#perhaps giving people more credit than is due

[assim-eu-sou]

“Then what am I?”

“… you’re Spring Sunshine Su-yeon”.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (이상한 변호사 우영우)

2022, dir. Yoo In Shik

[cupidzgf]

FACETIME | SATORU GOJO

☁︎‎‎‧₊˚ summary: have you seen those tiktoks with girls talking about how they've been "traumatized" on facetime because their boyfriends said, "keep talking" while secretly getting off to their girlfriend's voice over an innocent call? let me set the scene for you…

contents: mdni, nsfw, afab reader, male masturbation, a little bit of sub satoru, voice kink, basically one-sided phone sex, lmk if i missed anything, w/c: 1.5k

SATORU lies on facetime with you in the late hours of the night. he's been across the country for the past two weeks due to a cursed womb (or so he says; you never understand what he is talking about). so you two settled for calling one another any night he was available, even though he loved to rub, "aww, did you miss me, sweetheart? i bet you're bedridden with sadness over my departure," in your face.

week two comes to a close on saturday night, and still, he's stuck with another sorcerer he claims "gets in the way of his technique" and is "virtually useless." you try to remind him to be kind, but it goes in one ear and right out the other.

he had already recounted his day to you, albeit tiredly, but he filled you in with the same happy-go-lucky attitude you're used to from his luxurious hotel bed as he turned his attention to you for you to do the same. throughout your recollection of the past three days, he grows increasingly antsy, fidgeting too much for it to be nothing. his phone constantly scrapes against the bed sheets as he adjusts the angle, but you don't comment on it, more focused on how nice it is to talk to him after three days since your last call.

no matter how much gojo is gone, it never ceases to leave a hollow hole in your chest, crawling with pits of negative emotions. knowing bits and pieces of the danger he faces does nothing to ease your worried consciousness over his well-being when he's away. he knows this and does well to accommodate the loneliness and anxiety that follows his absence, ensuing these calls when he can. not that he isn't as obsessed with you as you are with him, but he's more considerate than most people give him credit for.

you continue recounting the details of work and its latest drama, something satoru is usually very attentive to. in his line of work, drama comes in a much different form, which is why you assume that yours is a distraction from his. yet his lack of response begins to raise warning flags. his typically energetic and reassuring demeanor is replaced by eerie silence. questions about his behavior start to filter and infiltrate your scrambling thoughts.

it was easy to assume that it was your fault. maybe he was tired and didn't want to hear you ramble? perhaps he doesn't want to be rude and tell you to shut up? what if you're annoying or boring him? even as he's assured you hundreds of times before how he loves to hear you talk and share your life with him, the insecure part of your mind starts to turn on you with bared teeth and fangs.

as you finish your sentence, a beat of silence passes, and you wait with bated breath for a huff of laughter that never comes. he doesn't respond, heavy breathing filtering through your phone's speakers so quietly you have to strain your ears to hear it. you furrow your eyebrows, biting your nails as the silence stretches on.

"toru?" you softly ask, tilting your phone screen to get a better angle of the dark room staring back at you through the screen. the hotel room provided little in the way of light.

"yeah?" he replies, his voice strained with a tinge of breathlessness.

"are you okay? you're not injured, right?"

a shaky hum vibrates your phone ever so slightly, and you catch a glimpse of his spikes of white hair in the darkness. "yeah…yeah, sweet cheeks, just keep talkin' f'me, alright?" i'm close, goes unspoken, but he's too focused on the sound of your voice that could have only been gifted by the heavens and his hard, leaking cock to dwell further.

it's been two weeks, and he feels like he will go insane before the semi-grade 1 he's supposed to supervise exercises the curse.

suguru had recommended that the kid be moved to a grade 1 sorcerer, which was fine with him. he didn't interact with his juniors often but figured his calmer other half had a plan. why should he care? that was until he'd been put on assignment with him to exorcise a special grade halfway across the country, and suddenly, he cared a whole fucking lot.

it had only been because of suguru and leiri that he didn't whine and complain until they assigned someone else about why he, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, was given something so….so….(suguru hadn't let him finish the sentence before he was given a cold glare). but the old bastards had a way of making his life hell, and now he was left to sleep in a rundown hotel (the kid insisted it was the fanciest thing he'd ever seen), pent-up and irritated out of his mind.

you, however, had been his saving grace when after a particularly long day, you called him. sporting the cute pajama set he likes to smack your ass in, how was he not supposed to find your voice attractive? i mean, come on, he hadn't even had time to jerk off in those two weeks; what was he supposed to do? not as quietly as possible, take his cock out of his pants?

at your end of the call, his out-of-character attitude makes you suspicious. however, for the sake of conversation, you attempt to brush it off until it hits you, and you pause for your next word. "what are you doing?"

silence. you are met with piercing silence and then an unsteady chuckle. you can imagine him shaking his head as he clears his throat uncomfortably. "listening to you, whad'ya ask?"

"you're really quiet…and i can't see you. if you don't want to listen to me, just say so," you murmur softly, delicately even. the next second, there's a poorly concealed grunt, teetering on the edge of a whine. both of you pause at the same time, the humming of the air conditioning outrageously loud in the stillness that follows.

"fuck, i'm sorry, i'm so sorry. i just can't take it anymore." moaning, the vulgar sounds of wet slick fill the air, and it's then the realization comes crashing down.

your jaw slackens, utter shock overtaking your now stiff body. "what the fuck?" you breathe, astonished. "h-how long–"

"since you started talking," he strains, and the familiar build of an orgasm from his hand frantically pumping his length drenched in pre is a lewd sight. spreading his legs further from where he lies on the bed, he whines back, arching as the tightness in his balls makes him feverish, his cock impossibly hard. he's become desperate to hear you speak, pleading for you to give him that push off the edge and into the insanity of release. "oh, fuck, keep going, please--"

"oh my god, you're such a perverted freak! i wasn't doing anything sexual, and you're beating your cock to my voice—"

he knows he's depraved, but cumming to the sound of you degrading him over the phone has to be a new low. especially the way his pent-up release feels like heaven crashing over his body in a tidal wave and sweeping him off his feet. he moans, shuddering with a sweet cry when you gasp in that cute voice of yours as you realize he came.

panting, satoru slumps on the bed, his hand and the bedsheets drenched in his seed. his eyes follow the mess he made to his phone, where spurts of sticky white land where your face is on the screen.

"you're sick." he knows you don't actually mean that. you're just in shock, right? turned on? maybe you'll even take off your pants, and he can get a glimpse of that sweet pussy… "i'm breaking up with you."

satoru is violently ripped out of his lust-filled fantasy as he grabs his phone in a flurry, cringing at how his fingers stick and smear over the metal. "no, no, no, no. i'm sorry, pretty baby; i didn't mean to make you mad."

pouting, a face that he knows garners your sympathy, he attempts to coo his words in a sickly sweet, desperate voice he knows you love. "i've just been so pent up without you and your pussy that i couldn't help myself. you were being so good for me, i couldn't hold it in anymore. :("

he holds the camera to his face, praying it captures not only the sad tone but also his frown and sad eyes of apology. "i'll be better next time, sweet girl, i promise."

your eyes move across your face before you stand and pace around your shared room, rubbing a hand over your eyes. "i hate you," you murmur, and his face lightens up with an ear-splitting grin as you grumble about how he could have at least done it with you. all was forgiven as far as he was concerned.

"ugh, you're disgusting. just… go clean up." sighing, you sit back on the bed, side-eyeing him when he doesn't move.

he perks up, grinning as his following retort comes to mind. "only if you talk me through it."

automated beeps from the now-ended call are the only things that reply.

©2023 cupidzgf. do not copy, translate, modify, or repost my content onto other sites without my permission

[cfiesler]

Elon Musk did not create an AI trained on your fanfiction.

Hi, AI ethicist + fanfiction expert here. (This is one of those times where I feel uniquely qualified to comment on something...)

I’m seeing this weird game of telephone about the Sudowrite AI that I think started out pretty accurate, but now has become “Elon Musk created an AI that is stealing your fanfiction” (which frankly gives him far too much credit). I can probably say more about this, but here are a few things that I want to clarify for folks, which can be boiled down to “Elon Musk has nothing to do with this” and “this is nothing new”: Elon Musk is not involved in any way with Sudowrite, as far as I can tell. Sudowrite does, however, use GPT-3, the widely-used large language model created by OpenAI, which Elon Musk co-founded. He resigned in 2018, citing a conflict of interest due to Tesla’s AI development. It wasn’t until after he left that OpenAI went from being a non-profit to a capped for-profit. Elon Musk doesn’t have anything to do with OpenAI currently (and in fact just cut off their access to Twitter data), though I can’t find anything that confirms whether or not he might have shares in the company. I would also be shocked if Elon actually contributed anything but money to the development of GPT-3.

Based on Sudowrite’s description on their FAQ, they are not collecting any training data themselves - they’re just using GPT-3 paired with their own proprietary narrative model.  And GPT-3 is trained on datasets like common crawl and webtext, which can simplistically be described as “scraping the whole internet.” Same as their DALL-E art generator. So it’s not surprising that AO3 would be in that dataset, along with everything else (e.g., Tumblr posts, blogs, news articles, all the words people write online) that doesn’t use technical means to prohibit scraping. 

OpenAI does make money now, including from companies like Sudowrite paying for access to GPT-3. And Sudowrite itself is a paid service. So yes, someone is profiting from its use (though OpenAI is capped at no more than 100% return on investment) and I think that the conversations about art (whether visual or text) being used to train these models without consent of the artist are important conversations to be having.

I think it’s possible that what OpenAI is doing is legal (i.e., not copyright infringement) for some of the same reasons that fanfiction is legal (or perhaps more accurately, for reasons that many for-profit remixes are found to be fair use), but I think whether it’s ETHICAL is a completely different question, and I’ve seen a huge amount of disagreement on this.

But the last thing I will say is that this is nothing new. GPT-3 has been around for years and it’s not even the first OpenAI product to have used content scraped from the web.

[plussizefantasia]

The Surprise

Flufftober Day 20: Hiking

Thorin Oakenshield x reader

Word Count: 2.1k

AN: Day 20! Wow, if I'm totally honest I didn't think that I'd make it this far. Feedback and Reblogs mean a lot. I'll see y'all tomorrow.

divider credit: @royallaesthetics

“You’ve not been yourself for quite a while my love. Tell me what troubles you.” Thorin had been more irritable than normal lately. He had taken to sparring more than normal and had been extremely short with some of the more resistant members of his council.

“It is nothing Ghivashel, do not worry your precious head about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you Thorin, that is what being your wife means.” You pulled him into your arms and looked into his eyes. “You are my heart, and when you hurt, I hurt. So let me lift your burdens.”

“Do you miss it?” Was his questioning response. 

“Miss what, Thorin?”

“Being free. The adventures that we had before we reclaimed the mountain. Slaying beasts and journeying with our closest friends.” He was wistful when he spoke of these things. His voice was soft and his eyes were glazed over. 

“Of course I miss it my love, but who is to say that it has to be over?”

His eyes met yours. “I have far too much to do. I cannot just leave the mountain to go on an adventure, not while things are still so fragile.”

“Well, yes. You cannot go on another year-long journey to reclaim our homeland. But you can take the weekend. The council is at an impasse as it is and Bard and Thranduil are not due to return for negotiations for another month.” You kissed his head. “Thorin you have done enough that I know the mountain will not fall apart if you were to leave for a short while.”

“But what kind of King would I be if I abandoned my people?”

“My love, you are not abandoning them, you are taking care of yourself. You are letting yourself blow off some steam so that when you come back you will be an even better King than you are now.”

“It is just not possible Ghivasel. I must put these thoughts far from my mind.”

“If that is what you think is best.” You sighed. Your husband was not one to be easily swayed, even by you. 

Your thoughts began to race though, thinking of all the ways that you could improve your lover’s mood and what would need to be taken care of before that could happen.

The next few days passed similarly to the ones before your conversation with Thorin. He was up before you were and returned to your shared chambers after you had already gotten ready for sleep. His mood only got worse and you decided that something needed to give. Which is why the next morning after you had awoken, once again to your husband’s side of the bed already cold, you had sought out Balin for a discussion during breakfast.

You had found him in the royal library, where he usually resided in the early morning. Nursing a cup of tea and flipping through pages of an old tome. 

“Balin, I need to discuss something with you old friend.”

“Anything, for my Queen.”

“I was your friend long before I was your Queen” You pointed out.

“Perhaps but, I knew you’d be Queen before even Thorin did.”

“That is precisely who I’m here to speak to you about.” Balin put his book down on the table next to him, turning his aging body towards yours fully, and gestured for you to take a seat. “Thorin is troubled. He misses the journey and the freedom that came with it. I do not doubt that he loves being King, but he needs to be just Thorin sometimes too.”

“I have noticed that Thorin has been more easily angered as of late. What do you have in mind?” 

“I’m so glad you asked.” You detailed your plan to Balin and bounced ideas of the old dwarf until the sun had reached its peak in the sky. Both of you had accidentally neglected your duties of the morning and spent the rest of the day playing catch-up. Any dwarf that saw the two of you in passing though, could only describe the two of you as possibly giddy.

Two weeks passed before the plan could finally be put into motion. Two weeks of sneaking around behind Thorin’s back, wrapping up loose ends, and ensuring that the mountain would in fact, not implode during your weekend away. It was hard work, and by the end of it, you were very much aware of why Thorin had been so tense lately. It just made you want to surprise him with your gift even more.

The morning of the surprise you intentionally woke up extremely early. Early enough that you were up and ready before Throin was. You pulled together your outfit and his and ensured that both of your packs were properly stocked.

When he finally woke, the confusion on his face quickly morphed into alertness and concern. He practically launched himself out of the bed before his eyes landed on your body and he instantly relaxed.

