#some translations may try twisting this but it does say day

[dilutedh2so4]

Genesis 1-2:4a — goes into precise detail about the seven specific days of Creation, showing the importance of the Sabbath

Genesis 2:4b — “in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens…”

[suzena]

Complete Dead Apple Explanation

Or: “The Ultimate Guide to Dead Apple”.

Warning: this is a long post! I’m not kidding, I worked on this for three months. There is a TL;DR at the end but it will only briefly cover the most important points.

I see posts about Dead Apple not being understood far too often and so I’m introducing: this explanation! I do want to preface this by saying that I can completely understand that this movie can be confusing. Or, as Fyodor said it:

But, as someone who has seen it many times, I’m here to shed some light on it! Hopefully after this post it’ll all make a bit more sense, and you’ll at least have different questions.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet and are wondering when to watch it, the story officially takes place between season two and three, though you’ll be able to watch season three with no issues if you haven’t watched the movie. Please do note that this post will contain light spoilers for the plot after season two, so don’t read it if you haven’t at least finished catching up to the anime.

I’ll try not to summarize the movie, but instead explain it. That means that this post does not replace the movie, but instead tries to elaborate upon it and tries to place it in the larger plot. Most of the early movie is therefore ignored, but please do not hesitate to ask if you have extra questions, comments, different interpretations or you want me to go into more detail about something. I may not know everything, but I’m always down to talk about this movie!

Alright, with all of that out of the way…

The Dragon Head Conflict

We’ll start at the beginning, which is to say, we’ll start at the prologue, which can be found as a permanent event in Mayoi (and also as a part of the Dead Apple manga). This is not technically needed to understand most of the movie, but it does give some context that will make it a little easier, since this is where it all starts. 

The Dragon Head Conflict, sometimes also translated as the Ryuuzu Conflict, is (as the movie states) the largest conflict in the history of Yokohama’s underworld. It took place six years ago, and originally was about five hundred billion yen an ability user left behind after they died, which various organizations were very interested in. It lasted for a total of 88 days, and involved conflict between eight different underworld organizations, including among others the Port Mafia, Gelhart Security Service/GSS (from Fifteen) and Takasekai (also from Fifteen).

Now as you can imagine, the government isn’t super stoked that gangs are shooting each other up all night and leaving corpses everywhere, to the point where the sidewalk is torn up from the bullet holes. To try to combat this, they thought that they could best fight fire with fire, and let a strong ability user from outside Yokohama settle this conflict all at once.

This new ability user, known as the “White Qilin”, unfortunately doesn’t really care about ending the conflict and kills other strong ability users left and right just for the fun of it, contrary to what the government had hoped he would do. Whether they are uninvolved parties or Port Mafia executives, it doesn’t matter to this guy. The White Qilin also ends up taking the money the conflict was originally about, but that doesn’t stop his murder spree. In this way, the White Qilin gains control over the entire conflict pretty fast, making him the main target to eliminate in order to put a stop to the killings.

Dazai approaches this problem similarly as to how he did during the conflict of Stormbringer, with a group of ability users to overpower the lone individual, but gets his plan twisted on him and gets kidnapped instead. Naturally, he predicted this outcome, leaving a hint for Chuuya where he left a transmitter for a tracking device so that Chuuya could come rescue him. 

This is then the first scene of the movie, where Dazai and Chuuya confront and defeat the White Qilin using Corruption, and the whole Dragon Head Conflict ends since the White Qilin is finally gone and all the money burned. This battle is so iconic in the underground circles that it gains them the name “Double Black”, or “Soukoku”.

A few small notes on the Dragon Head Conflict before we move on.

As can also be seen in the first scene of the movie, this is where Oda adopts all five of those kids you see during the Dark Age, which was also already stated in the Dark Age itself. 

“I heard all about it, Odasaku. You’re raising five kids, huh? And not only that, they’re orphans from the Dragon’s Head Conflict.” ―Dazai, Dark Age

Also, ever wondered why the Port Mafia is the only major criminal organization in Yokohama? There actually used to be five in total but four of them completely perished during the Dragon Head Conflict. Another reason why Dazai & Chuuya ending the conflict is so impressive, since because of that the Port Mafia is the only one to even survive it at all.

Shibusawho?

As you’ve probably guessed by now, the “White Qilin”, also named “the Collector” in Dead Apple itself, are both different names for our main antagonist: Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. The government had good reason to believe Shibusawa would be able to stand against the entire Yokohama underground and come out on top: his ability.

Shibusawa’s ability, Draconia, creates a fog around him, which separates other ability users from their own ability and makes non-ability users disappear as long as the fog persists. When surrounded by this fog, ability users are confronted with this version of their ability that is split from themselves. If an ability user is to die within this fog, their ability will be added to Draconia’s collection room.

There is decent evidence that it takes a while before the fog activates, so the effect isn’t immediate. This can be seen with Chuuya, who makes very short contact with the fog before he lifts up the building that he shoves in the Dragon’s mouth, but it’s seen even more clearly with Atsushi and Kyouka at the start of the movie. They spend a small while running around Yokohama wondering why everyone is gone before they’re finally confronted with their abilities.

To some extent the separated abilities represent the inner conflict in an ability user. This can of course be clearly found in Atsushi and his shaky connection to the tiger, or in Kyouka who has Demon Snow which is the last remnant of her parents but also murdered them in front of her. But the clearest example of this in the movie is actually Kunikida, since there is a visible change between him and his ability.

The notebook of Kunikida’s ability does not read its usual “理想” (ideals), but instead now says “妥協” (compromise). For Kunikida, a person so tied to his ideals, this version of his ability is an “abomination” (his words, not mine), and thus a source of inner conflict, since it represents a side of Kunikida that he carries within him.

“A copy of himself that didn’t follow ideals but made compromises was an abomination to Kunikida.”―Dead Apple (light novel)

If ability users manage to defeat their abilities in a physical fight, and then also accept these parts of themselves for what they represent, they will regain their ability. For example, Atsushi does not immediately regain his ability after defeating the tiger because he does not completely accept that the tiger represents that he has killed a person. For Atsushi, a person who connects his entire reason of living to saving other people, this is nearly irreconcilable. The only reason he probably is able to get over it in the end is that the person he killed was actively torturing and trying to kill him, so Atsushi had to kill to survive.

Shibusawa, then, is dead. Chronologically, his murder is the earliest you see of him. Fyodor has told Shibusawa that Atsushi contains something that “guides the envy of all ability users”, so Shibusawa, who feels like he is missing something, seeks to take this by any means. This doesn’t work out too hot for him, and Atsushi kills him.

Now a fun thing happens. Since Shibusawa is the center of the fog at all times, so to speak, and he’s the keeper of the abilities that die in his fog, his ability is separated from himself and lives on, nearly indistinguishable from his original body. Only one downside to this: he completely loses his memories.

I can only assume the government steps in at this point to take this strong ability user in his vulnerable state, and then have him solve the Dragon Head Conflict not long after. He most likely also survived Chuuya’s Corruption by being an ability, and having ability crystals in his collection to fall back on and recover, as he also does in Dead Apple. However, all of that is just pure speculation.

After the Dragon Head Conflict, Shibusawa spends some years abroad, casually killing thousands of ability users for the same reason as during the Dragon Head Conflict: just playing around and trying to fill that hole of something that is missing inside of him. The Japanese government mostly does a spectacular and spectacularly unethical job of cleaning up after him, since they learned nothing from the Dragon Head Conflict and still think that they can control him to protect Japan should it ever be invaded by foreign ability users.

Eventually, when the timing is right, Shibusawa gets invited back to Japan by Dazai. At the same time he is told by Fyodor (can you see the manipulation happening on both sides?) that Dazai’s ability is the ultimate ability that will finally complete him, and so Shibusawa eagerly comes to Yokohama. 

From here on out, as far as Shibusawa is concerned, it’s just a matter of covering the entire city in fog, killing Dazai and then taking his ability. Since Dazai cancels the fog itself with his ability, Shibusawa does need to kill him first, since the fog will work just fine on a corpse. Unfortunately, Shibusawa, however smart he is, is not in control of the plot in this movie. That control is left entirely to the combination of Dazai and Fyodor.

Intermezzo: Singularity Crash Course

Let’s do a lightning quick crash course on singularities before continuing, because you’re going to need that to understand what is happening in the next part. While Stormbringer was released after Dead Apple, I’m still going to be leaning heavily on and paraphrasing the information provided in that novel since it gives a really nice overview.

Abilities are bound to rules, just like everything else. No organisms other than humans, such as plants or monkeys, can possess an ability. Each human can only have a single ability, and when they die the ability disappears with them. Finally, there is a limit to the strength of any such ability.

But what if you wanted to go beyond that limit? What if you wanted to play with the natural laws of this world? What if you wanted to get really silly with it? Well, in that case, you can try your best at creating a singularity.

Singularities are defined as “the interaction of multiple abilities that develops into a higher-level phenomenon different from the original abilities”. This mostly exhibits itself in a massive release of energy, but rarely there are semi-stable versions of them. Singularities aren’t bound to conventional rules, and can be much more powerful for that exact reason.

As for creating singularities, there are two defined ways. The most reliable method is to have two contradicting abilities clash with each other. This leads to fun mental exercises, think “unstoppable force meets immovable object”, or, two ability users who can both see a few seconds into the future fighting to the death (sound familiar?). As a second method, an ability can also contradict itself, essentially causing the same result, but it’s a lot more finicky.

“Dead Apple”

The latter part of the movie revolves around exactly the creation of such a singularity, as all planned out by Fyodor, and accurately anticipated by Dazai. Let’s lay out all the layers of this.

Shibusawa is after Dazai’s ability. Meanwhile, Dazai is trying to stop the fog to save Yokohama. As for Fyodor, we’ll get to him in a second.

Dazai “teams up” with Fyodor and betrays Shibusawa to put a stop to the fog. The idea of this is that Fyodor combines two abilities from Shibusawa’s collection, which Dazai can’t do himself without canceling them: the ability to pull abilities in a surrounding area close, and the ability to merge abilities together. When these two are merged, together they create an ability that will absorb Shibusawa’s entire collection, and then Dazai only has to touch this ability to effectively get rid of Shibusawa’s power source.

