#plus this poor creature is working full time which is Too Much

[gaynasa]

keep trying to convince myself im ready to be social on the internet again but it never seems to be true

[runningwolf62]

Interquel Slides, Part 2

No I don't have part 1 written, yes this is almost 3k words. I haven't written about my Warden in Years, WE'RE GOING NO BRAKES YEET

---

It was an assassination attempt that was the final straw.

They'd settled down for a game of cards, a usual pastime for them after dinner. It was a convenient excuse for all of them to be in one place and for no one else to seek them out.

Meaning they could openly discuss plans to get Justice a new body.

Anders clicked his tongue and called Oghrin on a cheat which made the dwarf curse.

Luke tapped his knuckle against Nathaniel's leg under the table three times.  The other's face revealed nothing but a small shake of  his head was enough. He didn't have the cards for Luke.

No one had caught on to their cheating yet, which was the trick. Cards games were fun but played every night with the same people began to bore.

But it put Luke in Nathaniel's space, when he felt the prickle down his spine.

"I agree with Luke, an animal would make a better living host." Anders remarked, "especially since we've agreed that it won't be Ser Pounce."

"Of course it wouldn't be Ser Pounce!" Sigrun looked appalled at Anders, "He gave you that cat he's not going to put Justice in it. Plus, that cat's way too small. We need something bigger."

"That's why I think a bear."

"Of course you'd want a bear, Nathaniel." Luke replied on instinct, trying to locate the source of his unease. Too many people. Six people breathing, but Justice didn't breath. A soft step.

"While yes, the Howe family crest has bears but it would also suit him. And allow him to continue to aid him in combat.”

"See I was thinking dragon bigger."

"If you find one and can bring it to me and Anders to bind, maybe." Velanna stared at her cards, "but Nathaniel has a strong suggestion. The Hinterlands are full of the creatures."

"Are you feeling alright?" Anders asked her absently, "you don't usually agree with Nathaniel."

Any answer was cut off by Luke suddenly pushing Nathaniel, hard, to move both of them out of the space, and out of the path of a dagger that embedded itself in the wall.

Luke twisted out of the chair onto his feet in one smooth move as Nathaniel fell out of the chair, using his moment to recover by grabbing his bow and rolling to aim in the direction the dagger had come.

"The Crows send their regards," an accented voice, a tauntingly familiar lilt, informed Luke.

The problem for them, and the several others melting out of shadows, was that this was a group of Wardens used to working together, including in the confinement of the deep roads.

Velanna and Anders alone were a pair of destructive forces, but the poor bastard that had spoken had been so focused on Luke he'd gotten an arrow to the eye for his delivery. Luke shot forward, offering his arm to Nathaniel who grabbed it, to be hauled up. 

Sigrun was, of course, already in the middle of it, as was Oghrin. Luke left Nathaniel to guard Velanna and Anders' backs while he launched forward. He was trained by a Crow himself after all.

It was over in a matter of minutes, every movement and strike precise and made with the knowledge at least two others had their back. Their steps only faltered when Nathaniel jumped, a knife sinking into his shoulder as Luke dove under his arm to drive his dagger in the Crow in turn. Immediately they all fought with twice as much ferocity, one of their own bleeding making them fall on the Crows like they were Darkspawn.

Four was not nearly enough to be a challenge for them.

"Well." Anders looked around and grimaced. Luke shared the sentiment, this would be a mess to clean up.

"Your cards fell out of your sleeves." Sigrun pointed to the pile next to where he'd been sitting, "you're good though, I didn't notice you palming them."

Anders looked down the floor where a pile of cards had spilled across the floor before he stepped over them to Nathaniel. “Let me see it.”

"Cousland we've got a gift for ya." Oghrin's gruff voice made them all turn to the other door where he strolled in, followed by Justice, who carried one of the assassins off the floor by the throat. "Found this one trying to slip off."

Luke flicked the blood off one of his daggers, as the Crow, clearly a Crow, attempted to claw loose. The problem was Justice's flesh was long dead and they recoiled, as best they could, at the feeling of it beneath their nails. Justice didn’t even flinch as he brought them over to Luke.

"Third time is not the charm, it seems." Luke eyed the Crow tiredly, "I thought the contract on me would've closed with Loghain's death."

The Crow sneered at him, and Luke's lips curled into a grin, "oh. This isn't about me." He stepped forward, to place the dagger at the man's throat, "is Zevran still alive."

"Wouldn't you like to know." A glob of spit landed on his cheek, "that he would turn against the Crows for-"

Luke's dagger sank into the flesh of his throat, before he pulled it back. "Thank you Justice." Now he wiped off his cheek and stepped back.

Justice released the gurgling man to fall to the floor, a corpse by the time he hit the ground. The spirit stared at him, head slightly tilted, learning how to express confusion.

"Was that just?"

Luke looked down at the corpse at their feet, and thought of how easily it could have been Zevran. Of how he, and the others, had likely been bought at a young age and molded into weapons. And he thought of what it had taken Zevran to realize the truth of the life they led, and what it had cost him to turn away.

"He would have been a danger to us again later." Luke replied firmly, but not unkindly. "Crows don't break their contracts."

Except for once. But Zevran was an exception.

Nathaniel grimaced as he looked around, before looking at Luke. "You won't get to ask him any questions that way. If he had information..."

Luke shook his head and wiped his dagger off with a cloth before sheathing it, "Crows torture their trainees as part of training. He would never have given us anything, even if I was the type to condone torture."

Nathaniel blanched, and everyone stared at Luke for several moments. It was not unknown to the group who Zevran was, and who he had been. The weight of the statement, factually delivered, hung in the air.

Luke looked back evenly, "anything more isn't my place to say."

"Well. Shit." Anders laughed awkwardly, "uh, well Justice, if you need a new body for now, you're spoiled for choice."

The spirit shifted at the mention of his name and looked to the one at Luke's feet. "Perhaps."

That broke the spell of Luke’s declaration, and they began to move to sort the room, dragging corpses to the side, to remove fully in a moment, unless Justice wished to claim one. Luke kicked a piece of ice to the corner with them, while Sigrun retrieved Nathaniel’s arrow. Nathaniel and Justice lifted one of the corpses to set in the pile.

Luke nodded and looked over his Wardens. “Velanna, Justice. Take Anders as well, and check the Keep. Find if there are any of them remaining, and if anyone is injured, Anders do what you can.”

Anders nodded, Luke privately reflected to himself that the Templars and Circle had lost a talented mage by not knowing how to handle him. “Nathaniel, Sigrun, you two check the perimeter of the Keep. Be cautious, but the Crows are likely after only myself.”

Sigrun gave him a look before she spoke, “I don’t know how to tell you this boss, but that’s not something we like either.”

Luke huffed fondly as the others chimed in their agreement, raising his eyes to meet Velanna’s gaze. After a moment she looked away but still nodded all the same.

“I appreciate it, but I won’t be unarmed, or alone. Oghrin, help me get these out back.”

Behind his bushy red beard, Oghrin’s eyes bore into him. “What are you planning to do with them?”

Luke looked down at them, pursing his lips. “I suppose add digging several graves to my to-do list.”

--

The shovel sank through the soil easily enough, and time as a Warden kept Luke’s muscles from complaining too much, as he dug out something slightly above a shallow grave, in the light of the rising moons.

Oghrin made no move to help, and Luke didn’t ask him to. He could, after all this time, still imagine how his friends would react.

Lelianna and Wynne offering prayers, while Alistair and Zevran climbed down here to dig with him, for once neither with a quip. Sten would offer a remark about their enemies, but he would likely aid them.

Leaving Shale and Oghrin to watch.

The sound of boots hitting the ground made Luke look up, but he already knew. Nathaniel set to work at the other side, while Sigrun and Velanna approached slowly. Sigrun gestured to a spot beside where he dug, and they set to work, Sigrun with enthusiasm, Velanna much less so.

Justice took the spot on their other side, and began to dig as well.

Anders took a spot near the corpses, watching them. “I’m… I’m not going to be much help with the digging, but if any of you start to tire, just ask.”

The moons were high and Anders had cast restorative magic on everyone by the time they finished. Luke stood over the graves, now filled, ready to shovel all that dirt back over the bodies of people who had attempted to kill him, under the watchful gazes of those who’d helped them dig their graves.

He tried hard, not to think of a pit outside of Highever, filled with the bodies of his family and Nan and Ser Gilmore and everyone he’d known every day of his life.

Nathaniel looked like he was trying hard not to think of an estate in Denerim, with secret tunnels to dungeons, with hallways Luke had stalked down, and where the Couslands had their vengeance. Of Luke’s blades coming down on his father.

Neither of them were succeeding.

Luke took a breath, still staring at the graves, trying not to remember the last time he saw his parents, and spoke.

“I owe you all an explanation, and I suppose that’s as much an eulogy as they will get.” He looked down at the bodies, “I know they tried to kill me, and it feels foolish to bury them, but they were Crows. They were more than likely made into the killers that came after me, and came for me because they were protecting the only home they’ve ever known. That their home is cruel, and twisted is not their fault. That was why they had to die, because they couldn’t see that but…” Luke shrugged his shoulders slightly, “they were children once, with a knife shoved in their hands far too soon.”

Nathaniel stepped up beside him, “they weren’t your Crow.” It was said to reassure, to aussage guilt. Luke leaned just slightly, to bump their shoulders, like he used to do around campfires with Alistair.

“In another life they could have been. May the Maker grant them the peace they didn’t have.” Luke looked at the piles of dirt and the others, “if you would help me finish this, I’d appreciate it.”

No one said a word, but a wave of magic passed over them, and shovels sank into the dirt once more.

---

They stumbled towards the Keep’s bathes, Justice would wash separately due to his condition, but all of them were too tired for any kind of fuss.

“How’s your shoulder?” Luke asked, Nathaniel bumped into him with it in response. When no answer seemed forthcoming, Anders spoke.

He never did seem to like silence.

“I healed him before, it shouldn’t even be sore, and if it is, well, he knows where I sleep. I’ll probably wake up to him looming over me.”

Luke shook his head, while Sigrun laughed softly, none of them eager to be too loud.

“Come off it, I’d let you sleep.”

“It would ruin his stoic act.” Oghrin needled him, while they all started to find their second wind.

Luke bumped into Nathaniel again, and slowed to a halt. “You need to stop jumping between Couslands and danger. We can handle ourselves.”

Nathaniel scoffed slightly but halted so he could look at Luke. “It’s my job, as your Warden-Constable, to watch your back.” He softened, and added, “and my honor, as your friend, to be trusted to.”

Luke stepped up to him, before pulling Nathaniel into a hug. The other startled at the sudden embrace, before he raised his arms to return it.

“I know.” Luke promised him, “and you’ve earned both. But if anything happens to you, who’s going to look after them?” He pulled back, to gesture to the others.

Nathaniel tilted his head, giving Luke a strange look, while Sigrun asked the question he seemed to be thinking.

“Where will you be?”

Luke turned to the others, “Antiva, it seems.” He stepped back, so he could look at them all, “Zevran’s been gone this long trying to take down the Crows. If they are coming after me, he must be succeeding enough to anger them. This was either retribution, or an attempt to lure him out of hiding. Either way, they will continue to come, so I would rather go to them, and him.”

Velanna frowned, her mouth puckering and face growing harsh in the faint light from the windows. “Could it be retribution after he died? I don’t doubt your faith in him, but that one we had didn’t answer your question.”

Luke sucked in a breath through his teeth at the thought, before he shook his head. “I know he could die over there, that he could already be dead. But he wasn’t when that one left Antiva at least.”

“What makes you so certain?” Justice asked, Luke looked to the spirit, holding his strange gaze.

“If he was dead they would’ve used that against me. He’s alive, and being a pain.” Luke smiled fondly, “and I want to find him, and if I can, help him come home.”

“Then go.” Anders spoke up, with a teasing grin, “I, for one, want to meet him. See if he’s as charming as you made him out to be.”

Velanna inclined her head and added, “it would be nice to have another elf around, even if he is unfamiliar with our ways.”

Oghrin grunted, “you haven’t heard the two of them.”

Luke turned to give him a dirty look while Oghrin grunted again, and scratched his belly, “but he’s not bad. And you’re happier around him. Ancestors knows why.”

“That’s what happens when you’re in love, so I’m told.” Nathaniel replied, to which Oghrin shrugged and grumbled.

Luke ignored him, as Sigrun stepped up. “Go get him, I want to meet him before I die.”

“No dying before I come back with him.” Luke looked to Nathaniel again, “I’m sorry to dump everything here on you…”

“You’re not.” Nathaniel assured him, “Luke, I will take this if it means you get to go find him. And I will give it back when you return.”

Luke nodded jerkily and took a deep breath, to steady himself. “I’m not leaving immediately, we’ll get things taken care of here and we’ll go.”

“You should write your brother.” Anders leaned on his staff, “let him know you’re leaving. If Crows are like the Templars, they’ll be going through your mail, it’ll let them know to leave us alone. Since I think that’s part of why you want to go?”

Luke nodded, “good thinking Anders.”

“Do you go through our mail?”

“No, Sigrun. I don’t want to read what Oghrin writes.”

Velanna scoffed, “that would imply it’s legible.”

The laughter tumbled out before it turned to a spill, all of them tired, but tied together, Luke’s chest hurt, and for a moment he already missed them.

“Don’t cause problems for Nate. If you need to change Justice’s body while I’m gone just tell me when I get back.” Luke took a deep breath, “and you all better be here when I get back. I mean that, Sigrun.”

“We will,” Anders promised, with a grin, “I’ll even be good.”

“You’re never good, Mage,” Nathaniel teased, with a fond smile, “that’s why we like you. You’re welcome to your little excursions, where you claim you’re leaving the Wardens or whatever. Just be back before Luke is.”

Sigrun sighed heavily and gave Luke a put upon look, “I’ll reschedule my Calling. Because I do want to meet this elf of yours.”

Justice raised his head, “I will help to guide them, as best I can.”

Luke looked at Velanna. “I know this doesn’t feel fair. And, for whatever it’s worth, I am sorry.”

“I know.” Velanna looked away from him, frowning before she met his gaze again, “and I know why. So go, and don’t waste your time with him with guilt.”

“I won’t.” Luke promised, “and thank you. All of you. I can’t wait to introduce you all to him.”

[interact-if]

Day 4 of interviews! Please welcome to the stage... Pime!

Pime, author of The Passenger

Latino Heritage Month Featured Author

Play as an eldritch abomination that’s about to be devoured by  another unthinkable creature. Good news is you are pretty crafty and know how  to jump dimensions to escape your ghastly fate; bad news is, you’re now stuck on Earth, trapped inside a dumb human larva.

As years go  by, you realize the amount of energy you need to leave this horrible dimension behind is a lot more than you had expected. Not  to mention  the creature that almost ate you all those years ago never  really  stopped looking for you. But there’s no way it’ll pin point your  actual  location… right?

The Passenger Demo | Author’s Kofi | Discord | Read more [here]

Tags: sci-fi, horror

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!)

Q1: So, tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on!

The Passenger is a project written in choicescript, it tells the story of an eldritch abomination MC that's about to fall prey to another lovecraftian creature. They escape at the last moment and through some interdimensional jumping they end up on Earth, trapping themself inside a human baby in the process. The game takes place 26 years later when MC realizes that the creature is still out there looking for them. Now they need to find a way to escape Earth before the hunter finds them and eats them.

Q2: What excites you most about using interactive fiction? What are some of the biggest challenges?

The first time I came across this type of media, I was around 9 years old. It was one of those CYOA books—The Mystery of Chimney Rock iirc. It blew my mind because it mixed together two things I loved (and still love) a lot: reading, and playing games.

I enjoy writing character interactions and banter the most. I love trying to figure out what makes people tick, what they value the most, and what they don't care about—trying on different costumes so to speak—and interactive fiction is great for that sort of thing. I also enjoy thinking about different ways to overcome the same problem and the freedom of making a story your own through the choices you make.

I think the biggest challenge is putting myself in the shoes of a very logical character tbh; sometimes I have to think about how a cool, collected, analytical person would act in certain situations and it's just... tv static inside my head. Fortunately, IF is this weird collective storytelling in which players ask for choices to be added, so they truly save my bacon in that regard.

Q3: What has been something in your project you’ve had to do a weird amount of research for?

Describing the type of scenery one encounters when hiking on the hills of Maryland. Thank the universe for those hiking bloggers.

Q4: Which of your characters is most like you? How?

I would say anyone but Fiama; she's so mature and has her life more or less figured out even though she would probably scoff at the notion. If I had to choose one romantic option that's the most like me, I’d pick Jonny: we like the same stuff, are socially awkward, and have the same you-do-you-just-don't-bother-me attitude. I tend to see the glass half full when his is mostly empty though.

Q5: Does your heritage influence your characters as you create them? (How? Why or why not?)

Yes, and I don't think I did it on purpose; it sort of seeped in. Even if The Passenger is set in Maryland, there's little pieces of my own experiences and the experiences of people I've met here and there. Mostly poor folks' since that's what I know. Lots of working-class, too-tired, over-competent-for-the-job-they're-stuck-with types, young parents, passionate, stubborn, funny and loud people trying to do their best with the cards they were dealt. I guess this is true for almost everyone else, which speaks more about capitalism than ethnicity, but there you go.

I also try to sneak in mentions of Latin America whenever I can plus some nods to obscure Argentinian trivia.

Q6: What is something you love to see in interactive fiction?

So many things! I love the collective storytelling part of interactive fiction: too many times I see somebody come up with a headcanon that blows the original (mainstream) work right out of the water and I’m left thinking that I would prefer their version over the canon thing, and with IF you have the power to do just that. I also love how much freedom it grants players since most of the time it lets you choose appearance, gender, sexuality, name… do you know how hard it is to find a game in which the MC is a Latino guy with brown eyes and a weakness for GNC people? It’s pretty hard.

Q7: Any advice to give?

To anyone, if you want to write interactive fiction, do it: someone out there will enjoy your game. To my Latinx siblings, the same I told everyone else with a vengeance. Our culture is as beautiful as it is diverse and I don’t know about you but I could do with some new stories, some new ideas that reflect something a bit closer to our childhoods and the stories of our families. That type of thing will always be innovative in a world that spits out 17 marvel movies per year and maybe one Latino character in a short by Disney.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Resident Evil Science: Temperature

In which I look into the biology factors of the Dimitrescu daughters being made out of insects and create headcanons for them that are so deep and in-depth that they couldn't be any farther from canon.

This episode: the girls and temperature!

Overall

They are quite literally cold-blooded and unable to generate their own body heat. Because of this, they would be ectotherms.

We all know they are weak to temperatures under 50°F, but they are also vulnerable to temperatures over 100°F, similar to how flies are.

Because they can't thermoregulate, their normal body temperature tends to fluctuate with their environment, but the usual for them is around 70°F. So their skin is very cold to the touch.

Their ideal temperature is 85°F.

Cold

They sleep more in winter. Alcina calls this "diapause" and she has dubbed it as a form of hibernation in her notes on her girls, though they don't actually do a long-term hibernation--not normally, at least.

During diapause, their metabolic activity decreases. Because of this, their appetite goes down as well, as they don't really have the energy to digest their food.

Because, despite being inside, I imagine it's still quite cold for them while in the middle of a Romania winter. Again: they can't regulate their body temperature. It won't be the same for them as it is for us. I don't think being in a house, out of the wind and snow, will instantly make them have a comfortable temperature.

But they usually eat very little at this time. Sometimes they go a full day without eating anything, though they'll still drink blood, which they get most of their energy from.

Winter is also where they use their acid vomit the most because sometimes they're just too tired to chew. They rather regurgitate, drink, then go back to sleep.

They can sometimes sleep for eighteen hours a day.

Winter can be very lonely for Alcina at times. It's also eerily quiet.

Cassandra once slept for four days in a row without waking up and Alcina thought she fucking died.

It's really hard to wake them up during diapause. They go into this state of deep sleep in a way. Like, during the Comatose Cassandra incident, Alcina was full-on shaking Cassandra and screaming in her face in a panic, but Cassandra just snoozed on.

Moderately low temperatures make them sleepy.

Very low temperatures cause physical pain, as we see in the game.

Being in extreme cold can make them shiver, but it's not the same way we shiver.

Instead of their muscles contracting to generate thermal energy, it's their fly bodies violently gyrating and buzzing in a vain attempt to get warm, thus causing tremors throughout the body. Unlike normal shivering, however, they get nothing out of this and are unable to produce proper heat.

Heat

Whereas in the winter they slow down and eat less, during the summer they speed up and eat more.

Sleeping hours reduce down to the normal amount, but they can sometimes become fidgety and sleep even less due to a build-up of energy.

In the mornings, they often have a period of sunbathing at their windows to reach a desired thermal optimum, which will give them energy for the rest of the day.

The first few days after winter ends are usually characterized by constant zoomies around the castle because their metabolism suddenly shoots back up and they're full of all this vigor.

They also eat. A lot.

The girls gorge themselves on literally anything they can find to make up for all that time spent without eating.

The maids call this the "feeding frenzy" and it is a very scary time for them because at any moment they could be grabbed and devoured while still alive.