“What in Mahal’s name are you doing up?” His morning voice was rough and insanely attractive, you had to remind yourself that you were on a schedule before you acted upon the thoughts that came rushing to you at his words.

“I have a surprise for you, and I needed to be awake before you to stop you from leaving before it was ready.”

“Ghivashel,” his tone was apologetic, “today is much too busy for any kind of surprise.”

“Except, my love, it is not. I have already taken care of your duties for the day, and have canceled the meeting you had with the miners guild this weekend in favor of a crafter’s summit later this month where all of the workers in the mountain will be able to discuss their dilemmas together.” 

“You, what?” He was baffled, truly baffled. How had you possibly done all this without him noticing?”

“The summit was Balin’s idea, he insisted that it would work and I hope he was right. Nevertheless, your schedule and mine are clear for the next three days and I have planned a surprise for you. Your clothes are laid out for you and I have already packed for the both of us. Breakfast is in the kitchen, meet me in the stables when you are ready. I still have a few things to prepare before it is time.” You instructed him. 

“Time for what?” He grabbed your wrist as you began to walk out past the wooden doors of your chamber. 

“Time for your surprise, my darling.” You kissed him soundly and continued your exit. Leaving a confused but hesitantly excited Thorin behind. 

While Thorin was getting ready, you headed to the kitchen yourself. To grab the basket full of the feast you had called upon the kitchen to prepare. A long with some dried bread and cheese to put in your sack. Then you made your way to the other hall of royal chambers to ensure that the princes were awake and getting ready. Those two could sleep through an orc attack if they were given the chance, and today you would not be giving them the chance. 

“If you mess this up. I will shave your mustache in your sleep Fili I mean it.” You had threatened the eldest. You found that it only ever took a threat to the eldest to make sure that the youngest also followed through. Kili was sure that whatever was done to Fili would be done to him twofold. And he wasn’t really wrong.

Once you had made sure that you had everything you would need you made your way to the stables. Hoping that you’d beat Thorin there, or that he actually would show up and not just insist that he needs to work anyway.

You didn’t see him when you arrived but it was still early so you didn’t feel the need to send out a search party. It was only a few moments later when you heard him turning the corner. In the time you had been there alone, you had managed to set up both your horse and Thorin’s. Packs laid across their back and saddled properly placed and laced up. 

“Ghivashel, what is this surprise you’ve planned for me? And why did we need to meet here to start.”

“I think I can tell you now, as long as you promise to not leave when you find out.”

“I promise my love, just tell me I beg you.”

“Remember my love, how a few weeks ago you had confided in me that you missed the journey. That you missed being free. Well, I spoke to Balin and we put together a plan that would let you be free, if only for a little while. We are going on a mini journey.”

“Love, This is… Thank you.” You’d never really seen Thorin be speechless before, he had always been a man of few words, but you don’t think you’ve ever seen him without any.

“I just want you to be happy, Thorin. You’ve been so stressed lately that I wanted to help you feel better.”

He pulled you into his arms and fiercely placed his lips upon yours. You melted into his kiss. His lips moved on yours in a passion, relaying all the thoughts that seemed to be trapped inside of his mind. He kissed you like he would never be able to kiss you again. When you finally broke apart you took a big breath and tried to control the dopey smile that was threatening to cross your face. 

“We have to get going. I have a plan and if you keep kissing me like that I’ll never be able to follow through.” You pulled away from him reluctantly and made your way towards your horse.

“After you.” 

The two of you rode for about an hour before the riding trail cleared and the pathway became too treacherous for the horses. 

“This is where we leave them. The rest of the way is one foot.”

Thorin and you dismounted and you let the horses off lead so that they could make their way back to the mountain without you. The two of you continued on foot with Thorin occasionally leading you through some rough terrain. You spent the entire day together, looking at wildlife and speaking about things that had nothing to do with the mountain or kingly duties.

You reminisced about the first journey, about Bofur’s ability to make a joke out of everything. Of Bilbo’s incessant fretting and how amusing it was to watch. You swapped stories and recounted battles the whole way. Only when you recognized where you were and that the final part of the surprise was almost there did you grab Thorin’s arm and stop him from going any further.

“Okay, we’re almost there. But I need to put this on you before we go any further. You pulled a long thin strip of black cloth from your pack.

“A blindfold? Ghivashel…”

“I know, I know but it won’t be long I promise.”

He sighed deeply and heavily but acquiesced. You tied the blindfold around his eyes and grabbed his hand. Leading him through the last of the few hurdles until you made it to the clearing where the last bit of the plan was waiting. 

“Surprise!” A yell called out around you and Thorin reached up to pull his blindfold off. The sight that awaited him was the entire rest of the company. All spread out across the clearing. Bombur was stirring a pot that was piked above the fire. Fili held Kili in a headlock and Kili struggled to escape. Dori, Nori, and Ori were all sat around some logs and were smiling at him.

Thorin turned to you and in his eyes, you could read adoration and thankfulness. He briefly left a kiss on your cheek before he let a smile cover the entirety of his face and started towards his friends. 

You stood behind watching your husband be the happiest he’s been in a very long time. His eyes were light and his shoulders were straight. For a few short moments, he was allowed to be Thorin Oakensheild, not King under the mountain. 

“This was a fine idea, My Queen.” You looked down to the left of you. Balin stood similarly to you, arms behind his back with a gentle smile across his face. 

“It was a great plan, Balin. I thank you for your help.”

“Anything for you, and for Thorin. He’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have him.”

[dustykneed]

can you share some of your mirror verse hcs?

(gladly! ... as you can see this really got away from me in terms of length and i am SO sorry in advance for springing a whole short essay on you skdjsdh)

to open with a bit of a shocker, perhaps, well, the way i interpret the mirrorverse, i just... cannot see mirror mcspirk happening. now don't get me wrong! i think mirror spirk is absolutely possible, and in fact highly probable, and not even as just a sleeping together thing. i think their dynamic could absolutely yield a form of co-dependent emotional attachment on a highly personal level. everyone defines love differently, but i think that in the mirrorverse, if not love, it is certainly as close as you could get. but mirror mcspirk i actually can't see, believe it or not, and this is for a couple of reasons:

the thing about the mirrorverse is that it is all about the death of humanity (not humans, but for what we know as the human capacity for empathy, kindness and hope. i've seen the mirrorverse described as "the universe where no hope can survive". i think that is a very apt summary of what i explore here.) one key assumption of my interpretation of the mirrorverse is that the characters themselves, initially, are no different from how they are in any other universe at the core, and it is the varied external factors of the universe in which they exist that produces the people they become.

to examine the effects of the mirrorverse on the triumvirate, we might begin by looking at the original triumvirate's relationships with the concept of "goodness", with reference to the principles of ethos, logos and pathos.

one of the fundaments of kirk, as a character, is his relationship with goodness as a choice. he represents ethos, morality, in that his goodness is the result of a conscious decision to be good, to do good, as far as possible, to pick the least of any evils if he absolutely must and even if it is difficult, to keep going for the greater good. in the end, it all boils down to his core motivation to be a net force of goodness on the world, or in other words, to train his eyes on the bigger picture when interacting with the situation at hand and to believe that goodness can always prevail in the sense that he will have a net positive impact on the world around him.

spock, on the other hand, is arguably characterized by his relationship with defining goodness. his struggle to reconcile logic and emotion goes hand in hand with his desire to know if, and why, what he is doing is right-- logos. other vulcans rationalize displays of emotion by interpreting them through the lens of logic. spock, i think, is unable to do this because while he has been taught that emotions are illogical and undesirable, and internalizes this to perhaps a far stricter extent than most vulcans due to being held to unfairly high standards to prove himself "vulcan enough", he recognizes on a subconscious level that there is no inherent contradiction between logic and emotions, and that goodness is a mixture of value judgements and rational, ethical methodology.

but mccoy, i think, is a little different, in that goodness in itself is what defines him as a character. instead of ethos (making the right decision) or logos (understanding what makes something right), mccoy's pathos (an unrefined, innate compulsion for goodness; something similar to mencius' theory of good human nature) is not a conscious decision or a principle of action, but a visceral, impulsive, desperate, sometimes irrational and neurotic need to do good no matter the cost, simply because he instinctively knows that it is the kind thing and therefore the right thing to do-- which, sometimes, makes him disregard the bigger picture, and, ironically, do the wrong thing out of irrationality.

(to digress-- i actually think that kirk is actually far more logical than we sometimes give him credit for, especially in the context of spirk. the dynamic of a logical, stoic character and an emotional, affectionate character whose very souls find solace in one another is a hugely compelling and moving one, and i cannot fault people for applying that dynamic to their relationship-- but, well, by virtue of being relatively less direct associations of their character dynamics in the context of slash, i think what happens sometimes with spones, mckirk and mcspirk is that in the process of fumbling around for ways to fit them together believably, people often end up doing a greater degree of exploration of their character dynamics and nuances that is like catnip to me xD)

for kirk and spock, as men whose worldviews are rooted in tangible logic, where the goodness they have seen is the driving force for their pursuit of morality, i do not doubt that without external proof of goodness as a feasible, worthy path, the same traits that grant them their steadfast belief in humanity and hence their great devotion to goodness will be the traits that drive them to turn away from that goodness in the mirror universe. in a world where hope cannot survive, where cruelty and ambition are the only constants, kirk's resourcefulness prompts him to adapt to his environment and seek what he sees as the bigger picture-- ambition and power. spock, a being of logic, observes that cruelty is simply how the world functions, and as a result applies this science to his interactions with it, seeking power not because of a specific ambition, but, again, because it is a logical course of action according to his observations.

i see spirk as highly probable in the mirrorverse precisely because of how alike they are in this regard. they are capable of great compartmentalization of personal sentiments in order to do what they consider "the right thing", or take the "logical course of action", and this is what makes them effective in command roles, where dwelling on the implications of a wrong decision could either kill you from the sheer crushing guilt, or kill more of your men because of your indecision. they are comfortable in their pursuit of power by use of force because they have internalized the rules of the mirrorverse, and are able find solace in each other because they are evenly matched as opponents and a force to be reckoned with when in alliance, which gives them the space to develop that personal attachment and tension in the first place.

but mccoy? mccoy's goodness isn't rooted in logic, and as a result, this facet of his character largely remains untouched even in the face of the greatest cruelties and atrocities his world can offer. his great stubbornness (or illogic, or perhaps even self-delusion) lends him the ability to, against all odds, still believe that people are inherently worthy of kindness and compassion. he believes in good without ever having experienced it, because his belief in good is illogical by nature.

i have no doubt that mccoy would possibly love kirk, and spock, in part simply because he resonates subconsciously with the capacity of kirk and spock to show great kindness. it is possible that he sees the apparitions of what they could have become, had the world not been so unkind to them, and his love for them is tinged with an undercurrent of mixed grief and disgust, and pity. but fundamentally he doesn't trust spirk-- and because of that i think he could never bring himself to truly fall in love even though he has the capacity for it, because that would require betraying his love for humanity.

i think, based on the way mirror kirk and spock likely treat mccoy, as technically their subordinate (and especially in mirror mirror, when mirror spock mind melds with mccoy to figure out why he saved his life without so much as a moment's hesitation, because he doesn't see mirror mccoy as a threat, so why would a mccoy from a softer, kinder universe ever be anything more?) i wouldn't be surprised if they saw mccoy as... lesser. you know? they know that mccoy isn't capable of seeking power the way they do. that makes him weak. i think they trust him far more than anyone else other than each other, perhaps less out of respect for his profession or character, but more because they are able to clear him as a possible threat, as something too pathetic to seize power even when given the chance. they definitely have some interest in his motivations-- like you would a pet, or a plaything, because kindness makes you a target, a weakness, and a liability. a fascinating study, but ultimately, inadvertently disposable.

and it makes sense, in a way, that they are unable to bring themselves to ally themselves with mccoy the way they have each other, because in the mirrorverse, to believe in kindness is a death sentence. they might pity mccoy or regard him with contempt borne out of inexplicable regret, the same way mccoy pities them, for his wasted potential as an asset (and maybe even as a partner). by insulating themselves against their inevitable loss of mccoy, conciously or otherwise, they save themselves another hurt in their world where hope is a lost cause.

(i definitely have more bouncing around in my head about mirror bones especially, but i think 1.5k words is enough for one sitting LMAO so sorry i think i'm halfway in finals mode still. but this is why i could never take literature lol i can never help myself and it takes a lot out of me xDD)

(oh and @callofdooty i think the mirrorverse as a place where no hope can survive quote was from you during our conversations about mirror bones! but either way i think you might enjoy this hahah)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

leona in club leadership

Me: I’m safe after the hitman that was Epel’s Birthday Jacket jumpscared me with the “Leona is a reliable senpai” talk Broomquet Leona: Broomquet Leona: *slowly raises the broom for a bonking*

why Why WHY

THGiS KeEEP S HAPPENinQ GgGggGggGGGGGGggggggg OTL wW E KJEEPA GETTIGN FL*ONA BEING A Goo D CAPTaiN SENAPI MENT0oe ER tPO HIS CLUB mQME MBers AND UNdERCLASMeN I'T S' DRIVXINw fG ME UP THE qm FUCKKERIQQaqBG gg gnK d WALLLLLLLLLLL

I THOUGHT I HAD PUT IT ALL BEHIND ME BUT NO 😭 HERE COMES CATER BAITING LEONA TO TAL K ABOUT AMGIFT /SPELLDrIV3 CLBU IN THS BROOMQUET......... . . ........ .. . ... . . . .. . QHJEBIYslbiufadbadf TO GET THESE THOUGHTS OUTTA MY HEAD I'M GONNA RANT A ND RAVE A LIL' aboUT L*ONA AND HIS cLUB

Alright, so. 🤡 We all know that Leona's the captain of the Magical Shift/Spelldrive Club at NRC (moving forward, I will refer to this as "Magift Club", since that's the shortest phrase). What's more is, we actually get quite a bit of information about how he goes around running the club and training its members (although the information is scattered across various vignettes, so it may be difficult to piece it all together if you don't know where to look or don't read certain vignettes). THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF THOUGH, THIS IS A GOLD MINE OF LuONA CHA EARCTERiXATION AND I'M GOINOG TO POP of DFF ABOUT IT

Firstly! In book 2 of the main story, Jack tells us that he was impressed by Leona's amazing play in a Magift game three years ago. This would later become a part of Jack's motivation to attend Night Raven College--so he could become a great athlete, and, perhaps, get to play against or alongside that player that he admired so much. Even when Jack learns that Leona is playing dirty to eliminated Diasomnia from the interdorm tournament, Jack exposes that he believes Leona is capable of securing a victory by playing fairly. Maybe you could call it a freshman's naive beliefs, but Jack knows that Leona is better than this. What book 2 shows us is that Leona is willing to resort to underhanded tactics to come out on top--but he's also very skilled in his own right, both physically and intellectually, and even at his lowest points, he has people who trust him to lead them: people like Jack. But where does this faith and respect come from???????? For that, we'll have to dive into additional materials.

