#some of the men on the list are also dead before the story begins but those are like. the family members of major characters

[the-secret-keeper]

Where MC Tells the Obey Me Brothers About How Horribly They Were Treated in Twisted Wonderland

This was requested by @sweetlicorice I hope you like it! It was taking longer than expected, so I only did the brothers, but I will do the dateables in a part 2, don't worry.

TW: Talk of being Overworked and Burnt Out, Abuse of Power, Very Angry Demons (but not at you), mental breakdowns, missing a pet (he's not dead, don't worry), and nightmares

Reader is referred to as MC by the characters (though I don't think they say it here) and MC is gender neutral, but this is mostly in second person, so for the majority of the story you'll be referred to as 'You' by the narrator.

Characters include: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Satan, Beelzebub, and Belphegor

Could be read as romantic or platonic

This will be long, so the stories under the cut

This is organized by character, with a bit of context at the beginning. Enjoy!

First, it was a coffin. You were kidnapped by a horse-drawn hearse, woke up in a coffin, in another world. A world of magic, and wonder, but also one of pain, as you quickly learned. But you met people. You made friends, allies, and you were learning, even if you couldn't use magic.

And then, it was you landing rather harshly in a room that looked like an old-time, very fancy courtroom, surrounding by tall and intimidating looking young men. It was soon explained to you that you were in the Devildom, and were an exchange student, one that would be living with the Seven Deadly Sins for your own protection.

You didn't know what to feel. Gratitude for the much improved living conditions? Fear for living with a bunch of demons and going to school with demons that would likely have no qualms with snapping you in two if you stepped out of line? Sadness for the friends that you don't know how to get back to? Upset for being forced to leave the place you were finally starting to feel like you fit in at and having to leave Grim? It was a whirlwind inside, and for a time, that's where it stayed. Kept inside.

Slowly, the Devildom revealed to have similar problems as Twisted Wonderland, in the fact that it seems everyone in power here, aside from Diavolo and Barbatos, would like you to die.

Most of the brothers tried to kill you. One of them succeeded! Congrats to them you guess, though, no offense to Belphie, you don't think it was particularly hard for a demon to kill a human.

Through all of this, you got closer to those you were staying with, even forgiving Belphegor after everything. It only made sense that eventually, what happened to you, you started to open up to them about your past. About those that you met and bonded with, all that had been put onto you, and all that was different.

Lucifer:

You were in his office, as you did somewhat often. It was quieter in there than it was in most of the house, and no one would bother you if you were with him. Plus, sometimes he would let you take care of some of his paperwork, just the stuff that wasn't too sensitive or important, but it lightened his load a bit.

"Why do you insist upon helping me?" He asked, not looking up from his paper, as you looked at your own.

"I'm used to doing more work, and if it makes your job easier, then I don't mind." You shrugged.

"More work? Do you mean like a job?" He asked, somewhat curious. Your file had listed a lot, but you had, apparently, been missing for a while when you were brought to the Devildom, so he didn't know what you had been doing before coming there.

"Something like that." You vaguely answered, finishing a paper.

"I am always here if you need to talk." He glanced up at you, as you pulled out your homework instead.

"Thank you."

A comfortable silence fell over the you two. The ambiance of the fireplace, paired with the low volume on the record he was playing, along with the light scratching of his pen, was calming. His office was always dimly lit, enough to see easily, but also darker than the average room.

It was a quiet environment that reminded you of the days when you would sit in the office of Crewel, him taking pity on the amount of work shoved on you and attempting to help at least a little. Or the days when you would study with Ace and Deuce in the Heartslabyul Common Room, Riddle sitting nearby doing his own paperwork, and Grim resting lazily along your shoulders. It was comforting, yet sad, at the same time.

"Back, in the place where I was," you started softly after a few moments of silence, "there was more that was required of me."

"In what way?" He asked, and though you couldn't tell, off in your own world, he had stopped doing his paperwork to focus on what you were saying, fully enraptured in wanting to know your backstory.

"The headmaster, at my last school, his name was Dire Crowley. And he was terrible at his job." You laughed bitterly. "I showed up there one day, against my will, and practically started running the place once he thought I could handle it, or when he was certain I wouldn't complain." You glared at your paper, thinking back on all that was unfairly thrown at you.

"Like what?"

"Paperwork, was the majority." You answered without thinking. "But there were.... others."

"Others?" He prompted after a few moments of a now, much tenser, silence.

"Your demon form is scary." You looked at him, making eye contact. "But it is not as scary as facing seven Overblots within the span of a year."

"Overblots?"

"The manifestation of out of control magic and strong negative emotions that result in the transformation of the magic user, and the creation of a sort of monster. The magic user loses control of their entire being, and it's very taxing on the magic user." Your eyes were glazed over as you seemed to recite the information with no emotion in your voice. "I don't blame them, for Overblotting, and losing control, the world is cruel. I do blame Dire Crowley, however, for making me responsible for dealing with them."

"That sounds dangerous, for someone without magic."

"It was." You agreed, still looking towards him.

Not at him, but through him, as if you weren't registering how much you were saying. This made him all the more concerned, as he got up and walked over to you, sitting beside you.

"I was also responsible for whatever Dire Crowley wanted me to do. Feed the fireplaces over winter break, find out why our sports players are getting injured, stop that one student from taking over the student body, house these people for this inter-school competition, and on, and on." You listed, beginning to spiral. "I practically ran that school. Me! A magicless human who had no idea what they were doing or where they were or how to handle what was happening to me. He stuck me in a shack, filled with mildew, and mold, that was covered in dust, infested with ghosts, and falling apart at the seams with a fire-breathing cat. And he didn't even make me a student at first!" You looked at Lucifer, tears pricking your eyes. "I was a janitor! And when another student got myself, Grim, and another student in trouble, he was going to throw me out! Onto the streets with no understanding of the world, how it functions, or anything at all!"

Lucifer nodded, trying to get you to calm down silently, wanting to hear about your past, even though it was painful.

"And he'd threaten me, Lucifer! He'd threaten my housing, my food budget, and I had no means of income! I couldn't pay for myself in any regard, I was completely dependent on him! I was his little puppet. The puppet of the 'oh so gracious Dire Crowley'." You began to sob as emotions started to overcome you, them all spilling out as you finally let yourself feel safe enough to feel these emotions. "I was so scared! About what would happen to me, and my friends. I didn't know what the next day would bring."

He brought you into his chest, hugging you tightly, and allowing your tears to stain his red vest. He let you sob and weep as you finally allowed yourself to process the emotions you'd been keeping inside this whole time. He kept his breathing even, trying to get you to match it subconsciously, and he gently rocked you, trying to calm you down as best he could.

"I miss Grim!" You cried out, into his chest. "I miss him so much that it hurts. I feel so anxious without him around."

He didn't ask who Grim was, but he knew it was someone important. He'd ask you about it when you were calmer, for now, he'd just let you cry to your hearts content. It had been a long time since someone had come to him, and allowed him to see them crying, but he didn't mind it so much when it was you. He took pride in being someone you felt safe enough to cry around.

No more paperwork got done that night, but he didn't care. You were more important at that point in time, and Diavolo would understand, he assured you of this, when you tried to apologize for taking up his time and crying on him. He brought up that Diavolo would be more mad if he hadn't comforted you, which made you laugh. You were so tired from crying that not long after you calmed down, you drifted off in Lucifer's arms, on the couch in his office.

Mammon: 

You were hanging out in Mammon's room one night, trying to help him study. Mammon was a lot smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for, the main issue you were having was the effort in which he was putting in. Which was zero. He was much more interested in his video game than his homework, despite the fact that Lucifer had threatened to string him up from the ceiling should he not get a satisfactory grade.

It was almost nice, how familiar this felt. The arguing with him about studying gave you a nostalgic feeling, for when you would study with your First Year friend group, and you would try to pry Ace away from his video games. It was never effective, much like now, but the nostalgia made you keep trying to convince him.

Mammon himself didn't seem to notice the effect this was having on you, too focused on his video game. Not that you cared, better for him to remain oblivious that try to pry your secrets out of you.

You sighed, closing the textbooks that you had brought in, accepting the fate of his grade, and making a mental note to find a spot to at least try to hide him from Lucifer. You watched as he played the game for just a few more minutes before you crawled over, sitting beside him as he played, watching the screen.

"Why're ya so good at homework in the Devildom anyway?" He asked, in the blunt way he normally does.

"Diavolo adjusted my curriculum because I don't know much about the Devildom, so I get assignments that are easier." You admitted, leaning against him, your head resting on his shoulder. "I appreciate it, my last headmaster wasn't nearly so accommodating." You mumbled bitterly, thinking back on that incompetent headmaster.

"Really? How's that?" He asked, only half-paying attention, as he spam-clicked the button on the controller to his video game.

"Eh, don't think too much about it. Crowley was stupid, and though he claims he was gracious, he was really anything but. At least to me."

"What's 'at supposed to mean?" He asked before exclaiming nonsensical, frustrated sounds at his loss in the video game.

"I was basically his Barbatos, but I wasn't paid. Hell," You laughed mirthfully, "what money I was supposed to get was threatened, actually. More than once."

"Really?"

His attention was still diverted, and you noticed this. He was likely only wanting to hear your voice for background noise while he played, but you didn't mind so much. At least now you can say you told someone. Even if he wasn't listening.

"Yeah, Crowley threatened my food and housing budget more than once. And he'd push all his work onto me, even though I really shouldn't have had that much responsibility put on me. After all, I was someone without magic in a magic-teaching school, from another world. I didn't know anything." You shrugged lightly, trying not to move Mammon's arm too much, because your head was still resting on his shoulder. "I can't say I miss that part of it."

"What do ya miss then?" He asked, eyes still glued to the screen.

"My friends. I had a group of friends that were pretty tight-knit. Trauma bonded, more like it." You laughed. "And Grim. I miss Grim."

"Grim?"

"My cat."

"Ya sound like Satan."

"Grim was a special cat. He could use magic, and fly, and talk. You remind me of him sometimes." At that he finally paused the game to look at you.

"I, remind ya of... a cat?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah." You smiled, laughing lightly. "He was sarcastic, and demanding, and greedy. He called me Henchman, you call me Human." He rolled his eyes. "But underneath your... bravado, is a very nice person, who cares a lot. Grim and I... we only had each other. So it just makes sense that we bonded. I miss him, a lot. He used to sleep in my bed, and he'd always be there with me. I've been having trouble sleeping without him. It just feels like there's something missing." You admitted in a soft and sad tone. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders.

"I'll be yer Grim 'til we can convince Diavolo or Barbatos, or maybe Solomon to get yer cat." He said quietly, rubbing your upper arm. "Ya can sleep in here whenever ya need, ok?" You nodded. "Wanna watch a movie?" You smiled at him, nodding once more, as he turned the TV to one of the bajillion streaming services the family all pay for, because they share, and arguing with you about the best movie to watch.

Leviathan:

Leviathan was out in public with you, having gone to an anime themed event at a cafe in the Devildom. He was so excited, that you just couldn't resist when he asked if you wanted to go with. It was nice to hear him rant and ramble about all the things that he was passionate about.

"There's a cat in the anime that waitress is from! And he's super cool!" Levi started. "He can fly, and talk, and use magic. He's also very stubborn, like a donkey. But he's a favorite in the fandom because of how cute he is."

"I know someone like that." You mumbled without thinking, your mind wandering to your feline friend.

"You do?!" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah." You smiled. "His name was Grim, and he used to live with me, back in the time before."

"Really? Tell me more!"

"He wasn't super smart, or very hard working. He used to call me Henchman, and demand cans of tuna. But when it came down to it, Grim was the one I could rely on the most. But, that might also be because we literally couldn't leave each other." You told him.

"You couldn't?"

"No. I don't have magic, and he did. I'm human, he was a cat. The headmaster of my last school decided to be 'oh so gracious'," you quoted, making air quotes around his catchphrase, "and make the two of us one singular student, allowing us to attend his magic school."

"That seems... dumb. To say the least."

"It was." You deadpanned, before the both of you laughed. "He was a bad headmaster. Towards the end of my stay there, I was practically headmaster, just because of how much work he pushed onto me because he could. But while I was at that school I made friends. And I had Grim. Even if the situation I was in was less than ideal." You smiled as the waitress delivered the food you ordered, with a bundle of silverware.

"Ah. I bet you'd prefer them to an otaku like me."

"Not true!" You defended, pointing your fork at Leviathan. "I like you plenty fine, Levi. You actually remind me a lot of my friend Idia. But," you laughed awkwardly, "at least you leave the house sometimes, and aren't afraid of confrontation. Or, at least, you're not afraid to confront some people. Like your brothers." You set your fork down, stopping your silent threat at Levi, that wasn't actually very threatening to him.

"He was an otaku too?"

"Yes indeed, and a master gamer to boot."

"Better than me?"

"It's hard to say." You shrugged. "The games you guys play are similar, but different. It's not a fair comparison." He seemed placated by this answer. "Your brothers remind me of a lot of my friends from there." You said vaguely.

"Do you miss them?"

"Yeah. They're my friends, of course I miss them. And it's not like I know if and when I'll be able to see them again." You explained gently. "I don't miss the work though. Diavolo was nice and assigned me a tutor and easier assignments until I get the hang of the normal work here. And no one makes me do any extra work, or threatens my food or housing. Well, Lucifer threatens punishments sometimes, but he would never threaten my food or housing, and I won't get punished as long as I do my best and behave." You rambled, smiling at how nice it was here, compared to it was in Twisted Wonderland. "Plus, I have all of you, and Diavolo, and Barbatos, and the other exchange students. I miss my friends from there, and I really wish that I had Grim here with me. But I am happy here." You beamed.

"Maybe if we ask Lucifer, he may know how to get your cat." Leviathan suggested, smiling lightly.

"I would love that. He acts like Mammon, but he feels like an emotional support cat. And, I bet Satan would seriously love having him here too."

"You know, we're all here. If you want to talk."

"I know." You glanced around. "What anime is that cosplay from?" You asked, gesturing at another waitress, changing the subject.

He glanced, and started beaming, immediately launching into a rant about the anime it's from, and the character themself. It was nice that he didn't question the change in subject. You'd tell Levi and the others all about what happened to you, and about what Twisted Wonderland was like. Eventually. Maybe.

Asmodeus:

Saying Asmo was flirty, was an understatement. Possibly the understatement of the century. And while he flirted and charmed nearly every being in existence, he did understand consent, and took every no at face value, stopping when asked. Of course, it's a rejection, so at the beginning you had to explain that no, you're not rejecting him as a person, you like him plenty fine as a person, you just don't always want to be flirted with.

He still did it, but when you asked him to stop he'd make a show of whining about it, but stopping nonetheless. It was annoying, but he did take your 'no' seriously, so in the end it was kind of worth it. Asmo was good for conversation, and he knew all the gossip, so he was nice to hang out with.

