaster oven

15: Chopsticks

16: A cute octopus pillow. I think I saw someone mention that it's from Ikea :>

17: She often leaves dirty dishes sitting on the bedside table

18: A painting of what seems to be a skyscape

19: Brightly colored pillows

20: Metal art in the shape of a moon

21: A decorative window hanging

22: More plants :)

23: Candles

24: Her tv

25: Cute pens with pompoms on the end

26: Regular tape

27: A cute cat statue

28: Marble Pop Ramune, strawberry flavor. Ramune is a type of soda that's a popular festival drink in Japan. It's sealed with a  glass marble and you have to pop the marble down into the little catch basin before you can drink it.

29: Anime wall décor

30: Fruit jelly cups. In Japan, small gelatin based snacks like this are popular. They're tiny, about an inch tall, and you eat them in just one or two bites.

31: Niko's laptop. She has stickers on it

32: Washi tape! It's decorative Japanese tape, often with bright colors and patterns, used for crafting.

33: A lot of cute magnets, including the bunny one, which serves double-duty as a kitchen timer

34: Niko's grocery list. The only thing on here that's here because she wants it is strawberry ice cream. The rest of the items, licorice tea, manuka honey, and Epsom salts, are all natural remedies. She's been trouble-shooting how to get rid of the effects of the sprites. She knows she's sick, but not why

35: Cutesy craft supplies! Sequins, glitter, and pompoms

36: More washi tape!

37: Niko's manga collection. She is that particular brand of organizational mess that does not put her numbered volumes in order. She has made an exception for the series that makes a complete picture when you line them up, though

38: More plants :)

39: Manga posters! Issho is one of the series that she has on her shelf

40: A decorative jar

41: Little metal bird sculptures

42: What seems to be the only framed picture in her room. The angle is wrong to see what the photo is, but it's interesting that they added just one in here. Maybe it's her family…?

[wren-kitchens]

this started as a little drabble for an au and suddenly it's 2k words oops

in summary, scar is a wizard who was cursed into a statue for millennia, and eventually became the 'secret keeper' because everyone would confide in it. gem was the first to ask scar how it was doing

gem must not have been paying nearly enough attention to where she was walking, because she has somehow found herself in the secret keeper's grove. not that she minds, but- she could have sworn she started walking the complete opposite direction when she left her house. either gem is way worse at directions than she thought she was, or.. well, okay, she can't actually think of another reason, but she wanted to sound spooky. maybe there's some magical fate that has led her to this very spot- or she just doesn’t know her lefts from her rights.

well, whatever reason it ends up being, gem is stood awkwardly beneath the face of the statue, its eyes shut and face relaxed as if asleep. the cracks and vines across its body looks almost like scars, and gem has to appreciate its beauty. she has, of course, heard all the myths about this statue being some- evil wizard who went around killing people left right and centre, and was eventually turned to stone as punishment. whilst she doubts these stories are anything more than fairytales, gem has to admit that it'd be pretty cool if that was actually the case.

resting against one of the stone pillars in front of the secret keeper's statue, gem looks into its face. centuries of people confiding their deepest thoughts to this stone monolith, decades of fears and secrets and accomplishments all told to the resting face of what may or may not be an evil wizard from millennia ago. it's another very interesting thing, gem thinks, about how people will reach for any sense of attachment they can get. maybe that's why the statue was created in the first place; there is something about its face that draws gem to it, in an odd kind of way. 

"you know, I don’t suppose many people have asked how your day is going." gem says aloud, almost startling herself—she hadn't expected to actually say that.

unsurprisingly, the statue doesn’t respond, but something in its face looks- almost curious. is she making that up? she's probably making that up.

"I hope it's good." gem keeps talking anyway, because she honestly doesn't have anything much better to do anyway. "and if it's not, I hope it gets better."

she shifts a little on the earth, getting comfortable. in this new position, gem is instead facing another stone pillar rather than the keeper itself. "you’re a very lovely statue. I imagine it gets boring around here, but I suppose you have a lot of gossip to keep you going."

there's a kind of rustling from beside her, and she chalks it up to a bird of some sort—she is in the woods, after all. although- it might be someone else on the way to the secret keeper. that might be a little embarrassing, if they stumble across her asking a statue questions about its day.

"were you really an evil wizard, or is that just a story?" gem says idly, picking at imperfections in her nail polish.

"oh- i’d say greatly exaggerated." comes an unfamiliar voice.

gem looks up and shrieks in surprise, jumping to her feet. she immediately stumbles, almost falling flat on her face as she processes who just spoke. "you- how the-" 

a figure is now across the glade from her, looking somewhat bemused as it brushes its white hair from its eyes. the shawl over its shoulders is embroidered with sunflowers, and looks as if it'd been worn for quite some time—what with the tears and holes in the fabric. scars run across every visible part of its skin, some akin to the cracks in old stone, and some resembling battle scars.

the secret keeper blinks at her from where it (he?) sits on the grass, underneath the empty gap where the statue used to be. "oh- yeah, long story." it grins, brushing itself off. "I don't suppose you've seen a pair of crutches around here?"

"I- definitely not." gem says, practically frozen in place. what in wrath- how the- the secret keeper is a person now?? "it's- are you-"

the secret keeper scoffs, and gem can’t tell if it's playful or frustrated. maybe both. "oh- they'll have taken them again, no doubt. that's fine- i'll have my revenge!" it calls to the sky, before turning back to gem. "thank you for helping me out there- they've always  enjoyed playing tricks on me like that."

"what- no, I didn’t-" gem starts to say, but the secret keeper interrupts.

"how long was I stone, by the way?" it asks, offhand.

"oh." gem hesitates. "I- I don’t know how to tell you this. um- it's been a while."

the secret keeper pouts, brushing some stray stone dust from its shawl. "has it been a month again? I have things to do, y’know!"

"it's, um. it's been a thousand years, I think." gem says softly. 

she expects a huge reaction—after all, if someone had told gem that she'd been stuck as a statue for millennia, she'd be pretty upset. god- she can't imagine what that would make her feel; losing everything and everyone you know to time, whilst you stay exactly the same.

the secret keeper blinks, drops the pout and shrugs. "could have been worse." it says, voice surprisingly cheery. "oh- I bet my crutches will have disintegrated, or something." it's grinning like this is funny and not just cause for an existential crisis.

"I imagine so, yeah." gem says, as if she's not about to start freaking out over literally everything that's happening right now. "you- what are you gonna do now?"

the secret keeper pauses, and gem feels a little worry in having actually stumped it. "I, uh. that's a good question."

"if you want, you can stay with me and my friend for a while?" gem suggests, hoping that joel won't mind her bringing home a reincarnated statue to live with them. in her defence, he’s done weirder. 

the statue in question snorts. "I hope you're ready to be killed several times over." it grins, and gem's stomach drops. it seems to notice the look on her face and tacks on, "you guys can kill me too."

gem probably looks like she's seen a ghost, based on how the secret keeper frowns a little in concern. "I- how am i supposed to kill you if i’m dead?"

"wh- 'cause you’d come back?" the secret keeper looks as confused as gem feels. "why wouldn't you?"

"what do you mean, come back? if I die that's it." gem grins. "you’re joking, aren't you?"

the secret keeper shakes its head, less confused and more concerned. gem cannot seem to understand what's happening here. "did you- were you not given the blessing?"

"I.. don’t know what you’re talking about." gem says, smile beginning to slip from her face. "what blessing?"

"you don’t- the one that lets you regenerate?" the secret keeper says, almost frantic. when gem doesn’t show any recognition, it continues. "from- when you die? is that- how do you not know?"

gem blinks. "is that a story from when people thought magic was a thing? i’ve never heard of it before."

the secret keeper stares at her. "magic is a thing. i’m- i’m magic. I just got turned into a human from stone- what do you mean magic isn't a thing?"

"that's- yeah." gem pauses. "so- wait, why would we not have that anymore?"

"wh- I have no idea!" the secret keeper throws its arms out. "it's such a simple thing to do- you give the blessing to your baby, and then it grows with the kid! it's perfect! you don’t have to worry about exploding them with too much magic, because it's always just the right amount!"

"that is smart." gem says. "that's so weird- how has that gotten lost?" she tilts her head to the side. "I suppose it has been a thousand years."

"okay, so- I won't kill you." the secret keeper says, and gem remembers what started this whole conversation. "since apparently you guys are mortal. would I still be allowed to come with?"

"'course." gem grins. "I did suggest it. uh- how will we do this?"

the secret keeper looks at her blankly. "well. I assume we'd walk. do you not do that anymore either?"

gem snorts. "no, we do, I just- you said you had crutches. which I assume you would need."