Even when this "feeding frenzy" eventually goes down, they still eat a lot more during the summer months.

Unfortunately, the heat isn't always their safe place.

Similar to the cold, too much heat can be damaging to their bodies, as it won't be able to regulate itself when comfortable becomes uncomfortable.

And even more similar to the cold, they become sluggish when they get too hot.

Fatigue sets in at around 90°F, which is when their metabolism will begin to lower. They will start to eat less and become slower and lethargic rather than just sleepy like in the cold. Moving becomes like a chore and their body gets heavy.

95°F is when discomfort really comes into play. Their breathing shallows and their muscles begin to ache with the exertion of moving. Their body is heavy and slow to respond to movements. Dizziness starts, usually accompanied by ear ringing and double vision.

Anything over 100°F is painful, like how the cold hurts them. Their skin will begin to dry out and flake off, as though they were shedding their exoskeleton. They feel like they're burning from the inside.

They will also begin to "sweat," which doesn't actually cool them down like it would for a human. It just makes them dehydrated and sticky.

Fevers

Obviously because they can't produce excessive body heat, the girls are unable to get fevers on normal occasions. They can, however, get them in two different ways.

One: Behavioral fever.

Despite the actual symptom, they still feel the effects it causes, like dizziness, weakness, fatigue, body aches, trembling, and chills.

Chills usually come up when whatever sickness they have is Really Bad because something like that isn't usual for them. Chills is the feeling of being cold even when it isn't necessarily cold--but they shouldn't be able to make their bodies feel something like that without an actual external source. So it's pretty worrying.

But without the actual heat from a fever, the bacteria inside of them is free to run rampant.

Additionally, their immune system won't do anything, as it isn't stimulated by the fever.

So when they get this feeling, they know something is most likely wrong with them, so they have to do a behavioral fever, which is what cold-blooded creatures do when unwell.

They crawl into a scalding hot bath to wake up their immune system to actually start fighting the infection.

The heat from the water will essentially mimic the effects of a fever and then induce one inside of them, heating up their core.

The second way is through their flies.

Basically, their flies will realize something is wrong and essentially be like "don't worry, Boss, we gotchu."

They will then begin to furiously generate heat through excessive flying and buzzing, as flight does create thermal energy. This is actually the response used in the cold, which causes the “shivering,” but in a moderate climate, it actually works, heating up the body.

This then filters into their human bodies in the form of a fever, warming them up like coals in a furnace. They can even slightly feel the flies doing their work, usually from tingling in their fingers, toes, and orifices.

This process can only be done in certain climates, which is why it doesn’t work in the cold.

And because it is supposed to be a response for something different, the “shivering” symptom of a fever will occur.

However, if either created fever becomes to high, then the girls will start to hurt, especially if it goes over the 100°F mark.

So it's honestly a double-edged sword.

Temperature Regulation

They have to rely on their environment to warm up or cool down since their bodies cannot do so themselves.

For both the cold and the heat, the best go-to solution is a bath. It's the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to help. It's relaxing, too!

However, there are other options, of course.

For the cold, one of their favorite options is to snuggle with their mother. Unlike them, Alcina still produces body heat, so curling up in her side or lap will warm them right up. Plus, sharing body heat is the most effective solution to defrosting.

They will also spend a lot of time by the fireplaces or wrapped in blankets. It isn't uncommon for them to have dozens of covers on their beds and still be chilly.

They wear more layers (i see you, Capcom, stupidly making them wear a dress with their tits hanging out just to get in some more fan service even though it was fucking winter time and they should be more covered up)

They will huddle together for warmth.

They may try to fly more often to get their muscles working, as insects can create a tiny amount of thermal energy while in flight.

And for the heat, there isn't too much they can do, really. It isn't the same. The best thing to do is stay adequately moisturized.

They wear looser clothes. It helps some.

Alcina makes sure they're hydrated. It's very easy for them to become thirsty because their version of hot is literally a human's regular body temperature--even below it.

They like to stay in the cooler areas of the castle, so the basement.

They will sometimes become nocturnal, sleeping through the hotter hours of the day and staying awake during the cooler ones.

Just being in moisture, like lukewarm baths, will usually be enough for them--unless their temperature raises too high.

TLDR: no weather is suitable for these poor girls

[theunderneath]

here I am again(that one anonymous asking for Minks S/O) Barto is indeed a baby(he's called "cannibal" but is still our precious baby) when I started reading the one you made for killer I laughed so hard just because of the "Nice hair" so here is my request today Nami, Usopp, Crocodile and Shanks

Hey, it’s you again! Glad you find my things funny and you like them enough to keep asking. Anyway on to the headcanon/scenarios.

Nami 

“S/O how much money do you think we could make together?”

Loves your strength and speed. She definitely wants to steal with you. Having a Mink is definitely a distraction she can use to pickpocket. Your hair is very pretty, she thinks it could probably sell for a lot. Though you probably don't wanna part with it. 

She probably wouldn't kidnap you. She simply isn’t strong enough. She would try and bribe you though. Offer a lot of shining things that are eye-catching. Maybe some nice clothes the two of you could wear together. Things like that.

Usopp

“I’M THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP AND I’M HERE TO TELL YOU A GREAT SHANTY!”

Protect this poor boy, please. He is a weak man and needs to hide behind you. You just need to stare at the full moon and turn badass. Go kick their ass baby you don't need a man to protect you. 

For the kidnapping part, I think we all know he would fail. I feel like he would draw you in by telling stories of great adventures and treasure trying to get you on the crew. If that doesn't work I’m sure if Usopp has taken a liking to you then Luffy has. So you're probably already on a crew.

Crocodile

“S/O get your ass over here.”

Your strength and speed are a plus for him. Though sometimes he does wish you were small and weak. It would be easier to get you by his side that way. Though he likes the chase too so it isn't all that bad. He finds you very beautiful with your hair and can see why you take pride in it.

He first tries to do it civilized. Tries to court you with gifts and jewels. If that doesn't work then force it is. Though your full moon might be a problem. All he needs to do is time it right then. Which won't be much of a problem for him, he’s smart.

Shanks

“Hay little rabbit! How’ve you been!?”

Loves everything about you. To your hair to the body to your power. He might have a fetish for Minks after meeting you. Maybe it’s just you that brings out this feeling but still. Abores every inch of your body. Please PLEASE let him touch your ears.

Kidnaping? Oh no no no! He would never. Such a beautiful creature being caged. He rather die. He’ll just bride you with great treasures. And or an adventure you can't pass up. Or maybe just declare your island his territory and visit any chance he gets. Perks of being one of the Four Emperors.

[willwrite4mora]

Bennet x Reader: Sneaky Hilichurl

As the sun was setting, you could hear Bennett curse as he was trying to start a fire. He was failing miserably. You had to stiffle a laugh while you were setting up the pot for dinner. Bennett being clumsy was just so endearing to you. Having joined his adventure team some time ago, his little unlucky tendencies have started to grow on you. He was just too cute. Yeah, you fell hard for this boy. Not that you would ever tell him.

"I can't believe we were able to get such a big boar with only a few arrows! I can't wait to eat all this meat!" Bennett seemed so happy with the little bit of luck he was able to muster today. Well, mostly you, since you fired the arrows. "Now if only I can get this fire going..." he went back into concentration, trying to ignite a spark with two rocks instead of using his vision, which would have definitely gone faster.

As you finished setting up the pot to cook above the little stack of twigs Bennett was working on, you stole a quick glance downward. "Maybe you should use your vision to light up the fire instead," you proposed to him carefully. The gears in his head seemed to turn at that.

"Yes! That is a great idea, Y/N!" Bennet exclaimed happily. He stood up from where he was crouching. "Now, step back. This could get dangerous and I don't want to hurt you." As he put a hand out in front of you to lead you away from his target, you couldn't help but swoon. He was so protective over you, always trying to keep you as safe as possible, even though his bad luck usually did the opposite. "Now, burn!" Bennett yelled out, and he swung his blade in a burning arch towards the assembled twigs under the pot. They lit up up and crackled, and the pot was heating up. You clapped as you stared with a big grin on your face. He returned your smile with a triumphant laugh. It was a miracle that the fire started without any injury or unwanted destruction, knowing Bennett.

"Let me get the meat! I'm starving!" you exclaimed. You spun around to get to Bennett's bag, where you stored the boar meat... and saw it was gone. "Huh?" But you were sure Bennett put his bag there. It was there the whole time. Then you saw it.

A little further away, a hilichurl was sneakily dragging away the bag. You screamed. The hilichurl knew it was discovered and made a run for it with the full bag.

"Bennett! The bag! Quick!" you screamed, as you ran after the hilichurl. Bennet followed quickly. The hilichurl was so fast, but you were catching up to it. When you finally felt like you were close enough to attack the creature, you realised you were led right into one of their camps. You and Bennett were going to have a longer fight than anticipated.

You shot your arrow at the hilichurl with the bag, which made it drop the bag on the ground. Good. "Y/N! Look out!" Bennett attacked one of the hilichurls that was about to fire an arrow right back at you. A samachurl was about to send a whirlwind your way, but you were able to attack it just before it could do so.

The two of you were fighting your way through the small group when a growl rang through the camp. A mitachurl with an axe emerged from one of the huts, trampling Bennett's bag while doing so. It was running right at you. "Y/N!" Bennet screamed, pushing you out of the Mitachurl's way. In the meantime, you knocked another arrow on your bow. You shot the Mitachurl right in its shoulder, making it drop the axe. As Bennett now had an opening, he charged at the beast with a flaming slash of his sword. The Mitachurl caught fire and was defeated.

And what else caught fire... was his bag. "Oh nooooo!" Bennet screamed, trying to put out the flames. You ran after him to help him do so. The two of you were able to save most of the meat, but... "My clothes... my first aid kit... my sleeping bag..." Bennet was crying while counting his losses. Most of what was in his bag was destroyed by his own flames. The poor boy...

You were patting him on the back, trying to soothe his sadness at the loss of his stuff. "It's okay, Bennett. We still have the meat. We can pick up some new first aid supplies and clothes once we reach a town. It's going to be okay," you tried to reassure him that his things could be replaced. "And for tonight, we can share my sleeping bag." As the words left your mouth, it sunk in what you just suggested. Your eyes wide and your face completely red, you tried not to look at Bennet. You can't believe you just told him he could sleep with you.

Bennett's felt his cheeks warm up. Just thinking about sleeping in the same bag as you made his heart beat 10 times faster. Trying to get his mind off the matter, he suggested "let's first get cooking. I'm starving." You nodded and the two of you headed back to your fire, which was luckily still burning.

You both ate in complete silence. The awkwardness was inescapable. The implications of your words kept hanging in your head. And in his. You wanted to be close to him, but maybe this was going too fast. He doesn't even know that you like him. He probably doesn't even like you back... or does he? The sun was down and the stars were visible in the dark sky. It was going to be time to get to sleep soon.

"So..." Bennett broke the silence. "It's getting late. I'll sleep on the ground if you want me to--"

"No!" you almost screamed in return. You cleared your throat, realising you were maybe a bit too quick with your answer. "I-I mean, it's way too cold to sleep on the ground without a sleeping bag. It's really okay..." You tried not to let it show how desperate you were to be able to cuddle up to him tonight.

"I can't do that. You deserve the space," he tried to protest. "Plus, it might make you uncomfortable if I do..."

"No, it wouldn't. Really, it's alright. I mean, it wouldn't mean anything anyway... right?" you tried to argue.

Bennett kept silent at that for a moment. He looked away, cheeks red and hand over his mouth. "Yes, it would,"

"What do you mean?" You were so confused.

"It would mean something. I... I really like you. I can't just sleep next to you." His cheeks got even redder.

You didn't know what to say. The boy you've liked for so long just told you he likes you back. He kept mumbling about it being unfair to you or something. You couldn't really listen any further as you giddily smiled to yourself. You wrapped your arms around his chest and pulled him closer to you in a hug. "Oh, Bennett, you worry too much." You heard him gasp as you did so. He looked down at you so confused. Did he not understand what you were trying to convey to him? You chuckled at his naivety. "I like you too! I like you so so so much!" You buried your face deeper into his chest.

"You do?" he exclaimed. He sounded so genuinely surprised, like you didn't blush every time he did anything remotely cute near you. He returned your hug, putting his arms around you as well, and he buried his face into the crook of your neck. "I'm so glad!" You could feel him smile against your shoulder.

He frowned a little when you pulled away from the hug. "We should get to bed soon. You don't mind sharing a sleeping bag anymore, do you?" you asked hopefully.

"I guess if it's still okay with you..." He scratched behind ik head sheepishly with a shy smile on his face.

You ran towards your stuff and got your sleeping bag out of its pouch. You rolled it out on a flat bit of the ground. You crawled in and waved for him to come join you. He shyly shuffled his way over to the sleeping bag, took off his shoes and huddled close to you inside before you zipped up the bag. You loved the warmth he provided and you cuddles up to him even closer.

"So, Y/N..." Bennett started. You hummed in response, making him continue his train of thought. "Now we are together, right?"

"Uh-huh"

"So now that we're a couple, would it be alright if..." he trailed off.

"Yeah...?" you looked up to him expectantly.

He looked you in the eyes with a serious expression and a furious blush on his face. "Can I kiss you?"

You blushed at that. This boy was just too cute. How could you not want him to kiss you? "Whenever you want to, Bennett." You smiled at him in return.

He grinned. As he closed his eyes and pulled you closed with a hand on your cheek, you could feel your lips touch his briefly. Short and sweet. It made you melt against him.

Bennett leaned in for another quick kiss. Followed by a next one that took a bit longer. "Oh, Bennett," you breathed out quietly as you buried your head into his chest. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Y/N. Sleep well, okay?" Bennett gave you one last kiss on your forehead and tightened his arms around you, ready to fall asleep.

...

...

...

"Hey, Bennett... Your gear is kind of poking me..."

All Bennett could do was innerly panic, because... that wasn't his gear and he hoped you wouldn't find out.

[batsandbugs]

Daminette December

A/N: Okay so this one spiraled out of control a little bit, but I’m so happy with how it turned out! Marinette and Damian back to being chaotic little shits, Marinette being understanding, and Damian going a little too far but finding the one person who doesn’t mind. Let me know what y’all think. Thanks @daminette-december2019-2020​

Daminette December Day 15 – Cats

If you had told Marinette back in May that by Christmas she would be living in the most crime-infested city in America going to college, working at a pet store that was most likely a front for the Russian mob, and trying to unravel a 300-year-old curse on said crime-infested-city…

… she would have believed you.

After all, it wasn’t the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her.

But back to the pet store.

There she was a week before Christmas living in a shoebox apartment, drowning in fabric and notions, with a magical box filled with tiny gods who loved to squabble and give conflicting vague advice. They were supposed to work on how to break the giant magical curse laid out across the city, but Marinette had gotten hired at the local pet store down the street because if she spent one more minute sequestered inside trying to decipher the handwriting of centuries-old monks, without a break, she would scream.

Plus, the animals were ridiculously cute and the current owner obviously had no clue how to take care of them – which is how she concluded the store was a money-laundering front. The owner, a Mr. Petriov, had known her for all of three days before leaving her to manage the shop by herself. That hadn’t changed much in the month she had worked here, but at least the animals were in better shape now and she had a slightly larger budget for the endless amount of coffee she drank.

Marinette swept the back of the room, trying to make sure it was as clean as she could get it. Despite her best efforts at trying to cheer the place up, the plastic Christmas decorations and lively music did little to distract from the poor living conditions of the animals. Marinette wished there was some way to help, but she was rather limited in her options in a foreign city and Plagg’s suggestions of stealing all the animals and burning the place down was not a viable one.

No matter how much Marinette wanted to sometimes.

The store bell rang.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” she called. She finished sweeping the last of the room, before putting the broom away, and coming out to the main part of the store. “Hi there, I’m Marinette, how can I-”

“Did you know that Gotham Department of Health and Safety Regulations, Section 45: Animals and Livestock, subsection C.1: Living conditions, states that cages for cats must be 30 inches in width, 28 inches in length, 30 inches in height, and 30 inches on the diagonal? And that yours do not match those specifications?” There in the center of the store stood a man about her age. He was dressed head to toe in black, with a long, expensive, looking coat billowed out behind him. His voice was posh and smooth, and his tone could cut glass. He looked around the store in thinly veiled disgust.

Marinette vaguely recognized him. He’d been in the store about two weeks ago. He hadn’t said anything when she asked if he needed help. He just went around to all the cages watching the animals through the bars. She had gone about her normal routine, and then he left a little while later. The only reason she remembered him at all was he was wearing the same designer coat with wool Marinette’s hands itched to get a hold of.  

“I- I did not. Although, this is not my store.” The man glared at her, and had Marinette not been used to a lifetime of truly piercing glares from Chloe, she might have crumbled underneath it. “I’ve only been working here for a month and let me tell you it’s better than it was before.”

“These conditions are intolerable.”

Marinette usually kept a cool façade with the few customers who came in here, but this man was obviously looking for a fight; not that she didn’t completely agree with him.

“I’m well aware, but I’m doing the best with what I have here, especially since my boss doesn’t care.” One of the cats mewled loudly, and Marinette sighed. She knew exactly who that was. Walking over to one of the cages she opened it up. A tiny grey cat with tipped black ears and paws jumped into her arms. Marinette had named him Macaroon since Mr. Petriov hadn’t bothered to give any of them names.

“Sorry,” she said. “Macaroon likes attention, and he’s good with people so I bring him out when others come in to pet them.” The man came over and let the cat sniff his hand before scratching under the his chin.

“He looks well taken care of,” he complimented, although he still scowled. Marinette couldn’t help but think he would be much more handsome if he smiled.  

“As I said, I try my best. I take them all out of their cages so they can stretch their legs, and not just the dogs either. But that’s whenever I’m not cleaning, or prepping food, or taking care of the paperwork.” Or at home trying to figure out how to banish a city-wide curse, Marinette thought to herself.

The man hummed. “Look, you seem… nice.” He said the word in such a way that implied he didn’t believe the concept existed. “So, I’ll let you know ahead of time, but this store is going to get raided tomorrow. It’s a-”

“Front for the Russian Mob?” Marinette finished. The man seemed taken aback and immediately glared at her again. “Yeah, I figured that out within a few days of working here. I just had no clue as to who to go to about it. Who’s going to help a tiny French girl about a corrupt business in a city known for corruption?” She raised an eyebrow at the man who seemed taken aback by her abruptness.

“Fair point. So why are you working here then? If you know it’s corrupt.”

Marinette sighed; it was true she had plenty else to be doing, school was over for the semester sure, but there was always magic to learn, or sites to go check out to see if they were connected to the curse, or she could have gone home for the break and visited her parents, but…

If she did any of that, no one would be here to look out for the animals. And just because she couldn’t actively be a hero, didn’t mean she was going to turn up her back on those who needed her, even if they were of the four-legged variety.

She looked back at the handsome man; how could she explain any of that to him.

… not that she should.

Because that would be bad.

She didn’t know him at all.

Even if he was ridiculously good looking.

Fuck. 

She did not have the time to get caught up in anything else, especially not a crush.

So instead, she went with a mostly true answer. “Just because the people running the store are bad, doesn’t mean the animals are. I would come by here on my way from school and would want to let the poor things out of their cages. So, when I finally had enough time, I applied for a job.” The look on the man’s face was a cross between surprise and understanding. “And you’d want to do something else too if the last three months all you did was stare at miles of hand-sewn hems and contemplate if death would be kinder.”

Marinette bet the man would deny it if pointed out, but the side of his mouth turned up at her comment.

“Understandable.”

“My question is,” she asked, stroking Macaroon who was happily purring away in her arms. “Why would you tell the person working at the Russian mob front that you’re going to have the store raided the next day? Doesn’t that seem a little counter-productive?” Not that Marinette was in any way complaining, she had been waiting for an opportunity like this for weeks.

“It depends on whether you tell your boss or not.”

“Hell no.”

Finally, the man’s face morphed from a resting scowl into a self-satisfied smirk.

Oh no, he’s even hotter like that, Marinette thought.  

“Then I think telling was exactly the right idea. You’ll need to give a statement to the department doing the raid, but you won’t be in trouble for anything that went down here.”

Marinette nodded, and then remembered something. “Would pictures help?”

“Pictures?”

“I’ve been taking pictures of all the documents that come through the front desk. The legitimate ones and the less legitimate ones. It’s only about a month’s worth of stuff, but I have it on a flash drive.”

The man’s smirk grew a bit more. “Yes, I do believe that would be useful.”

Marinette smiled, finally glad this place would get shut down, but then she looked at Macaroon so snuggly in her arms, and all the other lovely creatures throughout the store came to mind. “And the animals, will they be okay?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t allow anything to happen to them. They’ll all be going to reputable shelters or good homes through the Wayne Foundation.”

Marinette readjusted Macaroon in her arms. “That’s good. So, should I bring the flash drive when I give my statement or-”

“I can take it,” he said quickly. “I mean,” he cleared his throat. “You can give it to me, and I can hand it off to the… proper authorities.” The glint in his eye spelled trouble. Marinette thought it was completely unfair how attractive she found it.  

