#perhaps there is some time btwn him doing the thing and others finding out about it and him fretting arrested

[radiaking]

Hmm yeah smth smth smth human commoner origin. Smth smth smth. thought he was doing a Good Thing for some organization but was really just a fall guy. Smth smth smth. Was gonna be arrested for whatever he did but was instead conscripted to the wardens. Smth smth smth. HoF!coop.

[bigfan-fanfic]

A Song at the Hearth (Reader x Geralt x Jaskier)

A sequel to A Song on the Air

Requested by Anonymous for Hello 👋 could i request a sequel to the Geralt x Jaskier x Reader fic where they fell in love with R's singing? Doesnt have to be nsfw, Id love to see them all domestic-y together when the pair drop by btwn their adventures

Jaskier hasn't yet told you of his new song.

He sings it when he feels particularly homesick - and you and Geralt are his home.

The song is a soft and sad ballad, of a man who met a beautiful spirit of air and mist and song, whose voice captured him, and ripped his heart from his chest to keep it for all eternity. A song of how every moment away from his love is torture.

He likes to think back to how he lucked out on becoming a part of your and Geralt's relationship, how he had been stunned silent by your singing, and how Geralt had growled in his ear in that gruff voice of his when he asked the bard in.

Jaskier had never been so empty of words. So lost. To see Geralt smile, and what's more, to see a genuine smile directed at him. To see the witcher relaxed, vulnerable, even. His shirt discarded and reclining on pillows while the herbalist played with his hair. Jaskier will never forget the moment Geralt shifted to rest his head in Jaskier's lap, and the herbalist draped himself over the bard's shoulders.

Never in the most decadent courts, never in the most passionate tryst, had Jaskier ever felt so loved. They hadn't done anything more than eat and feed each other and drink while reclining on pillows and pelts, but it was easily the most sensual night Jaskier had ever had.

Days passed in delirious happiness. Geralt hunted. The herbalist cooked and cleaned. Jaskier made himself useful where he could, but even with doing more than anyone would ask him to, he still found himself with hours of time to fill - hours to write and compose, to find and lose stanzas of great epics and create new ones on the spot. Time to sing with the herbalist and practice harmony with a master, albeit one not classically trained.

But perhaps the most wild thing he experienced was the free exchange of affection. He could pull Geralt in for a kiss whenever he wished, or be suddenly wrapped in an embrace with the herbalist. He could walk in after a while in contemplation and find Geralt giggling at the tickling sensation of some soothing ointment the herbalist had made being rubbed into his skin.

The Path awaited Geralt, however, and wanderlust once again claimed Jaskier with a passionate fever. He knew they must go but for the first time, felt bitter about the transient nature of things.

"Do not fret. You will return to me." was the only goodbye said.

"I leave my heart with you. You will keep it safe." was what Geralt offered in turn.

Jaskier preferred to end things with a kiss, and did so, with the herbalist, and with Geralt, realizing that he was leaving Geralt the man and lover with the herbalist and setting out on the Path with Geralt the Witcher.

But it was true. They returned, again and again, and each time they resumed the idyllic peace as though it had never left. As though all that existed in the world was the three of them.

Perhaps someday, Jaskier mused, there would come a time when they would grow weary of travel, and that great peace would claim them until the end of their days.

Perhaps there was something truly great about being with the ones you love, greater than coin or fame, or the immortality of song.

[chantillyxlacey]

Future Scarlet Hollow chapter wishlist item #57

I desperately want some friendship moments with Reese Stella and Kaneeka

Like maybe the three of you are out in the woods looking for something (possibly around the church, possibly around Tetanus Lake) and Gretchen starts getting feisty, and then either a) a Keen Eye MC spots him or b) Gretchen charges over and flushes Reese out of hiding

(If Gretchen didn’t survive ch 1 then either MC spots him or he doesn’t make himself known until later, meaning Gretchen Lives runs get a little extra scene? Or perhaps he startles some birds and that reveals him to the group)

But then you get a hang out scene with them, with this being Stella and Kaneeka’s first time seeing his true form (or even finding out about it, if you kept tight lipped for some reason— to say they’re exasperated if that’s the case would be an understatement), and after that he joins you in investigating whatever you’re out there to investigate

I’d also dearly love if you could potentially coax Gretchen into liking Reese— like you slip him a treat to give her and once he’s given her food she decides that he’s not so bad after all lmao

(If you have TtA she calls him “a sweet young gentleman” which you have the option to relay to him)

Maybe the trio reminisce about when they used to play/investigate in the woods together like this as children and you get new stories or elaborations on things that have been alluded to (like Reese falling off that cliff— I wanna know more about that Incident so bad lmao)

The whole scene is definitely a lot more comfortable from the get-go if you have Hot and were able to prevent bloodshed in ch 4– perhaps if that’s the case Stella even runs up and hugs him, which she wouldn’t do if he had— well, You Know (or if you didn’t tell Stella and Kaneeka what is/ what he did— there’s an extra little dialogue between just you and Reese with him being conflicted about whether he should tell them himself if that’s the case)

Also if you have romanced any of them, the other two will tease them about it lmao

(ALSO also if you have romanced neither Kaneeka or Reese perhaps there’s a bit of ship-tease btwn them bc I saw some art that Abby Howard posted of them on Twitter and WOW they’d be incredibly cute together)

[sparklymilks]

today -

1. i mostly finished an 8-wig order that’s been driving me nuts for the past few weeks :D still need to trim and curl them all (cries) but the wigs themselves are finished which is the bulk of the work, downhill from here. so im gonna make some stock wigs today and hopefully replenish my bank account a bit. i get ch/ess payment on the 31st too so that will help as well, then i think next week we should be able to buy our new 3d resin printer which im hype about. hype and scared ill fuck it up somehow lol

2. in slightly weird news, there is a row of bruises in the crease of my inner thigh and im a bit freaked out by them... praying 4 no blood cancer... i think the actual, slightly ridiculous reason, is that i shaved everything last week and became itchy in that entire triangle area, and scratched my inner thighs too much, and bruised them :/ im a bit annoyed at myself for this but i have enjoyed being very smooth this past week + i am considering doing it more lol. the itchiness is bad though... i could wax instead...

3. ocado is coming any minute, i booked an extremely early delivery bc im awake at extremely early times atm, and im very excited

4. i was explaining to ben the other day my theory that if i could get rid of the ocd id be almost entirely “normal”, and he agrees w/ me less about this than ana does lol. ana more or less agrees w/ me that the OCD is the Only Big Issue atm + that if i can make some real headway on it then ill be in a really good position to live a life that im satisfied w/

ben on the other hand is much more cautious about my optimism i think - he thinks the ED is still a problem too and that i need to engage w/ it rather than either ignoring it or hoping/expecting that dealing w/ obsessions + compulsions will naturally improve the ED also

my feeling is that i dont see how an improvement on obsessive / compulsive thinking + behaviours wouldnt improve obsessive + compulsive behaviours re: bodily dissatisfaction, as well as the more typical spheres i deal w/ them in (fires, plugs, food, germs, ben generally). like is it so different? my feeling is that whilst there are non-overlapping features there’s a lot of overlap too and that i dont see the point in making the Food Shit and the Obsessive Shit into two entirely different things - that feels like both entirely not how anybody’s mind works + also not like sensible logically, bc i think there’s a lot of the same mechanisms at work. you feel bad, you obsess, you perform some kind of relieving behaviour (perhaps starving, etc), and you’re reassured for a little bit. like: this is the same thing lol!

however i do agree w/ him that the areas that dont overlap (e.g. my long-term misery w/ my body, my inability to value myself for areas outside of appearance, my refusal to let him see me naked in the light, the way that i was brought up wrt thinking about food and weight and appearance etc) needs some work. i think it’s actually harder for me to imagine a life in which i dont experience some kind of body dysmorphoa than a life w/o obsessive compulsive behaviours to be honest?? like at least the more general obsessions feel crazy, and im like “lol that’s crazy!” even whilst adhering to the stupid rules ive made up, but to act as tho ED behaviours aren’t culturally sanctioned and celebrated is just not stupid, bc they are, and i dont see a meaningful distinction btwn diet culture (aka “normal” behaviour wrt food) and “eating disorders” other than the weight of the person in question. and i guess i find it hard to imagine myself being able to separate myself entirely from the weight of public perception and judgement.

i think i can probably still make some headway - but i think i imagine it being more of a problem, and im not sure what “work” or “engagement” ben is imaginine, bc i have no idea either to be honest. i think probably, and i hate saying this, bc it’s gonna suck, it’s gonna be things like ... letting him see me naked lmfao :( like literally 10y in and im still like :) lights off :) so ridiculous

[randomoranges]

tonight i went on my evening walk with my mom and ran into a student and her family. she lives on the street behind mine. it was a pleasant chat but as we went our seperate ways, i made the comment about how strange it was and how can u imagine if id been wearing some shirt with a curse word or something

and it made me think. about the teacher persona and how the line btwn teacher and private life are often blurred together. what would a reaction be if it was Something Even Bigger - what if i was kissing a SO of the same gender - what if i was wearing such and such clothing - doing this - at this place - existing in a context that is other than teacher?

the incidents mentioned are real. stories that have been on the news. teachers whove posted bits of their real lives that then lost jobs, despite never doing anything wrong on the job.

the colleague bit is also true. it happened at the school i work at a few yrs ago. 

anyways.

thoughts and such

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

 It’s a perfect night out for a walk and so, after dinner, they put their shoes back on and head out, taking advantage of it being Friday night and not too brain dead. There’s a gentle breeze announcing the upcoming end of summer and the first soft tendrils of autumn and it’s nice – a good break from the oppressive heat of a few weeks ago.

 Étienne, as always, links their arms together and chatters away as they walk. Edward is happy to listen and offers insight when needed.

 They’re halfway through their walk when they hear a loud “M Édouard?!” and Étienne let’s go of Edward’s arm on instinct.

 A few steps later, it turns out that the voice belongs to one of Edward’s students and she’s out walking with her parents, the family dog and her sister.

 The girl is excited to see her teacher not at school and then nearly does a double take when she realises that M Étienne is also out walking with M Édouard.

 There’s polite chitchat that goes around – general comments from the kids, pleasantries from the parents and all the while, both Étienne and Edward put on pleasant smiles while one recurring thought runs through their head. Are they still safe?

 They hadn’t been doing anything untoward, but even if the girls hadn’t noticed anything, surely the parents must have seen that they’d been walking together with their arms linked.

 Étienne hates that he’s bothered by it, while Edward wonders if this is going to turn into a thing.

 “Do you live nearby?” The mother asks and the question is open enough that they can save face if they want to.

 But do they?

 There’s nothing criminal to what they’d been doing. An evening walk just like this family. They had lives outside of work and what they did after school shouldn’t matter to anyone. Yet, for some reason, Étienne and Edward both feel as though they’d been caught red handed committing some heinous crime and the feeling is nauseating.

 “Other side of the bridge, that ways about,” Edward motions with his hand and his student exclaims that her house is that way as well, because of course it would.

 As it turns out, they live on the street right behind them and Étienne marvels at how they’ve never run into each other before.

 The sister asks where he lives and Étienne laughs, thankful for the innocence of children. Because, obviously, two men walking together at night would not be living together.

 He’s relieved.

 He’s also a little saddened.

 Disappointed, really.

 Étienne gives as vague as an answer as possible and satisfied, the girls chatter excitedly amongst themselves, while the adults wrap up the conversation and then leave, wishing each other a lovely weekend.

 Once they resume their walk, Étienne can’t find it in him to link their arms together and Edward takes an extra step to the side. They walk, silent, lost in their own thoughts, and it’s only once they’ve crossed on the other side of the overpass that they glance in each other’s direction.

 They share a look that seems to ask if any of what had happened was real, and finally, Étienne cracks first, a desperate chuckle escaping. Edward joins soon after, a full on nervous laugh and soon, both of them are wheezing at the absurdity of the situation.

 It is both a coping mechanism and unwinding, but when they finally catch their breath again and resume their walk, it feels less loaded. Edward steps back close and Étienne lets their hands brush together, until he wraps a finger around Edward’s own.

 “Perhaps we should move. Change names. Jobs. Leave the country.” Étienne offers, only a little serious.

 “I’m honestly surprised it took this long for us to run into a student.”

 They look at each other again and fall silent, contemplating the situation.

 “Do you think the parents know? Or the girls? – Do you think this will get out?” Étienne voices the questions that had been burning both their minds and the fears that come with it. It’s one thing mentioning in the school agenda that discrimination won’t be tolerate against religion, skin colour and sexual orientation, but it’s another to put it in practice towards staff. There’s a million and one different ways to make it look like they’re being canned for something different, if the school wants to.

 “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know and I don’t know what would be worse. God – and we weren’t even doing anything bad.”

 That’s the problem with teaching. There is no such thing as a “private life.” They’ve heard the stories. One “bad” photo on social media and a career finished. One bad day that leads to dismissal. They’re lucky they have elementary students, but still.

 Edward remembers the horror fiasco that had happened a few years ago to a colleague of his. An innocent video that had been cut and changed look as though his colleague was saying hate messages. It had blown out of proportion. Parents had been frightened. The police was called. Interventions were made. The man left the school, on his own terms, deciding it would be best for him and the school. Even though he was innocent. Even though his words had been taken out of context. Even though he’d done nothing wrong.

 Would this happen to them?

 It’s a sobering thought.

 Yet, Edward isn’t ashamed of who he is. Neither is Étienne. They are proud of who they are. They believe people should be allowed to be themselves.

 Then why is it that they feel such fear?

 “I guess we won’t know until Monday,” Étienne says, trying to be reassuring, “We’ll play it by ear and hope for the best. As you said, we weren’t doing anything wrong.”

 “Yeah – you’re right...” He falls quiet for another moment and then lets out a frustrated puff of air, followed by a short laugh, “At least we weren’t in a strip club,” He says, trying to be light.

 “What?”

 “When I was doing my internship. One of the teacher’s at the school, he told us of this anecdote. He’d gone to a friend’s stag party at a strip club. And one of the stripers was a student of his – I forget if she was a current or former student. He was mortified, but she recognised him and went right over, calling out to him as if there was nothing wrong. I mean – there’s nothing wrong with working in a club, but the relationship dynamic makes it a little awkward. Or – I would feel awkward. I wish I had her level of confidence though – not be afraid that a student seeing us together might cause a minor scandal and our jobs,” He adds as an afterthought.

 Étienne reaches for his hand again, gives it a squeeze and then links their arms together. Edward sags against him and is happy when they turn on their street, close to home, where it’s safe.

 “We’ll be fine – whatever happens, we’ll be fine.”

 Edward wants to believe him and hopes Étienne will be right.

 --

 It’s a different evening, days and weeks and months and maybe even years later. Different yet similar. Another late September evening with a gentle breeze and the promise of autumn to come. It’s night time by the time they go out for their evening walk and it’s a little chilly – a perfect excuse for Étienne to link their arm with Edward, as they’re often known to do.

 They chatter away, about one thing and the next, and Edward is happy to listen and provide feedback when needed.

 They’re halfway through the walk, when they hear a shout of “M Édouard?!” and approach the voice, Étienne never letting go of Edward’s arm.

 It’s a student from Edward’s class, who is surprised to find his teacher out for a walk and not in a school setting. He’s with his own family; parents, an older sibling and the family dog. The kid does a near double take when he notices Étienne and can’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that he’s run into two of his teachers outside of school, even if he thinks it’s cool.

 The adults exchange polite conversation and eventually the older sibling asks if they live close by. This time, Edward does not shy away from his answer and says that yes, they both have their place not far from here, on the other side of the overpass.

 Both student and sibling seem amazed, remarking on how they live literally a block away from there. Étienne laughs, commenting on the smallness of the world, and telling them to come by their street at Halloween, to get candy – at the house with the haunted garage.