"ohh." gem suppresses another laugh as it seems the secret keeper has apparently completely forgotten about the crutches. "yeah, that's a good point actually."

"I could try carrying you." gem says, and the secret keeper quickly covers its mouth. "what?"

"nothing!" it says, unconvincingly; gem can hear the smile in its voice. she raises an eyebrow. "well- you’re quite a bit smaller than I am."

"wh- I can carry you!" gem says, mildly offended. "i’m strong!"

"I don't doubt that!" the secret keeper says. "but I could just use my magic."

gem pauses, processing. "wait- so why do you need the crutches?"

the secret keeper grins, and it's almost uncannily sharp. did it just laugh? for some reason, it sounded too high pitched. "it's a little exhausting." it says, and suddenly the smile looks normal again. huh. "I can’t do it all the time, or i’d just- pass out. for a short time though, i'll be alright if I rest."

"you can do magic? still?" gem says, suddenly excited to see it happen. she's sure joel can make crutches for it when they get back—that won't be a problem. "how does that even work?"

the secret keeper seems a little flattered by her interest. "i can’t see why I wouldn’t. I might look a little weird though—my skin goes blue, my hair goes white, that kind of thing."

gem tilts her head. "isn’t your hair already white?"

"what?" the secret keeper's eyes widen a bit, pulling a strand of hair in front of its face to inspect. something shifts in its expression. "oh." 

there's a stab of worry in gem's chest. if magic makes its hair go white and also exhausts it, what's going to happen right now? does- is there something that could happen? man, she does not know nearly enough about magic to answer any of those questions for herself.

before she can actually ask, the secret keeper just shrugs. "weird! anyway-"

it closes its eyes, apparently concentrating hard on something. the air in the grove seems to solidify, crackling with unseen energy, and gem can’t tell if she's holding her breath or if she simply can't breathe anymore. the secret keeper doesn’t react as it begins to rise off the floor, a blue sheen spreading from its fingertips throughout its whole body—scars whitening until they're essentially translucent. tattered wings unfold from its back, skin spread so thin, gem thinks a strong wind could tear them into pieces.

the secret keeper opens its eyes, and grins sharply, wings supporting its entire body. "ta da! how's that for magic, huh?"

gem laughs in delight, applauding it. what else is she meant to do in the face of that? "that was incredible! you can fly?"

"too right I can." the secret keeper beams, swelling with pride. "now, lead the way- uh. I don’t know your name, do I?"

"gem." she smiles, gesturing for the secret keeper to follow her as she begins to walk out of the clearing. "I don’t know your name either."

"well, gem, I am the one and only scar!" it announces, floating next to her. "named after my many- oh! oh- what!" 

gem looks over, slightly panicked, and sees it inspecting its arms. more specifically, the scars on its arms that gem had likened to cracks in stone. "are you okay?"

"I didn’t have these before." scar says, tracing them with its finger and nearly floating into a tree as it does so. "they look like-"

"cracks?" gem suggests, and scar nods. "yeah- I think, with how long you’ve been stone.." she trails off, a better explanation escaping her.

scar seems to understand regardless, nodding. "I guess. hey, that's kinda cool." it looks back up at her, grinning again. gem has to wonder why (and how) it's so pointy. "that's a story to tell at parties!"

"I- yeah, I suppose." gem says, slightly unconvinced. she's not sure how scar has managed to completely accept everything she's told it without a single panic attack, but she isn't sure if that's a good sign. she hopes that people from a thousand years ago were just way better at processing their emotions. "I think the whole stone thing is also something to tell at parties."

"oh yeah, you guys don't have magic." scar says. it scoffs. "you must be so boring."

gem makes an indignant noise, and scar laughs. "excuse you! we're not boring. you were stone for millennia- if anything, you’re the boring one."

scar is still laughing. "you say that like you didn't just stare at me while I transformed. i’m so cool."

"okay, i'll admit, you are cool." gem grins, and scar pumps its fist.

[stormsthatrage]

Short snippet from the Bleach I Knew You AU.

But before I begin. *Insert deep sigh here.*

Secretlypansexualmango, if you see this, it was supposed to be a response to your ask. Unfortunately, it took a hard left-turn and ended up in. Uraichi shipping territory? Look, IDK, I'm asexual, I don't get it either. Anyway, since I don't know your shipping preferences and don't want to accidentally respond to your ask with something that squiks you, I will be officially responding to your ask in another post that is less likely to be unexpectedly unpalatable. Thank you for your patience, and, uh, I hope this doesn't turn you off the au! (*laughs nervously*)

Without further ado, the snippet:

Breaking into the Shiba family grounds is easy. By sheer comparison, breaking into Shiba Ichigo’s room specifically is almost a challenge, but it’s not anything that Kisuke hasn’t planned for.

The strange, modified kido, and the odd wards Ichigo has placed, are simple to bypass with a bit of fancy footwork and precisely-timed counter-kido. It’s practically child’s play to get past them, now that he's roughly figured out how they work and where they all are.

His job is made even easier by the fact that, for some reason, Kisuke’s spiritual pressure doesn’t wake Ichigo up. Quite the opposite, in fact. He seems to sleep deeper when Kisuke is nearby and has let Benihime out a little.

He has theories about that.

He’s tired of them being theories.

He’s here to get evidence.

Kisuke bypasses the final seal and slides Ichigo’s window open, slipping into his room. He lets his spiritual pressure permeate the air a little thicker than he would in normal company, and as expected, Ichigo’s spiritual pressure slows down as he falls further into slumber.

… And Kisuke is supposed to believe that the first time they met was two months ago? When this is Ichigo’s reaction to his presence? When Ichigo is one of the most paranoid people Kisuke, an ex-onmi agent, has ever encountered?

Kisuke is a genius. He doesn’t need to be in order to see the flaw in that logic.

Kisuke steps further into the room, gliding softly over the old wood floorboards. He pauses in the middle, taking a moment to debate where to start.

Well. Why not with the simplest?

He’s caught it a few times, the barest trace of his own power lingering around Ichigo. A fascinating phenomenon, when he can’t recall a single time he’s drawn shikai around him, let alone used enough power to leave a long-lasting trace.

He draws closer to Ichigo’s bed, until he could reach out and touch him if he wished.

Ichigo breathes deeply, evenly, no sign of waking up. At some point, his covers ended up half kicked-off. Possibly from the heat, probably from nightmares. Regardless of the reason, Kisuke can’t help but think that he looks strangely fragile this way, surrounded by the evidence of his restlessness.

He puts a hand on the the hilt of his soul-partner. “Awaken, Benihime,” he murmurs.

She stirs within him, gently, in a way that is oh so rare. Like the softest, most gradual of ocean tides, she rises, her fragrance of wet iron washing through the air around them.

And together, channeling her power through his eyes, they see.

Glowing crimson threads that they have no recollection of weaving wrap protectively, lovingly, around Ichigo. A thin but strong filament, sewn through the skin from just below Ichigo’s ear all the way to his opposite shoulder, sutures closed what must have once been a deadly throat wound. Another one, obviously originally meant to keep shut a gash down the length of Ichigo’s forearm, keeps it companion.

And beyond the battlefield sutures there are more threads. Hundreds of intangible and deceptively thin and absolutely unbreakable strands of Benihime’s power wrap around Ichigo, crisscrossing over themselves — around his throat and across his face and down his torso and up his arms, visible wherever his bare flesh is exposed — seemingly serving no purpose.

Benihime’s power surges at the sight, a hot delight running through her as she sees Ichigo so thoroughly caught in her webs. Kisuke’s fingers suddenly, urgently ache with the urge to touch, to tighten, to add more.

Soul King.

No purpose other than, it seems, to satiate their own possessiveness.

Kisuke exhales a shaking breath. Closes his eyes for a brief moment. Gets the heat in his blood under control.

No purpose other than to alert themselves, perhaps? Did they know that one day they wouldn't recognize Ichigo anymore, and left this as a clue?

(And oh, what a clue. What a clue it is.)

He lets Benihime’s power fade, taking his hand away from her hilt. He’s self-aware enough to know when he needs to stop tempting himself, and he’s gotten the evidence he came for — far better proof than he could have ever anticipated.

He takes a step back, and the motion is the most unnatural thing he’s done in a long, long time.

He has questions. He has a few theories, too. Amnesia, caused by a very specific type of parasitic hollow. Dimension travel. Time travel. He doesn’t have enough information yet to figure out which is most likely, but he has finally confirmed beyond doubt that Ichigo is his, has been his, and something tried to steal that from him.

Fury flares within him, burning through his veins, and he can’t do this right here.