In many vignettes, such as Ace's PE Uniform and Ruggie's Outdoor Wear, we hear from other characters that the Magift Club members train rigorously (usually to the point of exhaustion). Ruggie, a fellow Magift Club member, confesses to his inexperience; he never played Magift before coming to NRC and he's not a born athlete. He seriously considered quitting the club due to their physically demanding practice and training. However, Ruggie credits Leona for the vast improvement he has made, citing that Leona would give him all kinds of assignments to hone his skills. More importantly, doing all of these assignments also taught Ruggie how to endure and persist in the face of adversity. Ruggie could have just lied here and said the training was easy to quickly and artificially inflate the numbers of new recruits he pulls in to please Leona (some of the new recruits would end up dropping out anyway) BUT HE DOESN'T. This leads me to believe that Ruggie is being honest about what it takes to be in Magift Club and is genuinely praising Leona's guidance as a part of why it's beneficial to join. "Leona makes every session worthwhile [...] He makes all the calls during our games, but otherwise lets us do our thing. Which means we can work out our problem spots for ourselves. He's a great captain!"

Epel, the other main cast member in Magift Club, has not yet joined at the time of the flashback in Ruggie's Outdoor Wear vignette. Upon hearing Ruggie's praise of Leona, Epel gets the impression that Leona is an incredible person. Post-joining the club, this impression continues. In his Birthday Jacket vignettes, Epel describes Leona as someone who is quick-witted, fierce-looking, and has a cool personality. He really admires Leona and wants to be like him someday, making him the second first year that has these sort of sentiments. Epel tells stories similar to Ruggie, saying that Leona has helped him out a lot during club and is generally good at looking out for others. He specifically mentions that everyone counts on Leona for his leadership during games and provides individualized advice to help each team member improve (details which supports what Ruggie initially told the freshmen). People outside of Leona’s reign also comment on this, such as Ace in Endless Halloween Night. He remarks that the first thing Leona thought to do was untie Epel; this leads Ace to conclude that Leona, does, in fact, look out for people despite how he usually acts 🤡

Epel also says that he "knows" Leona would help him study if he were on the verge of failing a class. AND YOU KNOW WHAT??????????? Leona actually DOES tutor Ruggie (who initially descibes his grades as being "in the dumpster") and gives advice and materials to him. Now Ruggie's grades are average, but passing. In his Labwear vignettes, Leona doesn't formally teach Epel, but he does make a voice-changing potion to help Epel out (although his own ulterior motive was to avoid Rook, who was the one that originally helped Epel). When Epel and Grim then beg Leona to show them his technique, he refuses and seems annoyed at their requests. In other words, Leona doesn't seem eager to teach others unless it serves a purpose for himself.

Leons is oftentimes pushing others to perform well, and in a way that serves a dual purpose of helping the individual out but also ultimately benefitting him. For example, Leona helps sand Azul’s contracts because he wants to as terminate an agreement he has with Azul. Additionally, he plots in book 2 not only to help his dorm mates be noticed by Magift scouts, but also to prove his own worth as a leader. In yet another instance, Leona shows students outside of his club how to efficiently mine for magestone so they can fulfill their goal and earn a Vargas Badge. This clears them out of the cave so he can nap there. Leona is working smarter, not necessarily harder. Relating this to Magift Club... As Ruggie and Epel have told us, Leona runs his members ragged during practice. As a rich kid and royalty, he’s said to have a natural inclination for being demanding and ordering others around—but there’s always some kind of compensation or reward for following orders well. Ruggie gets many perks from doing Leona’s errands and chores for him, so he willingly follows Leona. For the Magift Club, the intense training causes those unable or unwilling to keep up to quit, leaving behind the go-getters, the tough, and the willful. Not only are these the types of people most likely to do well in actually playing the sport, but they’re also the types of people Leona himself is seeking with play with.

When your players are willing and able to train hard and by themselves (knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are, as well as how to improve), it encourages… independence. It means less work for the captain to do. It means having a group of people who are obedient and obey your every word. It means Leona can get away with napping during club practice. He's working them hard now so they can take care of themselves later and he has to do less. That seems to be the implication in some instances, as Riddle had noted before that, “it has been a while since [he has seen Leona] sincerely apply himself to his club activities.” (That's because Leona has already trained his team to be comfortable train on their own! This is demonstrated in the flashback of his Beastly Garb vignettes, when Leona instructs his club to do cooldown exercises "on their own while he heads off to nap.) And believe me, when he’s “applying himself”, his talent shines through (just as his intelligence does when he wants to employ it). As Epel and Ruggie say in Leona’s Halloween vignette (flashback), 5 people tried to get the disc away from Leona for 30 minutes and still weren’t successful while Leona barely broke a sweat. Part of the reason why Leona is able to afford bossing his team members around is because he can walk the walk. His own abilities, then, also serve as a point of motivation for the rest of the team. They want to be able to perform on the same level as him, want the honor to play with someone like that. We see one prominent example of this in his Dorm Uniform vignettes. In them, Jack is being bullied by Savanaclaw (senpai) mobs because they're annoyed with his athletic abilities and righteous attitude. These mobs also accurse Leona of being unworthy to lead them because "all [he does] is slack off during practice". They quickly learn the true magnitude of Leona's strength when he defends Jack from 30 mobs at once, not only demonstrating that he is fit for the title of captain, but also someone that has earned Jack's respect.

Though the Dorm Uniform vignettes ultimately frame Leona as siding with Jack, there is a lot of strategic thinking and wisdom in the advice he imparts to both parties involved in the quarrel. He argues in favor of the mobs "skirting the rules", which falls in line with his willingness to disregard morality so long as he achieves an end goal (see: his actions against Azul in book 3, and his actions in book 2 against Malleus). In this case, Jack preaching about playing by the rules is getting in the way of their goals (which will resurface in book 2). That's why he gets put in time-out to "think about his actions", and how he sees the world as black and white, evil and good. To Leona, it's not cheating, it's just playing smart and within the rules specifically specified (the mobs still acted within the boundaries set by rules) or what isn't specifically outlawed (they can't lose to Malleus if he can't play to begin with) to get what he wants. To this point, Leona also sees no shame in strategic retreats and surrenders. This is illustrated by him willingly turning himself into STYX when they approach, and passing on temporary leadership to Ruggie while he's gone. Again, he's just working with what he has in the systems that are presented to him, and he expects everyone else to be able to play the same game. While Leona tells Jack off, it's also true that Leona does have some code of honor as it relates to his own interests; he tells the mobs they're acting embarrassing by "punching down" and being jealous of a freshman. This doesn't come from a place of concern for Jack, or from worry about their attitude, but primarily from irritation that he has to clean up after their behavior. As we see in book 2, Leona himself has no issue with playing Magift against freshmen who are new to the sport (Ace, Deuce, etc.) when they've come unannounced into his dormitory. It's Jack who has to intervene there and call Leona out for picking on the small fry. Even Leona warning the mobs for using magic outside of Magift is a ploy to serve his own agenda. It's against school rules to use magic unless instructed; Leona is, therefore, against his students wailing on Jack using magic instead of fists because it could attract undue attention from staff (and thus cause issues for him, as their dorm leader). This is also why Leona wants to take on the Heartslabyul detective group in a game of Magift instead of just fighting them then and there; it's to avoid causing such a ruckus right before the big interdorm tournament. Leona has a problem with people challenging his authority and making unnecessary trouble for him to fix. When it serves his interests, he'll turn, and/or he won't side completely with one party. He can easily see the pros and the cons of both sides. If Jack is black and white, then Leona is all grey.

This is another notable quality of Leona's: he can identify and understand people's strengths and weaknesses, sometimes even better than they do themselves. His own club members can attest to how Leona gives them specific advice to improve their skills. In fact, we get to see one instance of it in Leona's Beastly Garb vignettes. Epel asks Leona for advice on how to better control the disc, since he's been missing passes and dropping them a lot. Leona responds by telling him not to worry about it and then walking off. A lot of people might look at this and say "he's just being lazy and shirking his work again". But later in the vignette, Leona explains his rationale: Epel's strength is his speed. When he's handling a disc as he's flying, that significantly cuts down on that speed and hinders his overall performance. If Epel tries to get better at all these things at once, he'll neglect his actual strength and not be useful to the team. Leona reasons that since making objects float is a fundamental skill for a mage, Epel will naturally practice it more and improve with time, so in the meantime he should dedicate his time in club to what he's already got as an asset.

This discerning eye is not just limited to club members, either. Leona has shown that, time and time again, he can key in on people. It was Leona who recognized Ace's craftiness and how Ace planned to use Leona's presence to his own advantage in Endless Halloween Night. Leona doesn't worry about the potential harm a wayward disc could have caused Riddle because he knows Riddle could easily deflect it with his own magic (in Ace's PE vignette). He alone noticed that Jamil's eyes "always glare" and senses his malicious intent against Kalim (in Jamil's School Uniform vignette). This is WAY before the events of book 4 ever came out too. Then, in book 6, Leona points out that Ruggie knows how keep to the strongest people to make up for his own deficits, how Jack knows how to adhere to a hierarchy, and how even Kalim has strengths in how amicable he is, and the wealth he was born into. He knows when people aren't meeting their full potential too, telling Jamil that he keeps making excuses instead of actually acting.

What makes the whole conversation Leona has with Jamil so great is that a lot of what is said is relatable for the two of them. Leona, too, knows what it's like to be in a situation where others shun his talents in favor of another. That's why he's able to speak so pointedly on the matter. It's that connection that helps to move Jamil and motivate him to finally act on his own to fulfill a support role for Leona that he needs later on. There's a parallel here with how Leona acted in book 2; he tried and tried and tried, and when he failed, he sat down and gave it all up, blaming his team mates and claiming he played along with their game. Leona was a quitter before. But now he's seeing that same behavior in others and he's calling it out, bluntly posing the question of if they're going to continue to wallow or if they're going to pick themselves up and move forward. It's the same lesson that HE had to learn for himself. If you consider that his Dorm Uniform vignettes play out prior to book 2, it becomes even more fitting for his growth since he tells Jack back then: "[...] guys who own up to their mistakes are all right in my book. Keep at it and model that behavior for the rest of Savanaclaw." This is Leona owning up to his own mistakes. He never openly and formally apologizes what his wrongdoings or promised to "be better" (then again, some OB boys just don't), but he's making up for his past behavior by imparting the wisdom he learned with his peers, whether subconsciously (like, out of guilt) or consciously.

This all goes hand-in-hand with the high standards Leona has set for Magift Club. Cater asks him for the details of his club's training (in Leona's Broomquet), to which the birthday boy responds with a story about how a team member didn't have enough stamina for a game, so instead of training them to pass the disc, he purposefully chucked the disc as far as it would go. It's to demonstrate to the club member that was lacking in stamina that this is the distance they need to be able to go, and this is their current disparity. It comes off as perhaps too harsh (and certainly a means to quit the club), but as Leona puts it, he doesn't want nor need cowards with him. His team should be full of people who get frustrated when they cannot meet their goals and will actively think about how to be better, then come back and try again and again. Think of it like how Mulan found smarter ways to tackle the challenges put forth by the army, rather than training the conventional way. That's what Leona expects of his club members, and it's the same mentality that drives himself. Tackling the same problem using creative solutions--it's like a game of chess. qbkhldyuFVYOwovyifS ;fslh ihof Aana dnAn thEN MCaER T SAYS smsethbha TH LIKE "waaaah~ Leona-kun is such a cool leader~" AFSHYJASVYOIFADOS AND THANE THAT FUCKE R LONA ' JUST G oeaS "this is to be expected of every leader, it's the basics" UNM???????? ??? ??? ???? ? BITCH EXCUSE YOU???? ???? ??? ? ? ? ? ? 😭 IW ANS'T EXPEC TING TO BE FUCXKIGFN A ATTACKED LKIKE THIS, CA T MAN

ANWAYT THE PoINT OF AL L THAT WAS FOR ME TO SAY I WANT TO MCMURDE R AYNONE AND EVERYONE IN THE MAIN CAS qta THAT AH AS HEL D L*&ON A UP AS AN ADMIRABL E SE PA I AND CAPIUTAN THAT MEANSE YOI9U AC 3 GG EPELSAUCE CATy KYn rUGGS JACKI EBKJ;AEBDU; THey'r eALLLK OBN YM SHIT LIS T NOW I.'M HOLDLIGFN A AG GRUDEG AGAINSET THEM FOR PRAISIU GN COOL M EN TOR GOOD SENPA I L EONA SANNBPNNnNndj LBFSPUIBsibuFSBIfspygfqetuovfebqbotw86gq9pgw /..;,ml'k[psn[noadgbu9advby9zdvbypaeft7fqet8ovadbcsmvbhlvnjc:vhSVIYFctiyqvofacvihcabiacscasn;c n;dv;dan;klabdlihvequpaqvebihp