There is a specific reason why it has to happen like this, and Dazai just touching Shibusawa isn’t quite enough. Let’s mentally walk through the process if Dazai were to touch Shibusawa. The fog disappears for a bit (and Shibusawa with it, most likely), but Shibusawa now knows Dazai’s intentions. Fyodor will take Shibusawa’s side and now Dazai is at a large disadvantage. Ultimately, it doesn’t even solve the problem. We know from the Dragon Head Conflict that just destroying Shibusawa’s body is most likely not enough, and he will be able to resummon the fog (and his body) with time and energy. The problem needs to be cut off at the root, the ability crystals.

Unfortunately, Fyodor didn’t really team up with Dazai, instead choosing to team up with Shibusawa in order to get rid of Dazai. This is then where Shibusawa gets to kill Dazai, and discovers that wait, Dazai’s ability may not be what he’s seeking after all. However, the abilities are already merged, and Dazai’s ability joins them. This combines “the ability to merge” with “the ability to nullify”, which don’t exactly mix well. Does Dazai’s ability become part of the other ability? Does his ability nullify the merging ability before that can happen? It’s already part of it, but at the same time the merging can never happen. It’s contradictory, and thus a singularity is born.

Fyodor, meanwhile, hasn’t quite had his fill of betrayal yet, and decides to remind Shibusawa of what he is by killing him, reminding Shibusawa of his earlier death by Atsushi’s paw. All of this, killing Dazai and using his ability to create a singularity, having that power from the singularity then go into Shibusawa to create the Dragon, all of that was part of Fyodor’s plan. Shibusawa is only able to cover an entire city with fog because of the large amount of ability crystals he has collected, and so with enough power (like from a singularity) he can cover the entire world in this fog. Up until this point, neither Fyodor nor Shibusawa have seen a single ability user survive the fog, and thus it is the perfect method for getting rid of all ability users in the world, which does seem to be Fyodor’s end goal.

However, Chuuya swoops in and defeats the Dragon. Dazai was well prepared and had the antidote to the poison he was killed with hidden in his mouth, so he is alive and well again. That means that Dazai has his ability back and it cancels out the singularity space they both are in. It doesn’t completely get rid of the Dragon however, as some energy still lingers around the tower. 

Fyodor is still on the scene, and uses a part of the merging crystal that he saved which was used earlier to create the singularity to merge Shibusawa with the singularity, giving Shibusawa a very anime transformation into his final form.

At this point, as a result of Shibusawa’s transformation, the fog turns red. If this red fog then covers the entire planet as Fyodor is hoping, and you were to watch it from space, it would look just like a poisonous red apple. The name of the movie therefore refers to this plan of using Shibusawa to rid the world of ability users.

This idea of poisonous apples in this movie comes from two different sources. From Fyodor’s side, it is referring to the apple Eve ate in the Bible, the original sin. For Fyodor, there is poetic irony in this: the world will end with the same sin as it began with. The crime is the punishment. On Dazai’s side, it refers to Snow White, who bit the poison apple and died (temporarily). He already talks about this to Oda when he is sixteen, vaguely implying he knew all of this was coming as soon as he met Shibusawa during the Dragon Head Conflict. Since Fyodor was already around at that time and also had a hand in enabling Shibusawa originally, this may indeed be planned out this far in advance, but it’s always hard to tell with these guys.

Then the kids take over the fight for the rest of the movie, and Atsushi, Akutagawa and Kyouka work together to defeat Shibusawa’s final form in the form of a long, epic final fight. Shibusawa is finally defeated and it all ends happily ever after. 

The End.

Byakko VS The Dragon

…Or is it? You thought we covered the entire basic layer of the movie, so we’re done now, right? Think again! This is only where things start to become really interesting. Please note that this section will take some ideas that were already pointed out by other people, and build on those.

When looking at lore relevance of characters, Atsushi may not immediately spring to mind as one of the most important ones. Sure, he’s the protagonist of the main manga, but in comparison to the mystery surrounding Dazai or Fyodor he fades a little into the background.

Even in this post, an explanation about a movie that’s basically about Atsushi, I’m able to explain the basics of the movie without mentioning him much at all. And yet, the movie’s core conflict is not between Shibusawa, Dazai and Fyodor, but between Shibusawa and Atsushi.

While there isn’t a lot of information given about Shibusawa’s and Atsushi’s connection, what we do get is very interesting. Shibusawa is consistently referred to as a Dragon during Dead Apple, and while subtitles usually translate everything as “tiger”, Atsushi’s tiger is actually referred to as “Byakko” half of the time. 

Now what is the difference between any good ol’ normal tiger and the Byakko, I hear you ask. The Byakko is much more than an ordinary tiger, since it is part of the 四神 (shijin/ shishin), the Four Guardians of the Four Compass Directions, which the Dragon is also a part of. What you essentially need to know from this is that the Byakko belongs to the same group of creatures as the Dragon, and that this solidifies Shibusawa’s status as Atsushi’s foil in this movie.

It also allows us to make a direct comparison between Shibusawa and Atsushi. The thing is, I have been lying to you a little bit. So far, I’ve been calling the Dragon a singularity. The truth is, it may not be. I know, I know, if it’s not a singularity, then what was that whole Dragon thing about?

Fyodor actually specifically tells us that the Dragon isn’t a singularity, but instead it’s “the true form of the chaos born from abilities”. (Note here that the Dead Apple light novel talks about Fyodor as if he is “reciting some Oracle”. Did Fyodor get this information from someone else?) Is this related to why Fyodor wants abilities gone from this world? Is there another layer to abilities and other creatures that BSD hasn’t even touched upon (think Lovecraft)? It’s hard to say at this point. All we can say is that the Dragon gets referred to as something else, and… that the Dragon is similar to the Byakko.

The tiger ability we see that got separated from Atsushi in the movie actually doesn’t follow the rules the other abilities do. It has a clearly defined face, and the red gem is not on its forehead. The gem found on the ability tiger is also red, which is in line with the other extracted abilities we see, but what gets extracted from Atsushi by Shibusawa is this blue cube. The weirdness continues in the flashback we see of Atsushi being tortured by Shibusawa. 

We see Atsushi’s ability leave him, but then in a flash of self protection instinct, he partially transforms into the tiger, claws and all, while the blue gem is outside of his body. Earlier in the movie it is shown that if an ability is extracted from an ability user, they no longer have access to the powers of that ability. Then how is Atsushi able to use his tiger abilities here? 

Granted, there is a bit of conflicting information within the movie about this, since during the final fight with Shibusawa this blue cube is once again extracted from Atsushi, but now he does lose his tiger powers. Could he resummon the tiger while not in possession of the cube if the situation is dire enough? Is this just a psychological thing because Atsushi is aware of it this time? Who can say. At any rate, this blue cube is connected deeply with Atsushi, but the clues given imply that it may not be the Byakko itself.

“That’s not an ability! That is me!”―Atsushi, reaching out to the blue cube in Dead Apple

To be honest, the movie does very little in explaining anything around Atsushi, instead raising more questions than answers. For that exact reason, the rest of this section will mostly be speculation about one possible angle on Atsushi’s ability that personally makes sense to me, but of course this is only one potential theory.

I do also want to add here that Atsushi personally goes through an arc in this movie from seeing the tiger as something separate to something that is intrinsically part of him. This can also be a reason for this final exclamation of “that’s me!” when he reaches out to the blue cube, but it doesn’t explain everything, which is why we explore an alternate possibility here.

My take on it is that the Byakko and this blue gem that get extracted from Atsushi are not the same thing. With the side note here being that they are probably deeply connected, but not the same regardless. 

My reasoning for this is that everything Atsushi-related you see in Dead Apple makes a little more sense when you consider the Byakko and the blue cube as two separate entities. The Byakko’s gem is red, the cube is blue. The Byakko is framed as something separate from Atsushi, while he claims the cube is not an ability but he himself. Atsushi had access to the Byakko while the blue cube was outside of him. Shibusawa even makes a point of mentioning that the orphanage director, who correctly thought Atsushi was the tiger, had the wrong idea about Atsushi’s ability. The Byakko is definitely Atsushi’s ability, but this blue cube is… something else. 

And yet, the tiger is also deeply connected to whatever this blue gem is. Currently, one theory that makes sense to me is that the tiger is an ability that can be passed on, just like Demon Snow, that has the specific task of protecting the power of this blue gem. So, a two in one deal. Atsushi also gets referred to as “the one holding the Byakko ability” by Ivan, which would be in line with the Byakko being an ability that can be passed on as needed. Shibusawa makes a similar statement, calling Atsushi “the one clad in the Byakko”. Atsushi also has issues controlling his ability before joining the ADA, just like Kyouka and Tsujimura, who both also inherited their abilities. I would love to further speculate on this, but there is so little information on anything relating to this, so anything further would be completely baseless.

However, there is one more different clue given to us by the movie. Namely, what this comparison to the Dragon means for Atsushi as the one holding the Byakko.

Almost in the same breath as Shibusawa is recounting Fyodor’s words about the Dragon being the chaos of all abilities, the holder of the Byakko also gets its own description about its true form: the one opposing all abilities.

This relates to what the blue cube may really be. What Atsushi does to Shibusawa in his final moments is what I essentially believe to be this blue cube’s true power: it completely unravels an ability. The blue power eats up everything supernatural about Shibusawa until only his natural skull is left.

If you think this sounds familiar, it kind of does! I cannot ignore the similarity to Dazai here, though I do have to point out that Dazai can only cancel out an ability, and this blue cube power seems to… completely erase the ability itself, leaving no trace of it. The similarity to Dazai is further found the moment Dazai dies and his ability leaves his body. At first, his ability is white and vaguely similar to the blue cube before deciding that nope, this is just barely not it.

I have a hard time connecting this to anything larger simply because the series does not give a lot of clues on this subject. How did abilities come to be? How is the Book related to that, since it is not an ability or borne from an ability? And how does Atsushi factor into this? 

Shibusawa has been led to Atsushi since he believed Atsushi would grant him something special, something he had been looking for all this time. “That which every ability user desires.” 