You had mentioned a handful of times that he reminded you of someone where you were from where you used to live. But all he ever said in response was that there was no one like him. Which is true, as no one else could truly embody Lust like Asmodeus does.

He was doing a skincare night with you, when you brought it up again.

"You know a lot about skincare already, it's quite impressive." He complimented.

"Yeah, had a friend who took it very seriously." You agreed.

"Is this the same friend that I remind you of?"

"Tis." You smiled, gently rubbing the moisturizer onto his face. "He was an interesting man."

"Interesting man? Interesting how?"

"He was insanely hard working, yet it seemed no one saw that." You started, taking a deep breath. "He was an actor, and social media influencer. And he was talented. Extremely talented. He worked hard to get where he was, but he had the means to get there."

"Anything else I should know about this person?"

"Well, he was good at potions. And like, just as good if not better than Satan and Solomon, good. He had the harshest study routine, but it was worth it. Never failed a potions class if he was tutoring me. He didn't have much time to do so, but I was always grateful when he did." You thought back on the memories fondly, smiling, as you stopped rubbing the moisturizer into his skin, and moving onto the next step. "His methods were.... intense, to say the least." Your smile became strained, remembering the VDC. "But, they got the results he wanted, so I guess he didn't see much issue with it."

"Intense in what way?" Asmo asked, noting your tenseness.

"I was appointed manager for a dance team, an interschool competition thing, you know how competitive people can get." You shook your head lightly. "They all came to live in my dorm because it was mostly empty. But, despite me being manager, he decided I needed to follow the same diet as everyone else. My friends said it was a 'we're all in this together' thing, but I thought he was just being unreasonable. I mean, come on, hexing my food? That's just wasteful. And he didn't even pay me back. I didn't get much money for food in general, because I was the magicless student, and there he went, just wasting what I had." You laughed mirthfully, remembering your anger at the situation, and your frustration.

"Well, in his defense, if he was just looking out for you."

"I would have no problems if that were the case, Azzy." You slightly chastised, but it was playful, and held no real bite. "I took your diet in stride, didn't I?" He nodded in acknowledgement. "I would've been fine with it, if that were the case. But he never paid me back for the food that he hexed, or replaced it. I didn't have much, so no one being able to eat those foods, it was wasteful. I mean, it's not like I got much money, if any, from the school for dorm food, like every other dorm."

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I was the magicless student. The errand person. The pushover. The unpaid therapist or headmaster. Depends on the day." You sighed. "The headmaster didn't want to have to rewrite the budget to factor in an extra dorm, when it only had two students in it, that really only amounted to one student."

"Wait, I thought you've mentioned before that you had a roommate."

"I lived with a fire-breathing, flying, talking cat named Grim, who could use magic, and several ghosts. I say technically one student, because the ghosts were faculty members, technically, but Grim had magic, and I didn't, but I was human and Grim was a cat. So, when I popped out of the woodwork, with no magic, no identification, no way to go home, and no clue about how this world worked, the headmaster was 'oh so gracious'," you mocked, "and put us both in a run down dorm, enrolled as a single student."

"Run down?"

"I mean Run Down. It was called Ramshackle, by other students, and it certainly lived up to it's name. The heater didn't work, I had to curl up with Grimm under every blanket I could find in that house. It was caked in mold and mildew, and dust, until Crowley cleaned it for the VDC. I injured myself more than once." You pointed to a scar on your forearm, where you'd hurt yourself in an attempt to fix up your dorm. "I am, honestly, very grateful, for the opportunity to stay here, in much better conditions. I do miss my friends, and I miss Grim." You admitted.

"Is that why you named that stuffed animal Grim? I thought you were just taking after Mammon in your greed."

"I miss Grim." You stated simply. "He was always with me. We were inseparable. We fought, we bickered, but at the end of the day, I knew if there was one thing, one being, I could rely on consistently, it was Grim. He was my ride-or-die. I named my stuffed animal after him, because I have a hard time sleeping without him. Even just, relaxing, can be hard. I miss him, and I don't know if he's ok. I genuinely, worry about him. And I miss him so much, that it's hard to fully put into words."

"I'm sorry." He offered, and you just smiled at him.

There was not much more Asmodeus could say. He couldn't provide you the comfort that you craved, as he was not your cat, nor could he get you your cat. So, he extended his sympathies, and access to his bed whenever you would like. For cuddles, or for more, he was always down for whatever.

He only hoped that his efforts to be there, and open for you, helped to heal you a little bit in the long run.

Satan:

Satan was nice to be around. He was curious, and he liked to know things and ask questions, so he did tend to pry into your past. But he was always good for book recommendations, and was always happy to discuss any book you wanted.

You found comfort in his fondness for cats, finding a kindred spirit in that regard. You didn't tell him about Grim, not wanting to get his hopes up about maybe meeting your beloved companion. He did notice your love of cats though, and had gotten you a giant cat plushie, as a gift.

You had named it Grim, and it lived on your bed. It was much quieter, and honestly, a bit boring compared to the real thing, but it was good for cuddling in the night when you couldn't sleep because you missed your furry friend. You were grateful that Satan had brought you just a bit of comfort in those moments, even if he didn't know it.

"I had a cat." You started one day when he started reading off cat facts enthusiastically after you had expressed the slightest bit of interest. "He was a rather interesting thing."

"Really? What was he like?" Satan liked to hear you talk about your past in general, but he was especially excited to hear about your cat.

"His name was Grim. And he was big, like 2 feet tall. He had a very distinct look about him. Grey fur, with a white chest," Satan nodded, listening intently, "bright, big, blue eyes. So round they almost looked scary sometimes. His ears, they had blue fire coming out of them, and his tail was shaped like a pitchfork. And he could use magic! He could breathe fire, and fly, effortlessly. He could talk too. Used to talk my ear off." You smiled fondly, happy to be able to talk about your favorite creature. "He'd call me Henchman, or Hench Human. He was a trouble maker. Mammon reminds me of him that way."

"Oh." Satan almost groaned.

"But much like Mammon, at the end of the day, push comes to shove, you can rely on him. That was one of the few things I knew for certain back then. Grim was the only one I could fully rely on. I had other friends, but Grim and I, we were inseparable. He was my best friend. He used to sleep in my bed with me, every night. I'm so used to it, it's honestly.... kind of hard to sleep without him." You admitted, laughing tiredly. "I miss Grim."

"Were you allowed pets, or familiars, at your last school?"

"No. No, I don't think we were." You answered after a moment of thought. "But Grim was a special case. He and I crashed the entrance ceremony. I wasn't supposed to be there, and got yoinked out of another world, but he was just straight up trespassing because he wanted so badly to go to that school, and become a great mage." You laughed at the memory. "He committed arson, I helped calm him down, and the rest is history. We weren't students, originally. We were janitors. The Headmaster only let us stay because I didn't have anywhere else to go, and I proved that Grim could be helpful."

"I thought you said you were a student?"

"I was. Half. I was half of a student." You smiled, taking a tired, yet fond, sigh. "I didn't have magic. But Grim did. So, Crowley determined that we would each be half of a student. He got us both into so much trouble, but he always helped me get out of it. I could always rely on Grim. Except in schoolwork," you admitted, laughing a little, "I was alone in that portion."

A million questions ran through his head, and you could tell the gears were turning. It was almost amusing, seeing him trying to decide on what topic to pick. Should he keep going about your cat? Pry about your headmaster? Ask about your clearly troubled past at this school?

He was quiet, but it wasn't tense, or awkward, just comfortable silence, as you patiently awaited his next question. You knew Satan would choose his words carefully, so as to not make you uncomfortable, so you had no fears. You really didn't want him to ask about Grim's homework habits though. Satan prioritized intelligence, and knowledge. You wanted him to have a good impression of Grim, since you thought the two would get along, despite Grim being similar to his older brother, Mammon.

It took him a few moments, you, peacefully sipping your favorite hot drink, as you waited patiently, reading your book, before he finally picked a topic.

"Was your headmaster, truly that bad?" He asked softly.

"His favorite trick to get me to do what he wanted, when I didn't want to, was to threaten me. My food budget, my housing budget, or even my security at the school. I had others I could rely on, should this happen. The other Housewardens tended to take pity on me when I would show up, practically begging for food, because Crowley wouldn't allow me to have any. They were good people. But I always made sure Grim had stuff to eat. I never let him suffer. He actually learned to share through this. But, a diet of tuna sandwiches, just isn't that good for your health. It was better than nothing though." You shrugged, not looking up from your book. You looked up, to see him looking at you, sadness painting his eyes. "I'm doing better now, Satan." You smiled.

"I don't want to pry, but I do have more questions." You took a deep breath.

"Can I answer them later?" You asked, to which he nodded.

"Take your time."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Can you look through your books, to see if there's a spell, or an incantation, or a potion, or a ritual, that will help me get Grim? I'm worried about him, and, as you can see," you gestured to your eyebags, which Asmo had tried to hide using makeup, but it was late, so they were started to peek through, "being without him takes a toll. He's like my emotional support cat, you know? My sassy, lazy, loud, annoying, emotional support cat, that I love. And I miss."

"I'll see what I can do." He nodded. "No promises, but I'll look into it."

"That's all I ask." You smiled tiredly.

Beelzebub:

Beelzebub had eaten the majority of the fridge again, and it was your turn to make dinner. You sighed, as he looked at you guiltily. It was getting too close to when you absolutely needed to start cooking so you could serve dinner on time, so you couldn't go shopping for more. You just shook your head, and got to work taking everything out of the fridge and pantry, just to see what was left.

"I'm sorry." Beel offered. "I'll help you cook."

"I've done more with less." You said, not registering his offer, and looking over the ingredients that were left, as you had caught him before he could eat everything. "I just need some time."

"I didn't leave you much. I could go to the store, and get some more." He offered.

"Beel," You looked at him, smiling in amusement. "How much of what you get me would you eat on the way home?" He looked down guiltily once more. "I'm not mad," you assured, "really, I'm not. And I appreciate your offer of help. But I've got this." You smiled once more, before turning back to the ingredients, and picking up a few.

With what little you had, you'd started to make a large delicious meal. Beelzebub watched, in what could only be described as awe, as you stretched what you had into enough to feed the brothers, and something that tasted good. He still felt guilty about eating the majority of what you could've used to make dinner, but he was grateful you weren't mad, and he was curious as to how you knew how to make so little go so far.

After you served the brothers, you kept a little for yourself, and Beelzebub noticed. He noticed that you didn't take much, and when he tried to comment on it, you just winked at him, smiling. After dinner, he was designated for clean up, and you went into the kitchen to keep him company, as he had while you were cooking.

"How did you do that? There wasn't much left, but that was a good meal."

"My last school.... I didn't have much." You started vaguely. "My food budget was small, and often taken away, so I would take what little I was able to beg or barter for from the shop keeper, or the other Housewardens, or my friends, and I'd make it stretch. It helped that they often had some leftovers, especially Scarabia, with their feasts every week. And Jamil was a fabulous cook." You complimented, your mouth watering at the thought of his delicious and carefully prepared food. "But I digress. What I'd do is, I'd prepare meals in advance, as many as I could. I had to. Starvation sounded rather unpleasant, to me."

"It was that bad?"

"Not if I planned correctly." You smiled.

Beelzebub related to the feeling of hunger, and starvation. He was often brushed aside as always hungry because he's the Avatar of Gluttony. But the pain was always there, and it was hard to describe the pain aside from, hungry. You were always patient with him, even if he got grumpy because of his hunger, and now he was starting to see why.

If you understood the feeling of being hungry all the time, and starving to a painful point, it makes sense that you'd not get mad at him. It makes sense to him, that you'd be patient with him. He had always appreciated your patience and kindness, but he had never questioned it. Now he was starting to think he should've.

"Was it just you?"

"No. I had a cat with me. His name was Grim, and he was a lot like Mammon." You described cheerfully. "He mostly ate cans of tuna, which I could get for cheap at the school shop, they weren't super popular, and students tended to leave them at the shop after realizing they were the cheapest option of food I had." You laughed awkwardly. "It was a school of ruffians, and bullies, and people who hated me. But they had the decency to not want me to starve to death."

"You were hated?"

"By some. I wasn't popular, but I had my fair share of friends, don't worry." You assured. "I had the first years friend group, and the Housewardens, and the vice-housewardens and honorary vicehousewardens. Even a lot of the teachers liked me. And even if they didn't, I still had Grim. He was my best friend."

"Was?"

"He's still there, so he still is. We're just not together right now. It's like... it's like a part of me is missing, because he's my best friend." You tried. "And he's still there, but I can't see him, and I can't talk to him. I miss him, a lot. I think you'd like him." You smiled. "He used to sleep on my bed, every night. And he'd complain, and whine, and get both of us into trouble, but he was loyal to a fault, and he was always there when I needed him."

"Was your old headmaster that bad?"

"Oh yeah." You nodded enthusiastically. "He went on vacation so often, and it was more like I was the headmaster towards the end of my time there. What with the amount of paperwork and such I was handling in his stead. On top of schoolwork! And he put me in an old decrepit house, with a fire breathing cat. Granted, I asked for the cat to remain with me, but still. I'm sure he could've found somewhere else to put me."

"That sounds awful."

"It could be. But hey, think of it this way, now I'm prepared if you do this again." You teased. He nodded. "Don't feel too bad, Beel. You didn't even know I existed, you couldn't have done anything."

"I wish you would've told us."

"It's not easy to talk about." You admitted. "It's not like... I had the best experience with a lot of people there. I mean, Overblots, burnout, hunger, on top of basically being an unpaid therapist, an unpaid headmaster, and a full-time student? I was busy, and not every experience is a pleasant one. But it's a part of my life, and I wouldn't change it for anything. Because it was my experience." You explained. He nodded in understanding. "I think you'd like the people I met before. So many good cooks. And Lilia, who is on par with Solomon." You shuddered. "But there was also so many athletics clubs. I bet you'd really like Spelldrive." You smiled.

"Spelldrive?"

"Yeah!"

As you launched into an in-depth explanation of the sport, at least as you understood it, he simply watched. He was glad you'd opened up to him, and to hear that you weren't always alone. He would probably ask Satan if he could find anything about getting your cat for you. But for now, he was just happy to see you being comfortable enough to talk about your past.

Belphegor:

Belphegor liked to visit your dreams whenever you'd let him. They were always so interesting. They almost matched you, in that regard. As you were so strange in his eyes. He was very lucky, able to explore your good dreams. Dreams that told of friends, and adventure. Light hardship, sure, but mostly wonder. And happiness. Along with a cat that seemed to pop up in every dream. He didn't know that he only saw this because he didn't always tune into your dreams. Not every dream is a happy one.