HNNNNNGNNGHHGHHHHHGHHGHHGHHHHHH HH H H H H H TNHSI ZISZ SO XiCK ASND TWIS tTED, I'M LitTERALLY GOINAN BE ViOLETNTLY ILL 🤢how DARE he BE wm lik. QE THSI , HOW DARE

c'meree COMEW hgER ERE C'MENEEGHHGEHEHEHEHEHHEHRHEHEHEERHHRRRREEEEEEHEE, YOIU ASI LI TL MEOWMOEW I'LL AS HKA E TYA TIL Yoasuy FE EL as ASICK tO YOUR STOMACH BNH L AS I DO

shakahehwhjahskaghsjghasksgsajaegejhagshgshaskashShshskGsjshHaxhhShzhkSHSKEHKAGkDHGEKGSDJDSHDKJSHJSKHKN CKZXCKHCHBLZXBIHLCHCOUDBHIZXGSSHZKDHZJDGDKDADGHDKZDGHAJZCJAHSCKZCHZDJHZJFKBADIYO I';MP BNOIB SO NOREMLA YI';M NB SO NORMAL LABOYUT AHtEHIS sAsxkjKHLBxbhlHLBSbhlslhbBSLSSSSSsSsSsssssSsSs

I'AMSD Rr ReALLY OUTR HESR RE HAVE ING A WHOEL EXISSITENTIAL CRISIS AND AND AHGALF BECUAA SEO F L I O N M A N OTL I'M OWED MONETY FOR EMOTIUAONL DAMAMGES YOI'LL BE HEARING FROM MY LAWYER, K I NG SC HO L AR

P.S. I'M SO SCARE D THAT HE'S GONNA OUTRPAVE ROOO K ON MY FAOVRIRTS LIST I'M SOC UFKC IUNG SCARED

[stedefxckingbonnet]

hello hello! i don’t think i’ve seen anything like this yet, so may i request izzy x gn!reader who’s a bit insecure?

maybe they struggle with body image or something and izzy is basically like “how are they so blind??” but he struggles to express it because he’s never had to be so soft for anyone?

of course, ignore it if you’re not comfortable with it! :)

Hi, everyone!!

So, it's been a while. And I mean, a while. Longer than I wanted to step away from writing, and I never really wanted to step away from it in the first place but some stuff happened and yada yada. But I'm truly, truly hoping to be back and writing again to some capacity, I have truly missed writing for Izzy and for you all and I feel as though the world needs Izzy Hands content now more than ever! I truly do hope to be back.

I hope you don't mind that I put my own spin onto this, anon! You provided the lovely central plot and idea, and I simply provided an atmosphere and story to go with. Body image/insecurity is something I struggle with too, no matter how many times people tell me that I am beautiful, and I tried to channel that in this one. I am also not trying to send the message that other people's validation is what can make a person feel better about themself! I am more so trying to convey that the one(s) we love can often show us things about ourselves that we didn't know were there or didn't see before, and that they help us to love and appreciate these things about ourselves, and ourselves in general. You all who are reading this are so, so wonderful and beautiful and extraordinary even if you have a hard time believing it, and maybe your comfort character can help you to believe it a bit more in this little fic♡

Anyhow, please, request! Don't hesitate! My messages are also always open for anyone who needs anything but also just to say hi or talk about anything really. Thank you all for your everlasting support, patience, and kindness especially through my sort of absence ♡ Also, please, if I have used your gif or you know who created it, please credit yourself or them! I am not always good at figuring that sort of stuff out, but I want to give credit where credit is due. Have a wonderful day (or night), everyone!

Love,

Lavinia

What I See | Izzy Hands x Reader

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, slight swearing, struggles with body image and insecurity, very direct izzy (in a good, affectionate way but may be inaccurate ish? but i believe it isn't)

Word Count: 2525

"I just don't understand it!" the first mate angrily threw his hands up in the air. "I just don't understand why Bonnet is dragging us to one of those stupid...fancy people gatherings."

You couldn't help but laugh at such a sight, seeing Izzy Hands so distraught, though his usual cloud of anguish didn't seem to surround him. This was different, something you couldn't exactly place, but it was endearing nonetheless. "A ball, you mean?" your lips curled into a playful smile.

"I don't care what it's called," Izzy grumbled. "All I know is that I don't want to be there."

"It could be fun!" you suggested, your smile growing larger.

"Has Bonnet brainwashed you somehow?" Izzy rolled his eyes, but for just a moment, maybe, you could have sworn you saw a smile on the first mate's visage.

"If worse comes to worse, there'll be plenty of alcohol to drink," you laughed, softly squeezing Izzy's shoulder. Subtle touches like these between the two of you were second nature, almost instinctual, yet you were certain Izzy didn't make much of it and plainly saw them as something friendly. You almost sighed at such a thought.

And perhaps you had your own motives for wanting to drag Israel Hands along to such an event. Perhaps it gave you an excuse to hold him close to you without him suspecting a single thing, just that it was all custom meant to be followed in such a setting. You thought maybe, just maybe, it would be the opportune night to spend some more time with Izzy, just the two of you in the moonlight, dancing and chatting the night away, cheek to cheek...

"Fancy people alcohol," Izzy groaned in response, snapping you out of your daydream, to which luckily, he didn't notice you had slipped into in the first place.

"It's better than nothing," you rolled your eyes playfully. "Now, come on. Bonnet's got some fabrics for us to borrow, he says. I've come to fetch you," you now smiled teasingly.

"Oh, joy!" Izzy exclaimed sarcastically, yet he still followed your lead.

The only reason he was even remotely tolerating the night ahead was to be able to find himself closer to you, away from the chaos of The Revenge and all else it had to offer. Spending a night with you wouldn't be dreadful in the slightest for Izzy, and had you not been attending at all, he wouldn't even hesitate to let Ed and Stede go off to this awful event by themselves. But even Stede knew that your presence was enough to get Izzy to agree to such a thing, and really, what could be more convincing than you?

Before Izzy could comprehend it, your figure was wrapped in an ethereal ensemble. You studied yourself in the mirror, a frown naturally falling upon your face, though it quickly faltered as he came into view.

By the sea gods, you looked astonishing. Izzy already knew you would be the most bewitching of the ball, and that perhaps he would have to compete with other awful suitors of high society to even just get a moment alone with you. He almost became troubled at the thought, but your unmatched beauty was enough to distract him from such a notion. You had taken his breath away and this wasn't exactly a feeling he was used to, though it wasn't one that he disliked. No, not at all. In fact, he could get used to this, and he wanted to. Even though his own reflection stood right before him, he couldn't take his eyes off of you. He never could have fathomed until he met you that someone could be so breathtaking, so...alluring.

But all you were thinking about is how your clothing seemed to accentuate all of the wrong features, in your eyes.

'And the color—it washes me out, doesn't it?' you thought to yourself, almost fighting back tears.

Finally, Izzy spoke, though he immediately regret doing so. "Will you be comfortable?" He almost began to scold himself. 'That's all you have to say? This attractive person is standing right beside you and that's all you can manage to say?'

"Oh, yes. I've got plenty of moving room," you assured him, doing your best to step out of your own head for a moment. You even tried to shoot him a convincing smile. "I'll be just fine."

Finally, your eyes wandered over to his image, instead of focusing either at your own reflection or onto the ground. You felt your face becoming warm as you caught a glimpse of the man before you—how he was transformed, yet, still the Izzy Hands you knew and loved. Only elevated, and even more enchanting than usual. Your jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"What? I look fucking dumb, don't I?" Izzy laughed annoyedly.

"No! No, Izzy, you look..."

Before you could finish your statement, Stede rushed in. "You two ready to go? Oh, look at the two of you! You look divine!"

You looked over at Izzy, sending a supportive, yet spirited smile his way. Izzy couldn't help but return the sentiment as the two of you were ushered off of the ship and into another realm unbeknownst to the both of you.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Some of the sweetest melodies you had ever heard began to surround you as you stepped into the ornately decorated room. You could hardly believe how much space there was in just one part of this residence, and that it was dedicated for dancing and other sorts of happenings similar to these. Before you knew it, for just a moment, you succumbed to your wonder of what having a life like this would entail, though you were quickly reminded of your distaste towards it when you saw a woman weeping and being chased out of the room by a man screaming extreme obscenities toward her. You and Izzy slowly looked toward one another in disbelief, the both of you fighting off laughter.

"It's not too late to get out of here," Izzy whispered.

You rolled your eyes with that same familiar grin this action always seemed to come with. "We're hardly even here."

Defeated, Izzy sighed and slumped against a wall, though quickly coming off it as soon as he spotted Stede glaring daggers at him from across the room. Another sigh escaped his lips, and you burst into a fit of laughter, unable to contain yourself. As annoyed as Izzy was at what just happened, your laughter was an antidote, and he was certainly taking it in.

Though, his newfound smile quickly faltered when he noticed a handsome stranger eyeing you from a few feet away. But you didn't even notice that someone else had noticed you—you only cared if the man in front of you had, and he seemed to be occupied by something else.

"Iz?" you asked in confusion. "What is it?"

Without another word, Izzy motioned his head to the side, to which you finally noticed the attention of another that you had captured.

"And?" you shook your head, unsure of what Izzy had been insinuating.

"He wants to dance with you," Izzy pointed out, rolling his eyes without realizing. "And you should have some fun. Don't let me hold you back."

You opened your mouth to speak in protest, but quickly closed it once again. How would you admit, in the midst of a stuffy room with a plethora of people you don't know who are all dancing and speaking at the top of their lungs, that all you had looked forward to this evening was to sharing a dance with Izzy Hands and no one else? That it was the only reason you even considered forcing yourself into an outfit that made you feel bad about yourself, even worse than you already do, and surrounding yourself with a million strangers whilst doing it? The thought alone sounded like a nightmare, but with Izzy by your side, it sounded like a dream come true. But Izzy was pushing you toward this stranger before you could comprehend it, and then you watched Izzy's figure disappear slowly into the distance as you were whisked away.

"I've never seen you here before," the stranger pointed out. "And if I had, I think I'd remember a beautiful person such as yourself."

These words made your insides twist. Your companion spoke with sincerity, but you couldn't bring yourself to believe it. 'He's just being polite,' you told yourself, brushing it off.

"It's been a few years," you lied, not wanting to blow your cover, or especially Stede's cover, as you were sure he wasn't exactly welcomed back into an environment such as this. "I don't usually speak to many."

"Well, isn't it my lucky day then?" he laughed. "No one here even compares to you. You are something special. What did you say your name was?"

But before the perhaps unlucky stranger knew it, you were nowhere to be found. You kept running until your environs became darker, and the moon was your only source of light. You leaned against the railing of a balcony, your vision blurred by tears. You flinched upon feeling a hand on your shoulder, but quickly relaxed once you noticed out of your periphery that it was none other than Izzy's touch.

"Did he offend you? I swear, I'll have his head before he can even fucking think of using it again—"

"No, no. He didn't. It's fine, really," you shrugged, blinking back tears to the best of your ability. But even the darkness of the night failed to hide your misery. Izzy softened upon noticing your state.

"What is it?" he asked, concern dripping from his voice as he looked at you intently. You stared at your hands gripping the railing, but you quickly tore your eyes away from that sight and stared out into the night.

"I—This is why I didn't want to come tonight!" you exclaimed.

"You—but you were so—"

"Excited? Yeah, right," you laughed sadly, shaking your head.

"What is it?" Izzy repeated, worry written all over his face. "Are you sure I don't need to behead anyone?"

Another laugh escaped you. "No, Izzy. He—he said I was beautiful. That's not a crime."

"He wasn't wrong," Izzy shrugged, a small smile making its way onto his face. With this, you couldn't help but meet Izzy's eyes, and you couldn't help but return a smile. Though quickly, it vanished, and your original demeanor overtook you once again.

"He was though," you protested. "This is why I don't like coming to these things. Squeezing myself into these clothes."

"I know these clothes are a bit ridiculous," Izzy laughed. "But yet you still manage to be so...beautiful."

Your heart began to do pirouettes inside your chest. For once in your life, part of you believed such a statement could be directed toward yourself. But Izzy could see the plagued expression on your face.

"You don't believe me?"

You shook your head as you finally allowed tears to fall down your face and drip onto your chest. Izzy frowned and took a few steps closer to you so as to gently wipe away your tears with his thumb, though his hand lingered for a moment longer, caressing your cheek as he was about to speak.

"You could be covered in dirt and I'd still find you beautiful," Izzy assured you. "You know, when I first saw you, I knew even then that you were. And you become more so every single day. You are the most enchanting person I've ever crossed paths with and laid my eyes upon. And there's so many things about the world I find are awful to have to experience and look at, but not you. You're the opposite of everything that's wrong with the world."

Sobs escaped your chest as you fell into Izzy's arms, to which he instinctively caught you, engulfing you carefully in his arms. He softly wrapped his fingers in your hair as he held you. 'I am holding the world in my arms right now,' he thought to himself, and thank the sea gods your face was buried into the crook of his neck and you couldn't see the grin that conquered his lips.

As for you, you never believed it when anyone else said these sorts of things to you. You found it impossible to believe these things about yourself; there were even days where you'd purposefully avoid any sort of reflective surface just to ensure that you don't break down. Sometimes, you couldn't even bear to look at yourself. But hearing Izzy declaring all of this to you—for the first time, perhaps you would actually be able to believe it.

Your silence made beads of sweat form atop Izzy's temple, but he didn't dare let you go to wipe them away. You clung onto him tighter, which only thawed Izzy's heart even more. He couldn't believe all that he just said, even though it was all true, and your lack of a response made his heart race even more.

"You are beautiful," Izzy repeated as he melted into your embrace, and embraced the shared silence. Something about it was comforting in a way he had never experienced before. If he could, he would exist in this moment forever.

