#pun INTENDED you cowards

[smallandangry24]

I just started Hades — haven’t even made is out yet — but WHY is every piece of Hades fanart INSANE??! Like everyone here is hella talented

Hades 2 - Ares, the god of War

[wayward-stardust]

been thinking about how none of the adults in the isat party really had any plans for after defeating the king. it wasn't just siffrin! even as early as acts one and two, it's hinted at if you pay close enough attention to the dialogue.

isabeau brings up his dream of becoming a clothing designer exactly once: in loop zero. before fighting the king. when the thought of actually winning is still a hope rather than a reality.

as soon as that happens, his story changes.

he plans on taking up his old job again. the one he quit to support mira. the one he said he wouldn't go back to, in a timeline that's been long since overwritten. which may feel like a contradiction, but a) this isabeau never had that first conversation with sif and b) the atmosphere's completely shifted with everything else that's happened over the past day.

isa's supposed to be the rock of the party (pun intended). the emotional support. and now, he's supposed to be celebrating their victory, and ruining the mood by admitting he's not going back to anything meaningful would be breaking the persona he's worked so hard to craft. (also this dialogue occurs immediately after isa fails to confess to siffrin, which might have affected his mindset)

and even in that first scene, back at the favor tree in loop zero, isabeau's still unsure of himself.

he willingly admits to sif that he, too, doesn't have anything else planned for after. (in act one, where it's so easy to forget by the time sif actually succeeds). why would he? his closest friends are traveling with him. he's not particularly close with his blood family (especially after his change, i imagine, although he never talks about them enough to say for certain.) he abandoned his career that he no longer likes.

mirabelle, on the other hand, is very committed to staying a housemaiden. her original plan (in act one) for after is to start traveling again and go on her own pilgrimage. but, to me, it's never really felt like that's what she wanted to do, but more like what she felt she had to do.

she needs to go on a pilgrimage to change. because she's a housemaiden, which means prioritizing change, and she's already not dating and not getting bonded and not capital-c Changing so she has to make up for that elsewhere, and if even this whole journey to save vaugarde didn't change her she has to try harder, (and what she wants is to keep traveling with her friends but she's not going to admit that,) and... and so she has to!

even so, like isabeau, those initial goals fade away once she's actually defeated the king.

her dreams of continuing to travel and see the world and change things are replaced with just... staying at home. living in dormont. going back to her normal life. maybe, we can hope, part of that's because of the conversations she's had along the way — either her friendquest with siffrin or the whole "not being blessed by the change god" snack room discussion, alongside euphrasie's praise of her. maybe she's grown more comfortable with her relationship with her faith and her home (particularly in a friendquest run).

or maybe she's like isabeau and siffrin, wanting more out of her future but being unwilling to potentially sour the mood by asking for it. i suspect it's both, actually: she gets some character growth from the finale of her journey, but there's no way all her feelings of inadequacy can be erased in a day. she knows better than to actually admit that, though: after all, everyone else seems happy with their plans! they're the odd one out here!

madame odile’s the only one who keeps her story straight between iterations — no matter when siffrin asks her, she's still deciding whether to keep traveling or go home to ka bue.

(act 1 "what will you do after" conversation)

(act 2/3/4 end room conversation)

but, as she brings up at the end of act 5, that's not the whole story. she'd prefer to keep traveling with at least some of the others, but the whole group’s a bunch of blinding cowards she hasn’t found the right time to ask yet. unlike isabeau and mirabelle (particularly the post-King versions of them), odile's not hiding the fact that she's unsure of her plans. after all, she's more confident in herself and her goals: in fact, she's already succeeded at her goal of learning more about vaugarde.

like the two of them, though, there's still the uncertainty. the not being confident in what to do next. the thought of going home feels like an afterthought, almost. isabeau even says it, in act five.

it's what they "should" do next. what they're expected to do. what they all think everyone else wants to do.

but none of them really want to go home.

not siffrin, without a home to go back to. not odile, both ka buan and vaugardian by blood but never finding a true home in either. not mirabelle, growing beyond the home that she never felt comfortable in. not isabeau, leaving behind his home because he didn't like the person he was there.

or maybe they do want to go home — or more precisely, to stay there.

home is where your family is, after all.

[daisyswift3]

KAYLORS I JUST DECIPHERED THE PR MESSAGES FROM PRESENT 🎁 ANON AND AM NOW VERY CERTAIN THEY’RE LEGIT TOO. So we started receiving these very interesting anon messages exactly 2 months before the release of TTPD (release was 4/19)

We were told to keep our eyes peeled for a present or gift we would be receiving and well we got it

There are P's and R's repeated in the messages. "The hint is in the words." P = PETER. R = ROBIN. Those songs are a gift to us kaylors. They're separated by just one song, the Bolter (which I'm 99% sure is related to the 8th 🎃 message bc Taylor almost drowns and a bolter is a coward which was the main point of the message); and Taylor mentions CPR in So Long, London which means they're all related. Bc Cassandra = Taylor, Peter = her second kid, Robin, = her first kid. They're related bc they're a family. I think it's possible those are the actual names of her two kids

"This is not the manuscript" i.e. the manuscript (closing track) is not the gift, it's the songs right before it! Robin is the 2nd to last song, Peter the 4th to last, and Cassandra the 5th to last. "It has been hidden well, look where the above may find you." They can be found in the track titles themselves. "Plausible deniability. Think of the one we continue to revisit"--K and T have plausible deniability since everyone thinks those are JK's kids. BUT "the volcano will soon rupture, whoever is to defame" which means that one day all the truth will come spilling out regardless of the defamation that will happen. "Restful, reticent, restraint. And PUBLISH!"--perhaps a tell-all memoir??

"The predecessor was the crumb" in other words peace "I'd give you my wild, give you a child" (see this post) was just a faint hint but now she's getting really close to revealing everything which is what the volcano 🌋 represents! THE DANDELIONS IN THE ROBIN LYRIC VID. Robin is the single dandelion floret (secret) she was so worried abt sending into someone else’s yard in the 7th 🎃 message (see this post). She was afraid that sending this song out into the world could expose the truth she’s worked so hard to protect before she’s ready but she did it anyway. “Once you blow a dandelion, you never get it back. It isn’t yours anymore.” “But the story isn’t mine anymore.” 🎃 mentions how the recipient of the dandelion would also blow and spread the florets which might mean kaylors would catch on and spread the secret. The 8th message also mentions a dandelion that the enemy has and spreads but I’m not yet sure who this person is—also this person could be the “recipient” and not kaylors but I’m not sure. And I’m not sure if this means they’d like us to kinda keep this to ourselves and not use Robin as a gotcha since it’s meant to be more of a seed planted for future use (no pun intended). But it definitely seems like they aren’t ready to reveal everything just yet

"As the neighbor holds the lamp to witness her Goodbye" = "Now you're in my backyard turned into good neighbors" and "But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light"

"Reach those lanterns a little bit higher for you shall receive a metaphor so dire"--a jack-o-lantern like pumpkin anon? These metaphorical messages will help us to understand K and T's entire complicated situation?