“It’s in my apartment. My shift is only another hour, but….” She thought about her mess of an apartment covered in yards of fabric, questionable ancient artifacts, and the tiny floating talking gods. “It’s a bit of a mess, how about we meet elsewhere?”

“Yes,” the man responded quickly. He looked down at Macaroon and stroked the cat’s back, a light blush playing out over his cheeks. “Of course, that would be acceptable.”

“Coffee then?” asked Marinette, glad to have a little longer to chat with him.

“Sounds good. Inman Perk at 7th and Forge Street?”

“I love that place. I’m Marinette by the way, I think I said that.”

The man smirked again, “You did, but it’s nice to hear it. I’m Damian, Damian Wayne.”

“I’d shake your hand Damian, but my arms are a little full.” She readjusted Macaroon, moving over to his cage placing the content cat back inside. Marinette smiled, happy to know this would be the last night the animals would have to sleep in these too-small cages. She turned back to Damian and offered her hand.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, Mr. Wayne,” she said with a grin.

He clasped his hand with hers, and she delighted at the chill it sent up her spine. “Not nearly as much as I am with you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette paused for a moment, “I don’t think I ever gave you my last name?”

Damian paused, his face of a person caught with their hand in a cookie jar. “I may, perhaps, have done a slight background check on you before I decided to confront you today.” He retreated his hands and clasped them behind his back. “Uh, I- I apologize if that comes off a little…” he trailed off.

“Invasive, creepy, overbearing?”

Damian’s face fell. “Yes.”

Marinette tried hard to hold in her smirk. “Or protective, concerned, over-invested? I’ve had friends like that before.” Thinking particularly of Kagami, or her own actions towards Adrian during those early years. “It’s a little much, but not so bad especially when confronting someone who may be part of the Russian mob.”

Damian’s face went from contrite to an all-out grinning smirk. “You? Part of the mob? A little hard to believe.”

“Oh, you never know”’ she teased back. “I think I could pull it off, no one ever expects the tiny French girl.”

A bark from the back of the store interrupted their flirting, soon all of the dogs were barking, and Marinette realized the time.

“I’ve got to get them all taken out and fed. I’ll be finished in about an hour, I’ll grab the stuff from my apartment and meet you at… 8:30?”

Damian nodded. “Of course, see you there.” And with that he turned on his heel and walked out of the store, his long coat billowing like a cape behind him. Marinette watched him disappear from view and waited a second before she punched the air. She couldn’t wait. She kneeled back down at the cage and scratched Macaroon’s chin.

“Thanks for being such a good luck charm.” The cat purred back happily. Marinette headed off to finish what she needed to get done, wondering what the heck she was going to wear.

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[sixeyesgojo]

Team Gojo as flowers

Summary: Gojo, Yuji, Megumi, Nobara and Sukuna as types of flowers

Characters: stated above

Content warning: mild manga spoilers

Word count: -

A/N: I’d appreciate feedback here (and in general) because I’m not sure whether to do this kind of hc for other JJK characters or not. I am thinking of Toge in particular because I love my salmon boy. Also fyi, this was some time after 135 but before 140 for sure.

Gojo Satoru  - Nemophila

I just saw these and immediately thought about how good they would suit him???

another name for them would be baby blue eyes (no, I had no idea beforehand)

they symbolize prosperity, victory, success or triumph over an enemy

flashback to Gojo beating Jogo tf up... but add a nemophila field in the background <3

That being said, his profile literally states that he is perfect in every way (except for his personality but we still love that, right?), so if this isn't success in every way then idk

This flower's essence is also said to be helpful for those who put up a mask over their painful sensitivity

Gojo also displays characteristics of cynism and mistrust towards the higher-ups

Furthermore, I think he is a little anti-social - doesn't have a lot of friends. As someone from the secret Jujutsu World, he's bound to be hidden in a way. This is enforced by the fact that he is the strongest, so a lot of people and curses are out to get his head. I'd think he doesn't keep anyone too close to him so that they do not become a target for anyone. Must be traumatizing to be him.

This flower helps soothen the soul's conflict, healing it slowly, which is exactly what Gojo needs imo

it really is the perfect flower for him

but it's native to North America

Yeah, watch him teleport there to bring back a bouquet of them for his s/o

Itadori Yuji - Protea (orange)

This kind of flower comes in many different shapes, which is why it's a symbol of transformation, which is exactly what Yuji embodies by going from a regular human being to being a Jujutsu sorcerer

Diversity: Yuji is open to anything, Gojo even described him as "having a few screws loose up there". I don't even think he questions how he is being taught by Gojo or anything for that matter?

Yuji also embodies courage and is known to be daring and i don't think i need to explain this one further

I mean, the boy literally jumped right into a curse to rescue Sasaki and Iguchi and help Megumi while not even knowing what a curse is

Orange proteas represent cheerfulness, joy and happiness - if that isn't our sunshine boy, then idk. After what happened to Junpei, he seemed a little down at first but recent episodes have shown that he will not slow down because of that and will keep on being the energetic fluffball of joy that he is.

moreover, they also symbolize unlimited possibilities as his cursed technique so far probably isn't even his final technique yet - compared to Nobara's hammer and Megumi's shikigami. All we know is that Sukuna's techniques are going to be his over time but we don't even know the full extent of the said curse's power yet

If anyone ever mentioned all this to him and showed him the flower, he would think it looks weird at first but will grow to find it interesting (especially the shape). It's not like the flower is native to Japan, so he most likely wouldn't have seen it anywhere.

Gets really excited if you were to give this baby one of these flowers

Fushiguro Megumi - Anemone (purple)

hear me out

The most common symbol for the purple Anemone is 'protection against evil'. While it's Megumi's primary focus in his line of work as a professional, you ought to know he became a sorcerer in the first place because of his sister, Tsukimi.

Fragility: While Megumi shows a lot of potential for growth, it's also said that he will most likely stagnate due to the mental aspect. He's pretty insecure about his own abilities and doesn't think much of himself but that doesn't mean he won't use his powers in order to protect someone.

Anticipation: As previously stated, Megumi shows a lot of potential as a sorcerer, even to the point that Sukuna (mind you, the creature that only cares about himself) has praised him and will not hesitate to make Megumi a pawn to whatever his big, mysterious plans may be. With that being said, if Sukuna himself is interested in our blue-haired boy, we can anticipate great things from Megumi in the foreseeable future.

This specific flower seems to be a double-edged sword in terms of symbolism. In some cultural circles, it is believed to be a symbol of bad luck, whereas in other areas it's seen as a lucky charm (in which we hope this is the one for our boy). I see the same principle applying to Megumi's descent and his mysterious technique - not gonna elaborate further though (feel free to ask though)

a rather dark symbol for this particular flower: "death of a loved one". In this case, I am referring to Tsukimi, his step-sister. She may not be dead but it is indicated that she is in a comatose state due to being cursed. It seems that Megumi does not know when - or rather whether - she will wake up or not. Knowing this boy, he probably has tried anything and everything in his power to wake her up (hell, he probably even consulted Gojo) but nothing worked so far. This poor boy is anxious about it all the time.

he's surprised anyone would even associate him with flowers but wouldn't mind it

Kugisaki Nobara - Orchid (mainly orange)

I had some trouble finding something for her but orchids seem to suit her best

couldn't really pick a particular color though but I am leaning towards orange

orange orchids represent: pride, enthusiasm and boldness

Nobara is very proud of who she is. She strikes me as a person who is not afraid to tell her story, even though she despices the countryside where she is from. She also takes pride in staying true to herself all the time, to the point of admitting that she only enrolled in Jujutsu High so that she could move to Tokyo to Yuji, who was basically a stranger at that time

She is also very enthusiastic about her own future. She knows she won't ever like having to exorcise curses but somehow, being a Jujutsu sorcerer excites her.

plus points for her being enthusiastic about winning in the Kyoto Goodwill Event Arc and just beating up the Kyoto students

I don't need to mention her being enthusiastic about shopping and sightseeing in big cities, do I?

Bold? Oh, she is bold. She has no filter when it comes to speaking her mind and would never hesitate to put anyone in their place. I see her going places in Gojo's revolution... and cussing at the superiors.

Yellow symbolizes new beginnings and friendships. Nobara does not have any problems making new friends, she adapts fairly well in new environments. There's also the way she mourned for Yuji, despite "only knowing him for two weeks" and I don't even doubt for a second that it was her making him hold the black funeral picture frame when he came back lol

Pink: grace, femininity, joy + purple: royalty and admiration

There is no doubt that Nobara tries to enjoy her life to the fullest *cough* moving to Tokyo

Moreover, there is something about her that just screams "queen behavior" to me and I don't even mean that in the slang sense. Have you all seen how graceful this girl moves? (I would like to thank MAPPA at this point)

Nobara shows respect where it's due - I'm just gonna mention Maki here - but is a very admirable girl herself

probably has an orchid plant in her room, ngl

Ryomen Sukuna - Snapdragon

please, the name already sounds a little dangerous

This flower shares a certain character trait with him: being unique

Snapdragons are usually associated with strength due to the way they even grow in rocky areas and if that's not screaming Sukuna's name, who is all about strength, then correct me

Deviousness is practically Sukuna's second name, so this symbol isn't exactly off the track either. Let me remind you about the way Sukuna and Mahito laughed at Yuji??

Graciousness: just like Nobara, he possesses some sort of grace that makes me percept him as a majestic being

but maybe that's just his throne of bones and title as King of Curses contributing

and him owning a shrine???

or maybe that is just the way he majestetically killed that special grade lol

"Only large insects like bumblebees can pollinate snapdragons because the petals are too heavy for smaller insects to push apart." I read this and if you reverse it a little, it somehow reminded me of the fact that Sukuna's fingers need to have a powerful vessel aka small fry won't do because they will simply die away.

Deception: despite being given the minimum amount of information about Sukuna in general, I just don't see him being anything but egoistic and evil. I just cannot picture it. So yeah, put everything evil in a pot, stir a little and don't be surprised if your result is not the Powerpuff girls but a four-eyed multi-talented and deceptive curse that is out to kill you for fun

[selfwriting-sugarquills]

70 Fred Weasley headcanons in celebration of 700 followers:

(plus an extra one, for the heck of it lmao) 

You guys, thank you so much for 700 followers! I appreciate every single one of you and writing for the twins has been such a blast so far, much to the thanks of all of you <3 

Find the 70 George Headcanons: Here

Fred has always been really good at sleight of hand stuff, as a kid, he could do card tricks with ease, steal baked goods from his mother’s kitchen and later on since his allowance wasn’t exactly anything to brag about, he’d steal sweets from honeydukes' on Hogsmeade trips, with the help of George, he’s not proud of it but in his defence, he was a stupid teenage boy at the time. 

Fred is incredibly competitive and will hold onto anything you challenge him to for way longer than you might think. He’s definitely the type to “race you” anytime you’re headed to herbology, care against magical creatures or Hogsmeade together.

As the man himself said in the deathly hallows, Fred doesn’t like the idea of a big grandiose wedding ceremony, he’d prefer something more low-key and simple, where the focus is more on having fun and celebrating instead of neat seating plans and meticulously chosen decorations. Some flowers and booze will do, he’ll provide the fireworks - In essence, he only needs his S/O and the rest he couldn’t care less about. 

George may be better at cooking, but Fred makes a damn good pancake and he will forever pride himself on that. 

Fred is the more jealous, overprotective twin. He’s aware of this and tries his best not to let it go to his head but he can’t help it. 

Fred snores, I’m pretty sure it’s canon that both twins snore, but Fred is louder and, as mentioned in my last headcanon post, a very heavy sleeper meaning it’s more difficult to get him to wake up so he can stop, your best shot is trying (and probably failing) to turn him over. 

Fred is also a very restless sleeper, he’ll toss and turn, and occasionally dream about quidditch. I’m saying you might want to be aware that he might confuse you for a bludger in his sleep, don’t worry though, he’ll always apologise profusely and make it up to you with a lot of kisses (and maybe a bit more than that, if you’re keen ;)) 

Fred has an extensive caffeine addiction, which is unfortunate cause he’s quite hyper already but he can’t function properly until he gets his coffee in the morning, and then again in between lessons/at lunch and then again late in the afternoon. Sometimes, if he needed to write an essay that was due, he’d drink coffee at like nine pm. He knows he won’t be able to sleep because of it, please, Y/n, he’s accepted his fate. 

I personally always imagined the twins as having ADHD, idk why it just fits their characters. Fred is for sure the more outwardly fidgety and intrusive, this gets less and less with age, as it does for a lot of ADHD people, his inability to focus remains the same though. 

Fred loves being outside, he’s the first of the Weasley siblings to suggest a game of quidditch or just going outside for walks, hide and seek in the woods near their house. He absolutely loves taking his dates on walks in parks or at the beach and when he has kids he plays with them in their yard, building snowmen etc. 

Fred probably suggests at some point that the whole family should go camping, and he’s actually really fun to camp with. He’ll tell the best scary stories by the campfire. 

In regards to children, Fred wants a lot of kids. Like at least three but would be willing to have more if his s/o wants to. He just really likes the dynamic of a large family since that’s what he’s used to. 

Fred’s favourite flavour of sweets is anything sour, the sourer the better, because of this he can handle it really well and he loves handing people some of his ridiculously sour candy and watching them squirm. 

He also really likes spicy food, he’s a bit of a daredevil so don’t challenge him to eat anything because he will eat a whole chilli and nearly die. 

 You know he’d be really casual about it too, lol, like sweating and crying but just leaning on the counter like “*pant* what? hot? no not at all *deeeeep breath* I can ha-aw-rdly taste it!” 

One thing about Fred is that he’s oddly squeamish, like seeing his brother’s ear blown off isn’t so bad (if you don’t take into account the emotional trauma that is), but a needle for a blood sample or a vaccine? oooh, he’s gonna need a big juice box and a cookie and his s/o’s hand to hold if he’s gonna make it through. He also has a thing about leeches. One time at Hogwarts they were mentioned in a lesson and he thought he was going to faint the entire time. 

Fred’s broken five bones over the years, four are from quidditch: his left arm and two ribs, and then the other arm from trying to do an elaborate stunt on the stairs in the burrow and falling down two flights. 

Fred loves to sing karaoke (because I cannot get that damn clip of James singing karaoke out of my head) though he particularly enjoys doing a very poor job on purpose. 

Fred is such a good liar that on several occasions he’s given presentations in school and gotten good marks for them despite having bullshat his way through the entire thing. 

Like seriously, he’s that guy in the group project who only looks at the slides like five minutes before the presentation and then just turns on a full charming newscaster voice on the professor to the point of them being genuinely convinced (albeit a little confused) that what Fred’s saying is true. 

This is also why Fred loves playing card games like poker: he’s really good at bluffing. 

Speaking of poker-face, he’s really quite good at teasing in public (if you’re into that sort of thing *wink*) because no matter the dirty deeds he might get up to under a table, his face remains as regular as always (safe for a little smirk to his lover every now and then) 

Fred always wanted to learn an instrument, he thought it’d make him cooler when he was a teenager, as an adult, he just really wants to recreate that clip of the trombone-playing dad with the sunglasses, or maybe serenade some cows with jazz or something. 

Fred was never a big fan of the uniform thing, so he always tried to make it his own, whether that be tying the tie differently, or having his sleeves rolled up; it’s not much but you gotta take what you can get when you’re literally dressed the same as everyone else. 

Fred might make fun of his dad’s interest in muggle things but secretly he loves it too. He has spent a lot of hours in the shed with Arthur, assuring everyone that it was just to have some quality time with his dad but he would still pay close attention when Arthur explained things to him. 

Fred had a whole business of selling candy from Honeydukes’ and joke products from Zonko’s to second and first years before he and George started dabbling with their own products, he could get you a butterbeer too but it’ll cost you an extra three galleons. 

Fred really likes glitter, George has a thing for lace, anything that glitters on his s/o makes Fred weak. If you want to get your way just put on some glittery eyeshadow or lipgloss and watch him spin. 

Since he loves things that glitter and gleam he loves buying his s/o jewellery, he loves seeing them wearing them as little tokens of their relationship. 

Did someone say slight possession kink? oops not me

Fred is incredible with numbers, this is pretty much canon and has been explored but I’m just amazed at this boy’s wit AND intellect. I have a slight headcanon that if he ever goes on a proper first date with someone where a bill is involved, he impresses his date by calculating the tip after just a glance.

Even if Fred has a longstanding reputation of not caring about school, when he has kids he does want to help them with any coursework over the summer and Christmas breaks, he’ll even study up on his old books just to be able to help out in any classes he didn’t take/didn’t pay attention in. 

Fred would, in general, be an amazing father. He’s goofy and playful most of the time, though he’s serious and incredibly caring whenever his kids are in a bad mood or have problems. He knows that he’s not the most outwardly emotional of the twins but he makes sure his kids know they can always talk to him about anything. 

Fred is incredibly messy. His room is usually a cry for help and he only cleans it when it gets to the point where it distracts him from focusing on work. 

No worries though, his S/O doesn’t have to do all the housework for him, he’ll do it. He just needs to be reminded that he needs to every once in a while. 

Fred has a really bad temper, he doesn’t know where he gets it from but he tends to get angry easier than George, though Fred is better at letting it out so it doesn’t continue to bother him. 

His bad temper does mean that he used to brawl more with siblings as a kid, and it wasn’t unusual to see him with scrapes and bruises as a kid, much to Molly’s dismay. Fred didn’t mind though, he thought it made him look tough. 

Fred is more likely to get caught sneaking around because of his brash nature, he tends to forget just how quiet you have to be to avoid Mrs Norris in the corridors. 

Fred is certainly not an early bird but his favourite time of day is, in fact, the morning when the sun’s coming up. He only knows this because of Wood’s ridiculously early quidditch practices but there’s something about the way the world looks when it’s bathed in soft golden light that just hits different to Fred. 

Fred is a great team player, as much as he seems like he’s more selfish than George, if it’s regarding a team activity (like quidditch or a battle of sorts) he’ll completely lose all focus on himself and only try to ensure other’s safety and victory. This is also why he plays as a beater, he’s not afraid of getting hit at all when he’s focused on getting the bludgers away from his teammates. 

So if his s/o ever needs it, he’ll be there to help with anything: Needs to take a day off from work to take care of his sick s/o? no problem. Needs to stay up with his small child because his s/o is exhausted and needs rest? On it. Something as small as carrying groceries or books, making a cup of tea when the other is busy or doing the dishes is all on the list of things that Fred will happily do for his s/o, and often without having to be asked, he’ll just do it. 

Fred’s boggart is seeing his family members and/or his s/o hurt beyond what he can save. Essentially his worst fear is being helpless when he needs it most. 

One of those times was when George lost his ear. The first night when George was lying practically unconscious on the couch with blood everywhere was the worst night of Fred’s life, he truly felt so anxious and helpless and angry that he vomited and ended up passing out next to the couch after staying up till sunrise watching his brother like a hawk. 

He didn’t just sleepwalk when he was younger, he also often experienced nightmares, it’s only George, Molly and Arthur who remembers anything about this. 

They got less and less the older he got and he assumed that he’d never be bothered by them again until after the second wizarding war and the battle of Hogwarts. 

I don’t like to headcanon that he dies cause he didn’t and that’s final lol. I do, however, headcanon that Fred still gets hurt, since everyone in the explosion beside him seemed to sustain minor injuries, I just think that to even out with George losing his ear, he hurts his leg and needs a lot of retraining/a walking stick. I think that’d be a more fair/unfair ending for Fred who’s always full of energy having to have to adjust to living slowly for a little while (not permanently, I couldn’t do that to my boy). 

The boy has anxiety sometimes, ok. (just let me project for a second)

He didn’t know how much tension he usually holds in his body until he drank alcohol for the first time and felt his entire body loosen up and was like “huh this is new.” 

He doesn’t use alcohol to deal with it though, he prefers just talking to George about whenever he feels is stressing him out and that helps. A massage from his s/o to loosen him up doesn’t hurt either. 

Fred prefers to talk to his dad about his problems more than he prefers to talk to Molly, generally. 

His favourite body parts on his s/o: Shoulders, hips, hands. 

He loves to kiss, just in general, but he also loves kissing his s/o’s nose, forehead, neck, shoulder, etc. as little gestures of affection. 

He def. has a bit of a size kink, he loves being taller than his s/o. 

If Fred could have any pet he wanted, he’d probably want a dog, the bigger the better. He doesn’t think he has the time for a pet though. 

It was his idea to start breeding pygmy puffs, it’s the closest he’ll get to having a pet. 

I don’t know why but I feel like when Fred and his s/o are expecting and his s/o goes into labour he just panics. loses it, drops the binkie as we say in Denmark: Freaks the fuck out, if you will. He’s definitely the pacing and wringing his hands together type, though he probably tries his best to keep himself composed and chill during the whole thing whilst simultaneously hyperventilating. 

Fred doesn’t cry often but he sure as hell wept with pride when he held all his kids for the first time. 

Despite the notion that the twins often slip in a joke version of a sweet treat or something similar amongst the snacks at parties, Fred is strongly against tampering with drinks. He knows the connotations it holds and he doesn’t want anyone to be afraid they’d put something in it. If he wants you to test out their truth serum or a love potion, he’ll just ask you flat out and if you don’t want to, he’s not going to continue asking. 

