#ruse writes

[heich0e]

every year on your wedding anniversary osamu convinces you to take your ring off and go wedding cake tasting at local bakeries while pretending that the two of you are still engaged

[topaz-mutiny]

"Seeing from his violent demeanor that he was English" is still probably one of the best (funniest) lines in Dracula, but I love how this part of the Post Script contrasts with the rest of the letter Sister Agatha sends.

The main body of the letter is to the point and polite on all matters (makes sense as it seems this part of the writing was overseen by our good friend Jonathan himself, though he's too weak to write) in contrast to the Post Script where Agatha adds in details that are emotionaly powerful and some aren't necessarily sordid but would absolutely be of concern.

Jonathan has nothing on him, he is shouting and in a rush, he has a frightening delirium, delirium can last and reemerge a long time into the future, he rambles about terrifying and grotesque subjects when in the throes of his brain fever (which is an old-timey way to describe a lot of mental illnesses and behaviors), and all of this overcomes a frailty and physical weakness from whatever else he's been through that causes him to otherwise be bedridden.

Even half of that could erode trust in someone. But as told in the rest of the Post Script:

He's recovering, he's gaining more lucidity, the Sisters notice his lucid moments are punctuated by gentleness and sweetness (hard to trust at first likely, due to frequent relapses, and the Sisters are eventually convinced a lot of his prior behavior was caused by the fading brain fever and not by his inherent personality), he is a cherished patient of the Hospital of St. Joseph And St. Mary, and it seems the staff are enamored with how often and with such love he talks about Mina, such that this spurred Sister Agatha to make the Post Script in the first place because it's the first thing she mentions.

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

assorted quotes from the introduction of Monstrous Children and Childish Monsters: Essays on Cinema’s Holy Terrors

[cb-writes-stuff]

So, I might have done a thing on a serious, non-fandom post.

I don’t think anyone there knows what ISAT is. Or that “The Cursing of Château Castle” isn’t a real book series.

I have no regrets.

[quailxcrossing]

thinkingg..............i might want to post some AU content on here. bc my posts are just seen by my awesome friends n moots and most of them can't see my AU work...but they have no idea the beloved antics i put in my AUs.................i want yall to see the waffle fries human au SO bad

[stupidsexygrizzop]

you know what i'd love to see in woe.begone? two people that everyone spends a whole season assuming are iterations. they take full advantage of being completely visually interchangeable with only small personality quirks to tell them apart.

and then it comes out that theyve been regular identical twins the whole time

[imagine-your-nonhuman-fo]

I'm sleepy, which means I'm imaging curling up with dilf alien f/o, we're in a circle bed/nest there's a translucent canopy to keep the bugs out because the balcony door is open letting in the pleasant breeze, and despite it being warm f/o has his wings wrapped around me and the little one in my arms to offer extra warmth despite the soft fuzzy blankets pulled over us

The little one is letting out meaningless little chirps and other sounds in his sleep little wings that can't even lift him yet twitching and flapping drawing a chuckle from his father who mutters about the little one dreaming of flying in the sky

F/o is struggling to stay awake because work keeps him gone longer than he'd like and he appreciates these little moments so much and wants to stay up as long as possible to just bask in this moment

F/o instead nuzzles his beak against my cheek in his best imitation of a kiss

[wooawi]

Lila is either some run-of-the-mill kid who thought it’d be fun to fib for popularity and happened into being targeted by a local hero who cannot stand a few white lies… or she’s a genuine evil mastermind who was dumbed down by whatever air François Dupont is breathing.

Either way, the way she’s written in Miraculous is not indicative of the manipulative genius she’s painted as. She’s supposed to be someone who excels at crafting lies and luring her prey into an extremely complicated web, but she was caught by a false mirror. A false mirror someone of her proposed caliber would’ve clocked immediately. She should have a habit of checking her surroundings for traps and potholes, after all her main talent is creating them. She should be able to enter the mind of her opponent and predict what their next move will be. She should’ve seen that false mirror coming from a mile away.

Even if she hadn’t, Sabrina had suddenly deviated from the plan, exited a hostile space (the classroom) to trap herself in a smaller and more closed room (the bathroom), and started talking about whatever “proof” she has. Is she hiding from her enemies or is she confronting them?

If she enters the bathroom, she’s likely going there to be alone, make herself smaller, cry out her feelings and panic in isolation. But if she turns around and starts arguing, she’s looking for a fight. Either to convince Lila to fess up or threaten the girl into doing so. She would’ve done that in the classroom in front of witnesses, not in a secure location away from prying eyes, alone with her enemies.