"When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me"--"breath of fresh air through smoke rings." Haven't quite figured out what this part means yet but it reminds me of blowing smoke which means to deliberately confuse or deceive (lavender haze mv)

This is as far as I've gotten w decoding the messages. This all adds a lot of context to those 🎃 messages and makes them a little more clear. There’s definitely more clues in there we have yet to decipher so pls share your thoughts

[ruins-of-tragedy]

Finished RWBY's season two with episodes ten to twelve... I am nervous, but also cautiously optimistic about the rest to come.

Season 02, Episode 10: Mountain Glenn

- "Our enemies... are gathering."

- Ironwood is gazing menacingly out into the distance. Glynda's there for him... To trust Ozpin or not to trust him, that is James' dilemma.

- Ruby is keeping watch. Everyone else is sleeping. Where be Zwei?

- I was wrong. The rest of the team is awake too. Yang and Blake are still wondering why Oobleck asked them about being huntresses. Weiss is not asleep because Blake and Yang are talking. 😂. Sure, that's why.

- So, Ice Queen knows the gray moral area the Schnee company operates from. Especially after her father took the helm. And she needs to make things right as a result... "My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it." 👏🏻✨🤌🏻

- Blake is talking about Adam. He was more of a mentor. Shikes. Someone needs to die. That aside, I really like how they have managed to use the bonfire's light to show his symbol on the ceiling. Almost like he is still haunting the place Blake is at... Huntsman and huntresses, regarded as the most noble warriors. Always stand for good. So she became it. Still confused about how to combat all the hate though. These ladies are just teenagers. Fucking hell.

- Yang believes in her. Blake isn't so sure about how she will figure things out... Awww. Sometimes running is the best thing you can do. As for what happened when the Team realised she was a Faunus; yeah, she ran away. But then she ran towards the problem too.

- Adam sounds like a very sick monster whom people should lock behind bars. Falling back does not equal being a coward. Tactical retreats are valid strategies... Her semblance sounds pretty sound in this regard. Nice one too! Can be used in many different ways.

- Yang has nothing that drives her. Going with the flow. She wants to be a huntress for the adventure. An unpredictable life. She be not like Ruby, who always knew what she wanted her path to look like. Even before she could fight. Hmmm.

- "...We are all kids." THANK YOU BLAKE!!!!

- It's not a life, it's a job. Yes... Hah! So I was right. It be true. Romanticising anything only works so long. Reality checks hurt, still are necessary.

- "But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people. And whatever we want will have to come second." Weiss is right on the money.

- Oobleck's smiling proudly over their newfound revelation. Basically, everyone's awake but Ruby now. Where is Zwei?!?

- I SEE HIM!!! Zwei ran off... To pee. 😆

- And that's how Ruby found the bad folks. Because Zwei really couldn't understand this place is a Wasteland and he could pee anywhere. Good boy!!!

- Ruby is following them now. Alone. I guess this is happening. Zwei is following Ruby. Fuck.

- "One bark means yes." ADORABLE!!!

- Ruby's scroll has no signal. I have a bad feeling... Yup. The ground under her has given up. Crescent Rose is not in the hole. Zwei and Ruby might be though.

- So not Zwei. But definitely Ruby. Shite.

- Into the undercity and outside the entrance of the bad people. This is fine. 👍🏻

- Ruby has realised she doesn't have Crescent Rose on her. Time for hand to hand combat... Ruby is out like a light. The fuck.

- Yang probably didn't think she also had to keep watch on her sister, while keeping watch for any Grimm that might come for them.

- Zwei came running back to the base. Oobleck has a good guess of what's happening. Am scared.

- Ruby is being dragged to the boss. Now awake and observing stuff. And here we have Roman.

- Team RWBY sans their leader and with Oobleck have arrived at the hole. Oobleck's realising stuff. And monologuing almost. Zwei licks him for it. 🫶🏻

- Underground crime network. Pun intended. 😆

- It's a graveyard. People died there while trying to escape the Grimm above, only to be attacked by the ones below... Holy hell. Things are serious enough for Oobleck to take out HIS weapon. Good Gods.

- Sinister music.

- Torchwick fanart! 💖

Season 02, Episode 11: No Brakes

- "Now it's time to say goodbye."

- Fucking Roman. Crescent Rose is not a gardening tool... You know what, sure. Let's call it that. This fucker got beat by a fucking gardening tool. Fucking embarassment.

- White Fang guy? Perry the White Fang guy?! 😂

- There's an earthquake. Ahhh, it's just Oobleck and the rest of Team RWBY.

- Bad folks not caring about the consequences of unfinished models. Classic.

- Oh Gods. Ruby is being shot at. She hasn't been hurt! YAYYYYYY!!!

- Thank Gods for good teammates.

- The train's leaving the station. Torchwick has turned into the commentary guy for it. Good for him. He should start looking into alternate vocations.

- Sealed tunnels have been reopened. Good guys need backup. No signal yet again. Always the worst timing. Such relatable content.

- Team RWBY will now stop a running train. They really are doing it all. ❤️‍🔥

- Torchwick is aware of their arrival now. And learning workplace manners... 😆

- Weiss calls Oobleck Professor. They discover a bomb. Also, baddies are coming to them now. Things are going really well.

- From one caboose to another. Automatic decoupling of one. Every compartment has a bomb now. Huh. Why?

- The fight has begun with a wink from Yang. ✨🤌🏻. Slam, slash, ice splash, and a nice dash.

- Underground Grimm alert! Like they already didn't have enough problems. "Oh dear," is right Oobleck.

- Ohhhh. The plan is to get Grimm to the city. Bad guys being bad. Ugh. Great timing too, honestly. Many students are out and about with hunters and huntresses of great regard on missions.

- Ruby stole Oobleck's thunder. LoLLL!

- Weiss, Blake and Yang must take care of the bombs. Zwei, Ruby and Oobleck will stop the train. Megazords don't want that to happen.

- Doctor's weapon has a coffee mug attached?! That has coffee in it?!!! And now Zwei is turning into a cannonball that Oobleck hit like a baseball. 🤯. What breed is this little pupper??!?