He takes another step back, this one just as unnatural as the last.

He can’t ask, yet. He can’t get closer, can’t wake Ichigo up with a soft hand on his cheek, can’t tell him that he’s there now, can’t promise him to take care of it all if he would just let him in again.

No.

Shiba Ichigo is in the middle of a chess game — a dangerous one, a complicated one — and Kisuke can’t see the whole board yet. Tipping his own hand might trigger a whole plethora of traps, including another round of amnesia, and he refuses to risk the knowledge he’s regained.

He will have to be careful. He will have to move cautiously.

He casts one last look at Ichigo, lets his eyes trace over that delicate throat that he now knows almost bled out. That delicate throat that had to be held together with Benihime’s webs. That delicate throat that he doesn’t remember stitching back together, despite the fact that he used his bankai to do it.

He was made to unknow a person he loves. He was made to unknow a war. He was made to unknow the fact that danger lurks still in the shadows of Soul Society.

He will know the end of this game. And Ichigo will learn that there is no universe in which Kisuke does not protect what’s his.

Kisuke turns. Takes another unnatural step away from his favorite, infuriating puzzle. And then he wrenches himself out of the room, out into the night, closing the window behind him and leaving as unnoticed as he had come.

[apas-95]

abt the 'exit strategy for capitalism' thing obviously the natural advantages of socialist states will lead to their uncontested military and economical dominance in the coming decades, at which point they'll have both means and motive to buy out bourgeois interests and their 'possessions' and transition the economical system while there's no easy way for imperial core states to outright end these trends, their policies obviously do affect the economical development of socialist states and there's probably enough variance to shift the timetable on all this happening by a couple years, so y'know exert whatever influence you have on the particular flavor of capitalism that's in vogue if done well (and what I'm seeing rn actually gives me hope for that) the capitalists at no point have an incentive to burn the whole thing down out of spite bc they keep earning right until they don't, you know how the saying abt ropes and hangings goes (and if done poorly and they cling to and suck dry the last scraps of the world's economy they control at least everywhere else should be out of reach by then) and my main concern with a revolution is actually that one will 100% get accused of having foreign backing, at which point you just needlessly raise the odds of some general deciding he (or she #imwithher) might as well let those nukes fly (even if they're losing, especially if they're losing) But it's all w/e, I could be convinced either way, this all just makes a lot more sense to me than a succesful imperial core revolution that doesn't end with the northern hemisphere irradiated

fundamentally the notion of a peaceful transition out of capitalism is simply not in agreement with reality. no class has ever abandoned the world stage without fighting to maintain itself, and the imperial core is already both undertaking massive violence and war against the sections of the global south it already has under its heel, and preparing for high-intensity conflict against the communists that have slipped its shackles. there is no point where the bourgeoisie would simply peacefully allow themselves to be stripped of power.

the point of nukes is exactly *why* there has to be revolution within the imperial core, rather than having the rest of the world do the job for them - there is precisely one place the US has no nuclear deterrent against, which is itself. if the thing we're supposed to fear is that both 'the US military's high command, likely facing severe mutiny, rather than ordering a negotiated surrender during civil war, decides to nuke themselves' as well as 'the US strategic missile forces, upon receiving the order to nuke themselves, carry it out', then so be it - such a fundamental strategic insanity would be just as likely to start a nuclear exchange even if there weren't a revolution - which brings us to the final point.

world war is on the horizon. the economic reasons for world war remain as they did a century and a half ago. the world has been fully carved up, and the profits are drying out. the imperialist blocks, principally the US and EU, are driven to compete against each other for their holdings, first peacefully, then through proxy war, and finally through direct conflict. as it was a hundred years ago, the buildup of war is accepted on all sides with the target of the socialist bloc and the potential for its pillaging, but (as has already started breaking out among larger and larger regional powers) any conflict of this sort would manifest as general war and looting, as desperate, recession-wracked imperialists take opportunity as it presents itself. in inter-imperialist war the most ruthless techniques are used, and a nuclear exchange would not be off the table -- and, fundamentally, the conditions that lead to world war are the same that lead to instability, insurrection, and revolution within individual countries.

war is, at this juncture, an inevitability. the only question is whether revolutionary war will win out over unjust war, will convert the war between nations to a war between classes. we are against war, but we are not afraid of it.

[dykedvonte]

I saw your earlier post and you mentioned how people say things like "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" and you're so right cuz it drives me insane the way people want to hate Curly as much as Jimmy so they start saying really concerning stuff. Like is that not just victim blaming? Is saying "Curly is a grown ass man" not just rephrasing "why didn't she fight back?" It feels like the fandom think they can just say vile shit because his abuse wasn't physical (at first, and don't even get me started on anyone saying he deserved to be abused as if any kind of abuse can be justified) and he's a guy. Makes me wonder if people would bother seeing Curly as another victim if he was a woman or if discussion would be equally as insufferable because he's still not the "perfect victim" compared to Anya

It's crazy the way people say "I would've fixed everything unlike Curly" and then continue brushing off a victim and saying they deserved it. Even Curly acknowledged Anya's suffering even if he failed to help her in the end, and yet the fandom acts like this without any self-awareness (sorry for ranting like this but I'm just very tired of the fandom recently)

What worse about those comments and the sentiments is it’s often used when people are discussing him as a victim. Like acknowledging the abuse he also faced with Jimmy and that it shouldn’t matter or have an effect because he needed to “man up” and deal with it due to his position.

He needed to deal with it more effectively yes, but it is really victim blamey in the sense he should’ve just been able to. I talked about if Curly was a girl people would probably still judge her on the basis of being more experienced and accomplished and also needing to know better. The problem is that every is trying to treat what Anya and Curly went through on a comparative level. The game does not try to do that but instead tries to have their abuse parallel each other and be metaphorical, along with show the subtle and explicit ways abusers treat their victims.

People see how Jimmy and Curly parallel each other and create the idea “they deserved each other” in some weird ironic penance stance on both their parts. It’s just so odd because the game clearly shows that not a single person was deserving of their situation and especially the treatment under Jimmy at any point for any reason. The game centers around everyone paying for callous actions he commits and refuses to take responsibility for and yet the conversation center around one of his most tormented victims being questioned on how deserving he was of it/how it shouldn’t have effected him that badly.

I know you can be mad at Curly but making it out that if he was a real good man than he just would’ve had the balls to stand up to what was likely years of emotional and mental degradation still perpetuates the idea if a victim really didn’t like the treatment they would’ve just fought back harder or not put themselves into that position in the first place.

It goes back to the idea that there’s always a way to stop it and it’s on you if it happens. It’s again taking focus off the perpetrator and putting it on other aspects than the ever present source. Idk man but it’s like people are trying to make so many slightly different think pieces on MW that some just loop back to harmful rhetoric we were just moving away from.

[sharpvst]

you'll get lost

here in saltburn . .

let me guide you.

farleigh start x reader.

trigger warnings ; mentions of death.

————————————————————

it was an early morning , venetia had left me to gather my thoughts here in saltburn. we were the first to arrive. poor venetia was barely awake , so she decided to go have a nap. i got set up in my room — which wasn't next to venetia's room , which was odd. but of course , i was naive to think anything of it.

i was unpacking before the maids got to it , she told me that they'd throw out anything that they deemed ' scandalous ' and i had a lot of things considered that. until i heard a small knock at my door. i froze for a moment , hoping that it wasn't one of those damn maids yet.

i hurried over to the door , opening it and being welcomed by a tall handsome man , i hadn't seen him when i came in. he gave me a small little smile , looking down on me.

" hey. " he said ever so nonchalantly , i had no idea who the hell it was. it made me nervous. " hey . . " awkwardly , i leaning against my door frame. " sorry , probably just weirded you out , i'm farleigh — i'll be next door to you. " great , just what i needed , a guy next door to me.

the only reason i came to saltburn was to get away from guys — my boyfriend , now ex cheated on me. this was my escape. i nodded my head at him. " i'm y/n. " i hesitantly smiled up at him. " another american ? how wild. " he chuckled , i came from the windy city itself , chicago. " mhm , yeah. " i wasn't paying much attention , i was more focused on getting my shit together.

" what are you doing all the way out here ? " he leaned down a bit , i caught a good glimpse of him. he was handsome , great sense of style. he smelled oddly good. " i go to school out in london , needed a change of scenery. " i eased up a bit . . he didn't seem creepy. " ah , nice. " another smile from him , he's too friendly for his own good.

" so — it's a pleasure to meet you , i suppose you got stuff to do , sure venetia is going to be around here soon. " he tapped the door frame , attempting to leave. " she's not , i think she's napping. " i said , one hand on the door to keep it open. i could use the company , this place was ginormous . . but lonely. " i - uh . . don't really know much about this place , i don't even really know where i am in the house right now. " i tried to make small talk.