Finally, you slowly pulled away, though your hands still clung onto the first mate's arms, and your faces were a short distance away from one another. At the same time, the two of you leaned in to close said distance between the two of you, and all bits of yearning, desire, love, and desperation poured out into this moment. Even without Izzy's words, he had already managed to make you feel lovely in every way even just by him being around. He was the one person who managed to help you see what was so amazing about yourself. You quickly melted into the sudden collision of your lips and he kissed you with a fervor that you had been craving from him for as long as you could remember. You smiled against his lips, and once air became scarce, the two of you simultaneously sought it. Once you both pulled apart for air, a collective joyous laugh filled both of your ears.

"I only wanted to come to this stupid thing because you'd be here," you admitted, and you were sure your cheeks were as red as the roses in the garden that surrounded you.

Izzy couldn't help but smile. "I wasn't going to come until Bonnet mentioned you would be. I meant what I said, you know. You are beautiful, and I'm sorry, but you're fucking dumb if you don't see that."

You threw your head back as you laughed before meeting Izzy's gaze once again. "You are so beautiful," Izzy repeated once again, all teasing aside to show his sincerity. You reached for his hand and squeezed it tenderly as the two of you looked out into nighttime, but all Izzy could focus on was how even more ravishing you looked as the moon illuminated your face.

[crystallizedday]

Mkay, so I just woke up & I feel like spitting some facts today while I’m still in my BATDR hyperfix, especially since I’m pretty sure not a lot of people have this idea as well & I wanna get it out there somehow.

So…

The Ink Demon is like… written SO fucking well in this game, or at least as I interpret it.

& I figured this shit out like GRADUALLY.

The first tid bit that hit me like a fucking truck was how CANONICALLY the Ink Demon is in DESPERATE need of any kind of love and affection. While it’s hinted at a little bit in the games, the smoking gun comes from the VOICE ACTOR FOR INKY HIMSELF Sean Crisden.

Yes, I looked through his entire Twitter to find this again just to prove I’m not insane.

Like… even if Sean isn’t caught up entirely on the lore, there’s no reason he would say this only knowing the Ink Demon through his lines. After all, my guy has to be told about the character to voice him, so for him to address this pretty much makes it as close to being confirmed officially as we can.

The second thing that hit me like a truck was the YouTuber Pastra’s review video on the game, where he details how the Ink Demon’s mocking in the last chapter is towards HIMSELF, not Audrey, & he’s just projecting all HIS shit onto her.

Not even I caught this, since I always thought Inky was right about the “your life is a lie” thing due to her not being fully human.

But then Pastra emphasized the “mistake” bit. Audrey wasn’t a mistake, far from it. The Ink Demon, BENDY, was. HE was a mistake, born solely to be a living mascot to entertain, & when he came out WRONG, he was locked away, neglected, abandoned by the man who created him.

So he looks at Audrey, someone who was made by the same man who made him, someone who was treated so much better because of how she came out “perfect”, & tries to bring her down on the same level as he is by berating her.

& while this is stretching a bit, him comforting her at the end feels a bit like he’s trying to comfort himself, tricking himself to believe there is SOMEONE like him, someone who was ABANDONED & lied to, & thus giving Audrey the opportunity to live so he can indulge in that comfort.

It’s a BIG stretch, but god DAMN is it a gut puncher!

Like I’m sure he also did it to manipulate her & shit, but like… he can have MORE than one reason to do shit, & if he really did try to comfort himself like that, if that really is true… then I’m gonna fucking sob, man.

BUT THAT IS NOT FUCKING ALL!!

Cause I got ONE MORE mind blower I had, mainly (but not entirely) on my own after that one!!

& it has to do with Baby Bendy.

A LOT of people think Inky got his mind split in two when he was imprisoned as Baby Bendy due to how different he acts around Audrey.

But I beg to differ.

I think the Ink Demon is ABSOLUTELY still conscious & in control as Baby Bendy. He just couldn’t do shit to anyone before Audrey came about & accidentally freed him (cause I am ALSO subscribed to that theory Pastra addressed in his video), so he just minded his own business.

Perhaps his new emotional responses spoken of in the Keepers’ tapes come from him being more powerless & vulnerable where the only thing he COULD do was cry.

& the reason he acts so friendly towards Audrey once she meets up with him near the city? Because she was kind to him, she actually gave a shit about him. She apologized to him about hurting him & wanted to take care of him.

NEVER in Inky’s life has he EVER had someone genuinely care about him & his well being, something he always wanted from ANYONE but never got. So when he finally has that opportunity with Audrey, he jumps to it, going along with it, even if he desperately didn’t want to visit the Gent labs again.

More evidence of this is detailed in a post by @jupiter-jellies titled “Ink Demon VS Vesty” which I really like (I apologize for the tag, I don’t know if there’s an easier option to showcase the post itself, but I still wanna credit you nonetheless) as it makes sense of the sequences of events that happen from when Baby Bendy first joins your party to when he disappears & the Ink Demon comes to stop you from entering the Keepers’ area. Seriously, that shit blew my mind when I read it cause it explains WHY Baby Bendy went missing & why the Ink Demon would try to stop Audrey from going THERE in particular.

It just makes sense that the Ink Demon was still HIMSELF in both forms, he just acts differently to compensate for his lack of powers & to be given the love & affection he always wanted.

… But then it gets sad.

Cause the more I thought about it, the more fucked up it became. The ONLY time the Ink Demon EVER got someone to reach out to him & make him feel cared for… is when he’s in a “perfect” form. Only when he was cute & innocent & TRAPPED against his WILL could he be EVER loved, that if only he came out RIGHT in the first place, then he would DESERVE all the love that Audrey offers him.

If Joey & the others neglecting & abusing him when he came out wrong when he was JUST created didn’t solidify this idea in his head, Audrey treating him like a friend in his “perfect” form & an enemy in his true form DEFINITELY sealed the deal to him.

& it only gets worse.

I was re-listening to Joey talking to Audrey at the tail-end of the game to try & snap her out of the dark mindset Inky put her in when I realized something.

The Ink Demon was RIGHT THERE, listening to his abuser talk directly to AUDREY the ENTIRE TIME, telling her how she was loved & how she’s not this monster, that she was his pride & joy, his ONLY success…

& that PISSES Inky off.

In INKY’s point of view, only after Joey had a creation that WASN’T an abomination did he suddenly have a change of heart, that all it took was to get something he always wanted to be a better person as he completely ignores his biggest mistake that was RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.

That… has GOT to sting, really bad, to feel abandoned AGAIN in favor of the “better sibling” that Audrey was.

I have a feeling that he didn’t crush Joey SOLELY so he couldn’t get through to Audrey. I think he also did it because he couldn’t take LISTENING to him talk like this anymore, to be reminded that he was a failure that didn’t deserve the love that Audrey got, & lashed out to shut Joey up.

This is ALL very headcanon-y, but… it really does paint the Ink Demon in a more complex & tragic light.

The Ink Demon was NEVER just a mindless monster that killed whatever it wanted on sight. He was capable of emotion, & he could’ve potentially been capable of being something so much more if only he got the proper care & reassurance he DESPERATELY needed.

& GOD I love his character for it, he’s my favorite character in the game BY FAR because of this, GOD I hope this is canon so I can give massive props to the writers for this game!!

[dragoneyes618]

"Perhaps presenting all these facts has the opposite effect from what we think. Perhaps we are giving people ideas.

I don't mean giving people ideas about how to murder Jews. There is no shortage of ideas like that, going back to Pharaoh's decree in the Book of Exodus about drowning Hebrew baby boys in the Nile. I mean, rather, that perhaps we are giving people ideas about our standards. Yes, everyone must learn about the Holocaust aso as not to repeat it. But this has come to mean that anything short of the Holocaust is, well, not the Holocaust. The bar is rather high.

Shooting people in a synagogue in San Diego or Pittsburgh isn't "systemic"; it's an act of a "lone wolf." And it's not the Holocaust. The same is true for arson attacks against two different Boston-area synagogues, followed by similar simultaneous attacks on Jewish institutions in Chicago a few days later, along with physical assaults on religious Jews on the streets of New York - all of which happened within a week of my visit to the Auschwitz show.

Lobbing missiles at sleeping children in Israel's Kiryat Gat, where my husband's cousins spent the week of my museum visit dragging their kids to bomb shelters, isn't an attempt to bring "Death to the Jews," no matter how frequently the people lobbing the missiles broadcast those very words; the wily Jews there figured out how to prevent their children form dying in large piles, so it is clearly no big deal.

Doxxing Jewish journalists is definitely not the Holocaust. Harassing Jewish college students is also not the Holocaust. Trolling Jews on social media is not the Holocaust either, even when it involves photoshopping them into gas chambers. (Give the trolls credit: They have definitely heard of Auschwitz.) Even hounding ancient Jewish communities out of entire countries and seizing all their assets - which happened in a dozen Muslim nations whose Jewish communities predated the Islamic conquest, countries that are now all almost entirely Judenrein - is emphatically not the Holocaust. It is quite amazing how many things are not the Holocaust.

The day of my visit to the museum, the rabbi of my synagogue attended a meeting arranged by police for local clergy, including him and seven Christian ministers and priests. The topic of the meeting was security. Even before the Pittsburgh massacre, membership dues at my synagogue included security fees. But apparently these local churches do not charge their congregants security fees, or avail themselves of government funds for this purpose.. The rabbi later told me how he sat in stunned silence as church officials discussed whether to put a lock on a church door. "A lock on the door," the rabbi said to me afterward, stupefied.

He didn't have to say what I already knew from the emails the synagogue routinely sends: that they've increased the rent-a-cops' hours, that they've done active-shooter training with the nursery school staff, that further initiatives are in place that "cannot be made public." A lock on the door," re repeated, astounded. "They just have no idea."

He is young, this rabbi - younger than me. He was realizing the same thing I realized at the Auschwitz exhibition, about the specificity of our experience. I feel the need to apologize here, to acknowledge that yes, this rabbi and I both know that many non-Jewish houses of worship in other places also require rent-a-cops, to announce that yes, we both know that other groups have been persecuted too - and this degrading need to recite these middle-school-obvious facts is itself an illustration of the problem, which is that dead Jews are only worth discussing if they are part of something bigger, something more. Some other people might go to Holocaust museums to feel sad, and then to feel proud of themselves for feeling sad. They will have learned something officially important, discovered a fancy metaphor for the limits of Western civilization. The problem is that for us, dead Jews aren't a metaphor, but rather actual people that we do not want our children to become." 

- Dara Horn, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present

[torchwood-99]

Book!Eowyn & Theoden Compared to Film!Eowyn & Theoden

So I love both versions of Eowyn, and I think the film manages to capture key aspects of Eowyn's character. That said, I do think that film!Eowyn does differ from book!Eowyn's character is one fairly significant way.

This meta isn't a criticism of either version, as both book and film present well written and moving stories, and both versions of Eowyn and Theoden are rich and interesting characters. Instead this is a look at how changes from one medium to another have knock-on-effects in other parts of the narrative.

Film!Eowyn, from fairly early on, shows greater warmth and vulnerability about her. We're more likely to see her laughing or crying, whereas book!Eowyn is for the most part either stern, or full on weeping.

Film!Eowyn is notably frightened before entering battle, comforting and receiving comfort from Merry, and is terrified when the Witch King comes at her with his mace. Book!Eowyn meanwhile is notably without fear of death or wish for life.

While this is a stark difference, I do not think this marks a massive difference in their core personality (both of them are still loyal, dedicated to their country, ready to fight to the death for those they love, frustrated at the confines of their society, and wishing for a greater lot than the one granted to them).

Instead, I think this difference is the natural result of their differences in circumstances, and both versions of Eowyn are consistent within the narrative logic of their respective medias.

Compare book!Eowyn's situation to film!Eowyn's. Shortly after book!Theoden's recovery, book!Eowyn is left behind to deal with the people at Dunharrow, while Eomer and Theoden ride away without her, along with the Fellowship. Film!Eowyn meanwhile; due to the plot being streamlined, travels with Theoden and the people as they seek refuge at Helm's Deep. This mean she isn't "exiled" as she is in the books, and not only does she get to spend time with Theoden, she spends time with Aragorn and Gimli as well, developing friendships within the Fellowship. Eowyn also starts a friendship with Merry as well.

The frost that settled on her during the years of Grima is given a much earlier chance to thaw, whereas Eowyn only gets this opportunity in the books later on, in the Houses of Healing with Faramir.

However, I would argue the biggest influence on the differences between book!Eowyn and film!Eowyn began before the narrative began, with her relationship with Theoden.

In the films, Theoden's relationship with Eowyn was expanded and given more focus. This; I think, was a creditable choice, as Miranda Otto and Bernard Hill's chemistry was excellent, and led to some of the most heart warming and moving moments in the film. Certainly, they gave Bernard Hill a chance to really shine as Theoden, and show his vulnerabilities as well a strengths.

The love Theoden has for his sister-daughter in the films really shines through, and seeing as they were introduced together, and their lasts big scenes were the two of them together on the Pelennor Fields. We get an epilogue of Eowyn in the Houses of Healing with Eomer and Aragorn and Faramir, but this is a wrap up. Eowyn's core arc closed with Theoden recognising her in the aftermath of battle, assuring her that he is at peace with his end, and affirming his love for her. In many ways, Theoden's story and Eowyn's story is Theoden and Eowyn's story. Their arcs conjoin with each other's more than they do with any other character's.

Compare this to the books. All those wonderful scenes between Eowyn and Theoden in the films were written for the films, and have no correlating scenes in the books. The closes we can find is perhaps when Theoden gives Eowyn rule of Rohan in his stead, however, there we see stark differences.

In the books, Theoden names Eomer as heir, and makes it clear that if he dies, a new ruler is to be chosen. When the people say they want someone else from the House of Eorl to rule in his stead, he needs reminding from Hama that Eowyn is of his house and is admired by many.

