#ooh for safekeeping

[traditionanddebts]

one of my favorite things about "i always started carrying a tape measure after that"/"i was not aware that was a service i was supposed to provide" is that it highlights the diversity among butches. some of us (me) want to carry everything around, in case it ever is needed, and then we've got it. some of us (gideon my beloved) don't want to carry around all this nonsense and they're built for athletics speed. it's delightful--

[arminsumi]

🔞 trash : nanami being a gentleman and not watching u eat a banana

note : i figured why should this be in the drafts when i can put it into ur minds for safekeeping lol

NANAMI KENTO is a gentleman.

he refuses to watch u eat a banana. and ur just like "kento ffs stop being a gentleman and watch me eat it."

"i don't wanna embarrass you."

"you won't! — hm, do you just not watch me because otherwise youll get hard too easily?"

he goes red. "no."

"ooh... prove it. watch me."

so u eat the banana sensually right in front of him. and his eyes widen and he clears his throat while watching veeery intently.

"...w-wow."

"aw you have a tent."

"shut up... and do something about it."

[everythingmaraudersera]

Things you can find in the Marauder's dorm room

A calendar with James's quidditch matches

A pile of Remus' books

Peter's stwen about snacks

Sirius's little vanity setup

A false bottom drawer for Map and Invisibility Cloak safekeeping

Sirius's unfolded clothes

A drawing James made during HOM of Sirius's big head (tm) pinned to the wall

Peter's letters from his parents

Dog hair

James's secret Lily shrine

A list of TBA pranks to pull on Mr. Filch

A drawing James made of Severus, surrounded by nicknames pinned to the wall

Little vials filled with wildflowers on the windowsill, a project of Remus and Peter

A bunch of Quaffles and a Snitch or two stolen from the Quiddith supplies

Some stowed away bottles of Butterbeer (and something a little bit stronger)

Posters of various Muggle bands, courtesy of Sirius

Unfinished confession letters and poems hidden under Remus' mattress

Peter's extended ooh shiny syndrome collection

A pun jar, most Knuts are from James and Sirius

A swear jar, most Knuts are from Remus and Sirius

A picture of Regulus, which was on Sirius' nightstand but somehow ended up on James'

Peter's diary

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 19/20

Blinded By Rage

Welcome back for a final time this year to Fantasy High where we’re covering both parts of the finale in one go! 

Last we left off here, the Bad Kids had gotten control of the Hangman post dragon fight on election night and were flying back to a much changed Elmville, sky turned an angry red in the process of becoming the divine domain of rage. 

When we return, they’re running out of clouds to ride on and need to pick a place to land. Fabian is concerned about just plopping a chunk of his house randomly in town but time is of the essence so they land at school on the Bloodrush field. It’s 10:20 PM, so they have less than two hours until the polls close at midnight. All the non-Bad Kid students get the hell out of Dodge because they’re useless in a crisis as always and all the brave and competent students (read: The Seven) have graduated. 

Brennan rules that, despite how crazy it was, the K2 Divine Intervention was technically buttoned up and allows Kristen to choose a special effect. She wants K2 back to help with spellcasting which Brennan grants (and will live to regret). 

Elmville is NOT doing well. It’s like 107 degrees and they can hear sirens and gunshots. There’s some real The Purge energy. Mazey has the duffel bag of votes but says she’s not allowed to count them until midnight so they all take a short rest to get their stuff back. They send Jawbone and Ragh to make sure Lydia is OK. They also strategize and throw on a bunch of buffs. Gorgug drinks his crazy strength potion he got as a present from Riz that takes him to a 25 Str. Adaine casts Rary’s Telepathic Bond so everyone can communicate telepathically plus Fly on Fabian, Gorgug, and herself. Kristen handcuffs the duffel bag of votes to Mazey for safekeeping. Perhaps, most crucially, Kristen has K2 cast Ice Feat which has ascended from a mistake to a bit to a homebrew spell with the following effects:

Every creature targeted by this spell takes a level of exhaustion and 1d12 cold damage.

The targets are cured of all disease and poison.

All creatures targeted by this spell make constitution saving throws with advantage and their hit point maximum and current hit points increase by 2d10.

The targets gain immunity to fire damage and the stunned condition.

Remember that last one for later. 

Anyway, there’s a lot more that they do but I’ll mention stuff if they come up in a big way. For now, let’s bust into the gym where Porter plus Jace and the Rat Grinders are trying and failing to do the ritual because they never got the proper name (highlighted by Buddy who in his same blind earnestness from before he was rage star’d thinks Bakarath is the true name and they’re just not believing hard enough).

Porter is furious that he was tricked into using the wrong name and grows to an enormous size, doing the foot stomp stun thing from earlier in the season but Ice Feast gives immunity to the stun condition so with a successful “Loser says what?” from Gorgug, it’s time to roll for initiative! 

To set the scene, the gym (and all of Elmville really) is breaking apart. Team Porter has invoked all this energy but can’t do anything with it so it’s kind of like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. The floor of the gym is cracking and there’s bubbling lava underneath–lava that is actually the carcass of Ankarna and the rage domain is spilling into the material plane. 

I also want to mention that even though several people have abilities/spells active that allow them to see Invisibility, no one can see Kipperlilly. We learn later it’s because she’d never been truly invisible, she’s just that good at hiding. 

As always, I’m gonna just hit highlights for the fight but ooh man, there are some highlights:

Riz on his first turn does a super clutch casting of Slow which gums up the works for the Rat Grinders for a big chunk of the fight. 

Just as they planned earlier (both in game and as we learned during the AP, out of game) Oisin is the top priority to deal with. A tag team of Fig and Gorgug gets him off the board in the first round before he can even cast a single spell. 

Ivy attacks the Hangman on her turn and Fabian returns the favor by brutally one-shotting her his next turn. Like, *extremely* brutally. He has low key had it out for her since she was mean about Mazey way back at the top of the season. But even Mazey (who is joining the fight because they can’t actually kill her, logistically speaking since she needs to count the votes) is like hmm, don’t know if I *love* that. (For the record, Ivy is killed first but Oisin is attacked first. That’s why I have them in this order). 

After Ruben hits everyone with a 9th level spell (highest level a spell can be for anyone not familiar) Fig gives up on the dude. Once the 9th level spells get broken out, the time for talking is over. In disguise as Wanda, she rips a very confused Ruben a new one for not being receptive to any of her attempts to coax him onto a redemption arc. She eventually blasts him into hell which sounds brutal until you remember that it’s functionally just her office. 

Because the Rat Grinders are clustered together in a very non-strategic way, Adaine is able to hit them all with Synaptic Static which not only does damage but also forces a bunch of their spellcasters to lose Concentration on spells. Everyone but Buddy I believe. 

Kipperlilly gets Riz with 8 points of damage but he gets her with 21 damage on his Attack of Opportunity as she escapes which is almost triple. That’s crazy! 

And I wanna pause here to make a quick point. The Rat Grinders are kind of bad at this. Like, they have all these high level abilities–and we know Brennan can be brutal in how he runs NPCs cause we’ve seen them in Neverafter and ACOC. But the Rat Grinders are just seriously dropping like flies. And that’s due to a combination of three things. One, the Intrepid Heroes and by extension the Bad Kids are just really good at this. They’ve had a lot of practice and they’ve had time to strategize. They read the rules. They’re making clutch decisions. Of course they’re good at what they’re doing. Secondly, they got some great rolls. For instance, initiative worked out that they had the opportunity to merc Oisin before he could start slinging 9th level wizard spells. And finally, as we learned in the AP, the Rat Grinders had level 20 abilities but they were still very squishy because they didn’t level up properly. 

Anyway, back to the fight.

Jace splits himself into 4 copies and finally gets Ankarana’s name with a Detect Thoughts on Fig. That’s not the only road block for the Bad Kids. They’re doing really well considering but also taking some Ls. Fabian drops (as does Fig later) and Adaine gets caught with Flesh to Stone.