This is actually a familiar story! This is not the first time Fyodor has led someone to Atsushi with the premise that he would be able to lead them to what they were seeking. The first two seasons of the anime follow that specific idea, of Fitzgerald wanting Atsushi so he can lead him to the Book.

The tiger as the guide to the Book is something emphasized again and again. While in English it gets translated as “guide”, the original manga panel said “道標（タイガービートル）”, or, “guidepost (pronounced: tiger beetle, in English)”. While this is partially just a funny pun, it also once again points to the tiger specifically as a guide.

It did leave me to wonder about the absence of a certain scene in the series. Fyodor has been sending other people to Atsushi for the entire length of the series, but has never interacted with Atsushi himself. For someone who claims to be looking for the Book, and knows that Atsushi is somehow the guide to the Book, isn’t that a bit weird? Is there a reason Fyodor won’t interact with Atsushi himself? Fyodor knew about Atsushi way before he joined the ADA, so it’s not like Dazai is particularly standing in the way here.

Regardless, this factor that makes Atsushi so special may very well be this blue cube. How does the power to completely undo abilities lead to the Book? Who knows. We simply do not know enough about the Book or the origin of abilities to say more about this. Maybe the true power of the blue cube is something else entirely.

What does all of this mean? Where will it all lead? Only the future (Asagiri) can tell.

The Unexplained and Weird

Welcome to the section I’d fondly refer to as “a collection of things I have no explanation for”. There is plenty of that in this movie, but I do want to touch upon them since not being explainable as of currently does not necessarily mean that they aren’t important in the future. Also, not having an explanation for these things is driving me insane and I need to share in my suffering. Let’s go! :)

Let’s get the big thing out of the way first.

Mukurotoride, my friend, my enemy. For those unaware, Mukurotoride is the name of the large black tower that Shibusawa, Dazai and Fyodor were chilling in for most of the movie. The name gets translated as “Skull Fortress”, but the kanji used gives the name more of a “Dead Man’s Castle” feeling, since it refers to a person long since dead more than a skull. My problem with this tower is as follows: it doesn’t make any sense. Whatsoever.

Why is it there? Fifteen establishes it’s there seven years before the current timeline, so a year before Shibusawa dies. I would’ve accepted it if the tower was a weird side effect of Shibusawa dying or something, but the current facts point towards this tower not having anything to do with Shibusawa at all. It’s also very decayed. How long has it been there? Who put it there? Is it relevant that it’s right next to Suribachi? Or in the Yokohama foreign settlement? (Side note: foreign settlements have not been a thing since 1899. What’s up with Yokohama having a foreign settlement?) No one seems to know anything about this tower, not even in the Japanese community. And then in-universe, everyone also seems okay with this wildly out-of-place tower that looks like it’s made out of human bones being there in the middle of the city? It’s giving me Sky Casino vibes.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, we can talk about Fyodor’s ability.

I want to start this part by explaining my personal stance on the current Fyodor theories, since it influences how I talk about what is shown of his ability in Dead Apple. There are a bunch of theories about Fyodor having an insta-kill ability that only works on non-ability users. Personally, I don’t subscribe to this theory, and I have multiple reasons for this.

First, I don’t think we’ve ever seen Fyodor’s ability being used. At the end of Cannibalism a cop dies as soon as he touches Fyodor. In the manga abilities don’t have a special shine effect, but in the anime they do. However, in the anime there was no ability-shine here.

A stronger argument, perhaps, is that this happens right in front of Dazai, and Dazai immediately afterwards says he has no clue what Fyodor’s ability could be. He could be lying, of course, but since this is a common enemy he shares with Fitzgerald, who is the one asking him about Fyodor’s ability, I don’t see any reason for him to do so here. The whole murder reads a little bit like Fyodor just putting on a show for Dazai.

Finally, from a narrative viewpoint, killing with a touch is a little… useless? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s convenient, I guess, when you’re a terrorist who seeks to exterminate part of the global population. But there are many ways to kill a person, and Fyodor has shown time after time that he doesn’t need to rely on an ability to murder people.

The strongest argument for the insta-kill ability in my opinion is Fyodor himself saying “this is my true ability” before killing that kid who was enslaved by Ace. However, this may also be part of something else that is going on with Fyodor, in a way that is perhaps very similar to Atsushi.

Alright. Whether you agree with that or not is up to you. To get back to the movie, there are a few interesting clues provided about Fyodor’s ability.

The first is of course Fyodor’s iconic line when his ability shows up on screen: “Crime and Punishment are close friends.” Everything he says after that point is already referring to Shibusawa again, so this is the only clue he himself is willing to offer up. If we consider that the abilities that get split from their users represent inner conflict, all he is saying here is that he apparently has no inner conflict. Does he know something else about the world? Does he just know who he is? Honestly, I don’t think we’ll get anywhere talking about Fyodor’s mental state.

Then there is the “I am Crime”, spoken by Fyodor holding the skull, and “I am Punishment”, spoken by his ability holding the apple. This one is slightly more straightforward. The ability user being the crime, and the ability the punishment. I’m not 100% sure if this is actually referring to Fyodor himself, or if it’s just about Shibusawa again. The skull (Shibusawa, an ability user) being the crime, and then the apple (covering the world with fog through Shibusawa’s ability, thus punishing ability users) being the punishment makes sense when viewed like this, but it could be that Fyodor is somehow also referring to himself during these lines.

Okay, if Fyodor is apparently not willing to open up, we can gather some more info just from what we can see instead of what we’re told. Most of what this part covers is taken from these excellent posts, but I’ll summarize it here for the sake of completion. Fyodor’s ability looks different compared to most other abilities. Most of the abilities shown in the movie have a blank face without any features, and have their gem on their forehead. The exception to that first part, interestingly enough, is Elise, Mori’s ability. This is most likely because she has physical form as an ability to begin with. Which then raises the question: does Fyodor’s ability also have a physical form outside of the fog? His ability looks identical, so that would imply some sort of clone ability. Next to this, Fyodor’s epithet is “The Conjurer”, which would be in line with him being able to create another copy of himself. (Though I should add here that the Japanese seems to just refer to him as “魔神”, which can be any type of evil spirit. However, if I’m not mistaken, the “Conjurer” should be from the official translation, but let me know if I’m mistaken on that.)

Finally, there is the position of the gem on Fyodor’s ability. Nearly all other abilities have their gem on their forehead, but for some reason Fyodor’s ability has his on his hand. The only other ability that has its gem not on its forehead is… the Byakko. I don’t have an explanation for this one, but the weirdness should be pointed out, since it’s another way in which Fyodor’s ability deviates from the others.

Next to the above, there are two other weird details I want to quickly touch upon.

First, the knives in the apples in the dish in Mukuroride, as well as the apples with a knife in them in general, as they are the theme of this movie. I believe this to be of a more metaphorical touch, so we won’t read too much into it, but it does have physical consequences that tie back to the title as well.

This exact shot is used four times throughout the movie, but with a varying amount of knives stuck in the apples. It starts with one, then two, then three. The room starts with just Dazai, then Shibusawa enters, then Fyodor. With each of them showing up, another knife appears in an apple. This is then a metaphor for these three being the instigators behind the Dead Apple incident. These knives in the apples can also be seen as their calling cards, as they were left both at the bar and at the scene of the crime where that agent was killed who was supposed to meet with Kunikida and Tanizaki. 

In a later scene, it cuts again to this frame, but a knife and the skull has disappeared. These both get taken by Fyodor. The knife is used eventually to kill Shibusawa, but Shibusawa also took one of these knives to kill Dazai with. Either way, these knives that have been in these apples are used to murder, once again corroborating the connection between death and apples.

And finally, the relevance of the moon. 

There are a few impressive shots of the moon in Dead Apple, where the moon is shown to be enormous, to the point where even the light novel points out how extraordinarily large it is. The novel also points out that the blue cube crystal holds a similarity to the moonlight. Just symbolism to show that it’s connected to Atsushi, or something more? The other side of the page in the main series will also only be written on the night… of the next full moon.

The Point of It All

I hear a lot of “Dead Apple doesn’t matter to the plot, just watch it for the Soukoku scenes and move on”. And while I do agree that it’s not mandatory viewing to understand the storyline that corresponds with season three onwards, I do think there is more to Dead Apple than most people give it credit for.

I always like to ask myself after reading a book or watching a movie: “Okay, so what was the point of that? What was I meant to take away from this?”

For example, in essence Stormbringer is a case study on singularities. Likewise, BEAST is a study into the limits of the Book, and all other side stories similarly have a message, however big or small.

So what does Dead Apple establish? Why bother?

I hope by now you agree that Dead Apple seems to be the introduction to explaining more as to what is so special about Atsushi. This seems to go deeper into chapter 28/29 of the manga, or season 2 episode 8 of the anime, where Atsushi also has some weird things going on with the tiger. What this exactly is, or where this seems to be going is unclear for now, but the Dead Apple definitely emphasizes Atsushi’s importance as well as the concept that there can be something more than just abilities.

In-universe, there are also reasons for this conflict to happen.

Most likely both Dazai and Fyodor knew the end result long before the conflict ever started. It’s their reunion in a way, so I suppose they are both seeing how the other’s condition is at the moment. They may even have gathered some intel somehow? It’s almost like collecting metadata, they won’t have a direct conversation about important things, but they try to collect information just by seeing how the other acts, to see if the other lies within prediction.

Aside from that, on Dazai’s side, except for foiling Fyodor’s plan and keeping Yokohama safe, the Shin Soukoku dynamic also gets strengthened, something Dazai is actively working on. On Fyodor’s side, next to giving the whole “eliminating all ability users” a good honest shot, he also gets to collect a lot of intel on the opposing side. For example, Fyodor in Dead Apple gets to see Corruption up close, which may potentially be relevant.

Finally, from a storytelling perspective, it sets up a lot for the third season, especially in character interactions and relationships, e.g. Atsushi & Akutagawa, Dazai & Chuuya, Kyouka, Fukuzawa & Mori. It should be noted that some characters literally have been intentionally regressed to make the ending make more impact. Whether that was a good decision or not is not why I’m here. You should just know that it’s intentional. You could chalk it up to Atsushi losing his ability impacting him and his behavior a lot, if you wanted to justify it somehow. The Order of the Clock Tower also gets its first anime appearance, showing Agatha Christie on screen, who will most likely play a more important role later on. Likewise, Dead Apple is the introduction to Fyodor as a villain, where you get to see him for more than just a few flashes.