It was one day, when you happened to be taking a nap in his general vicinity, that he drifted off, and entered your dream. He prepared himself for the bright light of the outside of Night Raven College, and for the happy smiling faces, or the sound of laughter, as he usually saw when he joined your in your dreams. What he wasn't expecting, was the fire. The screaming, the fear. He was prepared to watch on happily as you got to see your friends, the people you consider family, in your dreams, but instead, he only saw your terror.

He couldn't look away as you looked on in terror as eight towering figures, covering in black ink, with massive ink monsters behind them cornered you. He recognized some of these faces, they were those of your friends. They were friends, friends who would drive you to work harder, and do better, but would always be there to help in any way they could, if they could, when you asked.

But there was one face he was shocked to see, moreso than the friends. It was your cat. Your cat that had been changed into a hulking, massive beast, and it looked more wild than he had ever seen. It wasn't talking anymore, none of those smart ass comments he'd overhear, it was growling at you, roaring at you. It had never done that before.

Belphegor, unable to stand by as you feared for your life, even in a dream, quickly made his way to in front of you, his back to you.

"You need to wake up."

You heard him, but his voice was muddled in your panic, it sounded like he was under water. You looked at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Wake! UP!" He commanded.

You shot up, gasping for air, as you woke up. Belphegor followed not long after, making his way over, and sitting beside you, as you began to calm down from such a panic-inducing dream. He sat beside you until your breathing was under control, and you weren't shaking as much anymore.

You leaned onto him, your head resting on his shoulder, and feeling embarrassed. It wasn't often that you had these nightmares, but they were always intense and unpleasant when you did. You didn't think he knew, he'd never visited those dreams. It's not as though you were actively hiding it, you'd told him that you'd had nightmares before, but you were ashamed that he had seen them firsthand.

You both just sat in silence for several moments, before he spoke first.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, softly.

"They don't know about the nightmares. I mean, my closer friends do, but those who the nightmares are about, don't. They don't need that."

"Why are they in your nightmares? And why did they look like that?"

"They lost control of their emotions, and their magic overwhelmed them. They weren't in control, when they looked like that. That was their anger, and sadness, their pain, that was in control of them, with their magic creating the ink monsters behind them." You explained, quietly. "I don't blame them, no one can be expected to hold it together for so long, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant."

"And your cat?"

"I don't know why I have nightmares about him like that." You admitted. "I think it's because I miss him, and I'm scared of what will happen to him without me there."

"How long have you had these nightmares?"

"They started after the first Overblot, that's what they're called," you explained simply, "but they only got worse as more Overblots happened."

"Was there no one you could go to?" You shook your head.

"I couldn't go to Crowley, he was useless," you laughed humorlessly, "the teachers were nice, but they couldn't do anything. I told my friends, and they tried their best, but nothing ever really helped. Grim used to sleep on my bed with me, and that would chase the nightmares away pretty well, but," you trailed off.

"You don't have him with you now, so the nightmares are back with a vengeance?" You nodded, smiling a little at his wording. He wrapped an arm around you. "Do you miss him?"

"I do."

He knew you did, he knew that was a redundant question. But he wanted to hear it from you, as a sort of confirmation. He felt bad that you missed your cat, and he wished he could do something about it, but he knew he couldn't. So you two just sat in silence, comforted by the warmth of the room, and the calm atmosphere around the two of you.

He had always wondered why, or even how, you'd taken his actions in stride. How you'd forgiven him so easily. He knew now, that it was just in your nature after having gone through so much at your last school. He decided in that moment that he'd make an effort to be the person to hold a grudge on your behalf, to let people know that you may have forgiven them, but he certainly hasn't, and he hasn't forgotten what they've done to you. He didn't voice this, but he knew that you knew how he felt.

But for now, you two just sat there, comfortable, and warm. He wanted to apologize, and say he'd do everything in his power to get you your cat, but he didn't want to say that without a guarantee that he could do it. So there you sat, close, and comfortable.

"I'll chase your nightmares away." He offered, just barely a whisper, yet because of your proximity, you heard it.

"Thanks Belphie." You smiled tiredly, happy to hear that he would protect your dreams.

You drifted off not long after, Belphie following close behind. But he kept his word, and your nightmares didn't plague you after that, whenever Belphie could help it.

[kareenvorbarra]

read the beginning of a popular book out of curiosity and something happened in the first few pages that made me realize it might be least For Me book ever written

[theskit]

Stickers AU

Important!!!

Direct linking gets rid of the readmore cuts!

If you came here via direct link, or wish to use the direct links to another part of the story, and DO NOT want to spoil the surprise stickers, please click on my blog name to go to the actual post after using the link.

Part 9

《Prev Next》

Danny wasn't sure what he'd expected when he put Bludhaven into his phone's GPS Sunday evening, but finding out it was only 30 minutes away was still surprising. He'd somehow thought it was farther away than that.

Shrugging it off, Danny found an out of the way alley to go invisible and intangible for the short flight. He'd already picked out which of his stickers he would be gracing Nightwing with tonight, now the only thing would be finding him.

Taking a rather scenic route along the coast, Danny got some interesting pictures of the rocky coastline and the water. The light pollution was still pretty bad, but it was a little easier to see the stars outside the city limits.

Reaching Bludhaven, Danny flew around randomly for a while before hearing a shout. Going to investigate he saw three guys cornering a young lady in an alley. Just as he moved to intervene, Nightwing dropped down from above, landing between the men and the lady.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asked as he hit the closest guy with an escrima stick, sending him to the ground with a crackle of electricity as the lady turned and ran. "It's just shocking how quickly I can go through dance partners, sometimes."

Turning to the other two, Nightwing fluidly exchanged punches before grabbing one guy's arm and throwing him over his shoulder into a nearby trashcan, "Sorry, you've been canned for inappropriate behavior," he quipped cheerfully.

The last guy took the chance while Nightwing was busy to pull out a knife. Smoothly dodging the first few swipes, Nightwing flipped over the guy when he overextended himself with a lunge, landing with a crouch and a leg sweep, taking him to the ground too. "Let's not get swept away in all the excitement, now!" He tossed out as he made sure all three guys were secure before calling it in to the police for pickup.

Danny practically sparkled with glee. The cool entrance! The flashy moves! The puns! He just might have a new favorite hero! Well. After Robin, of course. Teen hero solidarity and all that.

Danny landed, waiting to make sure the escrima sticks were put away before approaching Nightwing. He *definitely* didn't want to get hit with those things. Getting electrocuted was *not* on the to-do list this evening, thank you!

Coming up behind Nightwing, just as he finished contacting the police Danny smacked a sticker to the small of his back, yelled "Tag!" and took off running.

It was only after hearing Nightwing shout in surprise and then call out after him, beginning to give chase, that Danny realized he had dropped his invisibility. Whoops. At least he was in his hoodie. It was still a little bloodstained from yesterday, but it wasn't really *that* noticeable. Neither of his parents had mentioned it, and Jazz only gave him a small, searching look before he held up his bandanged finger to show her it was no big deal. It was also the only hoodie he'd remembered to pack.

Nightwing ran after the surprisingly quick child, teenager? they were kind of short... "Hey, kid! Hold up a second!"

The kid laughed, "No can do! Sorry, Nightwing! I needed one last number for my vigilante bingo card and you were it!"

The kid, a boy going by the voice, was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a slightly oversized hoodie with what looked concerningly like bloodstains at the side. He took a quick left into another alley, one Nightwing knew to be a dead end. Turning the corner as well, Nightwing slid to a stop, glancing around the empty alley. "Kid? Hey, it's ok, I just wanna talk." He called out, doing a quick check behind the dumpster, which was the only thing large enough in the alley to hide behind.

Nothing. Scratching his head, Nightwing looked around again in confusion. There wasn't even a fire escape down this way. Where did he go? And what did he mean by vigilante bingo?

Deciding to check in with the others, he called Tim, unsurprised when he heard the rapid-fire clack of a keyboard in the background when he answered. "Hey, Dick, what's up?"

"Hey, Baby Bird! So, I just had an interesting run-in with a disappearing kid. He mentioned something about vigilante bingo, and I wondered if any of you had as well?"

The keyboard noises stopped abruptly, "He spoke to you? You actually saw him?"

"Well, yeah? Chased him down a dead-end alley, but he went poof. Gone. No sign of him anywhere."

Tim sighed heavily, "Of course. Can you head in to the batcave? We could use some insight into this. So far he's gotten you, me, Batman, and Robin, but no one has gotten a good look at him."

Already heading to where he had his motorcycle stashed, Nightwing agreed, "Sure. You need 5 numbers for a bingo though, and he said I was the last. Heard anything from Hood?"

Tim groaned, "No. Of course he wouldn't tell us if something like this happened to him."

"No worries, Baby Bird. I'll check in with Hood first and then swing by the cave to debrief, how's that?" He asked, swinging a leg over the motorcycle and starting it up.

"That would be great, thanks. If you're the one asking, he might actually tell you what happened," Tim replied, relieved he wouldn't have to try getting information out of Jason himself.

Saying goodbye and then punching in another number, Nightwing revved the engine and took off for Gotham as he waited for Jason to pick up.

"What do you want, Dickiebird?"

Nightwing laughed, "What, no hello, how you doing?"

"Nope. I'm busy," Jason said with a grunt and what sounded like gunshots.

"Well, I had an interesting little encounter tonight, and I have it on good authority you might have had one too. With a certain disappearing boy? Want to meet up at Batburger, get something to eat and tell me about it?"

A few more gunshots echoed down the line before Jason answered, "Fine. I'll meet you at the usual place in an hour."

"Awesome, I'll see you there."

After ordering the food, Dick made his way up to the roof, "Hey there, Little Wing!"

Jason took off his helmet and smirked at him as he accepted his portion of the food. "So, where'd you get stickered, then?"

Dick stared at him in confusion, "Stickered? What?"

Jason frowned, "You said you had a run in with the kid. He came up behind me, scared the hell out of me by yelling 'boo', and slapped a sticker between my eyes when I turned around." Jason paused as he stuffed a few fries into his mouth, "Shorted out my helmet cameras too, though not permanently. Didn't get a good look at him, but he had a funky echo to his voice."

Dick shook his head a bit, "He came up behind me, gave me a smack on the back and yelled 'tag' before running into a dead-end alley with no way out and disappeared. Didn't notice a particular echo, but we were already in a kind of echoey alleyway."

Jason grinned and made a little circle motion with his hand, "Give us a twirl then, let's see."

Turning his back to Jason, Dick heard a loud laugh and a camera noise. It made him happy to hear Jason laugh, even if he *was* apparently the butt of a joke. "Okay, what happened? Why are you laughing?" He asked mock petulantly as he turned back around.

Jason just grinned and showed him his phone, "Kid gave you a tramp stamp, Dickiebird!"

Dick burst out laughing as he looked at the photo, Jason joining in as he wailed overdramatically, "Little Wing! I drove all over Bludhaven *and* Gotham, *and* just ordered food with that!"

Editing this: apparently only the bitchy mobile app has a tag limit. I mostly use mobile. Guess who get to be my guinea pigs on the next installment?? 😁

@mygood-bitch99 @stargazer-luna @easily-broken-by-emotion @dolfay @britcision @cyber-geist @is-this-even-relatable @alcorbearson @fisticuffsatapplebees @thegatorsgoose @my-mom-calls-me-rat @some-rotten-nest @crystalqueertea @meira-3919 @wandererofthestars @seraphinedemort @bjurnberg @blep-23 @stargirl1331 @bianca-hooks123 @addie-lover-of-stories @pickleking8 @iconicanemone @sarina-elais @mur-ururu @sailor-goddess @dragonfirefeather @nutcase8691 @ravenpainter @liandrin @jaguarthecat @russetfur1128 @purefrickingspite @oakskull @vythika96 @molasses-being-slow @satisfactionbroughtmeback @serasvictoria02 @tkiesai @breesperez139 @dhampir-princess @redhoneysugarorange @gildedphoenix @iglowinggemma28 @f4nd0m-fun @therandomartmaker @mandyne-1001 @learning-to-fly-on-my-own @solarisaetherlumine @zeldomnyo

[pupyr0arz]

more drabbles to fill out that word count. Priceghost but also some weird dynamics mentioned with the rest. Price is set on taming ghost, the very beginnings of that.

Price has a older brother. They don’t talk as much as they used to, few siblings do, but his brother fell into the urge and moved out into the sticks. He keeps dogs, massive walls of fur and strong muscle, not little city lapdogs. Big, working dogs with teeth and ferocious energy, bowling Price over during his visit with ease and snap sharp teeth playfully near his face and Price, who’s never had any sort of animal asides from one of his lost lovers lazy pug, thinks about what would happen if it actually bit down. His brother rescues him easily with an apology and a laugh, and they have beers while Price watches the dogs leap and roughhouse in a way that makes Price doubt how man ever managed to domesticate wolves. His brother keeps them in line with easy words and Price watches him and thinks about his promotion waiting for his return. He’s a captain, now, coming into his own, hand on the collar this time around.

Eight days into working with The Ghost, Price googles the best place to buy a clicker. He would have liked a whistle, but he needed something discreet and fresh of any associations, a clean slate.

His other tabs are looking for collars, and wondering how drunk he’d have to get Soap to try one on for the first time. He’s sure the overeager pup would wear one, but he’s got a surprising amount of ego for a guy who barked for him on a dare.

Laswell showed him the files a good couple months before things became official, picking and choosing the best of the best for his little fighting force. Ghost, as he’s known as, is the most worrying. Soap, funny little creature that he is, has his own litany of behavioral issues, but a list of glowing commendations just as long and Price is sure he’ll be the good fit to bring out the more obedient qualities of his explosives specialist. He’s surging at the bit, poor thing, and faster than you can blink he has Soap glancing back at him for permission to act without thinking about it, heeling on command. Kyle goes along sweet as honey, before he knows it and when Price sees the afterglow fade in his eyes, confusion brimming forth and new worries, he soothes them away with a pat on the back and Gaz leans into it smoothly. Roach waits and watches him from corners, gauging his judgement with little comment and Price is halfway through a worried plan to get some kind of response when Roach apparently makes up his mind, and he’s as easy as anybody ever could be, eager to draw for him. No fuss, no muss, his lead is sure and his halter fits nicely.

The Ghost is more liability than a boon, he’s warned. The man, if he even is one many mutter and curse, seems more scar tissue and scary stories than living parts. He keeps himself covered, baclavas with his skull patterning worn at all times. ce doesn’t touch this when he meets him, spying the sore wound and choosing not to prod that area. The Ghost doesn’t trust him enough to let him look without knowing he won’t touch what he isn’t allowed to, that he won’t do more damage than harm. When The Ghost is asked by a nosey nobody while settling into the base a little too insistently, Price sharply orders him away before he can get too tense. He doesn’t acknowledge it, and in a couple of hours is sure to beat it into the other residents on base that they sure as hell aren’t supposed to either. It can wait. Price prefers to leave that fumbling to lesser men, until he picks out all of The Ghost’s neuroses.