Riz tries to find Kipperlilly and, when he can’t, he goes under the gym floorboards, shoots at Porter, and introduces the last big element to this combat: with his last 5 feet of movement, he jumps into the lava to hide. Because, as Emily mouthed to him a few minutes earlier, because of Ice Feast, they’re all immune to Fire Damage. Brennan forgot to account for that. The lava is only a hazard for his NPCs. The Bad Kids are all immune. Kipperlilly is so baffled that she goes, “What the fuck?” and gives away her position. 

From this point on, utilizing the combo of Fly and fire immunity to stay out of range of enemies–either in the sky or below the gym floorboards in/near the lava–becomes a major part of their strategy. For instance, Kristen goes under there to do some Mass Healing without being a target.

Porter in this fight is very fearsome. He has Legendary Actions and he can attack so hard that you get hit just from the air moving so fast before his weapon even hits you. Later on in the two-parter, he stops on Gorgug’s skull and gives him two death saves. It’s a whole world of hurt. 

But, the Bad Kids also are no-selling him at every single turn. He insults them but they just say he was a shitty teacher. He tries to activate their rage crystals but, guess what? They all avoided taking a rage token all season so it has no effect. He even tries to give them a speech about how the school sucks and they should be on his side but they’re like, my brother in Ankarna, YOU’RE a big part of why the school has been sucking. Adaine and Fig have great back to back lines. Fig accuses him of having no principles, just pride. And Adaine says the school didn’t MAKE them waste their summer on the Night Yorb quest. That was their mistake and they fixed it. He seems a bit surprised and confused that they won’t engage with his philosophy but that’s really on him if he thought THIS would tempt the Bad Kids at all. They’re great at getting mad all on their own. All he’s offering is the destruction of their homes. 

Riz on his next turn sets himself up in a purposefully clumsy hiding spot where he will be easily visible to anyone looking for him but they will have to get in melee range to hit him and he readies an action to catch a spell. 

On Fig’s turn, she gets away from Porter to get in position but that earns her a nasty attack of opportunity from him that's so powerful it starts carbonizing her blood (which is what happened to Yolanda you'll remember so now we know for sure who killed her). But once she gets away from him, she is safe in the lava (which is also Ankarana’s body). She tells Ankarna that she needs to choose her own path and then does a huge Fireball (which is the actual killing blow on Ruben btw). The Fireball also breaks Buddy’s concentration on the spell he’s been holding all fight which was a Banishment on the ballot box. They now have a way to get the votes delivered! 

This is where part 1 ends but we’re rolling this all together for the recap so let’s keep going! 

(I also have to note that for part two, everyone but Brennan is dressed in emo gear. Do with that info what you will.)

Fabian pulls out Bakur’s gem and throws him out like a Pokemon. He doesn’t break out right away but Brennan takes the opportunity to intro a new mechanic where portals open and on a high enough roll, the Bad Kids can call allies to help. 

Fabian ALSO has the idea to push Jace (well, one of the 4 Jaces) into the lava which, surprise surprise, the fighter/dancer is stronger than the waifish sorcerer. And that’s 18d10 damage so yeah. This fight largely becomes the throwing people into lava challenge. And can you blame them? That’s so much damage!

We get a little bit of elucidation about how the rage crystals work. Porter is a kind of hive queen and he can exert influence over the people with crystals in their chest. We see him do it to Jace and we see crystals leave the chests of Oisin, Ivy, and Ruben (well not his chest cause he’s in hell but from where he was standing). The crystals are parasitic and jump ship to try and find new hosts. 

Mazey gets rage star’d. Bad! K2 Banishes Buddy. Good! (Extra good bc K2 is Invisible and can’t be Counterspelled) 

Porter chugs some devil’s honey and calls to Ankarna that he’s trying to rez her so he can worship her which we know is a lie cause his real goal is to usurp her. Fig and Kristen treat her like a friend who’s getting back with her shitty ex and are like girl he’s lying to you! 

In one of my fave moments of the ep, Kipperlilly falls for the trap Riz laid in part one, going to attack him where he’s awkwardly positioned and not realizing that he was actually forcing her to jump over a pit of lava. The moment she does, he hits her with a Hold Person which stops her in her tracks and causes her to fall straight into the lava. Riz gets in the last word in this one-sided rivalry, “Very good on paper, but no practical application.”

She sinks into the lava and, as she does, we see she doesn’t have a visible rage crystal (only a symbol) because, unlike the others, she is a full willing participant. (Note: She DOES have a crystal to be clear, Brennan mentions that later, it’s just put in a different way).

Mary Ann fully jumps into the lava to attack Fig, tanking the damage and downing a very injured Fig in one hit. 

Adaine gets a very clutch move next, whisking all her injured friends to safer parts of the battlefield and drawing a legendary action from Porter even though she’s one of the least tanky members of the group. But with her Mirror Images, she gets off scott free! Adaine, Battle Wizard! 

Since Mazey is under rage control, Porter tries to make her disband the school but a Clippy style pop up of Arthur Aguefort shows up to say that mind controlling the class president to make them do stuff doesn’t count, you have to win fair and square. The things that this man plans for vs what he overlooks is baffling. 

Not only that but with Kipperlilly dead (and no cleric to heal her since Buddy is banished) their plan is kind of screwed. Even if they can rig the vote, their candidate is dead. 

When Jace and Porter are squabbling about plan logistics, Porter says, “Figure it out Stardiamond or I’ll kill you again,” which confirms that Jace got roped into the plan that way. Maybe Porter knew he needed someone with spells?

Gorgug gets a Nat 20 to pop up (from Porter downing him and giving him 2 death saves as I mentioned earlier) and then destroy another Jace clone, again with lava. 

Gonna pause again to say that I am really skimming over a lot here. Battle episodes are just not conducive to straight up recaps when they’re this long and involved. I’m gonna steal a trick of Adaine and quickly reposition everyone so you know the state of the battlefield where I’m jumping back in with the plot-forward part of the fight. Bakur has busted out of his gem but isn’t sure which side to join at first. The Bad Kids eventually are able to roll high enough to get some allies on the field–Ragh/Lydia/Sandra Lynn/Jawbone/Gorthalax plus  Squeem and Balthazar (but don’t worry too much about them. The most notable things there are Lydia does a sick wheelchair jump assistant by Ragh to get an attack in and Squeem heals everyone with cortados). Mary Ann goes down to lava. Fabian is able to break Mazey out of her rage with The Power Of Getting Your Kisses In and they make it official vis a vis boyfriend/girlfriend titles. 

Fig and Kristen try to tag team to tell Ankarna that Porter is lying to her but they don’t make the Dispel Magic roll to get rid of the Devil’s Honey. You know who does though? With a crit? As she farts and days Blimey?

Yeah, I told you Brennan was going to live to regret letting her live. Zac takes over again and Brennan just says, “No,” and leaves for a bit while everyone else howls with laughter. 

Brennan is so over it that he rules that, after this fight, K2 will be granted true life (Pinnochio style) and then banished to real life actual England. (Which seems dangerous considering Unsleeping City takes place irl but dig your own grave man). 

ANYWAY, All Of That aside, the Dispel Magic does work and Bakur is able to see the lies despite the Devil’s Honey. He joins the fight on the BK’s side. 

Also the bird cop shows up to shoot the last Jace. Don’t worry about it. 

OK, so going into the endgame of this fight, All the Rat Grinders are dead except for Buddy who is Banished. Bakur is there, and fighting with our heroes. Some of their allies have arrived. Mazey and Fabian and both down. All but one Jace (the one who got shot) is fully off the board.  And they still have to convince Ankarna that Porter is a big liar. 

OK, pieces repositioned, let’s finish this fight up. 