" it can feel like that , did venetia not give you a tour ? " he asked , i caught his attention. " no , she just took me to my room and said she was off for a nap. " i sighed , i didn't think venetia would be around for awhile.

" what a shame , this place is really beautiful. here , let me show you around. "

the hours passed as farleigh showed me around saltburn , we formed this slight closeness in the lonely halls. i . . enjoyed his presence , and i think he enjoyed mine. we talked for hours on end , we did have a lot in common after all.

i think i spent more time with farleigh than anything , we did everything together. sometimes i forgot that venetia invited me. i could tell that she was pissed — but i was just having fun. it was the best summer of my life , all spent with him.

but my favorite memory came towards the end of the summer. we avoided the hedge maze on my first go around saltburn , but i begged him to take me. we got lost , just laughing at our stupidity as we walked together. after awhile we reached the middle of the maze - there stood a huge minotaur.

we sat on the edge of the statute , admiring the beauty of the sky and the maze - until i caught his gaze on me. he stared at me , that dumb smile on his face.

" y/n? " he finally spoke. " yeah? " i turned to look at him , i met his gaze. " thank you. "

" for what ? "

" this summer. "

he was talking like he was on his death bed , but we leave saltburn tomorrow. " why are you thanking me ? " i asked , chuckling a little.

" because , it was the best summer i've ever had here. " i could feel my cheeks flush , i'd miss him so much. we never really spoke about what actually happened that summer , the bond we made - the things we did. we never talked about how one night i woke up next to him.

" i don't think i'll miss saltburn as much as i'll miss you. " he sounded hesitant , i nodded my head in agreement. this summer was one of the best i'd ever had , and it was all thanks to him. " i'm sure we will see each other again. " i stayed optimistic.

" maybe , maybe not. " that broke my heart , i stared in disbelief for a moment. " why ? " i looked down at the ground. " because i'm going back to america to be with my mother. " i understood , family comes first.

" then i'll see you next summer. "

" next summer. " he smiled , grabbing my smaller hand and holding it. " let's try and top this summer next year. " he chuckled , i agreed again. i sighed , deep down . . i didn't want to wait that long.

we sat in silence for awhile , birds chirping as time passed , he never let go of my hand. when i finally looked at him , he smiled at me. getting up and releasing my hand. " let's make tonight last. " he got hopeful. " forever. " i said , standing up and following him. i wrapped my arms around his waist from behind.

we stayed like that for a moment , none of us saying a word. he turned around , my arms still wrapped around him. that cheeky smile is all i remember , that moment repeating in my mind over and over again.

next summer , didn't happen. i didn't see farleigh again till we were standing over the grave of each one of the cattons. he held my hand as he silently mourned his cousin while i mourned my friend venetia. we didn't say a word to each other. we just stood in remembrance of our loved ones.

maybe in another life , another time.

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

Yes! That would be amazing! I’m so happy that you liked this idea as I wasn’t sure if you’d like it or not or if this was too weird (Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a laugh)

If you make this into a story that would be so cool, as Darling spirals into fear, worry and how she’s supposed to trust anyone while navigating her world with her new stand as normal civilians wind up injured, killed or in some strange death state because of the Aliens using their Stands (So she can’t bring herself to include her human friends or family as they’ll just end up getting hurt, killed or worse, turned into livestock)

Darling also now has to worry about all these creepy and strange men watching, stalking and following her while coming to terms with her friends being aliens (Though Bruno warns Darling that those with the Stand Mutation attract Stand Users once their kind comes to their targeted planets and its really just a matter of time)

The one she’s most afraid of however is the mysterious Boss of these Aliens as he must be the leader for a reason if he can tell these dangerous guys what to do

Darling does end up trusting Bruno and his Gang as she remembered how kind and caring they were to her and when they fought to keep her safe from one of the enemies that she realizes they’re her allies (Except Fugo, he was too afraid to go against the Boss so he never came to Earth)

I’m not sure what her stand can do but maybe it has something related to Outer Space like gravity or she can heal by giving a warming and gentle effect to her target’s bodies, which results in an obsession to feel that gentle warmth again? (Maybe she’ll call it Thirty Seconds to Mars or Chemical Romance?)

Compiling all these asks below to get everything down one one big coherent post

Will also be doing the LA squadra centric ones in a separate post.

Pt2

Pt3

Pt 4

Ok so for the stand I do think a gravity stand would work, a lot more noticeable to darling. Thirty seconds to Mars may work or I propose another name, Human after all (after the daft punk album). I think it would work by removing gravity from objects but can possibly affect a whole area if she's in distress. Stands would probably work a bit different, more like typical abilities rather than manifestations.

Of course she initially freak out when it activates and probably makes it worse. Of course la squadra is watching the entire time and is shocked when a familiar looking girl bursts into the room to help. No way, she can't possibly be related to the emperor.

Turns out the emperor visited earth awhile back to blow off steam before the initiative began, not knowing that humans were compatible (but turns out mutation significantly improves the odds, as otherwise it would almost 0%). Diavolo only realizes when the footage is sent to him, there's no doubt the girls is his but he doesn't remember that other woman. So he sends Doppio to bring them both back.

Trish catches darling going through her clothes in an attempt and asks her what's up? She got asked out by one of the observatory tourists and she's desperately looking for an outfit. Turns out you don't get to many guys asking you out when your hauled up in an observatory for most of your time. She's happy to take her out shopping for something, good to see darling out. But of course work comes first and darling ditches to date when she sees a meteorite fall into the nearby mountains. She hikes to find it only to discover Doppio out cold (he wasn't ready for the pressure difference on earth) and she takes him back.

Now Doppio is making arrangements, unfortunately he's been a little too busy. La sqaudra knows what's up and want to catch her quick.

Diavolo being as tall as he is has to have measures in place to shrink himself willingly as he can't just do it on a whim. He's the tallest recorded of his kind. He'll still be tall but not as bad as humans being roughly knee hight on him like usual.

La squadra as be drastically taller, around the tallest human records with Risotto and Prosciutto being stand outs.

Then bucci gang would be a few inches taller.

I can't really think of anymore to elaborate on as you've cover a lot of ground.

[anonymooose]

==== Spoilers for Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi! ====

Ok, so, I randomly saw a post by @corvidonia about Falin!Hypnos.

So, I thought to myself, y'know I just started watching too and this seems like a fun mini-project so I started it. Then I subsequently got way too into it and accidently made a whole rendered scene and au concept... welp! It's here now!

For this little crossover Au whatever you wanna call it I did this main drawing but also came up with a bit of background stuff.

In this Meg would be a tall-man paladin in a sort of Chilchuck situation where she's mostly here because it's her job (and bonus, Dusa's here) and she'd be a paladin. Paladin might be an odd choice (?) but I felt it made sense due to her dedication and none of the other martial classes really stuck out to me like paladin.

Zagreus would be the party's Laios of sorts and a fighter tall-man, I imagine that the reason why they went through all the trouble for Hypnos is 50% Zagreus being friends with him and 49% Than not wanting his brother dead and 1% pity. I don't know if there would still be the culinary focus in this Au, probably not, so maybe instead it'd be more about just general monster knowledge. Like Zag and the gang filling out the codex?

Dusa would be a Half-foot, probably the farthest from their Dungeon Meshi inspo character, Senshi, only really sharing the fact that they came into the party late. I imagine that she's kind of in an "I'm the only monster around that has any sentience or emotion??" type situation though I don't really have a worked out reason why. She's also friends with Meg prior to joining and comes because of her.

I translated Thanatos and Hypnos' godhood into having a particular magical ability as elves, so they're elf twins. Than being a sorcerer rouge mostly for the vibes but also because sorcerer powers are innate to their being. Instead of a wand/staff I think he'd just use his scythe as a casting focus. I figure he'd be sort of like a mix of Chilchuck and Marcille, not bound to the party by a job but still kind of obligated to help Hypnos since they're family and all. I don't think he'd be thrilled about having to risk his life to save Hypnos from another screw up though, but he would and I do think he'd be relieved to have him back after the ordeal. (does Falin ever actually 100% come back? I've only watched the anime so idk actually, I like to think Hypnos would here though because I like my happy endings)

Hypnos is obviously the sort of Falin stand-in, but in a very different way I think. I do think he'd be a sort of magic prodigy like Falin but in more of an intuitive way compared to Than/Marcille's book smarts. I definitely think that the connection to the strange would remain but instead of ghosts it'd be personified dreams in the form of something like the Oneiroi. In this Au the starting incident with the monster would be the same but it'd probably be some sort of big bird/sheep to explain the bird/sheep design I went with for the Chimera design and it'd be Than in place of Laios. I also think that he'd be a cleric type situation like Falin sort of is, I like to think he'd excel at healing magic. I do kind of like the idea of Hypnos not being really encouraged to partake in adventuring due to his lack of physical ability but he'd go against that to spend time with Than and try to look out for him. As for Chimeros (As I've been calling it) I think it'd be accompanied by fog from Lethe rather than the harpies in the original and it'd have a similarly blank personality like Faligon (which'd be especially off-putting from him). Added angst potential, I figure his powerset would be very different from Faligon's and revolve around putting everyone to sleep (go figure) and memory erasure, so maybe the main party wouldn't even remember their first encounter with them?