 The kids’ faces light up, eager and excited, and the older sibling knows where the house is – having gone a few years back and how cool it had been. Amused, the adults wrap up their conversation, and after wishing each other a pleasant weekend, both groups head their own way.

 FIN

[borom1r]

I have some asks <33 Adz ask!!! What are his and Sen's fave things to do together + what things to they do to help each other relax when they need it?

For SAW asks, I would love to hear abt quiet nights with Lawrence/William (maybe w Adam too, if you want!) where they're just able to relax around each other even if they're not talking (which. I know we've discussed b4 but I love how you talk abt them <33) um!!! Eric too bc he's been on my mind lately + I love him, something with Eric/Mallick (whether they're dating or not in the polycule) and just smth they do together that's special for them!! + an extra Strahm question bc I Love Him Too, perhaps just a moment Adam observes btwn him and Lawrence where he's just like 😍 at them! (I hope that's not too much + you feel a little bit better soon,, you don't have to answer all of those!!)

aaa;;

fav things to do together! definitely go out and explore. Sen just generally enjoys going for walks + Adz loves finding new places to photograph, so they’ll go wander around and see what they can find! usually they’ll stop somewhere for a snack/to relax for a little bit on their way home.

also Adz loves to “bother” Sen while he’s exercising lol— Sen definitely gripes about it, but really he’s happy to have Adz around asking questions. even if Adz doesn’t LIKE joining in, it means a lot that he’ll still hang out with him n ask what a certain exercise is/why he’s doing it. it shows Adz is still curious about his hobbies/interests even if they’re not shared, n he’s.. not used to that level of care/consideration

mm.. to help Adz relax, Sen will definitely, 100% offer snuggles. he is. absolutely floofier than Adz + Adz loves to bury his snout in Sen’s fur and just tune out the world. 10/10 guaranteed way to lull Adz into sleep mode if he’s especially stressed/wound-up (esp after about of NRS, it’s not harmful to him directly but it’s still draining for a poor Proto— especially if he wound up banging into furniture accidentally)

to help Sen relax, Adz will usually just sit with him. Sen isn’t big on communication when he’s trying to process his emotions, + just having Adz there without any pressure to express himself is huge. sometimes Adz will brush his fur, bc he KNOWS Sen won’t do it himself but Adz also knows he finds it. Really relaxing skfhdhhd. he’ll usually wind up with a lapfull of Bulky Combat Protogen before he even works that far down from Sen’s shoulders

+ ok William/Adam/Lawrence. i do not generally picture Lawrence as trans but 100% do see Adam + William that way.. where im going with this is that John uses perception as a tool as much as anything else. Tara and Brent Abbot were not allowed to perceive William because the goal was always for William to die. Just like the goal was for Adam to die, except Lawrence was allowed to perceive Adam separate from John’s control (though not entirely free of his influence— “don’t believe Adam’s lies”). and I’ve talked about this before for sure but I think it’s very difficult for William because he has worked so hard to build a life he could be comfortable in only to have that torn away, while Adam was always used to being quote-unquote scum.

where im going with this is i think there are very much moments where William just kind of. needs a reminder of what people think of him. that his perception, very much tainted by John even after so much time, is not the only way he’s perceived. and I love Adam’s photography as a tool for this but i def think there are also just. nights where they all snuggle up on the couch, William in the middle, laying w/ his head on Lawrence’s chest so he can hear his heartbeat while Adam quietly lists off things they love about him (getting progressively sillier and sillier, until William laughs).. he is Seen and not as a monster but as a man with beautiful hair and a kind heart and, like, really nice arms (which gets a laugh this time, but of course holds more weight than maybe Adam even intends, with the tattoos hidden beneath William’s sleeves)

mmnn... i go back n forth abt whether i prefer Eric + Mal as dating or just close friends, but I think Mal LOVES to go on walks w Eric + his dog.

Eric having a rescued Malinois post-trap is *chefs kiss* a favorite headcanon of mine + I think Mallick just genuinely enjoys Being Out Of The House for any reason. so if he’s around and Eric needs to take his dog for a walk, Mal will generally tag along. sometimes they’ll stop at a park or something and Mal will play fetch (Eric will join in too sometimes, other times he’s not feeling well enough) + it’s nice because Mallick can pretty much match the dog’s energy lol — she’s normally very laid-back but Mal can get her wound up for a game like no one else can (side-HC is that Eric’s trained her to be a hunting dog, just thought I’d mention that ^_^)

n I’ve touched on how much it means to Mallick before, but it’s. A Lot to see when Eric notes down specific routes they’ve taken/things Mal said that he wants to remember in his notebook… that’s just. hrrghdh 🖤

+ ohh;; Strahm + Lawrence.. I think they are very. settled, together. it’s not that they don’t ever snark or play off each other, but just.. they can let their guards down around each other and relax into a space they really haven’t had before, this allowance of I know you’re not perfect, you don’t have to be (which they of course have with Adam as well, it just feels different)

Adam definitely has a small collection of photos of them being domestic, but his favorite is the one where Strahm is folding laundry on the couch next to Lawrence, while Lar works on a crossword puzzle. The radio’s on, the blinds are open + sun is pouring in, and every now and then Lawrence would ask Strahm for a suggestion + he’d respond by glancing up w/ this little smile.. nd like they’re Home. they’ve got a home now, something Lawrence was only playing at + Strahm never allowed himself to want. they’re home with each other + with Adam and they’re loved. and when they finally notice Adam, well.. they make it very clear he’s loved too 💙

[zenosanalytic]

Harrow the Ninth: Wordplay and Implication

So I started reading Harrow the Ninth last night(haven’t gotten far; I’m only on page 47), but some interesting stuff cropped up I wanted to yack about. Explaining it requires some Serious Spoilers tho, so don’t read past this point if you haven’t reader further than me and are also avoiding ...spoilers... X|

Ok so: Harrow is obvsl going through some Things. To begin with she seems to be having some manner of psychological break exacerbated by(possible caused by) the Lyctor transformation? A huge part of it is obvsl grief over Gideon -she seems to be avoiding any memory or thought of her and this mental block seems to be impacting her ability to access Gideon’s soul and thus her full Lyctor capabilities- but she’s also overwhelmed by her new senses and her inability to feel physical pain, and a bit unstuck in time? Some of that just might be her grief-driven illness, but so far there’s been some jumping around in the timeline/her memories so it’s possible this is also a side-effect of the Lyctor transformation and existing on both sides of life and death.

Anyway, there’s some nifty wordplay associated with all of this :>

the first one is in an edited memory, and it’s right at the start of it, in the chapter-title for said memory: “Parodos”.

Now most obvsl, that looks&sounds allot like “parody” and, while they aren’t directly related, the connection btwn the two is STILL intriguing: “parody” comes from para(side/beside/parallel) and oide(song), in the sense of a comical/mocking “parallel” to another song; parodos literally means entrance, though specifically it’s the name of a SIDE-entrance in greek theater-design which gave actors access to the stage, or the chorus access to the orchestra, BUT ALSO it was the name of the song(oide) the chorus sung upon first entering the play, coming after the prologue. The connection to an actual side-entrance makes me suspect the “par-” phoneme is from “para”, but I can’t find a constituent breakdown of “parodos” so it’ll have to remain a suspicion :T

Regardless: it is, in the manner of a proper parodos(even IF Harrow, here, is her own Chorus; this is a 3rd person perspective section), seeming to introduce us to the central conflict of the tale; Harrow is censoring Gideon from her mind, altering her perceptions and capacities in response to her grief, struggling with feelings that she is LOSING her mind(associated with, possibly embodied by, her “hallucinations” of The Body[1]), and clinging to this expression of control as a life-raft among all this trauma. At one point The Body even appears in this memory just to tell her it didn’t happen like this which “gave Harrow a curious strength”.

IntriguinglyER(and this is more of a stretch and idk if Muir really intended this implication) parodos is often popularly confused with/assumed to be related to “parados” which is a fortification embankment built to protect the rear of a military position(it’s basically the backside equivalent of parapet. Parapet=forward, parados=behind). What makes this intriguinger to me(aside from the fun of a FALSE pun for a FALSE memory :p), is that the false memory is part of Harrow’s mental DEFENSES, and in it she asks Ortus Nigenad to PROTECT her by keeping the secret that she is “insane” because, since opening the Locked Tomb and seeing the girl trapped there, she’s been experiencing full-spectrum sensory hallucinations of said girl(ie: seeing her, speaking with her, feeling The Body[the girl] touch her, the whole hog, etc etc). I feel like this is MOSTLY symbolic though, and the REAL secret she’s asking him to protect her from is Gideon’s death(and her “consumption” there of; since becoming a Lyctor The Body has had Gideon’s amber-colored eyes). Of course there’s another aspect to this and one of two OTHER potential secrets; Gideon’s body wasn’t recovered from Canaan House, Harrow does not seem to be in “possession” of her soul(though she does have SOME aspects of Lyctor abilities, so perhaps it’s partial or a connection?); so

it’s possible the SECRET Harrow is actl using Ortus to protect is that Gideon isn’t dead, that they healed her after defeating Cytherea and somehow undid the Lyctor process. OR

They’re keeping Gideon’s existence a secret for some reason

Now I think these are a bit out there theorywise because, while I’m not far into the book, I’m fairly certain that it’s only Harrow who is thinking Nigenad was her cavalier at this point. I mean: the Emperor would have spoken to Ianthe, and there’s no reason why she’d keep Gideon’s existence secret(also everytime the Emperor says Ortus Nigenad it’s attached to a description of his mouth moving oddly, so I’m fairly certain he’s actl saying Gideon Nav and her brain’s editing it to Ortus Nigenad to spare her facing Gideon’s death). Also and SUPER tellingly there’s this passage:

The Resurrecting King took on the expression of a man working out a very difficult and emotionally taxing anagram. He said, “Ortus,” again, but the bile was sputtering up into your throat...”

Now that just seems like an INVITATION to see what Ortus Nigenad can be an anagram of, doesn’t it? And, INCREDIBLY OBVIOUSLY it’s a partial anagram:

Ortus Nigenad

Gideon

Of Gideon’s name. Partial, because it doesn’t include “Nav”, and also there are these left-over letters

rtusna

Hmmm... What can THAT be an anagram of?

rtusna

Saturn

Well flog me with a spoon! I have NO IDEA what this, GIDEON SATURN, could POSSIBLY mean in the context of this convo or of the larger story(also: maybe this anagrams to other words? I honestly didn’t try too hard after this very obvs one. AtRSun??? Taurns?? OF COURSE Harrow would play Horde if she played WoW, but I’d imagine she’d’ve been a Forsaken Warlock, or Orc one at the very least :p), but that we have a character’s name being called an anagram by the narration and then that character’s name turns out to BE AN ANAGRAM of the first book’s, now(mysteriously[2]?) absent, protagonist plus the planet Saturn[3], seems an awful coincidence. Of course that doesn’t mean it ISN’T a Coincidence, nor that it means anything in relation to the story even if it IS intentional; it could be meant to throw off theorycrafters, or just as something Muir thought would be fun to do(making Gideon Nav, “the greatest cav the Ninth ever produced”, a near-anagram with Ortus Nigenad, one of it’s worst). Of course, it could also be a hint to Gideon’s origins, or where she/her body is now. For what it’s worth, I seem to recall the big contenders for her origins were Third through Fifth House, and those seem to be the most likely to be the Gas Giants&GG Moons(Third’s the wealth-house, and there’s probably more concentrated resources in Jupiter and Saturn than on any other planet in the solar system. And, for whateverMORE it’s worth, Saturn WAS the Roman god of wealth&the harvest. If Mars’s ...Martial[X| X|]... associations are a firm enough basis for its guess in the order, then why not Planet Fucking Saturn? Of course the trident theme suggests Neptune, but why in the cosmos would THAT be the third colonized planet in the system? Makes no damn sense |:T |:T).

The last thing(two things?) that I wanted to bring up, though it’s not really related to any of the above, is Alecto, the name for the next book. Presumably, this is The Body/The Girl. Alecto means “Implacable/Unceasing Anger”, and it is the name of one of the Erinyes; the Furies; the goddesses and purveyors of Vengeance. The Furies, according to Hesiod, were born from the blood of Ouranos spilled when Kronos castrated him. Interestingly, the way Necromancy works in this universe(as explained in these early pages) is that the Cohort “breaches” a planet, after which point its “thalergy”(life energy; presumably metabolism-produced energy since necros aren’t snacking on ambient heat&light) begins converting to “thanergy”(death energy, tho it’d be more precise to call it the energy generated by the detachment of a soul from a body), which Necros can use to do Necromancy. The microbiology within a planet’s soil can similarly be drained, as can the animals and plants, and the process of “breaching” allows Necros to draw on the thalery/thanergy of all of these. So Necromancy is a metaphor for environmental/planetary destruction&exploitation. Kronos is a harvest-god(his name is obscure, but probably means something like “the cutter” or “the striker”); Ouranos is the sky(probably a raingod with a name related, hilariously, to the verb for “to piss” :p :p), but at the same time still a planetary deity. Coincidentally, the primary antagonists so far in the book are “Resurrection Beasts” which seem to have been created by The Emperor Necrotising the Nine planets of Dominicus, and who have been pursuing him and his Lyctors to destroy them for this/for becoming Lyctors(Lyctordom is legit called “the indelible sin” by the Emperor himself) ever since. Sounds allot like the Furies, doesn’t it?

In this context, the Kronos Ouranos myth can be read as a story of planetary exploitation/injury(caution: I am NOT saying that’s the intended meaning of the myth originally, just that it is a possible application of it as a lens of analysis[it being referenced by the series through Alecto] to this story), and THAT suggests that Alecto, the Fury, may have been associated with this initial Necrotization(The Resurrection/Nine Resurrections, which SEEMS given what little I’ve read so far to be what they call the initial Necrotization of the Nine planets of the Sol System? Though maybe they were already Necrotized&all used up, and the Emperor revitalized them somehow?? I’m not sure yet), may be something instanced to stop it, or may be a “Resurrection Beast” herself; perhaps the initial form they took before 10k years of thwarted rage pushed them to become more monstrous. Alternately, I wonder if Alecto might be a manifestation or servant of Death? There’s a repeated focus on the Emperor having “defeated” Death, and The Body in the Locked Tomb is repeatedly referred to as a foe he defeated once but could not defeat again, so there are good reasons to disregard all the mythological trappings and focus on the clearer, less metatextual possibility.

Of course: it’s probably none of this and I’m just spinning Fantasy wholecloth from between my entirely metaphorical ears :p :p :p

[1]The Body is The Girl in the Locked Tomb which Harrow fell in love with. I’ll get to why this is relevant very soon after this footnote

[2]I mean we watched her force Harrow into Lyctorship by killing herself, so I’m still more convinced this is all trauma response. Her corpse IS MISSING, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t super-dead. Though: Camilla and Palamedes DID have a contingency, and Gideon DID wink at Harrow post-Lyctoring, and it was ambiguous if this was her impaled body or her spirit/hallucination doing the winking, so I can see ppl running with this theorywise...

[3]which is one of the Houses, obvsl(or at least it’s moons), though I’m only really confident on Sixth House(Mercury), Ninth House(Pluto), and 2nd House(Mars) at the moment. Seventh House is PROBABLY Venus, giving all its connections to poison, wasting disease, and Aphrodite(Cytherea is another name of the goddess), but that’s all just thematic suggestion. Oh also, I figured I should throw this in here given the large digression on Kronos and Uoranos, Kronos is Saturn’s Greek equivalent(or at least, the Romans considered him so).