Trivia and Fun Details

I suppose this section is skippable. But who doesn’t love trivia? This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything included in this movie, but rather an overview of what I personally caught, understood and thought relevant to include.

The “Dragon Head” in the Dragon Head Conflict refers to a Qilin, which are said to have similar heads to dragons. Since the conflict centered around the White Qilin, this is where that name comes from.

At some point Akutagawa and Kyouka use a mafia code to refer to a passageway. The code “0505” refers back to Atsushi’s birthday.

The symbol ᛟ found on the outfits of the Mukurotoride squad refers to inheritage, since Shibusawa inherited his own ability. More information about that here.

Dazai at some point meows at Fyodor. This is a very sassy way of telling Fyodor that he will personally eradicate all of Fyodor’s rats in Yokohama, including Fyodor himself. (The light novel calls it a “tedious” meow. Lmao.)

The music from Dead Apple seems to be recycled in season three of the anime. I’m guessing to save on budget?

Atsushi’s door that he eventually opens to unlock his hidden memories has its own music motif that shows up every time he thinks about Shibusawa, the fog or his memories associated with killing him. Try to pay attention to this, it’s really cool.

The motif of the door is also a tune that sounds a lot like the track named Dead Apple, further showing Atsushi’s relevance in his movie.

The lyrics of the soundtrack tell their own story. When the Dead Apple plot first takes off and Dazai is at bar Lupin, a song called My Prince plays telling of Snow White who is sleeping and waiting for her prince. However, it seems to be a spin on the classic, where indeed Snow White chose to knowingly bite the apple knowing it was poisoned, in much the same way as Dazai knew he was going to be poisoned in Dead Apple. Le Cheval Noir tells of how bored the singer is, and how nothing is special to them anymore. This plays during the scene where Dazai talks to Shibusawa, showing Shibusawa’s apathy towards everything. Mein Prinz, the song that plays as Dazai gets backstabbed, is nearly exactly the same song as My Prince, but now more dramatic and in German. This is a clue that Dazai saw this coming from before the Dead Apple conflict even started, and it’s now up to Chuuya again to save him. Overall, Dazai is leaning into the Snow White aesthetic hard in Dead Apple.

And finally, a list of everything the light novel insists refers to the theme of poisonous red apples: the red apples with the knives in them, apple suicide, the merged abilities producing a red sphere, the singularity that results from that in all its forms and the planet covered in red fog. If it’s red and spherical, you can just assume it should represent a deathly apple.

TD;DR

Recapped extremely briefly:

The Dragon Head Conflict introduces Shibusawa as a villain who was kept by the government but went off the rails. Shibusawa’s ability is a fog that splits ability users from their abilities. If ability users die, Shibusawa obtains their ability. Shibusawa died and inherited his own ability, also causing him to lose his memory. Therefore he wants to obtain Dazai's ability in order to gain what he feels he lacks. Dazai betrays Shibusawa together with Fyodor by combining abilities. However, Shibusawa kills Dazai first, adding Dazai's ability to the merged abilities creating a singularity. Fyodor kills Shibusawa, causing him to regain his memory of being previously killed by Atsushi. A dragon is created and defeated, and Fyodor's plan is revealed to be the covering of the entire planet in Shibusawa's fog, killing all ability users. This plan is foiled, but Atsushi is shown to have potentially another power next to his ability (the tiger). This power is possibly the ability to completely unravel abilities, and may be what makes Atsushi the guide to the Book. Mukurotoride is completely left unexplained in the movie, but there are clues given about Fyodor's ability that point away from an insta-kill ability, and more towards a clone type ability.

[cupids-chamber]

MEETING LEONA'S FAMILY, he's never quite enjoyed the idea of you meeting his family, but now you'd finally get to meet your partners family members!.. surely everything will end well...?

GENDER NEUTRAL READER | [ Fluff / Un-edited ]

Sunset Savanna was much more prettier then you had expected, the beautiful and well thought out designs and structures, the many different kinds of beast-men and some humans, living their day to day life despite the wretched heat of the Savanna—You couldn't quite tell why your partner was so against the idea of you coming here for a visit, and meeting his family as well! The palace was much more different—lavish, then you had expected, it was lovely to say the least, the intricate corridors, the beautiful surroundings and location in which the grandiose living quarters were made, it was a palace fit for the Royal family…

You tried your best when greeting his family, Leona was around and though he told you not to be so uptight and more or less formal—"Listen, if ya' stress it, you'll trip and cause a scene, and I don' like it when you're embarrassed and pouty"— You couldn't help but feel the need to maintain some sort of elegant behaviorisms—Maybe it was because you wanted to leave a good first impression, or it could be the fact that you're meeting with the literal King and Queen of Sunset Savanna… It was probably the latter, after all, even if Leona was your partner and even if you did truly lik—love him—Trying to get into someone's families good graces, is much more difficult then it seems.

Not to mention, your partner always seemed.. nervous? You couldn't tell really, but it was easy to read that Leona didn't really prefer or like the idea of you meeting his family.. You are more then well aware of his sour relationship with his brother—Which may or may not be one-sided, but it does provide some ground as to why he'd dislike you visiting so much…. But even if you were nervous, you couldn't help but anticipate the idea of meeting his family..

The moment the door opened, Cheka came jumping—he was quite excited… well not necessarily to see you, but more or less he was excited to see his uncle back at home again…. Though when he noticed you, he quickly pulled you into a hug as well.. It was adorable… but Leona probably didn't feel the same way.

Contradictory to all your expectations, Leona's family was sweet beyond your wildest dreams—They treated you as if you were one of their own, telling you cute and cliché stories about Leona, when he was a child... Scolding him softly when he tried to poke in on the conversations… Wait.. They've heard about you before?.. Well you know Leona's not really the type to open up about how he feels, and what not, he's not one to really discuss about you so openly.. but the fact that he did made you happy beyond imagine.

It felt nice, you wouldn't lie… Ever since coming to Twisted Wonderland—way back.. When you were first transported to Night Raven College, you had to come to terms with the idea that your friends, family, relationships, and connections are basically nonexistent here… and although you've made many wonderful friendships here… You've always lacked a sense of familial love—Sure, your connections with your friends maybe thicker then blood, but it felt nice… Having and feeling that familial love and comfort again.

You're pretty sure Leona had noticed the shift in your mood, the way your smile cracked into a more genuine and happy smile, in the corner of your eye, you could see the small grin plastered onto his lips..

© cupids-chamber, do not repost, plagiarize, translate, or adapt my work/theme without prior permission and or confirmation.

[ike-garden2024]

Mirror Mirror 🪞

So I read this man’s route. The translated version provided by @aishangotome it was so good! There’s quite a few translations on their page. Go check it out!! 😄 It took me a couple days to process what I read because I binged the entire thing, including both endings 🤣 this is a mess of a post 🙈 the rest of this post will contain spoilers, if that’s not something you want to see please scroll away 😂 anyway thank you @aishangotome for your translation work! Now let’s talk about the man in question, Alfons

Warning ‼️ contains topics that may be uncomfortable to some including but not limited to: death, addictions, trauma, etc.

The tragic fate attached to his curse is exactly what I thought it would be, to be forgotten by everyone who knew him after he dies. I can only imagine how painful that is. Lots of people nearing death tend to talk about their memories a lot and often I’ve heard them say “I’ll be remembered for x,y,z”, Alfons can’t have that… well, not completely… I like that the writers added the part of Roger and Kate doing some research of people who were involved with someone who has the mirror curse. It opened up another avenue, the name and face may be forgotten but the impact the cursed one had on the other person is not. In fact it leaves the person with a sense of emptiness, like they’ve forgotten something important. While that can be painful, it also means that the life of the cursed one matters, they’re important. I can imagine that no one wants to leave their loved ones with that kind of pain, a pain that will never really heal over time because they’ll always be wondering what/who their forgetting and that could potentially lead to always trying to find answers. It can potentially drive a person crazy. Despite all that, I think I agree with Kate. All of that pain and suffering is worth it. Sure you end up making memories that you’ll eventually forget and you’ll forget the important person but, your body and emotions don’t forget, it’s still actively being felt. That’s why Alfons loving Kate means tearing her life to shreds, leaving unforgettable marks on her entire being. It’s also why he’d prefer to die after her, he genuinely doesn’t want to be forgotten by her. I think in the fake wedding event epilogue she says something about dying together 🤔 I can’t quite remember.

Moving on! The way he goes about using his abilities doesn’t strike me as “evil” necessarily. On his personal time I mean!! He’s certainly making criminals go mad as part of his judgement on them 😂 although it’s a bit twisted, the way he makes himself available for random people to use his power is a form of care. It’s not good to run away from the reality of a situation but many times people wish they could. That’s kind of where addictions and bad habits come from. But even if it’s not that extreme, reading a favorite book, watching a favorite show, playing a game, etc. are also ways to escape reality for a while. I like the way the character Alfons basically encompasses the idea of escapism. It’s an extreme version of something everyone does in their own way. I’ve always loved how writers have the ability to create a whole new world where you can just get lost in. It’s what inspires my career choice and seeing people’s reactions to anime, games, stories, etc. continues to motivate me. I’d love to help create a world one day for people to enjoy. Reading Alfons’s route weirdly motivated me more 😂 without moderation, anything can become an addiction, but it’s sometimes hard to create these moderations. Alfons always makes himself available, his free time is literally dedicated to sex addicts behind a bar and people in the east side(?) of London. Moderation is not in that man’s vocabulary 🤣 He can say it’s for entertainment all he wants but I think he’s somewhat genuinely concerned 😂 he’s like a drug though, have a small taste and you end up wanting more and more.

I don’t particularly like the man’s personality but I understand it a lot better now. I can somewhat respect it but thats it 🤣 His lifestyle choice truly is understandable after reading his story and the “why” behind it all pulls at my heart a bit. Honestly the way he found out about his curse and fate did not help at all 😂 like young Roger had absolutely no consideration when he dropped the info on him. To young Roger it was like “a new subject!” Damn, what if he would’ve turned out a little different had young Roger just gone about it a different way. I believe this is the reason they don’t get along(?) it’s my understanding at least. When the route comes out in English I’m looking forward to reading his side stories to get to know him even more. I definitely find him interesting from a writing perspective. Great character concept and execution!