- One Megazord down, another has been destroyed by the Doc. I knew it!!! He is also good at wielding weapons. Good on him!

- Weiss handed Blake coloured gun magazines. Rainbow bullets?

- Neo is back. Yang vs umbrella lady. Ooooooh!

- Man, this girl is small. Yang is towering over her... And having a hard time landing a hit. The fight choreography is nice though!

- Weiss and Blake are splitting up now. White Fang guy with chainsaw is Weiss' opponent.

- I do like how every member who broke off did something to ensure the perpetrator in that cabin stayed with them, and let the others pass through. Many shows and movies don't get this right.

- It's Torchwick vs Blake. Whoa.

- Her semblance is amazing!!! And the elemental attribute added to the image of Blake left behind must be Weiss' contribution. Oooooooh! That's what them colourful bullets must have been for. NOICE!

- Roman down. Is he actually trying to get Blake on his side?! WoWie. Some nerve.

- Weiss is making forcefields, doing acrobatics and giving the guy hell. Oh my Gods. Glyph combo attack! Oh no. She has been caught.

- Panned to Yang. Who is also not having a great time. Shite.

- Blake just kicked Roman who got a mental shot in. At least he is asleep now. Weiss has entered her cabin and isn't doing too good. Blake has her now.

- Yang is lying on the ground. Neo has a blade and isn't afraid to use it. Fucking... Oh thank GODS. Someone's here. Looks badass too... It's Yang's bio mom, isn't it. Neo actually looked scared and ran off. Huh.

- This lady can create portals?!? Yang is waking up, and caught a glimpse of the woman before she left.

- More Megazord fighting for Oobleck and Ruby. Another one down!

- Ruby has been asked to go on ahead. Oobleck will take care of the incoming Megazords. Zwei will take care of the Doc. CUTTTEEEE!!!

- Team RWBY is together now and in one piece. YAYYYYYY!!! Vale station is fast approaching. Ruby and Weiss share a look. Ooooooh?

- Cabin full of ice!!! Big crash... Did it work?

- Nope. Grimm are now terrorising the city. Ruby is worried. And now determined...

- Music has me preparing for a lot more to come. Much chipper!

- Voice actors of Team RWBY and flipped animated Team RWBY fanart! 💖

Season 02, Episode 12: Breach

- "All the time seemed to fly..."

- Opening with Jaune's snoring. He still wears his nighttime onesie and is dreaming of waffles. LoLLL!

- Ruby's call turned to static. Ooooof.

- I love how much confidence Team JNPR has for RWBY, but they need you!

- Thank Gods Jaune has a feeling that it's more than a button dial... Cue alaram bells blaring. YAYYYYYY! They are changing missions! Awww! It was sweet of Jaune to let Ren know they would visit the village for a different mission.

- Cinder and co watched Team JNPR fly back. And now she knows what Torchwick did. Things are about to get worse, aren't they.

- Army of Grimm against four teenagers. Hooo boy.

- Badass hunstwoman fighting badassedly!!! And thank Gods for Team JNPR!!!

- LoLL! Jaune is the only one in his team who doesn't have great speed?

- Jaune: "Who's first?" / Ursa Grimm: "You Jaune-y boy." /// Come on Jaune! You got this!!! Awwww! Pyrrha looked on and Jaune did it!!!

- Sun and Neptune are here now! For comic relief apparently. They have nice badges I guess.

- Big ship, and smaller ships incoming. Ironwood? Yup! His android army anyway.

- Cinder, Emerald and Mercury are helping taking down the Grimm... Oh no.

- I like Emerald's gun/slash/boomerang-like-nunchucks.

- Bad guy Megazord is waking up...

- So are Oobleck and... ZWEI!!!! He just headbutted a Grimm. Amazing!!!

- Team CFVY is also entering the battle. With Professor Port!

- New song. It's so GOOOOOOOOD!!! Makes me want to join them.

- Velvet's team be extremely badass as well. COOOOOOOOL!

- Did this lady just use a bejeweled handbag to bring down a Grimm?!? WoWie. Velvet's team really be blowing my right now. One guy tore through concrete and Grimm with his sword. The other made a big burst and the bones from it took down the rest around... 🤌🏻✨👏🏻

- This is their song. It's called Caffeine. ❤️‍🔥

- The bejeweled bag can turn into a monstrous missile gun. 👏🏻🫶🏻🤌🏻

- Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port nodded at one another. I ship them... And now they are blasting Grimm too. 😎

- Professor Glynda's here! And flicked the Grimm coming at her from behind without even looking back... ✨❤️‍🔥

- She is doing them repairs now. Glynda is the only one holding Vale's economy together, I feel. Especially when destruction of property is concerned.

- Mercury and Emerald are with Torchwick. Of course. Roman has learned error of his ways. Sure.

- Now, the good guys plus Emerald and Mercury are gathering and nodding at one another.

- It's a nice sky, Team RWBY and Zwei are sitting together. Weiss wants extra credit for this. 😆. But much havoc was caused, not everything has been solved, people got hurt, there are more questions than answers...

- Weiss points out not everything has a neat and tidy ending. True.

- "We might not have all of the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I that's something we can be proud of." - Blake. Is this character development? ✨

- Yang and Zwei are lying down. Tournament training is covered. Time to sleep!!!

- Councilmen, Ozpin, and Ironwood in a meeting. General Ironwood is going to be head of security. Ahhh. Well, good luck to him. He will definitely need it.

- Ozpin's position at Beacon is in danger. Due to Ironwood's reports... WoWie. This forker has the audacity to ask for Ozpin's trust... How cute.

- "You brought this on yourself." - General Ironwood.

And you are about to bring what will go down soon, on YOURSELF.

- James vs Torchwick. The former has custody of the latter. Great. This will go nowhere.

- Cinder considers this a success. Mercury is saying many Faunus folks didn't make it out of the tunnels. Shite. And of course their only concern is if the White Fang will still help them.

- Adam. This jackarse. Now lending his influence over the White Fang to Cinder and co. Fucking hell.

- Lie Ren is voiced by Monty Oum himself?!?! ✨🫶🏻

- This song is WHOA. Very, crime investigation sort-of thing. The lyrics are making me want to rebel though...

- They are thanking many families in the credits. That's so sweet! Cats and dogs and pugs now too. 🥹. And a giraffe named Gideon. COOOOOOOOL!

- Another endcredits scene! Yang. Walking around Beacon at night. The lady who saved her is here?