[fuckingfinwions]

it's pretty fucking rich of curufin to call the servants perverts for doing what he/his family forced them to do! omg! also i love the detail that sometimes fingon is just like 'suffer bitch' and doesn't stop curufin from getting his own self in trouble. i wonder what celebrimbor thinks about all the tension between the three of them--he must be terrified, poor bby. also i love the detail that maedhros believes in thematic/ironic punishment. i imagine he does it a lot to curufin esp when hes str

*stressed abt ruling the noldor and whatnot. i wonder if he ever directly tells curufin that if he actually put any effort into it that he *might* be the best sex slave/concubine? just to have more 'competition' btwn him and fingon? (and maybe its just a ploy, hes much fonder of fingon just for actually just getting on with it and not being so annoying). also maglor and his elaborate shows. maglor sounds insufferable. is he rlly perfectionistic and dramatic with his directions/ideas/visions? ver

*very particular and demanding? i can also see some really dark domestic humor with like, maedhros being like 'tf are my sex slaves' and it turns out they're all tied up in rlly weird ways running through 'rehearsal' for the 50th time that night or sthg and maglor is like 'oh damn its morning? i hadnt noticed' and ends up having a very very weird party a few weeks later full of avant-garde noncon horror that his pretentious artsy friends who all applaud his 'vision'. also i had wondered, if maed

*maedhros ever feels like he needs to punish nolo or fingon but in a more 'ironic' way, does he do it by forcing them to punish or touch eac other? like if fingon winces or flinches at jsut the wrong moment or something 'oh if i'm so disgusting then i'm sure you'd prefer him to rim you' and nolo is ofc desperate to fix the situation with his son hurt as little as possible. cant imagine curufin wouldnt be very upset too if celebrimbor is brought into his own punishments. cant see that ending well

Celebrimbor is rather terrified by the whole situation, but luckily, all of the other Servants are interested in keeping him safe. Curufin of course wants to protect his son. Nolo doesn't want this to be happening to anyone, and Celebrimbor is the only one he's currently able to make things less terrible for. Fingon thinks that Curufin deserves everything he gets, but Celebrimbor is innocent; and also that Curufin is probably bad at caring for people in general and a bad father. Curufin's defiance, coming at the same time when Fingon learns just how much his own father sacrificed for him and his siblings, just cements that belief.

In practice, this works out to Fingon teaching Celebrimbor a lot about both how to navigate life as a servant and just general socialization. Celebrimbor is torn between trusting Fingon's advice, because Fingon is acting like an older sibling/uncle and Celebrimbor misses that type of connection; and doing his best to stay far far away from Fingon, because Fingon hates his dad and might use him as a proxy, and also look what just happened with Celebrimbor's uncles.

(Also, I think just before he comes of age, Celebrimbor is going to decide he wants his first kiss to be with someone who is NOT Maedhros or Maglor. He might find one of the normal servants' teenage kids, or he might kiss Nolo, as the least scary option. Maedhros is unlikely to notice, and wouldn't be too upset as long is it didn't go any farther - there'd be a punishment along the lines of wearing a stimulating plug and a cage for a day.)

I like the idea of Maedhros encouraging competition, but I think he'd go for it sightly differently. "You always thought you were so special. So smart, could've been a genius at anything you chose, the only reason you didn't make a marvelous invention was because all the easy breakthroughs had just been discovered. But now I see you're mostly an idiot. You perhaps have a little natural talent at forgework, but with different birth could have spent your whole life making nails and horse shoes and never thought of anything greater. You can imitate if someone has already shown you the steps, but you have no creativity of your own. Nor can you figure out how to apply your skills to a new area, instead guessing blindly and patternlessly. Poor Inke, can't even suck a cock without someone smarter telling him how to do so."

Maedhros purposely avoided directly mentioning Feanor. That tends to just make Curufin more defiant, reminded of his pride and that he ought to be a prince. Also, Maedhros is not sure Feanor would actually approve of his actions, and Feanor's potential anger on his return is a bit of a mood killer. Being immortal, Feanor never felt a need to discuss in detail what would happen if he died and Maedhros took the throne. Maedhros is confident he's following Feanor's example, but some instructions might have been nice.

Curufin is now going to try and be the best lover Maedhros has ever had, purely out of spite.

Yes, dark comedy where Maedhros wants Fingon to ride him, but he's too exhausted from practicing double pirouettes where he jumps and lands with his cock an inch away from a spiked post. Maglor says it symbolizes the short distance between despair and desire. Curufin then fucks him using a strap on that he's wearing backwards (symbolizing fear of intimacy) while Nolo does the splits and fingers himself (symbolizing the loss of community in modern society).

Maedhros just thinks that, as king, there ought to be someone with enough energy to get him off the way he likes. Maglor says he's an artist, you can't expect him to make a masterpiece without using all the instruments. Maedhros is privately thinking maybe he should have made Caranthir crown prince, then he'd only be down two at once as Caranthir pretended to be a sadist rather than a masochist, or maybe one of the Ambarussa.

I think Maedhros ends making Nolo officially allowed to refuse sexual orders from Maglor it's been going on for longer than five hours. Also, despite Maglor's protest of artistry, if it involves nudity or genitalia it counts as sex. Nolo isn't Maedhros's favorite, but he's pretty enough, and both Curufin and Fingon would totally take advantage of the out.

Maedhros makes Nolo and Fingon punish each other sometimes, by making them be the one to inflict pain. But he doesn't use sex with each other as a punishment. They''re just so hot, he wants to watch them touch each other multiple nights a week, and he's not the type to make up new rules as an excuse for punishments. And the point of a punishment is that it's something the person involved dislikes, true, but it's also supposed to be something that they can avoid, so that you actually change their behavior. Maedhros likes ordering Nolo to kiss Fingon, and kiss a line down his body, stopping to caress every inch of him as if he's the most beautiful thing in the world. No one believes that Maedhros would stop ordering it if Fingon didn't disobey, so it doesn't work well as a deterrent.

Re: Celebrimbor being brought into Curufin's punishments, I had an idea for "power play" which I didn't end up using. Maedhros is trying to get Curufin to behave, and Curufin is being stubborn, and also insulting Maedhros. So Maedhros beats Curufin with a crop, then ties him to Maedhros's bed.

Maedhros sets oil and a very large set of anal beads on the bed. Then he draws the bed curtains.

"I'm going to have my dinner here by the fire tonight. Celebrimbor is going to bring it to me, and wait on me throughout. When I've finished eating, I'll check on you. If you have all the beads inside you and your cock hard, I'll send Celebrimbor away for the evening while I play with you. If not, I pull back the curtains, and he gets to sit by and watch you. Do you understand?"

Curufin nodded. "Are you going to gag me?"

"Why would I do that? I don't mind if your son overhears you moaning."

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

Hamilton!firstprince au

(cross posted from twitter with a couple of edits b/c i couldn’t make them there)

in which i loosely follow the plot of hamilton except its firstprince and alex and henry get a happy ending. inspired by the striking similarities i noted between our favorite first son and his namesake hamilton in the broadway musical

the similarities:

both have/will have a political career

both often talk too much/don't mind their words

both began as lawyers

both extremely motivated but overwork themselves (“nonstop” +  “you have a fire under ur ass for no good goddamn reason)

both had some sort of sex scandal that impacted their career plans

hamilton speculated to be bi

the story

the setup of the colonized country alex lives in is similar to the usa vs england but fictional bc alexs race would have limited his opportunities in america's early years

idk names for either of these countries so its now the colony and the motherland

alex + his mom live alone in the poorer southern part of the colony

but his dad + june live elsewhere + they dont rly contact e/o (tho they do know of e/o’s existence)

june becomes a journalist who writes important pieces abt independence

when alex comes of age his mom reveals she used to be part of the rebellion

thats actually why his dad left to raise june bc it was too dangerous

his parents met in the rebellion but oscar left first for june while ellen stayed until she realized she was pregnant w alex

ellen still has some rebel contacts but she mostly sheltered alex to keep him safe

now tho alex decides to join too + the rebellion sends him up north to the capital for an education bc he's smart + they need people like that

he attends uni + meets like-minded people there

tension grows btwn the colony in the motherland, and alex + his friends write/speak out often and this goes on throughout their schooling

they’re also troublemakers in general too, much to the annoyance of the motherland soldiers stationed in the capital to prevent rebellion

henry is one of those soldiers

he's from a noble family in the motherland but was sent overseas as the sort of black sheep of the family due to his sexuality

the idea was to let him be in charge in the colony + reestablish a reputation there w/o embarrassing the main family back home

henry hates his job + feels bad for the colonists but still does what he's told anyway

alex + fhis riends like to bug motherland soldiers for fun

nothing  enough to put their lives in danger too much (although yes that too esp when drunk)

henry becomes a favorite target of alex's bc he's awfully stoic + statue like + on the way to uni - overall fun to antagonize 

there's also the fact that alex is angry at all the soldiers for oppressing the colony + holding up the motherland monarchs tyranny (but also alex just is the type to fight literally everything and anything) 

it becomes almost a daily ritual for them to argue 

henry wonders why this colonist keeps on picking a fight w him but soon almost looks forward to it

many of the other soldiers know or speculate why henry is in the colony but none make the effort to get to know him; some even call him arrogant or undeserving of his position

alex doesn't 

of course alex also doesn't know him

and alex hates him

but he doesn't whisper behind henry's back

henry comes to read some of the essays alex publishes speaking out against the monarchy + also hears alex speak to crowd in the square

alex is a talented + charismatic public speaker

henry finds himself growing increasingly sympathetic to the colonists cause

at the same time he and the other soldiers are order to be stricter and dole out more punishments

the others gleefully do so which makes henry concerned about alex's safety bc alex often seems to have no self-preservation skills

henry asks alex for a word when he's alone 

“am I in trouble?” “no but you bloody will be if u keep going on like this” 

“this is serious” “so am I” “you can't go around saying things so openly you'll get yourself killed”

alex tries to leave at this point “I think I'll be ok” but henry shoves him against the nearest wall 

“listen to me! stop acting like this is a game! ur putting ur sodding life in danger! I dont bloody care what ur opinions r but why must u declare them around enemy soldiers? how is this helpful 2 ur cause? u cant fight if ur dead” 

“you'd b surprised how effective martyrs are” 

cue enraged henry noises 

alexs gaze turns hard “listen i  appreciate/the advice” he says sarcastically “but I dont need an enemy telling me what to do. I can take care of myself” 

there's a stirring in alexs chest after he removes henry's hand and stalks off that he's pretty sure is anger

like it can't be anything else 

while alex is trying to convince himself of that, the tensions boil over + soon the two sides are on the brink of war then the fighting starts

henry + alex don't talk much for a while bc they're both busy on their sides preparing

school is on hold during the war so alex + his friends are looking to serve + bring glory to their names 

alex esp is recognized for his intelligence + becomes the recognized general rafael lunas secretary

luna is the george washington figure in this case who is impressed by alex wants him as his right-hand man

alex is disappointed his role is not on the battlefield bc he knows he has a good tactical mind + he could change the tide of a losing war + gain honor and status thru it, which would put him in a good position to be elected in the future

as secretary, alex is in charge of a lot of important correspondence eg for more supplies + men, so the motherland soldiers figure ambushing him off the battlefield would make things hard for the colonists

henry overhears this plan + immediately worries for alex's safety but he's cornered by another soldier to talk strategy + misses the chance to take out the men then

henry manages to catch that they're going to attack alex at night when he leaves + henry arrives just in time to kill them in a panic

alex hears the gunshot + yells “drop ur weapon”, drawing his own gun

henry obviously does + alex inspects the scene he keeps a gun fixed on henry

“what's going on?” he asks, eyeing henry w/ suspicion

henry explains everything + looks positively terrified bc he just betrayed his side even tho the motherland and his family has treated him like shit since he came out but still. 

becoming an outright traitor is not something henry ever planned + leaving behind everything he's ever known w no hope of ever going back is terrifying

but he also doesn't regret protecting alex

alex questions henry but can quickly tell henry is sincere + is telling the truth

henry explains his change of heart + they have a heartfelt moment in/just outside luna's office.

alex almost died + henry just switched sides, emotions are running high and they escalate into a kiss. the moon is out + it's all very romantic but they don't admit their feelings yet

soon after they go to luna, explain the situation + talk w the other generals/people in charge

henry is sent away on an assignment + is watched closely at first but he proves his loyalty quickly

henry and alex write letters back + forth that turn into love letters 

besides managing correspondence for luna, some of alexs ideas of sneak attacks/stealing supplies help turn the tide of the war andhe also writes to other countries for foreign aid

eventually the colonists win in this huge up start that no one anticipated bc the motherland is known as the most powerful country in the world

he + henry reunite in the capital of once the war is over

alex finishes up his studies + practices law + soon is chosen to be part of the new lawmaking body

things are going pretty well for alex w his legal + political success and his relationship with henry

they dont live together but theyre dating tho no one else knows

alex pretends to be single instead + says he doesn't want to be tied down

it works while he's still in his early 20s but as he gets closer to 30, people start to find it strange + tell him he needs to settle

being married to his work is also not a valid excuse anymore

it turns out alex made quite a few political enemies due to his strong opinions that he always vocalises + can be unwilling to compromise on

they don't like his ideas or more often hate him and hence his ideas too

they look for some dirt on him bc atm he has lunas support which has a lot of sway + decide they need to find out why he hasn't married

they manage to find out about henry + threaten to tell the public

alex is obviously distraught re the consequences personally + politically

so alex and henry discuss what to do 

henry is willing to put alexs political career 1st but firmly explains their relationship can't continue if that's the case

henry gave up his whole life + any possibility of going back to his family so he's not willing to be someone's dirty little secret  

alex doesn't know what to do so he goes to consult luna who he's become very close with over the years

luna is not quite old enough to be his father but he's like an uncle + he always calls alex “kid”, much to alex's annoyance

but alex knows he'll have some good advice

alex + luna end up having a long conversation

like washington luna has always been very vocal abt his regrets re his naivety + desire for glory back in his youth

hes always said that this was his greatest regret in life. but then he tells alex like he had another great regret in life- letting go of the love of his life

alex is surprised bc luna's never mentioned anyone special

“who is she?” 

“he” luna corrects “he was my best friend. we had something a relationship but it was short-lived bc I decided I wanted to join the military + attain glory. i thought thats what i wanted in life. turns out that stuff is meaningless w/o anyone to share it w. nor did I even achieve it. perhaps i did accomplish some things but now in my retirement I have no one by my side. i have found that life is meaningless without love and family.  

“i tried to find my friend to reconnect after all these years even as simply friends but he died in the war. alex, I see many similarities between us. don't make the same mistake that I did, alexander. glory + lasting legacy mean nothing if you're alone in the end

“if you make choices that are motivated by love and family you will be a lot happier”

alex takes his advice even though he kind of hates sort of giving up to his enemies

he decides to choose henry and his own happiness over politics bc in the end he's done a lot of good work and that much is enough

also his enemies probably would try to blackmail him throughout his career if he was doing something against their interests

so he + henry leave the capital and move uptown and the two of them have a quiet retirement + engage in philanthropy for the rest of their lives

separately they've amassed a decent amount of money - henry kept a portion of his inheritance despite being unofficially disowned and alex made a lot of money as a lawyer and then politician

as it turns out alex still has a tangential role in politics when some of his former allies go to him for advice

all in all, alex happy with his final decision to be with henry and step away from politics

the two of them live happy and full lives together

[thesugarace]

Alright

I finished HLITF season 1 for Kaga and I SWEAR TO ALL 12 ZODIAC GODS

VOLTAGE. PEAKED!!!! AT KAGA’S SEQUEL

THIS STORY IS AN ABSOLUTE 

(Early warning: minor/major spoilers and a lot of rants/fangirling/thirst etc etc all bec I just absolutely love this story and I feel the need to share this love with everyone. Also, I keep seeing everyone hating on MC in this but I actually really liked her here and so I MUST defend her)

Okay

First of all look. loOK. LOOK AT THESE CGS!!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE WE GET A HOT AND SEXY KAGA CG, A LITERALLY STEAMY ROMANTIC CG AND A BOMB AF STORY ALL FOR $3 EYE-

And oh my huedhaut dont even get me started on the story. It was absolutely on point. It has everything a HLITF story promises to have:

justice in the eyes of our straightlaced MC vs the PSD ✔️

Conflict btwn Kaga and MC precisely because of that ✔️

Our girl pulling a vanishing act bec she refused to compromise her values ✔️

the refusal of each side to back down and their love for each other TEARING THEM APART INSIDE ✔️

OUR GIRL SHOWING OFF HOW INSIGHTFUL SHE REALLY IS AND FINDING A SOLID AF LEAD ✔️

MC’S GROWTH in finding a somewhat compromise between her principles and what is required of her as a PSD detective ✔️

And of course, my absolute favourite: ANGSTY ANGSTY MY-WORLD-IS-ENDING-BECAUSE-MY-MC-IS-IN-DANGER-ANGSTY KAGA ✔️

Okay, I need to address the one thing that everyone just hates about this story en masse and it’s MC. Personally, I dont agree with her about the some parts, especially the interrogation because she did hinder an investigation and in law enforcement that is one big No-No but I do see where she’s coming from, especially with the surveillance thing and the whole copping out and literally running away to the countryside. I saw reviews abt her being completely naive but seriously, put yourself in the position of the one being spied. She’s so against it because to the suspect, what they’re doing could be harmful to him, especially so if he was innocent. I think as a person, she believes in the more publically-accepted justice - the kind of justice that everyone wants but is really very difficult to obtain.