AH! I forgot to touch on the Elbert/Alfons dynamic. They’re so cute 🥰 you can really tell they care for each other. With their silly bets, Alfons leaving Elbert a handwritten note, and just other things 🤭 it’s great

This is such a bad pile of notes, I apologize for any mistakes but I needed to get my thoughts down and out 😂 Thank you

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Hello! I've been kinda stalling sending this for absolutely no reason, but I'm gonna do it today because it's going to rot in my brain if I don't. Actually, maybe you've done this ask before? Idk, my brain is all scrambled up rn but I'm gonna ask this anyway cause why not

What would happen if Yuu got their period in the Kaiju!AU? How would the Kaiju react?

I can imagine Grim and Crowley freaking out, trying to figure out what's wrong with Yuu. And all the while, Yuu's like, "What are you guys doing? Hey, stop bombarding me! Personal space! What- why are you guys sniffing me!?" And since Yuu doesn't understand what they're saying, they can't answer them on why they smell like blood. Or it the scenario could work with any other of the Kaiju's, too

Wait, how would Yuu even get menstrual products anyway? Do they get them from Sam?? How would they even get those type of products from Sam??? Maybe he get some of them from that wreck of a lab from the beginning somehow? Idk, but I thought it'd be a fun idea

Yeah, this is all I have rn since my brain is cranked all the way up on slow mode today. I hope you have a good day and goodbye! (Oh, and this can be a gender neutral thing with Yuu just being AFAB)

WARNING: Menstrual cycle discussion under read more! Will be using they/them pronouns since gender neutral/AFAB was requested.

Oh goodness, being in the Kaiju AU is going to be a little more difficult for Yuu whether they’re female or AFAB. 😂 Between staying in Crewel’s den or at Crowley’s nest, it’s tricky to get the supplies that they need or communicate to the Kaiju that this stuff they’ve piled up is necessary. Given that Grim does understand what Yuu is saying though, he is able to help at least get that point across…when it suits him anyway (if Yuu makes even more of a fuss than usual, he’ll translate for the others).

I’ll go ahead and explain that—at first—Yuu had to get a bit creative with their monthly cycle once it actually hit. I’d imagine that their body might temporarily shut down that function due to the stress of their new environment, being surrounded by giant monsters that could literally level mountains with a swipe, and the near constant sense of impending doom—even if they’re safe with the guardian trio. This is good for Yuu as it gives them time to finally venture out of the den with Grim to explore the other facilities as it would take a while before they can get back to the original lab.

Luckily for Yuu, the closest facility—although abandoned—was still in good condition and had most of the supplies that they’ll need. In fact, this is where they found the music player that Grim thought was a chew toy! So imagine the sheer excitement and relief Yuu would have the moment they found not one, not two, but a whole crate full of pads, tampons, period cups, and even extra unopened packages of underwear!

You might be wondering why there was so much. Well, because there are female researchers on the teams and the island is not exactly in the most convenient of places, which means that getting supply drops are far and few. Especially when you have creatures that aren’t the Kaiju who can and will attempt to attack any vehicle that comes near the island. I’ll get a bit more detail on the island’s setup and whatnot, but that’s a bit of context on how Yuu is essentially set when it comes to non-perishable items that could be used for a comfortable existence on the island of behemoths!

Sam may have found a few crates of other supplies that had been washed up, but it’s not like he knows what they’re used for unless he observed the humans using the tools out in the field. Even so, Sam will know when Yuu needs something and will make sure to have them available on his next visit. How else did he know to bring a bed when Yuu wanted something comfortable to sleep on?

Now, as for how the Kaiju would react when Yuu finally starts their cycle. If you were expecting Crowley to be freaking out over Yuu’s health like he did in the Twisted Monsterland AU, you’d be mistaken. He does get flustered, but more like a “my tiny human is too young to mate!!!” sort of way while Crewel just sighs at his theatrics. They would be concerned to notice if Yuu’s cycle causes them a lot of pain and discomfort, but luckily the facilities have plenty of painkillers and antibiotics that are available—all that’s required is MIRA to access the appropriate amount needed to get Yuu through their current cycle!

Surprisingly, Grim becomes more protective over Yuu whenever they’re around the other Kaiju. Whenever he notices that they’re uncomfortable (whether they just took painkillers or they’re exhausted or some other feeling they get during this time), he will pick them up or curl around them to purr up a storm and hiss at whoever comes near too fast.

He’s swatted at the first years more than once. 😆

The other Kaiju boys would be confused as to what’s happening. Sure, they know about cycles on an instinctive level (and they understand what it means), they’re just more confused as to the frequency. Do humans not have specific mating seasons? Eventually it does get to the point where they know to be less rowdy when it’s that time of the month, either bringing Yuu their favorite treats or snacks that they managed to get (and once it became clear that one particular fruit tasted exactly like chocolate pudding to Yuu, it became a staple) or taking naps with them. Yuu is going to be one very comfortable human once they figure out a good rhythm to manage things!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but there's more than one way to survive in the wild, and with MIRA at Yuu's side, their chances of survival were better than they were before! UvU Also fun fact, there really is a fruit that tastes like chocolate pudding! 0v0

[fantasyinvader]

I was thinking about it some more, and the idea that Edelgard isn't merely some tyrant makes sense. There's one thing that puts Edelgard apart.

Remember how the Japanese script outright says that Edelgard is using an information campaign? That's what Seteth is alluding to. Imperial soldiers fight to the bitter end for her because they've bought into what she's been telling them. They believe that they're the good guys, but they don't think deeper on it. And this is what Edelgard does across Houses and Hopes.

She has made the commoners believe that she's fighting for them, but at the same time will also put her ideals ahead of those commoners. If her reforms don't benefit them, it's their fault. But we also get Ferdinand's paralogue, revealing that the Imperial troops were also conscripted and those who resisted were executed. Likewise, it's shown that part of the unrest in the Empire is due to Edelgard starving the civilians in order to feed her army, while Hopes outright says that the reforms Edelgard put in place largely favor the nobility and oppress the commoners. Meanwhile, Edelgard is also going around saying that any nobility who submit to her get to keep their positions. She has the Agarthans believing she's dancing to her tune, and goes around saying she's not attacking the faith. Meanwhile, Edelgard is also shown to keep her own allies in the dark, withhold information while at the same time blaming people for things they didn't do while taking credit for Byleth's leadership to make herself look good. Hopes has her going around saving the nobles who pledge themselves to her, despite how this conflicts with her ideals, simply because doing so make her look good.

Edelgard is still a tyrant, but she can convince people to join her by saying whatever she needs to. But this is where the Fodlan games misstep. Follow me on this: Part of Verdant Wind's message is the importance of getting to know people and clearing up any misconceptions you may have about them. In Claude's case, it's him realizing that the Church isn't the big bad he thought they would be and in fact would help him achieve his own goals. Hell, he'd probably cry tears of happiness over Seteth's solo ending and would be pissed at Treehouse trying to make Seteth look bad in their translation of it (they turned “Seteth became less strict” as “Seteth stopped being intolerant” before going into Seteth working to make Fodlan more accepting of other faiths). So with that in mind, look at what happens when we spend time with Edelgard.

We support Edelgard over Rhea, and Edelgard just keeps lying for the rest of the game, with the Japanese text having the information campaign and her manipulating TWSITD. At the end, it's telling us that Edelgard knows more than she's letting on, and to be worried about what she's keeping from people. She's depicted as a liar who then goes on to centralize power on herself and push ideals on Fodlan that run counter to her supposed hero speech while killing Rhea. And to top it all off, the devs confirmed that Edelgard being the villain seeking conquest was meant to be a twist, meaning the cute anime girl in White Clouds was the misconception of her character and all the negative shit we see later on is meant to clear that up.

So the game is trying to make me feel bad because I'm fighting someone who tried to manipulate me into ignoring the horrible shit she's been a party to and then who goes on to do horrible shit herself and spread a toxic ideology. You're trying to make me feel bad for fighting someone who will turn herself into a literal monster in her attempt to rule the world. That's not sad, that's tone-deaf and no amount of “uwu she wanted to walk with you and was even reconsidering her path” can excuse that because at the end of the day she choose to be a dickbag. And this ignores all of her victims, both current and would-be.

It basically reminds me of Miyazaki talking about how otaku ruined the anime industry. How they don't like looking at real people, they like looking at anime characters and go on to make more anime characters rather than realistic ones.

[bangtaninborderland]

JHS- Twisted Feelings (8)

Summary: After working at an award show for 2 years everything had become normal, idols were no longer exciting to see, performances became dull and every day blended together, that was until an unexpected man asked for your help.

Warning: none

A/n: part two of the three part update, I’ve noticed a lot of twisted feeling readers are quite silent. Are you enjoying this? Is there anything you want to see happen ? Let me know and maybe you’ll find your idea in the next chapter! Interaction can change the lifespan of a story, if I see it’s in high demand I’ll update sooner. As always, thank you for reading.

Ch.07 | Masterlist | Ch.09

You'd had to wait until 7 pm to be ushered into a meeting room, hobi by your side as the other members sat scattered around the long table. Some looked more exhausted than others, Sejin and a few other staff members at the head of the table.

Jimin, Taehyung and Seokjin all asked how you felt, the worry still causing a semi-permanent frown. “I’m fine.” You brushed off their questions, just wanting to finish up and go home.

After the panicked phone call from your mother you sat with Hoseok, you spoke about yourselves all day, him trying to distract you and reassure you whilst doing his best effort to ignore his own very visible concerns.

“Right, someone explain what’s happened.” The manager pulls at the stack of paper beside him, flipping through the first few pages before looking up towards you. “Anyone want to say anything.”

You didn’t want to be the first to speak, the way everyone looked at you with some form of expectant gleam in your eyes only made you wish you could disappear.

Thankfully Hoseok spoke up for you. “YNs eomma called her, she was distressed because someone sent a blood covered letter threatening YN to stop working with us. We were thinking if the motive was to have her fired then the mistranslation maybe wasn’t directed at us but more so a ploy to have her fired.”