- Good Gods. Yang's mum looks just like her, but with red eyes and black hair... They have a lot to talk about. Shikes.

- I liked the chimes like music in the background, while their confrontation happened. Much mystique.

- Volume three of RWBY, save me. Save me volume three of RWBY... It won't. I know. This is where it all begins. Fuck.

(No spoilers. Or I shall haunt your nightmares and turn your daydreams into them. Bye-bye!)

[remiwritesstuffsometimes]

SOLARBALLS Luna + Selene Twins AU: What if Luna and Luna's Dark Side (Selene) were two separate Twin Earth Moons?

While Luna tries to reason with Titan + Ganymede + Europa, Selene taunts and mocks them...

Selene: "Let's be honest, the true reason you guys want to attack our planet is because he's smaller, and you're all too afraid to attack or confront your much BIGGER planets... even though they're the ones you have problems with."

Luna: "Selene, please don't insult them!" 😱

Selene: "But it's true, Luna! They're all cowards! If they weren't, they'd be planning to attack Jupiter or Saturn, instead of our smaller planet with INNOCENT lifeforms!" 😠

I love this so much. Both of them are kind of territorial (pun intended) when it comes to their planet, but Selene immediately chooses violence when the Earth is threatened. Luna has to physically hold him back before he can try to take all four of the Galileans + Titan on at once (and win ofc).

Also, sidenote: there’s actually scientific precedent for this au!!

In some simulations of the giant impact theory (aka the idea that Proto-Earth and Theia collided and created the moon), the debris from the collision originally formed two moons that later collided and combined to form the moon we know today! This could also be the reason why the close/light and far/dark side of the moon are so different from each other. (Here’s a link to an article about this if you want to read more!)

The only difference between these two moons was that the second moon was about 3x smaller than the first.

So just… imagine Selene being all threatening and scary to literally everyone, but he’s small. Maybe big by moon standards (he’d be the 13th largest moon in the solar system, smaller than Charon by only a few kilometers), but by planet standards he’s tiny. That doesn’t stop him from threatening literally anyone who talks to him, though.

Imagine that one scene in canon where he threatens Titan, but he’s like a quarter of his size lol (that doesn’t stop Titan from being terrified).

[fdelopera]

Welcome to the 64th installment of 15 Weeks of Phantom, where I post all 68 sections of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, as they were first printed in Le Gaulois newspaper 115 yeas ago.

In today’s installment, we have Part III of Chapter 27, “Faut-il tourner le scorpion ? Faut-il tourner la sauterelle ?” (Shall You Turn the Scorpion? Or Shall You Turn the Grasshopper?).

This section was first printed on Monday, 3 January, 1910.

For anyone following along in David Coward's translation of the First Edition of Phantom of the Opera (either in paperback, or Kindle, or from another vendor -- the ISBN-13 is: 978-0199694570), the text starts in Chapter 27, “I had been struck by the thought, for I knew Erik all too well, that he might have tricked her once more” and goes to the Persian’s line, “And before losing consciousness, I seemed still to hear a voice calling above the swish and boil of water: any old barrels!… barrels!… any old barrels for sale?”

There are some differences between the Gaulois text and the First Edition. In this section, these include:

1) Chapter XXVII was printed as Chapter XXVIII. This numbering error was made in Chapter VII, and was not corrected, so it was propagated throughout the Gaulois publication.

2) Each chapter in the Gaulois publication is one number ahead of the chapters in the First Edition, due to the inclusion of “The Magic Envelope” chapter in the Gaulois.

3) Minor differences in punctuation.

NOTE: Leroux and the editors at Pierre Lafitte & Cie. must have been satisfied with this section, because there are no other textual changes that appear in the First Edition.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE I: 

The text highlighted in blue in the first half-panel above indicates the only instances in the novel where Christine switches from using 2nd person plural (formal “you”) to using 2nd person singular (informal “you”) to address Erik. Christine is at her breaking point with Erik here, and this switch from vouvoyer to tutoyer is intended to be condescending.

This text translates as:

“Erik,” cried Christine, who must have rushed towards the monster’s hand, “swear to me, monster, swear to me on your infernal love, that it is the scorpion that I must turn…”

“Yes, to go off to our wedding…”

“Ah, you see! We are going to go off!”

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE II: 

In designating the grasshopper (sauterelle) as the switch that will ignite the gunpowder, Erik is making a pun on the French word “sauter,” which means both “to jump” and “to explode.” It can also mean “to go off,” which is how I translated it above when Erik says, “go off to our wedding,” and Christine thinks he is making a horrible pun on “go off/explode” to trick her into turning the switch that will ignite the gunpowder.

But there is another, more derogatory meaning to “sauterelle,” as well. “Sauterelle” is French slang for a prostitute, as well as French slang for a picky woman who examines items in a shop without buying anything, as we can see from Albert Barrère's French-English dictionary of Argot and Slang from 1889:

So, in addition to telling Christine that she will blow everyone up if she turns the grasshopper, Erik is also telling her that if she doesn’t agree to marry him, she is a picky whore.

Christine once again shows herself to be a pinnacle of restraint and dignity. Erik deserves far worse than to have Christine belittle him, tutoyer him, and call him a monster.

Because Christine is right — Erik has shown himself to be a monster here. Not because of his face, and she doesn’t mean it that way, but because of his terrible actions. And his redemption at the end is a redemption of his character, of his soul. 

Le Fantôme de l’Opéra is Leroux’s retelling of the Beauty and the Beast myth. Erik’s transformation is that he lives out his remaining days as a man, and he dies and is buried a man.

Erik's appearance does not change, but his heart does. His life has been anything but fair — for instance, in Leroux’s novel, Erik helped design and build the Opera House, yet he is given little “official” pay, and he receives no recognition for his work. But because of Christine, he learns that this doesn’t give him the right to impose his will on others in a way that harms or kills them.

The tragedy of Erik’s story is that, in an ideal world, he would have been able to use those revelations in his life for many years to come — as Leroux writes, “Il avait un coeur à contenir l’empire du monde” (”He had a heart that was great enough to have ruled the world”).

But Leroux reminds us that Erik does not live in an ideal world, and neither do we. However, just because Erik doesn’t get a traditional “happily ever after,” that does not negate the importance and power of his transformation, and that’s a lesson that we can all take to heart. We might not get a “happily ever after,” but we can still make a great difference to the people in our lives.

Click here to see the entire edition of Le Gaulois from 3 January, 1910. This link brings you to page 3 of the newspaper — Le Fantôme is at the bottom of the page in the feuilleton section. Click on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to turn the pages of the newspaper, and click on the Zoom button at the bottom left to magnify the text.