And this is where we get to the beauty of this story. As per their MO, the PSD is ready to do whatever it takes to get the culprit even it means breaking the law. They’re desperate to get the culprit because people are actually getting hurt and the longer this guy gives them the slip, the more people are going to get hurt. Even in MSB, its been established that to the PSD, the end ALWAYS justify the means and they dont give a shit if they look like criminals for it. So this is where the conflict arises between MC and the PSD guys. For the PSD, there’s an opportunity where they might get the culprit but its illegal and for MC, what the PSD wants to do is too risky for something only based on suspicion; she wants to stay on the legal path but she has no lead whatsoever and time is not on either side. People dont seem to realise the weight of MC’s viewpoint and have a tendency to think of ‘officers doing something illegal’ as something as light as jaywalking or smt. No, these institutions have a wide reach and one misstep could bring harmful repercussions onto countless innocent people not to mention the implications of their actions on their integrity as an institution of the law and the integrity of the entire justice system. However, the PSD’s side is a lot more true to reality albeit in more complex situations: their duty beyond all else is to prevent crime and there are times when there really seems to be no way. I’ve been working in law for the past few years and this is a classic dilemma that has been simplified but quite well executed in this context. Justice is not as clear cut as the right way, the right end. The law may simply be black words on white paper but different circumstances dye it with their own colours. This is where MC is lacking. She’s like a freshman at law school - someone who truly believes in the importance of justice but actually has little idea what that actually entails. She is not entirely naive but more in a sense that she’s never been confronted with these kind of complex high-stakes situations (she worked in a police box before this for Ichthys’s sake) and that inexperience disables her from seeing and evaluating the entire situation from the PSD’s pov. For her, its like playing poker for the first time and she’s already betting with the million dollar chips.

The second thing I REALLY must defend her in is the whole quitting from the academy. For the love of Zyglavis, she did NOT run away just because Kaga told her she’s not suited for PSD, it was just the trigger. Lemme put it in a different scenario (btw this scenario is not meant to mirror the situation, its only meant to evoke how MC felt in the story) Imagine you live in a city and you and your significant other are living together. A pandemic has struck your city but everyone refuses to wear a mask and the government is even encouraging people not to wear a mask. You know that wearing a mask slows down the spread of the virus and you are trying to convince people to wear one but they just ignore you. The number of cases is dropping and people think its because they dont wear masks unlike other cities but you know that people should still wear masks or the numbers might spike. So you try to convince everyone to wear a mask and people start berating you for being so stupid as to believe that masks will slow down the spread of the virus when the numbers are dropping without the city wearing them. You go home and your significant other berates you for forcing other people to wear a mask and says ‘since you wanna wear a mask so badly, get out of my house and move out of town’ That’s what it felt like for MC: the absolute frustration + sadness from the rejection of what she truly believes in by the people she’s surrounded by. Time and time again in the story, she’s confronted with the fact that the justice she believes in is not the justice PSD serves. For someone who is working towards joining the PSD, that has to be killing her inside every time. It just serves as a reminder that she is not suited for PSD nor is she what PSD wants in a detective, something she has been struggling with since MS1 but she perseveres perhaps because of her dream to become a detective or because of her aspirations to someday be Kaga’s equal or at least be someone he considers he can rely on. I really believe it’s the second one, after all, it was his rejection of her that really broke her inside and finally convinced her to quit. That’s why if you buy the ending set, you’ll see in the extra stories that Kaga gets extremely angry AT HIMSELF that MC quit the academy. He knows that our persistent Kappa doesnt give up so easily, not even when he scolded her for ruining his interrogation. Its because all these factors built up and he was the one to push her over her limit. So yes, our girl is not fragile yall. She’s just been through so much and I honestly dont blame her for leaving like one order of R&R for our MC here, she deserves it thanks. 

Okay, I need to end this soon cause its starting to get too long but what made me really love her here is the whole LIME thing. That part made love her so much because even when she quit on the academy, there’s still a fire inside her to do what it takes to achieve justice, even if it meant relying on the people she didnt agree with. Even when she was so broken inside believing that she’s not one of them, she’s not needed by them, she’s not worthy of helping them; she just wants to help!

IM SO FREAKING SOFT FOR HER BECAUSE THIS GIRL WHO HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH IS STILL FIGHTING IN HER OWN WAY AND JKASHFHASKJHAKSHKJHGA BRB CRYING

ALSO 

THAT BLOODY PHONE CALL OH MY FREAKING SCORPIO THAT PHONE CALL. I died when he told her that quitting is not an excuse to leave his side. THESE TWO EYE-

Okay, you have to read that phone call scene from both sides because then you’ll see how much these two are being stubborn because they still dont accept the other’s pov abt the case but at the same time how much they love and miss each other is gnawing at them inside AND THEYRE STRUGGLING TO HOLD ALL THOSE EMOTIONS BACK WHEN THEY HEAR EACH OTHERS’ VOICES OVER THE PHONE FREAKING KRIOFF TAKE THE WHEEL PLEASE

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading season 1 for Kaga, especially because of his MC - I see her actually growing from the small police box officer to a PSD cadet and the sequel, especially, shows promise in how she’s going to navigate the world of law enforcement and facing difficult choices. Our girl really decided to return to the academy without finding a proper middle ground between her values and what PSD requires of her but she showed determination to work on it so I really hope we get to see more of that in later seasons. Also, WHIPPED Kaga is my fav but soft Kaga is up there as well. MC SAYING HE SOUNDED SAD OVER THE PHONE AND HER TEARING UP I CANT. THESE TWO ARE BAD FOR MY HEART.

Okay, Im not sure what I’ll be reading next. I kinda wanna start on his season 2 but considering how amazing this season is for Kaga, Im really curious abt the other characters so I might start on them before starting any season 2s. Also, idk if I would make these long argumentative-ish essays a thing but just idk why, my brain is really good at spewing essays out when it comes to HLITF and I think its fuelled by the panic from all my unfinished work so yay 

Thanks for reading!!!

[thetwistedrope]

When you talk about finding a place to sleep for a very long time do you mean that we're still able to sleep on the astral? How do we do? And what is it like considering that the astral is ALREADY the dream plane...?

First, when I say “finding a place to sleep” I mean that in any figurative and literal way possible. It means something along the lines of “not be conscious of where you are, who you are, or what is going on.” That can mean sleep as we do here on earth, or it can mean something else. It’s more metaphorical than literal.

That being said, regarding sleep on the astral, my experience has been “it depends.” Certain entities seem to need sleep, others don’t. I have a menz that didn’t sleep for the first few years I knew him, but after a particularly grueling situation that dragged out over the better part of a year, he legit laid down and slept for the better part of 3 months. I assume that means that under normal circumstances he doesn’t need sleep, but perhaps for certain situations he might. I think it highlights that sleep can have different applications to different beings. 

Humans are beings with bodies that require sleep. There are other beings out there whose forms may not require sleep. So it really depends on the specifics.

I also don’t consider there to be a line btwn us and astral, not really. Usually when I’m saying “astral” with other people, I’m using it to mean “things that we humans can not collectively experience or touch”, which is to say the less-physical parts of our existence. However, in my own worldview, the word “astral” is a false separation btwn “us” and everything else when really its more about what we can and can’t perceive. To me, the entire universe is “the astral.” And as such, I don’t really consider anything truly off limits for “the astral.”

For all I know, the places I’ve visited astrally exist somewhere and are just as physical as here and now. I just can’t experience them by physically traveling to them, I have to connect in a non-physical way. Yes, I do realize this could be completely false and I just have a good imagination. That’s part of the catch 22 of doing anything astral related, tho.

I also don’t consider every dream to be “astral” in nature, which is to say that some dreams appear to be nothing but my own mind working through things, where other dreams feel like they have a “I am in a different place” quality to them. So again, there is some grey area there.

But what I’m really trying to say (I think) is that I really don’t see there being any sort of “rule” that just because the “dream plane” is “on the astral” means that nothing else should be able to sleep or dream or what have you. Every other place I’ve been is so similar to here, and yet very different. In the same way that there are many species of beings here on earth, each of which has their own specific needs -- so too with beings on the astral. So many of them are so very similar to us humans, and yet each species is a little bit different.

And I view the whole matter of sleeping to be similar in nature. Some need it, some don’t. Some may only need it under certain circumstances. Some may travel to another place while asleep, some may stay in their own bodies. Some may dream, others may not -- who knows.

When you cast a wide enough net, I personally think there are no rules, and everything is within the realm of possibility.

Hence the old “welcome to the astral, where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter.”

[dndfuckhouse]

Session 19 - your majesty, i present to you the vengaboys

> 🎵  Pianissimo Epilogue / Silent Hill 2 OST

Returning to our tale, the group have all found respite in Vorde’s temporary abode in Shorewater, resting up and recovering from the night's events. Soon morning comes, though with the curtains shut as they are, it's a bit hard to tell that it's now daylight outside as they all slowly come too.

Peering about the group dont spot Vorde about, supposing he’s still in his room. Feeling a hankering for breakfast, Keva and Psalm wander over to the small dining table in the room and the fruit still piled upon it, chowing down. Psalm continues looking at the tome they stole yesterday as he does, continuing to copy runes and scan for any more information as he does.

Keva: keva is cuttin up an apple into slices with a small knife, giving some to amos and setting some aside and occasionally eating a slice Psalm: i'm just cooling at this breakfast table

Rokka begins his morning stretches, Finn sees this and decides to join him as well, Han watches and secretly does her own stretches, trying to not seem as if she wants to join in.

Plum: WHY Han: issues ! Plum: LMFAO Rokka: did our near death experience not bring us closer

In the meantime Plum and Cimmorro prepare their spells for the day, either via quick study or short prayer. Seemingly done with her stretches, Han comes over and joins the two at the dining table to eat (she hoards some of the food after everyone's had some). As the group go about their activities Orin eventually ambles out of him and Finn’s room somewhat drowsy, he takes a seat at the table next to psalm and takes a bite of an apple.

Psalm: good morning orin Rokka: i am crushing an apple in my mouth whole Orin: "mornin'" he looks like hes about to continue but rokka eating an apple whole makes him go : 0 though he quickly sneaks one of Keva’s slices after. Keva: an apple a day keeps the Chip: cult away Psalm: CLEARLY IT DONT

Han heads over to the window to the balcony briefly and opens the curtain ever so slightly to peer outside, looking down she sees the fenced garden of the building, a few birds flitting about in the branches of trees. Craning her head to try and look at the street she doesn't see anybody around. Out of the corner of his eye Finn sees Han move the curtain slightly and quickly becomes on edge before realising all is fine.

Finn: 

Han: LKSAD;LKHFLKHAWEFDS Finn: grimaces @ han opening the curtain and moves slightly. Chip: like a cat Finn: yes! Chip: fur raised Finn: KHJSHEJEHLJ

After a time the group hear some shuffling from the door Vorde disappeared behind last night, it slowly creaks open revealing his form. He walks out and looks about the group of them idling about and rubs his eyes turning and walking to the dining table to also grab an AppleTM, he doesn't sit down though

Han: i am 100% imagining this strained awkward silence Psalm: is he gonna crush it in his bare hands, BAROK VON VORDE... Finn:😳 Han: chip what did we watch dgs FOR Chip: NO

Finn: "morning uncle" finn stares kinda wondering why hes not sitting down but thats not gonna ruin his day Vorde: "morning finnian, i hope waking during daylight hours isnt too much for you" his eyes look sleepy as he speaks Orin: orin swallows his apple and speaks up "take a seat boss!" Vorde: he shakes his head in response "need to stand for a while for the blood to return to my legs" Finn: finn cant help but smile at that and responds "mm not exactly pleasant but i can manage. did you stay up?"

As the two chat Keva takes the moment to go take a quick morning bath, bringing Amos into the bathroom with her to give him a clean as well. Orin watches her take the rat into the bathroom with a face of confusion.

Vorde: "good to know" he pauses "hmm yes, I’ve been working through the night on how to present our case to the royalty, im going to be needing you all to speak as well once were before the court, merely on the things that prove you weren't responsible for the assassinations. We've the evidence to back up our claims so im not too worried. Of course if the royalty calls upon you you're each to respond in kind as well.” Finn: source: trust me Han: han hmms

Vorde seems to stretch slightly after finishing his apple and finally takes a seat at the dining table with the others, crossing his legs as he sits. 

Vorde: “My plan is thus; gain entry to the palace and an audience with the royalty, once there reveal the truth that the Red Letterhead’s machinations are the true cause for all this strife and go from there, i intend to warn them that Theyord’s apparent plans are about to be put into motion soon as well” he glances back over at his room “i will be presenting and handing over the items we have procured this far, including the tome" he glances at you psalm "hopefully it will be proof positive enough, should the archmage be around she won't find ive anything to hide on the matter”

He takes a quick sigh and rubs one of his eyes “I'm not sure what the royals will decide after that, I imagine they will put further efforts in place regarding the protection of the city and its walls, they should in anycase. If we are free to walk after we can investigate madam Shelly Carter’s lead after, perhaps we may request aid for the task as well, though I'm sure they will be hard pressed to spare much after such a threat to the city has been revealed. They’ll want all hands on deck”

Finn: finn nods and just thinks "man my uncle is so smart and cool. what a solid plan." Cimmorro: 🤨 Plum:

Han: a lot seems to be hinging on the royals kind nature Vorde: true, they arent benevolent but i dont think they're idiots either. It would be hard to ignore the items we've gathered. As well as the presence of a time limit Han: .... not that we have a better plan, but were i in that position, i just throw us in jail, less loose ends Psalm: Here's to hoping they don't just jump to conclusions hm? ^_^ Han: "what might we think to do then" said at the group kinda Plum: dunno, never busted outta jail before

The group decide that if worse comes to worse they’d prefer to try and figure out a plan to jailbreak themselves rather than resist the guardsmen and die trying. They also bring up the fact that they still currently think the mayor and Vinny are still compromised or under Theyord’s influence, and to keep it in mind. Keva leaves the bath around soon after and rejoins the group discussion.