Which means this temporary bathroom isn’t a safe location. It isn’t away from prying eyes or ears. There’s something not right. Lila should be careful of what she says and keep going with the plan as if nothing has happened. Cajoling Sabrina and trying to comfort her (read: gaslight her) should be top priority. She is working under Marinette and the stress has manifested into a mental breakdown, the poor dear :’(

It was even hinted that Lila was contemplating the events with her slow walk down the stairs. She was analysing the situation and trying to fix the plan in her head. And you’re telling me that crucial moment of thinking culminated in Chloe-style interrogation in what is clearly not a secure space?

I need this show to be honest with me. Is Lila actually just a normal person who got too deep into shit she was not built for?

[burstfoot]

O wise one in the ways of vessels, what is your verdict on Whisperain/Dusk and Dusk/Deepcolor?

Whisperain/Dusk: Oh REALLY good... I'm a sucker for the drama of reincarnation immortal/non-reincarnating immortal... @000yul's art of them has also completely sold me!! Deepcolor/Dusk: Much less interesting to me, seems like it's just 'they're both artists'. Deepcolor doesn't do much for me when taking her out of the context of the Iberia/Aegir plotline, so putting her with Dusk who's entirely unrelated doesn't work as much as Whispy/Dusk for me

[radicalhighway-moved]

watched suicide squad hell to pay just to see if there’s any shot of finding a suicide squad thing that Doesn’t suck ass and let’s just say: challenge FAILED!!!!!

[hallowed-nebulae]

saplings and branches

[in which a fae investigates and causes exciting new interpersonal problems for everyone. @beastenraged ]

It's hot out today, in Radiant Garden. Sweltering, even, if you're some of the less sun-inclinded residents, a kind of heat that sinks into the bones.

Not that anyone would notice, of course, in Midgar, or in the Faewilds. There are far too many trees and haphazard buildings and shadows being cast for it to be too hot, of course.

Now, the residents of Midgar and the Atrium have been all shaken up, recently -- some travellers arriving from beyond the rift, beyond this world, causing chaos and ripples in their wake even without trying!

The Faewilds, though -- the Faewilds are unbothered. The fae are unbothered -- a strange occurrence, uncommon yes, but not impossible, and not never-before heard. Most fae hear the news and think little of it, as fae tend to do.

Not so for Feo Ul, however. Feo Ul is intrigued.

Flitting this way and that, a fae is neither uncommon nor common in Midgar -- Feo Ul is more common than most, their insatiable curiosity often drawing them towards Midgar where the other beings live, the non-fae and fae-touched and fae-born all.

Nothing new here, nothing new there, not there either -- but oh, there! A new face, one they've seen before. The face is older, the hair is longer, the eyes are yellow, but Feo Ul knows that face, don't they? An older, different version of their dear sapling Xehanort (what a cold sapling she is! Not calling on them once!), but a Xehanort nonetheless.

A sane person would watch and wait and consider the points that this is a different Xehanort, and that Feo Ul's sapling has not even become their sapling yet in this time. But -- that is a sane person, and why should fae play by men's rules anyways?

"There you are!" They shout, triumphantly, appearing in a burst of light before this yellow-eyed Xehanort. He startles, and the others by him (two Dream Eaters, that almost-Darkling Ephemer, and that strange not-quite-godling with red eyes) do the same, but why should Feo Ul care about that.

"Can I. . . help you?" Asks the Xehanort, raising a brow.

"How cruel!" Feo Ul cries. "I wait for my lovely sapling to call upon me, and you've simply left me waiting and waiting! My sapling has no regard for his lovely branch, none at all! Such a cold and cruel and heartless thing he is!"

Xehanort scowls, then. "Excuse me?"

Feo Ul sniffs, unheeding of his expression or the thoughts of all the others. "You may be excused if you apologize." They say, very graciously. Not even calling on them once! "Though I suppose I should be harrassing your younger self -- but she's still young, and you can't expect buds to be as responsible and polite as flowers are."

The not-quite-godling chirps at them, and Feo Ul waves a hand at them. "Oh don't you worry, little one, your branch will find you when they need to." Such is the way of Fate and Miracles, after all.

Then they turn back to that Dream Eater that isn't quite so light-blinding. "And you! What a lovely sapling you look like! Have you any fae friends, then?"

The Dream Eater -- the girl, perhaps -- looks at Feo Ul oddly. Perhaps she's confused? She must be young, then, or perhaps there are no fae in whatever world she and her kin are from (though that does not excuse her sapling for being so cold to her). "I don't . . . are -- do Moogles count?"

"Moogles?" Feo Ul taps their chin. "An odd sort, but I suppose. . ." well. Moogles are better than nothing. They nod, decisively. "Moogles are far stranger than fae, but they shan't steer you wrong. Mayhap they'll teach you manners, so you don't become so cruel and cold to your dear branch."