I do actually have ideas for the remaining party, I'll keep it to one bullet though. I think Achille's would be a paladin/fighter or something like that and would be similar to Namari as a weapons expert, probably leaving for a different reason though maybe to join Pat's party? I don't have a particular idea for Shuro's stand-in, maybe switch the Shuro Falin romance thing to Charon Hypnos brotherhood thing and it could work? Idk though.

I did also make a full design for Hypnos as an elf/not Chimeros and here that is. The staff is inspired by actual myth where Hypnos sometimes has a wand dipped in Lethe to induce sleep.

Ramble over!! Congrats if you were able to push through my incessant yapping to actually get here. First Tumblr post btw, who would've thunk it'd be for this. If anyone is interested in using these designs or ideas for art/writing feel free, I'm probably not going to do anything else with this idea but if you want to I'd be very interested in seeing/hearing it! Also, really sorry if this isn't properly spoilered?? I'm not exactly sure what the proper spoiler etiquette is so I tried.

[themightymoose]

trolls au you say?

well.... let's do this... *large inhale*

okay so it'd be a basic swap au where the pop trolls are the villains and the rock trolls are good

"But Moose, isn't that the whole point of the second movie? That the Pop Trolls were the ones who started the whole thing?" Shhhhhhhhh shut up shut up shut up

Anyways-

The plot would basically start from World Tour. But the first movie is a little bit different, but the main character is Barb so we don't really ""see"" any of it.

First movie context: first of all I would want the snack pack to do more and be their own characters, especially DJ (girlie just disappeared off the face of the earth in the other movies) Branch is more like Creek while Creek is Poppy's childhood, gay BFF. Branch also has all of his colors for reasons. So Poppy throws an obnoxiously loud party and Bergens find them blah blah blah (side note: Poppy acts like a mixture between Adam and Alastor from Hazbin Hotel) Branch and Poppy go on their super fun road trip, they still think the other is annoying because they are massive hypocrites. They're kinda in a rivalry, always trying to one up each other with songs, parties, ect. The movie is basically the same. Creek doesn't sell them out and everyone is happy

World Tour: Barb and Riff are siblings for starters. Riff is older and king of the Rock Trolls, also an older protective big bro. Barb kinda has Poppy's personality, making her the odd one out. Branch is the one going out and stealing all the strings while Poppy stays in Pop Village to look after it's citizens. More Pop Trolls are with him, including Creek. Who does not like this at all. Between the first and second movie, Poppy and Branch grew much closer to each other, with rumors going around that Branch is going to be the king of the Pop Trolls. Which everyone is pretty fond of the idea, since he's very popular among the Pop Trolls. And Branch has grown very loyal to Poppy during this time. Then the same thing with the road trip happens, but with some minor changes. Poppy not only wants to take the strings but leave nothing left standing, so Branch also goes to Vacay Island where Bruce and Floyd are and take over that place as well taking over where the Putt Putt Trolls are staying. So on they're road trip they come across Branch's brothers + Viva. Then yeah when Branch takes the Rock string, Creek finally stands up to Branch (Creek probably had a bonding moment with some of the people on the road trip at some point) either way Branch ends up leaving Creek in the rock place while the Pop Trolls go to bring all the strings to Poppy. Branch probably tells Poppy that Creek is traitor and she probably doesn't even question it. Anyway they also kidnap Barb when she lies and says that she's the Queen of the Rock Trolls, while Riff is like "you fucking idiot"

things happen and now the leaders of each tribe are Pop zombies. The ones who aren't hypnotized notice that Branch looks kind of similar to the Pop zombies. Something that Poppy also notices. So apparently Branch would sometimes use the pop string on himself to make him happy and have color so he'd fit in, which Poppy had no idea about at all. Also Poppy has an existential crisis when she learns that Pop Trolls were the reason why they were divided. And things kind of play out the same until the third movie

also Branch gets taken in the third movie instead of Floyd but that's a different post

[danurso]

A new opportunity

(Good god i can't remember the last time i spent so long in such a long post, hope you enjoy)

Another day began at Beacon, and just like always, teams RWBY and JNPR gathered for breakfast at the cantina.

Nora: -which is why i believe that a monetary system based on Maple syrup would be the best solution to an economic crisis.

Ren: . . . . . .

Pyrrha: . . . . . .

Ruby: . . . . . .

Blake: . . . .worst thing of all? that kinda makes sense.

Jaune: *sits down with his tray* Hey guys, what did I miss?

Ruby: Nora was explaining to us how using maple syrup instead of lien would improve the economy.

Ren: If she spent as much time studying as she does thinking about these things, her grades would be better than Weiss'

Pyrrha: Speaking of her, where is she?

Blake: At the headmaster's office.

Ren: Did something happen?

Ruby: Honestly? We have no idea, she's been acting a bit off since she woke up.

Yang: *sits down with her tray* We're talking about Ice queen?

Ruby: Yeah.

Yang: Wonder what's got her panties on a twist. Did you try to serenade her again vomit boy?

Jaune: Of course not, i haven't tried anything since the ball.

Ruby: It's been just a week so….maybe those are still on her head?

Blake: maybe she had a dream with him again, or a nightmare as she calls it.

Jaune: Why am I the only possible reason why Weiss is having mood problems?

Yang: Because no one can push her buttons as far as you vomit boy.

Jaune: I don't. . . . . .*sigh* Fair enough.

Ruby: Hey don't be like that, she hasn't cursed at or ridiculed you ever since the ball, that's some progress.

Jaune: I guess. . . . .though at this point i don't wanna try anything anymore, if she ever wants to talk or try and be friends i'll be here but. . . . .i'll sit in my corner until then, i already pushed her more than enough.

Blake: That's probably for the better.

Nora: Speaking of the devil.

They turned their heads to see the heiress they were just talking about walking towards them with her own lunch tray, her gaze wandering around the cantina with a tranquil expression, until her eyes landed on their table.

The group wavered at her, all of them including jaune who gave a small wave with an awkward smile. He locked eyes with her and expected the usual nasty look before she looked away with a "hmph", but instead he got a warm smile from the usually cold heiress, there was. . . . .something more to it, but he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

Yang: About time ice queen! Did Ozpin end up talking your ears off?

Weiss: Not quite, he did go on a long ramble, but his words always have a lot to offer.

Yang: What? Wanting to upgrade from teacher's pet to headmaster's pet?

Weiss didn't reply with the usual glare, instead letting out a short chuckle, which was odd enough as it was, but before any comments could arise, they watched in a mix of shock and surprise as the heiress took a seat, and of all places, she took a seat specifically next to the blonde knight.

There was a small moment of awkwardness at that, they all looked at her in disbelief, until Jaune made his move.

Jaune: *hops a little away from her*

Weiss: *hops closer to him*

Everyone: ???

Jaune: ??? *Hops away again*

Weiss: *hops closer*

Everyone: !?!?!?

Jaune: *staring flabbergasted*

Weiss: What? *Sniff, sniff* Do i smell?

Jaune: Erm. . . . .n-no.

Weiss: Then why are you backing away from me?

Jaune: Oh, well, i just. . . .figured you wouldn't want me to sit next to you.

Weiss: *snorts and smiles* Why would I sit next to you if I didn't want you next to me silly?

Jaune: . . . . . . .

Everyone: . . . . . . .

Nora: *whispering* Who's that and what did she do to Weiss?

Ren: *shrugs*

Weiss: What are you all staring at me for? Let's eat.

They all exchanged looks and followed suit, they were still curious about Weiss' sudden mood change, but the topic was readily forgotten once Nora started to ramble again. Well, forgotten to most at least.

Jaune was quite aware of the snow white beauty next to him, it made him really nervous, it was quite the strange situation to be honest. He tried to act normal, but every now and again he would glance at her and she would glance back, he would look away as fast as possible and pretend he didn't see anything, but he was sure she noticed, and was almost certain those exchanges made her giggle.