Most of the detentions Fred has gotten from Snape come from times he’s spoken back to him when Snape’s been giving another student a rough time. He doesn’t regret it one bit. 

 If you ask Fred what his proudest accomplishment is, he’ll probably say that it’s having had enough restraint to not punch Umbridge in the face every time he saw her. 

On the note of Umbridge. It wasn’t her detentions with him that got his blood boiling, it was when she punished little kids (a la Nigel) for doing practically nothing, he understands that to an extent and by comparison, setting off a bunch of fireworks inside a building would harbour a harsher punishment, but making twelve-year-olds bleed for running in the halls or playing music or just doing things that twelve-year-olds will inevitably do, is something Fred doesn’t understand. That year pretty much any kid younger than him, or anyone who was too afraid to stand up for themselves, became Fred and George’s little siblings, and they’re very protective older brothers. Umbridge can vouch for that. 

He struggles with a lot of insecurity in his relationships, he always puts on a front of being extra funny and outgoing when he’s in a new relationship because he’s secretly afraid that the way he is isn’t good enough and that eventually, his s/o will see through him and leave because they don’t like the softer, more serious side of him. 

Fred is the godfather of all of George’s kids but is also the godparent of Hugo, Lily and Lucy. 

Fred loves business meetings, he sees them as a good challenge to practice his smooth talk. 

Fred spent his first salary from the shop on the most expensive bottle of champagne he could find and a new suit. 

Fred tried to get into whiskey, feeling like it’d make him a cool business owner type of man, so, with his second salary, he went out and bought a fancy-schmancy bottle of whiskey and the whole getup with a bottle and some cool glasses, and then invited Lee over to try it with him and George. 

They did not like it. Fred thought it tasted like what he imagined gasoline tastes like so they mostly used it as decorations, not having the heart to mix it with something. 

Fred doesn’t necessarily like PDA, it depends on what you mean. He likes being secretive. Pulling his s/o into an empty classroom, nook, hallway, secret pathway etc where anyone could wander in at any time and snogging her senseless is one of his favourite things to do. 

Fred knows how good he looks in his quidditch uniform and will absolutely use it against his s/o. (they’re gonna get spicy from here on so read with caution if you're in public)

Fred prefers giving more than receiving oral. 

He has a lot of energy, did you not think that would rub off (no pun intended) on his sex drive? He can go pretty much any time and place, and typically last at least two rounds. 

Also, his favourite position is having you on top. Okay, I'm gonna stop now. 

[violetrose-art]

Corpse Bride Headcannons, Theories, and Ideas

This is just a list of the theories, headcannons, and ideas I came up with for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. I might add more later on, so watch out

-Victor and Victoria were born and raised in a small English village close to the Atlantic Ocean called Burtonsville

-Victor’s full name is Victor Ichabod Van Dort

-When he was about four years old, Victor found Scraps as a mixed-breed puppy in an alleyway. Nell and William refused at first, but William saw how his son quickly became attached to the dog, so he let him stay. Sadly, when Victor turned eight, Scraps was brutally mauled and tragically killed while trying to defend his beloved owner from a bigger, nastier dog

-Victor’s favorite toy as a child was a stuffed horse he called Usher. He begged his mother to let him keep Usher until he was fourteen

-Victor learned to play the piano when he was about five years old. He was a fast learner and he picked up on it very quickly, and his tutor was greatly impressed by his skill. His favorite musicians are Mozart and Beethoven

-Victor works as an artist to draw many types of butterflies for the Lepidoptera Community, as well as a professional pianist. Originally, his father wanted him to work as a fish merchant and take over the family business, but Victor politely told him “no thanks” because he wanted to follow his own dreams. William was disappointed, but deep down he wanted his son to be happy. So he usually encouraged him, especially when Nell wasn’t around

-Outside from his butterfly works, Victor does paintings during his free time at home. The color theory that he studied was written by Eugene De La Croix·         Victor has been drawing since he was a child. His favorite things to draw are animals, butterflies, and other insects. He also does landscapes and people sometimes. He also likes to write sometimes, mostly a few poems and a couple musical compositions. Nothing he took too seriously, though. He also likes to sing when he thinks he’s alone

-In his childhood, Victor used to have a somewhat regular playmate named Humphrey. They were almost friends, but when William’s business became very successful and Victor’s family became rich when Victor was about eleven, Humphrey stopped coming over and the two boys haven’t seen each other since

-When he was a boy, he learned how to speak French because his mother thought it was “high-class” to be bilingual. Victor was diligent in his studies and thus has a good knowledge of spoken and written French. He may not be perfectly fluent, but he can carry on a decent conversation

-Victor is severely allergic to walnuts and poison oak

-Victor had a cousin named Mary whom he was very fond of, but she passed away when she was seventeen and he was six. She got lost in the woods and was attacked and devoured by a pack of wolves

-Victor doesn’t drink anything more than the occasional glass of champagne or wine. The reason? Mayhew once got him drunk and it turns out Victor is a CHATTY drunk. As in, he’ll tell you his life story at the slightest provocation. Victor was so embarrassed when he sobered up that he nearly swore off all alcohol forever. It’s very unlikely he’ll ever knowingly get wasted again·         After he and Victoria were finally married, Victor gained confidence and he stood up against Victoria's parents earning him some respect

-Victor HATES smoking. He was secretly offered a cigarette from Mayhew when he was fourteen and after the first inhale, he was coughing and gagging so much that he nearly threw up

-Victor is the tallest member of the Van Dort family, making him stand out quite a bit during family reunions

-He may not be a sporty person, but Victor enjoys cycling. He also loves a good game of chess

-Victor adores reading. His favorite writers are William Blake, Charles Baudelaire, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allan Poe, and William Shakespeare

His favorite books are “Les Miserables”, “Dracula”, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and other works by E.A. Poe. The play/book that he hates the most is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” because he strongly dislikes this style of a love triangle in the plot line. He also has a fascination with penny dreadful. Yes, he knows the serial stories are really nothing but lowest common denominator trash, but he loves them anyway. He got hooked on them as a teenager thanks to Mayhew’s nephew, and he used to keep a secret stash under his mattress

-When she still rather young, Victor noticed that his daughter, Emily, became very interested in music, so he taught her how to play the piano as well as the violin

-Victoria was the one who taught her son, Edward, how to read and they bond over books and stories they both enjoy

-The worst day of Victor’s life happened about three weeks after Scraps died. Victor’s parents had some business friends over for tea, and forced a still-grieving Victor to come down and be social. Poor Victor made a bad impression, being quieter and clumsier than normal, culminating in knocking over one man, tripping his wife, and insulting said wife’s coat in apologizing. Nell, humiliated and enraged, turned on her son once the guests were off, screaming at him about what an embarrassment he was while they were still standing on the front steps. Victor was so horrified, embarrassed, and depressed that he came too close to taking his own life. He got his hands on his father’s straight-razor, snuck into the bathroom, and actually had it to his neck when a noise from outside the bathroom spooked him and he dropped the razor and ran back to his room as fast as he could. Fortunately, the distraction gave him time to realize suicide wouldn’t fix anything, and he made a promise to himself never to stoop that low again. His parents also apologized the next day, which helped a lot. Victor avoids telling anyone about it unless he feels he has to, certain they’ll think less of him for it

-Victor was born June 9th, 1867

-Victoria’s full name is Victoria Elizabeth Everglot

-When she was very little, Victoria had always wanted a pet (like a cat or a small dog) but her mother said that having a pet in the house was uncivilized and improper and that all animals were filthy and uncouth creatures

-Victoria’s favorite hobby is sewing and knitting. She often designs most of her husband’s clothes and others in her spare time

-As a child, Victoria tried to be closer to her parents, but often found the family maid Hildegarde as more of a mother figure

-Victoria loves to read in her spare time… even though most people call it scandalous for a woman to do such a thing. Her mother even said reading was too passionate for a young lady. At a young age, Hildegarde, taught Victoria how to read (something her parents never found out about)

-Her favorite books are “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “A Christmas Carol”, and any classic fairy tale. And her favorite writers are Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, and the Brothers Grimm

-Victoria’s favorite toy as a child was a china doll she called Miss Liddie. By the time she was about eleven, she had grown out of it. Even though she knows she’s too old for toys now, she still misses Miss Liddie

-Victoria isn’t allergic to anything, but she does tend to sneeze if dust is in the air

-When she was a little girl, Victoria was nearly trampled by a horse-drawn carriage, which made her develop a slight fear of horses

-Victoria likes to sing whenever she thinks she’s alone. She doesn’t believe it, but she has a surprisingly lovely singing voice

-When she was a little girl, Victoria was entranced by the piano in her house and she immediately wanted to learn how to play but her mother had told her daughter many times that music was improper and too passionate for a young lady. But Victor always tells his wife that music is a wonderful way to express oneself and that he would be more than happy to teach her how to play

-Victoria used to have a regular playmate named Gwyneth in her girlhood. They were good friends, but when Victoria reached her pre-teen years, Gwyneth stopped coming over to play for some reason and she never heard from her since

-Victoria is the most beautiful member of the Everglot family

-When she was in her early teens, Victoria secretly dreamed of becoming a writer someday

-Victoria was born February 3rd, 1868

-Victor and Victoria had two children. Their names are Emily Alice Van Dort (age 15) and Edward Daniel Van Dort (age 10)

-When Victor and Victoria were married, they moved out of their parents houses and bought a beautiful two story house that sat at the edge of a large meadow that was right next to the forest… plus, the house was a good mile or so away from Burtonsville

-The Corpse Bride’s full name is Emily Charlotte Cartwell

-Emily was born into a wealthy family. Her parents, Lord and Lady Cartwell, couldn’t say ‘no’ to their daughter and they practically gave her everything she asked for, so she became incredibly spoiled, selfish, and incredibly naïve·         Emily was a hopeless romantic, often spending time reading romance novels and daydreaming about her wedding when she was alive

-When she was alive, Emily was blonde

-When she made it to Heaven, Emily was finally reunited with her mother and father

-When their daughter disappeared, Lord and Lady Cartwell were so sad and depressed that they wasted away and passed away in their sleep

-Before ascending, Emily considered Bonejangles to be one of her best friends. They used to sing and dance together all the time. He even taught her how to play the piano

-When she was alive, Emily knew how to ride horses. She even had a pet white mare she called Aphrodite

-Emily Cartwell died at age eighteen

-Lord Barkis’s full name is Barkis Finbar Campbell Bittern

-Emily met Lord Barkis while she was on an outing with her parents. Her parents had their backs turned while Emily was talking with Barkis. After only a few minutes of talking, she was instantly smitten with him and she accepted his immediate proposal of marriage… and her mother and father were not happy about it at all. Emily and her father had a huge fight and she decided to elope with Barkis… but for her, it didn’t go as planned

-Barkis told her that if they were going to be together, they would need money. Emily wasn’t sure, but in the end, she agreed

-On the night she was running away, Emily stole not only her mother’s wedding dress, veil, gloves, and best shoes, but she also stole the jewels from her mother’s jewelry box and a large bag of gold from her father’s office

-As Emily was waiting for her fiancé that night, Barkis snuck up behind her, stabbed her, knocked her out cold, took all of her money and jewels, and buried her alive. She woke up in a shallow grave and tried to claw her way out before suffocating to death. That's why her hand was sticking out of the ground

-Barkis was married six times in his life. He and his first wife were married out of love until he found her cheating on him and killed her. The second was an elderly widow for her money. The third one got away before he could even hurt her, but she drowned herself in a deep, rushing river. The fourth was a drunken lonely woman who “accidentally” fell out of a two story window. The fifth being Emily and the sixth being Victoria

-In the Land of The Dead, Barkis was brutally beaten and ripped apart before he was imprisoned in an iron coffin chained seven feet underground with other criminals like him for all eternity

-After he ran away, Barkis studied linguistics in French, Latin, German, and Russian in order to impress others… or use different fake accents to fool them with

-Barkis’s original first name was Bradford and he had a rough upbringing. His father was a violent alcoholic and his mother was a reckless prostitute and they both abused Bradford as a child until he ran away from home at age sixteen and changed his name to Lord Barkis

-Barkis has a twin sister who had a son named Hector. Hector greatly looked up to his uncle and when he heard about what happened to Barkis, he was taken aback, but he also felt he could use that to his advantage. When he turned 30, Hector came to Burtonsville to exact revenge on the Van Dort family… but he also developed a vile infatuation with Emily. Whenever he tries to woo the young girl (which always fails since Emily finds him repulsive and cruel), Victor gladly steps in the way every time and he always sternly tells Hector to stay away from his daughter

-Mrs. Van Dort’s full name is Eleanor Minerva Fitzackley Van Dort

-Nell came from a lower class family. She lived with her father, mother, and three sisters. However, Nell wasn’t happy with her place in society and she wanted to became something more

-Nell and William first met when she was caught in the rain one stormy day and he offered her a ride home in his fish merchant carriage. She declined at first, but quickly gave in when it started to bucket down. As they rode together, they started chatting and soon became very interested in one another

-Nell and William made their way back to the village just in time to witness Emily's soul disappear into the night as a swarm of blue butterflies

-When she learned about Mayhew’s death, Nell quietly wept in her room about it. She might be overbearing, but deep down, she truly does care for the ones closest to her. She also adores her husband and son, even if she does find them a bit irritating. She just has a hard time showing her emotions

-Mr. Van Dort’s full name is William Oscar Van Dort

-William loves talk about fish and his business, he always tries to weasel in the topic whenever possible to his wife and son's annoyance

-William used to take Victor on fishing trips when he was younger, which practically bored Victor to death

-While he tends to be the more passive one in their relationship, William does put his foot down when the situation calls for it

-It may not seem like it, but William adores Victor and he tries to do whatever he can to be there for his son

-When Victor turned sixteen, William gave him a silver pocket watch with a design of a fish on the front and his initials

-Lady Everglot’s full name is Maudeline Hortense Glottberg Everglot

-Maudeline and Finis didn’t plan on having a child in the first place and Victoria came as more of a surprise

-Maudeline had a sister named Marie who loved playing the piano. They didn’t get along in their youth and they drifted apart as they grew up. Maudeline wasn’t even invited to Marie’s wedding to Lord Frederick Cartwell

-When Marie died, she left her piano to her sister, but Maudeline never touched it. She felt it brought back too many memories and forbade Victoria from going near it was well

-Lord Eveglot’s full name is Finis Augustus Everglot

-While he was disappointed in not having a son, Finis deeply cares for his daughter. He just doesn’t know how to show it

-Even though they’re not good at sharing their feelings, Maudeline and Finis do care for each other to some extent

-Hildegarde has lots of grandchildren and she visited their home in the countryside as often as she could before she passed away

-When he was alive, Bonejangles was a freelance jazz musician from America and his original name was Dexter. He was finishing a gig in England when he died in a horrible carriage accident (he was run over), which also caused him to lose his eyeball

-General Bonesapart and General Wellington were actually General Napoleon Bonaparte and English General Wellington, two real historical figures. However, even though they hated each other at first, they became real pals eventually

-Although they don't say it out loud, people in Burtonsville make fun of Maudeline's hair cut, calling her names like "Rump Head" or "Hairmungus"

-Elder Gutknecht is one of the many Afterlife Lords, responsible for managing the dead after they pass. Among them include God, the Devil, King Vince, Hades, Hel, Osiris, Odin, Freya, and, the Hindu God Yama

-The Underworld is actually thousands of miles underground and due to the magic surrounding it. Mortals can't access it unless they die themselves

-After his death, Mayhew kicked the habit of smoking altogether and is very glad he did

-Elder Gutknecht has a fearsome Hellhound by the name of Infernius, his fierce and ever loyal pet. He guards the entrance to the Land of the Dead and can breathe fire that heats up to 900 degrees

-The fellow who was cut cleanly in half was an English gentleman by the name of Herman, who lived in Burtonsville years before. He ended up meeting his death due to an accident involving a rather large guillotine

-Generals Bonesapart and Wellington are the leaders of army of the Land of the Dead, but are only called into combat in times of great peril

-The people of Burtonsville sometimes call Lord Everglot “Everglut” behind his back

-Victoria has a cousin by the name of Dolores. Dolores is something of a freeloading con artist who moved to America when she left home. She considers herself a very attractive woman, but she just wears too much makeup and rather revealing clothes and is actually rather sleazy in reality. She also smokes, which Victoria and the rest of the Everglots are strongly against

-When he was alive, Elder Gutknecht used to be a wise sage that helped people in their time of need. He passed away when he reached the age of 102

-The Everglots were a family of nobles with a significant amount of money, but due to a bit of excessive gambling (by Dolores), they lost almost everything

-Almost every member of the Everglot family is rather ugly due to bad genetics. Victoria considers herself very, VERY lucky to have not inherited such genes (she unknowingly received her natural beauty from her late Aunt Marie)

-Pastor Galswells was raised in a strict environment. He was taught that kindness was weakness and to be stern and firm with everyone. He passed away shortly after the official wedding of Victor and Victoria and a new pastor took his place. His name is Pastor Ivan Blackthorp and he’s much kinder and friendlier than Galswells ever was

-The reason Victor named his dog Scraps was because he only ate table scraps

-The people of Burtonsville have a secret inside joke about the squatty walk Finis Everglot does where they assume that he would jump like a toad and snatch up a fly at any moment

-Burtonsville is well known for its raven population and there's an old legend saying they're messengers to the Land of the Dead

-For some weird reason, William Van Dort is known to mutter the words "Fishy, fishy, fish" in his sleep and it honestly creeps Nell out

-Paul, the decapitated head waiter, was actually a French man who served Marie Antoinette during her reign. Unfortunately, he was unjustly executed by association with the queen when the French Revolution broke out and he was never able to find his body after he died

-Several people have assumed Maudeline's hair is an actual wig and she's bald under it… only to be mistaken, resulting in a whooping

-Lord Barkis was a master of disguise in life and was never caught by the police as a result

-The Underworld has a prison known as the Iron Tomb and it holds some pretty infamous inmates who include Bluebeard, Caligula, Henry VIII, Mary I of England, and many more

-The Town of Burtonsville was actually built on an ancient burial ground, which is possibly why the Land of the Dead is connected to it

-After her death, Emily was made the official guardian angel of the Van Dort family

This is all I've got so far, but feel free to tell me what you think and tell me which one is your favorite

[callistolivia]

Lilith in the Birthchart

“Within Black Moon Lilith, we find a woman’s turmoils and fears, the balance between how people see women and how we wish to see women, the internal and external rejection of womanhood, absurd reactions and compensations to actively change perception (transformation), the snake. Lilith isn’t of lust, isn’t a creature, demon, seductress, witch, nor Adam ex-wife... She is purely a metaphor of young womanhood and coming to terms with woman’s fears and desires; the uniqueness of the female experience.” Look at this post here for my full interpretation of Black Moon Lilith.

I realize this post, as well as my other post on Lilith, plus other posts I’ve done on feminine asteroids, will be controversial to a lot of people as it heavily focuses on women/feminine experience. To me, I think the astrological placement of Lilith (among other certain placements) hold particular importance to the female experience. So I pardon my blatant exclusion of male experience and I can imagine that a lot of the themes I am describing can work in a male’s birth chart. The psychological history behind Lilith has strong connections to female representation which is why I interpret it this way. With that all said, everyone has both masculine and feminine energies working within their chart which is to be remembered. 

Black Moon Lilith in the Birthchart

Interpret by house first, as the house Lilith is in uncovers more of the whereabouts to its themes in your life. Though, by sign will also uncover themes, especially in a strong sign such as Scorpio. Aspects to Lilith can also indicate the condition of the affected house.

I House/Aries  Lilith here is on the forefront and becomes an integral part of the individual’s identity. Its as if Inanna herself is personified in the individual (especially true if Lilith conjuncts the ascendant!) and she is on a quest to carve her throne in the Huluppu tree. The fears enveloped here revolve around being true to oneself and having an authentic feminine experience in their lifetime. There are also fears of being perceived in an unfavoured way and others making poor assumptions about the individual. These individuals will go through many trials of what is means to be a woman, especially in very pivotal moments of their life. They’re going to go through many moments of questioning their identity and will likely struggle at times to accept that they are perfect just the way they are. These individuals may go out of their way to seek validation for who they are and these outlets aren’t always good (especially if Lilith is ill-aspected). Natural attractiveness is common for individuals with this goddess placement, but they should be wary of this power to draw energies force (Some already are and may even fear attraction of others, especially when its for superficial reasons). It’s important for the individual to stay with the right crowd and not worry so much about their authenticity as it comes more naturally than they think. 

II House/Taurus  Lilith in the house regarding value explores themes of self-value. Lilith at its worst here can manifest in issues dealing with body image; the individual may have trouble loving their body and neglect to care for it. The individual’s relationship with food and nutrition can be particularly troublesome, especially if Lilith is ill-aspected here. Compensation is another theme to follow as a consequence to issues dealing with self-value. The individual may compensate in areas where they feel inadequate with themselves by material means. Spoiling oneself, food, money, beauty, extreme alteration, or anything to mask one’s true self are all second house compensations Lilith looks for to feel better, worthy, or secure in this world. Remarkably, the individual’s capacity for transformation is great. If they can heal their wounds and fears around the value of themselves, they can redirect that perception of unreachable perfection into their work. Artists in particular can benefit from this redirection of energy. It’s really important for these individuals to navigate away from material things giving them importance to this world; every material thing they think they need is really just a compensation for something they failed to see within themselves that has always been there.