Look. I don’t understand, but I don’t need to. I’ll trust you.

On the third day, Price calls The Ghost for a chat in his office on the base, a report filed of an altercation with one of the sergeants, not one of his but some no-name that Price is already forgetting about. The Ghost didn’t kill him, or break a bone, but the man’s beaten dead to rights and his ego bruised severely. Price thinks that’s a folly, The Ghost could’ve done a thousand things worse to him, but the higher ups don’t see things like he does.

The Ghost sees the report, there’s no way he couldn’t have. Price wanted him to read the whole thing. He settles down in the chair, hands on his lap and cokd brown eyes firmly on Price’s without wavering. He can’t help but take a second to wonder what the Lieutenant is feeling, pride, anger, shame? He doubts the last one strongly. Price doesn’t let his gaze shift away from The Ghost’s when he takes the leaf of paper, careless and openly not bothering to look at it, and dumps it into the bin besides his desk, and launches into a bland speech about mission readiness, praising Ghost for his frugalness.

See? Look at how little this matters to me. I’m on your side. I don’t care about them.

Price waits an extra day before he unpacks the clicker. He slips it into his pocket, takes it with him to the range. Pats The Ghost on the shoulder now that he’s more used to it, slips it out of his pocket quietly next to The Ghost’s leg, let’s him see it. He clicks it, twice, and pockets it again quickly. The Ghost glances at him, eyes dark in the shadow the ceramic casts on his eyes, but his gaze shifts back to the range without comment and Price takes it as a win. The Ghost would never let him try something without knowing, but Price can work with being ignored. He can tell from the shift in him that The Ghost is starting to seriously consider him, reminds him of Roach in a way, and the slight, almost imperceptible peeking of his shoulders after Price praises him is his only chink in the armor. Time will wear that into a crack, into a gaping hole that Price will fill before he feels the ache of it.

[rei-ismyname]

X-Men: The End - Review

Book 1: Dreamers and Demons

In one of Chris Claremont's many ill-advised returns to the X-books, he set about writing a hypothetical and non-canon end to the series. Set about 15 years in the future, the story travels to every corner of the X universe - if briefly - so if nothing else everyone gets an answer for where their favourite character ends.

Greg Land did the cover. I hate Greg Land.

I praise it mostly on a conceptual level. Pretty much every long running corner of the MU received a 'The End' mini, but Claremont split it up into 3 separate miniseries. Captain America and Iron Man both got 5 issues, KISS (yes, the band) got 3, the X-Men got 18. As someone who always wanted characters to die, grow and retire but was often foiled or undone by fiat - I respect that he'd want to do it properly. However, more is not always better. It's fun, cringe, and nonsensical at times. A LOT of people die unceremoniously. Don't take it too seriously.

The first few pages sets up that that 15 years have seriously passed. People are dead and retired, some have kids that look exactly like them, the never aging kids grew up. The Shi'Ar are killing X-Men, like a lot of them, except they're doing it in disguise. Jean Grey has returned as the Phoenix and is hanging out with (kidnapped him while he was doing Letterman lol) Nightcrawler, Carol Danvers' hologram, and Aliyah - the child of Bishop and Deathbird.

Here she is going for an expository jog down memory lane.

We spend a little time getting to know her, as she's the closest thing to a viewpoint character. She's inexperienced and way out of her depth, but her heroic instincts are sharp. Interestingly she 'doesn't really care about the Shi'Ar.' Aliyah lives on the Starjammer with a pretty impressive holodeck, she's never met her dad, her mum is holding the Shi'Ar empire together and her best mate is holo Danvers. Lilandra is apparently 'mad.'

Immediately Kree slavers approach Chandilar and Claremont begins clearing the board. Madrox and Siryn die for real, Nocturne is a hound and Aliyah manages to knock her out and take her to the ship. Phoenix comes out of nowhere and begins wrecking shit and the Kree do the same.

Also, WarSkrulls.

If it sounds like confusing nonsense, that's because it is. The first third of the miniseries is about establishing Aliyah and checking in on various X-Men before killing most of them. Seriously, it's easier for me to list who lives rather than who dies. It's confusing but I think it works as front loading the deaths so books 2 and 3 have a more manageable cast of characters. If you plan to stick the landing, it's going to be easier to trim the decades of bloat/worldbuilding the X-books have received.

We get a brief overview of Earth stuff before they start to die, though everyone in these panels lives (mostly hehe). Kitty Pryde is running for president with Rachel as her campaign manager! Storm and Logan live together and he's her full time caretaker. Emma and Scott have two kids. Cable hunts terrorists apparently.

Here's the Summerses. A lot of people wear speed dealer sunnies in the future, with Cyclops even saying SPEED right there. Coincidence? Also their children are boring.

You'll note the daughter may as well be a clone of Emma (she isn't but you know what I mean.) The baby is called Alex after long dead Havok, definitely tempting fate there. I'd sooner call my child Omega Red, but I'm not a parent. Chuck pokes his big bald head in and Emma tells him to beat it. Scott checks in with folks all over the globe, many of whom die. He is concerned of course.

Told you. Rogue and Gambit live and they definitely saw The Matrix. This isn't plot relevant - this is just how they roll apparently.

Hank and Cecilia McCoy live and they do *something* in Africa. Doctor stuff I think? This book moves so damn quickly. They live but everyone around them dies. Hank is right about the mutant problem. The named X-Men body count is at 18 by book 3.

Hey Yukio! Come to homoerotically kill Ororo, huh? DW, she wins despite full paralysis. Don't fuck with Storm. At this point we find out ALL these assassins are WarSkrulls sent by the Shi'Ar. Storm's powers have wrecked her body btw to the point Logan feeds her and she kinda wants to die. 😭

Madeline Pryor, Stryfe, and some weirdo I don't know come for the X-Mansion. Dust dusts Maddie Pryor. That dude getting punched by Not!Stryfe is the son of Colossus and Polaris. Yeah he looks exactly like Colossus. Nice to get confirmation of Polaris' awful taste in men. She does have a dope butch short hair look that slaps, so it's not all bad choices and emotionally stunted communists.

Nearly everyone else not pictured is dead as a doornail, ash and bone at best. Claremont was pretty damn thorough - 90% of the X-Men and their allies dead. Apocalypse bit the dust too, in a pretty embarrassing way. Of course Sinister lives because he's working with the Shi'Ar but has his own agenda, as usual. They're starting to realise that the Shi'Ar sent the WarSkrulls, but the preemptive strikes were super effective. Book 1 ends on the Starjammer with the passengers realising Cassandra Nova has been Lilandra all this time.

I'm sorry, CHUCKY sends me. No cap. I could write an essay on this panel and invite speculation.

The last page has the Xavier Institute's singularity power core exploding after that lot end up also being WarSkrulls sent by the Shi'Ar - looks like having the school be built mostly from Shi'Ar tech backfired. The school is definitely gone - along with at least the state of New York but I suspect much more - then a smash cut to this masterpiece. Callisto with fucking tentacles for arms saying 'Chucky?' as Chuck is overwhelmed by grief. I'm assuming they're in a polycule with Mags over here, but it must gall him to be the third most dramatic person in a scene. It's just too much to respond without some kind of levity, but if it wasn't clear by now - the stage is being cleared ruthlessly. Northstar was at the school, so maybe some people survived but Claremont is not half arsing it. This is definitely a whole arse situation, maybe even more.

DUN DUN DUN 🫠

Wait what? Chuck's evil twin, the Mummudrai? Hectic! So we know we've just seen Cassandra Nova send many WarSkrull strike teams after X-Men in the form of people that will hurt them psychologically and it was very successful. Hmm... it's 15 years in the future - does that mean she's been leading Bird Gang this whole time? No Xandra in this timeline but the X-Men interact with the Shi'Ar a lot. That's some wild patience for Cassandra Nova, and the notion that she's been preparing all this time is terrifying. My God, all the X-Men are going to die aren't they? Maybe, though I can't stop thinking about how Lilandra Nova would have handled a booty call from Chucky. Ughh gross.

I think it's worth saying that the high amount of action is a YMMV sitch - I personally can do without no punching at all in a book, and get frustrated when a mandated and arbitrary fight happens just because that's what cape comics do. Just because action has to be special to wow me doesn't mean I don't recognise its value, mainly I believe we can demand more from our comics - as an evolved art form instead of the pulp it began as. What I said earlier about front loading the death applies to the action too. I suspect your enjoyment of this book will come down to your feelings on action or ability to appreciate it ironically/unseriously.

I'll leave part one there, though I want to point out that Sunspot is whitewashed so badly he looks like Shawn Mullins. At least he dies - I love Bobby Da Costa but I'd prefer no Sunspot to dorky white guy Sunspot. Stay tuned for part 2 and thank fuck that's over. Spinning a coherent narrative from a book without one is a challenge, especially with only 10 pictures to work with. I considered counting and listing all the deaths, but I got to 30 and realised I wasn't enjoying it and doubted anyone else would. I'm not a wiki, and hopefully I've done my job while leaving some meat on the bones for folks who still want to read it. Don't worry, Kitty's presidential run is still live and it's implied she won the primaries. Independent? As if. Definitely a democrat, because the X-Men are mostly centrist bitches. Still, I hope she wins and First Lady Rachel and her achieve something.

I haven't been doing much long form lately so I welcome any feedback you might have. 💜💜❤️

[ghostboneswrites2]

Doe Eyes || Ch.1 - Woodbury

Overview: You (y/n) are taken captive by the Governor and recruited as one of his fiercest soldiers. As you slowly uncover the atrocities committed behind the walls of Woodbury and at the hands of the Governor himself, your already questionable loyalty begins to dwindle. When Woodbury falls, your only friend (a sassy, formerly rich farmer's daughter type named Brandy) decides to take the offer from the rival group to join them at their secure home in a prison. Despite your apprehensiveness -- and your preference to be out on your own -- you decide to tag along with your friend and seek refuge with Rick's group. You become a valuable, able-bodied asset to them, and that's when a certain crossbow slinging southerner becomes a part of your life.

Story begins in S3 and ends when Aaron finds the group to take them to Alexandria. It is mostly canon compliant. Lots of canonical dialogue. This story is finished. There is one OC: Brandy

18+ MDNI || Warnings: Story contains TWD typical violence, profanity, deaths of major and minor characters, gore, etc etc.

Chapter list

        "Well, so far, so good, except the dehydration. I'm going to give you these electrolyte powders. Drink them twice a day in a glass of water, and make sure to drink plenty more in between." The doctor lady told you, handing you six slender packets. "Someone will be in to show you around."

        With that, she walked out of the room and you just sat there, stunned. A doctor? In today's world? Where the hell were you? Maybe you were dead and this was some kind of strange DMT trip before your lights went out for good.

        The door opened and in walked a tall man with a fake smile. He was the type to work at a law firm or something. 

        "Good afternoon." He greeted cordially. "Name's Philip. Most people just call me Governor."

        "Governor?" You snorted. "Like 'ello gov-nah'?" You joked, mimicking a sad excuse for a British accent.

        "Funny." He chuckled, but something told you it wasn't actually that amusing. "Come on. I'll show you around, then I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

        "Staying? I don't know about that. I was doing alright on my own." 

        "Alright?" He considered your words for a moment, slowly pacing his way toward you. "Wouldn't you rather be doing well? Great, even? Just let me show you around, give you a place to stay for a day or two, and then if you still want to go, fine. We'll send you off, maybe give you some supplies to get you started."

        "What about my weapons?" You inquired. When they took you, you had a .38 and a crowbar. You'd become pretty efficient in the arts of melee since the world fell to shit.

        "Of course. You can have 'em, and we'll even give you a box of ammunition for that pretty piece of yours. It's nice, by the way. Where'd you get it?"

        "Oh, I got it when I got my first place on my own." You shrugged. "You know, wasn't in the best area and all."

        "Understandable." He nodded, showing off that eerily friendly grin of his. "Good thing you had it."

----

        "So, what do you think?" He asked. He'd just given you a quick tour of the town. Woodbury, he called it.

        "It's real cute. Never seen anything like it." You admitted.

        "No different than any other little town in the south." He chuckled.         

        "The walls, I mean." You clarified. "The armed guards. So many people. How'd you do it?"

        "Well, Rome wasn't built in a day." He shrugged, feigning humility.

        "It also wasn't built in a world infested with flesh-starved freaks." You retorted. His eyes narrowed. He was growing tired of your observations and the way you questioned everything. It threatened him, really. But he'd seen the way you fought out there. They'd been watching you for a few days, Philip and Merle and whatever goons they'd bring along for the day. They watched you fight two grown men off as they tried to raid your supplies and probably yourself. You took down the biters with ease, one swift blow to the side of the head, and another down on top. You were quick and sneaky. You made it look effortless. You had survival down to a science, which was either a threat or an asset. He hadn't decided. 

        He forced a smile that more closely resembled a sneer. 

        "I'm sure you've got loads of questions. You're a smart gal. However, I have some things that need attending, and you still haven't been shown to your place." 

        "What, like my own house?" You furrowed you eyebrows. He looked around.

        "You see any houses around here? C'mon, it's in here." He said as he led you inside the building you two had stopped in front of. It was a small apartment building it seemed, maybe twelve apartments total, if that. Yours was on the second floor. It was small, but it had everything anyone could need. "There's some food in the kitchen, and running water. Come find me if you need anything. Feel free to wander and make friends." 

----

        When you'd been at Woodbury for a few days, the Governor had cornered you, asking you to make a decision, because anyone who stayed had a job to do, and if you were going to leave, it needed to be soon so not to use up any more valuable supplies. You told him you'd stay, but he seemed skeptical all of a sudden, asking what value you had to offer. Of course, you told him about the only skill you had in this new world. You were a fighter. He seemed to like that response. He assigned you to the wall at first, then he started bringing you on runs.

        That was weeks ago. Just recently you guys brought in two women, Michonne and Andrea. They made it clear they weren't sticking around, so the Governor gave them the same offer he gave you; chill out for a few days then be on their way.

        Andrea eventually decided to stay but Michonne wanted no part of it. Thing was, Philip never intended on letting them leave alive. You and Merle were tasked with killing her. She got away from Merle, and you let her. The two of you had decided to just tell him she was dead and be done with it. Not like she had much of a chance up against their paramilitary militia anyways. That was when you truly lost any trust for Woodbury. The benevolent ruler façade was already less than believable, and the hit on Michonne did nothing but prove your suspicions. 

        Really, the only  upside to any of this was that for the first time since everyone you knew was eaten alive -- or doing the eating -- you made a friend. Brandy was a tan, dirty blonde, supermodel of a woman. She grew up on a very profitable farm. A plantation, really. She was your typical southern belle, or as she would call it, a 'Georgia Peach.' She was sassy and classy and everything in between. She was probably the only person in the world that still wore mascara and lip gloss and carried a purse. You were drinking with her at her place that night.