Jaune: *quickly glances at her*

Weiss: *staring*

Jaune: *pink, looks away as fast as possible*

Weiss: I'm not gonna hit you for looking or anything like that y'know?

Jaune: S-sorry, i didn't mean to stare.

Weiss: Pretty sure those were too short to be called "stares", but I don't mind either way.

Jaune: Uhm, okay. . . . .are. . . .are you okay?

Weiss: Better than ever.

Jaune: Are you sure? I never saw you-!?

Weiss: *sighs, resting against his arm* That was a good lunch, I haven't felt this full in years.

Jaune: *red* Erm. . . .Weiss? W-what are you doing?

Weiss: Resting, I think I ate a little too much. Am i bothering you?

Jaune: N-no! Not at all.

Weiss: *snuggles* Hmm. . . .Good.

Jaune: *extremely confused*

Everyone: *staring* !?!?!?

Jaune: *redder* I have no idea either.

Lunch was over and classes soon began, confusion was still high amongst the group but they didn't have much time to question since Oobleck had just arrived to begin his lecture, and once again, Weiss was found sitting next to Jaune.

Jaune: Ugh, This thing again. . . . .

Weiss: Having problems?

Jaune: O-oh, no, not at all! *Puffs chest* I just. . . .y'know, like to think a lot before writing down an answer.

Weiss: Uh huh. . . .so, what are you having trouble with?

Jaune: I'm not-

Weiss: *stern look*

Jaune: *deflates, depressed sigh* Alloying calculations.

Weiss: Ahh, I remember those. *Leans closer, looking into his paper*

Jaune: *pink* . . . . . .W-Weiss-

Weiss: Ah, I see the issue. You're using the wrong formula, This one is used to calculate the weight of the materials during the process, what you want is the formula for density. All you need is pick is the value of the metal and the area times. . . . .

At some point Jaune's mind turned off from most things around him, he couldn't remember ever being this close to Weiss, especially when she wasn't ready to knock him out, the way her eyes scanned through the material, her soft yet serious expression as she patiently explained it all to him was mesmerizing to say the least, Jaune knew Weiss was pretty but. . . . .wow, he feels like he might fall for her all over again if this keeps up

*Snap*

Jaune: H-huh?

Weiss: Remnant calling Jaune, are you there?

Jaune: *pink* S-sorry, i was thinking about something.

Weiss: I figured, you've been staring pretty intensely at me for some time.

Jaune: *red* . . . . .i'm really sorry.

Weiss: Don't be *small smile* I like the way you look at me.

Jaune: *redder* . . . . . . .

Weiss: I wrote the formula on the corner of your notes, just try and memorize it and you won't have any issues, Okay? *Goes back to her notes*

Jaune: O-okay. Thanks.

Jaune didn't know how to feel, confused? Shocked? Overjoyed? It was a mix of all of those, and Jaune wondered until when this was going to last, would she wake up tomorrow and start hating him again? It was something worth asking, though in all honesty, he really didn't want to know the answer. And so, instead of letting that question eat away his mind, he moved on with his day, and soon enough combat classes started, where he once again found himself in a fight against cardin of all people.

And of course, it didn't end well for him.

Glynda: Match is over, Victory goes to mister Winchester.

Cardin: Hah, what a surprise. 'till next time arc.

Jaune groaned in pain, Cardin's last hit broke his aura and his face took most of the damage, he held his bruised cheek and left the arena, whatever was left of his pride being the most damaged thing in this fight

Nora: You'll get him next time.

Pyrrha: Shouldn't you go to the infirmary?

Jaune: My aura is gonna kick in an hour or so anyways, it's fine. *Sits down, groaning and rubbing the ugly bruise in his cheek.

Weiss: *sigh* You're so stubborn.

Jaune: It's fine, i-

He stopped halfway into his sentence, watching as she pulled out a handkerchief, picked up Yang's water bottle to soak it up and used a glyph to freeze it, sitting close to him and reaching out for his cheek. Jaune reflexively moved away which seemed to be the wrong move, she gave him an angry look and held his face, pulling him really close.

Weiss: Stay still you dolt. *Starts gently applying the ice* if you move i'm gonna give your other cheek a matching mark

Jaune: *flinches and stays still.*

Weiss: Better.

She then held the frozen handkerchief to his bruise, gently pressing against it while using a glyph to keep it cooled

Jaune: You don't need to do this, my aura is gonna kick in a little while.

Weiss: I don't care, you're in pain right? so zip it and let me take care of you.

Jaune: I can handle a little pain.

Weiss: I don't doubt it, but you don't need to handle it. Stop trying to act tough, it's okay to let people help you.

Jaune: . . . . . .

Weiss: There. Feels better?

Jaune: A lot. Thanks Weiss.

Weiss: Don't thank me, just make sure to kick his butt next time.

Jaune: Hah. . . . .as if that is ever going to happen.

Weiss: It will, maybe not in the next match, or the one after that, but it will eventually.

Jaune: You sound awfully sure about that.

Weiss: Because I am. Do you know what's the worst thing about You jaune?

Jaune: I think i can come up with an entire list of things i-oww!

Weiss: *pinching his good cheek* The worst thing about you is this, you have no faith in yourself, despite how hard you work, despite your visible talents, despite all of your friends telling you otherwise, you insist on the idea that you are worthless, when you obviously are not.

She stopped pinching his cheek, instead, she gently stroked it.

Weiss: You are much, much stronger than any of us could ever hope to imagine, there's someone deep down in there that will one day save many lives and protect many people, someone all of us can look up to and that can carry a burden that would crush most of us ten times over, someone worthy of being called a true hero, so don't let your fears and doubts stop you from letting that someone come out.

Jaune: *speechless* . . . . .i. . . . . .i'll try.

Weiss: *smiles* That's a good start.

And once more, Jaune was left wondering what happened to the Weiss he knew yesterday, there was no way to tell how long this would last, and the worst thing of all? Is that after everything that happened, after he finally decided to move on, she suddenly does all of this and jaune finds himself completely and utterly head over heels for her again, probably even more than before.

Was she playing with him? Was this some sort of revenge plan? He doubted it, he couldn't see Weiss sinking to such a low, and even if she tried the others would've intervened, but they were clearly just as shocked as he was.

Weiss: Hey, erm. . . . .i've been meaning to get some things in vale after class is over, would you like to come with me?

Jaune: !?!? You mean. . . .you need someone to help you?

Weiss: No, I mean that I would like to go out with you after class is over.

Jaune: I. . . . . . . .you. . . . . . .you mean. . . . . .

Weiss: *chuckles* Just a yes or a no will suffice you dolt.

Jaune: Y-yes, I would really like that.

Weiss: It's a date then.

Date. . . .Jaune lost count of the amount of times he imagined having one of those with Weiss, never in his life however did he expect this to be how it happened, once again he felt the fear of this being too good to be true, that Weiss would change her mind back how it was before as fast as she changed to how it is now, or that he'll just wake up on his bed all of this would have been a dream, but he couldn't control it either way, all he could really do is enjoy his time with Weiss for as long as he had left.

And so classes ended for the day, and soon enough, the heiress was Found in her room, wearing much more casual clothes and ready to leave, before her team blocked the way.

Weiss: You girls need something?

Blake: Yeah, we do. What's going on?

Ruby: Spill the beans!

Weiss: I assure you I have no beans in my mouth to spill.

Yang: See! This is what we mean! Since when do you do jokes like that!?

Weiss: I've developed a sense of appreciation for silly jokes like that.

Blake: Since when?

Weiss: Since yesterday.

Yang: What's going on with you? Is everything okay?

Weiss: Yes, why? Is my behavior bothering you?

Ruby: No way, you've been really nice all day, especially to Jaune, we just wanted to know where all that is coming from?

Yang: You couldn't stand the guy not too long ago, yeah you tell us what he did on the ball and that definitely earns him some good points, but for you to act like this? Like you're his girlfriend or something? It seems off for you.

Weiss: *sigh* I figured you girls would question. So, do you want the truth?

R_BY: Yeah.

Weiss: The whole truth?

Blake: Of course.

Weiss: For realsies.

Yang: just spill it!

Weiss: Alright then, the truth is that I am not the same Weiss you knew from before, I'm actually from eight years in the future. The world was collapsing and there wasn't any hope left as we got stomped by the queen of grimm, that was until I figured out how to mix the magic I received from four magical women with my time dilation glyphs to send my mind back in time, which allows me to try and prevent the disaster before it even has a chance to strike.

R_BY: . . . . . .