Vorde: he continues, blinking slowly “hmm yes i forgot to specify, we are going ahead with the prisoners plan. However it won't be good for me to parade you all through the street even if you are ‘restrained’, it would be best if we could appear right before the guardsmen at the palace so the closest place for them to lock you up if they decide too is within the palace itself. I should state if they do haul you away, I advise you not to resist, with the city on guard as it is it will be nigh impossible for you to escape anywhere. If I do my job right you will be out within half an hour I suspect and brought to the court if you are carted off, that is what I plan anyway.” he pauses "ill do my best to stick with you however" Han: HAN BREATHES A LONG BREATHE X2 Psalm: “Appreciated. Always good to have friends in higher places for this kind of thing, rather than muscle your way out of it “ @ han Han: neither of those things seem to go well for me Psalm: he just shrugs

Vorde: he unclasps his hands and continues speaking "speaking of, are any of carrying any rope on your person" Han: shibari time huh Cimmorro: bondage ti Keva: keva asks "what for" Vorde: aforementioned restraints

Cimmorro: "yall don't have rope in this house??" 🤨 Vorde: 🤨 vorde like no bro Cimmorro: damn ok sorry Chip: [cimm leaves the room] Cimmorro: KGJFLSDKJGKLSFG

Rokka hands Vorde a few lengths of rope from his pack to tie the group up with in their fake prisoners ploy, satisfied Vorde then tucks it away for later. He then brings up another concern he seems to have on his mind.

Vorde: he turns to you Finn with his brows furrowed “I am not sure...if I ought to bring you along Finnian. It is best we act swiftly which does mean leaving during daylight. You could stay here, though perhaps i ought to leave Orin with you. Best if you weren't alone after what happened a week back.” Finn: finn also furrows his brows and ponders his uncles words for a moment. "is it only because of the daylight uncle?" Vorde: he thinks for a moment "i suppose so"

Finn asks Orin to then go check and see how harsh the sunlight out today seems, he obliges, getting up to carefully sneak his way past the curtain as the group continue discussing the matter.

Han: han glances btwn vorde n finn quizzically "what happened a week ago" Finn: i exchange looks with vorde as to telepathically ask whos gonna answer her. Vorde: he looks at you finn and sighs before turning back to you han, tapping the table with one finger "when we first arrived in Shorewater and began poking around we were sent an uninvited visitor" Han: who Vorde: an assassin Han: han rolls her eyes "yes i got that but. any identifying features" Vorde: i found a letterheads token on him, though he was dressed as a guardsman. No ring so i assume he killed someone and stole their clothes to find passage to our room. Nothing else stood out about him. Han: han hmms thoughtfully Chip: geralt hmmm Han: yea, the energy im channelling today

Han: he didnt return and they didnt send anyone else to finish the job. cocky Vorde: [a nod] Psalm: or maybe with their ceremony on the horizon they decided they needed everyone focused on the same goal? Han: which is, in a word, cocky Psalm: sure if you want to put it that way

Han: "wait what did you do with the body" @ vorde Vorde: dumped in the sewers Han: han goes HHHRMMNH fwustwated

Orin returns and informs Finn and the gang that it appears to be cloudy out today, they should be good if Finn covers up with heavy cloaks. Finn thanks him and tells his uncle it should be alright for him to come with them, though he wouldn't mind staying back if that is what he preferred.

Vorde: vorde like hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 

Psalm: “wouldn't it be safer to stick with a group in that case?” with his nephew there maybe he'll try harder to make things not go badly for us! 🙂 Plum: i also think it'd be kinda bad to be here alone, not like they didn't see us all runnin around Vorde: "i suppose it is better to stick together in this case" he looks at you finn "try not to horse around too much in the daylight" vorde worried parent mode engaged Finn: finn gives a big smile "got it!". >finn feels cared for friendship meter goes up Vorde: hmm, it would be more convincing in any case if i wasnt the only one bringing a group of fugitives to the palace. Finnian and Orin could make also have hold of the restraints.

Finn now assured that he is coming along, heads off into his room to quickly bulk up for the outside journey. Donning three three cloaks, the heaviest on top, thick black gloves and boots, a big sunhat and a scarf to protect his neck, he waddles back out into the main room where the party is situated.

Keva: keva's mouth seems to wiggle as she tries not to laugh Vorde: as you wander out and present yourself, vorde walks up to you and inspects your ensemble, after a moment he adjusts your scarf so it covers you mouth more and hmm's satisfied Orin: orin shouts a "looking good!" from across the room and snorts at keva Keva: keva shoots orin a look back like "what" and her smile breaks thru a little more before she fixes her face Plum: plum gives you a thumbs up Finn: "thanks uncle!!" finn beams @ vorde and looks at plum and orin and also shoots them a grateful smile

Vorde stretches again slightly, seemingly finally more awake then before, he informs the party to ready themselves to set off. They’ll get as close as they can to the palace before putting on the restrained charade, informing them they need to only disguise themselves well enough for a 5 minute walk through some alleys. Heading back into his room he begins preparing the evidence within his satchel and making himself presentable, the party following suit in trying to look conspicuous.

Keva: keva ties up her wet hair and pulls her hood and face mask up Han: han braids her hair and throws up cape too Psalm: (uses disguise kit) for good measure i just pull my hood up too Cimmorro: i'll just take off all the flashy jewellery and keep the hood up if that suffices Rokka: DISGUISE RING...

Rokka uses the disguise ring stolen from the letterheads to once again turn himself into a different human form, Chris Rokksworth, pop sensation. Plum asks the group if they oughta down the red potion they found earlier to change their hair colour.

Plum: can i just drink that weird potion and call it a day Han: angery ronand mcdoland Keva: 

Psalm: i don't see why not, i'm hard pressed to think of a better time to use it Han: han shrugs in a ye sure way Plum: [looking very excited] "ok yeah sure" i chug that shit

you pop open the red bulbous vial and drink the airy liquid. slowly youre hair turns red, additionally your tongue does as well. 

Rokka: cool hair plum Finn: i give a thumbs up back at plum for earlier.

Vorde walks out of the room once more, he almost seems surprised seeing Rokka as a person but doesn't comment, he also doesn't say anything about plums hair. Satisfied with the disguises he heads for the balcony window, informing them its better if theyre not all seen exiting the front. He slides open the curtains and clicks open the doors, peering out for witnesses before he motions for the group to all follow him as he hops down. Orin adjusts his cloak and follows quickly after.

Rokka: vorde am i hot, am i hot to u vorde

> 🎵  Aequilibrium. Medieval Tune. Hurdy-Gurdy With Organ / Andrey Vinogradov

The group quickly follow after the two sliding down the side of the building, though psalm seems to hitch his hooves on some stonework, nearly chipping them oww....his pedicure. The rest make it down quick enough and follow as Vorde begins leading the way through the shadowed alleys, as stealthily as they can to avoid detection from the increased patrols. Vorde keeping the lead and lookout helps the group manage to get by without sticking out too much.

Finally they all slowly come to a stop at an alley corner, as they come close they steal a glance at the palace, it looks as regal in the daylight as it did on the night the group all first stood before it, its peaks reaching high into the sky. The large light blue and white extravagant building dwarfs their forms, though it no longer has the inviting warm glow and festive aura as it did before. Guards stand alert and in a large number around the streets and on top of the walls, the main gates firmly shut with two royal guardsmen stationed in front of it at the top of the stairs leading up to it. Vorde quickly calls the group to attention.

Vorde: “follow my lead and don't put up too much of a fight, be sure to make sour enough faces to be convincing however, at least until you’re called before the court” he pulls the rope out of his satchel Keva: keva's face sours upon seeing the ropes come out no problem Han: hans been sour this whole time no worries bruv, i also keep a look out, like hans basically constantly alert and trying take in every little thing Psalm: psalm just stoic face as per usual, elevator music Rokka: im a celebrity im good at this, jk rokka is nervous af Plum: i always look kinda sour anyways Cimmorro: 😳 cimm like this Chip: cimm a freak like dat Psalm: LOOOL Cimmorro: oh no you caught mee, what ever shall i do, arrest this Plum: shut up shut up Han: cimm 😳 damn u pulling out ropes on the first date?

Vorde moves to hand some of the rope to Orin and they get to tying the six of the groups hands up, not too tightly but convincingly enough. He hands the rope holding Keva and Psalm off to Orin, and Han and Rokka to Finn, holding Plum and Cimmorro’s in his own. 

Vorde: "right then, plays about to begin, stay calm and follow my lead" he gives orin and finn both a nod Han: han nudges rokka to get his attention Rokka: tilts head at han ? Han: han points to vorde and makes a stupid face while pretending to talk seriously Rokka: rokka tries to stifle his laughs Finn: finn peeks out from under his scarf and squints Han: han stops immediately if she sees finn looking Rokka: rokka making snorting sounds from failing to not laugh Finn: I WAS GONNA WRITE THAT FINN HAS A SOMEWHAT APOLOGETIC LOOK BUT THEN YOU SENT THAT POKI Han: han is the picture of innocence Finn: finns rolls his eyes and turns his attention elsewhere

Psalm: well this works out pretty nicely doesn't it, since i've been kind of curious about you. Orin: he just raises a brow Keva: keva looks at psalm Psalm: he just smiles Ghester: [plays laughtrack.mp3 in ur head] Psalm: well i'm not the most learned person out there, but i was a bit curious how you came to start working for vorde is all Keva: you ask a lot of questions for someone who doesn't answer them Psalm: i think you're misunderstanding, i'm not asking anything. if i had an answer there'd be nothing to be curious about. Keva: keva makes a face like you're just saying words at her psalm Psalm: psalm just sighs Orin: “i dont mind telling you, its nothing special. Maybe after we get through court though" he looks back at you keva "no need to be so cagey about it really" Psalm: i highly doubt that it's nothing special. and i don't think there's been a time where she hasn't been cagey around me i think. Keva: oh don't go thinking you're special Psalm: oh i'm not? now i'm even more hurt  

Cimmorro: "so how are we feelin today" cimm attempts to nudge plum gently but ends up hitting their head with his elbow accidentally,  oh shit sorry your wig Plum: [GROANS REALLY LOUDLY] Cimmorro: well at least we're able to play the sour part of this play eh, all according to keikaku [editors note: keikaku means plan] Plum: always, not hard with this group Cimmorro: agreed. hey at least we're having the thrill of our lives eh? who knew we'd have a one way trip to life sentence. free! Plum: i honestly.... Cannot tell if you're joking Cimmorro: 

Plum: [plum laughs] Vorde: while looking for a chance to head out of the alley he listens to the two of you like : | Cimmorro: vorde not being paid enough by the hour to baby sit cimm

Rokka: dont make me laugh im trying to be nervous Han: "whats there to be nervous about, really" han has a weak smile lmao Rokka: life sentence Han: "just gotta break out then" nudges rokka again Rokka: "ur right. ur so smart han" rokka visibly relaxes as he talks to han more aha Han: han laughs quietly "wish i had someone nice like you for a sibling instead of shitheads" Rokka: no stopping that now Han: after han finally Gets it, shes trying not to look like [crying emoji] then looks away kinda shy? "...they arent. complete shitheads......... i think you would get along nicely with'em" Finn: finn eavesdropping @ han, inch resting Rokka: I'd love to meet them one day if we make it out of this Han: "we will. i have to knock the life out of one of them" han smiles Rokka: how many siblings do you have Han: han loses her smile a touch and hesitates a sec b4 answering "...two now." Rokka: now..? Vorde: out of the corner of your eye you all see vorde come to attention and speak "its as empty as it'll be, nows the time to get as far as we can. were on" he shoots you all a glance. Rokka: rokka shoots a quick concerned glance at han before facing forward again

Vorde pulls the two behind him ahead on the ropes and marches proudly into the street, walking at a speedy pace followed by Orin and Finn, the group gets as far up the stairway to the main gates as possible before the entourage is spotted by the various nearby royal guardsman.

Immediately they hear a few shouts ahead of them as the two royal guards by the door call out to Vorde to halt, looking the group also notice the guards on the walls train arrows on their forms. Behind, nearby guards quickly run up to flank the group, surrounding them.

Keva: keva tenses up as the guards approach Han: han too, also making note of fucking everything, how many people, exits, all that shit Rokka: rokka also does the tense Plum: plum stands a little closer to cimm and vorde Psalm: psalm is also just scoping the place out for good measure

Vorde: he clears his throat before speaking loudly and plainly “I, Vorde Barvotte of Antessa, have found and bring to you now, the assassins and wanted fugitives responsible for the carnage during the Elfonsent Ball but not a few nights ago” he continues a little less loudly with his brow furrowed “I bring grave news regarding their actions and future plans of attack on the city, i demand to be brought before the nobility and kings at once to relay this pertinent information immediately” the two royal guardsman in front of him pause for a moment and eyeball the group behind him bound in ropes.

Han appears to get the stink eye specifically from one of the guardsmen before the guard on the right, presumably the guard captain speaks up.

Guard Captain: “there are only 5 assassins left alive to my knowledge 'good' sire, and wasn't one of em' a lupin?” she turns her head to the other guard as if to ask for confirmation, he nods his head. Vorde: he clasps his hands together before responding “it appears you were not thorough enough in your investigation of the body then guard captain, it is of dire importance this error is rectified wouldn't you agree? as for the second question" he looks over at finn and gestures for him to bring chris rokksworth pop sensation forward Han: pop sensation chris rokksworth cant be bad! hes a star! Rokka: silly! hes just getting into his new movie role!

Finn brings Rokka forward as prompted by Vorde, reaching for Rokka’s bound hands Vorde pulls off the ring shifting his form immediately back to his lupin one.

Vorde: "These assassins are crafty wouldn't you say, hiding their faces to avoid detection." he gives you a quick look rokka that to you seems like hes saying gj bro Rokka: rokka just makes a surprised face :OOOOOOO

Satisfied, Vorde turns curtly and pushes Rokka back to where he was standing before, turning back to the guard captain. She squints at him and then quickly turns and raises her arm, ordering the nearby guardsman to examine the tied up members of the party for any weapons.

Han: han probably has all her weapons on her.... she grits her teeth over this lol, han glaring dagger into whoever has her stuff lmao Rokka: [nooo dont confiscate my swords] Keva: keva scowls as a guard approaches her and pats her down Han: eat shit copper

Orin tries to give Keva and Psalm placating looks throughout the process while not being obvious. The six members of the party have all their physical weapons removed from their persons. The guardsman on the right clears her throat seemingly satisfied with her appraisal and shouts at the guards on the walls to lift the gates, as she does Vorde gives the group a barely noticeable nod and continues speaking.

Vorde: “I must be bring them all before the nobility themselves as soon as possible, their testimony will be important for what i am to tell the royalty, i cannot explain their actions without them and the imminent threat to the city without them”  Guard Captain: she responds with a curt “you want to bring assassins before the kings for a second time?” Vorde: they are bound and weaponless, they couldn't hurt more than a fly as they stand now, beaten and docile. I'm sure you’ve a great manner of ways to check before they are brought anywhere near the nobility but i stress, i must speak to them with all of the fugitives present. It is of the greatest importance

The group watch the main gates slowly rise as Vorde speaks, hearing the grunting of guards nearby as they work it open. They’re all ushered ahead by the guardsmen behind them to walk through the gates. Stepping over the threshold they feel a wash of something pass over them as they enter the perimeter of the palace before moving along. 

Ghester: In the back of your head Psalm you hear Ghester make almost what sounds like a grunt of pain before hearing him whisper “....nasty enchantments in place now i see” Psalm: psalm's just looks at orin like eh could be worse, oh wait

Psalm: psalm just tries to mask cough asking ghester "are you alright?" in infernal Ghester: you hear a strained hmm as he speaks "nothing that will kill me but it shall be a persistent pain for a while i suppose, im being forcefully restrained is how i would put it. dont worry, i'll do my best to keep a watchful eye" Psalm: quietly "hmm, i wasn't that concerned about them taking my stuff but knowing that i guess i should be. although i can't really say i'm surprised they'd have you covered too." Ghester: he gives a dreary sigh Psalm: what do you want me to kiss it better? tough it out man! you're like a million years old aren't you? Ghester: he doesn't respond Psalm: * slightly concerned *

Keva: keva's gone from staring warily at the guards to staring at psalm talking to himself Han: 🤨 Psalm: psalm like why y'all staring at me Han: cant a man talk to himself every once in a while Psalm: thats what im saying

As the group walk through they all hear the guard captain Vorde is speaking to respond with a “we’ll see” before she pulls another guard over and motions for them to run ahead of the group with a message.