Having just been brought up by Sandra Lynn (like I said, I skimmed a LOT), it’s Adaine’s turn and she decides to do something uncharacteristic for a wizard. She takes a leap of faith. She uses her earworm present from Fabian to cast Detect Thoughts on all of her friends in range (Kristen and Fig) plus Bakur and Porter. 

According to the wording of the card (which I assume has been partially homebrewed for the setting bc it’s a bit different than the one in the official book), using the earworm to cast Detect Thoughts sends the information gleaned to the nearest extraplanar creature. Which in this case is Ankarna.   

The Devil’s Honey is dispelled now so it’s just up to if Porter makes his save or not (Adaine tells her friends to fail on purpose). He makes it, but Gorgug throws one of his inventions–a flashbang grenade–at him with another great line. He goes out of his rage and says, “Hey. Don’t be blinded by rage.” FLASH! The grenade goes off and he’s distracted enough to fail the save. His thoughts get broadcasted right to Ankarna. 

Adaine says, "Is this justice? Is this a new dawn?"

In this moment, Brennan lets everyone roll as a cleric of Ankarna for Divine Intervention. I cannot BELIEVE he lets K2 roll but, thankfully, she doesn’t actually get it. It’s Fabian, unconscious and appropriately in a kind of liminal state that’s able to do it (Note: Mazey is supposed to be down at this point so I don’t know how this next thing happens–whether it’s just a continuity blip or in his head or whatever but I’m just reporting what happened at the table, OK?). In his unconscious state, Mazey is really emotional about Fabian going down. She says that he's a really great and caring person even outside all of the things that make him traditionally cool and she wishes they could have lost their V Cards together. Ankarna, goddess of justice, will NOT let such an injustice stand. That’s enough to make her emerge from the lava, fully formed (and Fig, who has the keys to her domain, of course lets her in). She pops up and immediately slices Porter in half with a huge ass god sword. Sayonara Porter! Maybe you can be a boat in hell with Goldenhoard. 

Things start to calm, but it’s still all weird and liminal as Ankarna’s domain is being reestablished. Everyone is separated and Brennan asks them all for a moment of something unfair that they regret accepting. What follows is a bit similar to the American Dream sequence in Unsleeping City where Ankarna offers each of them a chance for vengeance/justice but is turned down. 

Gorgug thinks of Porter unfairly writing him off. Kristen thinks of her bio family. Adaine sees her parents pitting her against her sister who she could have been loving this whole time. Riz sees how hard it was to connect with people but also how he pushed Fig and Kristen this year and sees a bit of Kipperlilly in himself. Fig sees all of her internal conflict from the past year from not being able to make a pact with herself to not being able to act for help. Fabian sees the burden of living up to his father's legacy. Ankarna heals everyone of their wounds but then sadly sends them to a Twilight Forest (presumably Cass’s domain) when they politely say that they appreciate the offer but don’t need vengeance.  

Fabian does have a moment come from this however as Gorthalax and Bakur tag team to bring Bill in for a little heart to heart with Fabian where he says that he’d love his son even if he wasn’t a Maximum Legend and he’d give up his legacy for one more day to spend with Fabian. 

(Also, Lydia and Bakur are cool now. They talked it out off screen.)

With all of that, everyone is now together and Cass is holding Ankarna who is badly injured. Ankarna kind of has the attitude that Cass had at the end of last season where it was like, it doesn’t seem like anyone really needs me and all I’ve done is cause trouble so maybe I shouldn’t be here. The Bad Kids reassure her that she’s more than just her usefulness and that contrary to her declaration that she has no followers, she has at least six in the six of them. Ankarna cries happy tears.

Cass and Ankarna are about to leave to have a well deserved reunion but Kristen holds them up to ask about where the hell Kalina is. Ankarna gets all agitated because she’s NEVER trusted that cat and she’s damn near about to go on a crusade to find her as soon as Kristen brings up her suspicions. Before they leave, they have some business to attend to. 

They raise Rat Grinders (sans Kipperlilly since she was a willing participant) and Ankarna takes her name off of Lucy and Yolanda’s bodies so they can be raised. Then, Cass takes a selfie with Kristen and Ankarna and drafts a social media post to send to Craig to post because Kristen may be great in a foxhole, but she’s not the most organized person in Spyre. 

With this all wrapped up, Aguefort (and Ayda!) finally show up but the Bad Kids absolutely refuse to let him take credit for their victory. Mazey counts the votes. Adaine gets Aguefort to remove the bit in the bylaws about drugs being illegal (he calls it “narc shit). 

Riz pulls Kristen aside to make sure she actually wants to be president and that she’s not just doing it for his sake and she says yeah, (though she later says she wants him to be VP with her which he is very down for). 

Bobby Dawn tries to leave town (without even taking his grandkid!) but Fabian is chasing his ass down for all of his bullshit against his friends. 

Lucy is brought back and confirms that her friends killed her but also says that Ruben was one of her best friends before this started, implying that he was fully personality changed by the rage stars (unlike Kipperlilly who was maybe made more extreme but was rageful from the start). We see this in action when Ruben is brought back, basically tabula rasa. He has no memories of his emo persona and is really stressed to have lost his puka shell necklace. Ivy and Oisin seem like they have more memories and are ashamed of what they did but there’s not an explanation given of why the difference in effect. 

Mary Ann is basically the same and has a very abrupt conversation with Gorgug where she asks him if he has a girlfriend, much to everyone’s delight. Gorgug is so baffled and frustrated but finally lands on, “She’s so hot,” to everyone's further delight. 

Time for epilogues y’all! 

Kristen decides to be a cleric for not just Cass but Ankarna too. She even talks to Tracker (who is on a break from both Nara and Nara's money) about maybe poaching Galacaea from Sol’s pantheon. She also drops Gertie for the possibility of getting into a situationship with Tracker, earning herself a nemesis. 

Riz decides to try and chill out a little and switch from coffee to tea. He still thinks change can be scary but he recognizes that without change, he never would have met his friends. 

Aelwyn delivers a letter from the Court of Stars to Adaine which they open over ice cream sundaes at Basrar’s. Apparently, some wizard is starting shit in Sylvere–their mother. They’re both ready to plan a road trip to go kill that bitch, but before their sister murder quest (a normal thing for sisters to do) Aelwyn says that she hopes she and Adaine can eat ice cream and do magic together forever, and that if the price to have Adaine was suffering their shitty parents, it was a worthy trade. Adaine happily agrees. 

Fabian gets the Tornado to put his house back and rolls for his first time with Mazey. The dice are not on his side but luckily Mazey likes him for his personality, lol. His mom and Gilear show up and announce that they’re expecting…a dog…to guard the new baby. Also Telemaine is moving in. Fabian is distraught, even moreso when he gets a ping on Nemesis Alert. The unborn baby has already declared themselves his nemesis. At least Cathilda is also back! 

Like Riz, Gorgug also takes some time to relax since he's no longer taking 4 classes at once. He hangs with his parents and gets some presents for Fig since she was such a big help to him this year. He also makes things official with Mary Ann. Aguefort asks if he's considered being a teacher after he graduates and Ayda boasts that she always knew he was special. Aguefort also stops just short of saying he might be the bad guy next year and disappears into a flock of birds when questioned. Maddening as always. 

Fig gets some time with Sandra Lynn who is very supportive of her (which is saying a lot considering Fig has Porter’s literal balls on a chain, do not even ask). She decides school isn’t for her and drops out which she is a little concerned Ayda might judge her for since she’s so studious but Ayda says that learning isn’t confined to a classroom and starts a spell to link Leviathan to her domain in hell. Ageufort is also OK with her dropping out personally, but he does warn her that attack robots WILL be tracking her down for dropping out. Insane, but she’s not too worried about that. She just wants some alone time with Ayda. 