        "So, what did you do, anyways? Before all this?" She asked, pouring another glass of wine. 

        "Honestly?" You giggled. "I was a clerk at a pawnshop."

        "Wow, a real classy place, I bet." She joked. You rolled your eyes. 

        "Oh, yeah. The tweakers trying to pawn their decade old VHS players for a sack was real classy."

        "I didn't have a job." She admitted as she poured you a glass. "Daddy pretty much gave me whatever. Paid for my college classes." She lamented. "I had a real good life."

        "That's good." You smiled. "Mine wasn't so bad, but I definitely lacked in the rich dad department."

        "Yeah, well, I'm sure you got a lot more life experience than I could ever dream of. I used to wish I could just live like a normal girl sometimes. Life with a silver spoon ain't all it's cracked up to be, you know?"

        "Oh, yeah. I'm sure that was real tough." You snorted.

        "Only when I wanted a boyfriend who wasn't studying to be a doctor or a lawyer." She giggled. "Or that one time they caught me smokin' pot with my friends in high school."

        "Pot?" You raised your eyebrows. "My, my. A rebel, I see."

        "Something like that, yeah." She nodded.

        "Got any pot now?" You wondered. She laughed.

        "No but if you find any, let me know." 

        "So, what's up around here?" You asked, breaking away from the casual banter. She gave you a confused look. "I mean, like, how come nobody gets to leave this place?"

        "Why would anyone want to?" She scoffed. When she realized you were serious, her smiled dropped. "What do you mean? We're free to go whenever we want. Nobody ever wants to, though."

        "I don't know about that." You mumbled.

        "What are you on about?" She asked warily.

        "Look, you cant tell anyone." You said, growing more serious as you leaned forward on the table where she sat across from you. "That girl Michonne, she left. Governor sent me and Merle after her."

        "What, to bring her back? I thought you said nobody gets to leave?" Brandy tilted her head.

        "That's what I'm saying. He sent us to kill her." You whispered.

        "You killed her?" She gasped.

        "No no no no!" You shook your head and waved your hands. "She got away and I let her."

        "Well why the hell would he send y'all after her? What did she do?"

        "Nothing, man." You shook your head. "Not a damn thing. She just didn't want to stay. I don't get it."

[consanguinitatum]

And Now For Something Completely Different: I look for an early 1993 Michael Sheen project!

As everyone who reads me regularly knows, I'm a David Tennant researcher/archivist (it's what I do!) and write A Tennantcy To Act, a Substack about his career. But last night at an ungodly hour, a question from a MS fan on Twitter got me amped to find a missing Michael Sheen project...so that's what I did. My body might be pissed I stayed up til 2 am (I'm an OLD!) but my soul and spirit are cleansed. I found it! So if you're a Sheen fan, buckle up. Let's take a ride on the Sheen side (and oh yeah, I just learned Michael's mum has retweeted all my research. So there's that!) The question was about a 1993 episode of a 1991-1996 ITV series, narrated by Edward Woodward, called In Suspicious Circumstances. Michael's Wiki had the series listed, but no further info on the title of the episode Michael appeared in, nor any date but 1993. Last night this fan asked Michael himself if he could remember the name of the episode (as apparently it's a bit of a mystery for his fans). Michael couldn't recall. So I went on the hunt. Luckily a tiny clip of the episode was featured on Twitter, so I could use it as a reference. And boy did it end up to be important!

The smart researcher analyzes what they've got. We see men in mustaches, bowl hats and sack coats using wagons instead of cars, so 1890s? Early 1900s? Michael plays "William Wright" and looks like he's fixing a wagon wheel. He reads his bible, and has an accent. Keep these details in mind. They'll be important. Okay - some background on the series: In Suspicious Circumstances was an anthology series which re-enacted historical crimes. Beginning on 16 March 1993, it broadcast three one-hour episodes, each of which contained two thirty-minute stories. Okay, so that means there are nine possible mini-episodes Michael could've been in. But which one? Let's narrow them down! The series' first episode aired 16 March 1993. It was called "Laugh Baby Laugh" and was about Elvira Barney, acquitted of murdering her lover in 1932. The second mini-episode was called "Shadows of Doubt" and was about Robert Hoolhouse, a laborer hanged for murdering a farmer's wife in 1938. Here are some newspaper articles about this broadcast:

I felt pretty comfortable ruling these two out immediately - mostly because both crimes were set in the 1930s, and our clip tells us Michael's episode was way before then. Moving on! Now let's talk about the third episode, which aired 30 March 1993. (I'm deliberately skipping over the second episode because I think that's the one Michael's in. Back to that in a second.) Anyway...the two mini-episodes from the third episode were called "Falling Starr" and "Good as Gold", and were about two very different women found dead on beaches...one in 1931, the other in 1900. Here are a few newspaper articles about these episodes:

The 1931 one we could rule out. But the 1900? Hmmm, it's a possibility, sure, though the clip we have sure doesn't look like it's anywhere near a beach town with sand dunes like Great Yarmouth, right? So that also seems improbable. Now let's examine that second episode, which was broadcast 23 March 1993. The first of the two mini- episodes was entitled "Dancing With Death" and was about the 1960s Glaswegian serial killer known only as Bible John.

Um, the 1960s certainly doesn't sound like it fits the clip Michael's in, right? So what's the second mini-episode, then?

Well, it's set in Suffolk in 1902 and is about a murder of a servant girl in "a scandalous affair in a Suffolk village which may have led to murder." Sounds promising! The time period certainly seems like it would fit. But what is it called? After all, no one was sure what the episode was entitled, because if they had, they would've known which episode Michael was in.

It's called "Candle In The Window!" So now we have to switch gears here to find the final proof. There are two possibilities, time period-wise, so we have to go to the source to find out if we can determine which one is the right episode. And by that, I mean newspapers of the period. After all, In Suspicious Circumstances was a historical series about real-life crimes. So I started with the Suffolk one, which I thought the most likely.

Remember we talked about Michael's character's name, and how he was working on a wagon wheel? Well, here are a few articles printed at the time about the scandal, the murder, and the resulting trial. From the Hull Morning Telegraph and the Nottingham Evening Post, both 6 November 1902:

This is a LOT of text - and newspapers at the time loved to print drama and florid language and up the scandal (they didn't have television to satisfy that urge, I guess?) But here are the relevant parts.

Notice the name of one of the witnesses: William George Wright. And gee.....he's a wheelwright! Ya know, a maker and repairer of wagon wheels!

Bingo! The circumstances of this case, Michael's character's name and occupation, and the descriptions in newspaper blurbs about the 23 March 1993 broadcast of In Suspicious Circumstances all line up.

"Candle In The Window" is the episode Michael was in. I published this earlier today on Twitter and within an hour, industrious Sheenies collated all my work (with my blessing and permission!) and updated Michael's Wikipedia entry to include this new information. I'm just out here doing what I do - for the fandoms. I wish David-bloody-Time-Lord Tennant was this easy to find *harumph*! Anywaaaaaay...... Peace out!

[unnursvanablog]

And now it has arrived!

One of my most anticipated sageuks of the year, Queen Woo - but it has been on my tbw list for AGES because all I really needed to know is that is was a historical drama with Ji Chang Wook in it and I am not about to pass the opportunity to witness that again. I adored him in Warrior Baek Dong Soo (the lighter and more campy version of My Country also starring my all time fav Yoo Seung Ho) and in Empress Ki (which was the first looooong historical kdrama that I stuck around with and watch from beginning to end).

Also, it's not a sageuk set during the Joseon times… which is honestly just such a breath of fresh air. We get so many of them. I adore a lot of them, but Korean history also has so many other stories to draw inspo from.

That was sort of all I sort of knew about it before I went into it. I knew it was about Queen Woo and how she married one of her husbands brothers and was fighting to keep the throne after her husband died. I didn't know it was rated 19 for violence and… nudity, but that isn't really something that bothers me all that greatly if it just works with the story. I doubt this show is going to go all Game of Thrones on us and just show that sort of stuff in there just because.

If anything those scenes that we got actually just sort of amused or make me go… sure, ok.

And since I knew Ji Chang Wook would die (very sad, I wanted to watch him in all his sageuk glory for 8 episodes) so I spent the entire first episode just expecting him to drop dead and just exit the story every moment that he appeared on screen. But we are seeing quite a bit of him, and he seems to have a much bigger role within the story than I thought he would, which I am glad about. I was expecting a very kickass guest role or a cameo or something.

This show so far, I am on ep 2 because I am in my heart and soul not a binge watcher and I prefer to watch my kdramas on a slow but steady pace, and it is sort of the standard sageuk fare… with some added sex which we see way more in like historical movies but not in dramas. But with 8 episodes this will probably just feel like one long, epic movie anyway. It seems to have that sort of feel to it.

There is some scheming old men who want a better position or they want a better way to rule the country without really being on the throne and having to deal with stuff that comes with being a king. They want to rule from the shadows so to speak. There are ladies who want to be queen and scheme and plot to try to get to that position and so forth. it got flashbacks to the times they were kids and it got a man with a heart of gold (probably, or that is how it starts out) who is also a bit of a scoundrall running through the streets, jumping on roofs etc. It's a sageuks, you are having a fun time, you are pretending that you are learning some history and it's bloody and gory, it has Ji Chang Wook looking moody and sometimes covered in blood… what's not to enjoy.

It's all very standard for the genre, but I was very much entertained through it all... or the first two episodes. I just really enjoy this sort of more serious toned historical dramas. The politics can be dry, sure, but if one does it well and have enough of multi-layered and complex characters where we understand everyone's motives and such it actually is a very fun time.

I do think the drama is still very much setting the scenes in episodes 2 and we are still getting to know the main players. And I am still very much learning their names. There are some interesting characters there, like the priestess lady and the lady, the queens sister no less, one who accidentally killed the king because she wanted to fuck him, as well as Queen Woo and the former kings closest advicer, but they aren't the most complex characters yet, but with time they could be.

The queen, who is our main character and the main player in all of this, is somewhat of a girlboss female character and idk if she was adapted that way, of being this girl who wants to be a general but can't because she is a girl, for modern audience or if she was actually like that. But I do find her to be a character who is more than that and she is someone who is easy to root for. And I am excited for her politics and her plots and more of her backstory.

[crascet]

X-Men Movie Tier List Update- Logan

"Old Man Logan" is a story set many years into a post-apocalyptic future following a much older, cynical Logan as he survives in this broken world. This story is terrible, an interesting premise even if it's not the first time Logan has been in a post-apocalyptic future in the comics with Days of Future Past and Age of Apocalypse, but the entire thing is just edgy nonsense. One such example is with the antagonist of the series being a group of inbred Hulk mutants born from Bruce Banner and his cousin, Jennifer Walters. Yes, I'm serious. Mark Millar is one of my least favorite writers ever, I really don't like any of his works. If you like his works, then that's fine, I won't judge you for it.

"Logan" is a straight-up masterpiece that only adapts the premise of this story and becomes a character study of Logan in a future where mutants are dead and less are being born, essentially making a hopeless world for mutant kind. The beginning just shows the state Logan is in, he's old, tired, drunk, and his healing factor is not working as well as usual. He's pretty much a wreck, currently working as a limo driver just to get enough money to buy a yacht for himself and a very old Charles, now stricken with ALS, and just set off into the ocean. Logan naturally is more broken here being one of only two people that cares for Charles, getting medication for him so he doesn't go into any seizures, which is horrible since he sends out a psychic shockwave that can paralyze and can even kill anyone in its radius, which is implied that it actually killed 6 members of the X-Men. And on top of all that, Logan is slowly dying from adamantium poisoning from his skeleton, hence the weakened healing factor. So, in this bleak situation, Logan has already given up on a lot and even thought of just ending it, however, there is one key character here that essentially is a major turning point for Logan and his arc for this movie: Laura.

Now at first, he didn't really care that much about Laura in the slightest, only accepting the job of escorting her and Gabriela to the coordinates near the US-Canada border just to get the cash. However, when Gabriela died when he went to take them from the motel the next day, he just decided to drive back to his refuge in Mexico, where Charles also resides, but that's when he found out that Laura snuck into the limo's trunk. So now he's just stuck with her.

Charles has actually communicated with her telepathically before Logan met her and wants to help her get to the border, especially since he now knows that there are still more mutants out there. However, Logan decides to do it just to escape from the Reavers that are after her. They both see that Laura had escaped from Transigen labs after being created and experimented on there, but Logan then learned that Laura has his DNA in her creation, making her his daughter biologically speaking. However, later on he finds out that the coordinates come from some X-Men comic books Laura had on her, which makes him skeptical about where they're going since he doesn't believe in the comics. So throughout most of the movie, he sorts of just tolerates her albeit there were times he was annoyed by her, but he at least wants to protect her from the Reavers.

After Charles' death, his burial, and a brief trip to a clinic, Logan just takes her to the coordinates just to prove to her that there's nothing there, but still wanting to do it since he knew that's what Charles wanted. When they get there, that's when Logan sees the other escaped young mutants and rests at the camp for a couple of days. It was the first night there that Logan opens up a little bit to Laura about what his body is going through and even about the adamantium bullet that he keeps first as a reminder of what he was, but also why he keeps it.

When he wakes up, Logan actually declines the cash since he knows that the kids need it more when they go across the border and then leaves them to go on. The morning after, he finds out that the Reavers are after the kids, so he goes out and protects them until X-24 kills him in the end. After Laura kills X-24 with the adamantium bullet, she goes to his dying body and Logan shares his final words with her to "not be what they made her," and dies in her arms, with not just feeling death for the first time, but love and hope for the future again.

This whole arc of Logan finally feeling hope again after a long time in this horrible future while also having a limited amount of time is one of the most investing arcs I've seen in movies. The shift of this arc is also shown with Laura. At first, she is silent to Logan for a good majority of the movie. Then after the trip to the clinic, she speaks to Logan for the first time, but only in Spanish, which is a language Logan doesn't know much of. She does tell Logan to sleep in the truck in English when she sees him being tired during the trip to the refuge. And when Logan slept there, on the first time they had a full conversation, and while he is dying, Laura calls him "daddy" for the first time and gives a eulogy after his burial.

I really should give a huge thumbs up to the performances here. Stewart did great as this very aged Charles that's been stricken with ALS and being cynical as Logan is in the beginning of the movie, but still has some hope with Laura and we get to see some of his more optimistic side throughout the journey. But Jackman knocked it right out of the park by not just being Logan, but X-24 as well and how different yet similar they both are, just with X-24 being more savage and aggressive than Logan, but still having that ferocity. Two standout scenes from him are with the burial of Charles near the lake and how he breaks down a little with how Charles is at least buried near water, and of course his death scene. These two are some of the saddest scenes of the movie, with the latter being my favorite scene in this whole franchise.

X-24 also acts as a dark reflection of Logan back when he was a part of the Weapon X program and as a future Laura would be as if she stayed in Transigen.