Weiss: As for Jaune's case, he's been my lover for the past three years, well, was at least. I had to watch him getting crushed by the weight of responsibility and the things we had to constantly go through, we didn't have time to go on dates, for romance or much of anything else aside from some rare occasions, his mind was constantly haunted by his own mistakes and even the ones he had no fault of, yet he pushed through everything despite how broken he was on the inside. . . . . .that was, until a year ago, where i had to watch him lay down his life to save mine and give me this opportunity to come back and make things right. . . . .So I intend to make use of every last second of this new opportunity he gave me, and I'll make sure to cherish and love him. Jaune will grow into a formidable man, that much i know, and i know the road ahead won't be easy, but this time i'll be there for him, and i'll be damned if i let this world break him a second Time.

R_BY: . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yang: Y'know. . . . . .you could just tell us if you didn't want to say what's going on.

Blake: Did you just come up with that? Cause that sounds like a really compelling narrative.

Weiss: Would you believe it if I also told you him he's the rusted knight from your favorite fairy tale?

Blake: Heh, that's a funny one. You should write for a living if you ever give up on Being a huntress.

Weiss: *shrugs* I only gave you the answer you asked for.

Ruby: Ohhh, I wonder what a grimm queen would look like. Maybe a giant spider lady with a biiiig head to control other grimm around her with her thoughts.

Weiss: *chuckles* Of course you'd think that.

Yang: *sigh* Well, nevermind all of that, if you don't wanna tell us what's going on we'll give you some space. Just. . . . .try not doing anything stupid, alright nICE-queen?

Weiss: I'll try my best.

She leaves the room, closing the door behind her only to see Jaune in the corridor wearing more casual clothes, looking through his scroll's selfie camera and nervously fiddling with his hair while mumbling something unintelligible. Many things passed through her mind at that moment, most weren't exactly pleasant, but as she stared at the boy whose biggest concern right now was trying to make himself not look stupid for a date, she couldn't help but feel an incredible warmth building up inside her chest.

Weiss: *giggles*

Jaune: W-Weiss!? *Pink* H-how long have you been there!?

Weiss: I don't know, how long have you been playing with your hair?

Jaune: I-i just. . . . . Y'know. . . . .it's getting a little too long and i-

He stopped as Weiss reached out for his head, brushing his hair with her hand and putting it the way it was normally.

Weiss: I like the longer hair. Also, don't try too hard to style it, it already looks perfect like this.

Jaune: W-well. . . .if you say so. You look really nice.

Weiss: Thanks, you look quite good too.

Jaune: hehe, thanks. Well. . . . should we-

"Miss schnee"

Jaune was cut by none other than the headmaster, who joined them shortly after with his mug in hand as always.

Weiss: Yes?

Ozpin: We looked into the matters you warned us about, and you'll be happy to know we got to isolate the little "surprise" they had hidden in the system for us. As of now me and a few others are going to miss Fall's room to. . . ."discuss" some matters, would you like to join us?

Weiss: It won't be necessary, I'm sure you're already doing what's necessary.

Ozpin: Very well, there's still more I would like to discuss but you seem to be busy at the moment. Please contact me once you're free.

Weiss: Will do.

Ozpin: A good evening for you, and for you as well mister Arc. *Leaves*

Jaune: . . . . . .what was that?

Weiss: Nothing much, don't worry about it.

Jaune: Uhmm. . . .okay. Should we go-!?

Weiss: *hugging his arm and smiling* Let's go.

And off they went to their date, the first of many more to come, Jaune didn't think this day would ever come but every glance at the ivory beauty hugging his arm proved him wrong and made his heart race inside his ribcage, he didn't know what he did to deserve this, but he knew he was going to thank the gods for it for the rest of his life

[silvermaplealder]

Star always confused me to her purpose in the movie. She never really struck me as "damsel in distress" because she never really seemed distressed. I wanted to look more into her character and figure out why she acted the way she did. And you know what? She had the perfect set up to be one of the antagonists...

My new theory: Star is actually one of the antagonists trying to manipulate Michael with David's help.

Star and David are platonic friends who are mutually benefiting from each other. However, she is also a minor antagonist who was manipulating Michael to get what she wanted: her own freedom. Michael was probably not the first one that she lured to the vampire den, though he was the last.

Star manipulates Michael to get protection against becoming a vampire. She doesn’t want to live as a vampire, and Michael is giving her an out. The reason David doesn’t seem to care is it benefits him too. Star brings home men who would “save her” and it would lead to the Lost Boys either getting a meal, or Star being freed. David wouldn’t care if she’s “freed” because the only way for her to really become free is if someone kills Max, which would benefit him. Either way works, and David doesn’t seem to be that attached to her as he is the rest of the boys. So David’s using Star as a lure for finding someone to kill Max and in return Star gets a roof (if you want to call it that…) over her head and support from the boys. It would make sense that David couldn’t give less of a crap when she sleeps with other men because he’s in a platonic relationship with her. This would also help make sense of the line “David wanted you to be my first.” David either 1) never said such a thing and it was a line Star made up to create tension between Michael and David or 2) was something David said to get Max pissed off and use Star as a scapegoat if she killed Michael. Either way, both benefit David. 

Whether David was into Michael (I believe he was hella thirsty, but I digress) would not have mattered because the events that took place were supposed to have been calculated: either David getting Michael as a vampire or Michael being killed. The biggest flaw of the plan was also the most important though- Star couldn’t know of Max and vice versa. If Star knew that Max existed, it would have jeopardized David’s plans. And if Max knew that Star existed, he’d know David was behind the whole thing. 

Star has some other lines within the movie that cover her if Michael ever became suspicious. Such when after David brought Michael to the bonfire, Star says she "tried to warn" Michael about the blood in the bottle, but everyone knew damn well that wasn't enough to stop him from drinking it. She also claims that it is "all her fault" and guilts Michael into helping her and Laddie in the end.

Another thing that always seemed odd to me was that Star knew where Michael lived... so did the boys. The boys must have told her. David knew where Michael lived at the very least because he brought Michael home after the bridge. Star also knew everything that was happening between Michael and the boys making it very plausible that she was working with David the whole time. There's also a fair chance that since she had decent control of her powers that she was able to stalk Michael in the house as well.

When it comes to the final battle, I find a couple things interesting. First, during the cave scene where they go to rescue Star and Laddie, Star is woken up when she's spoken to in a quiet voice. Earlier in the movie Michael is also woken up when spoken to. But when the vampires are in the cave upside down, none of them appear to wake up to voices or Sam's little scream. They only wake up at Marko's scream, which is... I mean loud but so are the kiddos. Y'all know my other head cannons about how I don't think that the boys really died... but I digress.

In the end, Star was just another antagonist who gained her freedom. We do know that they stayed together after the movie, so it would be that she ended up having feelings for Michael in the end.  The classic "went in without feelings and fell for the person" trope.

Tagging: @misslavenderlady @ria-coolgirl

[destinysbounty]

I'm literally so sad that Cole wasn't in Seabound. Like isn't he the master of Earth? Isn't the seafloor like the deepest place to be? Wouldn't he be closer to his element if he went in the deep sea? Man.

I'm not the first person to bring this up, and I probably won't be the last, but it is a bit odd how Wildbrain feels so intent on splitting the team up all the time. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a good split-up in theory - hell, seasons 4 and 9 are some of my all-time favorites, and overall I think the concept of splitting up the team gives us the chance to explore unconventional dynamics in similarly unconventional situations. There's just one main problem with how Wildbrain handles split-ups: 1) there usually isn't a particularly strong narrative reason for it to happen.

Now if I list off every arbitrary split-up and exactly what made it arbitrary, we'd be here all day. But seriously, next time you watch Wildbrain, try and pay close attention to this sort of thing. Once you notice the way they love to split everyone up at the barest hint of provocation, you can't ignore it. It's everywhere. Obviously there are times where they do have narratively satisfying reasons to split up (s13 is an example of this done well imo), but the sheer volume of arbitrary split-ups kinda sours things a bit - for me, at least.

Which brings us to Seabound. I genuinely don't understand why Cole and Kai couldn't have come along for Seabound. They give this argument that "oh, we need someone to stay behind and hold down the fort while everyone's gone", but...first of all, when has that ever been a pressing issue for them? These assholes leave Ninjago City unattended all the time. And even if they did finally decide to make that a priority after all these years, why is Kai staying behind??? If you ask me, not only would Kai realistically want to be involved in the quest to fix his beloved sister's powers, but Kai also would have been way more effectively utilized by the plot, by actually being part of the plot. Y'know, in the submarine with everyone else. Not only because we'd get the chance to see his fear of water get some resolution, but the whole narrative about Nya's childhood trauma would pack a lot more weight to it with Kai present (for obvious reasons).