And finally, two bits of unfinished business. Unseen to the Bad Kids, Buddy pops out of his Banishment, still a true believer in Bakarath. He believes SO HARD that a baby god comes into existence. Then, out of the shadows KALINA appears and says, "Buddy, we gotta get the fuck out of here. They are coming for us. Your grandfather is not gonna fucking believe this."

And that’s it! End of season. Class dismissed! 

Plot Post Mortem 

OK y’all there was a LOT going on this season and not everything was neatly wrapped up but I’m gonna take a little bit of time to try and put together what we do know. 

We know that Porter was the ultimate puppetmaster of his plot and everyone else was an underling of his to some degree. Jace had a visible rage star in him so it seems that he was forcibly drafted rather than being a fully willing participant. 

The Rat Grinders formed a party (at that time called the High Five Heroes) Freshman Year. They went to the Mountains of Chaos for Spring Break. Near the end of Sophomore Year, all of her friends killed her. 

The Rat Grinders are on record as just grinding rats which seems to be a half lie because we know from talking to rats that they WERE doing that for a time but eventually Porter recruited them and started farming XP for them.

And we know that Kipperlilly was a willing participant of the plan but the other Rat Grinders were forced. 

So my best guess for the series of events here are as follows. In Freshman Year or so, Porter forced Jace into having a crystal so he can have a minion with spells (again, Porter does explicitly say he killed Jace). He spends the year scouting for a good candidate for his plan and finds an already naturally aggro Kipperlilly. 

He starts showing an interest in her and lets her in on his plan. She’s super down because she’s already bitter about the perceived injustice of the system. He feeds her unhealthy thought processes. This is why she starts having more rage outburst in Sophomore Year.

Now it’s never made clear when the other Rat Grinders join the plan and how that goes down. The popular theory is that they all died in the Mountains of Chaos but that doesn’t quite make sense. The only way that works is if everyone died except for Lucy. Why would she leave Lucy alive though? Because she was the closest to her? Was it just happenstance? Another possibility is that once they got there, Kipperlilly was the only one willing to get rage star’d and everyone else got cold feet. So, once they got home, she started putting the pressure on everyone else and eventually started killing them one by one to forcibly recruit them, ending with the dogpile on Lucy. This is all speculation of course, I’m just trying to square the info we know to be true with the bits of lore we have. Kipperlilly expected Lucy to come back like the others and they didn’t. With her dead, they needed a new cleric for the plan which is why Buddy Dawn was drafted. 

Kipperlilly DID have a rage star–it just wasn’t put into her by force. She chose to take it on. It’s not entirely clear how much it affected her–or anyone’s–actions or personality. Emo Ruben still spoke fondly of Lucy and seemed sad about her death. Kipperlilly was more unhinged in Junior Year but it’s not like she was super hinged before. 

It’s also not clear how much autonomy you have when you’re rage star’d. It seems to me that the rage star doesn’t really mind control you so much as play up the rageful thoughts you already have–for instance Adaine when she almost gets rage star’d saying that if she was consumed by rage she’d destroy Falinel and Sylvaire looking for her mom. It CAN mind control you if Porter uses an action to control you but most of the time you’re just an angry version of yourself (though Ruben’s complete personality swap raises questions). 

Anyway, that’s the best I can figure. No need to keep spinning wheels now that the season is done. 

Honor Roll

Adaine Abernant for Some Unorthodox Wizardry 

I am biased towards Adaine but I think she deserves her props this episode. 

A Wizard putting themselves in a position where they have to tank damage is so risky, but she cares about her friends enough to Scatter them to safety and hope her Mirror Images do their job.

A Wizard getting in melee range with a Pally/Barb seems like a recipe for disaster but Adaine was able to parry Porter with her sword. 

And having faith isn’t really in a Wizard’s wheelhouse but she has enough faith in her friends to try a big swing in reaching out to Ankarna. 

(Big Honorable Mentions to Riz trapping KP and Gorgug using his grenade on Porter in the climax). 

Detention 

Kipperlilly for Being a Bad Rogue

I’m not even giving her this spot for being a bad guy. I’m giving her this spot for being a ROGUE and not HIDING when the plan hinged on her SURVIVING TO THE END. Girl, what were you doing in melee range??? You have a crossbow, bitch, use it! Frankly she shouldn’t have even been on the battlefield, but I know for story reasons she had to be. But if she had to be there she could have played it waaaaaay smarter. 

Random Thoughts

Oisin was rage star’d but I have to assume his grandma wasn’t, right? I mean she was buddies with Kalvaxus so she probably just is OK with pillaging and evil. From her POV was it just like oh thank Helio my nerdy-ass grandson finally got cool. 

The way that gods work in this world always kind of trips me up. Because gods have been established to not be autonomous individuals in the way that people are. Saying, “Choose your own path” is nice, but it doesn’t really make sense when your personality is literally decided by your followers. They’re more mirrors than they are people. Same thing with morality. If it’s not Ankarna’s fault that she was made into a rageful conqueror, it’s also not Helio’s fault that he’s a fratty college boy (allegedly, I still think that’s more what Kristen felt than what was textually there). Unless we’re saying that each god has a “true self” and anything that pulls them from that is anomalous, then it’s hard to have conversations about gods while viewing them as people with direct agency. 

What was up with the vision Adaine kept having? Was that a trick to get them to have that party? Because they probably wouldn’t have done that without her visions. Who did that? Was it a Dream spell like Fig was doing to Ruben?

I didn’t mention it but it was very funny for Adaine to pull a Brer Rabbit: Ohhhh noooo. Please don’t throw me in the laaavaaaaaa. 

Who was watching Fig/Wanda “die” in the window, Brennan????? You never told us!!!! 

I thought it was sweet when Kristen was like I do wish I had a sister and Adaine was like, I’m your sister :)

I’ll prob make a longer post on this later but I really do not understand why the Ankarna plot is what was picked for this season when it’s so similar to the Cass plot from last season: Goddess of a concept that can be good but people find scary/are skeptical about is changed by the actions of their followers into something monstrous that is being manipulated by bad actors in the current day who the Bad Kids win over to their side and one of them becomes the prophet/champion of. It even has the beat of the goddess, post-rezzing, being like, “Idk if you really need me.” They’re even married! I don’t have a problem with Ankarna the character but she does feel a bit like a rehash of Cass’s storybeats, just in orange instead of purple. 

I still have some thoughts but they’ll get answered over the next week as I go through the remaining asks in my ask box and I’ve been working on this for hours so I’m gonna cut this short. As a whole, I thought this season was so much fun! Plot-wise it was probably the muddiest of all the Spyre seasons and I would def have changed stuff but it didn’t hinder my week-to-week enjoyment and it’s always a good time hanging out with the Bad Kids. (Also you all know that the #1 thing I’m here for is Abernant Sisters content and I was extremely catered to in this regard, lol). 

Thanks for following these recaps this season! I really appreciate everyone hopping into the tags or asks to talk and theorize and stuff. 

If you wanna engage with more of my writing, you can check out my podcast: Absolutely No Adventures or my visual novels on itch.io. It would mean a lot!

[thedivineflowers]

Alice in borderland x reader part 3

Warning: possibly Yandere behavior, gore, cursing, violence, mentions of death and character spoilers. Please tell me if I missed anything or any tags thanks :)

Hey, you like have the nine of cards before beach got it, yay :)

After your tag game and making sure that Tatta was safe, you handed him some things for him to survive since you didn’t want him getting in danger exploring with you and playing games with you. It had been what seemed like 2 to 3 weeks after that tag game and you had ran into Usagi and Arisu and joined them in looking for a place called “beach”.

You three were taking a break on a bridge after finding the place when you guys were suddenly knocked out and woke up in a room filled with unknown people.