III House/Gemini  Lilith here resembles a tale of trickery, when the goddess Inanna intoxicates “lord of wisdom,” Enki into giving her all of his knowledge and wisdom. Symbolically, Lilith holds all of truth, wisdom, and knowledge here. Particularly the theme of women holding knowledge and the empowerment in that is strong here as well. Individuals with this placement tend to be cunning; this placement is comparable to Mercury-Pluto or Mercury-Moon aspects. Lilith speaks through the individual, some of what the individual has to say evokes fear, though there is just as much power to negate and heal fear as well. Lilith here at its worst can make individuals liars and manipulators, at its best unravellers of mysteries and forecomings of truth. Since the third house has rulership over siblings and early education, this placement can have a “coming-of-age” theme to it. Often the fears and anxieties the individual has is stems from observing their siblings and peers go through their struggles at a young age and they reflect on what that means for them (especially for young girls). Some of these fears and insecurities from their youth stick with them and they continue to ponder their adolescence as an adult. These individuals tend to have a fixed perception (especially true if the third house is occupied by a fixed sign) of womanhood and aren’t afraid to speak their mind about it. They are easily disgusted and troubled by observing others with opposing perspectives. With that said, some of these individuals tend to be hypocritical and aren’t aware of it. The individual may need to learn to be more of a safe-haven for open discussion to work through their insecurities. 

IV House/Cancer  Lilith presenting itself in the first of the three soul houses demonstrates ancestral fear, turmoils, and mysteries. Often these individuals fears start out very subconsciously and are developed from witnessing other family members (maternal figures especially) go through something traumatic. Witnessing their mother struggle through their own perceptions of what it means to be a woman in this world has a tremendous effect on the individual, especially at a young age; it often shapes how the individual will view themselves and their place in the world. It can also make the individual have many preconceived ideas on motherhood, domestic life, and relationships between parents based on being their mother’s observer in their youth. If the relationship between the individual and their maternal figure(s) isn’t good, it can be difficult to address and heal these traumas. Sometimes these individuals can be total estranged from their maternal figures and have an unclear idea of what their stories are; many secrets can be kept from the individual and there can be a bit of loss in identity (e.g. no feminine guidance in youth/how to be feminine/rejection of femininity). The individual’s household can sometimes be a reflection of their inner turmoils, they may neglect making it their safe space or they see it as a cause to a lot of their issues. Lilith here can also express itself in a form of past life karma or a karmic cycle the individual may be in. The individual needs to work through what their fears, turmoils, and angers are tied to in order to break this cycle. 

V House/Leo  Lilith here is a trial of what a woman is allowed to do. Since the fifth house rules over creations and pleasures, there is a lot of experimentation in just that. The individuals feel as though push their limits and test the waters in everything because the world is antagonistic towards their identity. Their fear is being casted into an archetype; at an early age they would be introduced to concepts of how the world perceives the role of femininity. A lot of their behaviour can be excessive or reckless, especially in their youth. There is a tendency towards promiscuousness especially; they’re putting the two feminine archetypes on trial and attempting to destroy the notion that you can only be of the two based on what you do; the virgin Mary or the prostitute. Though a noble intention, these individuals can often be misguided with their excessive behaviours. They spend too much energy on trying to prove something to the world about their being when they don’t need to. Lilith here has the capacity to transform and redirect this noble energy into creative efforts. Artists can benefit with this placement as their creations are often thought provoking and, in essence, demonstrate trials of femininity. The creative expression of Lilith here is much more healing, gratifying, and gains more positive recognition. Lilith here can also indicate either the choice of not having children or that the individual’s child will be very Lilithian in nature.

VI House/Virgo  Lilith here presents itself irrationally, particularly, and sporadically. Though the individual doesn’t feel Lilith’s influence on a constant, it can be experienced on a day to day basis temporarily while doing minute or seemingly regular things. The fears brought upon here correlate to injury or illness (diseases, losing limbs, loss of function, etc.). These individuals find themselves irrationally thinking of the “what ifs” of rather normal situations. It should be stressed though, that often these individual’s fears are often not debilitating, just invasive and vivid. However, a strong 6th house/Virgo influence coincide with Lilith being there can indicate some obsessive compulsive behaviours and just in general lots of situations where the individual feels the need to do something a certain way to negate harm. The other prominent theme of Lilith here is a women’s experience in the working world. The transition between a young, inexperienced woman to an experienced one is a pivotal moment in Lilith’s expression here. There may be many difficulties, assumptions, and fears correlated to getting work, job experience, and moving up in their field. The individual’s fears often are related to feeling inadequate based on their identity, presumptions about themselves, and inhibitions because of their heightened awareness that their identity (especially for women, as a woman) places them in a particular way in the world. Their own perceptions of themselves are often the most inhibiting; the best way to transform and feel empowered with Lilith here is to be unapologetically yourself and take the world by surprise. 

VII House/Libra  In the seventh house, Lilith expresses fears of counterparts, peers, and juxtapositions. Lilith here usually hints to a tainted perception of relationships developed at a young age (e.g. abusive relationships firsthand or observed). The individual can be very suspicious and distrusting of close relationships and partnerships, they are very skeptical of others motives, especially of the opposite sex. This may be troublesome for the individual in relationships as they can be suspicious of their partner even with constant reassurance and stability. These issues can only be healed over time with positive, healthy relationships. Lilith in the seventh house is also troubled by their perception of themselves in comparison to others and vice versa. In particular, the conscious awareness of differences (and similarities) between genders and gendered experiences. Alternatively, Lilith here manifests as the individual’s reflection in others. The individual encounters people whose stories inspire things within their identity they’ve failed to see before. The mirror Lilith presents to the individual can be empowering and beautiful or destructive and ugly. When the individual chooses to surround themselves with empowering and inspiring individuals, it will bring out the good Lilith has to offer, especially for female experiences. 

VIII House/Scorpio  Lilith presenting itself in the second of three soul houses demonstrates yet again, a level of ancestral fear, turmoils, and mysteries. Fears experienced on a more conscious level, but run as deep as their soul. Often their fears revolve around sexuality and severe distrust of other people’s motives. It’s very difficult for these individuals to ignore harsh realities and they may even go out of their way to witness gruesome things which awakens outrage within. These individuals can view sex and intimacy as something traumatic and have a difficult time opening up to their partners; intimacy requires a tremendous amount of trust. Even when that trust is gained, there can be a deeply rooted discomfort in being viewed in a lustful manner. They can be very hateful towards the opposite sex and protective of their own. These individuals hate (or fear) to appear small or vulnerable and may even act dominant or controlling in relationships. These individuals need to work towards trusting others in order to let go of the grip Lilith has here. Another theme Lilith expresses is a fear of death, fear of knowing, and fear of the occult. This can be especially difficult for a person who is psychically sensitive. The individual may go out of their way to inhibit or block their own gifts due to the fear of it showing something they were not prepared for. Again, trust is a big aspect of overcoming these fears, but also knowledge and perceptiveness to know how to keep oneself from harm. 

IX House/Sagittarius  Lilith in the ninth house carries some of the same themes as Lilith in the third, however the difference is that instead of fixed perceptions on womanhood, their perceptions are more like beliefs and morals. They think their beliefs are imperative and the highest of truths which ultimately can be dogmatic and misguided. Their fixed beliefs are usually rooted from fear and superstition. They can be just as hypocritical as Lilith in the third too, especially when their consciousness isn’t clear (drugs or alcohol or any sort of substance abuse involved). Inner insecurities need to be addressed and healed to have a more rational perspective on life. There is a hyperfixation on the higher learnings of womanhood, some of these individuals can become reclusive; some women with this placement even opt to not marry. These individuals find empowerment in independence. Lilith at its best here can become a teacher to others, particularly beneficial for people interested in women’s studies and women’s health; however these individuals should be wary of their biases and their perceptions that are deeply rooted in their personal experiences thus far. Themes of feminine ritual take place here as well, which is in part of their tendency to superstition. Individual’s ritualism is developed at a young age and becomes a prominent part of their truth and reality as an adult.

X House/Capricorn  Lilith here can be rather difficult for the female experience. The themes brought upon here are a lot to do with the public’s speculation of the individual. These individuals tend to have a seemingly easy-breezy path towards the top of their field, in fact, one might say the top of their ambition drew them in as much as they drew it. However, Lilith here has a magnifying glass over it; the watchful eyes of the public seeing, judging, and speculating the individual’s every move. The individual may find themselves dealing with a lot of rumours about them, prosecution by association, misconceptions, unwanted drama, and assumptions. A lot of the troubles are correlated to society’s perception of how a woman should behave. The public sees the individual as the dark and mischievous version of Lilith, the public desires and feeds on that perception of the individual. As a result, the individual may purposefully act out or feel complete shame and go into hiding. Issues dealing with feeling vulnerable all the time because of their identity are very present within the individual. Lilith at its best here can make a notable feminine figurehead, the individual just needs to work on transforming the public’s perception of femininity as something empowering. The other theme with Lilith in the tenth house is potential issues with the paternal figure in the individual’s life. There’s potential that the paternal figure had a great impact on the core of individual’s feminine experience and perceptions in life. 

XI House/Aquarius  Lilith in the eleventh house deals with themes of the individual’s collective consciousness being at the core of their feminine experience. Collective consciousness usually meaning their friends; prominent, reality shaping experiences with their friends and peers at a young age are at the core of their insecurities, fears, and perceptions of feminine energy. This placement does demonstrate not so great relations with friends, especially female friends. In fact, that is Lilith in the eleventh house at its worst; bullying from female friends and the psychological damage from that. It’s very easy for individuals with this placement to alienate themselves from others based on negative experiences. At its best, collective consciousness can be beneficial for exploring and understanding femininity and female experience as a whole, but the individual with this placement will have to navigate through to find the right people, or their people. Individuals with this placement may be interested in helping others struggling with feminine identity and some of the struggles of womanhood as they are quite empathetic to that experience. Another theme with Lilith here is the value of platonic relations. Individuals with this placement struggle with the stage between a platonic relationship and blooming attraction. There’s a deep discomfort with it, especially if they value the relationship as just a friendship and nothing more. They can also be suspicious of the motives of new friendships, perhaps from deeply rooted insecurity or simply that they don’t want a romantic/sexual relationship. 

XII House/Pisces  Lilith presenting itself in the third and final soul house is completely unconscious; Lilith is asleep and almost absent here. Loss of feminine identity takes place here. Individuals with this placement will experience Lilith’s themes within their dreams and times of total darkness. Individuals with this placement aren’t always aware of their trauma, fears, or turmoils. There’s a chance something traumatic happened to them at a time they cannot remember or it’s something they blocked out entirely, but tends to haunts them within their dreams. These individuals tend to be very angry at themselves for things they cannot control and for things that are often not their fault. These individuals are also escapists; they are very susceptible to addiction or obsessive compulsive behaviours. Though, Most 12th house Lilith individuals escape through sleeping. Excessive sleeping, however, leads to guilt. These individuals fear death and don’t want to watch life pass them by. There’s a big theme here of push and pull; doing everything you can in life to not regret missing out and the absence of living life. Lilith here needs to seek balance and acceptance instead of pondering too much about what fate lies within them. The unconscious traumas within them need to be carefully addressed and healed as well to feel comfortable with their identity and place in this world (especially as a woman).

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 127: Out of the Fire

At first James thought the concussive, ear-splitting shrieking noise was coming from him. He knew he wanted to scream, but the air felt lodged in his throat now, because he couldn't see Sirius! Had he been vanished into an unknown abyss for dying in this future!?

They were in a very dark room and something massive was moving about, a sunset was forcing painful light into their eyes from cracks around the edges of heavy curtains only illuminating movement but no distinct shape. The rank smell of several unidentifiable things left him gasping and wheezing and he just kept flailing madly around, he wouldn't stop until he found him!

Something painfully tight latched onto his neck and forced him to bend over double, he shrieked in fury, trying to pull away and blindly going for his wand, but he couldn't find it! He must have dropped it when he landed-

"Prongs, stop, moving," Remus hissed in his ear with more stress than he ever would have believed him capable of, hand probably white-knuckled on his neck, he was holding so tight and suffocating him a bit, but it was obvious Moony didn't dare let up.

Heart still thudding, the maddening scene of Voldemort murdering his brother slowly ebbed from his eyes to really take in their surroundings.

Buckbeak finally began to calm now that all racket had deceased, but he was still clicking his beak in fury even as all of them edged as far away as they could bent double. He was standing much taller than usual, and James's eyes finally adjusted to see him perched on a bed. There was fresh hay and sawdust all around, plus a bag of dead rats sitting where the pillows should, leaning against a wooden frame like a mock bag of feed. There were deep scratches in the posts, ruining whatever design had once been inlaid, like Buckbeak often rubbed his sharp beak against it. The real problem of why he didn't go back to his meal came apparent when they saw all the blood around him wasn't from his food, but a deep cut in his front leg.

Sirius finally came into view, and James breathed in relief and tried to move towards him, but Remus kept him in the forced bow with bruising force as Padfoot began gently, "hey there buddy, wow that looks like a problem. I bet it hurts, how'd you manage that huh? Come here Buckbeak, come on, I promise I'll summon up whatever your favorite is if you let me have a look."

Maybe it was the gentle tone, maybe it was the familiarity of the person even if he was several years younger, in Remus's opinion it was just Sirius's innate ability to soothe anyone if he wanted to with that natural charisma when he unleashed it and nobody could resist. Regardless, Buckbeak finally folded his wings and made a pitiful cooing noise as he nudged his head against his shoulder and shuffled forward on three legs while Sirius kept up his inane chatter and carefully climbed up beside him, never moving to fast.

There were already some bandages and cotton balls waiting open and ready at the foot of the king sized bed, Sirius ruddy hoped someone was up here helping the poor thing out. He could now only wish it was himself though, it would be the most useful thing he'd ever done in his life at this point instead of- nope! He was doing it now, taking every care to keep chatting with the hippogriff as he cleaned the wound and wrapped it up tight. He didn't dare draw his wand to try anything else, these beasts were notoriously shy about magic in their presence.

The others began cautiously rising back to normal, and Buckbeak allowed it as Sirius began hand-feeding him from the bag of rats. His tail was still thrashing, binocular vision able to track everything on both sides of his head, but he remained at Sirius's side standing on the bed rather than trying to chase them off, which would do no good, he'd already seen Evans try the door out of the corner of his eye.

James tried edging forward, but Buckbeak spat a dead rat in his face, tearing up his bedding with his good claw as he heavily pawed the ground. Sirius reached up and pat his beak while catching James's eye with the most comforting smile he could offer. "Relax Prongs," his tone was still more honeyed than it had ever been speaking to his best mate, he usually reserved such a thing for teachers he was trying to flatter out of detention. It never worked on anyone but this hippogriff before. "I'm, I'm fine-"

He couldn't keep lying, his voice shook and his fingers began to tremble and the restless animal easily sensed his distress and began ruffling his feathers in unease. Sirius quieted himself and began running his hand along the gray feathers now, stopping to scratch in between the shoulder blades and the back of the neck, those hard-to-reach places that had him almost cooing with content and finally relaxing into him.

No, he was not fine. Of all the trouble he'd ever caused his friends, this was by far the most grievous one yet, now with Harry added to the mix! His godson, his poor godson forced to see this, live Voldemort's pleasure of murdering him! All because he couldn't do one stupid thing right and suck it up in this house. Perhaps he should take a page out of Wormtail's book and start distancing himself from them, give them all a break from his never ending catastrophes!

They watched in distress as Sirius worked himself up to a silent storm, he was clearly making the animal ill at ease as well no matter the affection given, so when Smith grabbed the book up off the ground and began reading, both startled badly yet again. Buckbeak threw his wings to their full extent and shrieked at her while Sirius flinched and had no time to duck, earning the retaliation of being thrown into the heavy curtains and sent them all on top of him, throwing the rest of the room into sharp relief.

Out of the Fire, into the frying pan, Remus finished in his head as he and James rushed forward to help untangle him while the powerful horse legs kicked wildly at the wall, sending a splintering noise in the very foundation while the bellowing shrieks began again.

Alice dropped the book and immediately bowed in apology, mildly appeasing the hippogriff enough he didn't lunge off the bed to attack her at least. He still didn't seem able to settle though, making a keening noise of longing and clicking his beak as he began pacing restlessly on the bed.

It was the most splendid thing in here. The midnight walls had silvery threads in the design up to the ceiling like veins that seemed to seep right down to the canopy that was torn to shreds, but the grandeur ended there. Regulus had only been in here once to even know such a thing was in his parents' room, otherwise it was unrecognizable as all of their things had vanished. They were forbidden from entering, but obviously that hadn't stopped Sirius's purge of the house, which of course made perfect sense why Sirius had put his ruddy pet up here.

His brother smiled, just a bit when his mates got him back on his feet and he realized the same of his own destruction. Regulus longed to throw at him it was doing shit like this why he brought so much of his own troubles on himself, he'd never really tried to make peace with mum and dad. Instead he seemed to go out of his way to do things they dislike just to complain that they hated him.

Regulus cringed at the idea of going back and attempting the same. He'd never be so blatant and in their face at it as his brother, but he didn't much like the idea of them shouting at him the way they did Sirius if he told them he had other plans for his life. He still longed for some kind of peaceful balance.

Potter and Lupin both seemed reluctant to let him back out of arm's length, but the creature refused to settle until Sirius got back on the bed with him and snapped dangerously at anyone who tried to join him. Sirius offered him another rodent carcass and waited until he'd gnashed away at it before nodding back at Smith with that calm aloof air once more he was so familiar with, it was impossible to tell what he was really thinking when he shut down like that, just how they were raised. Mother may actually be proud of him at that moment.

Now his idiot brother was going to die because he'd been in this house too long and refused to listen to anyone, but at least he'd have someone around to notice like Harry and Lupin. The shock of it all felt like an insulting blow to his world view. Sirius was going to be murdered for doing the opposite of what he'd done, was there really no right answer?

She began again in an attempt at a soothing tone like his, and though the bird head was tossed in agitation, he didn't throw his companion aside again but allowed the noise as it did him no harm and her voice was very soft, with fear. She read with dread of poor Harry's panic as he tore off for the Hospital Wing for McGonagall, who wasn't there. She'd been transferred to St. Mungo's.

Harry only had Snape to turn to for help, and that idea didn't seem to be occurring to him as his friends caught up and he had to explain the whole maddening concept to them.

Regulus listened with pity for Harry having to live through this, but something else was ebbing to the surface as he watched the Potter in here. Envy. Sirius kept looking to him, offering him that carefree smile as he kept patting at the beast and even winking at Lupin like this was some joke, making silly faces and even starting to hum a tune under his breath as he continued scratching at the animal, and when he wasn't doing that he was just the haughty Black heir. For all anyone could tell his godson was out having a picnic with him. It was a very good farce a lesser person would have fallen for.

Sirius didn't even look at him. Not to gloat this was the proper way to go against the Dark Lord, not to sneer and mock him for being up in this room he shouldn't be or even to have a laugh about it. He'd known for a very long time now James Potter was his brother's equal in a way he never could be, but this hadn't felt quite so insulting until this very moment where he clearly wasn't even going to be a passing blip as his brother was probably over there pondering what his last thoughts would be.

Frank had his hands on Alice's waist as she read, holding her close as her voice trembled for Harry's pain. They didn't even know Sirius, not really, they felt they had a better understanding of the man he'd become through Harry than the teenager who seemed so determined to ignore the proceedings.

Their aching sympathy though didn't dim their downright confusion at the circumstances. He caught Lily's eyes and saw the same confused expression as she watched him, Hermione's pertinent questions that had no effect on Harry had the three of them very worried something about this wasn't feeling right.

Sirius shouldn't have been leaving this home for this plan to be possible, but this was the same man who'd broken out of Azkaban, that part wasn't so unbelievable no matter who told him what. Why would You-Know-Who need him to get this weapon though? That was a very stumping question, and one they hoped they weren't privy to. If Harry dipped back into the other's mind and heard, the answer would give no relief to these transgressions.

Ron's answer was, plausible, but one look at Regulus didn't make it hold much weight. He'd been killed very soon after his entrance, it seemed laughable he'd even been in You-Know-Who's presence, let alone had some key of knowledge.

Ginny and Luna arriving stopped the impending argument, Harry was so desperate with anger by now that it was a miracle a plan was agreed by all to use Umbridge's fireplace to check this out.

The only one he spoke to for his troubles was Kreacher, laughing about the entire painful situation. Sirius really wasn't there, and now they may get a live version of hearing the great and mighty Black turn out like them if he was tortured while Harry was forced to watch. Neville now being in the very room with them nearly made reality splinter before their eyes.

Lily finally dragged her eyes off of James Potter's white face and buried her own away in her hands so she didn't have to see his reaction when Harry finally remembered Severus Snape was a member of the Order. She didn't even believe anymore he would have helped Harry, she didn't believe much of anything anymore. Here she was, nearly crying in sorrow for these two and only able to imagine her poor son losing someone again, and hating her best friend, what on Earth was this future? How could it be possible something like this could exist?