And with that, Feo Ul settles into their decision. This is a strange bunch, but this conversation alone has been more fun than the past two weeks -- these newcomers from beyond the rift may even share their stories! What a wonderful thing that would be! (And if they are unused to Feo Ul's presence, well -- they shall adjust. Eventually.)

[impishtubist]

AU where Harry doesn’t die at Godric’s Hollow - but Voldemort isn’t defeated, either. Sirius arrives to find Voldemort in possession of his baby godson and refusing to give him up (b/c, shit, that’s one powerful baby, and Voldy wants to harness that power!). 

No one knows that Sirius isn’t the traitor. It’s easy enough to explain to the remaining DEs - all Voldy has to say is that he’s the only one who knows that Sirius was working for him, and they’d all believe him. Voldy blackmails Sirius into playing along. He’ll keep Harry at his, idk, lair or whatever, but Sirius can also live there and raise Harry IF he goes along with the ruse that he was the Secret Keeper who betrayed the Potters and IF he allows Voldy to spirit Harry away whenever he wants to study him/his magic.

So now Sirius is pretending to be a Death Eater, has to allow the whole world (including Remus) think he’s a traitor, has to keep himself from murdering Wormtail (unless Wormy is off living as a rat somewhere??), and has to keep Harry safe while secretly trying to figure out how tf to get them out of this situation.

idk is this anything

[ghostradiodylan]

What if you finally got to share earbuds with your crush but the music was bad? And you were The Music Guy but you had to pretend you liked the bad music, just like you had to pretend you liked Kaylee and Caleb Hackett? Awkward.

[agentplutonium]

wanting attention and wanting to yap but not having enough close mutuals to justify subjecting them to The Horrors that is Sleepy Pluto (tm)

[phoenixcatch7]

Fic idea collection: sephiroth reincarnates into mdzs.

Now I've been rotating this in my mind for a while, but it went through several iterations before I was happy with it. Feel free to expand on or even use any of them!

Sephiroth reincarnates into lwj. Straightforward, pretty 1 to 1, we get lovely white v black and anime swordsmen and a bewildered love at first sight gay panic that goes differently to but about as well as canon. Room for gorgeous scenes and lots of angst. Wings, war heroes, on a pedestal, etc. Becoming a new person vs cycles of trauma. Devil you know etc. Problem: I don't like writing romance, I don't particularly want to one true soulmate wwx with someone who isn't lwj, and should wwx still die (pretty inevitable) the issue abruptly becomes sephiroth grieving for his brutally defamed and murdered One Love and not going on a genocidal spree about it. Lsh is not enough of an deterrent when the jianghu wants the kid dead too.

Sephiroth reincarnates into lwj and lxc in a split soul/mind situation, and they 'both' fall in love with wwx. I loved this, but the logistical issues (particularly the war) clashed with anything to do with the canon plot, and again it didn't fix the other romantic issues.

Sephiroth reincarnates into just lxc and that would have very little bearing on the wwx centric plot, so maybe a romance with jc? Again, cute, but sephiroth is pretty much the polar opposite of lxc and that'd mess up so much. They could work a grumpy (cold, uncaring) with a grumpy (hot, cares so very much) dynamic, I think they'd work pretty well under the right circumstances, but that combined with the fact I don't really ship them (sorry!) put me off expanding it further.

The one I finally decided on:

Sephiroth as... nmj! The combination of the special sabers and their resentment, the war leader role, the reputation, the kid brother abruptly foisted on him, it really struck me! I really like the idea of nmj slipping NHS some of his dna as a baby (qi covering for hojo science in this case) and the compulsive consequences of that. Feeling like NHS only really cares for him because of the s cells mind control. Having to take care of him like those egg/flour bag baby projects to teach kids empathy and responsibility but with a real human kid brother.

Nmj letting NHS slack even if he hates it because his subconscious will protect him in an emergency. If you've seen the scene in ff7 rebirth of cloud with the soldiers you'll know what I mean (it was SUCH a good scene. Ice cold). Imagine NHS of all people getting in trouble (like in the live action) and suddenly like a switch is flipped turning into a merciless murder machine.

I feel like they'd bond a lot in their own way, with NHS both thinking the world of and being sibling scared of him, them thoroughly enjoying battles of wits like weiqi but having no/few shared interests outside of that. Nmj honing NHS' observation skills, ruthlessness, quick thinking (and unwittingly, acting skills lmao). Sephiroths total inability to comprehend NHS' want to be lazy and indulgent with his own childhood of being genetically made to be a high functioning child soldier and then having to lead the sect and raise a kid from a young age, but having no real reference for how a normal childhood would look.

It'd be really interesting to see how it'd affect the war efforts, with someone well versed in large scale conflict, with sephiroths own overwhelming power. Wwx wouldn't be the sole ace, and how would that affect his own motivations and reputation if he wasn't as necessary?