They quickly take off, the guard captain then turns and motions for Vorde and the entourage to follow close behind. The group are all ushered through a grand main garden, blooming flowers of yellow and blue and large plants bracket the main pathway. They feel plenty of eyes on then as they’re lead through the grounds.

> 🎵  Dark Medieval Blues. Hurdy-Gurdy, Organ & Drum / Andrey Vinogradov

The group is pushed towards the main palace entrance doors and a grand entrance foyer, flanked by royal guardsmen as they enter. There are a number more than there were during the Ball they notice as they’re are ushered down a tall corridor to the right, the royal guardsman marching along with them the whole way.

Eventually in one of the corridors they are brought to a stop. Soon after the messenger that was sent ahead earlier rushes back, as he heaves out of breath the guard captain mutters an impatient “and…?” he stands puffing before sidling up to whisper in her ear, she makes a sour face afterwards.

Guard Captain: “You’re to be examined before i bring you before the court” she points at a nearby door “inside” 

The group are once again hauled through by the guards. They find themselves led through a door to what appears to be an old and ornate looking library, though somewhat messy looking, before being ordered to sit upon a set of chairs lined up near a long wooden table.

The ceiling here is high and there are various potted plants strewn about the tall cases of old tomes, ladders with wheels on the bottom are affixed to the large wooden bookshelves. Orin seems to be looking about the large room with curiosity as if he cant help himself.

Psalm: psalm is same he's basically like "oh shit! books!!" Han: han keeps glaring at the guard who took all her shit n gritting her teeth Finn: finn also letting his eyes wander a little around the room Keva: keva also looks around and takes it all in warily

After a few minutes of waiting you all see the door open again as a woman wearing a large hat with aqua toned skin steps through, fins sprouting from her face.

Han: han briefly looks at her, then does a double take.  Rokka: anxiety sky rockets

Han: han wolf whistles smh she’s a chad dont be stupid Psalm: PLEASE NO Han: NO NO AS;LKHFDLKHWADS;LKF IM KIDDING IM KIDDING Cimmorro: KVLDJSKGJSDKLG\ Han: u can keep me in these cuffs baby girl (winks) Psalm: psalm throws up Plum: [retches] Han: this is why han only gets laid when she pays Psalm: OH MY LORD WHAT A THING TO SAY LMFAO Chip: she fucks but at what cost (25 gold) Han: 25 GOLD, DAMN

The woman appears as if she's a triton, the race typically live underwater they suppose shorewater is located on the sea, not strange for the people to make their way into the politics of the country on the oceans doorstep.

Carrying papers with her they note that she appears to be formally dressed, though they aren't quite sure of her station. She moves towards the table with a nod and places the notes and items she seems to be carrying down with a quick huff and turning to the guardsman

Mardella: “I’m here to examine the accused, i shall cast a general spell then probe further if i need too” as she speaks she brushes an errant hair behind one of her fins. Han: raise ur hand if u dont wanna get zone of truth-ed Plum: I DO I DO I WANNA GET ZONE OF TRUTHED MAKE THIS NIGHTMARE END I'M INNOCENT Han: AKLDSF;LKHRAWLKHHESGDLKAW;LKJ4F all my charm spell nightmares coming to life

Mardella: turning to the three not seated she continues “I am guessing you are Vorde Barotte then?” Vorde: he gives a small bow in response “yes that is correct” Mardella: she hmms and continues “I am curious as to how you apprehended them all when the guardsman had such difficulty, but you seem to express a great desire to speak before the kings themselves so i will leave the needling for the moment” she turns back to the rest of you seated in the chairs “right then this shall take me some time”

She moves to sit at the long table and picks up the papers she was holding. Just then the group also notice she also has a quill and a pot of ink near her. She quickly gets to work drawing notes of some sort before standing.

She walks back to the 6 of them and speaks casting a spell, she seems to grip something at her neck glowing a white light for a moment before relenting. She casts the Zone of Truth of spell, affecting all of them except for Psalm and Cimmorro. Should they speak now they can only respond truthfully.

Psalm: i almost wished cimm failed that just to force him to speak properly Plum: cimm says peenus weenus fr and this woman is like, i am in the presence of a complicated mind... a puzzle box Cimmorro: JKGSDGJSG now everyone's in MY world Chip: lets start with your childhood cimmorro Cimmorro: AM I AT THERAPY? Han: YES

Mardella: she clasps her hands in front of herself and speaks "i shall ask you a series of questions, i expect you to cooperate with this process" she pauses and continues "are any you of currently under the effects of a spell, intended to deceive?" Keva: no Plum: nah Psalm: as far as i am aware, no Han: no Rokka: nope Cimmorro: nope

Han: laughs over the differences n similarities in our responses Psalm: that’s rp babey! Plum: tag urself

Mardella: she hmms and continues "are any of you still carrying weapons or contraband on your person" Han: han grits her teeth "i fucking wish" Keva: no Psalm: no Cimmorro: nope Rokka: nope :( Plum: no Cimmorro: plum sitting there thinking "is this illegal? fuck if i know" (re their pink medical potion) for 30 seconds before answering

Mardella: she continues "do you harbour ill intent towards the royalty of this country" Plum: no Keva: no Han: no Rokka: never Psalm: no Cimmorro: not yet i dont :d Plum: LFAMOGOGOO Han:;KHAS;LKDF;AWEFD Cimmorro: DONT TEST ME Chip: cimmorro cringe compilation Psalm: @ cim

Cimmorro: LKBF;DBCVB,SB.,S Han: we are all testing her patience,  cimm and han 🤝 at their wits fucking end Cimmorro: they find truce. Once

Mardella: she gives you a look cimm and continues "how long ago did you arrive and shorewater, and for what purpose" Keva: 2 weeks. i’m looking for someone Plum: a few weeks ago, came here to talk to vorde Rokka: nearly a month, im just exploring Psalm: a little under two weeks. and i'm just here for a change of scenery Cimmorro: came around 2 weeks back or so. just passing by really, pilgrimaging Han: almost 5 seasons. my friend left me here to find myself

Mardella: she humms "and a final one, were you all here on the night of the Elfonsent Ball?" Han: yes Keva: yes Cimmorro: yup Psalm: yes Plum: ya Rokka: yup

Mardella: satisfied she nods and unclasps her hands "thank you for complying" 

The woman walks back to the end of the table where she placed her papers and begins to draw with the ink and quill, what look like runes of a sort, whispering under her breath, they figure shes slowly casting another spell.

They sit in silence under the watch of the guardsman, about ten minutes pass before she seems to finish, a quick glow bursts from her hands and she stands once again, coming to scrutinise them all. She then slowly examines them all one by one from a distance, making her way down the line before stopping after a time, seemingly satisfied.

Mardella: “I’ve not detected anything suspicious in the way of magic for now” she stands and dusts her dress slightly “i shall go and inform the kings, lead them to the court hall once you are ready” she turns and gives Vorde a slight bow before standing and leaving the room. 

Han: oh that was a detect magic not identify, i was like how is psalm not pinging -  warlock pact Cimmorro: psalm big dong pinging under the radar of mommy Psalm: yeah everything about that is horrible jez Chip: psalm back on pornhub Psalm: everything about what you just said is terrible, GOD, THIS IS LIKE THE THIRD TIME Plum: jez, jez i will beat you one day Cimmorro: Nicj9jjoflkeneje

The guard captain satisfied, motions for the guards to haul the group out of the room and back through the palace, the other three following close behind. Once more they are led through the tall corridors of the palace into a more minimalistically decorated area, though it seems everywhere in this place is covered in plush long carpets. Eventually they are all brought before a large set of double doors, taller than themselves, and brought to a stop. 

The guard captain stands at attention before them all, bringing Vorde, Finn and Orin in front of the group, before turning and lightly knocking on the door. A moment passes and soon after what they assume to be a secretary of sorts sticks his head out and whispers in her ear before leaning back inside and closing the door.

Plum: [fidgeting] Rokka: [fidgeting] Han: han is stoic tense n grimacing the usual Keva: keva's like, lightly scuffing the plush carpet with a shoe as she looks around Psalm: psalm sneezes Chip: ghester doesn't say bless you

Guard Captain: she turns back to you all and speaks “You have been granted an audience with the kings, the princess, the archmage and the high arcane adviser. You will speak when spoken too and keep your hands to yourself, if i notice but a hair out of place, you're out the door. As for the rest of you-” she cranes her head “try anything again and we’ll gut you where you stand, am i clear?” Plum: i heard one of the kings is really hot, IM JK Han: KKHDA;SLKHFALKHEFDS Cimmorro: JDJFKROEDLDM so ure saying hes not? 🤔

> 🎵  The Great Cross-Examination ~ Allegro 2015 / The Great Ace Attorney OST

The guard captain turns and pushes open the doors walking ahead. Vorde, Orin and Finn follow after her as the rest of the group are pushed along behind by the royal guardsman. They all enter what looks like a large chamber, a small set of stairs leading down into a large circle with an ornate design in its centre, tall pillars along either end. At the centre hanging over the centre of the large circle is a lit chandelier, clean in its design.

Across and up another set of stairs appears to be 5 seats, two more ornately decorated than the others, each sat upon by a person flanked by stone statues. The two kings Jermiah and Peruvus Argotts, sit in the two at the centre, flanked by princess Forrin Argott. Next to them sits a gnome in ornate garb, and the woman from earlier, Mardella. 

The chamber has a set of royal guardsmen lined up on either end of the wall at attention, the group is slowly led down to the centre of the room as the guard captain in front of them speaks, head bowed low.

Psalm: A GNOME? :pogchamp: WE'VE BEEN KONGED Plum: GNOME COOL Cimmorro: DAMN TGIF THANK GNOME ITS FRIDAY Han: 

Rokka: SDFCGVHBJKL Cimmorro: THANKS POKI

Guard Captain: your majesty's, i bring Vorde Barvotte of Antessa and his associates, as well as the 6 fugitives wanted for the events that occurred during the Efonsent Ball” she then steps back and aside, allowing Vorde, Finn and Orin to stand facing the court instead. “He claims to have pertinent information regarding their plans and a future plan of attack upon the city, he desired to relay this directly to the court.” The eyes of the five soon land on Vorde as he folds his arms behind his back.

Jeremiah: the king consort speaks up first “Well no need to keep us in suspense sire, speak freely. Mind we are a bit on edge at the moment so if possible it would be well for us to keep this audience brief” Turen: you hear the gnome woman speak up soon after him with a sigh “better for us to be taking no audiences at this time with the work to be done right now” Forrin: The princess responds soon after “we can't turn down any information at this time Turen, even if it ends up being a farce. Though I doubt the good sir would jeopardise himself so readily in such a precarious time, correct?” she tilts her head slightly with a glance at Vorde. Vorde: He responds with a small bow and a brief “of course your highness” Jermiah: he once again waves his hand as if prompting Vorde to begin speaking once more. Cimmorro: speak now thot Plum: plum is just listening to them say words and not absorbing any of it,  just thinking i am looking at the faces of the rulers of this country right now, i wonder what my parents would think Finn: finn looking at these people like man theyre richer than us Cimmorro: we start dancing behind him, interactive presentation Han: we start doing fortnite dances Psalm: psalm is also like hmm wonder what my parents would think, how did i end up here

Vorde: standing straight again he begins “I bring important news of dire events but more notably i must stress an important detail first. The 6 fugitives behind me stand accused of heinous crimes towards the court and the sanctity of this city and country, but I've proof they were merely innocent bystanders who were used. Their faces stolen to be equipped as masks in crimes against this country” He straightens his back slightly before continuing “On my person i have a pieces of evidence that point towards the true culprits behind the attack on your persons your majesty’s, a cult known by the moniker ‘The Red Letterheads’ who deal in disgusting acts for a purpose i do not fully understand myself yet” 

 As Vorde speaks the group see the 5 sitting in front of him watch with rapt attention, he details the evidence they’ve all found and presents his satchel, leaving it upon the ground for examination as he speaks. The guard captain takes the satchel and walks it to the gnome Turen and Mardella who begin to examine its contents. 

> 🎵  Joint Reasoning (Type A) / The Great Ace Attorney OST

Throughout his monologue he turns to each member of the party to provide testimony or speak upon the things they have seen and encountered over the past few days to prove their innocence, and the letterheads being the true culprits before leaving the closing argument to Finn.

Han: uses her outlander feat to provide testimony explaining the groups movements precisely retracing their steps and describing the letterheads place

Psalm: persuades them that the night started with the group being either hired as vinny's bodyguards or brought along as his +1's and the reason why they chose them for doppelgangers was because they were apparently easy targets

Plum: talks about the fact that they only came to shorewater to talk to vorde and then was going to fuck off back to talornia or wherever - they say "fuck off back to" and then are like ah oops

Keva: say she was talking with silversoul and was in his vicinity during the attack, so she saw him stabbed and wasn't around vinny who her doppelganger was seen stabbing bc she was across the ballroom -  [ psalm jumps in on keva's point to say that he had seen the letterhead member that stabbed vinny before she disguised herself as keva and that they later apprehended her and got information out of her ]

Rokka: mentions that he was speaking to vorde with han and plum at the ball,  BRO IM JUST A JOCK

Cimmorro: speaks precisely about the methods of necromancy the group saw, including the undead zombies and the blood clones.

Finn: for the closing statement he emphasises keva’s testimony re:gintama and cimmorro’s regarding the blood clones. Tying that in with the evidence the group  have and making it clear that the real perpetrators have pressing motives that need to be investigated with utmost urgency

> 🎵  The Old Bailey ~ Closing Argument / The Great Ace Attorney OST

Finn eventually closes out the argument, nervously taking a breath as he finishes speaking. In front of them the group watch as the court thinks of the things the party has relayed, most of them with their brows furrowed. 

Psalm: i hope this turns into a "glad we brought him!" situation Cimmorro: PLZ 🥺

Peruvus: finally he speaks up “So this is true then? I had suspicions this was part of a greater plot but it appears to have become all the truer with every word you’ve spoken.”  Jeremiah: “The inconsistencies within your testimony make sense if the culprits were in fact doppelgangers, a cult hmm” looking at you Finn he continues "you said his name was Theyord?” Han: han zones out for a sec and then goes "i believe he also went by ansam?" Finn: finn pulls down his scarf slightly. "Indeed. But my uncle has a better account of this, if you do not mind him relaying it in my place." and just. eyeballs vorde. motioning for him to take over. Cimmorro: this is finn the whole time but crying

Vorde: Yes, your majesty, i think in a previous life he may have gone by the name Ansam, i'm unsure of its relevance at the moment Jeremiah: at that he seems to think for a moment before frowning and putting a hand to his face to think, not speaking after. Turen: next to him the archmage speaks up “This tome is certifiably filled with black magic, the kind you often dont see used on the material plane by living creatures because of how complicated the runes are. If this cult's patron is Mephisto then that is most certainly where they got these litany of spells, he just gives them out to anyone who asks now? This devil gives me a headache…” she turns towards the three standing members of royalty before continuing “i can confirm the contents of this tome are indeed teemed toward necromancy and mind control, it may explain a few things. The enchantments on these items feel like the scratchings of the desperate” she looks over at you cimmorro "seems he knows what hes talking about" Cimmorro: cimm just looks back at them like <:3c

Keva and Han attempt to study the king consort’s reaction to the name Ansam but dont get much aside from the fact that he recognises it, theyre unsure how affected he is right now by its mention. Han does note that the 5 seem to be seriously considering the groups argument, seems Finn’s closing argument was quite strong. 