“good morning.” A woman had said with a smile standing elegantly when a man spoke “I apologize for this rude introduction. Our sentries report that there were people spying on us.” As the man finished another pretty woman had walked in and asked a question quietly “Why are you here?” Arisu had answered while you had looked around the room when a man suddenly entered. “That’s right. We have the answers that you are looking for. Welcome… to the oasis known as Beach. Here is the first answer.” The man had said has he snapped his fingers and the wall moved, revealing different cards that had x’s on the, to indicate that they have been obtained. Arisu and the man were talking and you had started paying attention after Usagi had tapped your hand to listen to what the man was saying. “Rule one. Always wear a swimsuit wherever you go.” Said the man as you had asked a question “But why?” You had asked when all eyes turned to you. “ooh? So the pretty can speak… But to answer your question, it’s because you can’t hide weapons in swimwear, can’t you? Also, you are free to drown in alcohol, drugs, and sex as much as you want. Enjoy your life while you still can.” Said the man “all keys and locks have been destroyed and thrown away. There are no secrets. Rule two. All cards are the Beach’s property. That means that all the cards you’ve collected, we’ll hang onto for safekeeping. Those who have contributed their cards will be promoted in numerical order. You see, after our collective effort sends out the first person, it won’t be long before we can gather enough duplicate cards to send out a second person, and then so on.” ‘what if I need to use the bathroom? Can anyone walk in?’ You had asked yourself as the man explained the third rule “death to all traitors.” After you three were allowed to leave you had changed into a swim shirt, Jean shorts, a jacket and some sandals as you decided to walk around for a bit and ended up in what seemed like the main hall as everyone gathered for the next games

“It’s a surprise to see you again.” You had heard a man say as you looked back so fast you nearly gave yourself a whiplash. “Oh, man you scared me.” You had said as you started laughing “How’s the wound?” Asked the man as you brought yourself back to attention “It’s fine, I tried taking it out but it didn’t budge so I left it there, I keep on getting scared that i’ll get an infection. I’m just gonna have to deal with it until I can find someone that can help me.” You had said as you had tuned away from Hatter to look at the man. “I can try to help you.” Offered the man as you answered immediately. “Please do I feel like I’m taking care of a child with not child support to back me up.” You answered the man as everyone started running off to their cars and go to their games so you did the same bit little did you know that two people we’re taking about you. “Wow, that’s who you were talking about?” A woman had asked. “Yep.” “You’ve certainly got eyes.” Said the woman as she looked at you more closely “I want to take Y/n with us.” Said the man as he looked back at the woman “We’re doing it.” Said the woman as they both walked off as well. The game that you ended up in was a seven of hearts and only you came out alive, in a daze when you got back you latched yourself to the man who’s name was Chishiya and followed him around and you also met hid friend who’s name was Kuina, certainly you were in heaven being able to talk to the beauties but your time with them was cut short due to a man interrupting the conversation you had with Kuina, Arisu, and Usagi. “Well, who is this little thing here? How ‘bout you tell me your name sweet..” said the man as he wrapped his arm around your waist and he pulled you closer to him. Out of instinct you pushed him away and you inched yourself to Kuina who was standing alert like your other two friends, only to find out that everything was paused so everyone to look at you and what had unfolded. “So, you gonna tell me your name or what?” Said the man as he got up and slowly started walking towards you as you starting walking away backwards with every step he took. “No.” “No? You’re not gonna do a poor guy a favor and tell me someone such as yourself your name? What?” He laughed as an older looking man had interfered “Niragi, watch yourself.” Said the man as you looked back to look at him only to remember that it was the same man at the tag game you had once played. The man had turned his attention from you to Arisu as he asked him a question “where’s your friend? Oh yeah? He’s dead? Too bad. Yet someone like you still lives.” As the man started taunting Arisu, Kuina spoke “you guys know each other?” Her question went unanswered as the man looked at both you and Usagi and ordered to bring you both along. 

As the man grabbed both you and Usagi’s arms Arisu had defended both of you as the man had tried to grab you both again “Are you a tough guy? What should I do with him?” The man asked as he looked at his leader “Break both his legs so he does in the next game.” They all started to prepare to bring you three to leave Hatter strolled in “Is there a problem?” “Back off, Hatter. This is none of your business.” Said the leader of the militants “But this business is mine. I am the Beach’s leader. What I say is law here. And I’m saying… that you keep your hands off the newcomers, Aguni. Especially that one, Y/n. Y/n got us the nine of hearts.” Said the man as he pointed to you as most of everyone had gasped and turned the attention to you “Niragi?” Hatter had looked at the man who had grabbed you earlier and he responded “My boss is the general.” He responded as Hatter had looked at Aguni again “Then I will ask the general. Who do you think is your boss, then, Aguni?” After he finsiehd Aguni looked at him “I know it’s you.” Responded Aguni as he walked away after Hatter had told him to shower “Executive members! Meeting in the conference room. Arisu, Y/n, you too. Ann told me that you have potential, and Y/n, you got us some real good cards. Come with us.” Said Hatter as you both followed after him but not before you had given Tatta a squeeze as you realized he was near you.

Both you and Arisu had walked into the room awkwardly and made eye contact with Chishiya as he waved at you both and you waved back eagerly. “Two of spades. Six of spades. Four of diamonds. Two of clubs. And another seven of hearts. So far, the existence of any face cards has not been confirmed.” Said the woman as she sat down and opened her book “If the face cards are not confirmed than we only have ten of hearts left.” The man, Kuzuryu had spoken “The ten of Hearts. It hasn’t appeared in any game yet.” Said the woman, Mira “If the ten of hearts hasn’t appeared in any of the games yet, then maybe there’s a reason for it. Perhaps it’s not in Tokyo.” Reasoned Ann “No game arena has been found outside the 23 districts. That only means we haven’t searched far enough.-” “we’re not changing the plan. The search for other game arenas in Tokyo will continue. Keep an eye on visa expirations. Let’s wait for the ten of hearts to show up. My visa needs to be replaced soon.” Said Hatter as Mira spoke up “Respectfully, there is a way to earn a visa. A hearts game is a game that plays with peoples minds and emotions. We use a decoy we know will die and fix the game so that you survive. Arisu cleared the seven of hearts game. Y/n did so with the nine of hearts. I guess that means… if he can do it, then anyone can!” Said Mira as she smiled “Arisu, Y/n, you cleared the seven and nine of hearts game? Can you give us some advice?” Said hatter as he laughed as you looked at everyone with fear as they looked back at both of you. “Meeting adjourned!” After Hatter had closed the meeting you had ran out in a rush to just get away from the eyes that folllowed you everywhere 

Part 4 here part 4 in progress

[amazing-spiderling]

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

💾What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

MCU + Wade Wilson = It's sweet and adorable until it isn't >.>

💾What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

"Home's Around the Corner" goes by "Chaste!Matt Chapter #". Five Years Later is just "FYL Ch. #" When I dump plots into a google doc for safekeeping (usually just copied and pasted from late night conversations with friends) those are the ones with names like "i hate you vampire dad 2"

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

Huh. I'm not sure I have any? Five Years Later has been pretty carefully planned out since we wanted to make it adhere to the MCU timeline, and most of the "ooh that's a good moment" ideas we have get worked in one way or another. Home's Around the Corner is a little more pants-y but I don't think we've scrapped anything entirely... I dunno, If I think of something I really like I usually find a way to squeak it in there lol.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Cendrillon (Paris, 2022): Reactions, Part II

alright mateys let’s continue

@monotonous-minutia

once again: what a vibe

“Little boxes on the hillside/Little boxes made of ticky tacky/Little boxes on the hillside/Little boxes all the same…”

oh child

omg i just realized that they were leaving some wine for him like a cat

mood (also i want those sneakers)

this prince and the prince from l’amour des trois oranges would probably get along well

PWETTY

noooooooooooooo don’t take the sneakers

PHILIPPE ROUILLION MY BELOVED

oh so ALL the girls went through the fancy dress machine

oh lucette

the prince likes the girl with a discernible personality

“but why does the dress have to be so HOT???”

meet awkward

ooh macaron tree ten o’clock i want macarons

OH MY GOD LUCETTE 😂

okay ngl this is cute

I CAN’T THIS IS TOO ADORABLE

oops

aww 🥹

okay actually maybe that’s not a macaron tree, which is disappointing

just having their own little date and no one is noticing

tiny desserts go into the cleavage for safekeeping

also is this dance music charming or WHAT

their dance moves lmao

pandolfe, born introvert

oops

“she’s gonna be my new daughter-in-law??? her??? the one wearing that???”