There is a whole conspiracy mentioned in the movie with how Transigen artificially engineered crops of corn to produce an enzyme that halts the birthrate of mutants through its corn syrup that they put into their edible products, being snacks and energy drinks, but it doesn't have much of a focus, but that's the thing. This movie is not about finding the big bad, but about having hope again in hopeless situations, hence this whole movie is Logan's story.

This literally takes the cake for being my favorite movie from the franchise by far, it deserves every praise it gets. If you haven't seen this movie yet, watch it now!

Next up is a tonal shift from a serious, melancholy film to a more comedic tone, as we head back to Wade Wilson and the film debut of a big cyborg guy from the future with a big gun played by an actor who previously played a big purple guy from space with "Deadpool 2."

[raointean]

Tolkien OC Week - Day 1: Worldbuilding

In this story, I'm world building the area surrounding khazad-dum a little, and explaining some of the day to day life of the peredhel nomads with my beloved OC Daniel! Feat. Disa because she's amazing and everyone loves her.

Daniel is from my Broken Souls series, and you can find chapter one of this particular story here.

After they had eaten together, Daniel gathered provisions and a guard for the journey to meet King Durin III. Her guard consisted of the chiefs of two of the other major tribes west of the Misty Mountains, Cuind of the Kinn-Lai tribe, and Izray of the Saphad tribe. Cuind was wise and level headed, almost as old as Daniel herself. Izray was younger, stronger, fiercer, and could come in handy if negotiations… did not go as planned.

They joined up with Disa and her guard of two sturdy dwarves and began on their way. As the party ducked through the passage the dwarves had carved in their cavern wall, the miners gave them a wide berth, staring at them as they passed. Daniel paid them no mind and walked on passed.

Once they were out of earshot, Disa began asking them questions; tentatively, careful not to step on any toes. “Chief Daniel, I’d like to learn about you and your people, seeing as we are neighbors and all. How are your clans organized? Where do your people come from? What sorts of trades do you do?”

Daniel was hesitant about the first two questions. If negotiations went awry, she had a feeling she’d regret telling the princess about their organization. As for where they came from, there was no clear answer for that. 

They had started out as a group of orphaned, bastard, half-elvish, half-mannish slaves during The War of Wrath. They had been freed when King Gil-Galad had inspected their camp and discovered the many abuses heaped upon them, but some scars ran too deep.

After the war, they had begun to wander, herding livestock and trading goods. Over time, they began to pick up other people like them; half-elves, half-men, half-dwarves, and even a few full-blooded runaways. Soon enough, the word “Peredhel” had ceased to mean “half-elven” and just meant… them. They came from everywhere, but only belonged with each other. They spread from the Sea to the Misty Mountains, but never lingered anywhere for long.

Hoping Princess Disa would not be offended by her only answering a single question, Daniel responded. “Our trade is livestock herding and trading foreign wares. Our sheep eat a sort of glowing moss here in the winter and it makes their fleece glow, even after they are sheared! The children and the elderly spend the days we travel spinning their wool into yarn.”

“In the waning days of spring,” she continued, proudly telling Disa of their lucrative business deals, “we go to the bay near Eryn Vorn and trade with the Haradrim of Umbar for spices, jewelry, crops, and books; which we then travel around western Middle Earth with, selling and trading for as we go.”

“I see.” Disa said, fascinated. “What do you give the Haradrim in return for their wares?”

Daniel offered her a smile; this woman was really beginning to grow on her! Polite, sensible, so far not easily offended… this negotiation really might go well if the king was anything like her. “We offer them some crops of our own; potatoes sugarbeets, sunflower seeds, and the like. We also trade elven crafts we pick up in Lindon and Ost-in-Edhil.”

“Perhaps you’ll have some Dwarvish crafts to add to that list this spring,” Disa laughed good-naturedly.

“Perhaps we will.”

They fell into an amicable silence for the next half-mile or so, alone with their thoughts, before Disa could no longer resist asking the question that had weighed on her mind ever since she had noted their neighbors’ crooked ears.

“I do not mean to generalize,” she began, “but I have only ever met one half-elf before and I am curious if you know him. His name is Elrond?”

Daniel stopped dead in her tracks. She had not heard that name in many, many years. Carefully, she kneeled down in front of Princess Disa, who now looked terribly worried, and grasped her by the shoulders. “You have really met Elrond? You are not lying to me?”

Disa shook her head. “No, I would not lie to you, Chief. Elrond is a dear friend of my husband and a treasured acquaintance of mine.”

Daniel was overcome by emotion. Shock that he was still alive and on these shores, and that she had heard his name from a dwarf of all people. Long forgotten grief for the boy she had once regarded as a little brother. Bittersweet pain at the thought of all the memories they shared.

Gently, Disa reached up to touch her face. “Are you alright, dearie? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Daniel said thickly. “It is just- We were friends as children, but were separated by The War of Wrath, during its later part, and… I have neither seen nor heard of him in centuries.”

Disa gave her a look of deep sympathy and patted her face kindly. It was too much. Daniel stood up, collected herself and continued walking. “Yes, well, it is my own fault. I and my people avoid outsiders whenever we can, but still… I do worry about him.”

Disa took the change of tone in stride and walked beside her. “I’d be more than happy to tell you what he’s been up to, busy though he is. Oh, and in return, you could tell me some stories of what he was like as a little one!”

Daniel’s stride stuttered but, luckily, Disa seemed not to notice. She shared a glance with Cuind who, although he had never been a thrall himself, was the son of one who had been. They both knew those stories would require a lot of revision before they could be told to outsiders.

Nevertheless, she agreed. She had to, to keep herself in good standing with the princess.

@tolkienocweek

[goosemixtapes]

max's top books of 2023 :3c

as usual, these rankings are based on some arcane mix of objective quality + my personal enjoyment (previous year's lists)

it was another weird reading year! i did a lot of reading for school, more so than in the past; some of it was really good and some of it was, uh. well, some of it was william wordsworth. nothing i absolutely loathed, though (most of the reads i disliked were books i could at least appreciate on an art/history level), which is cool. so i'm bringing back the runner-up category. did not make it onto my top ten list but were really good anyway: beartown by fredrik backman (books that no joke made me understand why people are insane about sports) and the GORGEOUS re-release of my dear @yvesdot 's debut, something's not right, which i have read before but will always gladly revisit again.

my top anticipated release for 2024 is alecto the ninth again.

(but shoutout also to just happy to be here, king cheer, and henry henry. trans people! shakespeare, even!)

and the list! in increasing order of enjoyment, with pictures this year!

10. The Common Liar by Janet Adelman

no, i can't believe i'm doing this either. i can't believe i did all that preamble and the first book on my list is an academic thesis analyzing shakespeare's antony and cleopatra. but also? it's the only book anyone ever needs to write about shakespeare's antony and cleopatra. janet adelman said it all. which is cool, because i have a fixation on that play, but also sucks, because i was also trying to write an essay on it and mine wasn't nearly as good. btw if anyone wants to buy this for me, somehow, for the $120 it costs on amazon because academia is awful, i will send you my address,

9. Robert Icke's Oresteia

i don't need to say anything about this play, because it's the source of "this was always going to happen. she's been dead since the beginning." that should be enough. but after becoming deranged about the oresteia last year, i finally read this, and holy shit, this adaptation of the story is so fucking genius and icke's writing is so fucking good. it's antiwar! it's about mental illness! there's gender! the fucking ENDING! (i have a pdf if anyone would like it. anything to plug this play bark bark bark rufrufruf grrrrrr)

8. Down Girl: the Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne

this is a little bit cheating, because i haven't finished this book yet, so maybe in the final chapters manne will say something like "what if we blew up every orphan" and i'll have to retract this. but right now it's fucking excellent! i've been making an effort to read more nonfiction lately, and this one shines; manne sets out to analyze misogyny not as a personal hatred of women that some men harbor, but as an intricate and structural system forcing women into the role of Giving (attention, affection, power, etc; sometimes their lives). and it's sooooo smart. some of it is stuff i already know (and some of it is Academic Philosophy TM that goes right over my head), but manne articulates her point excellently and i can feel it rearranging my brain, so it's going on the list for longevity and skill!

7. Dictator by Robert Harris

does this book objectively deserve to be on this list? you know what, yeah. i'll say it with my whole chest. i don't like how harris writes women and there are plenty of things to pick at in his cicero trilogy, but i had so much goddamn fun reading it that i can't not put it on the list. this was my year of being really really into cicero, and this was fun to read alongside e-pistulae. harris is sooooo good at making ancient roman politics gripping. the last scenes of this book. augh. ack. ough!

6. Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters

there are a lot of valid critiques of this one (a lot of bad critiqus, too, but such is writing literally anything about transness), but i fucking adored it. i LOVE dual timelines, i LOVE unlikable characters, and i FUCKING LOVE TRANSSEXUALITY! moreover, i love that peters isn't afraid to Go There, to poke at the messy ugly sides of transness (and queerness in general) that i think a lot of us don't like acknowledging, especially to cishet people whose view of the community is already skewed. i don’t think this is the One Great Trans Novel; i think there are a lot of great trans novels, and we need more. but this one did hit me RIGHT in the chest, and i couldn't put it down.

5. Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane

the iliad but achilles is a trans woman and she's fighting the war on both mortal and divine levels and she and helen have an insane homoerotic half-god rivalry and everybody is fucking crazy. pitched as "for fans of TSOA" but as i said in my review if TSOA is a pleasant but watery iced tea then this book is gasoline laced with crack. there is a bisexual transgender threesome. i fucking love women. book of the fucking summer

4. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

i probably enjoyed wrath goddess sing more, but i can't not rank this book highly on this list. this book is such a fucking masterpiece. it's tolstoy for the modern age. it's a sprawling multi-familial multi-cultural multi-generational epic about race and gender and religion and science and humanity and britishness. smith's prose is fucking amazing; her character work is even better; this book has no plot but it uses its length sooooooo well. the first zadie smith i've read, but by god there will be more. she wrote this at TWENTY-FIVE. that's fucking CRAZY. do you know how much control over your craft you have to have to write this at twenty-five. bonkers. it is also the only enjoyable book i read in my modern literature class, so shoutout to white teeth for keeping me sane,

3. The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

this book is ostensibly about bechdel's relationship with exercise. it is actually about bechdel's relationship with her own body, her own soul, her desire for individualism in the style of the transcendentalists, transcendentalism in general, mortality, and aging. i can't really tell you more than that because i didn't actually "read" this so much as i absorbed it through my skin like a frog while trying not to tremble like a little purse dog. i am not gonna lie man i did not have a very good. um. august. or september. or october november december. so this book really could not have come at a better time. alison bechdel i am obsessed with you

2. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

ALISON BECHDEL I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU!!!! this one narrowly edges out secret to superhuman strength because... well, i'm sort of rating the entire comic strip's run, and dude. holy shit. i love lesbians so much. this strip is such an important piece of lesbian history; it reminded me that a lot of the things lesbians (and LGBT people in general) argue about and deal with today are... the same things we've always argued about and dealt with, from intracommunity label discourse to global politics to hitting on women badly. but history aside--it's also just really fucking good! it's really funny! if you are a neurotic leftist, as so many of us are, it's hysterical! it's smart! it's hot! it's heartwarming! i read it over the first half of the year, in little bits and pieces, and by the end i felt like i really had gone decades with these characters. really just. so good. the power she has the range she has

1. the suzanne collins reread

okay. this one is definitely cheating. because i usually like to keep this list to books i'm reading for the first time, and i HAVE read the hunger games and the underland chronicles. but i read them, like, almost ten years ago, and i was not prepared to be so thoroughly fucking bodied by them this time around, now that i have critical thinking and analysis skills. we all know the hunger games is a fucking banger, so let me pitch the gregor the overlander series: something of a modern alice in wonderland setup, where the eleven-year-old main character falls into an underground world full of strangeness, except this world isn't whimsical, it's dangerous and stuffed with giant talking animals like bats and rats and cockroaches. there's a war on. there are plagues. there are war crimes. there is a plotline that is extremely explicitly about ethnic cleansing. there is some of the most heartbreaking fucking shit you've ever read in your goddamn life. there is also a rat who quotes macbeth and the underlanders revere a guy named bartholomew of sandwich. this series is for middle schoolers. i cried. not when i was a middle schooler reading it the first time; i mean now. so i'm breaking my no-rereads rule, because it really would be a lie to say that my best reading experience wasn't revisiting all of collins' work with my friends (yes, i read TBSOS; i think it's fine but not great). sorry to give publicity to an author who definitely doesn't need my help, but a few years ago my #1 spot went to shakespeare, so.

if you've read this far: thank you! please tell me your thoughts! tell me your favorite books of 2023! tell me which books you're excited for in 2024! and have a very lovely new year :)

[cardiac-agreste]

WIP Game

Yesterday I RBd a thing where you list your WIPs, then people send you asks about specific ones, and you share a little. @bohemianrhapsody711 asked about these:

Into the Bugverse

I am SUPER excited about this idea, but it's in very early stages (no actual snippets to share, just some disjointed points I'll fill in right now). It is, as you might guess, a riff on Into the Spiderverse. A bit of crack taken seriously where the multiverse is all the fics on Ao3.

We begin with a universe in which Marinette is navigating not to disappointing her parents, who want her to learn the family trade.

Chat Noir, who fought alone most of his life before Marinette was recruited (think of this as kind of a plot divergent Hey, Ribbons by childoflightningg aka @peggiecarter aka @annaethchase), has died (he was Felix Agreste). She's all alone as LB now. The whole of Paris mourns him.

She also meets the new kid, Adrien, and a new Chat Noir shows up. Suddenly, pulled through the "bugverse" into her own world is an older Marinette from another fanwork, possibly Semantitheft's L'Oublie Marinette. They bond while fighting the big bad (imagine a vibe kind of like @leviaana's wonderful comic about Minibug, the jaded older LB who still loves her younger self).

At a low moment for them, other Marinettes get pulled into her world, all from other fanfics. Maybe

a paranoid @buggachat BEAU Marinette or mistrustful one from @wackus-bonkus-maximus One Does Not Love Breathing

Maybe a Marinette from a Coffee Shop AU like Allez savoir pourqois by Yilena who has no powers but is still smart

Or possibly a blog AU like Chat Noir's Miraculous Award for Truly Magical Food by @mommadon. Non-magic Marinette will receive a miraculous as a temp hero!

Marinette from a fic where she's pregnant as fuck but still fighting (the one I'm thinking of it's kind of a twist she gets pregnant later on, so I won't mention it).

Definitely Marinette from Ghost in the Machine by @jheqiawrites alongside her AI companion Adrien.

Possibly an akumatized Marinette

lip service to the MariBat fandom with a very well-capitalized MARINETTE (see what I did there?) from Miraculous LadyBat by BoxTops

a princess or knight Marinette like from A Royal Pain by jheqia and @sing-in-me-oh-muse

At some point in the fighting, we find out that Adrien died young in this universe and Papillon and Peahen are the enemies, and they're trying to get the miraculous to wish him back to life.