Psalm also thinks now and considers if he’s heard the name Ansam before, he thinks that perhaps faintly he may have heard it somewhere back home, thinking that it sounds like it could be the name of tiefling. Though he doesnt get much else. Soon after Cimmorro is praised Mardella once again speaks up 

Mardella: “i do not think they're lying about the stolen faces, we had the suspicion already. Once we removed the ring upon the corpse in the palace it changed its face completely, it's of the same make as the one I hold now” she twirls the disguise ring around in the light. “Your majesty’s, your highness, i too can confirm the authenticity of these items as Turen just did” Forrin: at this she responds, lifting her arm slightly, beckoning towards the guard captain “as a gesture of trust, i’d like you to remove their bindings as they stand before us captain” 

Quickly bowing, the guard captain walks over to the group of six, Orin, Finn and Vorde drop the ropes as she quickly cuts each member free one by one, their hands allowed to roam as they please. Other royal guards step forward to take the ropes and remove them from the hall as the king begins to speak once more.

Peruvus: “I'm going to choose to believe the events you’ve just relayed to us to be truth, in which case I apologise for the rough treatment you’ve no doubt undergone in place of our true culprits. It must not have been easy gathering all of this information.” He turns to you Finnian, and continues “earlier your group said there was an immediate dire threat facing us, can you explain? Or was this also part of the farce to gain an audience with us” he clasps his hands over his knees as he speaks, leaning forward slightly “we’ve upped the city’s defences somewhat since the assassination attempts and the return of our archmage, but there have been unusual happenings i've noticed over the past day. I’d like to know what you can tell me and if you’ve any further leads”  Psalm: If I may, what are these 'unusual happenings' you're referring to? Peruvus: he shits his attention over towards you psalm and responds "The mayor caused a great hullabaloo at the government ward gates, it appears as if he started a fist fight with all the nearby guardsmen out of the blue. None were eager to bring him down as he was already still injured from the Ball’s events" he rubs the bridge of his nose as if beleaguered "Similarly a cleric from the church of Heiron was seen pounding on the gates in the church district soon after his recovery within his own church's walls, he resisted any attempts from the guardsman to calm him and had to be restrained..." Keva: keva frowns @ news abt panaver Han: han tsks kind of to herself

Psalm: I see. Well going off what we know so far the cult has the ability to both disguise themselves, but their leader can temporarily possess the followers as well. The cleric is one of the wounded from the night of the ball, so that at least explains his breakdown. Keva: "silversoul" keva says, quieter than she usually speaks Psalm: sorry what was that Keva: keva huffs and says louder "his name was panaver silversoul. he was the one i was talking to." Han: we think who was stabbed, is who can be controlled by theyord Finn: "It was not a farce. Our investigation has proven that the Letterheads have been preparing to perform a ritual. Perhaps some sort of summoning. The language they used suggested serious danger. Tightened defenses or not, Shorewater is vulnerable." Finn sighs and closes his eyes for a second. "it might be of interest for you to know that they possess portals that lead to various different places in Shorewater, possibly outside of it." Psalm: With that being said, we don't really have the specifics of the 'dire' event the letterheads have planned. But for the most part they seem intent on 'punishing' Shorewater. Oh, and they plan to carry out this punishment within the next few days. Plum: i'd give us less than two days. Psalm: If even so much. We did however, infiltrate their base, so assuming they haven't left we know the whereabouts and have an idea of what it's like inside

Cimmorro:  is finn still wearing all of his layers during the entirety of this Finn: yes Cimmorro: perfect,  he's just waddling around while explaining things

Forrin: ...a large scale attack… we’ll need Turen to scour that tome for any sort of spell that might indicate to what exactly they’re attempting, perhaps that Accord wizard might assist us. We must further up the guard presence along the walls and call a lockdown perhaps.. Jeremiah: perhaps we ought evacuate the city entirely, though I wonder if we’d have enough time, if we were caught while people are outside their homes en masse it could worsen the situation entirely… Mardella: i think a lockdown would be a better course of action, if we set about activating the city wide enchantments quickly the people would be safer inside their homes than out Jeremiah: he nods in response “hmm this is true, we’ll need to expend all our effort into organising the guard as quickly as possible more than we already have, we ought to bulk up the church and government ward gates specifically as well. Its good to know we've a location to crack down on then as well. We ought to arrange a group of guardsman and mages to flush them out post hate as well..

> 🎵  Joint Reasoning: The Great Deduction (Type B) / The Great Ace Attorney OST

Forrin calls over the guard captain and the secretary seated at the desk close by and begins relaying orders for them to begin sending out along with Peruvus. Jeremiah however continues to address the group as they do.

Jeremiah: Travellers and esteemed Barvottes. I King Consort Jeremiah, am now asking formally for your aid in this time of crisis, we are stretched thin and with not knowing what to expect the city needs as much help and eyes as we can give her. You will be compensated greatly for helping the city of Shorewater, and the country of Dorrin itself in its coming time of crisis. As well as for the hardships you have already endured, is there a name I might refer to you all as going forward?” Vorde: he turns his head at you all expectantly afterwards as well.

Cimmorro: wow even on dnd we quarantine Chip: social distancing to save from cults Psalm: damn jeremiah if you're asking like that... 👉👈 Cimmorro: jeremiah stan club Plum: sir can i get your autograph

The group then scramble to decide on a name, quickly forming a group huddle amongst themselves.

Cimmorro: cimm does a poor attempt to huddle us all up and goes "lets just go with peenus weenus" Plum: whispering heatedly "shut up cimm shut up" Psalm: sure why not, i'm sure whatever dignity we have left doesn't matter anymore right? Han: tries not to choke

Finn: finn coughs uncomfortably at cimm's suggestion. "we could simply refer to ourselves as a strike force." Han: do we even have anything that makes us one Psalm: vinny's strike force... to honour him since he's dead. /s Cimmorro: the brokebacks Plum: SHUTGUUPPGPF

Cimmorro: while everyone is debating i just walk up to the king and goes like we're the vengaboys -  "your majesty i present to you the vengaboys" Jeremiah: he looks towards you cimmorro and tilts his head "vengaboys? i see, well then Vengaboys-" and he turns to the rest of you all "i would like to ask again for finality's sake, do you have any more possible leads at the moment?" Cimmorro: i turn back to everyone and gives a thumbs up Psalm: psalm gives a thumbs up back Vorde: [internally] tf does venga mean Psalm: TF DOES VENGA MEAN Chip: vengeance boys... Cimmorro: ^ Keva: boys for vengeance Finn: 

Psalm responds afterwards, informing the king consort that the only one they have would be the hideout as they’ve never met Theyord in person, Han emphasising only when hes possessed someone. He also brings up the notes in the back of the book, noting Shelly’s name and that she may be in possible danger.

Keva: i step a little closer to psalm and say "tell them about those people we ran into down there" Psalm: psalm just folds his arms and does what keva asks Keva: YYYEEAAAAHHH

Han: when theres a pause han also asks "what about the assassin that you caught? who are they?" Jeremiah: he looks over at you "they weren't caught per say, the guards struck them right in the ballroom before they could strike at us, dead in seconds." he thinks "we examined the body of course but as far as we could tell they weren't a Shorewater native, i dont think they were from Dorrin originally either. The most we could glean was they had a brand upon their back in the shape of a symbol once we removed the disguise”

Forrin then returns her attention to the conversation at hand, seemingly her and her brother Peruvus have finished issuing orders for the moment, having been paying attention to the ongoing conversation.

Peruvus: “We shall work on the assignment of the guardsmen across the city and deciphering all we can from the tome you’ve given us, as well as bolster the city's magic defences, and declare a lockdown. Once you return from investigating Shelly Carter’s abode I would ask you to assist us directly in these tasks. At the most i can spare some guardsmen to assist you in this endeavour, it would be best i think to send one of the captains in charge of the arcana district to help your investigation. I will send word for you to meet them at the district gates, it would be best for us to move as quickly as possible”  Turen: in response to this archmage stands “if i am no longer needed your majesty i shall consort with Mardella and the witch from the accord, my workload has suddenly increased tenfold” she rolls her shoulders as if gearing up for a fist fight.

Jeremiah nods and waves her and Mardella off, the two stand and leave the room via one of the large doors, finally him and the other two royals stand 

Jeremiah: “The royal guardsman shall escort you off the palace grounds and send word across the city that you aren't to be approached in your travel, should you require any food or rest before you head off you may use one of the rooms in the palace. The guardsmen will direct you.” Peruvus: “return as soon as you are able, we’ve not a moment to waste” Psalm: I don't speak for everyone here, but as it's still early in the day I don't think we'll be here for long before heading onto our next task Peruvus: looks towards you psalm and nods "of course, whatever suits you for the moment" He looks back towards Vorde addressing him directly "thank you again for your aid in this time from your family, sire Barvotte, it shall not be forgotten. As well as for you, Vengaboys, may we meet to discuss what comes next soon with higher hopes" 

The royal guard captain stands and rises as the royals give the group a small courteous bow which Vorde returns doubly so. The party and co. are ushered back out of the doors of the grand courthall their names now clear, their next task pressing on their minds....

--

Notes

🦇Finn succeeded the debate skill challenge very epic

🍺 Plum drank the「  Red Potion ✨ 」who knows how long they’ll have red hair for...

-「  4 Poison Daggers ✨ 」-「 a Branding Rod ✨ 」-「 a Red Tome ✨ and -「 2 Letterhead Tokens ✨ 」 were handed over to the Court as evidence

- ITS NOON - 33 HOURS UNTIL - 📜🩸 The Reckoning 🩸📜 - (supposedly)

[sibillascribbles08]

I'm here for that blessed E and fridigus content,, so either 3 or 97 plz bc I cant decide btwn those two :0

Good news is I’m very good at doing both.

Frigidus didn’t look up from his holo-screen as he kept working in the coffee shop. Even if he was supposed to be off early this afternoon to hang out with E he didn’t feel like getting behind. Last time he got too distracted he had to deal with Borg himself hovering around his lab.

Frigidus ran the program again, frowning. He only changed one line so why was that error coming up on his screen. He let out a long sigh and took a sip of his ice coffee to keep himself from tossing it out the window.

“Is this seat taken?”

Frigidus glanced up to see a young woman already clutching the back of the chair, coffee in hand.

“Sorry,” she gave him a half smile. “There’s just no other open tables in here.”

He looked around the café, surprised to find she was right. When did it get this crowded?

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He went back to his screen. “I’ll be out of here soon. Just waiting on a ride.”

“Oh? Just get off work from Borg Tower.”

He frowned. “How did you–”

“You still have your badge on.” She gestured to her chest.

Frigidus glanced down at the security badge. He snatched it off and jammed it into his pocket. “Well so much for staying cool and mysterious.”

The woman giggled. “I would have recognized you anyway. It’s Frigidus, right?”

“Didn’t know I was famous.” Frigidus was trying not to look at her and stay focused on his work, but he kept glancing up. She had to work in an office nearby, perhaps as a secretary based on how she was dressed. Was she off early or just on a break?

“Well you develop security, right? My boss has hired you before and I manage all his files.”

Well the secretary guess was close.

“It seems to be the favorite thing for people to pay me for.” He finally shut the screen off, knowing he wasn’t getting anything done. He picked his coffee back up.

“What else do you do?” The woman leaned on the table, as if she was actually interested.

Frigidus shrugged, not liking to brag. “Whatever they ask me to really. I’ve done programs for games, data searches, math programs for schools, that sort of thing.”

“You’ve done game programming? Was that fun?”

“Eh, helped out more so. The game was pretty big so Borg had me help out with some of the minor stuff.”

“I forgot he developed games.”

“He doesn’t, another branch that works under him does.” Frigidus kept sipping at his coffee until he reached the bottom. With the slurping sound annoying him he pried off the lid to chew on the ice.

“Still, that sounds interesting.” She sighed. “I tried to get a job there but it’s not easy with the competition.”

Frigidus shrugged. “Try every three months. A lot of them move onto college after a while because of Borg’s scholarship stuff.”

“Do you ever do hobby work there? Or invent anything.”

“Hah,” Frigidus grinned. “Most of my inventions are still classified, but I’m working on upgrading these again.” He showed off his gloves. “I already made a bunch for use in the tower. They’re synced with the computers so you can pull up screens almost anywhere in the labs and interact with the system. If I can simplify the computers enough we could sell them to the public.”

The woman’s eyes glittered before she narrowed them. “Sounds nice, but can you make them a little more… stylish?”

“Hey,” Frigidus mocked a gasp. “These are perfectly fashionable.”

She laughed and Frigidus found himself laughing as well as he chewed on another ice cube.

The door jingled and a flash of black instantly caught his attention. He looked up to see E standing there, helmet tucked under his arm. His furrowed brow was still visible in spite of his sunglasses and his frown was even more obvious. Was he annoyed? Bad traffic?

“Welp, that’s my ride.” Frigidus ate another ice cube. “Nice chatting with you.”

“Oh,” the woman glanced back at E, going stiff for a moment. “Yes, hopefully I can finally land a job there and see you more often.”

“Hey, good luck.” Frigidus gave her a wave. He went over to the trashcan to dispose of his cup before following E out of the door.

He wasn’t oblivious to the way the nindroid was walking, more like stomping, toward the bike. His hands were clenched tight into fists. Perhaps he was more than annoyed.

“Hey, something happen?” Frigidus asked as they headed to the nearby parking lot.

E didn’t turn around, didn’t wave, no kind of response.

Frigidus frowned and walked faster. “Hello? E? You didn’t turn your audio receptors again did you?”

E shook his head and walked faster.

“Okay, well, you’re clearly pissed off about something.” Frigidus ran around him and moved in front of him. E stopped walking. “And you’re trying to ignore me, which means it’s directed at me. What did I do?”

E’s head snapped to the side.

“If I did something wrong can you please just tell me?” Frigidus took his helmet so that E could sign better. “What’s up?”

E pressed his lips together before his hands finally started moving. “Who was she?”

Frigidus blinked. “Huh? I dunno. I don’t think I even got her name. She just needed a spot to sit so we were talking.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah.” Frigidus raised an eyebrow, not sure why E was asking this.

Then, as the nindroid huffed and crossed his arms, the realization hit him.

“Wait,” Frigidus let his mouth hang open for a moment. “Are you jealous?”

E’s shoulders went completely rigid as he straightened up. “I am not jealous.”

He couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “You are jealous.”

If he could see the nindroid’s eyes he’s sure they were as narrow as possible. E snatched his helmet back with another huff, a trail of steam coming out of his nose.

Frigidus kept pressing his teeth together as he followed E once more. He shouldn’t be smiling, but he couldn’t stop. “You know, you’re so cute when you pout like that.”

E spun back around, shoving the helmet into his grip before signing. “I am not pouting.”

Frigidus studied his frown for a moment. “You sure?”

Another huff. More steam. This time E kept walking without his helmet.

Frigidus rushed to catch up, watching the nindroid climb onto his bike and cross his arms once more.

“Sorry,” He was still smiling as he stepped over. “I don’t mean to tease you. Didn’t think you got jealous easily.”

E didn’t move for a few moments before his shoulders relaxed. “She was making you laugh.”

“E, I love you but you’re not the only funny person in existence.”

“I know,” he signed so quick that Frigidus almost didn’t catch it. “I know it is foolish of me to be jealous. I just need to calm down.”

Right, E had a pretty vicious temper and cooling down always took a bit of time.

“Well, hey, let me know if I can help.” Frigidus was careful as his fingers trailed under E’s chin. The nindroid allowed his head to be turned as Frigidus pulled him into a quick kiss. “In the meantime, I don’t want to be late for the movie.”

E huffed one more time, but at least he wasn’t frowning anymore. He took his helmet back and put it on his head before jerking his head to the side. Frigidus climbed onto the bike behind him, quick to wrap his arms around his stomach.