“yes because i wuv her vewy much”

a cappella moments in opera are just the best

so cute

MASSENET SAID GAY RIGHTS

oh child

crying

this duet is just DELECTABLE

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :(

[danafinwefeaelenionfeanorian]

Feanorian Week Day Two: Kanafinwe

1433 YT

"Would you hurry up Nanwe and Tyalmë are waiting," I yell at Kana through his door.

As things turn out Nanwe is good friends with Kana's wife Tyalmë, woman who plays. Tyalmë in fact does play instruments. Her favourite is not the harp, like her husband but a piccolo.

Today we go to the theatre.

Kana and Tyalmë asked me weeks ago. They then hinted that I bring a friend. Initially I was going to bring Kaesta but she dropped out last minute and I happened to be with Nanwe when I got her letter. So I asked him.

He said yes. Now we endure the teasing. At least until the curtain rises.

“I’m ready sheesh,” Kana states opening his door.

His silver robes gleam in the light of Teleprion.

“You didn’t sound ready a second ago,”

“Now who’s going to make us late?”

“Still you.” I pat my brother's shoulder and move toward the stairs.

Here in Formenos we surprisingly have the house to ourselves. Mother and Father left yesterday with Curvo, Turca and Ambarussa. The latter three left hours before the rest. Something about having to meet Orome and the hunters outside Valmar.

Nelyo left an hour ago with Finno. They are making a dinner to pay for the time it took Finno to reach us. Our cousin said he rode through three nights to arrive on time.

The hunters and the dinner is not my concern. Surviving this night is. Minimal teasing, please Iluvatar let there be minimal teasing. I tire of it.

People and when I mean people I mean my family needs to understand Nanwe and I are not going to marry.

_____

Outside the theatre is Nanwe and Tyalmë. They look nice. Very nice.

Tyalmë is wearing a flowing silver dress with silver accents and accessories. She’s the embodiment of Teleprion.

Nanwe on the other hand, looks like Laurelin. His golden hair has been braided back accenting his facial structure. His robes are a similar golden colour to his hair.

I suppose I also look like Laurelin. My dress is also golden. How Mori found time to make it, I’ll never understand. Yet here it is. I wear it beautifully.

Kana is also dressed like Teleprion. Silver robes, accents and jewelry. The husband and wife are a picture of elegance.

The dresses and robes are fitting. The play is about the fall of the lamps and the growth of the trees.

“Shall we go in?”

“Of course, who has the tickets?” Tyalmë asks looping her arm through her husband's.

“I have them.” Nanwe holds up the four golden and silver tickets.

Ah. I was wondering who had those, but why did Nanwe have them? Perhaps Tyalmë gave them to him for safekeeping. It's plausible.

Nanwe offers me his arm. Ignoring Kana and Tyalmë's snickers and comments I take his arm. He is being a gentleman. The steps are hard to navigate in pants let alone a dress.

Inside the theatre, hordes of silver and gold flood the floors. Everyone had the same idea for gold and silver wear. It's mesmerizing. Torchlight shimmers off everyone.

After what seems like an hour we finally make it to our seats. The hardest part was walking up the stairwell and counting the flights.

Now we wait. As we patiently wait for the play to begin a female walks by with wine. Kana waves her down and orders two bottles. With the wine, we get cups and bread.

Kana shoves a bottle into my hands. The label says 1195. Ooh. Almost as old as I am.

I pour myself and Nanwe a glass.

Then the curtain rises.

@feanorianweek

[ofallthingsnasty]

right back at cha with Qs:

-whats your favorite picture of your current blorbo, any media and it can be several blorbos

-whats a fic you always go back to no matter what?

Ooh that's a good one!! Honestly, for one of my oldest and still ongoing faves (Blue Diamond), it's super hard to pick just one but tbh she's the most beautiful in her soggiest states dhjahj -- and a current blorbo is definitely Sanji... That one panel when he's done fighting Bon Clay still lives rent-free in my head lol. I just want to shove him in between my tits for safekeeping, he's my little baby boy... So here they are

A fic I always go back to is 'Red Cave Paintings' - it went down when lunaescence went down (god, I'm still so sad about it :/) but 17 year old me saved it in a pdf file way back when, so I re-read it like once a year. It really touched me as a teen and the premise is very creative and it's a reader-insert in an original setting. It's easily the reason why I love Original Character/Reader fic so much and thus the reason I got into terato. The premise might sound a little 'weird (reader gets isekai'ed into the past lol) but goddamn it's just so heartwarming and wonderful.

[humancomedy]

Human Comedy: Humanity - 2

Nazuna: Ah, that's right... Tomo-chin, take this too.

Location: Dance Studio

Nazuna: Ah, that's right... Tomo-chin, take this too.

Mitsuru: Hey, how come Tomo-chan gets something extra? That's not fair~!

Nazuna: Ahaha. In that case, you all can have the rest of the cookies too.

Tomoya: Um, is this...?

Nazuna: Mmhmm. If Ra*bits is gonna continue on next year, it's gonna need a new leader... So here's the official documents. As for who I'd like that to be, I've put Tomo-chin's name down.

If you don't have any issue with that, then slap a seal on it and present this paper to the student council come spring. But until then... Frame it for safekeeping, or something.

Hajime: Uwah... Of course Tomoya-kun's a perfect fit to be our new leader, congratulations~♪

Mitsuru: Congrats, Tomo-chan! Keep it up, we'll support you with all we've got too!

Tomoya: ...Are you really okay with me doing it, Nii~chan?

Nazuna: Yup. I was kinda worried at first~, but you've definitely got the temperament a leader needs.

At Yumenosaki, unit leaders have quite a lot of authority... When you become one, your responsibilities and workload will increase—that means more burdens to bear.

Honestly, I'm a little worried about swamping you with the work that comes with being the leader, since you've got the most room for growth...

And if you start to fall behind during practice, it'll be like I put the cart before the horse...

But maybe, through those hardships, you'll grow stronger instead.

With these steadfast friends by your side, you'll be fine. Just don't overdo it, 'kay? I'm gonna tear these documents apart if you ever collapse again.

I'm going away, just for a little bit... I won't be able to give you a hand as easily as I do now, so... Anzu, please take care of these kids.

Make them the most wonderful idols. And when I see these guys on TV, or something like that...

I'm planning to boast about them and say, “They're Ra*bits, the kids I raised!” with a proud grin.

That's why I'm asking you to take care of them, Producer... Please, continue to watch over these children from now on as well.

Tomoya: ......

Hajime: Ahaha. Tomoya-kun's so overwhelmed with emotion, he's completely speechless... Come on, it isn't like you hadn't seen this coming.

Mitsuru: Wahaha! ☆ Tomo-chan's hopeless, you can't just freeze up like that~! C'mon, do something, (poke, poke) ♪

Tomoya: Q-Quit it, Mitsuru~

Sorry, I was more moved than expected.

I've always been just "ordinary"...

I never stood out from the crowd, and there were always so many other amazing guys around me, so I was never picked for anything either.

So really, I'm happy...

Ahh, this sucks! Sorry, please give me a second, I'll wipe my face off!

This is so frustrating... What's my mental image training been for if I was still gonna react this way!

Nazuna: Ahaha, will you really be alright when you're like that~ I'm kinda worried... Make sure not to get disheveled from crying on stage when you're performing in RepayFes, 'kay?