Something in her sparked traitorously as she looked back up when she heard him lying to Umbridge. Veritaserum was far from the only truth serum, and for him to pretend he wouldn't have any others was laughable. She turned mechanically back to Potter to see his silent screaming was still in full blast, but his wand was in Lupin's hand and he didn't even seem to care. Even the simple fact that he hadn't a reaction for Severus and only had eyes for his best friend felt right to her. If he'd gone about insulting him now, at a time like this, she'd know he was heartless. Instead she was now reasonably confident, almost hopeful again that Severus really was still in the Order for Dumbledore's secret reason rather than any plot of You-Know-Who's. Sev had no reason to lie to Umbridge and help Sirius anymore than he would Harry, but that's exactly what he was doing.

Harry seemed to miss this revelation, he watched his potions teacher go with the purest loathing once more, and she couldn't blame him, after everything Snape had done to her boy. She wrapped her arms around herself as if torn in two. Was this just another false wish then? She still wanted to see in him that childhood friend? It didn't excuse what he'd called her, but maybe if he really saved Sirius Black's life it would show he wanted to change...

Alice nearly shrieked and wanted to throw the book away from herself when Umbridge's next solution was to use the torture curse on Harry. Buckbeak was still no calmer in the heavy environment and glowered at her, but Sirius was quick to keep his attention, a murmuring promise of more spoils for him as soon as he could. He was starting to lose his composure though, they could all see the cracks now. He wasn't even looking at his best mate anymore, his fingers were trembling in the soft texture and his hair was covering most of his face.

The two had once been each other's salvation in escaping Hogwarts, Sirius fought the mad desire to try so now. Throw open that window and ride off into the sunset on the back of the hippogriff, maybe animals could come and go from this nightmare.

He knew he couldn't though, he felt like a coward for even thinking it. His friends might be better off without him, but damn it all, even Hermione was coming up with quite the story to Umbridge's face and got Harry out of that situation, the three of them heading off to the Forbidden Forest! If that girl, who hadn't even wanted to help him moments ago, thinking Harry was having some nightmare, could manage that, he'd suck it up and be there for them any way they wanted him.

[ghostbustershq]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Trailer 2 Full Breakdown

This is it, this is definitely it!

A meaty and goosebump-evoking trailer just dropped today for Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Much like the first trailer, the main focus of this is the family - forced to move to Oklahoma after falling on tough times. Janine, Terror Dogs, Mini Pufts, and Ghostbusting in motion as Jason Reitman has referred to it are all here. There’s a whole lot here to unpack, plus a whole lot that I’m sure we still haven’t seen. In fact, I would argue that we now have a pretty complete picture of what’s in store come November and are being shown just enough to tide us over until the fall.

This was a solid trailer. It hit all of the right notes. It invoked goosebumps on several occasions. And oh boy, does it demonstrate that Jason Reitman wasn’t kidding when he told us hardcore nerds that if we loved easter eggs, we were in for a treat.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

A GREAT MOM

The trailer begins with a very quiet and intimate bit of dialogue between Paul Rudd’s Mr. Grooberson and Carrie Coon’s Callie.

The two sit at a table, and while the trailer frames it to appear to be Spinners, a quick glimpse at the wall next to the two in a later shot shows they’re actually in a Chinese restaurant. In fact, I love that Grooberson has what looks to be one of the deluxe Benihana cocktails in a ceramic glass in front of him. Grooberson tells Callie that she’s a great mom, but she’s not so sure. Callie feels like she’s been a great mother to her oldest, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). But feels like her introverted daughter Phoebe (McKenna Grace) keeps her at a distance. There’s a sense that Callie and Phoebe can’t find much common ground, and for this her mother is struggling.

I really love how the trailer gently brings us into the world, helps set the stage, and gives us several glimpses of some of the incredible cinematography in store from Eric Steelberg.

AN AWKWARD, NERDY KID

Grooberson’s dialogue reassures Callie that what Phoebe is going through is normal. He calls her an “awkward, nerdy kid” to imagery of her at school being teased. Ghostbusters: The Video Game fans concerned about if the story and events from the game will somehow be referenced or acknowledged in some way will probably quickly notice the Doritos product placement. Hours of gameplay has trained them well.

Anyway, not only is Phoebe failing to connect with her mother on a deeper level, but it appears that she’s an outsider at school as well. It makes the friendship we know she’s to have with Podcast (Logan Kim) that much sweeter. And you feel for her right out of the gate here, hoping that she’ll find that friend as soon as possible.

Callie and Grooberson’s conversation comes to a conclusion with Phoebe’s mother just wishing, “she’d get into some trouble.” As her mother laments about her daughter needing to be bold and a little more adventurous, we see a continuation of the scene from the first trailer in which Phoebe solves a puzzle built into the floor of the farmhouse in order to find a hidden ghost trap. Perhaps Ghostbusting is exactly the trouble the young and brainy kid needs?

As we, the audience, see the familiar ghost trap, there’s quite literally a drum roll added to the music scoring of the trailer. Perhaps Ghostbusting is exactly the trouble we need too.

JANINE, YOU HAVEN’T CHANGED

The trailer continues with the Trevor dialogue we heard in the first trailer as he explains to Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) that they’re broke and the only thing they have is a “creepy old farmhouse” left to them by their grandfather. But that is the lead in to our first major surprise of the trailer: a glimpse of Annie Potts’ return as Janine Melnitz!

Janine jokes to Callie that her father wasn’t much of a homemaker. “He could hardly keep the power on,” Janine says with a chuckle. If there was any question of the family lineage, this trailer solidifies that Callie and her family are Spengler through-and-through.

It should be noted at this point that the quiet music that accompanied the beginning of the trailer suddenly has these eerie choral notes added to it. Adding a little bit of that paranormal/otherworldly feeling but keeping the trailer light and playful. I’m not sure if this is Rob Simonsen’s score, but if I had to guess given the way the music builds and shifts, this is an original music bed for the trailer only.

It’s also interesting to see how we’ll be able to revisit the past in the film by use of footage from the original (as seen in the YouTube videos playing on various computers) but also the use of one of my favorite set photography moments framed and displayed in the farmhouse presented as a personal photograph. I know, given how some people reacted to seeing a headshot of Sean Connery used in an Indiana Jones film, these types of touches can take people out of a film. But I think the trailer gives us a great idea of how these moments will be integrated and I love it.

The trailer takes a hard turn with a great back and forth between Callie and Janine. Callie tells Janine that it sounds like her father has left her nothing. Janine playfully retorts, “Well, I wouldn’t say nothing.” This line is masterfully juxtaposed with Trevor opening the barn doors to find the Ectomobile housed under a tarp. The music comes to a crescendo as Trevor lifts the tarp and reveals the Ghostbusters Mooglie logo.

Let’s call this goosebumps moment number one.

THE ONLY ONE WITH AN ENGINE

It’s this part of the trailer where it does something that’s a rarity these days, and that I appreciate so much: the music takes a breath and completely drops off to give us a small vignette of a scene from the film. Phoebe enters the barn to find Trevor working on the Ecto. She ribs him that, of all the broken down cars on the farm, he’s chosen “the station wagon.” Trevor responds that his vehicle of choice was the only one with an engine.

The music and percussion come back in full force to score Trevor on a joy ride through the wheat fields of the farm. He seems to be having a good time.

So am I… this was definitely goosebumps moment number two.

A STORM COMING

Act Two of the trailer starts with a dark and ominous storm coming into Sumerville. There’s trouble in small town Oklahoma. Grooberson reiterates his line about a town with no faultlines shaking on a daily basis to Trevor and Phoebe. Only this time, he receives a response: “Maybe it’s the apocalypse.” Phoebe delivers the line to Grooberson with such amazing deadpan earnestness that you can tell she and grandpa might have a whole lot in common. Including their sense of humor.

The line gives us a good chuckle to break the tension but also sets the stage for what’s to come in the trailer: exactly what Phoebe has predicted.

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

As Phoebe tells us that “Egon came here for a reason,” an archival piece of footage and dialogue from the first film plays on her laptop: the commercial playing on Dana Barrett’s television at 55 CPW. As the original Ghostbusters give you their sales pitch, this is where the trailer really kicks into modern trailer overdrive.

Flashes of imagery including the PKE meter, Mini Puft mayhem at Wal-Mart, and more quickly breathe in and out. In fact, if this trailer is our Christmas present in July, this is where we’re unwrapping and unpacking what’s inside the box.

But we also get glimpses of a creepy underground temple with some pretty intense architecture and even creepier statue work. Terror dog/human hybrid statues flanking what looks to be a pharaoh with wings. And gaunt peasants all reaching out to it all. Did Sumerians have pharaohs? Or is this something else? Certainly seems like if there were Gozer worshippers out there, this might be a stone tribute to them.

The kids discover the terrifying temple and Trevor gives us an “oh my god” to punctuate as they see what we see.

NICE DOGGY, CUTE LITTLE POOCH

Right about this part of the trailer is where my brain explodes and I’m not sure where to start. Imagery is rapid fire as the shit hits the fan.

Phoebe looks into a cauldron in the temple (where there’s numbers behind her that we’ll have to analyze further at some point). And the cork pops on the bottle. As she does so, there’s a terrifying growl in the background foreshadowing some familiar imagery we’re about to see.

But before we get to that, two incredible things are seen as well: familiar purple PKE trails that look a whole lot like those that explode from the firehouse and converge at Spook Central. And, as Grooberson’s line about New York City looking like “The Walking Dead” is repurposed to sound like he’s talking about Sumerville, there’s an incredible physical creature design sitting at a lunch counter. A half-decomposed cabbie maybe? Wearing a 1970’s collar and neckerchief. To my eye, I’d be willing to bet that’s the work of Arjen Tuiten and his team of creature designers. And it’d make Steve Johnson proud.

Plus it’s such a funny image of this corpse sitting at a lunch counter, and the waiter is pour him coffee like it ain’t no thing. I love it.

Back to man’s worst friend: the terror dogs make several appearances in the trailer. First as a cool half-manifested entity above Groobersen and again chasing the poor guy out of a Wal-Mart. Is Groobersen haunted by these things like Louis Tully? Or is something else going on here?

IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE, OF COURSE

If there was a moment that I expected Ray Parker Jr.’s iconic theme song to kick into full gear, this would have been it. The icing on the cake of the trailer, after we see the dead rising from the grave and all hell breaking loose, is Trevor, Phoebe and Podcast all in the Ecto chasing after what we now know is Muncher. The editorial of this is insanely cool. And we get to see the Remote Trap Vehicle (RTV) deployed from the Ecto and how it’s used in the pursuit of Muncher. We’ve seen the gunner seat, but the beats that this moment in the trailer hit, well…

Goosebumps moment number three.

VENKMAN, WE’RE NOT HOME

After all the debate among friends if there would be a “Chewie, We’re Home” moment in this trailer - where we’d see one of the original Ghostbusters live and in the flesh, we got the perfect tease. As Grooberson, Phoebe and Podcast watch the conclusion of the original 1984 ad, the trailer closes with a phone ringing inside a very familiar looking Occult Book shop.

Tattooed arms (I’ve tried with everything I can to see what the tattoo says) pick up the phone and the familiar voice of Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) curtly tells whomever is on the other end of that phone that, “We’re closed.” A perfect little tease if you ask me. Let’s save seeing Peter, Ray and Winston on-screen to the main event.

[themonotonysyndrome]

The Holy Quintet in Twisted Wonderland! (all 7 dorms - Part 5)

Our last girl, our favourite Goddess is finally here! Now it’s Madoka’s turn! I apologise for the delay. Work keep piling up, but I needed something to distract me so here we are! 

I also want to give a shout out to @lionheartanotheraccount​ for helping me out by sharing every bit of Madoka Magica info with me. You’re the best, Lion. I hope you know that. 

We have a discord where we gush about TW and discuss about this crossover. Come hang out if you want! 

https://discord.gg/K7bGwKK 

-

Kaname Madoka & the other dorms (except Diasomnia) 

HEARTSLABYUL!

Madoka’s first meeting with Riddle is not through Sayaka’s invitation for the Unbirthday Birthday or through school assignments. Rather, it involves a run a way horse and a basket full of apples. 

While helping Sebek search for a wandering Malleus, she came across Mami who was carrying two baskets full of ripe, shiny red and green apples. Courtesy of Epel, of course. 

Mami explains that once every month, the Felmier would send boxes of apples to Epel and since there was too much for him to eat, Epel often shared them with his dorm mates. 

And so Mami wanted to share a basket with Madoka. Madoka thanked her profusely and they parted ways. As she continues to search for Malleus, Madoka is already thinking of sharing the apples with Lilia and everyone else back at Diasomnia. 

Madoka’s search for Malleus brought her to a garden of beautiful roses. It’s only after she wanders inside for a few minutes that she realises that she’s unfortunately lost in a rose maze! 

Her saviour however, came in a form of a... horse. As in literally. As Madoka wandered deeper into the maze, hoping to find an exit, she heard the trotters of a horse and then a large, black stallion appear behind her. 

As a city girl, Madoka has never seen a horse this close before. Especially one that’s so huge! Honestly, the creature intimidates Madoka even when it tentatively approaches her. 

As both creatures warily observed one another, when the stallion nosed and nudge the basket of apples that Madoka was carrying, she broke out from her stupor. 

“Oh! Is Mr. Horse hungry? Do you want some apples?” Seeing how docile the stallion is, Madoka felt a little braver as she carefully offer a shiny red apple to it. When it started to feed from her hand, she notices that there was a riding saddle neatly strapped on the horse’s back. 

“Do you belong to someone, Mr. Horse?” Madoka wondered out loud as she continues to feed it apples. “I didn’t know that this school has horses! So cool...” Madoka then giggle when the stallion gently brushes its head against Madoka in an affectionate bump. 

It wasn’t long for the two to become friends (no longer intimidated, Madoka petted the stallion’s head and neck, cooing how its such a gentle and good horse while the stallion nip at her ribbons) until a running and panting Riddle appear. 

“Oh! You’re one of Sayaka’s friend.” Riddle didn’t expect Madoka - of all people - to loiter around Heartslabyul’s garden. Or being on her own. Usually Riddle would always see her with someone. 

“I-I’m sorry! I was searching for Draconia-san and I got lost...” 

Riddle sigh. While it was against the rule for someone outside of Heartslabyul to enter the rose maze without an invitation, he can let this slide since Madoka’s presence seem to calm his temperamental horse. 

It surprised Riddle to see how calm and docile his horse is around Madoka. Usually the stallion is very wary of strangers and Riddle had to both coax and discipline the horse for it to accept him as its rider. But here, the stallion is nudging at the petite girl for more petting. Riddle wondered if it’s because of her calm and gentle presence? 

Anyway, Riddle thanked Madoka for finding his horse and despite how Madoka tried to explain that it found her - not the other way around - and personally invited her to the next Unbirthday Party as thanks. 

During the party, Riddle was the one personally attending her. He makes sure that the party has all her favourite treats, teach her how to play their games - he play the part of a host perfectly well! 

Riddle could’ve wept at how kind, gentle and thoughtful Madoka is compare to the chaotic group that is Adeuce + Sayaka. Madoka could only gape like a goldfish when Riddle suddenly clasp her hands and request that she teaches him on how to manage Sayaka better. 

Observing the comedic interaction from the sideline, Trey merely smile widely as he hauls Ace, Deuce and Sayaka by their collars as if they were kittens and onto the empty seats before Riddle could punish them for misbehaving during the Unbirthday Party. 

Trey honestly thinks that Madoka is good for the Dorm Leader. In a way, Madoka understands Riddle. Around her, he completely let his guards down and allow himself to enjoy the world for once. Once, Trey even caught the most precious and adorable moment between those two. They were caring for the pink hedgehogs while he was trimming the rose bushes. Riddle wore a tender expression, even a small smile, and he later laughs over something that Madoka said. Trey decide to leave them in their world after that. 

The next time they met, Trey made sure to share some of his baked goods with her. Seeing her smile lit up from his gift is honestly a lot sweeter than his cookies, in Trey’s opinion. 

When it comes to Cater, Madoka is the littler sister that he always wanted. Always so sweet and would pout against his teasings, you bet that he loves showing her off to his Magicam followers. Seeing her running around the school with her friends oddly remains Cater of the tiny fairies that sweep away with the wind during his childhood. He was blessed enough to catch them dancing in the wind. Perhaps Diasomnia was right to call her a fairy. 

Madoka’s reaction to the 3 Heartslabyul’s seniors are overall positive. She sees the trio something like big brothers. Riddle with his disciplined lifestyle yet soft hidden side, Trey with his welcoming smile and helpful demeanour and Cater with his cheerful smirks and teasing remarks. Although they’re from different dorms, the trio would never fail to greet her should they ever pass by one another and for that, she’s grateful. 

Plus, she seriously appreciates Trey’s study session because school work? Yeah, that’s her mortal enemy. 

When it comes to Ace & Deuce, they’re fun to be around but sometimes they’re too rumbustious for Madoka to handle. Don’t get her wrong, the two boys are wonderful friends! After Sayaka sang praises about Madoka, the duo couldn’t help but look out for her whenever the circumstances show (EX: Being intimidated by the other students). 

Sometimes, Ace come across as too blunt and selfish that made Madoka uncomfortable and that would signal Deuce to punch him. Then cue the two brawling and Madoka, in the sideline feeling horribly guilty. For Ace, he thinks that Madoka is too tender-hearted for his taste; especially for a vilains’ school. He doesn’t say it out loud, but Ace believes that a school like RSA would suit Madoka. Still, he tries to hold his tongue around her. The last thing he needs is Sayaka and Riddle coming after his ass for making Madoka cry. 

Deuce likes Madoka ‘cause he gets to better himself at being a gentleman around her. He makes sure to always be mindful of himself and offer her help by carrying her books, showing her where certain classes are and etc. Madoka appreciate the gestures and always works hard to return the favour. She offers him a pair of ears to listen to his trouble, offer honest opinions/advice and practise their magic together. 

All in all, Madoka enjoys spending time with the Heartslabyul gang! They’re a different brand of eccentric from Diasomnia which makes things a lot more fun and unexpected! 

SAVANACLAW! 

Madoka was officially introduced to the Savanaclaw gang through Ruggie and some NPCs. 

She had just finished with PE and was on her way back to Diasomnia to freshen up and maybe catch up with Sebek to go over their homeworks for the day. As she was passing by the field, she saw a group of Savanaclaw students arguing amongst themselves. Since she didn’t know any of them, Madoka was about to leave when Ruggie - who is mitigating the peace between the group - spotted her and immediately called out to Madoka. 

His sudden shout startle the poor girl and before she realises it, Ruggie already jogs up towards her. Seeing the cautious stance and timid greeting, Ruggie made sure to present himself as friendly as possible. He recalls from Kyouko that this one is the shy type. A herbivore, Leona would call her.  

So Ruggie made sure to appear as harmless as possible and gives her a sincere smile. 

“Hey there! I’m Ruggie Bucchi! You’re one of Kyouko-chan’s friend, right? Do you know where she is right now? I tried calling her phone but she didn’t pick up.” 

“U-Umm, I didn’t see Sakura-san at all today, actually. Sorry...” 

Ruggie sigh. He thanked Madoka nonetheless and that’s when one of the NPCs suddenly shouted that it’s not fair if Kyouko is in the other team for the practise. And that spark an argument. 

Ruggie just rolled his eyes at their bickering and explain to a confused Madoka that the two teams are facing off one another in a simple game. It’s a game where they need to shoot their magic at flying discs. It requires accuracy and stern hold of one’s magic. But because one team is short of a member and wanted Kyouko on their side, they started arguing and Ruggie had to held them back. 

In a momentary burst of bravery and curiosity (because honestly, that sounds like a fun game to Madoka), she shyly asks if she can join in too. The boys immediately stop bickering and turn to stare at her. Even Ruggie’s eyes were bugged wide. 

One of the boys scoffed harshly and was about to say something scathing but was immediately silenced when Ruggie signal someone to punch him before he could regret it. Ruggie is well aware that Madoka is beloved by the entirety of Diasomnia. He doesn’t even want to think what would happen if they make her cry. 

“You want to join our game? Sure! You’re in your PE uniform anyway. You can be on their team and I’ll be in the other. Both teams have an equal number of people now.”

So Madoka dutifully follow Ruggie from behind, unknowing that Ruggie glare hard at the NPCs and silently promise punishment if they ever brought up the rivalry that Savanaclaw has with Diasomnia. Even though Ruggie is not a Vice Dorm Leader, the NPCs adhere to his command since he’s their Dorm Leader’s right-hand man. 

Madoka quickly introduce herself and after a round of gruff exchange of pleasantry, Ruggie went over the rules and how the game works once more so that Madoka is clear. 

Madoka and her team watch as Ruggie and his team go first. They managed to get a lot of good hits and score mad points. Ruggie score the most for his team because he manages to hit the discs that was the farthest. 

Then it was Madoka’s turn. The guys draw out their Magic Pens and Madoka summon her pink bow. The moment the whistle is blown, everyone starts shooting. Ruggie and his team gape when Madoka manages to destroy the discs that was the farthest rapidly without missing a single hit! 