And as for Cole...y'know what, up to this point I'd never really thought of a good way to give Cole something to do in Seabound, but you present a great point. Maybe there could be some scenes between Cole and Nya, talking about how overwhelming it can feel to be completely surrounded by your element. In this version of events, maybe Cole takes on an almost mentor-like position as he tries to help Nya connect with her element as he had done at the end of season 13. And for maximum angst, perhaps at the end of the season she takes his lessons and puts them to use - but instead of simply connecting with her element like he taught her, she's becoming one with it. This isn't perfect, of course, but at least now we've found a way to make Cole and Kai feel more relevantly involved in the plot.

Don't get me wrong, as much as I'm criticizing it I absolutely adore Seabound. BUT if I were given the task of rewriting it, personally I'd have the whole gang accompany Nya down to Merlopia. And as for having a land crew to watch over Ninjago in the meantime, I'd throw in some supporting characters. The ninja go "oh hey we need someone to hold down the fort and look after Ninjago while we're away", so they round up a ragtag crew of support characters from past seasons to sub in for them. Y'know, Skylor, Dareth, Karlof, and other characters of that caliber. And then we occasionally cut back to this reserve team, whoever they are, as they get up to all the adventures Kai and Cole would've been up to in the original canon version.

(Or if we want to create a lead-in for the next season, then perhaps they get the mayor or commissioner's help in recruiting a reserve team to look after things in their absence, and then this reserve team becomes the New Ninja during Crystalized).

Again, I don't want anyone to mistake my criticism for dislike - Wildbrain holds a special place in my heart, and I do enjoy it a lot. But I also have to admit that this relentless and at many times painfully arbitrary team-splitting is starting to get a bit annoying.

...oh wow, that was a long rant. I'm not entirely sure if any of that made sense, but either way just know that I agree with you 100%. Thanks for the ask!

[lucius-morningstar]

Magic Happens? (Part 2)

Awkward conversations and Panic. ------- Lucius: Okay so what did you want to talk about? Charlie: I'm about to ask a question that's going to be very uncomfortable for us, so I need you to answer me honestly and quickly so it doesn't get anymore awkward then it needs to be. Lucius: Okay. Charlie: Who of you in this hotel had sex in the past couple weeks. Lucius: Charlie the fuck. Angel: I don't kiss n' tell dollface. Husk: The fuck you talking about, that's all you do. Angel: Well way to make it less fun. Cherri: Yeah I fucked, I can't recall when or with who. Mostly out of it Charlie: Okay thank you Cherri for being the only one to give me a straight answer. Angel: I mean you know me babe, I'm always fucking with someone. So yeah more then likely. Husk: Probably but I don't have the best record of it so apart from last night, no. Charlie: Lucius please don't make me ask again. Lucius: I am not answering that because I love you too much to admit I've had sex. Angel: I can answer that. He snuck off the Carmine place last night. Vaggie: How the fuck do you know? Angel: He texted me, let's see he said "If Charlie asks, tell her I am fucking Compound Pussy." Then it autocorrected to which he kept trying to write Clara's name but it came weird before he said "Fuck it, you know what I mean, just say I'm smashing ass n' that my phone will be off until tomorrow." Lucius: Ugh.. Bees fuckin honey, stuff makes me share too much Angel: Husk fucked me last night. Husk: Angel the fuck?! Angel: She wanted honesty, don't have a lot of details but I have the claw marks on my back to prove it. Charlie: I don't need visuals, just a confirmation. Husk: *Sighs* Can I ask why? Charlie: Uh.. Well so I was letting dad know the baby news, he asked how? Husk: Please don't give us a play by play. Charlie: No, just anyway I explained that I tried the creation spell and it overloaded and kinda blew all sorts of fuses in the hotel. He asked me if anyone was in the hotel aside from ya know me and Vaggie. Lucius: Weird question to ask. Charlie: I thought so too, so I asked him why and he said and I quote "Nephilim magic is new, stronger and unstable in new hands so the effects could be far bigger and far more.. Uh. Wild in the hands of someone whose still learning." Lucius: What'd he mean by that. Charlie: That I have to keep an eye on everyone for the next couple weeks. Lucius: Why. Charlie: Nothing serious- Lucius: Charlie please just spit it out! Charlie: There's a risk the creation spell might have worked on everyone in the hotel.. Whose been intimate in the past couple weeks. Lucius: What the fuck does that mean! Vaggie: It means that there's a risk that if you've had sex, unprotected especially, that there is a huge chance your fertility odds have doubled.. and tripled in some cases. Cherri: I thought we couldn't have kids in hell. Charlie: In normal standards yes but.. my magic may have reversed it on accident. Cherri: Please tell me this is some kinda sick joke. Angel: Yes please tell us it's a sick joke. Husk: Why are you panicking, you're a guy. Angel: No-No reason. Charlie: Gender is irrelevant, the chances are high regardless. Lucius: Fuck! Charlie: It might not work on you Lucius. You're a Nephilim too, it's possible the spell didn't even effect you. Lucius: Well I fucking hope so Charlie. I just got with Clara and Carmilla will kill me if in the first two weeks one of her daughters ends up knocked up. There's only one place and person she'll be looking for and that's me! Vaggie: Well it's too late to complain now. Charlie: Lucius it might not even mean anything. It could be completely false and nothing could happen. Lucius: R-Right.. Charlie: But.. Yo-You still gotta tell Clara. Just in case. Lucius: I-I can't. I can't fuck this up more when we're actually in a good place. Vaggie: You think she'll like you if she finds out on her own and finds out you knew and said nothing. Lucius: ..I fucking hate you so much.

[paradoxcase]

Gideon the Ninth audiobook, rest of Part 1

One thing you can say for audiobooks, they go faster, especially since I'm not essentially reading everything twice now. But I don't feel like I would retain it in the same way I do when I read visually, if this were the first time through

I am getting used to the pronunciation of "Nonagesimus", as expected

More voices:

Teacher is not at all what I expected, I expected more disconcerting jollity and less creaky old person voice. The nonbinary priest I expected to be more creaky, but their voice is not creaky at all

Cytherea's voice is basically exactly what I imagined, though

Also, Teacher's pronunciation of "Naberius" doesn't match the pronunciation guide here, or the pronunciation in the Dramatis Personae, which is odd

More stuff I noticed:

Aiglamene said, when looking for a sword: "I'm looking for a blade in the style of [Ortus's] great-grandmother's." Is this the great-grandmother who owned Nonius's sword that Ortus was talking about with Abigail in Harrow the Ninth?

Gideon asks "How are you going to get Ortus back, anyway?" and Harrow has a moment where she reacts to that - originally I though this was just reluctance to break it to Gideon that she was replacing him, but I now I think it's that they have gotten the news that the shuttle exploded

Gideon makes a joke that by being Harrow's cavalier she would be responsible for aiding "Harrowhark Nonagesimus's fascist rise to power." But what historical reference does she actually have for fascist rises to power? Nobody remembers WWII anymore. Arguably the only fascist rise to power they have a reference for is John's if you want to label him that way, and certainly none of them objected to that (or, I think, even have much information about it). I don't think this universe has the historical and political depth for a character to be making a joke like this

Aiglamene tells Harrow that if she doesn't free Gideon after attaining Lyctorhood, she would consider it a betrayal, because she's trying to secure freedom for Gideon in order to get her to go along with the plan to go to Canaan House with Harrow. I think this goes a long way to explain why Aiglamene is very angry at Harrow at the end of Nona when she finds out that Gideon died

Harrow says "we're not becoming an appendix of the Third or Fifth House" when talking about why it's important to not reveal the state of the Ninth to anyone. I missed this the first time through, but it's making more sense to me now why Harrow didn't want outside help

Harrow says "I'll mix bonemeal in with your breakfast and punch my way through your gut" which I have seen other people comment on, although I can't remember if I ever said anything about it myself. But my thought is that the reason Harrow was able to conceive of and execute the soup assassination while incredibly sleep deprived was that she had already worked out and finalized the whole plan back on the Ninth when she was coming up with ways to torment Gideon. It was probably just lucky that that plan also turned out to be effective against a Lyctor

I know the sunglasses are mostly a meme, but I'm wondering now why there were sunglasses on Pluto for Gideon to find. That seems like the last place in the universe for there to be sunglasses

The description of Teacher's belt doesn't really resemble the friendship bracelets, I don't think, although it is described as being rainbow colored

The narration says "her legs ran as swiftly as her awful judgement" when Gideon is running to rescue Cytherea, which seems a bit like foreshadowing, since I think on the first readthrough the reader doesn't have a reason to find fault with her judgement here