That's what makes you an idol, after all. I'll be doing the same; I want to remain beautiful until the moment the curtain falls on stage.

That's why, let's not lose focus until our very last practice is through!

My leadership over you ends today, so if you've got anything you'd regret not asking about, you'd better do it now!

Mitsuru: 'Kay, Nii~chan...♪

Hajime: Alright then, Nii~chan ♪

Tomoya: Ah, hold on a sec... Yikes?!

Nazuna: Wh-What's wrong, Tomo-chin?

Kuro: Uh, my bad, didn't mean t'scare ya... 'Scuse me, Nito here?

Nazuna: Ooh, if it isn't Kuro-chin! What's up? Is there something we can help you with~?

If it's about the outfits for RepayFes, Anzu already delivered them to us... Unless you found something wrong with them?

Kuro: Nah, the outfits're done as can be. Who d'ya think I am?

'Side, Little Miss here's the one who did most of the work when puttin' 'em together. If they started comin' apart at the seams, she'd be the one who'd be best at fixin' 'em up again.

She's become a real master in her own right 'bout it, so there ain't any problems with how she does it now.

Anyway, forget that... Nito, I need t'borrow ya fer a sec.

I get that ya wanna spend as much as y'can with these guys before ya graduate and all...

But this is an emergency—Valkyrie's in a real tight spot.

I ain't got a clue what t'do. As his longtime friend, don't think I'd be able t'stop myself from tellin' Itsuki off... Nito, there's gotta be somethin' ya can do.

Nazuna: Wh-What? Valkyrie is? What's going on... Are they not performing in RepayFes?

But it's useless coming to me, Kuro-chin, there's nothing I can do either... Those guys resent me, y'know..?

Kuro: I don't think that's the case at all, 'least from where I'm standin'... If anythin', that's why ya oughta be facin' Valkyrie, so ya don't have any regrets.

Yer an important friend t'me, Nito. Ya came in durin' the same spring as me, studied side by side with me, and laughed over nothin' at all with me.

That's why ya oughta move forward with yer head held high, without leavin' any weird grudges behind...

S'hard to live with yer regrets, Nito. I've got more than enough experience fer the both of us when it comes t'that.

Nazuna: ...?

← prev ❖ all ❖ next →

[the-himawari]

A3! Citron - Translation [N] Literary Impasse

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

*dances around*

Citron: ~♪ ~~♪

Kazunari: Hey, Ronron! Wha’tcha doing having fun there by yourself~?

Citron: Kazu! I felt like dancing after I saw a book with “Dancing Girl” in the title~!

Kazunari: Ah, could this be for role study for your upcoming play?

Citron: Yes! All the members of Spring troupe decided to read books by literary masters and write book reports. It was in the list of recommended books Tsuzuru sent me.

Kazunari: Oh, sweet~! So you’re gonna write a book report on that, Ronron?

Citron: Yes!

Kazunari: Sounds good, sounds good! Anyhow, why’d you pick that book?

Citron: I love to dance! That’s why the “Dancing Girl” title caught me at first glance.

Kazunari: Ooh~. Right, I think that story was about travelling entertainers, so it sounds right up your alley. Good luck with your report, my guy!

Citron: Thanks! I can’t wait to read the travelling entertainers’ story~.

-pause-

Citron: Dancing girl, dancing girl… where is it~? …! Here it is! (I came all the way here, so I will take my time reading it in the library.)

*turns page*

Citron: … …Oh, what does this word mean? (I can read the characters, but I don’t know what the difficult words mean… I will have to use a dictionary or my phone to look them up as I go.)

-pause-

Citron: Nooo… it’s hard to progress while looking up the meaning of the words. Tomorrow is the deadline for our reports, but I’m not even close to finishing my book. I’m in trouble… …HA! I’ve got a great idea! I should do this!

-pause-

Citron: Is it normal to gatekeep essays like this in Japan?*

Masumi: It’s safekeep, not gatekeep.

Sakuya: At school, our teachers would compile them into books like this and hand them out to all of us.

Citron: That sounds nice~. It becomes a memento too.

Sakuya: Next up is Citron-san’s report, right? I can’t wait to give it a read!

Chikage: Was it difficult to write your impressions, Citron?

Citron: It was so tough~…

Itaru: I mean, will we even be able to read Citron’s report?

Masumi: Even the LIME he sent earlier was full of typos.

Tsuzuru: Let’s just try reading it for now… Umm… This book… ah, travel?  It’s a story about people who travel. It was fun. Yeah, I think we’ll be able to read it.

Itaru: Ooh.

Sakuya: That’s amazing, Citron-san!

Citron: Yes! I worked hard!

Itaru: …I wanted to congratulate both of them? How was the conclusion? I don’t know! The end.

Masumi: What the heck?

Chikage: What’s going on here?

Citron: Sorry, the book was kind of difficult. I couldn’t finish it all by the deadline…

Sakuya: Wait, really!?

Masumi: So that explains this essay…

Tsuzuru: I would’ve helped if you said so.

Citron: I’m sorry~.

Izumi: Okay, then why don’t all of you read the story together so Citron-kun can reach the end?

Sakuya: Ah, what a great idea! I agree!

Itaru: Well, that sounds fine, doesn’t it?

Masumi: I guess there’s no way around it….

Tsuzuru: Alright. Let’s go fetch the book right away, shall we?

Chikage: Right.

Citron: Thank you, all of you~!

---

*Citron originally says “ポカン” (pokan: ~surprised/jaw dropping), which Masumi corrects as “保管” (hokan: safekeep/store).

[purple-is-great]

i love carrying stuff! instant gender euphoria

me and dad (and a former neighbour of ours) are helping some family friends move

so it's three middle-aged dads and a teenager in men's shorts and a rainbow mickey mouse t-shirt (look i was like 16 when i bought it i do not stan the mouse)

also you know what else i discovered is great gender feels? a jangly bunch of keys

i clipped my bike keys onto the lanyard i keep my house key on, for safekeeping as i put them in my pocket (and i love that my shorts have big enough pockets that i can shove my phone and keys there but still ride my bike!)

and ooh boy, i am this close to becoming a butch with a ring of keys on a carabiner hook

[shadlad24]

You Have an Infection???

A recent post I saw kicked this off, but it was definitely not the first one I’d seen accusing Gabrielle of throwing Ephiny’s precious heirloom staff in the Ganges River.

Friends, this is just not true. And I’m obsessive enough to prove it! So, come with me on a whimsical journey of Gabrielle’s magical staffs. (TL;DR Version)

Below is the one Ephiny’s mother gave to her long ago. Note not only its obvious eagle head up top but also its russet-brown color and black grips.

Gabrielle walks out of “Hooves and Harlots” with Ephiny’s old staff and Terreis’s outfit, neither of which are ever seen again. Three of the next four episodes show Gabrielle without a staff altogether. (Though she does pick up a makeshift chobo and briefly fight a couple of soldiers with it at the end of “The Black Wolf.”) I like to think that she is with the Amazons during the first part of that episode, learning more from them and asking them to hold onto her Amazon gear for safekeeping. Then Gabrielle gets too busy smuggling Xena’s weapons to worry about her own. After that, she skips off to and returns empty-handed from the Athens City Academy before going similarly weaponless throughout “A Fistful of Dinars.” (Remember when she brought a small, fluffy bag to a sword fight? 😂)

Finally, we meet good old main season-one staff. Long, thin, dark brown with a light-colored little pouf up top and metallic center, usually not varnished; this is our staple until season two. …Even though it pretty immediately gets broken in half (its centerpiece, inexplicably fancified) and replaced with a similar but not quite identical one in Troy. Thanks, Perdicas!