“If it was someone who wanted her away from us wouldn’t they do something that didn’t harm us, until Namjoon Hyung went on Weverse and Jimin went live most people were believing what was said. The company had to release an official statement to clear it up and even now people are talking. It’s hard to see that this wasn’t about trying to damage us.” Taehyung made a few good points.

“Collateral damage, I guess?” You chalked up other simplest of answers, more unsure now with Taehyungs counter argument.

You watch as one of the men standing behind Sejin lean forward, whispering something to him. “Okay YN can you tell us if there’s anyone who would want to harm you?”

You thought on it for a moment, you’d never even so much as gotten into a verbal altercation, always been polite, helpful, had good relations with those around you. “No, no one that I can think of.”

“It could always just be a sasaeng?” Jungkook offered, his gaze settled where he was fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt.

“It could be, I’m not to sure they would know YN was working here so fast. We haven’t had a leak like that in some time. I say we monitor the situation and see if it happens again.”

“And if it does?” You questioned. “What will happen if it keeps occurring.”

“Well, I’ll be entirely honest with you.” He grimaced, this wouldn’t be nice. “You’re a new employee, you’re a translator and despite the infinity the members have showed towards you there isn’t much I can do if you’re harming their reputation. It will be out of my hands if it starts to impact them negatively.” Sejin gives you a pointed look. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“What exactly are you saying?” Hoseok brings his chair closer to the table.

“We may have to let YN go.” Sejin is careful with his words, bordering between certainty and lack thereof. “She’s technically still in the probationary period of her contract.”

“No offence but that’s bullshit, I want to work with YN. She hasn’t caused this, she helped fix the issue firing her for someone attacking her Isn’t right.” Hoseok defended, his tone holding an edge.

You stayed silent as the Yoongi surprising spoke up to support you. “YN let us accuse her and instead of walking out of here she sat and provided the company what they needed to help with damage control, firing her because some insane person thinks they can dictate who we do and do not work with is something I won’t stand beside.

“Thank you everyone, I don’t want to be a problem here I really don’t and if it comes to a point where it seriously could affect your careers I will leave. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of a major disruption to you all. Sejin I completely understand.” And the truth is you did, in their eyes BTS would always be worth more, even if the members themselves didn’t think as such.

“Okay, thank you.” Sejin gave a round of smiles, the men behind him looking peeved. “If that’s all you’re free to go home. I’ve cleared the schedule tomorrow no one needs to come in unless they want to.” Sejin turned to you. “ I’d like for you to set out a plan with those you’ll be teaching and come to an agreement on when you’d like to schedule set English lessons.”

You nodded in response, the days events wearing on you. He gave a final goodbye before leaving the room, it felt somewhat calmer with it just being yourself and the members there. “I’m sorry about that.” It was Namjoon apologising although he needn’t.

You put on your best smile, no matter how false. “It’s okay, I can understand their worry. I wanted to just get a list of the members who wanted to learn English, I can plan lessons for each of you tailored to your needs that way.”

“Firing such a good employee would be a mistake.” It was the first time Seokjin had spoke. “I’m not much into learning, a few base things would be nice though. So I could understand and interact with fans. Nothing complex. Maybe you could just put together a PowerPoint or something? I think lessons would be a bit too much for me right now.”

“I’m good with English.” Namjoon laughed. “If I ever need clarification I know where to find you.”

“Okay, anyone else?”

“Id like to.” Yoongi grumbled. Followed by a “me too Noona.” from Jungkook.

“I have sessions with Hoseok-Ssi planned for three days a week, they are 1-2 hours long a time. Is there anyone who wants something that intense?”

“I’m okay not taking lessons right now, what about you Taehyung?” Jimin turned to the singer beside him.

You wait for him to think it over. “Maybe the same as Seokjin Hyung, basic stuff.”

“Okay, just so I have this right. Both Seokjin-ssi and Taehyung-ah would like a document of some kind just detailing the basics of English conversation. Yoongi-ssi and Jungkook-ah would like lessons along with Hoseok-ssi, Namjoon-ssi is fine to go without.”

Words of approval were scattered. “I’d like mine maybe once a week, with the album production I don’t have much time.”. You admired yoongi for wanting to take on another task with how overrun he already seemed.

“Can we do twice a week Noona? I want to get better as soon as possible.” Jungkook was eager, enthusiastic and you loved to see it.

“Of course we can, Yoongi-Ssi what day would work best for you?”

“Thursday.” He responded instantly, as though he had already checked his cal see and marked a spot clear. “I don’t have much on a Thursday.”

“Okay Thursday it is, Jungkook- Ah?” You turn your head to the maknae who quickly pulls his phone out.

“Uhhh, probably a Sunday ?” Another pause. “Definitely a Sunday oh and Wednesday.”

Okay so Thursday is with Yoongi-ssi , Wednesday and Sunday with Jungkook-ah leaving every other day free. “Hoseok-ssi does that work for you?”

You turn to face him, sitting next to him meant he was a little out of your eye line. Your eyes met him as though he had been staring, you quickly averted your eyes.

“Please stop being so formal, I told you already just Hoseok or hobi. Oppa even, just not so formal.” He gives you a light smile. “I’ll probably do Monday, Tuesday and Saturday. I think we will all come for additional lessons, would that be okay? What about teaching two of us in a day?”

“My contract demands I’m available 24/7, any time you need me or want a lesson you can call me in, I don’t have many obligations so unless there’s a family issue then I should be able to come. Each lesson is only an hour or two so if need be I could do one lesson with you each a day.”

You took out your phone opening your notes to write down the plan you’d formulated.

Monday - Hoseok

Tuesday- Hoseok

Wednesday - Jungkook

Thursday -Yoongi

Friday -

Saturday - Hoseok

Sunday- Jungkook

That would leave you with Friday free, you could work with that. “I’m supposed to have a family dinner this weekend, I can reschedule for another week though.”

“No. Go to it.” Hoseok encouraged. “We can leave that session.”

“Family is important.” Yoongi agreed. “You should go.”

“Oh no it’s fine, work comes first I’m sure they will understand that. I’ll reschedule.”

“If you change your mind I’m fine cancelling our session.” It was kind of Hoseok, truly.

“Thank you. We should all get going, I’ll get as much planning done although the lessons probably won’t be as structured until next week. Think of this week as me just grasping where you need improvement and where your strong suits lie.”

You all stood from the table, the youngest three leaving as soon as possible, Yoongi and Namjoon following behind them. “Let me walk to you to the car?”

“You don’t have to do that.” You waved, shaking your head. “You’re busy enough.”

“It would be my honour.” He insisted, holding the door open for you. “Please?”

“Okay.” You resigned, walking through the open door.

“Today was difficult, I’m sorry you had to deal with this all so soon.” It really wasn’t his fault.

“Don’t apologise you didn’t cause this. Thank you for standing up for me.”

“Don’t thank me for that.”

Once you reached the car he opened the door for you. “Get home safe, oh and here!” He handed you a small sheet of paper.

“What’s this?” You questions unfolding it. “Numbers?”

“Our personal ones, our names are next to them. I spoke to the members yesterday and they agreed it was a good idea. Text me when you get Home safe.”

You quickly thanked him, sliding your bag into the car before getting in yourself. You see him stand there until the car had exited the lot.

You pulled out your phone, adding each new contact. Using their initials only.

The thought they trusted you enough to give you their personal contact details made you smile, no matter how small the gesture was.

[not-harukal524]

Rook Hunt’s True Nature: A Translated Theory

Hello, my name is Haru, and I’ve just joined the Twisted Wonderland fandom a couple months ago. I’ve been wandering around the internet scrounging for any content to fulfill my Twisted Wonderland needs, and stumbled across many videos from Japanese creators that introduce Twisted Wonderland theories. I hope to make this a bit of a series, but here is my first submission of a theory about Rook Hunt I translated from a video I found on YouTube. The credits for this theory go to Alai_Legends, and here is the source video. Please enjoy!

Spoilers included! Vignettes from Rook’s labwear card, Beanfest, and Halloween are included, and contents from Book 6 are also referenced.

-

Before delving into the theory, Alai goes through some things we know about Rook before revisiting them later to create a theory on Rook’s true nature.

Firstly, his motif is based off of ‘the hunter’ or ‘huntsman’ in Disney’s Snow White, which the Pomefiore dorm is based on. And indeed, Rook has fulfilled the role of ‘betraying’ the Queen in the VDC arc of Book 5. Everything about this so far makes Rook the cookie-cutter Pomefiore student, no?

Yet in Book 6, it is revealed that Rook Hunt was assigned to the Savanaclaw dorm when he first enrolled. Apparently, he did not care for his appearance, his hair was a mess, and even had holes in his clothes that he didn’t bother to try and fix. This is not the Rook Hunt we were initially introduced to in the story.

Next is the Hunt family, who Rook reveals to have villas all over the world, all with warp pads built in for easy transport. It is revealed that these devices need permission from each nation in order to build, so it’s a rather big deal. When asked by Epel what his family does, Rook simply says: ‘it’s a secret,’

Furthermore, it is mentioned (I believe in the Halloween event), that Rook used to have trouble expressing emotions as a child, and that theater helped to improve that part of himself, going as far to say that he had never cried tears other than pain until he saw Neige in a musical. Curiously, he also tells Sebek and Trey that he once got lost in the jungle as a child and had to survive in the wild for a month. With all of this information, gathered together, it seems there is more to Rook Hunt than what meets the eye.

Finally, we learn in events like Beansfest and Halloween that Rook can manipulate his heart rate at will, and that even when he can get away with lying when scanned by Ortho for heart rate, pulse, precipitation, and other vital signs. That is, to be very blunt, terrifying.

The Dark Mirror, whose role is to sort students into their appropriate dorm based on their soul and essence of being, had placed Rook Hunt in Savanaclaw. Yet he transferred to Pomefiore, fits into the dorm with so much ease, and even becomes the vice-housewarden despite the fact his soul and essence is that of Savanaclaw. His childhood, enrollment to NRC, and present-day image is drastically different.