We don't see Theoden look up from his enchantment and smile on seeing Eowyn's face, we don't see him offering her words of comfort and solace, vowing to her that she will live to see happier days, and more than duty he wishes her to have happiness again. He doesn't express regret for what she endured in his household after the death of his parents, or shame that she had to serve a king in growing fear, when he "should have loved her like a father."

And when he dies, he dies with Eomer and Merry at his side, not Eowyn. He dies without ever knowing Eowyn lay just a little away from him. He dies having never known his niece at all.

Now, film!Theoden isn't flawless in regards to Eowyn. He is still paternalistic and still uses sexist conventions to overrule Eowyn's will in order to meet his own ends, but in sending Eowyn away, in telling her she must get the people to Helm's Deep instead of staying and fighting, in saying she "must do this, for me", it is clear that his main motivators are protective love, and real respect for her capabilities. To be fully just, he would have to give her the same opportunities to fight as he does Eomer. But their relationship is incredibly close, with mutual respect and affection on both sides.

This is a very different sort of relationship between Eowyn and Theoden in the books, where we have several instances of Theoden passing over Eowyn, declaring Eomer alone to be last of their house, and dying quite poignantly never knowing that Eowyn had fought beside him. Tolkien delivers a bittersweet story of two family members that loved each other, but were never fully reconciled, with one taken for granted and unseen by another, and ending with those issues unresolved.

Both stories have a lot of merit, and both are delivered in a moving and evocative way. However, in changing the nature of this relationship, arguably the definitive relationship in Eowyn's life, it is inevitable that Eowyn herself has to change.

For all that Eowyn in the films is more obviously vulnerable, more fearful of her life, more likely to wear her heart on her sleeve, whereas book!Eowyn bottles all of it up until she cannot hold it in any longer, and does not fear death because she wishes for it, film!Eowyn's greater outward vulnerability comes from possesing a stronger emotional resilience than book!Eowyn.

The relationship she has with Theoden is evidently more respectful, more intimate, more nurturing. We can suspect that before his illness, film!Theoden was a greater source of comfort and support than book!Theoden was, and after his recovery, film!Eowyn and film!Theoden has a chance to re-establish their bond in a way that book!Theoden and book!Eowyn never do.

Having a much more competent and respectful primary care-giver naturally had a knock on effect for film!Eowyn. Theoden's love and support, the rapport between them, gave Eowyn greater emotional resilience, which means she had a greater wish for life. Death in the films is probable and she tries to make her peace with it, but she does not long for it as she does in the books. She is also quicker to form connections with others, and show them her true feelings, because she has had Theoden's love and affection growing up, teaching her it is alright for her to do so.

In contrast, there are very few people Eowyn can show her feelings towards. Even when she finally drops the dutiful daughter act, she rides to battle shrouded in secrecy, referred to as Dernhelm even by the narrative, hiding herself from Merry.

In both film and books, Eowyn rides at her uncle's side, and fights to protect him. However, the nature of this protection comes across very differently.

Book!Eowyn, who never fully received the validation she needed from Theoden, whose life had been given over to serving him, offers her life so he might have dignity in death without fear, because her life has no value for her. All that she is has been given over in service of Theoden, and here at last, in dying for him, she might receive some renown for her services to him. And while she spares him a painful and inglorious death, Theoden dies never knowing of, and therefore never appreciating, the sacrifice Eowyn made him.

Film!Eowyn, bonded with her uncle through mutual respect and affection, faces the Witch King full of fear, but still she holds her ground. It is not a death wish or a sense of life being meaningless that allows her to stand against the Witch King when all others fled, but love and love alone. Love does play a part in Eowyn's actions in the books, but in the film's it is her single motivator, her one source of courage.

And when Theoden passes, he passes having seen Eowyn's face, knowing her, telling her she has already saved him, showing gratitude for their years together, and goes with her name on his lips.

It is interesting exploring how earlier changes in an adaptation have knock on effects later on in the work. The films changed a significant part of Theoden and Eowyn's relationship, and therefore a significant part of Eowyn's personality, but these changes were to play up to the actor's strengths (the films would be lesser things for denying Bernard Hill those beautiful scenes with Miranda Otto, and now that he is gone we can fully appreciate the skill he showed in those scenes all the more), and these changes had internal consistency. While they didn't exactly match the books, they made sense in the world the films were creating, which is the crucial thing.

[fixfoxnox]

About the MW3 teaser....I'm not saying anything. But I'm also not not saying anything...

Definitely not who we think they are, but WHY THE PARALLELS with the OG series?!

😭

SFJNKMFLKUWGFB

Alright I'm so glad you asked me about the trailer because I have been itching to talk about it! First of all, let's get this out of the way: I'M SO FLIPPING EXCITED

GUYS MAK LOOKS SO GOOD AND THE LITTLE BITS OF CINEMATIC GAMEPLAY HAVE GIVEN US SO MUCH INFORMATION JUST BY LITTLE BITS. I MAY HAVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN THE FULL TRAILER DROPS.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's get to theorizing.

So I went through and took screenshots of every separate scene that we got that looked like gameplay. Ny goal in doing this was to find parallels between the scenes we were given and mission in the first three og MW games.

So let's start with the ones that have everyone so nervous for Ghost and the ones that you mentioned above.

Obviously everyone's mind went to Ghost's death and, to be honest, I understand why. This is clearly meant to be a callback to that specific moment, however, I also think its meant to be a distraction. Because while I've been seeing everyone else talk about the throw, I've seen no one mention whats going on in the background. So let's break it down.

Night time, downed plane in the middle of a group of buildings, man in suit being thrown into fire. What are my thoughts on this? Well my initial and most prevalent theory is that this is the plane that we saw in the end credits of MW2, the one with the "No Russian" reference.

It seems to me like the plane in that sequence was already in the air, so it makes sense to me if the goal this time was to hijack the plane rather than shooting people. This seems especially true to me if we are going to see someone more similar to the original no Russian which seems likely due to the little clip we get of Verdansk in the trailer.

Now, like I said my goal was to find parallels between the clips and the original games, so did I find one here? Yes.

This is from MW3, the mission where Makarov kidnaps the president in hopes of getting nuclear launch codes from him. Now, do I think this is what the mission will be about? No, of course not. Instead I think its merely a reference to this mission and maybe gives a hint at some things Makarov is planning. Perhaps we'll see him going after launch codes again, killing the Russian president, trying to pin this on American's etc. Or maybe this is just a section with a downed plane that won't be similar to MW3 at all.

Next I want to take a look at these parts

All underwater sections. Now I've seen some people call to the similarities between these sections and the scuba section in MW3 with delta force, and I do think there are some similarities. Particularly the underwater explosion and the little things that they're riding which I found some parallels to in MW3.

However I'm more inclined to say that these stills are more similar to the brief underwater intro we get in MW2 on "The Only Easy Day" mission with Roach. Why do I think that?

Well, I'll like to point out that the red bit we see in the trailer is almost identical to the red bit we see at the beginning of that mission in MW2. The underwater stab we see is something that we only see done by Roach during that mission when he pulls one of the men underwater and stabs them in a very similar way to what we see. This isn't like an optional take down its one that has to be done to progress the mission. And I will mention while the trailer shows individual little torpedo (?) things they're riding like we see in MW3, the brief section in MW2 does feature those, its just larger with more people on them.

There are no good pictures for Roach's takedown, but if you've played the mission or watched it you should know what I mean. Here is the nearly identical part I mentioned:

Okay so my last few though here are about to get balls to the walls wild with my conspiracy theories okay? Everything above I think has at least somewhat of a chance of being correct, but what I'm about to say is like full tin foil hat okay? So just bare with me.

I think there are COD Ghosts references in this trailer.

HEAR ME OUT OKAY

Now, naturally when I first saw this section I obviously thought what most people are saying. "Oh snow and stuff so like a cliffhanger or contingency reference." And as much as I really really really want to say they are, I just can't.

Cliffhangar and Contingency are both bright missions. Daytime missions that see you stealthing through the snow. There are trucks you have to avoid in cliffhanger, but none you really interact with. Similar in Contingency.

However, I was looking at those screenshots and my brain clicked, because the environment, the vehicle aspect, the ice aspect all clicked for me.

COD Ghost's features two separate snowy missions, both of which take place at night, both of which feature the vehicles, and both of which feature the ice breaking under people/vehicles.

In one chase sequence the entire goal is to shoot the ice out from under the cars that are chasing you, cars that look nearly identical to the one we see in the trailer.

"Okay," I hear you saying, "but thats only one thing. I'm sure other cod games have snowy parts like that." To which I say, you're right. Except, once I saw this parallel, I just couldn't stop.

Remember that scuba section we mentioned? Particularly these two stills?

The environment there looks like nothing we've seen before right? Its different from the scuba mission in MW3 and we definitely don't see anything like that in the brief section of MW2. But you know where we see something like this extensively? A full underwater mission ending with an explosion on a sibmarine/boat?

COD Ghosts. Thats where.

Now I can't add any more pictures, but I would also like to point to the rapelling part of the trailer. I saw that an immediately though of The Only Easy Day/Dark Water. But you know where else there is a mission featuring rapelling up to an oil rig??? COD Ghosts.

I will again say that these parallels are fully balls to the wall and probably not true, however, these were enough of them that I just had to mention it.

My hope, based on what we've heard, is that MW3 will draw more heavily on the OG MW2. That plane crash I mentioned could easily end up being something with Shadow Company and Shepherd as we do see a plane/helicopter crash in that game.

My hopes for Roach are up just a little too high because of the almost identical submarine still, however I'm trying not to get too excited. Let's just pray that August 17th is kind to us and we get some more ideas on what to expect coming up.

[rheian]

SIRIUS BLACK

Fanfiction that focuses on Sirius Black. Most of these are not shippy focused fics but some of them are, sorry! click read more to see the list! ( dividers credit )

Fuck J.K Rowling. Bigotry against trans people will NOT be allowed !!

Please note to check the tags on the actual fics aswell for extra content warnings. Italics are tags / thoughts that are mine.

There are some fics that people who don't have an ao3 account may not be able to read due to it being locked, sorry.

I stayed up till 3 AM to make this... who knew making these could be so time consuming?

Edges by aschicca ( E | 14k words | three-shot )

Sirius could go downstairs. If Remus had been alone, if he’d been the one bringing dinner and wanting to eat it with Sirius, he probably would have. Unfortunately, Tonks was there too and there was nothing Sirius wanted less than to sit through another evening when he’d have to be forced to look on as his cousin flirted with Remus; and the love of Sirius’s life flirted back. 

Sirius is having a hard time living as a recluse in Grimmauld Place and dealing with the issues his time in Azkaban left him with. Plus, his cousin keeps flirting with Remus and jealousy is driving him mad. Well, madder…

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Post-Sirius Black in Azkaban, Altered Memories, Sirius Black Lives

Played For a Fool by fullonbicrisis ( T | 3k words | one-shot )

The main thing Sirius remembered was the burning. He felt every second of the dark magic as it seeped into his forearm. It was only a matter of moments, but it felt like a lifetime as he waited for it to end. There was no going back now. It was done.

Sirius Black had taken the dark mark.

or Sirius takes the dark mark and becomes the spy in order to save Regulus.

Regulus Black & Sirius Black || Fix-It of Sorts, Sirius Has a Savior Complex, Albus Dumbledore Bashing

Call it Impertinence by Xlinker ( E | 133k words | uncompleted )

Walburga adored her son. When she saw the telltale red scent glands on his frail body where shoulders meet neck, she knew. Sirius was an Omega. Mundane, mediocre, little overlooked Walburga Black sired an Omega son.

Endgame Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Omega Sirius Black, Slow Burn, Pureblood politics

How To Lie by camichats ( T  | 8k words | two-shot )

Regulus runs away to the Potter's. Sirius goes to visit and gets more than he bargained for in one James Potter, but he doesn't let that change his life plans.

Sirius Black/James Potter, Regulus Black & Sirius Black || Slytherin Sirius Black, Gryffindor Regulus Black, Pureblood Society, Roleswap-ish

Rebellion by Janieohio ( T | 2k words | one-shot )

First-year Hogwarts student Sirius Black was sure he'd break the family tradition of being sorted into Slytherin, yet here he was, despite everything. But when he sees the way the small, greasy-haired half-blood is being treated, he realises that perhaps there are other ways to rebel.

Sirius Black & Severus Snape, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape || Slytherin Sirius Black, What-If, Marauders Era

They're Hiding Inside Me by TheDivineComedian ( T | 38k words | completed )

It’s the summer after fifth year, and Sirius has made himself scarce as usual. But then Remus catches a glimpse of him in Witch Weekly’s special on the Black-Malfoy wedding. Something about that photo is very, very off…

Turns out this is the summer Sirius runs away. Or tries to. Because the Blacks are not giving up on their heir without a fight.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Regulus Black || Child Abuse, Marauders Era, Free Will

The Black Heir by wormsForthought ( M | 33k words | completed )

Everyone wanted a Black. It was a simple fact of the British magical society that one simply couldn’t do better than a Black. Yet, where does all that adoring hatred go, and what goes on behind closed doors?

Sirius Black/James Potter/Lily Evans || Slytherin Sirius Black, Trans Sirius Black, Marauders Era

Pot, Kettle, Black by TheDivineComedian ( T | 8k words | two-shot )

In 1978, Sirius Black almost becomes an Auror. Turns out even he can’t fake his way through the mental health assessment.

So what. He has better things to do: Remus Lupin is one. The war is another. He spends weeks at a time undercover for the Order while Polyjuiced to the gills. It’s probably his new favourite thing.

Little does Sirius know that running from himself will send him on a collision course with his ephemeral brother, but life is funny that way.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Regulus Black || Mental Health Issues, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Fix it a little bit, Character Study(?)