[herefortheships]

looking at the loving side Bj suits Lydia On the sexual side, Dolores, what do you think?

Hhm 🤔. I think we haven't seen Lydia in that context yet to know for sure. Betelgeuse definitely favors Lydia above any other woman, presently. It doesn't matter whether he checks out other sexy ladies, Lydia is clearly special to him. As a matter of fact, he respects her in a way he doesn't respect any other female (insta-pregnancy/Beetlebaby scene aside, I don't think I've seen Betelgeuse grope or force himself on Lydia ever, not even in the first movie where he was arguably wilder, especially in a sexual sense).

He might suit her on the sexual side as much as he suits Delores, though, we just don't know how Lydia is in that context.

As for Lydia, I'd say that she might actually suit him better than Delores in both a romantic and sexual way, considering that he truly does love her. When there's love involved, a wild fun time in bed gains a whole new level of intimacy and meaning that wouldn't be present in a time spent with someone who doesn't truly love you. Lust is not love. Delores would have sucked out his soul (pun intended lol) and left him dry. She might have given him a fun and wild time, but she was giving him her body without giving him her heart. I want to believe that if Betelgeuse and Lydia get to the point of actually marrying and being intimate, that they both will be in love with each other and therefore, whether Lydia is gentler than Delores in bed or not, being intimate with her will feel worlds better than being with Delores ever felt for Betelgeuse.

And I think that, because he loves Lydia and respects her, Betelgeuse will meet Lydia where she's at in her intimacy and he will be who she needs, both physically and lovingly/romantically.

I have this headcanon, though, that Lydia will match Betelgeuse's freak in bed lol. She might even surprise him, as he will surprise her. I headcanon that Lydia's never had it as good as she'll have it with Betelgeuse. Fingers crossed for a scene like that between them in movie three 🤭. Highly doubt it though, but a girl can hope. Don't be a coward, Tim. Anyway, I wrote a bit more about them in this context here, if you want to read more. 👀

[mewsthumbring]

If My Golden Blood was a BOC show we would’ve 100% gotten a scene where Mark gives Tong head and then immediately Sailor Moon- transforms into a golden-eyed horny monster

Like this

Manifesting that we see the Golden Cum effects on Mark in tomorrow's episode

[rottenpumpkin13]

I know you mostly focus on CC!AGSZC but I’m curious if you have any headcanons or scenarios of Seph (or the rest of the gang) with the girlies (Aerith and Tifa, even Yuffie lmaoo) if they ever met in person.

Aerith and Seph being in the same room sounds like a bomb waiting to explode lol She’s on the spectrum of either bullying him into letting her braid flowers into his hair or pranking the Turks and sending them into a frenzy no in between

• Tifa and Angeal become fast friends. They bond over so many things, namely growing up in the countryside, how they dealt with the loss of a parent, and being given a ton of responsibilities at a young age. They're like-minded. But since Angeal knows Cloud, this means he's obligated to play wingman (pun intended). He's a little confused, but he's got the spirit.

Tifa: Wow, the sky and the clouds are really pretty today!

Angeal:

Angeal: You think Cloud's pretty??

Tifa: What

Angeal: Ha! I knew it! God, I'm so glad you confided in me. So for the wedding I was thinking sunflowers and for the buffet we could—*continues to plan the wedding on his own while Tifa glitches*

• Yuffie Gets along (like a house on fire) with Zack. They've met before, and Yuffie remembers him fondly despite the fact that he's with Shinra. They absolutely battle it out for fun, but the difference this time is that Yuffie actually does kick Zack's ass easily, but she thinks he's letting her win and gets very mad.

Yuffie: Come on, Zack! Stop playing around! And take me seriously this time, I'm not some dumb kid anymore! Now get your ass back here and face me like a man!

Zack: My leg is broken.

Yuffie: Liar!

Zack: You can see the blood.

Yuffie: I bet that's ketchup, YOU COWARD.

• I would say "someone save Aerith Gainsborough from Tweedle-red and Tweedle-silver" but I honestly don't think she wants to be saved.

*Sephiroth yanks Aerith's left arm*

Sephiroth: Aerith wants to spend time with me today, Genesis.

*Genesis yanks Aerith's right arm*

Genesis: No, she wants to hang out with me! We're going to the materia museum and then shopping!

*Sephiroth yanks Aerith's left arm*

Sephiroth: No, we're going to the Ancients museum, and then out for coffee to talk about how much we want professor Hojo to perish!

Aerith: Oh! I know! Why don't we break into Hojo's lab and clone me so that everyone can have equal Aerith time? And I can have a harem of me's!

*They all high five and agree*

[ohanny]

a very self-indulgent omega kim going into heat after being kidnapped kentakim hc because why not

so the basic premise is kenta and kim connected before the unfortunate basement throwing incident at tony's house. like kenta had to deal with red racing and kim was a flirt. it wasn't anything serious but it had the potential to be. there was always something between them but kenta kept drawing back and kim thought they’d have all the time in the world.

but then the kimnapping happens.

and kim is MEGA pissed, okay? kenta visits him in his dungeon room of doom all "fuck, i am so sorry, i warned you, i told you to stay away" and kim is like "oh fuck off" and kenta is all kicked puppy swearing he will help get kim out. and he does. he gets kim out of there but kim is still very much "bitch grow a fucking spine if you want to talk to me ever again. you're a coward. you know what you're doing is wrong and you are not doing enough. be better."

kim is shipped to alans and moves in and he just... keeps feeling like shit. he can't explain it until he realizes he's going into heat and fuck if it isn't a whole ass mess - pun intended - because he hasn't had one in a medically inadvisable time and he thought he was still in the clear, swallowing a fistful of suppressants the first chance he got after his kimnapping.

and it hurts. the entire pack is freaking out because a) kim is an omega???? and b) yeah nah that is not a normal heat. kim is feverish and doubled over in pain and yes he smells sickly sweet but emphasis on sickly. it's the sweetness of rotting fruit and not like oh yeah, slick and slide, and people are worried.

alan: someone needs to do something

sonic: i literally offered to knot him

alan: and?

sonic: he threw a glass at me.

north and jeff build him a nest like see, pack is here, but kim keeps hissing at them and saying it's all wrong and after a long weekend they are all this close to calling an ambulance and having him shipped into a heat clinic against his will.

but then there is a knock on the door.