And of course!! The venerated triad!! How would sephiroth take lxc and jgy, so much like his old genesis and angel? Would the experience of crisis core prepare him for those two, or for betrayal and distrust? Without the threat of degradation, would he find himself clinging to them? Would he notice lgys betrayal or underestimate him? Would he feed him his dna and pull an uno reverse??

And should he die, there's no way his corpse is going to be normal. Like, at all. (And poor NHS would sense it, react to it, part of his mind and cells getting ripped out, shut down, the warmth and love of his brother.) Would it constantly try to revive? Would its presence cause mania or mood swings, hallucinations, nightmares? Would people exposed start picking up habits or beliefs he had while alive? Would it be cut up to try and weaken it? Would its eyes track lgy until he hides it away? Would he start oozing green?? And don't even start on what a temple scene would look like in this situation, oh man. It'd be Bad. I think he'd claw his way back to full consciousness out of pure homicidal refusal. He's clawed his way back from total annihilation far too many times to let some conniving POLITICIAN do him in for good.

Nmj staunchly returning from the dead to take up being a Co sect leader again because now he's actually unkillable and NHS is not about to let this happen without shoving as much work as possible back onto him lmao (so he can't leave). And befriending wen ning. The white hair and blank eyes with the iron grey skin and black/gold would be striking.

Basically nmj would be ripe for really good canon divergence and character analysis and growth but even if you keep canon the exact same there's still plenty of room during and after for anything ranging from hurt/comfort to fluff to pure crack (we're putting Sci fi dystopia allegory man in Chinese High Fantasy it's not going to go completely smoothly. And this man does not have experience with raising a child).

There is, also, the option of split mind nhs/nmj sephiroth, in which one body takes the brawn and the violence and the attention and the other keeps the brain and the secret longing for safety and comfort and leisure, acting as though two separate people to allow this space to rest and heal and learn to be human in the way a child soldier or orphaned teen sect leader isn't allowed. It'd mean NHS and nmj would have to be twins, and thus full blooded, but that could be rectified by nmj just being the youngest of the trio and NHS being a few years behind in classes so he's in the same year as the other clan heirs (and wwx) like canon. He'd also be a lot, lot harder to kill and if jgy did anyway sephiroth would quite brutally extract revenge immediately for killing his other body and that means no happy ending for wwx (or a lot of people tbh).

So which idea is your favourite?

[beastenraged]

the impossibility of swimming upstream

"I can hold a grudge if I want!" The Replica folds her arms over her chest, pouting in Luxu's direction. "You shot me! I get to hold a grudge!"

Luxu spreads his arms. "Hey, you messed up all of my plans as Xigbar, and you don't see me holding a grudge, huh?"

Frankly, he doesn't care too much about that. Ruse wasn't even really involved in messing up the original Organization XIII, not directly. And besides, the plans are working out for the better now anyway.

It's just fun to watch the young Faller puff up in agitation, in response to his nonchalance.

"But it's better now! Your plans and everything! I- I hate you so much."

"Do you?" Luxu tilts his head, genuinely curious. He's never quite managed to hate Ruse, even after the revelation how much much she knew about the Master's plan. Especially after that revelation, he'll admit, though only to himself.

It's been a long time, since the others disappeared after the original Keyblade War. They understood his jokes, his references, even if they didn't always laugh or acknowledge them.

For another Faller that understands him, to appear after so long...he wonders. An accident or a gift from his long lost Master? Does it really matter in the end?

(She's wrong about Digimon, though. Pokemon are not better than them.)

Ruse sighs, slumping onto her elbows onto the table between them. "...no. I guess not. But that doesn't mean I forgive you for the shooting part!"

"That's fine." He waves a hand, dismissing the topic the best he can. The scars on his face (Xigbar's face) itch, and he resists the urge to scratch at them.

The same urge that he sees that Ruse doesn't resist on her side, fingers tracing around the grievous remains of burns along her face.

She runs towards the reminders of her hurts, instead of leaving them in the past where they belong. Like he does.

"Sooo." The fingers of her free hand tap on her thigh. "What are we going to do about Xehanort? The Organization? How can we stop the Darkness?"

Save them, is the words she avoids using, though they both know that's what she means. That she thinks Xehanort can be stopped, brought back.

Be her friend again.

(Be Luxu's friend again. As it was as Bragi.)

She needs to let go of her dreams before they kill her.

(Like what almost happened to him, over the Dandelions.)

He leans in closer, fingers tapping out emphasis along each word he states.

"You. Can't. Save. Them."

(Love on its own has never been enough. Will never be enough.)

Red eyes narrow. "Oh yeah? Just watch me."