Overdose by puuvillaa ( E | 31k words | three-shot )

All his life, Sirius has pretended to be an alpha. When he runs away from home, he realises that he no longer has access to Suppressing Potion. To avoid detection, he decides to make his own. It can’t be that hard.

Can it?

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || AU - No Voldemort, Omega/Omega, Omega Sirius Black

the scream in the title by orphan_account ( T | 10k words | uncompleted ) 

Sirius squints from Lupin and then back. “You’re Harry,” he says. “Aren’t you.” 

“Yeah,” Harry mutters. “Sirius?” I know you.

“Harry Potter.” 

“Yeah.”

“James’ kid, they said.” 

“You don’t believe them,” Harry says. 

Sirius shrugs jerkily. “Fucking time travel,” he grunts. “Like hell.”

Sirius Black & Harry Potter || De-Aged Sirius Black, Book 5, Hurt/Comfort

73 Aberdeen by Mici ( M | 30k words | three-shots ) 

There are some things ungoverned by fate. If Sirius Black had gone the path of every Black before him, if he had been in Slytherin, he would have been a very different boy. It would have been a very different war.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Slytherin Sirius Black, Major Character Death, First Wizarding War

listing things that hurt (and things that don't) by orphan_account ( T | 7k words | one-shot )

He's nineteen and wonders if people can drown in rain.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Mental Health Issues, Hurt Sirius Black, Bittersweet Ending, Introspective

On the Verge of Self-Destruction by shes_reckless ( M | 100k words | completed )

Sirius Black is under constant pressure to measure up to others' expectations of him. Feeling a lack of control over everything else in his life, he takes control over the one thing he can: his body and his weight. And no one can take that away from him.

Endgame Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Eating Disorders, Blood Pressure, Mental Institutions

Everything is right by de_sire ( M | 10k words | one-shot )

There is something wrong with Sirius.

A story of teenage drama, confusing sexuality, unexpected attraction and, of course, love. It's always about love.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Asexual Sirius Black, No Smut, Mutual Pining

Crash Into Me by Jadewing47 ( T | 2k words | one-shot )

Sirius always comes back a little...quieter after the summertime and Christmas breaks. The shadows curving his cheeks just a little more shaded in, his silver eyes just a little darker, his stride just a little slower, his back just a little straighter, and his tongue, for once, just a little quieter. This time the other Marauders find out why.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Cruciatus Curse, Child Abuse, Depressed Sirius Black

Black Bonds by Rachel500 ( T | 40k words | completed )

When a new enemy targets their beloved grandson, Sirius, Sentinel Arcturus Black and his Guide, Melania, show why threatening the House of Black is a really, really bad idea.

Sirius Black & Regulus Black || AU - Sentinels & Guides, Kidnapping, Child Death, Mystery

Scars by orphan_account ( G | 4k words | one-shot )

Sirius self harms and Remus finds out.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Depressed Sirius Black, Marauders Era

Not Okay by bethylated_spirits ( T | 4k words | one-shot )

"Where are you now? Are you safe?"

Sirius glances guiltily at the pill bottles lying next to him.

“I, um…” He swallows, his throat dry. “Yes?”

Sirius Black is not okay.

James Potter & Sirius Black || AU - Modern, Depressed Sirius Black, Self-Harm

Doubt thou the stars are fire by felinedetached ( T | 3k words | one-shot )

Sirius shuts his mouth, hides his views and does all he can to protect himself and his brother. This is why the hat put him in Slytherin.

(In another life, perhaps he was more like Andromeda. Perhaps he rebelled, lived his life bright and loud and brave and Gryffindor. But in this life, Sirius Black decided that surviving was more important to him than living, and he adjusted his actions accordingly.)

Sirius Black is a Good Pureblood Son, and everything changes.

Regulus Black & Sirius Black || Slytherin Sirius Black, Pureblood Politics, James Potter & Sirius Black aren’t friends, AU - Canon Divergence

The older brother by Arithra ( G | 1k words | one-shot )

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. Slytherin second year Sirius Black watches his younger brother's Sorting

or an AU in which both Regulus and Sirius Black are one year older than in canon and the changes that come with it, some expected, some not so much.

Regulus Black & Sirius Black || Gryffindor Regulus Black, Slytherin Sirius Black, roleswap-ish (not really)

Day In The Life by RainbowLookingGlass ( M | 2k words | one-shot )

Remus loves his boyfriend, Sirius Black, to pieces. But how does he handle it when he comes home to find Sirius a sobbing mess, flinging his brushes about and screaming curses at nobody in particular, and how did he come to this?

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin || BPD Sirius Black, Suicide Attempt, Self-Harm

Choice by orphan_account ( E | 5k words | three-shot )

This isn't the first time Sirius runs away from home.

Sirius Black, an heir to one of the wealthiest families in England, is well-known for his craving for all kinds of trouble. So of course this isn't the first time he does that.

But it's still fucking thrilling.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt || Omega Sirius Black, No Magic, Arranged Marriage

Sirius Black's Guide to Tranferring Schools and Families by Dia_Scarlett ( T | 31k words | completed )

Sirius Black's not so helpful or foolproof guide to transferring schools and famililes.

Contains:

How to Get Your Brother Away from Shitty Family. Also Known as: Self Sabotage.

How to Make Friends When You're Posh and Privileged. Also Known as: Forced Friendships for the Better.

How to Handle Your Admirers via a Pissed off Brother. Also Known as: Beauty and All it's Ugly Side Effects.

How to Tell Your Brother That You're In Love With His Best Friend. Also Known as: Love In All It's Undignified Glory. How to Run Away From a Shitty Family Whilst Severely Injured. Also Know as: Running on Cold Concrete.

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Regulus Black & Sirius Black || French Sirius Black, Female Sirius Black, Slytherin Sirius Blackma

[neuroticreno]

Big fan of your hc about Myron being a vault city citizen, do you wanna share more on it? No biggie if you don't wanna!

you have no idea the beast you have unleashed, anon.

ALRIGHT FAIR WARNING HERE it is. an extremely lengthy explanation and i've been meaning to share it here anyhow :] take this doodle of him as well for a little extra

As a preface, this headcanon is entirely for funsies (and autism). Some bits may seem like a stretch of the imagination, but it's fun to give him some kind of backstory, so take it all as you will.

I use dialogue from Myron's talking head segments, as well as the floating dialogue seen when Myron is in active combat (how canonical the combat dialogue is may be up for debate, but for the sake of this…essay? we'll say it's true).

To start, let us briefly examine Myron's character. Notably, the parts that relate most to this essay.

Myron is intelligent. To give him credit where credit is due, he is smart and thoroughly understands the subjects that he talks about. The people around him know this as well, and remark on it too (mostly at how wasted his potential is). He cares little for the well-being of others, especially slaves, whom he views as objects, and mutants are worth even less to him. He also has a very high opinion of himself, often referring to himself in the third person and boasting about his intellectual capabilities (calling himself a genius, a God, etc. etc).

So, we know he has not lived in New Reno for his entire life, only being there roughly a year or so. As he puts it, he came across the Mordino's way back when, so where was he before that? Just wandering the wastes? Or perhaps coming from another settlement?

Myron, compared to any other companion in the game, mentions Vault City quite a bit. Even more than John Cassidy, who has been tending to a bar outside the Vault City walls for a presumably long time. Though he shares the same distaste that many others do for the city, he also possesses what feels like insider's knowledge that the average wastelander would not have.

A lot of this knowledge presents itself when Myron's intelligence is threatened. If the Chosen One is smart enough, they can engage in a dialogue with Myron and demonstrate to him just how much they know about Jet and its chemical compounds. He will snip at the Chosen One for asking too many questions and interrogate them, asking where they learned all of this stuff anyway. Their understanding of pharmaceuticals is on a similar level to his own, which he may take as them learning it from the same place. Makes sense, considering during combat, Myron will mention he has not been in a fight since the fifth grade. Nowhere else in the game beyond a stray tombstone in Golgotha is any school mentioned or found. One can assume that Vault City would be the only settlement nearby with an established education system, thus reinforcing his belief.

Should the Chosen One pry him about a cure for Jet and suggest endorphin blockers, when asked where they could find such a thing, Myron will suggest Vault City first. He explains they have a 'pretty good' medical warehouse, and laughs when they want to try it as an option, saying they would have more luck getting a radscorpion to part with its tail than getting Vault City to give up anything. The city is widely known for its medical advancements, but Myron could have more of an idea of just how extensive their medical know-how is, having experienced it firsthand. Myron also proclaims that he is a 'natural', 'self-taught', and possesses 'none of that bullshit Vault City 'purer-than-thou' 'tude', which is funny since he spouts off his own 'purer-than-thou' 'tude every time he opens his mouth. Of course, he may have some level of natural intellect, but the rest of it likely stems from an education.

He also remarks that the citizens are a 'Buncha "genetically pure" humans. They got their noses so high in the air they'll drown when it rains'. Again, pretty humorous regarding his own high-and-mighty sense of self.

We can look at his propensity to look down upon slaves/servants. In Vault City, slaves are integrated enough into society to call for a Servant Allocation Center. Where citizens regard them with little to no respect, Myron, having grown up in Vault City, likely followed that ideology, too. The city's negative view of mutants could also explain his own distaste for them.

Myron also makes a lot of Dungeons and Dragons references, which is really just a funny haha 90s pop culture thing at the end of it, but it is fun to imagine that, at some point, he might have had his own little group when he was younger. This bit is just speculation for the sake of entertainment.

All of this raises more questions though; why did he leave? How did he leave? And how did he make it to New Reno without dying on the way there?

As for why he left, we know that Myron does not appreciate being hindered or being told what to do. Working for the Mordino's, he will complain that they only want him to focus on Jet when he wants to make new drugs instead. He complains as well about the lack of respect, so he could have left Vault City for similar reasons. Perhaps his talents were recognized, and he was allowed to experiment more in the field of chemistry. However, Myron could have found Vault City's restrictions less than ideal, giving him the incentive to leave and find somewhere with more creative freedom (he can leave New Reno for the same reasons, anyhow).

How he left and how he got to New Reno is difficult to explain. Myron has virtually no survival skills, and it is a considerable distance from Vault City to New Reno. Hitched a ride with a caravan, maybe? Him managing to escape a settlement covered in laser turrets and guards is also unlikely, but perhaps there was some kind of weakness he was smart enough to exploit and slip through.

Any additional thoughts on this bit would be appreciated :]

[fiber-optic-alligator]

(Not a request dw)

While I know that Knock Out's little game of hide and shriek was rigged from the start, with a 95% chance of the human just getting caught at the end. What do you think would happen if they Did succeed at escaping? I mean on one hand, he keeps his word, and begrudgingly lets them go. But. what if he didn't?

My first thought, if they simply managed to outlast the clock, would be that he'd simply snatch them up afterwards, regardless of the fact that he said he'd let them go. With the established time they'd have to escape from him being an elaborate ruse to get them to reveal their position afterwards. What'd they Think was going to happen? He's a Decepticon. They deceive people. Props to the human for making it past the timer going off, but they aren't going anywhere.

My second thought revolves around the human suddenly going God Mode hide and seek-wise, and managing to escape all the way back to civilization without him finding them. (Though perhaps it'd be in part to him deciding he'd rather play with his food rather than just snatch them up when he had the chance.) Like, he'd probably be kinda floored by the fact that he lost a game to a Human so soundly. It was rigged in His favor, and he Still Lost. First of all? Respect. Second of all. He's gonna just take them back to the Nemesis this time when he gets another chance to steal them away from their little human town. Games are only fun when you're Winning after all, and he won't give them another chance to elude capture.

However, the funniest ending would simply be that they got away long enough to catch the attention of a patrolling Autobot, who after hearing about what happened, decides to take them back to the Autobot base until the Autobots can find a better solution to their predicament. Maybe they still pop by the base every now, and again after they're relocated somewhere safer, and they run into the newly-minted Autobot Knock Out months/years after the first time the two met. He hadn't quite stopped looking for them, but he also didn't have all the time in the world to search. So finding them here was a stroke of bad luck for the both of them. Haha.

Oh, I can imagine the shock he’d feel when the timer runs out and he realizes that you actually won his game. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He’s an apex predator! How could some measly little human stay hidden from him?! No doubt he’d feel frustrated and a little embarrassed that a human made him look like a fool after he hyped himself up. And while I could see an outcome in which he stays true to his word and lets you go, I hardly think he’d do it. His ego is just too big.

So, he takes you anyway. Nevermind what he said before, he’s changing the rules he made up for his game. Struggle and fight all you want. He’s in charge here, not you.

As for if you managed to escape the trainyard whether through the help of an Autobot or on your own, this would definitely piss him off. Knockout doesn’t like it when he loses, no matter what situation he’s in. He’d be sour about it for weeks and would make it his goal to track you down and steal you away, no games necessary this time.

However, it is impressive you evaded him. He has to give credit where it is due. You truly are a lot more interesting than the rest of your kind.

Over time, like you said, he’d never stop searching for you. However, he can’t dedicate his entire life to finding you, so his hunt for the little human who escaped him has to be put on the back burner for quite some time. And though you’d never be able to forget the incident where a giant alien robot kidnapped you and hunted you for sport, the terror of the encounter would die down with time to the point where it would all feel like a distant nightmare when you recall it. But if you eventually encounter him when he’s turned Autobot…well, Knockout is still Knockout, no matter what faction he’s part of. Seeing you again would fill him with a sense of ecstatic glee. “After all this time,” he’d say, kneeling in front of you and extending his hand to gently brush a claw over your head. “I’ve finally found you again.”

You’d just stare up at him in horrified shock. Knockout would chuckle and shrug. “What, you thought I forgot about you? Oh no, no, no. How could I ever forget about the little human who finally gave me a run for my money?” He’d grin. “Let me ask you…Are you up for another game of chase?”

[7grandmel]

SiIvaGunner Blog MOJO!