“Aw man,” he frowned. “You’re still all warm.”

E didn’t reply to that as he started up the bike.

[pretty-little-liars-hints]

#PLLENDGAME finale predictions

Please dont let marlene and friends “confirmations” keep u closed minded.

So they confirmed a time jump btwn 719 and 720.. bullshit They also confirmed toby was “pure evil, bad intentions” and no they wont go the transgender route

They cant make a year later and the girls dont know who A is and Ezria still arent married. It will most likely be after the reveal and answers then we get a time jump and see where the girls end up.

Mona is seriously ill. She ends up back in an institution face 2 face with A. Im so afraid she will die

Aria finds out something devastating about Ezra. Clearly she is the most distraught from all the girls. Even goes as far as to say they cant marry. Too obvious to make him A. Could he be the sperm donor? Ie. Emisons baby daddy. He had a sick obsession with Alison, the book, the lair (with the creepy ass blown up photos), dating her. Mona was on track to find baby daddy and we know Ezra is tech savvy. Is this his sick way of fulfilling an even sicker Alison fantasy. After all his masters degree in American literature will help him with dead bodies (wtf was that about)

Melissa and Wren are back.

Wren.. sweet baby wren. I stand by my theory that he is Bethanys brother. He could know mona hit his sister and shoot mona. We know he plays a big part in the end. After all isnt bethany the basis of everything? It was her dead season 1 after all. Perhaps he knew about her drawings, jessica, mary, spencer, melissas involvement in ultimately killing her (dirt in lungs)

Melissa is here to please fans. Did she know about Mary? Spencer? ABSOLUTELY. “I did this to protect u spencer, since before it started.” Even garrett mentioned protecting Spencer on the train.

Jenna can see. We see that in the promo. But the question is, for how long?

Im all for a TWINCER storyline but how much more unrealistic can we get. There was already a hidden sibling (charles) a hidden  twin (mary) they cant do that again. Spencers moodswings addictions and odd behaviour could just be genetics. Her lineage has a history of mental illness. Take Ali for example, remember when she had a bloody lip? Crying and opening up then BAM back to bitchy Ali! Doesnt mean much except they have some issues.

If there is a twin i am all for it! I love Spencers character and Troians acting so i will take it… but i highly doubt it.

I feel like they went big, outside the box with charles… cece… charlotte. This reveal needs to be simple, clear, devastating.

Paige- no way. People will be pissed Lucas- accused too many times. Cant be him Melissa- already a killer and made to look like A too much already. Too obvi Wren- will be involved in something but isnt A Parents- is nothing sacred Toby- we need spoby for endgame Caleb- we need haleb for endgame Ezra- too obvious from the promos Charlotte- cant bring another person back from the dead Bethany- same as charlotte Who is left guys???

Jason.

My sweet, gorgeous Jason. He is the center of all things major on pll.

- he is a dilaurentis (raised) - he is a hastings - NAT club - odd scar possibly from Halloween train never explained. - always travelling - has the money to be A - slept with Ashley Marin yet A never told Hanna that yet? p.s. he slept with pastor teds girlfriend.. charlottes birth father, was it revenge?? - dated charlotte - really close to charles. - Jenna was almost killed in his house - gave Spencer a bag he found of alis things (even though mayas family owned the house alis shit was still around) - he likes Arias pink hair. In the dollhouse she was forced to dye it. - liked aria. Notice A always tried to break Ezria up and Aria was not physically harmed by A (wilden and meredith hurt her) - NAT was his idea.

- cece and jasons breakup was complicated… ya learning your girlfriend is your long lost brother/cousin is complicated. - he paid lucas to find out who stole the body and acted shady ever since that day. Possibly when he joined Charlottes game.

In the vault there were 2 ppl. One was watching Ali on screen the other stood there and looked at Emily when the girls burnt down the vault. The prom scene?? Why the hell would a transgender female dress like a man??? Spencer even said something seemed familiar like a cousin. Lmfao jason is her brother and her cousin.

Think about it. AD wanted to know who killed Charlotte. Why? Archer loved her, Mary was her mom, why would AD care? Another family member

Cast members said fans from day 1 will be pleased, it answers a lot of questions, you can go back to thr beginning and see hiw it happenned. Even if he joined Charlottes game. He has always been shady from day 1! If i had to guess right now. It would be Jason . Just putting him in the hoodie answers so many questions without actually answering them. Did he learn something back in his NAT days to fuel this? He started having people film for him watching these girls... over the years it escalated to this sick game of life or death with people working for him... watching and playing with these girls

“I never would’ve guessed it was you”

I would be very happy with this. Tell me what you guys think!!

[roman-reigns-princess]

Cat & Mouse (Roman Reigns): Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Read it on Wattpad Writing Masterlist

Summary: In a world of werewolves, and shapeshifters, WWE is a hotspot for such creatures. Lyra and her older half brother’s team are no different. Ever since she joined the company, Lyra and Roman had been undeniably attracted to each other, but nothing good ever comes easy. Will Lyra and Roman give in to each other? Or will Seth come between his sister and her happily ever after? 

Warnings (will be edited as fic goes on): 18+, will be NSFW at some point, age difference (I guess? Idk what people consider an age difference, but I won’t specify her age, all Ima say is she’s like a couple yrs younger than Seth), smut (later on in the fic), Alpha!Roman

Lyra (OFC) Face Claim: Becky G (as she is now, not in 2014)

Word Count: 1441

A/N: This fic is set in Jan 2014 around the Royal Rumble (pls ignore the fact that the gif is post shield, he’s so cute). Honestly Seth and Dean are pretty irrelevant to the story and will probs only be here for like the 1st & 2nd chap, I just needed the Shield dynamic for angst btwn Roman and Lyra lmao. This is like my first actual fic in years so pls go easy on me 😅

Tag List (if anyone wants to be added, let me know): @m-a-t-91 @mrsamberlopezgoodanoai @simulated-heat @greatbreadwizard @hoodgirl163 @sabrina-the-champ @thiickreigns @alexahood21 @ii-love-roman-reigns @queenreignsempire @flawlessglamazon @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @x-fivefoot  @finnbalorsdemonqueen @romanempirefics @rocketgirl2410 @sausagefest1996 @vebner37 @macfizzle @cute-face-chubby-waist @wwefoever70 @horcruxhunter5972

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Lyra rushed to pack up her station; RAW was done for the day and it was less than a week till the Royal Rumble, so things were getting hectic even for makeup artists such as herself.

She was traveling with her brother and his partners as usual, and they always bugged her about packing up quicker. She scrambled around, frantically searching for her brushes; every other make up bag was packed away in her roller bag, except that one.

She grumbled to herself, knowing that Seth was going to chew her out for being late again. She got down on her hands and knees to check if she’d accidentally kicked it under a table, when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her up, making her yelp in alarm.

“As much as I love seein you with your ass in the air, we really gotta go, baby girl,” Roman’s deep voice rumbled in her ear as he set her on her feet; she could feel her face turning red as she stepped away. She just knew he’d be smirking when she turned to glare up at the Alpha standing behind her in his cargo style pants and a plain black t-shirt.

“I’m almost done, I’m just looking for one more thing,” she replied, choosing to ignore his blatant flirting.

Ever since she’d joined WWE as one of their permanent makeup artists, she’d caught the attention of WWE’s infamous Thoroughbred Alpha; Roman and her would flirt at any chance they got, constantly trying to find new ways to tease each other without Seth finding out.

But to Lyra’s dismay, Roman never let it go any further than a drunken New Years kiss; she knew he found her attractive, he never failed to let her know, but she couldn’t figure out if he was holding back because she was Seth’s sister, or perhaps he didn’t want to get involved with a half-human, half-shifter like her. Part of her wondered if he’d go further if she was half-werewolf, like her brother, instead of half-human.

Either way it left her frustrated and even more determined to get him to fuck her; but that moment wasn’t the right time for it, Seth was already annoying her with his rather hypocritical lectures about how he basically expected her to be a nun, she didn’t need him to bitch her out about punctuality.

“Hey girl, you left this by my station,” said one of the other girls working makeup that night, holding out a little black bag, her eyes flitting between Lyra and Roman before settling on the shifter with an amused look.

“Oh fuck, thanks, I nearly lost my shit when I couldn’t find my brushes,” Lyra said with a nervous laugh as she took the bag from the girl who gave them a small nod and walked away while Lyra stuffed the brushes into her roller bag and zipped it up. “Alrighty, I’m all done.”

“Okay we gotta hurry, think you can keep up? Or do I gotta carry you?” He said, grabbing the handle of her bag in one hand and her forearm with his other, dragging them both after him.

“Shut the fuck up, Reigns,” she huffed, barely managing to snatch her purse off the table as she struggled to keep up with his long strides, making him laugh in return.

She was thankful that the exit was fairly close as her short legs were starting to burn by the time they made it there; Seth had already pulled the car up with Dean riding shotgun. Her brother honked loudly at them, resulting in both Lyra and Roman flipping him off.

“Go ahead and get in, I’ll put your bag in the trunk with the rest of the shit,” said Roman, giving her ass a light smack, she shot him a dirty look but his back was turned to her. She got into the car behind Seth, and Roman joined soon after.

“Took you guys long enough,” Seth grumbled as he sped out of the arena parking lot, heading for the highway that would take them to their next destination.

“Hey don’t look at me, not my fault the little princess here couldn’t keep track of her shit,” Roman said with a shrug.

“Don’t throw me under the bus like that, asshole,” she hissed, punching his arm, which had absolutely no effect on him, but certainly made her regret that decision as her knuckles met hard muscle.

“I’m not gonna take the fall for you when you’re bein’ an irresponsible child,” he retorted, she rolled her eyes, scoffing as she pulled out her phone rather than reply. “Yo, Dean, move your seat up, man, I’m dyin’ back here.”

“You ain’t the only one with long legs, dude,” replied Dean.

“Fine, fine,” Roman muttered; Lyra was busy texting Naomi, whom she’d grown close with over the past few months, so she paid no attention to them until she suddenly found herself being crushed by the large Samoan as he took it upon himself to stretch out across the back seat.

“What the-damnit, Roman, get off me, you’re too big,” she squeaked, trying to push him off.

“Bet that’s not the first time he’s heard that,” Dean snorted, earning a fist bump from Roman, and cackle from Seth.

“Well, if you sit on my lap it’ll work out better for the both of us,” Roman suggested, shifting off of her temporarily. Lyra’s eyes snapped to her brother, or rather the back of his seat, wondering if he’d have a problem with it, but he didn’t seem to care as he hummed along to some 80s song playing on the radio.

“Okay, fine,” was her only reply; she was not going to say no to an opportunity to be pressed up against Roman, even if she was a little annoyed at him.

A year ago she would’ve refused the offer because shifters weren’t pack creatures, but after being around the Shield, and other werewolves in the company, she began to adapt to their pack mentality and the lack of personal boundaries with close friends.

Biting her lip, she moved to sit sideways on Roman’s lap, expecting him to leave her be, but to her surprise he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him so that her back was flush against his warm chest while he moved to stretch across the back seat. She couldn’t help but feel tiny as her smaller frame lay on top of his much larger one.

She was a little surprised at how relaxed she felt in his arms, but that feeling was soon replaced by tension when she felt his lips pressed up against her right ear.

“You see, babe, I’m great at making big things fit, I’ve had lots of practice,” Roman said soft enough so that only Lyra heard it. She felt the blood rush to her face, and she elbowed him in response, not trusting herself to say something, but she knew just how to get back at him.

“Anyone want a lollipop?” She asked as she opened up her purse; she smirked inwardly as she felt Roman shift beneath her.

“What’re you, a five year old?” Dean quipped, making her kick the back of his seat. “Hey, watch it, don’t think I won’t kick your ass just cause you’re Seth’s baby sis.”

“Calm down, the both of you,” Seth said, sounding more than a little exasperated. “And I’ll take grape.”

“You always finish my grape pops,” she grumbled as she handed one to him and picked out a cherry flavoured one for herself. “You’re buying me my next bag of candy.”

“Whatever, kiddo,” he replied; she contemplated hitting his seat too, but settled on unwrapping her lollipop instead.

“Roman,” she said, looking up to find his eyes transfixed on the candy in her hand as she gave it a slow lick. “D'you want one too?”

“I, uhm, what, oh,” Roman cleared his throat, his arms tightened around her as she swirled her tongue around the lollipop; he forced himself to meet her eyes as she blinked up at him innocently. “I’m all good, babe, you just keep licking and sucking like a good girl.”

“Mmmhmm,” was her only response as she sucked on it, hollowing her cheeks out. She couldn’t help but feel smug when he finally averted his eyes, mumbling under his breath about how this was going to be a long journey.

She wriggled around in his arms until she found a position she liked, not that any position that involved her on top of Roman could ever be uncomfortable, but she wanted to tell Naomi about this, and she certainly couldn’t have Roman looking at her phone. While it may be a long journey for Roman, it was going to be a fun ride for her.

[teacupfulofstarshine]

*KICKS DOWN THE DOOR, HAIR A MESS, VIRGIL-LEVEL DARK CIRCLES, EYES WIDE AND EXCITED*

you rang?

nobutsrsly i love this idea!!!

patton is curled up on the sofa, with a massive stomachache and an even bigger heartache. virgil sits on the couch next to him, hood pulled up to hide his face for what comes next. “pat? are you ok?”

patton sniffles. “no.”

“do you want a hug?”

a brief pause. “yeah.”

virgil pulls patton into a hug and patton sobs into his chest. virgil closes his eyes to hide the purple glow of his irises and soaks up patton’s pain and sadness. he soaks up patton’s fear of never being happy again.

once patton has calmed down enough to fall asleep, virgil conjures a blanket and covers him up. he sinks into the subconscious (he’s the only one who can pass back and forth btwn conscious and subconscious easily bc he’s an instinct, remember) and uses the excess energy to combat some of the subconscious fears that are troubling patton.

logan overworks himself for days, trying to work out some sort of plan for the next month or so. virgil finds him in the kitchen at two am, surrounded by fifteen dirty coffee mugs, a mess of papers, his hair a mess, glasses and tie askew, hands and face stained with ink.

he’s shaking from all the caffeine he’s had, and he’s clinging to his head, and virgil can sense the pounding headache so he says “you need to rest, logan.”

“if i don’t do this, we’ll never be productive again. i have to get this done. i have to - i have to - “

logan is tired and caffeine-high and stammering, and virgil puts his hand on logan’s shoulder and drains some of the stress and the worry and the tension, making sure he’s behind logan with his eyes closed so that logan doesn’t notice his eyes. logan takes a deep breath and exhales, cleaning up his mess with a couple snaps of his fingers.

“perhaps i should go to bed, yes?”

virgil smiles and helps logan get to bed, and then he uses the extra energy to help motivate thomas to sit and plan things out ahead of time.

when the others find out, it’s because roman is hurt.

he’s stressed and fighting monsters, and his stress and fear make the monsters too strong and one of them hurts him so badly he can’t get up. logan and patton and virgil show up and virgil throws himself into the action.

he presses his hand against roman’s stomach, absorbs his fear and worry and pain and then purple and black lightning crackles down his arms and he throws his hands forward and screams and shadowy black spears materialize from the ground as purple lightning rains from the sky.

the monsters are gone, and roman is healed.

once they establish that taking their fear and negativity doesn’t actually hurt virgil, they let him help when the pain gets too much. the compromise is that they then have to sit with virgil and talk about what’s bothering them rather than bottle the whole thing up.

(THIS GOT SO OUT OF HAND I AM SORRY I HOPE YOU ENJOY MY FRIEND ILYSM!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️⭐️✨)

Shitty HC:

What if Virgil had superpowers? Of like, negativity?

The ability to control and shape physical darkness, and take the darkness/negativity from other people to strengthen himself?

Idk man