It is cited even on the Rook’s wiki page’s trivia section that “‘Rook’ may be a reference to the chess piece resembling a castle, referencing the concept of royalty. It may also refer to a type of crow, itself referencing the Evil Queen's pet raven.” Alai believes that this may be a hint toward Rook being a bird-type beastman. Unlike other beastman, however, there are no clear links or signs of the animal counterpart in him, right? Here, we can refer back to Headmaster Dire Crowley, who clearly has bird-like qualities to him, but they are all represented in his accessories: his mask with a beak, cape with feathers, and rings with talons.

In fact, Rook’s sharp eyesight and great talents as a ‘hunter,’ could be attributed to that of a predatory bird. Alai even teases that perhaps in Rook’s vignette when he spots Leona sleeping from the window, it could refer to the scene in Lion King when the vultures circle over an unconscious Simba who had been banished from the Pridelands.

Additionally, we can even say that the warp pads used in the Hunt family’s villas are like devices to help ‘birds’ migrate great distances. Rook’s unique magic, I See You, could even be something beneficial for a bird-beastman, considering that he will never lose sight of a ‘destination’ he seeks. 

Another point Alai brings up is how 1) Rook is a very private individual, and does not divulge much about himself and 2) Rook’s very unique manner of speech. They theorize that maybe Rook is simply mimicking theatrical manners of speech he has witnessed in plays, much like a corvid can mimic human speech. In doing so, Rook has created the perfect persona that is equal parts quirky and somewhat pleasant while also not inviting anyone to dig around into his personal life.

We can even pursue the theory of Rook being very ‘crow-like’ by pointing out how birds of the sort like to collect sparkly things, which could mirror Rook’s admiration for beautiful things. Crows can also even play dead, which can correlate to Rook’s ability to ‘control/manipulate his heart rate.’

Finally, if one were to emphasize Rook’s skills as a hunter, Floyd could’ve easily nicknamed him ‘killer whale’ or something along those lines. Yet, he is nicknamed ‘seagull’ instead, to which Alai questions if Floyd is just somehow able to look at Rook and get ‘bird vibes’. 

There is a hypothesis that Alai comes up with in the second half of the video, which is on the basis that everything said above is correct. I believe that it is unlikely that this hypothesis is true and figure it might be too outrageous, so I haven’t yet translated it. Briefly, the theory is that Rook and his six siblings are actually the same age, have shared memories among them all, and that they are switching in and out of their role as ‘Rook Hunt’ at the NRC. Please let me know if you’d like a translation, because it is still a very interesting hypothesis to see unfold.

[gildedmuse]

So, I just know all of Tumblr was wondering, "hey, you remember that really weird ZoLaw fan with the annoyingly overly stylized post? I wonder if she's seen this and if she has any theories or thoughts, an observation or two?"

Well, allow me to set your wandering mind at ease, fictional Tumblr fan. The answer is: No. No, I really don't.

I have like three hundred.

[I also spent time just trying to track down as many translations as possible. Is Tera A Criminal's Daughter or The Daughter Of Thieving Bandits! These are CLEARLY separate things and can ENTIRELY change how her utter nonpresence in Zoro's life shaped him! Though I can take comfort in knowing that, regardless of what kind of crimes her father was committing they were more important than anything his daughter ever did in her entire life.]

And, hey, as might as well jump right into that whole mess.

1. Wait, Zoro's mom is dead? Thank goodness, I was worried Oda forgot one!

(AKA: Stop. Murdering. Moms.)

I'll go first, I don't mind saying when I was wrong. True, in the past I may have suggested that the vast majority of female characters in One Piece come off as ever so slightly, "leaning into sexist tropes with unadulterated joy; it's the misogynistic tropes equivalent of a child running naked through a grocery store. It's right there, everyone sees it, yet people shut up and continue shopping in part because, well, these days you just expect most people to cover that junk! What would you even say? And if you DO speak up and call out the inappropriate, be prepared for blank stares and tantrums; but THEY don't mind! THEY don't think it's wrong! You're just being mean!"

More or less a direct quote.

However, I see now that I rushed to judgement and the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. With that in mind, I was just wondering if someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

Like: Why does Oda believe that it's illegal for (maternal) female characters to survive other character's backstories?

More importantly, why hasn't someone just reached out to explain the misconception!? It can't be that difficult. If nothing else, just have a lawyer or judge or other expert in censorship on hand. Or is the one of those cases where back in highschool his friends made something up and then kept pretending it was real to see if he'd believe you and not only did he fall for it, it took over 20 years before he learned that, what, no that's not illegal. That would be crazy if it were an actual law. Cause you know, after the first 10 years I think yeah you have to just lean into it. Pretend it's a creative decision on your part and definitely not because you were terrified of being sentenced to a slow and humiliating public death.

Just to be clear that's definitely what's up, right? I mean, I'm struggling to think of another reason....able excuse why a story that I really enjoy keeps playing the same old sexist tropes cards again and again to the point of absurdity. It would just help if I had a valid excus- explanation. I almost mistyped the word explanation.

....

....

So I imagine it went like.

"That's the third mangaka they've had to Publically Execute this week!"

"They've started taking this law way more serious lately."

"This one really deserved it though! I heard his main character has a mother in her late forties!"

"That does seem old to have your first child."

"No, he's the middle of three and 22 years old. The story even has flashbacks of defining moments in his childhood and never once did she try to sacrifice herself for him, get murdered by his enemies, or die in meaningless unrelated accidents."

"Damn, that's cold to be there for all the protagonist core moments and not die and help him develop and grow a character? They must have a very antagonistic relationship. Is she actually the villain."

"Not that we know, and when they asked about this being a possible plot twist since - obviously if she's evil no laws are being broken."

"Well, of course, that's the whole reason Statue 2-dash-57 exists; if creators can show they have consistently been building up to a surprise twist then the female character in question can continue to live so long as she continues to be unrepentant and unlikable until the resolution of her arch by the protagonist."

"That's the thing! Under oath not only did man present no evidence to support her identity as a secret villain, he went on the record stating he wanted to depict their relationship as one of a normal modern 20 year old and his mother."

"That can't be true! What publishing company would even print that!?"

"It gets worse. I told you he was a middle child? Well, according to those who've read the actual manga, his younger sister was really sick as a child."

"Oh, well, at least-"

"It was just a fish allergy. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I feel this law is unnecessarily harsh but.... Then you hear stories like that, and you realize that some people really are monsters."

[shiroi---kumo]

( @aquaticsoul )

📚✨ +

For probably the thousandth time, his eyes rest on Valo from where he's sitting in his corner, back pressed against it and knees pulled up to his chest. It seems whatever book the man has gotten his hands on is intriguing enough for him to not notice the gaze, or perhaps he just doesn't care enough to spare the former musician a single glance.

Slowly does Sielu lower his head, hiding the inevitable onslaught of tears from the rest of the world.

It isn't like he has much to offer in terms of conversation. His voice has less patience for him than even Herba did, so it's probably really stupid to even desire such a thing.

He doesn't know if it's bravery, desperation, selfishness, or pure idiocy that makes him finally cave into something he wants, but if he has to guess it's the looming fear that he'll die without making himself at least somewhat clear.

His days are surely numbered if how horrible and deeply exhausted he feels physically is any indication - it's part of the reason that there now rests a gem of blue on Aamunkoitto's wrist - and really he thinks just needs to tie up his loose ends. Just in case.

He waits until he hears the book close. He wants to believe he still has some decency, even if it feels like an eternity before there's space for him to speak.

"Valo?" he starts, face still buried so at least he won't have to look at whatever disgust may or may not be directed at him. "You'd... at least believe me if I said I'm trying, right? And... that-"

His arms pull his knees closer to his body. He'd had it all planned, yet he feels like he'll be punished somehow. It doesn't matter, he supposes, because he can't in good faith use a tainted phrase towards someone undeserving. He simply has to speak Misterican again, despite the fact it feels strange on his tongue after so long, like it's been banned because it has.

"That... rakastan sinua. You believe that, right?"

·:¨༺ ✩★✩ ༻¨:·. The sound of his voice never gets any easier and it's not because the historian doesn't want to hear it. It's because he can't begin to imagine the pain that his friend is in and has been in for only the Celestial Mother knows how long. He can't begin to imagine what was done to him or what he's been through and he doesn't feel like he's been empathizing that well enough. He doesn't know how.

Everything he says and does brings a foul look into blue eyes and it only makes mint green sink to the floor wondering how he's supposed to reach him when there are so many walls around the musician's heart. It feels as though whatever or whoever put Sielu in this position has full control over his body and heart. No matter what he says, his words don't reach him.

They get twisted somewhere along the way like an invisible translator that warps the Misterican of orange's words into some vile message he didn't even say. He may as well just be blowing his mist in the man's face every time he opens his mouth. Even if his mask remains firmly on the effects of it's power still seem to be felt.

Sielu won't set in chairs with them. He won't sleep in the bed with them and he won't allow them any where close enough to touch him. It's all so concerning. He wants nothing more than to help his friend so, his eyes are rising in the direction of the small scratchy sounding voice the very second his name is spoken.

He wants to know if he believes him. He wants to know if he believes that the man of the ocean waves is trying and that the musician still loves him. He wants to know if he believes and the historian and feel his heart shatter in his chest at the very notion. His eyes downcast as his brows upturn and the man of orange is doing the only thing he can think to do in that moment - all while wondering if he's just about to make it worse.

He has to try. For Sielu, he has to try whatever he possibly can.

He needs the man to know that his heart swells for him. He needs the man to know that what he sees before him is someone still worthy of all the love in the world. A blessing even. A blessing that the Celestial Mother managed to protect his life so that he could survive and they could find their ways back to each other.

After everything they've been through and all they've experienced. They survived and they found each other again. That was all that mattered. They were here in this moment, together again after all this time. Celestial Mother be blessed. Being able to see those blue eyes again made it all worth it.

Does he know how much of a blessing he was?

Precious like a treasure. Beloved and cherished. He would do whatever he needed to in order to protect that man. To make sure he never needed to suffer again. Even if the man continued to reject him and refused to believe their own words of affection.