it's kenta, looking agitated and stressed as fuck and alan goes full "oh hell no, not the time" but kenta physically forces his way through the door, nostrils flaring like a blood hound, and everyone is like "uh oh spaghettios" and babe is squaring up like bitch, he is ready to fight

and then kim stumbles down the stairs looking like absolute death and kenta might elbow someone in the face to break free and before anyone can interrupt, kim collapses against kenta and buries his face in kenta's throat with a whine and he's all "i really tried but i need -" and kenta's all "it's okay, you're okay. and you were right. about me. about everything" and he will just full on garfield scoop kim up.

the pack stands there like "um excuse me, what the fuck?" and kenta pretends this is all fine and normal and asks where the bathroom is and if someone could prepare them some food. babe is still ready to deck the bastard because fuck him but then his nose scrunches because oh. okay. that's less rotting fruit and more like burnt sugar all of a sudden and alan is like "OOOOOKKKAAAAAAY" and sonic's like "bathroom's upstairs, third door on the right, i'll make you a fruit bowl?"

north: dude. that's kenta.

sonic: you wanna try pry kim off of him?

north: good point.

and then north smiles and says “you know what kenta, i'll show you where everything is” except when north gets close to them, kim peeks out of kentas neck and bares his teeth at north because excuse me, his alpha, how dare you.

kenta carries kim upstairs to first draw him a cold bath to get his fever down and makes him drink a glass of water and in the midst of it kim has a moment of clarity.

kim: fuck. i didn't meant to call you. you can go.

kenta: you really think i could leave you alone like this?

kim: but what about -

kenta: he doesn't know where i am. i’ll figure it out after.

kim knows he should fight this but he has no energy to do so anymore. he’s in pain and exhausted and can't do this alone and having kenta here, touching him, is such a relief. it’s much easier to just give in. kim drifts in a pleasant haze as kenta washes the smell of sickness away, towels him off and bundles him into a bathrobe to carry to his nest.

when sonic brings over his fruit bowl, kim is splayed out on the sheets, flushed and staring at kenta with these dazed eyes, already pretty far gone. it's a bit awkward as another alpha but he hands over the fruit and backs away. he lingers in the doorway long enough to see kenta very gently coax kim to eat something from his fingers before quietly closing the door and going back downstairs. and that's how sonic becomes the number one kenta advocate because he's a sucker for a good love story and obviously this is something that's been going on for a while and it would be criminal to separate them now.

he tells the rest of the pack that everything’s going well and they need to make a plan because kenta sure as shit will need them to have one ready by the time kim and him re-emerge.

[iamumbra195]

Random Incorrect Quotes and Vibes from the Bleach AU I will probably never write (Rukia is killed by Aizen and them in the SS arc)

----

Ichigo: *feral teenager with slightly cat-like tendencies because of his hollow*

Shinji: 

Sakanade in his head: M I N E

...

Shinji: *explaining the inner hollow and everything that happened with Aizen and how they trained their hollows*

Ichigo: *a nerd who likes literarture and knows exactly what werewolves are*

Ichigo: Can I say something--

Shinji: *has questioned his reality more than once because of this kid’s weird questions* NO--

...

Ichigo: *goes to his inner world to see why the fuck Shiro is constantly screaming in his ear*

Shiro: *leaning over his body omniously with his big smile because he has been seperated from Ichigo for so long and this is the first time they’ve interacted without Old Man Zangetsu getting in the way so he’s happy*

Ichigo: wtfwtfwtf--

...

Shiro: *a feral tiny cat that likes to fight too much*

Sakanade: *a feral big cat the puts him in air jail*

Benihime: *the sadistic instigator*

....

Karin: *snooping through Ichigo’s room because she’s worried and finds Rukia’s asauchi*

Karin: *touching Rukia’s sword after Ichigo told her what happened and feeling a weird jolt or reiatsuand urge to keep it*

Ichigo: *who felt the reiatsu* ...

Karin:...

Karin: I have been CHOSEN--

Ichigo: NO--

...

Ichigo: What do you have there?

Karin: A Zanpakuto!

Ichigo: NO!

...

Karin: *facing a hollow while Ichigo was at the SS and losing*

Kangetsu (her Zanpakuto): cAN YoU hEAr mE?

...

Hitsugaya: *looks vaguely like her Zanpakuto spirit*

Karin: *softly* Holy shit

...

Ichigo: Goodnight moon.

Ichigo: Goodnight tree. Ichigo: Goodnight ghosts that only I can see.

...

Karin: Is stabbing someone immoral?

Isshin: *Joking* Not if they consent to it

Ichigo: *Serious* Depends on who you’re stabbing

Yuzu: *the one sane non-soul reaper in the family* YES?!

...

Ichigo: *walking into his room* Hello people who do not live here

Renji: Hey

Ikkaku: Hi

Yumichika: Hello

Rangiku: Hey!

Ichigo: You’re only supposed to come here for emergencies!

Renji: We were out of Doritos *they’re on a mission, he’s just fucking with him*

...

Orihime: I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name hime?

Ishida: *scared of snakes* You did WHAT--

Ichigo: William Snakespeare

...

Renji: *while they were going to save Rukia* This is such a bad idea

Ichigo: Then why are you coming along?

Renji: One of us needs to be able to talk the Gotei out of arresting us when this goes wrong

...

Ichigo: Do you think I can fit fifteen marshmallows in my mouth?

Ishida: You’re a hazard to society

Renji: And a coward. Do twenty

...

Orihime: If I were a drink, I’d be a strawberry vanilla coke. If you were a drink, what would you be?

Ichigo: Bleach (PUN FULLY INTENDED XD)

Keigo: *he found out ichigo and Chad didn’t fail like him* Sewage

Orihime: *concern*

Tatsuki: Calm down edgelords

...

Okay, that’s it

Some of these were canon, some of these were just random shit from my fic that i might never write

[dracobrooklyn]

Durge Headcannon #2

|| MDNI || 18+

Durge's relationship towards the other Party Members If you don't know, this is about if Cannon Durge was a Companion instead of a playable character. These are my headcannons so not everything is cannon. If you want more Durge check this Masterlist here

also the Tav!Reader is in a Fem!POV

CW: threesome, murder, and killing.

Durge very much is in love with Tav!Reader, after connecting with you, how kind and patient you are with the White Dragonborn. He very much loves the way you comfort him, how you talk to him almost anything that comes to your mind, he loves listening to your voice. So How does he feel about the other Members of your party around you? And around him?