The Adrien in this universe is actually from a universe where Marinette/Ladybug is dead, and OMG, Marinette, he's Chat Noir!!!! Possibly from Hamburger Ladybug by @raspberrycatapult or from Last Wishes by @kasienda

Blah blah save the world, everyone returns to their universes. Hint at sequel that brings in other fanfics' Ladybug versions! Do we get a transdimentional love story?? Who knows? I DO!! (I don't.)

I think there's something of an ethical issue for me about using other people's Marinettes for my story, but I think if it's crack it's more OK (it's somewhat like parody) than if I were creating spinoffs with the same tone. BC to be honest, I suspect none of the BNFs would ever see a message from me asking permission. Better to beg forgiveness, right?

Miraculous: Bachelorette Edition

Alya, sick of watching Marinette flounder into her 20s, unable to confess to Adrien, submits her friend in secret as a potential Bachelorette for a reality TV show where many men vie for her hand. Through the magic of crack, a bunch of guys from the show end up contestants: Adrien (his father made him), Luka (he's pan so why not?), Nathaniel (STILL IN DENIAL about his feelings for Marc), Theo the sculptor with the bad soul patch, etc. Oh, and much to Ladybug's annoyance, Chat Noir is also a contestant?!

All of Paris is begging for Pajamagirl x Adrien Agreste

This is going through revisions in my head, but the initial kernel that is actually written down in my WIPs is

Ladybug falls in a crowded area and unconscious, de-transforms. Someone takes their camera out. "Don't you fucking take that picture. Hawkmoth can't know who she is!" Some teen girl "Is that Pajama Girl? Annette, I think that's Pajama Girl!" "OMG Charlotte, you're right! "Wait, didn't Adrien say in an interview that his celebrity crush is Ladybug?" "Dude didn't I see that Chat Noir took her on a date to Andre's?" Marinette wakes up surrounded by people, freaks out. "Don't worry girl, we're not gonna tell anyone, and no one took any pictures. Your secret's safe. Later that day, Annette and Charlotte get #adrienshoulddatepajamagirl trending on social media. Gabriel, who turns out to have been full of SHIT when he told Marinette that he determines what the public wants, pressures Adrien to date his Very Good Friend for the brand.

[ninja-muse]

July was a reminder of why I don't generally walk into strange bookstores, because I ended up on an accidental bookstore crawl and came out of the evening with two books (Hatchet, Hrafnkel's Saga) and a mildly distressed colleague. I did make up for this by reading more off my TBR than I usually do, including Gaudy Night which I picked up just last month and am therefore congratulating myself on getting to so quickly.

My other hauls for the month are Labyrinth's Heart, which was worth the wait, and Interference, which was on sale when I had a gift card. Having read a very good gentle first-contact novel this month, I don't see myself getting to it anytime soon. Labyrinth's Heart, I picked up as soon as I was able, naturally.

Otherwise, it wasn't much of a month, doings-wise. I've been working a lot on my WIP and have gotten back into jigsaw puzzles. Turns out if I've done a puzzle before, I can redo in a matter of days. Or one day, if I'm not working. It's also been a month of stalking my library holds list with very little to show for it. September, though. The library's going to be very good to me in September.

My next big thing is a holiday! I'm at the stage of packing right now where I start to second-guess the quantities I'm bringing. Is five shirts enough? More importantly, is three books? I'm going to be off-grid for most of the time, so there'll be lots of reading time but also no way to get an emergency ebook or recharge my devices. Inviting people to weigh in here.

And as always, if you've got questions about the books I've read, why I rated and ranked them a certain way, any of that, ask away! I know I'm not really active on here these days but I check comments every day and am still down to chat.

And now without further ado, in order of enjoyment…

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

We’re doing good work to address the climate crisis but the newly arrived aliens want us to leave the planet anyway.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, non-binary, trans men and women, genderfluid), Jewish main character, Jewish secondary characters, disabled secondary characters (prosthetic arm, partial blindness), main character with depression and anxiety, poly-norm world, 🏳️‍🌈 author, #ownvoices

Labyrinth’s Heart - M.A. Carrick

The troubles in Nadežra are coming to a head just as Ren’s tangle of identities begins to loosen.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 POV characters (bisexual, sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (mlm, trans man), 🏳️‍🌈-norm world, 🏳️‍🌈 author

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Deya Muniz

It’s an old story: girl refuses to marry men, girl dresses as boy, girl bonds with girl over fashion and dairy products…

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonists (sapphic), Brazilian-American author, 🏳️‍🌈 author, #ownvoices

Nick and Charlie - Alice Oseman

Nick’s about to go to uni. Charlie’s worried about going long-distance.

7.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (gay, bisexual), 🏳️‍🌈 author

Gaudy Night - Dorothy L. Sayers

Harriet Vane’s Oxford college falls victim to sinister pranks and, as a mystery writer and alumna, she’s called in to find the culprit.

7.5/10

warning: classism, equating of mental illness to criminality, misogynists

The Wager - David Grann

A secret mission in the Age of Sail. A shipwreck and a mutiny. The perils of the sea—and your fellow man.

7/10

warning: fairly graphic depictions of illness, injury, and violence; historical racist language

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz - Garth Nix

A knight and a puppet-sorcerer travel the world to rid it of proscribed gods.

6.5/10

warning: a high percentage of female characters wind up injured, dead, evil, or some combination

An Accident of Stars - Foz Meadows

When Saffron jumps through a portal outside her school, she finds herself in another world on the brink of civil war.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (bisexual), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (aromantic, trans, poly), Black British secondary character, brown-skinned secondary characters, secondary character with chronic illness (similar to fibromyalgia), secondary character with disability (similar to stroke paralysis), poly-norm world, 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: misandry, violence and injuries, death of a child

Hrafnkel’s Saga and Other Icelandic Stories - Anonymous, with Hermann Pálsson (translator)

Short medieval pseudo-histories.

7/10

warning: violence, murder

The Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Tales - Terry Pratchett

Early writings by a master author.

6.5/10

Occasional Indo-British secondary characters, occasional unspecified BIPOC characters

warning: reliance on racial stereotypes for bit-part characters

Misfortune Cookie - Vivien Chien

Lana’s attending a restaurant convention in California when her aunt’s journalist friend falls mysteriously off a roof.

6/10

Taiwanese-American protagonist, Taiwanese-American secondary characters, Asian-American secondary characters (unspecified), Chinese-American author, #ownvoices

Kill Show - Daniel Sweren-Becker

A teen goes missing after running back to her school bus for a bag. Forget podcasts: time for the reality show! Out in October

7/10 warning: missing child, murder

DNF

Thief Liar Lady - D.L. Soria

Aislinn’s met her Prince Charming. Unfortunately her stepmother isn’t happy about how slow the con is going, and there’s another prince who keeps getting her to drop character.

Love Letters For Joy - Melissa See

Joy’s on track to be the first disabled valedictorian at her high school, but that'ss held her back from a High School Relationship™. Will writing to the school’s anonymous love letter writer help?

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (asexual, pansexual), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (lesbian, bi, gay), main character with cerebral palsy, Black and Latina secondary characters, author with cerebral palsy, 🏳️‍🌈 author, #ownvoices for cerebral palsy

Currently reading:

Board to Death - CJ Connor

Ben turns down a suspiciously good deal on an old board game, only for the dealer to turn up dead that night.

🏳️‍🌈 main character (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 author, #ownvoices

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

Stats

Monthly total: 12 Yearly total: 87/140 Queer books: 5 Authors of colour: 0 Books by women: 4.5 Authors outside the binary: 2.5 Canadian authors: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 4 ARCs acquired: 1 ARCs unhauled: 6 DNFs: 2

January February March April May June July

[lighthouseborn]

i'm gonna say something i want to say on a post moving through the non-rp po.tc fandom space but i don't want the smoke. yes i'm a coward. yes it is also a thing i have said in different shapes before.

tl;dr the problem with dmtnt isn't what they say about elizabeth, it's what they don't say about elizabeth (i.e. literally anything.)

honestly the biggest flaw in the entire "should elizabeth have left piracy" conversation is that the movie never asserts that she did. she's just literally not part of the narrative of dmtnt at all.

(which makes sense, to a degree, as it's a next gen story; one of its bigger flaws (imo) is jack's (largely mischaracterized) over-presence. he's not necessary or even all that influential to the plot, he's genuinely just there. mostly to the effect of annoyance or occasional hinderance. henry and carina could go for the trident and have a perfectly reasonable adventure without him, and nothing necessitates salazar's motivations being about him at all. in fact i think it's coincidence, in the nathanson draft? captain brand, iirc, hates jack, but it's not actually what makes him a part of the story, he's actually a figure tied into the myth by hades. jack's only there because he's the franchise pull and the people who wrote the movie had nostalgia for him but i'm digressing--)

"elizabeth stopped sailing" is a version of the story that people don't like — but they invented it to begin with so the whole conversation around it -if it makes sense, if it changes or ruins her character, if someone can find reason in it for themself- is a big pointless circle! nothing canon says definitively comments on what happened to elizabeth except to say she raised her son in a lighthouse that might be near port royal. that depends on how completely the word-of-god you think a prop map shown on screen exactly once is. even then, there are a thousand reasons she could be living near port royal. 'she retired' is easily the most boring of those possible reasons, i agree, but it's still not what the movie says about her.

the ultimate fact is - the movie never says anything about her, because it doesn't think to say anything about her. sure that sucks for other reasons (pushing her out of what was, really, her story to begin with) but it doesn't actually unstitch her character it just leaves things frustratingly ambiguous. it's lazy and uninspired writing but not nearly as much of the big betrayal it's made out to be. no one broke elizabeth, they just weren't interested in writing more about her.

which, again, sucks! but for completely different reasons than the (for some reason) still ongoing conversation about 'she could have retired after her trauma gauntlet'.

she could have retired! she could have not! she could have built a pirate empire on untamed seas! she could have became a heartless evil pirate king who killed for sport! she could have gone mad! she could have found another husband or four! there are lots and lots of open ended possibilities with a character so complex. the movie doesn't actually infringe on any of these, because it just doesn't care about her at all. it doesn't even care enough to say for fact, she retired and lives a horribly wealthy lifestyle, or she didn't retire and turned port royal into a new pirate haven-- it doesn't care. it doesn't. the movie says nothing because, other than Henry's Mother, elizabeth is nothing to the version of dead men tell no tales that we got.

—which, further, if you sit with that for a couple of seconds, isn't that surprising or even different at all from the rest of the franchise. which does not care about elizabeth's mother, or will's mother, or jack's mother, or angelica's mother--- all of these characters are nameless. the one non-appearing mother (from the movie universe. yes i've read tpof, not i'm not acknowledging it here, it's a different beast) who has a name in this list of ignored women actually also comes from dmtnt. magaret smyth, however, has a name that has been established in the franchise as meaning no one. ("Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith.") carina's mother is magaret no-one, the aptly named madame not-appearing-in-this-film. so, once more with feeling, elizabeth being pushed into the background as Henry's Mother And That's All fucking! sucks!! it's! lazy!!! and! boring!!! but what is isn't is some big surprising upheaval. they didn't give you a stranger, completely 180'd character with a familiar name, they gave you a big empty place in the narrative who doesn't speak a single word and only shows up to be kissed. those are different things! by all means complain about the big empty spaces in this story (i hate them!) but stop, please stop, repeating the same bullshit that isn't even what happened

"i hate how they treated elizabeth" me too! "they changed her" wrong! it's worse, they did nothing because they didn't even care enough about her to try! which is a big shame because what they got right about henry and will and gibbs is SO right. carina is SUCH an interesting heroine in her own right but also as a foil for henry - and the fantasy of the series in general. barbossa is THAT BITCH who gets a full run of character arcs for no other reason than he's fun to explore and keep widening, he has the range. a 'down on his luck, washed up' sparrow is an brilliant and unique concept! unfortunately, at almost every turn the writers missed the lynch pins and the places where gravity fit into this franchise. so it turned out a big crumbly, unfinished-feeling mess. and that really starts to make sense when you consider; they didn't think elizabeth was worth writing about.

the dmtnt team's* nostalgia for pirate adventure and grand chaos blinded them to how essential elizabeth, the heart of the trilogy, was. and they got very close! by scrapping the Yet More New Characters (a big complaint of on stranger tides) in order to tie them back to where we started. they just tripped a few feet in front of really, really getting it. but failing to get something is not the same as picking it up and ripping it in half. it's bitter tasting, and disappointing, and frustrating, but it's not an act of spite or malice or even misunderstanding. they just never picked it up. didn't even see it.

*the rossio version of the script is also sorely lacking in this regard. true enough philip and syrena reappear, but people didn't find them all that compelling to begin with, they go through more or less an identical, ambigious arc and end in the same place they began, and the script even directly notes they could easily be replaced with unrelated, new characters. his version is even less connected to the heart of what made the trilogy good, imo. i'm forced to assume ted e.lliot is elizabeth's champion, and that while rossio is very good at the grand concepts and mythical atmosphere, elliot must have brought the grounding elements tying character together and giving them real substance. without both, the rossio script is empty adventure, like on stranger tides, and the nathanson script follows down a similar road. joachim and espen as the directing team were fans enough to bring their nostalgia in and i think is what led to to looking back toward the trilogy more, which was great, they just -again- tripped and fell short of a full return to spirit.

ultimately, the whole problem with elizabeth isn't "she was ruined" it's that she was abandoned. forgotten, or ignored. they killed all her loved ones and left her on a beach and when someone thought to go back to that beach, to that moment, it was to wonder "what about the kid" and never even ask "but what did She do?". I'm fully convinced you could ask that team "what did elizabeth do in that time" and they'd all collectively shrug at you. it's fucked up. but it's not the same as being unwritten. whether elizabeth sat on a beach for 20 years or not is left up to you, the viewing audience. and while that is just so... annoying. they still didn't tie her to that beach themselves. fandom did that. they filled a space and then blamed the writers for the thing the audience filled it with, instead of for leaving a big gaping hole in the heart of their story. it's very vexing.

("then why is henry in the navy at the start?" why is the govenor's daughter a pirate? shit happens. he's 20, a lot could have put him there. if the first thing you think of is boring as hell, make something else up. the movie has fuck all to say about henry's background, too. this is the big gaping hole in the writing that i'm talking about — by overlooking elizabeth, henry's entire history is likewise a big non-statement. sure, you can choose to infer certain things, but you're still inferring. you're still inventing. the movie doesn't care. all we know is everyone on the monarch thinks he's a "landsman" - but if that's true, where has he learned so much about pirate flags and oceanic mythology? what was he doing, between age ten-or-twelve, when he sank himself, and when we see him again in the triangle to be so self-sure and impulsive? the movie doesn't care, it just wants you to see that he is. this is both a strength and weakness, because it invites you to play. unfortunately it invited a fandom who had long ago decided what the future of these characters must be, who then were angry and disappointed when what they got didn't match a mess of a thousand visions that couldn't possibly be matched. so the movie decided "we'll let them decide", removing all the hard and fast statements, and the fandom assumed the worst and decided that was what they were given, instead of empty spaces. and now everyone calls the movie something it isn't. and it's all because the writing forgot that the heart in the chest wasn't actually the heart they needed to be focused on.)

anyway. i think that's out of my system now i'll try to shut up about it going forward.