In the end, Madoka’s team won. Her teammates were so happy that they cheer and hoist her up on their shoulders. 

Meeting and getting to know Madoka was an eye opener for Ruggie. He could understand now why she was sorted into Diasomnia despite her timid nature. Everytime she pulls back the bowstring and unleash a stream of pink energy, Ruggie could feel that there some serious firepower in it. Like she purposely fire off weak blasts to shoot at the discs.

To Madoka, Ruggie is a good senpai, if a little callous and mischevious. Kyouko told them that out all the boys here, she could relate more to Ruggie than anyone else. From that, Madoka guessed that the two of them shared similar past but she refrain from poking into someone else’s business.

Leona, however, boy does this guy intimidate the hell out of Madoka! 

Leona heard of the game that Madoka joined and thought nothing of it. If Kyouko could punch someone and send them crashing straight through walls, it’s only safe to assume that the other girls are just as strong. However, because he kept catching Madoka saddle close to her friends and would lower her head slightly when talking to anyone that wasn’t them, it’s hard for him to view her anything but a herbivore despite living in Diasomnia with that overgrown lizard. 

The two meet in the green house. Madoka was tasked by Divus to collect some herbs and flowers for their class and as a mean to help her identify and learn more about alchemy materials more. Unfortunately, even with a book in hand to guide her, Madoka is still unfamiliar with the plants. 

When she spotted someone sleeping on a bench nearby, she was at first instantly drawn towards his kitty ears. Her hands already itching to pet them! Her second instinct is to ask him for help find the plants that the teacher requested. She’s unable to decide. 

Leona could sense someone is standing close to him and so reluctantly, he crack open one bleary eye. He could only sigh when he sees Diasomnia’s resident fairy acting so skittish at him. So gruffly, he asks, “What is it?” 

Madoka hesitantly explain that she needs help finding some of the plants in her book. The green house is so huge and she doesn’t have a lot time before her Alchemy class is over. 

Now, normally Leona would just scoff, roll over and go back to sleep, but something in Madoka’s pleading eyes makes him feel like the scum of Twisted Wonderland if he doesn’t help her out. Is this her Unique Magic? And so with a very much put out sigh, he got up and reluctantly told her to follow him. He knows where the flowers and herbs are around this place. When she thanked him profusely, Leona brush it off in embarrassment. Just... please stop it with the sparkles. 

Leona ended up teaching her how to identity the ingredients better. See here in the book about this particular flower? It’s unique because it gives different scent to different people. The matured ones would gives of the smell of your favourite food so pick those. This goes on until Madoka gathered all she needs with enough time to spare! 

Once again, Madoka thanked the Dorm Leader profusely in which Leona grumpily reply that the only reason he helped her out is so that she would know the herbs a lot more and won’t disturb him again. His prickly demeanour didn’t put her off though. 

To Leona, Madoka is the human embodiment of sunshine and rainbows. Sometime when she chases after him to wish him a good morning, Leona mentally wonder if he should buy a pair of sunglasses because her beaming smiles are blinding. Ruggie could only snicker quietly when Leona tried to feed the girl some half-baked excuse about catching his classes just so he could escape her rays. She’s a good girl, definitely, and less troublesome to boot despite being a Diasomnia member so Leona doesn’t mind her.  

Little did he know that Madoka is working hard to worm into his good side so he would let her pet his ears and maybe let her brush his amazing mane. Oh well, it doesn’t hurt him if he doesn’t know it! 

Madoka had already met Jack because of Kyouko. These two get along well due to their even-temper personalities. 

Jack appreciate that Madoka is working hard to improve herself as a person and her magic and would often offer to be training buddies so he could look out for her in case she ever overwork herself. Despite her gentle disposition, Jack wouldn’t treat Madoka as if she’s made of glass. He knows that being kindness does not equal to weakness. He has a feeling that when push come to shoves, Madoka wouldn’t hesitate to bite in self-defend. 

Bonus point: Jack lets her pet his ears and tail after she did a good workout session. It’s a good enough motivation for her! 

Usually Madoka is not too fond of physical workout but with Jack, every training session is fun. She feels so comfortable with him after some time that she would sit on his back whenever Jack does push up. Outside of their training sessions, these two mantained a good relationship and would often hang out with Kyouko and the rest of the first-year squad without problem.  

OCTAVINELLE! 

Among all the girls, Azul would soon learn that Madoka is the scariest.  

Azul and Madoka would only officially meet when Azul needed to be save from himself. For now, they only briefly exchange glances from one another. 

Madoka would be walking with Sayaka and Silver, talking and there across the courtyard would be Azul and the Leech Twins in their own world. When their eyes met accidentally (Azul turns away from Floyd in annoyance when the taller student tried to nibble on his cheek playfully), both of their eyes widen in surprise. 

Madoka saw something in Azul. Something painfully familiar and to Azul, at that brief moment, he felt like Madoka saw through him. It send shivers up his spine while Madoka’s heart would constrict in pain. The spell is only broken only when their respective friends bring them back to the present. 

It was only a brief moment, but both Azul and Madoka felt uncomfortable. 

After that strange interaction, Azul would contemplate in the dead of the night when he couldn’t sleep whether or not to stay away from Madoka or confront of her. He couldn’t help but feel that Madoka saw the ugly side of him that the desperately kept hidden. The small boy that wouldn’t stop crying just because he was different from the rest. From that single glance, Madoka manages to unearthed that boy. 

Azul hated this feeling. 

As for Madoka, when she stared at Azul that morning, she could see herself reflected in his eyes. More specifically, the helplessness that she always struggle with. Becoming a Magical Girl doesn’t change that. And she wonders, if his affable and put-together demeanour are similar to her need to always help out her friends. 

This puts her in a pinch as well. Should she try to approach him despite her friends’ warnings about the Dorm Leader of Octavinelle and the Leech brothers?   

In the end, the two of them gave each other a wide berth and the next time they met in campus, neither of them would even look at the other. Too caught up in their own struggles to know what to do about the other. 

Jade, ever the observant one, would definitely noticed how strangely indiffierent Azul is to Madoka. After all, weren’t their plan is to learn more about these otherworldly girls? So he would be intrigue as to why Madoka had rubbed Azul the wrong way when they didn’t even talk to the girl yet! 

Because of Azul’s indifference, Jade decide to merely observe Madoka from afar. For now. He’ll figure out this strange puzzle soon enough, he’s confident about it.

Floyd thinks that Madoka is like an axolotl. So cute! So tiny! So pink! Oh, he just want to squeeze the living shit out of her! Unfortunately, his enthusiasm appear very threatening to the girls. I mean, they don’t mind the usual hugs, but all of their warning alarms go haywire the moment they spot Floyd running to Madoka. 

Picture this scenario in your head. You’re minding your business, talking to your friend and then a 191CM boy suddenly run towards you, smiling widely so you can see his row of ridiculously sharp teeth and his arms wide open towards you. Now, can you actually figured out at that moment whether he wants to hug you or kill you? 

That’s Madoka dilemma right about now. 

As Madoka’s poor mind was racing whether to run or not and Lilia - who is with her - just smile at the incoming eel boy, Madoka immediately gape and Lilia’s eyes shine with mirth when a yellow ribbon suddenly shoots out from nowhere, wrap itself around Floyd’s ankle and yank viciously. He trips and falls face first onto the ground and he was then instantly hoist up onto one of the main lamp post. He was left confused and dangling in the air, but only for a moment. He grins menacingly when Mami and Kyouko (she has her spear ready) are looking up at him. The two saw him running and since he’s probably in one of his squeezing moods, Kyouko offer to help him blow off some steam. Needless to say that they definitely distracted him from Madoka as they fight right there and then. 

“Ah, youth. It never fail to bring joy into these old bones.” Lilia sigh happily as he and Madoka, as well as the wandering students, spectate Kyouko and Floyd’s battle. Mami already went away for her next class. 

“Floyd-san is... scary.” Madoka couldn’t help but admit with a shiver. Why does he always want to chase after her!? 

Poor, Madoka. Someone needs to tell Floyd that his usual way of making friends scare the absolute shit out of her. 

SCARABIA! 

It was a surprise not only to Madoka, but to the rest of the girls as well, that Homura willingly approach her to introduce Kalim. 

It was a sight to behold when the stoic Homura came forward to introduce a beaming and chatty Kalim to her. 

Needless to say that Kalim immediately set her at ease. By the end of the day, these two become fast friends. Expect her to join the tutoring sessions between Kalim and Jamil. 

Madoka absolutely adore how vivacious Kalim is. They relate to another so much - both are kind and love their friends. Kalim would coax Madoka into trying new things/experiences and in a way, these little things would unknowingly make her braver bit by bit. Especially after he brought her on a Magic Carpet ride to see the sunset.

Sometimes, when Madoka is feeling a bit insecure about her position as a Magical girl, the first person she would seek out to is Kalim. These two would often have heart-to-heart talks without their friends knowing. Only to the other, would they put down their smiles and cry. 

When Madoka would visit Scarabia to see her friends, Kalim make sure to roll out the red carpet for her. The first time was a bit overwhelming for the poor girl, but after realising that it’s just Kalim’s nature and love for parties, Madoka surprisingly roll with it. Jamil was ready to restrain Kalim but seeing that Madoka enjoyed it, he just sighs and let these two cheerful idiots be. 

Kalim finds that Madoka is super cute and fun! Her shy demeanour makes him want to help her come out of her shell. His attempts at throwing parties for her, going on Magic Carpet rides actually helps. It surprises him and everyone else. 

It’s not long before he sees her akin to a little sister. One that he must spoil! 

Like all the other boys in NRC, Jamil will freely agree that yes, Madoka is as cute as a button. But when he realises that Madoka is a more shy and reserve version of Kalim, he’s gonna relate to Homura even more now. He’s very grateful that Madoka is not as reckless as Kalim at least! 

Jamil would treat Madoka courteously, of course. Since Homura often look out for Kalim whenever he’s busy, Jamil would do the same to Madoka to pay her back. He would subtly look out for her from afar though. No need to let Madoka know. 

To Madoka, Jamil is intimidating but a lot less so than Azul. She wonders if it’s because Kalim is always plastered to his side and whatever shenanigans Kalim got himself into, Jamil would be there too.

After hanging with the two boys, Madoka could see that Jamil and Homura shares a lot of common traits, so she treats him the same way she treats Homura. Gentle and with the hopes that they could be even better friends.  

POMEFIORE!

When Mami once told him that one of her friends’ choice weapon is a bow and she’s quite proficient with it - despite what she may tell you otherwise - Rook immediately sets his eyes on Madoka. 

So he ‘observe’ her whenever he could. In less than a week, Rook basically learn more about Madoka than the girl herself. He memorised her routine down to a T, noted down the type of people she prefer to hang out with, knows which class she’s struggling and excel in and etc. 

Basically, Rook stalks her as much as he stalks Leona. 

(Funny enough, when Leona found out about this, it surprises Ruggie that he went out of his way to inform Madoka about it. It confuses her as to why Rook would keep an eye out for her and decided to approach him when she gets the chance). 

Well, that day arrives when Rook came by to fetch Mami after the girls’ training. He arrive just in time to witness Madoka pulling her bow and unleash a strong magical pink arrow at Homura’s shield. The impact was so strong that Homura even skidded behind. 

Rook startle the girls by clapping his hands loudly at such display of power and adorableness! 

He recalls that Vil requested him to fetch Mami, but he just have to show his skills with the bow and arrow off to Diasomnia’s fairy! 

“Ah, lovely mesdemoiselles, forgive me for my rude intrusion, but each and every one of your performance took my breath away. The sheer power and mesmerising beauty that accompanies it - it’s something I’ve never seen before!  

Kyouko exchange a weird glance with Sayaka who just shrugs. “Uh, thanks. I guess?” 

Before the girls could even react, Rook zoomed in front of Madoka, clasping her hands with his, pleading for her to let him bedazzled the fairy with his marksmanship. Behind him, Mami silently mouthed Madoka to indulged him with a small grin on her fond expression. 

So with an unsure smile of her own, Madoka nodded. 

Kyouko and Sayaka bid their goodbyes as they head back to their respective dorms to freshen up while Mami, Madoka and Rook went to the archery field. 

When Rook let his arrows fly, Madoka’s eyes widen in awe. Rook is so proud of himself for being able to impress someone who is also passionate with the bow. Cue Mami suggesting if Madoka would like some archery lesson from Rook. 

Madoka didn’t hesitate to agree. Anything to improve herself as a Magical Girl! 

From that point on, Madoka gradually learn more and more about Rook as much as the Hunter learned about her. The moment Madoka admits that she has a knack for drawing and art, Rook quickly share his passion for the arts as well. Expect for these two to spend their time together drawing and Rook teaching her all sorts of arts that they have here in TW. 

When Epel heard from the other Pomefiore students that Rook is quite smitten with Madoka, he would pull her to the side when they meet and ask if he’s overwhelming her. Rook can be like that at times. Much to his surprise, Madoka couldn’t stop singing praises over how much Rook had taught her in all sorts of things - archery, arts and he even helps her work on her confidence.

Speaking of arts, when Madoka caught Epel delicately carving apples into miniatures figures, she would shyly ask him to teach her. Already thinking of gifting her artworks to her friends and family. She wants to impress her mother with her new skills! 

Like Ace, Epel thinks Madoka is too good to be in NRC. It’s a good thing that the other girls tend to stick close to her and that her dorm is protective of her. In his opinion, it doesn’t matter if she can fight like the rest of the girls. Most of the low-life guys in this school tend to take appearance at face value. Just how they did with him until he introduces his fist into their faces. It felt so good to just go feral! Hmm... maybe he should teach her how to throw a good punch at least. 

As for Madoka, when she was first properly introduce to him, she was about to make a mistake by complimenting how gorgeous Epel is. Fortunately for her, there was a couple guys passing by cat-calling and whistling at him. In a blink of an eye, Epel’s tiny smile turn into a scary scowl and he immediately stated brawling with them. Madoka had no choice but to call a teacher for help. Despite being the one who landed him in detention, Epel is pretty cool with Madoka while the girl made sure to always remember not to say anything about how cute he looks. 

Vil would nod in a passing whenever he sees his rebellious little apple with Madoka sitting quietly in the courtyard, carving apples together. Vil hopes that being around Madoka would calm Epel for once. Completely oblivious to the plans that Epel has for Madoka.  

As the fashion seasons are approaching, Vil invite Mami and the rest of the girls to Pomefiore for some serious discussion. Madoka tilt her head in confusion when Sayaka look stricken when Mami came by with her Dorm Leader’s invitation. 

Sitting on his throne in all his glory and regalia with Rook standing beside his Queen, Madoka felt like she’s in a fancy court and talking to royalty. 

Vil wasted no time. He would like the girls to join him on this season’s fashion show and runway. There are still a few months left before the date and since the girls are no models, it’s a good time to train them. 

When she heard the word ‘fashion’ and ‘runway’ and more specifically, her on the runway, Kyouko already turn around and walk away. Rook however, was quick to intercept her with a wide smile and stated that the girls would be handsomely rewarded if they agreed to it. This was enough to make her hesitant.  

So as Kyouko and Sayaka argued with Rook and Mami is trying to calm things down, Homura crossed her arms and observe quietly when Madoka approached the haughty Dorm Leader. 

“Um, Schoenheit-san, I-I don’t think I can pull it off. I don’t feel too comfortable among a lot of people...” Madoka carefully admits. She likes the idea of wearing pretty clothes, but on a stage where a crowd will judge her? Just thinking about it nearly made her faint! 

Vil readily nodded but not deterred. “Mami informed me of your reserved nature. Under my teaching, I’ll transform you into a diamond that will glitter pink. This I promise you.” When Madoka still look unsure and Homura made moves to use her magic to bring her and Madoka out of Pomefiore, Vil continue, “Not only that, I will teach you how to overcome you timid nature. Aren’t you tired of hiding behind your friends all the time? You have beauty in you, girl. Give yourself the opportunity to bloom.” 

Madoka carefully studied Vil from top to bottom - his looks, posture and the way how he carry himself. However, what attracted her to him the most is his confidence. A confidence that Madoka dream to possess. 

And so she agreed. 

She didn’t complain under Vil’s Spartan training. She did her best to get used to wearing the dresses and clothes that Vil designed for them. She absorb every lessons that Vil and Rook gave to boost her confidence. 

“The moment you’re on the runway Kaname-san, you’re the star. Captivate them and you’ll have them eating from the palm of your hands. That’s quite a heady power once you get a taste of it.” Vil told her on the night before the fashion show. 

Needless to say that Madoka looks up to Vil quite a lot and in return, Vil appreciate all the hard work and efforts she gave to herself and to him that it makes him proud despite her not being his dorm member. He can’t wait to see Madoka bloom into something magnificent. 

Oh, and for those who are wondering, Vil designed a beautiful and elegant white dress with pink petticoat that flows behind her like a pair of wings whenever she walks. She feels strangely... powerful in it. 

IGNIHYDE!

While Madoka was trying to nudge a sleeping Silver awake for his next class, she was surprise that a robot boy suddenly approach her from behind. 

“Oh, hello there! I’m Madoka. Is there anything I can help you?” 

 The robot boy introduces himself as Ortho Shroud and that it was nice to meet with Madoka. She return the sentiment. 

Ortho then explain that she’s been looking for her friend, Homura. His big brother has been trying to call her all day and she’s not picking up any calls or seen her in any of the camera feeds around NRC. 

Now a little concern, Madoka and Ortho manages to roused Silver up. Together, they went around NRC looking for Homura after Silver left for his class. 

As they walk, Ortho continue to explain that since he and his big brother noticed that Homura often hang out with Madoka the most out of all the other girls, it would be better to approach her. Madoka regretfully inform him that she actually hasn’t seen Homura all day. 

Madoka then asked how did Ortho and his big brother managed to befriended Homura. Her friend is not known for being sociable after all. 

Ortho cheerfully explain that Homura went to his big brother for help. They often hang out at their dorm and work on their projects. When Madoka asked about his dorm, Ortho explains that it’s Ignihyde. Their dorm focus on improving magical technology of TW. 

Most of what Ortho try to explain about magitech fly over Madoka’s head but it’s fascinating to hear nonetheless. 

Ortho reminds Madoka of her little brother, Tatsuya. Thinking about him as they talk send a pang of homesickness. Before either of them realise it, Madoka had started crying. 

“Kaname Madoka-san! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? My scanner didn’t pick up any injuries on you!” Ortho fretted. 

With a sad smile, Madoka shakes her head as she wipe her tears. “I’m fine Ortho-kun. I just remember Tatsuya-kun. He’s my little brother. I miss him and my family so much.” 

Well that wouldn’t do! Ortho could relate; if he was separate from Idia, he would be just as distraught as Madoka. “Whenever I’m unhappy, I usually talk to my big brother. He always make me feel all better! Kaname Madoka-san, would you like to hang out with my big brother and I? Big brother said that having fun can help when you feel sad.” 

Madoka really doesn’t want to be alone right now. Despite just meeting with Ortho, he’s so sweet and kind to her. She wants to know more about him and his big brother. So after they found Homura who absentmindedly admit that she just return to NRC, the three of them head towards Ignihyde. 

Honestly, Idia is ashamed to admit that he shrieks a little when he open his door to see a beaming Ortho with Madoka and Homura behind her. A guy could use a warning before girls suddenly barge into his room! 

When Ortho explains that Madoka misses her little brother and ask if they could help her feel better by playing games, Idia’s heart melts a little. Besider her, Homura suggest they talk about their latest project some other time. It’s been sometime did she unwind and hang out with the Shroud brothers anyway. (Looks like befriending Kalim made her more incline to spend her time with Idia and Ortho, not that she realised yet.) 

Idia introduces the girls some of his latest games and they indulge in tons of snacks. It didn’t take long for him to relax in their presence and Madoka to cheer up. By the time dinner came around and Lilia texted Madoka to ask about her whereabouts, Madoka sincerely thanked the Shroud brothers with all her heart for helping her feel better. Ortho cheers while Idia stammers in embarrassment as he reply that it was not a problem. 

At first, Madoka thought that Idia is just as shy she was until he explains that being in a crowd makes him anxious and he just didn’t like to mingle with people. Only a selected few. Madoka felt honoured that he feels comfortable around her. After heading back to Diasomnia, she resolve to help Idia feel comfortable outside whenever she can. 

She can’t wait to learn more about Ignihyde and the Shroud brothers. 

Idia share the same sentiment with Leona when it comes to Madoka. The girl is seriously too adorable and blinding for her own good. It was like having a personal sun when she was in his room. Oh well, at least Ortho enjoys hanging out with her, letting her pampered him. He hopes that she’ll be able to reunite her family soon. 

-

And we’re done with the girls’ reaction to the other characters and dorms! Oh, I’m so happy! We’re now moving to Overblots and the dorms arcs! Starting with Sayaka and Riddle~     

[lost-in-yujikiri]

References of Classic Literatures in SAO

This post are thoughts I have on discord plus discussion with friends. I didn’t intend to publish this publicly but this was so well-received and a friend asked me to do so, so here it is.