Astarion

Safe to Say Durge isn't a huge fan of Astarion. The pale elf being very much cocky, arrogant, and never gives you any respect. Durge glares maybe even curls a lip growling softly. He could care less about what happens to the elf. Even when he found out he is a vampire! He quickly get's over protective over you, a slave to Sanguine. He wasn't gonna let you get bitten by this coward. If Astarion tries to flirt with you, Durge comes up from behind you protective. Besides Durge want's you, he be a better match than Astarion. He actually cares about you, this vampire just wants you as a blood bag that's all. Even when you and Durge become a couple, and Astarion offers to join you both in a threesome, Durge would flat out say no, end of story, he rather smear Knoll shit onto his face than let Astarion share the same bed roll with you. He's fine with you and Astarion being friends but... if Astarion tries to pull something on you, Durge won't hesitate to beat the shit out of him... maybe kill him if he get's away with it.

Shadowheart

He does not mind the half elf girl, the cleric that isn't too bad around you. She does at least give you some sort of respect as an ally and maybe even a friend. Shadowheart might be one of the few people that maybe notices Durges feelings towards you. She even was amused with the idea but even questioned, how would a DragonBorn be like in a relationship. Though Durge is a strange one, especially when he has no memories of his past. She might even be protective of you the reader if she finds out what Durge has done hurting and killing their enemies. The way he does it, if it's over the top. Shadowheart will confront Durge about it. She be weary of him and tell you if she is not sure if Durge can be trusted.

Karlach

Durge actually likes Karlach. Despite her very positive upbeat attitude. He does like her, she treats with you respect, is kind to you, and does not talk down to you. I like to think Karlach kinda finds Durge attractive. Being a DragonBorn and all, she may even might notice Durges smitten face when he looks at you in love. Like a love sick puppy. She smile and comes up from behind him giving him a good slap on the back and say "twitterpated aren't we solider?" causing Durge to trip on his words blushing trying to change the subject while she has a shit eating grin showing her sharp teeth. She might even try to hook you two up. Maybe... maybe even join in the sex action. Durge might actually consider it... if she didn't burn you both. He would say yes as long you were okay with it of course if you were interested. But if Karlach (like Shadowheart) finds out what kind of things Durge did. Oh boy oh boy, consider the friendship bracelet gone. She would get in between you and Durge glaring at him burning with anger. (no pun intended)

Lae'Zel

Heh uh... she may like Durge because of his blood thirsty fight in battle. And he may appercaite that... but if she calls you weak and useless because you are not as battle hungry as she is. Durge will snarl. Step right up to her and speak up. "I will you not have you speak so lowly of her, she's the one that got you out of that trap, she's the one that saved the druids grove with our help, she is the one keeping the peace between all of us, you should thank her, because I would have ripped your arm off." causing the Githyanki woman to narrow her eyes at him. She might tsk at him or making the last retort walking away from him. Durge won't interact with Lae'zel unless he really has to. But if she threatens to hurt you, he will not hesitate to rip her apart. Oh if she even tries to seduce Durge, he will lean so close to her face in a low whisper "Even if you and were the only ones in this plain of existence, I would rather be a mindflayer than share a bedroll with you." And honestly that might hurt her a little but she won't show it of course. Durge heart is only to you, and only you.

Wyll

Would they be dude bros? Maybe? Durge does not mind Wyll at all. The man has honor, he's protective, he treat you with respect and that's what Matters to Durge. Though if he does come a little close towards you, Durge makes a look at him as if "nu uh, mine." Wyll would get the message though. Like Karlach he might even help Durge hook up with you. Give Durge advice what to say but most importantly Wyll will just tell Durge to be himself. Yeah which one? Durge also would also feel bad for Wyll with his mishap being a warlock and all. Durge would definitely spit down at Mizora feet just to stand up for Wyll. Fuck that bitch honestly.

Gale

Funny guy... stop flirting with my girlfriend don't you already have a lover? Durge very much has mixed feelings with this guy. He can be useful but when he learns that he needs to eat magic items to live or else he will explode and die? WHAT? Why the hell is he with party again? Oh cause he's infected too. When he learns about how his lover is goddess, I mean yeah he must think she is pretty-- oh she's actually a goddess. Oh... poor chap. He definitely would be a little jealous that Durge has you instead of him, but he would give Durge advice to "Seduce" a woman. Durge not sure if they would work... maybe one night he will use that advice. Maybe... eh. But Durge wouldn't pity Gale for doing that to himself where he explode not given enough magic items to eat. Also ticks Durge off cause he finds an item he can use to kill enemies and then Gale looks at him as if saying "for me?" while Durge growls wanting to roll his eyes in the back of his head pissed and just hands it to him. Also Wizards vs Sorcerer. Mortals enemies for life (no just kidding). But Gale will boast about being better than Durge when it comes to magic causing the DragonBorn to give Gale a side glance glare. "At least I was born with magic and don't have to kill myself for it." Durge would say causing Gale to frown.

[cy-cyborg]

I gave my partner one of my longer posts to read through just to make sure everything made sense (because I've been working on it too long and it all sounds like gibberish to me now lol) and this (the yellow highlighted text) was one pieces of feedback he left me lol

[ID 1: a photo of some white text on black background. A section in brackets is highlighted yellow which reads: "pun not intended" /End ID 1]

[ID 2: a screenshot of the same text. A pop-up is open on top of the highlighted text from the previous image that says "intend your puns you coward" /end ID 2]

[numbuh]

my notes on operation message aside from "this episode is anti-native in that it's a parody of dances with wolves/it plays on the typical stereotypes + the cowboys vs indians westerns"

sauerbraten was justified in getting mad at hoagie for starting an Actual Campfire in the school hallway actually. but also he only threatens him with detention. where is the line drawn coward

i love that you never actually see hoagie pick up the note while it's on-screen. i think that was clever. i like the few occasions in knd where you can take note of something like that upon rewatch. no pun intended

hoagie almost hitting passerbys with his horse. ironic for the ex-hall-monitor

six gum gang being neutral here. i guess if you hire them or ask they're just like ok i'll do that and then steal a kid's lunch money while i'm at it. otherwise they would've just been standing around in the halls doing nothinggg

multiple little gags that would've been funny had they been rephrased/reworked for a plot without these elements (ie. "my dad knows his dad")

i love that eggbert tells muffy about the splinter cell for some reason. though i guess maybe it has to do with keeping the peace between grades and how the knd help the school in general or something. i have no idea

the comic (note) was better on account of being so short and lacking the tribe stuff entirely

rainbow monkeys on ice exists

[dialalagirl]

Because I love him, Azusa's Letterboxd Account, because this trend sounds great and I feel my mans would love the artistic and symbolically made films of love, sadness pain, and tradegy. Maybe both physical and emotional pain too.