[inafieldofstarflowers]

My Fics !

I realized I have very little connection between this account and my Ao3 account, so I figured I'd share a list of my fics on here in case anyone is ever interested :) WIPs are at the top, complete stories at the bottom

My WIPs:

In Darkness a Hope

An AU where Anakin wasn't found on Tatooine, Naboo fell, the jedi were blamed and scattered, war broke out, and the Empire began three years later. Anakin meets Ahsoka after she crashes on Tatooine, they run into Rex, and things snowball. Cody is also one of the two true main characters, but you wouldn't know it from his screen time at the beginning.

All That We Intend is Scrawled in Sand

An AU where Kix notices that something is up with Anakin, and that leads him to realize it may be connected to whatever's going on with the Guard. A few illegal choices later, he's in place to investigate. Basically, a Kix-saves-the-galaxy (with help from his friends) AU.

Marked

Also a work in my series about the Command Batch + Rex, featuring all of the commanders and the ways they're marked by the war. So far, Wolffe losing his eye and Rex getting his jaig eyes are written, with Gree, Bly, Fox, Ponds, and Cody still to come.

My Complete Works:

What Walks in the Shadows

Coruscant is haunted and Fox meets one of the ghosts, and proceeds to unravel a conspiracy as result. It's kind of sad but there's as happy of an ending as there can be in a fic where one of the main characters is already dead. It is a fix-it (because I am predictable) but it's set after Season 6 of TCW, so some people are already dead (rip Fives and Thorn specifically).

The Sins of the Father

My first Star Wars fic! AU where Fox manages to stop Order 66 before it's sent out to Cody, but not before Anakin takes the 501st to the temple. Mostly, it follows Luke and Leia coming to terms with who and what their Father is and what that means for them, via grand quests. Featuring: Jedi Healer Luke, Jedi Shadow Leia, Ezra Bridger being a good friend, Luke continually lacking self-preservation, and an ancient Force entity.

A Dance Among the Stars

A series following the Command Batch & Rex through the war. They're mostly short (like 2000-4000 words). Current works are:

The Tidings of War (When each member of the batch says the war began)

Many Meetings (They meet their generals and begin to trust them)

To See Again the Stars (Rex adopting Fives and Echo, and kind of Ahsoka, too)

Sleep No More (Ponds coming to terms with the deaths of his men)

Interlude (Conversations on leave between Rex & Anakin and Cody & Obi-Wan)

What Dreams May Come (Fox and the Guard being not okay)

What Was I Made For (Gree meeting Barriss and trying to help her through her feelings about war)

The Stars Their Ancient Courses Keep (Ponds having a conversation with Boba the night he's taken hostage)

A Buried and a Burning Flame (Five significant sunrises in Cody's life, and also maybe my pride and joy)

Something is Rotten in the State of Coruscant

An AU literally born from me going "What if Anakin was Hamlet?" Obi-Wan dies in the Rako Hardeen arc, and Anakin has to figure out how, exactly, that happened. One of the only times I've actually managed to let a character die, because it literally had to happen for the plot. The nerdiest thing I've ever done, and I stand by it.

[aspiring-holistic-otaku]

Season 2 Ramble 2 - "romance" lol ver. 2

Greetings greetings greetings and welcome to another episode of MM..MANGA, the podcast about getting more people into more manga.

Not completely surprised but very thankful I held out doing the podcast long enough to do a part 2 of something. The format is a little different this time, instead of ordering my reads this month from awww to w-t-f??? I made 3 distinct categories of romance and give my top 3 reads of each

Before getting into all that though I thought I should give a light follow up on some titles I mentioned last episode:

I finished killer in love, fucked up all the way but with a surprisingly flat ending,, realistic ig but i thought they'd keep the drama going to the end idk idk

Caught up with bakemonogatari, art never off point as you would expect from the artist Oh! Great looking at their work on things like air gear and death note.  The story continues to increasingly excel despite the seemingly repetitive nature of relationships, people just go off and save themselves yk? definitely have to continue the anime since it's ahead. 

Caught up with insomniacs after school, not that much progression but still the cutest thing ever, very very aesthetic and my top cutesy romance read last year and I still highly recommend it. 

Finished Wake Up Deadman, finally, not worth it, not gonna lie that manhwa had a special little place in my heart that I can't rationalize rn but it's over, can't believe it went out that bad.. 

Caught up on boy's abyss which is still fucked up all the way round but still pretty up there if you're in for some good ol emotional drama and trauma,, can't believe it keeps getting more fucked tho tbh… 

Caught up with dandadan, still ridiculous, sort of feels like brain off stunting with the art but things are moving along so I'll continue to stay tuned… 

Anyways getting to the actual lists

Top 3

category 1 - that's fucked up dude:

#3 - I love you so I kill you by Sousou Sakakibara on story and Majuro Kaname on art (complete with 35 chapters)

The premise is that there's some disease going around that makes you want to kill the object of your desire.

Honestly I had seen a few panels of it floating around and was really excited to get to this one plus seeing the more fringe faces of love tends to be enlightening but it was kind of just a well drawn disappointment. 

The progression was pretty erratic, characters didn't really feel rooted in anything and a little bit of a spoiler here but they ended up getting supernatural powers which was like… why?? The premise was already set for a great psychological thriller which doesn't need any supernatural elements as alluring as they may be.

Anyways as you can tell by the name it's definitely fucked up, even if it ended up just being an edgelord jerk off the art was still a decent plus. Also it's pretty short so if you kinda just wanna see gore or people with powers doing the occasional neat thing and so on then forget what I said n go check it out. 

#2 Believers by Naoki Yamamoto (complete with 22 chapters)

Here the story follows three cult members, two men and one woman, who live on a small deserted island somewhere near Japan. They have devoted themselves to the "Deserted lsland Program" assigned to them by their superiors so they can throw off the corrupt influence of modern society and "purify" themselves. But as time passes two of the members begin to give into human desire..

Nothing too earth shattering, just a good ol' classic descent into madness but that's usually a nice treat anyway you slice it.

22 chapters so it's really short but it's paced really well for what they had and even expecting madness it still threw me a few times like really??? sure that's technically a course of action one could take but really??? 

#1 Dead Tube by Kitakawa Touta and Yamaguchi Mikoto (ongoing 86 chapters)

As part of the film club, the MC is asked by the main heroine to videotape her non stop for the next 48 hours. It's a simple enough task and she's pretty so he agrees. Her activities start off pretty mellow but at the end of the two days she murders someone on camera. As the days pass and the girl walks free, our mc confronts her about how this is possible and why she did it in the first place?

Enter dead tube, a video sharing site where the top views get millions in payout no matter what but those with the lowest views are punished by being made to pay for the fees and crimes of other video makers.

Grain of salt here, I'm only at chapter 28 but it's definitely fucked up, started fucked up and has only gotten increasingly fucked up the more I read but it was engaging, if not really on the survival game type beat but a little more on the mystery like why did bro get roped in, why is she making these videos? will they ever relax? etc

Fair warning again, pretty brutal from the get go and I'd suggest putting away any sensibilities you may have before reading this.

category 2 - isn't this just soft core porn?:

#3 how heavy are the dumbbells you lift? by Yabako Sandrovich on art and Maam on art (ongoing with 179 chapters)

Very simple story, the main character wants to lose weight to look cute so she checks out a local gym and it turns out they have a hot trainer so she sticks around.

This is the same guy who does the story for the kengan series which he even references a few times so I can't help but think this piece is just to blow off steam. But in any case I've only read 29 chapters so far so huge grain of salt with whatever I'm saying.

So far it's been a pretty standard episodic gag but the dash of ecchi is the reason it's on this list. These basically come every episode in the form of serious informative workout guides that end up in "steamy" pinup type illustrations. 

As I said, I've only read 29 chapters, but so far those chapters have been pretty enjoyable, Usually get a good laugh every chapter, actually helpful workout tips and all it's just that as a standard gag manga I guess I feel like I already have a pretty good idea of what to expect and there were so many other more engaging reads in sight so I didn't read that much of it this month but it's definitely something to keep up with.

#2 Tales of the Corporate Slave Succubus by Gentsuki (23 chapters)

This one was pretty funny. Our heroine is a succubus tasked with finding men every day, taking control of their dreams and stealing their vitality, and in return, fulfill any desires they have, no matter how perverted they are. As the succubi population rate decreases our heroine finds herself more and more overworked in order to reach her rising quota. One day, she meets an exhausted corporate wage slave and she's surprised at what he asks for.

I'll leave what he asks for as a surprise, it's only 23 chapters so not much I can say just it's a succubus and romance so… yh… I will say the story is a bit cute tho… 

#1 please go home akutsu san by Taichi Nagaoka (ongoing 133 chapters, read all of them)

Another simple story, though definitively cuter than the other two. It was so cute I kind of wanted to include it in the next category but i had to be fr.

Anyways basically the mc is a live alone high school student who has his home taken over by a delinquent gyaru girl looking for a place to crash after school.

Over time they develop feelings but due to how their relationship started, she teasing him and he trying to get her out of his room, neither can be honest. 

Each chapter is pretty short and since the whole thing is pretty episodic so it all flies by and never overstays its welcome or take itself too seriously, especially as it's an ecchi… always weird to me when ecchi tries to be serious like be fr… 

honourable mentions: 67% inertia and gyaru stuff in general… 

category 3

awww:

#3 Tsurezure Biyori by Kei Hamuro (72 chapters)

On the first day of highschool, the main character finds herself awestruck by the beautiful transfer student, who also happens to be a returning childhood friend.

Very short. Very sweet. 

Not much time passes in story so them just focusing on the main cast, and characterizing them as much as they did was neat, but I think that has more to do with the simplicity of the characters and really the entire story than any above average writing or anything..

That said, a simple thing is no more or less difficult to execute than any other thing so I do respect that they pulled it off and mad props for their execution of what felt like a consistent warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Side note, The main cast really felt like a nod to Yotsuba's creator Kiyohiko Azuma, for their work on another manga of his called azumanga daioh,, there wasn't really any shortage of cute stuff read this month but I think that may have given it the edge to actually make it in this list idk idk

#2 Nisekoi by Naoshi Komi (240 chapters)

Nisekoi is one of those manga that have sort of always floated in the periphery. It's been a long time coming, I tried last year but the main character's hair clip reminded me of serial experiments lain and I blacked out,, I wasn't ready then,, old Twitter pal of mine had also been recommending it for a while actually,, I'm sorry it took so long but thank you.

The story goes that to prevent a gang war from bubbling over onto innocent civilians, the heirs of both gangs are persuaded by their fathers to pretend to date through highschool for the next three years…

From the jump you can tell there's a lot to work with and a lot of directions they could go. What I was really thankful for throughout was that the whole "oh no the gang's gonna find out and start fighting what do we do now???" scenario didn't get ground into dust. like I was really scared of that being some infinitei loop gag and I'm just so glad it wasn't. 

It's one of those very cutesy romances so the bits can be limited like guys come on how long can someone blush before you get a clue yk but it was kept interesting through a staggered introduction of the main cast who each brought new flavour and nuance to the story.

Now you may be thinking… wait a minute… this sounds like you're trying to sell me a harem… are you trying to sell me a harem? Let me tell you. I honestly thought it was just gonna be a simple love triangle, maybe with a few quadrangle quandaries for the laughs and was honestly surprised that it turned into some sort of harem looking thing. Again I was thankful that the usual "oh no we seem to have fallen into a provocative position" bit that usually accompanies harems was far out of sight. Hence it's on the awwww list. 

Of course there were some repetition of gags and a few things I would be a little stern in calling erotic here and there but the story direction and quality was really driven by steady build up of the characters through their interactions with each other and their world over time.

Very solid. pretty cute. pretty comical. never really appreciated the diversity a well done harem could bring to a story before now so there's that.. they really made use of the passage of time in showing how their identities and bonds developed throughout their entire highschool lives…  Consistently great art and the whole thing really just oozed ideal high school love drama vibes… to be clear I say that as an observer seeing as I don't really think there's any such thing as an ideal high school love drama 

#1 Hi Score Girl by Rensuke Oshikiri (70 chapters)

The story really begins when the mc, a bit of an outcast, encounters the heroine top student in an arcade, who then proceeds to easily kick his ass.

I'll start by saying the art isn't anything special, maybe even below average, and if I look within in myself that might even be the reason it took me so long to get around to it, but in the end I did and I'm really really glad I did.

The story is set in the early 90s and progresses along with the rise of arcade games that was happening at the time. We see the main hero and heroine duke it out through a number of games and tech advancements, their bond deepening through their mutual love for gaming.

Definitely a slow burn as the mc doesn't really see himself or others in a romantic sense. Like his sexual and romantic orientation is literally just gamer™ and the heroine is what Google says is a dandere,, meaning too shy to talk, like think early days Hinata from Naruto. The payoff is all the more sweet though as they grow closer despite themselves.

Great cast, really great dialogue, pretty dope aesthetic with the games and everything. A story that didn't take itself too seriously in a way that gave the feeling that the author was well aware of its position as a fictional piece of work and so more effectively used the tool of fiction through the medium of manga in a way that I don't think would be possible without that awarenesses. 

I really loved how well they integrated games, as in they weren't just some to the side thing the characters did from time to time, it was clear to see from early out how important games were to the main character and to the story on a whole.

I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did, like it almost feels like one of those definitive before and after reads. Maybe it was the amount of impact in the short amount of chapters but in any case it was definitely the best read this month overall hands down. 

honourable mentions:  you and I are complete opposites, the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all and a story about smoking at the back of a supermarket

(I have to say some of these were probably cuter than the ones I actually listed but definitely not better and all incomplete in any case so I am less inclined to list them but they were honestly just too cute not to mention)

that's it for stuff this month, not gonna get too into old stuff this episode but to note the top 1 reads for each category before this month.

that's fucked up dude: Flowers of evil been a long time champ but I have to mention drifting net cafe by the same mangaka which I read last year. Gave it a good little run for its money. You wouldn't hear it mentioned in the last episode tho because I read it after the episode was put out. but yeah.

isn't this just soft core porn?: my balls definitely.

awww: good ending

Grateful for the new reads as always this month, really hope you can find something you like and thanks for listening, there's a little bit of a ramble after this but if you're heading out now, all the best until next time.