But that’s okay! It’s back in action for the next two episodes, only to go missing for “The Royal Couple of Thieves,” in which Gabrielle has to use whatever’s handy. Although the episode’s staff’s overall design is much like that of the one she’ll use for the next three years, it is capped with a giant, stylized blade.

Old trusty returns just in time to be demolished by the wabbit-freezing cart of doom. Yup. No way Gabby’s little stick survives this! (For some reason, Gabrielle flips it upside-down to pole-vault and then turns it invisible, but that is neither here nor there.)

Just kidding! It gets resurrected again and is totally fine for the next two episodes once more. (Except for that brief moment at the beginning of “Altared States” when it looks a bit like her main one again, which is perhaps a birthday present from Xena?)

Gabrielle takes up her main staff for “The Greater Good.” See how special it is, with its beige accent ropes and central part that is very reminiscent of her main outfit’s belt? Ooh, also; it’s collapsible! Model that beauty, GW!

Thanks, love! Now for a little switcheroo in “Callisto,” fave to impending main.

An extra-long staff with that super fancy central piece from BGBG shows up outta nowhere in “Death Mask.” Then we close the season with early fave.

Alrighty; so! Even my obsessions have limits. Since only season one has the benefit of being FLM’d, we’re just gonna skim through seasons two and three, checking in now and again but otherwise trusting that Gabrielle uses the same staff all that time. The following images are from: “Orphan of War,” “The Giant Killer,” “The Execution,” and “A Comedy of Eros” + “The Dirty Half-Dozen” (since the first two episodes of season three are generally considered leftovers from two), “The Quill is Mightier...”, and “Sacrifice II.” Please note that while Gabrielle’s staff can be dressed and/or shined up, even thickened a bit (as seen in the second image of the season two finale and the pic from the third episode of the third season, respectively), it does not change its basic appearance. Read: None of these staffs is Ephiny’s hand-me-down either.

Season four uses the same staff, from “In Sickness and in Hell”—the first time Gabrielle has one this season—up to the last act of “The Way.” While saying goodbye to Eli and Hanuman, Gabrielle is suddenly holding a giant turd*- I mean, very dark staff with nearly indiscernible markings. Then it unexpectedly gains metallic bits and even chains? But that’s OK. It goes back to its nondescript form once it’s in the water. Only to gain some sort of fur outline and roped-off sections in the next shot? I dun even know.

Perhaps we were being shown a montage? ’Cuz it sure seems as if Gabrielle threw more than one staff into the river. I count three, maybe four in the image below. She just got rid of all of ’em, I s’pose.** …Except for her and Ephiny’s first staff, of course. I don’t see that rust-red/brown, eagle-headed one anywhere. Do you?

No? I rest my case. LOL! + Welp, I hope you enjoyed that jaunt down memory lane either way. Thanks (? 😂) to all the people who helped make this happen. Also, friends, if you see any more like ’em, then please direct them here. #GabbyStanForever heheheh Wub yuu, wabbit! And so does Lu. Take it away, Lu!

.

*Heh, is that a “HaH” reference? Remember when Xena handed Gabrielle that bag of horse dung back then? 😅 Poor wabbit.

**LOL at Gabrielle thinking she’s Oprah but with significantly less desirable prizes. “You’re going downriver! And you’re going downriver! You’re all going downriver!” 🤣

[illusionsofdreaming]

Pst- have u ever thought or anyone asks this to u? Like there's Cale and Alberu have same s/o they're crushing about? xD cuz their interactions are always humorous, I'm kinda curious abt ur opinion. Does this kinda request? Yes, I guess? But it's up to u for headcanon or imagine. Since I saw it's still closed- u can save this idea later. Btw, have a fantastic day! ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ━☆ﾟ*･｡*･:≡( ε:)

Ooh, it'll either be incredibly bittersweet or humorous depending on how far along they are on their crush on reader, but definitely would not ruin any relationships. The broship is too strong and they'd both wish for reader to be happy.

Surprisingly, no one has asked for this request or anything similar, unfortunately, inbox is closed right now so I'll have to move this to tags for safekeeping! Feel free to find it in the tags later on when inbox opens up again!

[a-big-apple]

Ooh, can I see some multiverse idea?

<3 <3 <3 There isn't a whole lot of this one written (I have many notes), but I'll share what there is! Basically, dimension hopping for maximum angst (because it's me):

You know it worked when you see the house.

Where you were, where you left, there was no house tucked into Obsidian’s hands, hiding the temple door from view. Just the crumbling effigy of a fusion you’ll never be again, and the warp pad you broke to discourage visitors. But here! A house, with a broad inviting porch and tall windows and a domed extension at the back. What a wonderful, thoroughly human idea. You wonder whose idea it was. You wonder who built it.

You tuck the hourglass down your shirt for safekeeping and jog across the sand to the porch steps.

[shrinkthisviolet]

Basically it would be, the ISA kids taking up new superhero identities (that would be nods or homages to the JSA). Here’s how I would have it go, in an AU take on 2x06: The Shade attacks Eclipso before he kills Isaac with the JSA joining in, but it causes an explosion. When the dust settles, only Cindy, Isaac, Artemis, Cosmo, and Mike are left. The mini-ISA team brings an unconscious Mike to the ER and heads back to their HQ. Cindy shows the others that she took Cosmo for safekeeping. All three of them are rocked to their core about what happened in some shape or form. Especially Cindy, because during the fight — Courtney successfully saved her life, but then seemingly lost her own because of it. In the days that follow, mysterious creatures wearing Eclipso’s symbol/colors starts attacking Blue Valley. Where Cindy figures that Eclipso must have survived the fight somehow, but the JSA didn’t. So, Cindy goes to Cosmo and pleads with him to help take down these creatures and find out where Eclipso is hiding to avenge/repay Courtney’s sacrifice. Cosmo agrees and Cindy dons one of Courtney’s old Stargirl uniforms (but blended with her own style to create a new identity). And after saving a few citizens of Blue Valley, she decides to reach out to Isaac and Artemis. With it taking some convincing and manipulation on her part — she convinces the other two to create similar new identities inspired by the JSA member who died saving them. Artemis takes on an identity homaging Hourman, while Issac takes on one homaging Dr. Mid-Nite (with different code names). Mike eventually figures out what they’re doing and asks to join them (instead of telling Pat and Barbra), bringing Jakeem and the Thunderbolt with him, because he wants to help kill Eclipso for what he did to Courtney. Cindy reluctantly lets him join (after some Thunderbolt enforced guilt tripping/blackmailing from Mike). Where Mike sort becomes the Cisco/Felicity type guy for their team. And Cameron eventually discovers his powers, trying to figure out who this new mystery team is. And after a few months of becoming a full team and discovering they each enjoy being actual heroes (with their new found family, being a support system for each other in their daily lives, and becoming better people in general). It looks like they might have finally found where Eclipso is hiding… but instead find the very much alive and newly freed, bloodied JSA. Cindy’s team and the JSA compare notes, with Courtney saying that Eclipso had them trapped in the Shadowlands for all those months but the JSA managed to escape and kill him with help from the Shade (who sacrificed himself to do so). Courtney and JSA basically tell Cindy and her team of “fakes” off for all the trauma they caused them. Courtney demands that Cindy hand Cosmo back over to her, threatening to reveal the truth about Cindy’s team to the public if they ever don their costumes again. Cindy bitterly agrees. Cindy and her team return back their HQ in defeat, only for a near death Shade to arrive warning Cindy not to hand over Cosmo to Courtney. Cindy tells him she already did. Shade reveals that Eclipso was badly injured during the explosion, but managed to survive by harnessing pieces of Shade’s life force and using it to split his own essence into the JSA members. Meaning, that all four of them are under Eclipso’s influence and as soon as he is strong enough to unite his soul fragments all into Courtney… the world will end. So, Cindy’s team would then have to face-off against the Eclipso controlled JSA.

Ooh antihero ISA, fighting for good! I’m intrigued by this idea