Azusa’s Letterboxd Account @KnivesInTheDark “4.5 stars if someone cried, someone bled, or someone whispered their feelings in a dimly lit room” review count: 78 half are art films about melancholy, the other half are tragic love stories where someone dies or gets abandoned | activity: contemplative 75% of the time he’s rewatching the same sad scenes over and over | follower count: 4k mostly emo teens and people who understand the struggle

A Ghost Story –★★★☆☆ “this is just me, but in ghost form. watch as I wander the earth, contemplating my mistakes and eating pie 👻🥧💀” Oldboy (2003) –★★★★☆ “if you’re not twisted by the end of this, are you even really living? 💔🦑🥂” has tried to recreate the hallway fight scene, but just ends up hitting himself in the face with a mop Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind–★★★★★ “to forget someone, or to remember them forever? this is the question” The Tree of Life–★★★★★ “the universe is so big. my problems are so small. But like... that makes everything worse right? 😔🌌”

Her–★★★★☆ “sometimes you love someone who’s not even real. and then you lose them. and it hurts... but it’s beautiful 🖤💻” might’ve actually fallen in love with Siri at one point. definitely sent some questionable texts at 2 AM

Kill Bill: Vol. 1–★★★★★ “she knows. when life stabs you in the back, you stab back harder. knives are the only true companions 🖤💀”

500 Days of Summer–★★★☆☆ “it’s a love story about heartbreak, and that's the only kind of love I understand 💔” lowkey wishes he was Joseph Gordon-Levitt so he could wallow in sadness for a living The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)–★★★★★ “knives, pain, betrayal. she knows what it’s like to carry a blade and a broken heart 💔🔪” Pulp Fiction –★★★★☆ “not enough stabbing, but like, when they do use knives, it’s pretty on point. (pun intended) 🔪😔” lowkey tried to re-enact the “bring out the gimp” scene, but it didn’t have the same vibe in his living room The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford–★★★★☆ “it’s not about the gun. it’s about the knife they don’t use. the quiet tension. the slow build of agony 🔪🖤” once stared at a knife for an hour, wondering if he could really use it for good. still doesn’t have an answer

(follows no one. posts cryptic shots of knives on tables with captions like, “cut me open, and you’ll see all my secrets”)

[hirsheyskisses]

Hello!! Your spooky event looks so fun! Do you think I could get 1. "You're shivering. Are you really that scared?" + 6 with Eustass Kid? Thank you so much I look forward to seeing what spooky ideas you come up with!!

Don't be a Coward!

Spooktober (2023) Event 👻🎃

EUSTASS KID x READER

Summary: being foolish, fresh put of your teens, Kidd decided to take things a step up for halloween, going to explore a 'haunted' mall.. (also yes, the pun in this story was intended)

Kidd has ALWAYS loved Halloween. Ever since the two of you had been kids, he'd dress up as either the spookiest or coolest shit (often times both) and always insisted on helping you with your costume.

A lot of Halloween often ended with kidd and killer looking absolutely terrifying, where your costumes were often- badass. Dresses that lit on fire, exploding suits, or real life villain energy

But, where they loved horror.. and creepiness.. You'd rather not! You'd really rather not fuck with ouija boards, or go into haunted malls, or fuck with ghosts..

But kidd.. well, you're dating the man..

"I really don't think this is a good idea." You stated for the umpteenth time, being rewarded with another long sigh from your lover. "You're being a wuss. It's just rumors-"

Kidd grumbled, grabbing your hand and lifting you up to the window he'd just shattered, holding you by your sides. Hesitating for a moment before sliding through, attempting not to step on glass, you turned, "thats not the point! Well.. it's part of the point, but we're breaking an entering! Yaknow, doing the thing that's against the law!"

Watching him land beside you, he snorted. "Since when were you so concerned about the law? You broke a guy's jaw for catcalling."

Kidd began to walk, his eyes eager and- to some extent, childish. "He was following me and had it coming, would you rather I have let him take me?" You shot back, to which Kidd tensed a bit. "Never said it was a bad thing. I'm just sayin', it was still against the law." He muttered, a hand snaking behind your back to pull you at his side. Surprisingly, the mall wasn't too scary: trashed, sure, but with a man who cleared 6' it wasn't- entirely terrifying.

"Well.. that scenario shouldn't be against the law." You responded, and you also knew he agreed: Kid loved any excuse to beat down am asshole. Even if he was bit of one himself, he still held some semblance of respect.

The mall was dark, and as you went further in, the light became less and less, until you were squinting to see and cautiously stepping down to ensure you didn't step on anything. Your redheaded boyfriend, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. Instead, he walked with pure confidence, head swiveling from side to side. "I expected more from a haunted mall. This shots boring." He grumbled, glancing back at you. "Yeah.. I guess." You mumbled, focused less so on him and instead chose to peer into the open stores, finding knocked over shelves and ransacked compartments, slowly moving towards an old book store. Grabbing your phone and flicking on the flashlight, you began to move between the shelves, occasionally grabbing at a abandoned, dusty book. Surprisingly, there was a lot of them remaining: and in fairly good condition, too. A few classics, and a few of your old favorites you'd occasionally come across. You'd been there for a few minutes..

"Hey! Kidd! Look at this o-"

You finally lifted your head as you found an old book on mechanic work he'd wanted, only to realize one thing: Kidd was nowhere to be found. You could've sworn he'd been right behind you the entire time- you'd heard his lumbering footsteps!

He's probably just in another store.. you decided, making to exit the library with the book still in your arms. Now that you were alone, you were overly conscious just how big the mall was. Every step you took left you uneasy, swearing you heard footsteps behind you- swore you heard voices, but no- eyes in the darkness, impossible, yet everytime you tried to counter the strange chills you got you just felt worse.

You'd wandered for a few minutes, peering into stores, and growing increasingly worried. What if he'd had a heart attack?! Or what if he'd gotten kidnapped? So much could've gone wrong- yet-

- yet the moment you were shoved against the wall, you had no time to worry about him.

A blood curdling screech ripped its way out of your lungs and you raised the book, fully prepared to slam it into your attackers body and book it- only for your wrists to be pinned to the wall. Your knee prepared to buck upwards, but a deep, growly voice sounded in your ear.

"You're shaking, mouse. Are you really that scared?"

His hot breath fanned against your neck as you almost melted, "k-kidd?! Where'd you go-" your voice was breathless, and Kidd chuckled, pressing his face into your neck. "Was never far.. don't gotta worry so much, mouse. I won't let shit hurt you."