The Ripper's Guide To That SiIvaGunner Tumblr Blog!

Hello there! You, yes you, reading this! Are you a high quality ripper contributing to the SiIvaGunner YouTube channel? Perhaps you've stumbled onto this blog before, through a link sent on Discord or through hearsay someplace else? Or, hell, this might be your first time on here, in which case: Welcome!

This is the uncreatively-titled That SiIvaGunner Tumblr Blog, where I've written over 350 posts analyzing, retelling the history behind and ultimately celebrating a selection of high quality rips found on SiIvaGunner. My rationale in posting has been to cast as wide of a net as possible in the kinds of rips I feature, and chances are, dear ripper, that a rip YOU've contributed to has already been covered on here, or is well on the way to be! But, that begs the question: How do you find the posts you're looking for?

With this post, I want to give some pointers of navigation for the people following this blog who aren't Tumblr users, or simply people who haven't kept tabs on this blog all too actively. This includes a quick overview of how my tagging system works, how it can help you find what you're looking for, and how to move around the Tumblr platform's infrastructure in general. So, let's begin!

1. What's up with the tags?

At the bottom of just about every Tumblr post, you'll find these grey footnotes called "tags". They serve a lot of functions: Like hashtags on Twitter, you can use them to help other people find what you've posted by "categorizing it". Compared to Twitter's hashtags, however, Tumblr's tags are far more normalized due to the lack of a character limit and their specifically allocated space at the bottom of posts. The image above is of the tags for this week's post on The Legend of Cage: Staff Roll.

The tags not highlighted in the red square are ones placed there to make the post discoverable to average Tumblr user. With the tag "tloz" ("The Legend of Zelda) in place, for instance, it means that the post will show up alongside other Zelda posts for users following the tag. But there's more uses to tags than just for discoverability, which is where the red-square tags become relevant: These are the tags placed for the sake of categorization!

You can probably imagine that a lot of Tumblr users will be keeping track of fandom tags like "Zelda" or "Majora's Mask" - but who is looking for "Season 6" or "rip visuals"? These are tags applied specifically to help one find posts within this blog. Every one of my written-analysis posts is tagged with the following template:

#todays siivagunner (Every written analysis post)

#season [x] (Filtering by Season)

#siivagunner and #siiva (Discoverability)

#[name(s) of ripper(s)] (Filtering by ripper in order of credits on Wiki)

#rip visuals (Added if a rip has visuals, eg. animation)

#[more rippers] (If the rip has visuals, these are the rippers who worked on those)

#tentative rip name (The rip lacks an album release)

Now you know why all these tags are here and what they all mean - but with the red-square rips in particular, there's ways you can use them to make reading the blog easier!

2. Okay, so how do I use these tags?

Here's a step-by-step guide with visuals to show how to go from a post to other posts like it. First, make sure you're viewing the post on the blog itself and not through a reblog - the easiest way to do this is to click "View original post", or just click the header of the original post itself (around where it says "April 16, 2024). Then, scroll down to the tags we just discussed, and click the one you want to filter by - say, for instance, you just want to see Season 2 rips I've talked about? You'll get taken to a view of the blog that only shows you posts I've tagged as being about Season 2 rips! How cool is that!

Finally, however, is the coolest use of tag categorizing and searching on Tumblr - The Archive.

3. What is the archive, how do I use it?

The archive is the page featured on the main image of this post! A blog's archive is a file explorer-esque view of every post ever made and reblogged onto a Tumblr blog, which also lets you filter posts by a tag (not multiple) used in them. If you know how Tumblr's links are formatted, it's very easy to find - this blog's archive, for instance, can be found at https://7grandmel.tumblr.com/archive, my personal account's archive can be found at https://melblur.tumblr.com/archive - you see the pattern yourself. The archive is very annoying to navigate on mobile and I would recommend doing all of this step on desktop.

Like I covered in the previous points, all of the blog's posts are tagged according to the Season they were released in, the people contributing, whether the rip features visuals, and more. Given the immense scope of SiIvaGunner's contributors, there's no concise list with links I could give you of all the ones that have been featured on here - thus, its up to you to edit the archive's URL link to make it show what you want to see. In the above image, for instance, we've added "/tagged" followed by "/dante" - which, then, displays all of the posts I've made that were tagged as being made by ripper dante. Click on one of the posts displayed, and you'll be sent to exactly that post!

There are some additional caveats to keep in mind here. Rippers like dante, toonlink and more go under multiple names online, and in those cases I've tried to always tag all of their aliases: all posts tagged with "dante" are of course also tagged with "soundcirclet". (This rule of thumb is excluding deadnames, of course). Additionally, April Fools 2024 saw me do a very stupid event wherein I covered every single Raft Ride rip uploaded on the channel - to keep the archive clean, I decided to forego my typical tagging system for these posts and give them their own dedicated sorting. You can find all of these posts under the tag #raftmageddon, and you can filter by rippers by writing a ripper's name in the URL with the prefix "raft :" For instance, a Raft Ride rip made by SonicHeroesFan1 would be tagged as #raft : SonicHeroesFan1.

Note also that Tumblr's URLs are magic and support spaces - if a ripper's name has a space in it, like Retro Gaming, the space also goes in the URL.

4. Now I know how to find things! But how do I submit rip suggestions for you to cover?

The easiest method if you're an active Tumblr user, is to use the Ask Box, which is accessed under a big blue "REQUEST A RIP!" button on the blog's main page. If you're not a Tumblr user, don't fret! In the regularly-updated pinned post, you can find links to a lot of the tags and such I've talked about just beforehand, but also to the Google Forms Request Form. There's no formalities needed to request a rip: Just your name (if you wish to be credited with one), the name of the rip or YouTube upload, and (ideally!) a quick description of why you think the rip warrants being written about.

Finally, if you're ever talking to me on Discord in DMs or the SiIvaGunner server itself, feel free to just request things off the cuff! I jot down all the requests sent my way in the same spreadsheet as all other requests. Note that requesting a rip does not guarantee that I will cover it, nor will I send any sort of message accepting or declining your request.

5. Conclusion

Last week, I announced a bit of a shift in the blog's structure, as I have a lot more stuff to juggle than I did back when this all started to where I've had to slow down the rate of postings. (You can read more in the Update post I made last week). Really, this is the first post I've made to branch out of my typical postings of rip analysis, reblogs and blog updates, barring some one-off anecdotes made once or twice. Hopefully you've found it a worthwhile (and helpful!) read - and if you know of any rippers that would be curious to see written analysis and coverage of their work on here, send them this post to get them started with the basic ropes of navigating this weird website.

Tumblr is vast and intimidating, and definitely not a site for everyone. But hopefully with this, even more of you readers will be able to find the posts that you're looking for!

See you on Monday!

[ameliathecatto]

First meetings preview

Don't come after me for any OOC behavior, I have a rather limited knowledge of all the of characters since I'm a rather casual fan. [Divider Credit: @cafekitsune]

Sometimes I wonder how my life has come this way.

Children are not my forte, though taking care of anyone is already a massive pain for me. And out of somewhere in my heart, I decided to take care of more than one child? 

Seriously, what have I gotten myself into?

[First meetings preview] 

The sound of a gunshot rang in her ears.

Amelia was no stranger to death, being called the Grim Reaper by some, death was as much her friend as that pit of endless despair she found herself in. 

So, she watched; parents of a child that seemed no older than ten fell to the ground, their fates sealed as soon as they entered this wretched city. The crowd looked on in shock, some only gasped, some shouted while others simply looked on. Gotham City was the strangest kind of hell Amelia ever been to, that an assassination on two people from a moving circus only garnered mild reactions.

The Flying Graysons, the family of acrobats that were performing their usual trapeze act, now became another name in the soiled land.

Her eyes wandered over to where the murderer was, putting his gun away in his jacket as he prepared to run away. Perhaps she should have intervened, knowing very well that she could just smash the man’s head into pieces with a strike of her fist. Yet, there was a feeling in her gut that she should not do that, that there was more to all of this than just multiple wrong moves made by the circus as well as the family. Besides, she was sure that Batman, the caped crusader who acted like a Guardian of the Night, would find the murderer eventually.

She chose to get out of her seat, jumping right past the two rows of viewers, nearly hitting a few poor persons in the head. She landed on the ground with grace, fixing her hair with one hand as she walked into the light, shone down on the bleeding corpses and the crying child. She looked at the child with her usual nonchalant indifference, slowly approaching him while taking a look at the corpses. 

One clean shot to the head for each.

It was easy to say that the killer was incredibly trained and had been doing this for years. It was also easy to say that whoever that hired the man, they really, really wanted the Graysons to be dead. Which made her wonder who was so determined to ensure that the couple died that they chose to hire an experienced killer to do the job.

A soft sob entered her ears.

She looked over to the boy, too stunned to clutch onto their corpses yet his arm remained outstretched. His body trembled, fear, pain, despair filled in those blue eyes. He did not look at her, he had not yet noticed her presence. Even with the crowd being dispersed and asked to get out, his eyes remained firmly on the bleeding corpses, the blood slowly starting to reach him. 

Before the other circus members that were responsible for helping the crowd get out of the tent could reach her, she took off her black jacket and gently placed it around the boy. The sudden feeling of weight spooked him, causing him to look directly into her eyes. Yet, there was not much he could see, from her eyes or even her facial expressions as they remained neutral even as she kneeled down beside him. 

“You will be alright.” It was the first words she spoke to him. Even with her cold and monotone voice, it sounded soft to his ears.

The jacket acted like a blanket due to their height and slight build difference, giving him some warmth even under the bright lights and the blood. He continued to stare at her, tears falling down like streams of water. Amelia flashed him a soft, almost warm smile that did not quite reach her eyes even if she tried.

“You will be alright, I swear.”

Those words were an anchor, tying both of them down to the current moment. 

The jacket was left with the young boy after Amelia was forced out of the tent as the GCPD (Gotham City Police Department) arrived, she spared a glance at the poor boy before leaving the area altogether. 

… 

The sound of metal clinking. 

It was not a bad sound per say, not the worst type her ears had caught. At least it was not swords or someone trying to break in. Her eyes wandered over to the strange car parked beside the alley, it clearly did not belong in the filth of Crime Alley, stench of trash stronger than anything else. The car seemed more like a tank, incredibly well-built, seeming like it could live through a ten-floor building with minor damages.

It was the Batmobile, not the first time she had seen one, mostly due to Grayson but oh well.

She noticed a figure immediately, kneeling on the back right as they held something in their hand. Her footsteps were quiet, not making a single sound as she walked on the balls of her feet, slowly approaching the figure. 

She only then realized that it was a male teenager stealing the tire of the Batmobile. ‘Brave and stupid’ 

She approached the young man just as he took off the tire, her head tilted slightly as she stared at him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood upright, making his head snap towards the direction where she was at. He jumped, letting go of the tire but not the lug wrench, holding it tightly while his eyes turned from fear and shock to determination. The young man wanted to fight her, she knew that as much.

“Now then, I believe we could just talk, yeah?” She offered with an arm extended towards him.

“About what exactly?” 

“As to why you’re stealing a tire, of course.”

Her words had struck a chord with him as he decided to start running for it right after she said that, still clutching onto the lug wrench like his life depended on it. 

She just shook her head. As much as she could very easily just let him go, not that it would matter if she caught him, though there was something in her head that seemed to spin differently. A low chuckle rumbled through her chest as she watched him run, her eyes narrowed before darting around the area. 

The teenager felt goosebumps surging all over his body along with his heartbeat, each thump feeling like a closer encounter with her. This was something he was not used to, something he would never have imagined, that he would be so terrified about a single person.

But his instincts honed from the streets told his gut that he should run.

“Now, you don’t look too good scurrying like a rat.”

Her breath hit his neck, making his eyes peek over to where she was. His feet continued to move, yet he could not feel the ground. His eyes looked down, realizing that he was picked off of the ground. Her hand holding him by the neck, just firm enough to hold him though the pressure was undeniably suffocating. 

“Let. Me. Go.” The young man glared at her, his fingers gripping around the lug wrench.

A faint smile tugged on the corner of her lips, holding him closer to her while she murmured, “Come on now, let’s talk.”

…

Amelia’s senses had always been high.

She could hear every footstep within the area, every broken light flickering, every gasped and heavy breathing. Her eyes remained fixed on the bleeding man, every bone in his arms twisted, turned into mush. Yet she knew the man would be fine either way, his regenerative abilities were enough to ensure that he would live this encounter.

But there was something else she was more curious about. The pair of eyes staring at her from behind the tall grass.

“Tell your boss that he should try harder to kill me next time.” She threw the sword right back at the man.

The sword landed on the ground, the shiny blade stained with blood. 

She only spared him one more glance before leaving, walking towards the closest door. Luckily for her, there was no one else in the area (aside from those pair of eyes) and she could leave safely; Unluckily for her, there was a really high chance that she might end up in Gotham News the next morning for her brutal fight.

‘I’m going to worry about that later.’

She stretched her arms, letting out a soft yawn as she walked towards the exit of the arcade. The moment she pushed the door and stepped out, the familiar bright white lights shone down on her. She let out a sigh, her body visibly slumping as she started to walk down the bright, endless hallway.

And the door swung once more.

She kept moving however, running her hand through her hair while looking at the ground. She could feel it as if the person was walking beside her, but they were not. Their footsteps were slow, cautious yet it felt a little clumsy, likely being fascinated by their surroundings.

She stopped abruptly, turning around to see who it was.

It was a young teen, younger than Jason when she first found him. He took a step back after noticing that she was staring at him. She cleared her throat, waiting for him to say anything. She could tell with a glance that the child she was dealing with was someone that had intelligence unlike the peers of their age.

“I’m…” His tongue was tied up anyways, unsure of how to get his point across.

“Well…” She paused, crossing her arms. “You better start talking or… I will just assume that you’re just a lost child and not a stalker.”