Below are the classic works that I think SAO main arcs took many inspirations from:

1) Aincrad arc & Little Red Riding Hood

- Asuna is the Little Red Riding Hood, with Kirito as the brooding hunter who protected her and led her to a happy ending, and Kayaba is the wolf who disguised himself as Asuna's "Grandma" (aka her caretaker).

- Kayaba's nickname is the same name as the central character of Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff), both men created their world of their own obsessions (for OG Heathcliff is his love with Catherine, for Kayaba is his castle dream) and during that creation they ended up destroying a lot of lives, even innocent people involved.

2) Fairy Dance arc & A Midsummer Night’s Dream

- Fairy Dance might take references from A Midsummer Night's Dream with Fairy King & Queen Oberon & Titania, who are a married couple under quarrels (Asuna and Sugou). The Fairy Dance arc also presents the themes of falling in love with the wrong person (Suguha/Leafa’s feelings for her brother/cousin Kazuto/Kirito) and unrequited love (Recon to Leafa, Leafa to Kirito) albeit in a different way than the original story.

3) Phantom Bullet arc & Sonezaki Shinjuu 

- The classic kabuki play Sonezaki Shinjuu (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki) is a story about close acquaintances/families/lovers being tangled in conflicts of opposing sides, with the main couple performing a double suicide ending so they can be husband and wife in afterlife (just like Kyouji & Sinon). In SAO Kyouji tried to force the double suicide on Sinon but it failed.

3) Alicization arc volume 9-14, Eugeo’s story & The Little Prince

- When people see Alicization cast many might think of Alice in Wonderland first. However Eugeo's whole story in Alicization 1st half was most likely inspired from The Little Prince, with Eugeo as the Prince, Kirito as the Prince's wise old buddy and also the story's Narrator, and Zuberg as the Prince's Rose flower in his homeland which he loves so much but was separated from for so long. Only Alice S30 is the Alice in Wonderland, which is why she isn't the one Eugeo looked for.

- Friendship between the Narrator & the Prince is somewhat similar Kirito & Eugeo, in how the Prince is the only one who truly shares the world view of Narrator. In stories of his own journey, the Prince met a lot of adults, each of them showed their greed, selfishness, ugliness in their way, and the Prince's pure heart couldn't understand or withstand most of them. Just like Eugeo's naivety and pure heart can't accept even the littlest unfairness and evils of his world.

- The Prince thought he didn't love his rose in the correct way, and during his journey he knew his rose isn't so special because there are millions of beautiful roses on Earth. But later he learned that it's the time and space that he spent nurturing his rose that made the rose truly special and distinct. Isn't that similar to how Eugeo learned that love is giving, like nurturing flowers continuously?

- However, the Prince agonized then because he was in a place too far from his home and he left his rose for too long that it might have been eaten, like the distance and long pining towards the Alice in Eugeo's past that killed him inside, while his childhood has long gone.

- In The Little Prince's ending, the prince followed a poisonous snake's offer that if he lets it bite him, he would be able to return to his planet with his beloved rose (Quinella's deal, anyone?). The narrator realized what would really happen but couldn't stop the Prince. Before following that offer, the Prince told the Narrator please look at the stars to remember him, if it looks like he has died, it is only because his body is too heavy to take with him to his planet. The next day, the Prince's body couldn't be found and in his later journey, the Narrator ask the readers if any of them have seen the Prince. In Eugeo's story though, instead of creating an ambiguous ending, Reki presented both ends of the Prince's fate literally. Eugeo died in a sacrifice of his choice, and at the same time went into the light with the little Alice in his past (aka the Little Prince's rose).

- Kirito, just like how the Narrator who believed the Prince didn't die, continued to live in his own world of darkness like the time he spent with Eugeo hasn't gone.

4) Alicization volume 13-18, Alice Synthesis 30′s story & Alice in Wonderland

- Alice Synthesis 30, from an empty knight who has no knowledge of the world with a forced Knight identity, was thrown to the unknown in War of Underworld and had to fight off everything and figure her self-identity out on her own, has parallels with Alice in Wonderland. Original Alice fell into a rabbit hole into Wonderland when she followed the White Rabbit, while Alice S30 fell from Floor 85 of the Cathedral when she fought after Kirito, both Alices learned about the mess that is happening in the world they're in after this.

- The original story is more about all kinds of creatures and humans in Wonderland rather than just about Alice herself, while War of Underworld is also more about people participating in the War rather than just about Alice S30.

- Kirito is the cheshire cat who guided her somewhere along the way but left her on her own device at some point. There are pig-lookalike creatures called "Rath" in the original Wonderland story, and in SAO we have RATH company who is monitoring project Alicization as well as the pig-lookalike Orcs in WoU. In many versions of Alice in Wonderland the stories involve a coup d'état towards a tyrant queen, in Alicization we have a Quinella as similar type of ruler whom Alice S30 and her friends fought against.

- At the end of both stories Alices left the mess in their "Wonderland" to get to real world. Though for OG Alice it's getting back to reality, while for Alice S30 she just got thrown to another "Wonderland" where she has even less attachment to as well as being shunned by most other humans without being able to go back to the UW she knows.

5) Kirito’s character arc in Alicization & Yu Boya and Zhong ziqi:

Kirito's character arc in Alicization was inspired by the story of Yu Boya & Zhong Ziqi, whose story has invented the words 知音知己 ("2 souls who understanding each other's tone & self the most") which usually get translated to English as "bosom friends", Chinese usually called them the epitome of friendship/ companionship. In Japan their names are translated as "Haku Ga" & "Shou Shiki".

Full story can be found here:

http://chineseaesop.blogspot.com/2012/09/yu-boya-and-zhong-ziqi-romance-of-guqin.html

Summary: Boya was an accomplished statesman from the Kingdom of Tsin and also an expert musician who played the "qin". One day as he played a musical piece on the river when he sailed to the Kingdom of Chu, he met a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi, who might be poor but is very knowledgeable about music & what Boya's soul wanted to convey through his music. Being very happy that he could find a partner who can so quickly clicked with him, Boya & Ziqi stayed with each other talking for 3 days. Though Ziqi eventually had to go back to support his parents so they had to part with a promise of seeing each other again. The next year Boya went to find Ziqi, only to hear from Ziqi's father that he had died while trying to both work to support his family & study to catch up to a successful man like Boya. Boya played his last piece of music in front of Ziqi's grave and then destroyed his beloved musical instrument and swore to never play it again, because the life friend who could understand his heart & soul was no longer in this world. He then told Ziqi's father that he would adopt Ziqi's parents and support them like Ziqi did, saying "I was one with Ziqi and he with me. Do not think of me as an outsider."

So Kirito = Boya who are both accomplished in life (battles/social hierarchy), Eugeo = the woodcutter Ziqi who's inexperienced but wise and shared a love of something (swordmanship for Kirito & Eugep/ music for Boya & Zhong Ziqi) with the other man, both died young before they truly accomplished any of life goals. Their deaths devastated their friends, Boya destroyed his own musical instrument and his own musical ability, while for Kirito even though he was right at the chance to wake up from coma, due to the guilt of Eugeo’s death he intended to use his sword to stab himself, but having no sword so he tried to destroy his heart instead.

In the end though Kirito was stopped by a fragment of Eugeo’s soul, who give him the strength to stand back up again.

Personal thoughts:

- I find it interesting that Kirito is very apt for 2 different roles in the Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Prince, more than any roles with other heroines. In Aincrad/Progressive he is the hunter who managed to protect the Riding Hood Asuna from the wolves and in one way or another lead her to her own happy ending. In Alicization he is the best friend to the Prince Eugeo, he wanted to show the Prince the world and lead him to happiness too, but ended up having to watch his Prince walking to his own death.

- Mother's Rosario is treated as a side story in the original Web Novel and not a full-blown arc, so it doesn't have classic references. But Reki said in an interview along with the author of yuri manga/anime Bloom Into You that it's the most yuri-esque story he has ever written (despite not being technically yuri).

[someguynamedstevewrites]

My Roommate is an Apparition: Saturday Morning Cartoon Complaints

Based on characters created by @reddpenn

————————————-

There once was a lonely apparition that haunted an apartment in an old building. No one knew where it came from, how it came to be, or why it was there. In fact, nobody knew the spooky specter actually existed since nobody could see it. Eventually, the apparition met someone who could see them, and they were no longer lonely. But before that, there were a few instances where the incorporeal creature made contact with human beings.

This is one of those stories.

It was September 20th, 1997, and Terrence “Terry” Vanderbrook was working as an operator for a local CBS Network Affiliate. He spent his days making sure that people calling into the station were directed to where they needed to go, and also screening out any unwanted calls. Regardless if they were folks calling in to speak to the news team about breaking news, people wanting to partner with the station for a special event, or for any other reason, Terry took care of them all.

One call, in specific, would go down as one Terry would remember for the rest of his years. (Mostly because he wasn’t sure if it actually happened or not).

“Thank you for calling your local CBS station, W.O.-“ Terry began to say before being cut off.

“Where...?” came a voice that sounded like breath on the wind.

“I’m sorry?” Terry asked.

“Where... are they...?” the raspy voice asked.

In the couple of years Terry had been a phone operator, he received more than his fair share of crank calls. Some were very obvious from the get go, while others were subtle and not quite as apparent. On occasion, a call might start off sounding like a prank, but actually turn out to be a legitimate call. Terry learned that the hard way after being berated by a 76- year old woman who was calling to complain about a breaking news report interrupting Diagnosis: Murder. On that day, Terry learned never to underestimate the appeal of Dick Van Dyke to seniors.

Still, uncertain if this was a prank or not, Terry did exactly what he was trained to do: proceed in a professional and courteous manner while trying to obtain more information to determine the needs of the caller. (At least until he was sure whether this call was genuine or not.)

“What can I help you find today?” Terry responded with a smile in his voice (as outlined in the Employee Handbook for Telephone Operators, page 12).

The raspy voice spoke a little louder to get its point across, “Car... TOONS!!!”

“Cartoons?”

“Where. Are. The. Car. Tooooons!?” the voice demanded.

Terry looked over at the small calendar on his desk. It was Saturday. “Oh! You mean the Saturday Morning Cartoons?”

“Yesssssss...” the voice said with a hiss.

“Give me one second,” Terry said as he began to type away at the keyboard to his Windows 95 work computer. Connecting to the network’s server, Terry began searching for and pulling up the schedule for the day’s channel listings. A memo had circulated around the office not too long ago about changes to the channel lineup this fall, but Terry hadn’t paid too much attention to it. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of the search function for his e-mail just yet.

“I’m... waaaaaaaaaiiiii... tiiiiiiiiinnnnngggg,” the voice said as nasally and obnoxious as possible.

“Hang on, kid, I almost got it,” Terry shot back. At this point, he figured the caller was some kid, probably sick in bed (which would explain the raspy voice), hoping to watch their Saturday Morning Cartoons and having trouble with it. (Terry was way off the mark, but he didn’t know that).

While the inter-network speeds within the CBS station’s computer network were much faster than the new 56 Kbps speeds Terry got on his dial-up modem back home, it still took a while to get to the shared network folder that contained the spreadsheet containing the day’s programming lineup. With a double-click, Terry opened up Excel 95 and saw...

“Oh...”

Terry bit his lip and breathed in through his teeth. He always hated calls like this; calls where he had to be the unfortunate bearer of bad news. The person on the other end of the line NEVER took it well. It would lead to lots of yelling, screaming, and demands to speak to his manager. And that was when Terry was speaking to full grown adults, so he was rightfully concerned about the kind of tantrum a sick child could produce.

“I’m sorry,” Terry said with regret, “but it looks like the CBS Kidz programming block has been replaced with CBS News Saturday Morning and a rerun of The Andy Griffith Show.”

————————————-

Due to the nature of the apparition’s existence, it was debatable whether or not it was actually “alive”. Considering the facts, it had been “born” a few years ago and hadn’t “lived” for very long by the time it made this phone call. Furthermore, during the time in between, it experienced emotions such as happiness, sadness, inquisitiveness, and many more.

But this was the first time the apparition became truly angry!

The apparition was frowning. It’s worth mentioning this, because before now, the apparition had never, ever frowned. Its face was no longer smiling, or expressionless like a confused child, like it had been for every day since the apparition began its existence. It was consciously moving the non-existent muscles on its face to move downward to express just how angry it was. Its sharp teeth were on full display like a snarling beast. To say it was not a pretty sight would have been an understatement.

The ethereal hand that had been twirling the coils of the telephone cord was now clutching the phone book as tightly as it could. Visions of cartoon characters expressing their anger whirled through the apparition’s head as it began to conjugate steam out of its non-existent ears. The apparition could not find the words to express the outrage it felt, so it did something else to vent its frustration.

It made a wooden chair suddenly fly through the air at one-hundred and twenty miles per hour into a wall.

*CRASH*

————————————-

The sound of wood smashing and splintering could be heard over the phone, and nearly made Terry jump out of his chair.

“WHOA! Kid, are you okay!?” Terry asked with genuine concern.

“BAAAAACK!!!” the apparition practically screamed. Its voice had distorted and sounded sinister; carrying a demonic reverb.

“...BRING! THEM! BAAAAAACK!!!”

“Poor kid,” Terry thought to himself, “they are definitely not taking this well.”

If it had been anyone else other than Terry taking that call, the horrific voice over the phone likely would have scared them out of their pants by now. But he was a veteran at handling the phone and this was not the first time someone used a voice distorter on a call. It was the first time a kid had used one (as far as he knew), but Terry had seen the toy commercials for “YakBak” on TV and knew that any kid with one could do funny things to their voice.

“Listen,” Terry said calmly, “I understand you’re disappointed, but that’s no reason to break things and throw a fit. You might hurt yourself or make yourself even sicker.”

————————————-

The frown had vanished from the apparition’s face. In its place was a look of sheer confusion. This was definitely not the reaction the apparition was expecting when they made this phone call.

The last time the apparition used its scary voice was back when the previous apartment tenants were talking about getting rid of their TV. To keep that from happening, the apparition practiced hard on finding the best voice it could mimic that would “persuade” the residents living there at the time to keep it. It even figured out how it could project its voice into any electronic device with a speaker to create an even more haunting effect (and to make sure the people there could actually hear its demands).

It worked, but it worked a little too well.

Shortly after the apparition began to actively haunt its oblivious roommates, the tenants packed up and moved out in a hurry, leaving their furniture and appliances behind. This included the 32” CRT TV that the apparition was fond of, and a landline telephone. The apparition didn’t care much for the phone line since they were happy just having the TV all to themselves twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. (Plus, they didn’t have anyone to call or talk on the phone to, anyway.)

At least they were happy until about a week ago, when the Saturday Morning Cartoons were a complete no show for the first time in years.

But the apparition had seen shows come and go, television programming blocks change for no apparent reason, occasional weather alert bulletins interrupting their cartoons, and some of their favorite cartoons canceled. They learned patience, understanding, and compromise from these experiences. Just because there were no cartoons that week didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be cartoons next week.

Two weeks without cartoons, however, simply would not do.

The apparition scoured the apartment for a phone book, concentrated on solidifying its fingertips to turn pages, located the phone number for the TV station, and dialed. It took a lot of effort for a ghostly being to make a phone call, and it was not about to let its efforts go to waste.

If the scary voice didn’t work, they’d have to take a different approach. It was time for Plan B.

————————————-

“...Sorry,” the apparition apologized, “...please... bring them... back?”

Terry sighed. He had kids of his own, and dealing with them could be a real challenge; especially when he couldn’t give them something they wanted. Once they realized throwing a tantrum fit wouldn’t work, they start trying to “bargain” just like the kid (who wasn’t actually a kid) that was on the phone.

“I’m sorry, kiddo, but it’s out of my hands,” Terry said using his “sympathetic Dad” voice, “I know it stinks, and if I could bring them back, I absolutely would.” After some frantic scrolling through his work e-mail inbox, he finally found the e-mail he was looking for. “But, thing is, we got to follow the rules from the FCC, so-“

“Eff... See... See?” the voice interrupted to ask.

“The Federal Communications Commission,” Terry explained, “You might not have learned about them in school yet, but they’re a part of the government. They make the rules we here at the TV stations got to follow, and one of those rules is to show three hours of educational programming, and the cartoons we had, well...” Terry tried to find a way to let the (not) kid down nicely, “...they just weren’t educational enough. That make sense?”

————————————-

It did not make sense. The Apparition had no idea what the heck the person on the other end of the phone line was talking about. All it knew was that they took away their cartoons and they weren’t going to give them back.

Taking a look at its transparent fingers, the apparition decided it was time to take matters into its own hands. They had tried scaring the person on the other end of the phone and they had tried asking nicely, but now it was time for plan C.

The apparition plunged its fingers into the tiny holes of the phone receiver. The phone was eventually engulfed in the apparition’s being and soon after that, the receiver began to slowly suck the apparition into it.

If someone walked into the room at that moment, and if that person could also see the apparition, they would see the lower half of a person’s body up to about their waist with the upper half crammed into a phone. It looked like a cartoon where someone had taken the receiver of a phone and hit someone over the head with it so hard that it jammed them inside.

Meanwhile, inside the phone, the apparition’s upper body stretched as it squeezed its way through the telephone cables. It wasn’t easy, and the apparition had never tried anything like this before, but it was filled with determination. Following the voice of the person on the other end of the phone, the apparition could feel itself getting closer and closer to its destination.

It smiled a sharp, toothy grin and created sharp claws on its hands in preparation for its arrival. Soon it would wreak havoc against those who had wronged it. They would rue the day they had taken away their source of Saturday Morning joy! It could see a light ahead of itself, and once it finally reached it, the apparition took its mangled, clawed hand and...

————————————-

*scritch*

“Ow,” Terry said as he pulled the phone away from his head. Something had just scratched him. Looking at the phone receiver, Terry blinked and then blinked again as he came to comprehend what he was looking at.

It was a very small, tiny hand with what looked like long fingernails poking out from one of the holes on the receiver. It flailed and strained as if it was trying to reach out but couldn’t get itself through. The closest thing Terry could liken it to was if a mouse or hamster had somehow gotten into the phone and was sticking its paw through the holes on the phone.

It was kind of adorable.

After a few seconds, the hand retracted into the phone. A second after that, Terry could have swore that he saw a tiny head poke out of one of the holes on the receiver. It had long hair, large eyes, no nose, and looked rather irritated. It struggled as it tried to pull itself out of the phone, but it just couldn’t budge.

Terry was quite sure he was seeing things. He wasn’t sure if it was because of something he ate, or from not getting enough sleep. The thought never entered his head that he was looking at a supernatural being that had shrunken its upper torso, shoved and stretched itself through the phone line, and was now trying to crawl its way out the other end. That would have been silly.

After a few more seconds of struggling, the apparition seemed to realize that this was not going to work and silently admitted defeat to itself. It looked up at the (relatively) gigantic face of Terry who was casually looking at the apparition without an ounce of fear, shock, or horror showing on his face. Without really thinking, Terry just looked at the tiny head poking out and just shrugged as though saying, “Sorry, can’t help yah there, bud”.

Dejectedly, the apparition pulled its head back inside the phone as Terry absentmindedly waved goodbye to it.

————————————-

Back in the apartment, the apparition pulled itself out from the phone and sighed. It held the phone up to its earless head to hear what the man on the other end had to say.

“So, uh...” the man said before a hesitant pause, “...I know this is going to sound crazy, but...” another pause as the man on the other end tried to put what just happened into words, “...did you just try and travel through the phones so you could claw at me?”

The apparition looked to the left, then looked to the right, and if it was capable of it, it would have broken out in a nervous sweat. Sheepishly, the apparition responded, “...yes,” with the same tone of voice a child would use if they had been caught eating cookies before dinner.

A slight pause before the man followed back with, “...didn’t really work out for you, did it?”

Again, sounding like a child that knew they were totally busted, the apparition responded, “...nooooo...”

There was another pause on the phone before the man on the other end eventually said, “Well... better luck next time.”

This call was starting to get extremely awkward as the apparition had no idea what was going to happen next.

After about a minute of silence (which is considered taboo among telephone operators) the man on the other end finally asked, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

This was a battle the apparition had thoroughly lost, and it knew it. It was time to throw in the towel. With a depressed sigh, it responded back, “No... thank you”.

————————————-

Despite not being sure what exactly he just saw, Terry leaned forward in his chair and decided the very least he could do was offer some encouraging words. “I know you’re disappointed, and I get that. I really do. But other TV channels have cartoons too. You can always watch them there.”

“...yeah...” the voice responded.

“It’s not like all the cartoons in the world just suddenly vanished, right?”

“...I suppose...”

Terry was ready to wrap this call up and had his closing spiel all set to go. “We appreciate you caring enough to call in today and while I may not have been able to help you, I do hope you feel better soon. Okay?”

There was a moment of silence before the voice responded back, “...okay...”

“Thank you very much for calling CBS, and have a good rest of your day,” Terry said earnestly.

There was a click signaling the phone on the other end had disconnected. Terry hung up the phone on his end, leaned back in his office chair, and looked up to the ceiling.

At that exact same moment, the person they had been talking to just a minute ago thought the exact same thing as he did.

“Well... that was weird.”