"Yes, I believe you." He sounds resisting the urge to speak in a much more familiar tongue as the historian allows his form to lower down to the floor so he can set at the same level just before the musician. He's careful not to slide into a tongue much more comfortable despite both of them knowing it since birth. He's taken notice to the way it makes the other's skin crawl and the way he shifts uncomfortably when it is spoken.

Who harmed you so thoroughly they ripped your heritage right out of you? Of all the Mistericans I knew you were the most proud of who you once were.

No matter, I'll love you as you are now.

"I know you're trying, Sielu. I see it in you every day and I see it in you right now. You can speak with me any time you like, my friend."

Mint green keeps staring down at his lap as he finds it difficult to look up at ocean blue if only because he doesn't want to upset the man further than he already is. He doesn't want to fumble the wind with him now as he seems to keep doing over and over in all these past weeks.

"I know you do, Sielu. I know you mean that, when you say it. I would never dare question those words from you. I know you never speak them lightly. I just - "

He's sighing again as the hands folded in his nap start to push against themselves and the historian finds himself picking at his nails as he does so.

" - I see all your efforts my friend and I understand that it is going to be some time before you feel comfortable again. I acknowledge that you have had events occur I cannot even begin to imagine. I am sorry for that. Both in sympathy for what you have experienced and in sorrow for my complete lack of understanding. I apologize for any discomfort and trouble I might have caused you. I have not been a very good friend to you Sielu and for that you have my sincerest apologies."

[jedimordsith]

A continuation of the “Luke gets stuck in a parallel universe and finds/raises bb!Mara” madness I posted Wednesday. 

This... is not six sentences. In fact it’s stupidly long. But have it anyway. 

Mace felt Luke’s welcome in the Force before he’d quite reached the other man’s door. It was familiar, and he didn’t bother announcing himself as he let himself in. 

Just inside the threshold, he stopped. A recorded voice was reciting common facts about thrantcills when a child’s voice interrupted.

“What’s a flock?” 

“A flock is what a group of flying creatures is called,” Luke answered patiently. 

“Does Artoo have a flock?” 

“No.” Luke sounded amused. “He can fly, but he’s a droid. Not a flying animal.”

He got her talking. Mace stifled a smile. Let’s see how quickly he regrets that. Deppa had been older when he’d taken her as a padawan, but all masters spent some time in the creches. He knew just how inquisitive the younglings were at Mara’s age. Luke would likely spend the next several years answering questions like why and how and when approximately a hundred times per day now that he’d gotten his little wildling over her silence. 

Artoo was whistling something, presumably his opinions on flying or appropriate names for groups of droids, when Mace rounded the corner into the small kitchen area.

Mara was sitting on a tall stool. While her clothing was simpler than her master’s, it mimicked his in that it was black from throat to toe. Her tiny boots kicked idly as she held her bearsloth with one arm and a half-eaten biscuit in her other hand. She was still incredibly small for her age, but her color was better, Mace noted. 

Luke stood behind her, comb in hand, wrangling her fine hair into a braid around the crown of her head. In front of them, Artoo was propped on his back legs, a paused educational holo on Coruscant beaming from his holo projector to fill the air. 

“What did he say?” Mara demanded. 

Before Luke could translate the string of binary, Mara caught sight of Mace and her entire body went rigid. 

Mace’s heart squeezed at the rush of her alarm in the Force.  

“Mace,” Luke greeted him warmly as he finished pinning the braid in place. “Come in. Mara, this is Master Windu.” 

“I think Uncle Mace is more than sufficient.” Mace moved toward them slowly, nodding at the droid when it shut off the projector and rolled backward to give him room. “Hello, Mara.” 

Mara tipped her head back to glance at Luke then, clutching her stuffed animal tighter, squared her little shoulders. “Hello,” she managed. 

Mace offered her a gentle smile. “That’s a good holo you picked to watch. I think Deppa memorized the entire series. Deppa is my little girl. Or she was. She’s all grown up now.” 

Mara seemed to consider that. “Is she a Jedi?” 

“She is.” Mace couldn’t help his glow of pride. “She’s a very good Jedi.” 

“Luke says I can be a Jedi. When I’m bigger. And if I’m good for Master Che we can go to the lib’ary soon.” 

“I’m sure Master Nu would be very happy to meet you. Have you toured the Temple yet?” 

Mara shook her head. 

“We have to get her all-clear from the healers before we can do anything fun,” Luke said. 

It was, Mace suspected, a reminder for the little girl as much as an explanation for him. 

Mara sighed, rather dramatically. Mace clamped down on the chuckle that threatened to escape. 

“Well, I’ve brought you something that might come in handy when you get that far.” Reaching into his robe, he produced a very small device. Holding it out so Mara could see it, he pressed the button on the side. A miniature holo popped up. “It’s a map of the Temple,” Mace explained as the little girl’s eyes went wide. “So that you can always find your way where you’re trying to go.” He gestured toward her. “May I?” 

Mara twisted to look at Luke again. 

“No one will touch you unless you want them to,” he said softly. 

Something about the way he said it and the firmness underlying the words made Mace’s heart hurt and kindled flames of resentment. No youngling so small should need such assurances. 

Mara looked at him again, weighing him carefully with intent green eyes. Finally, she put the biscuit down and held out one skinny wrist. “Yes please.” 

Mace fastened the strap around her wrist gently, then stepped back. 

“Can you say ‘thank you’?” Luke prompted. 

“Thank you,” Mara parroted, staring at the new device. 

“Why don’t you and Artoo go finish the holo in my room?” Luke suggested, lifting her off the stool and setting her on her feet. “While I talk to Mace for a minute. Then we can go see Master Che and get cleared to go the gardens to see a real thrantcill, all right?” 

“Okay.” Mara obediently followed Artoo down the short hall and disappeared into Luke’s room. 

“Vokara’s going to be impressed that you got her talking,” Mace commented as soon as she was out of earshot. “My understanding is that they didn’t get a word out of her the entire way here. Her father told them she couldn’t speak.” 

“Don’t.” There was a bite to Luke’s voice and a muscle in his jaw flexed. “Don’t tell me where she’s from or how we got her. Or I might find my across the galaxy and do something very-un-jedi-like.” 

Mace regarded him solemnly, his suspicions confirmed. “Who was she? In your timeline?” 

Luke glanced toward his room, his heart on his sleeve. “Just what she is now. A child, bright in the Force, who needed someone to love her.” He paused, a trickle of bitterness escaping. “Only it wasn’t the Jedi who acquired her. It was a Sith. He beat her and molded her into a tool, then discarded her like yesterday’s trash when he died.”

Mace managed to contain his wince and kept his voice low and even. 

“And what was she to you?” 

Luke propped his elbows on the counter and dropped his head, grief written in every line of his body. “We would have been lovers, if she’d lived. She wanted to — the Emperor had… there was damage. We were going slow. But we’d already bonded. She was part of me.” 

“I assume she’s not still in that other timeline waiting for you.”

“She died.” Luke’s voice was flat. “It was supposed to be a simple recon mission to a planet called Byss. To check out rumors about an Imperial stronghold forming.”

“It wasn’t simple,” Mace guessed. 

“The Sith who’d abused her had found a way to reborn.” 

Mace didn’t even try to understand how that might be possible. For the hundredth time, he thanked the Force for sending them Luke and sparing this timeline the hell his friend’s galaxy had known. 

“She sliced a world devastator and immolated the entire planet,” Luke continued. “By herself. With herself. Because she refused to let him hurt anyone else ever again. I—” his voice broke. “She tried to warn me, about the bond. About the risk. But I didn’t listen. Losing her nearly killed me. Literally.” 

“She sounds like an incredible woman.” 

“She was. She would have made an amazing Jedi, too, if she’d been given the chance.” Luke’s jaw set stubbornly. “She will, here. I’m going to give her everything she deserved and never got in my world. She’s going to be magnificent.” 

“Hmmm.” Mace cocked his head. “I see why you went right around all the protocols to claim her.” 

Luke’s mouth twisted up wryly at the corners. “Seeing her broke open the old bond. I couldn’t very well let someone else take her after that.”

“Of course not.” Mace pretended to consider the situation. “Now that I have the whole story, though, I’m going to have to insist that you let me adopt you. I can’t in good conscience let someone like your Mara be raised in a lineage that includes Obi-wan and your father without some more balancing influences. Besides,” he added more seriously, “I raised a girl myself. I can tell you that having another human woman in her life was extremely helpful to Deppa when she hit adolescence. Mara should have the same.”

“She’ll need more than me,” Luke agreed. “As much family as I can find for her, even. She never had anyone before. I don’t want that for her again. And Force knows she was good at things I never mastered.” His expression took on a wicked glint. “If we let Obi-wan tutor her in negotiating the galaxy won’t know what hit it.”  

“Kenobi could use someone fresh to terrorize him,” Mace opined. “We should let her have a crack at Quinlan, too. When she’s ready, of course.” He clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “For now, you’re doing a good job just as you are.” 

[lilac-melody]

Fantasia LOVE&KISS Novel Prologue

We’re back with translating hell! As usual, I am not a professional translator, so take my tls with a grain of salt! Also, if you’ve read my previous tls, you’ll know that the “time skips” are usually in the form of emojis (as they are in the novel). I skimmed through it and I’ll be doing the same thing, and doing what the novel does. So for a little guide for everyone: 

🎤 = The idols, real time

⚔️🏹 = The LOVE&KISS universe

💮 = Timeskip

Without further ado, here we go!

Masterlist here

In a Northern country that is surrounded by steep mountains, there is a jewel that is guarded by many dragons. It is said to grant any wish, no matter what it is.

But there is no one to tell the tale.

It is a forgotten story from a long time ago. Far, far away, in a faraway land. Kneel before the beautiful maiden who welcomes you, and kiss her with a vow.

Let me place fortune and blessing in your hands. This is a story that leads to the world of hope.

⚔️🏹

The wind blew gently, and it swayed the flames of some candles that rested on a round table. Several customers lounged about in the little shop, talking quietly amongst each other with their cups in their hands. In any other city, in such a bar, it was common for drunk customers to be having fun, but in this bar, there was a terrible atmosphere, and not a single person smiled.

All they could do was direct wary gazes to a traveler who sat at the counter.

Ever since his first visit in this town, he had sensed that there was something off about the place, and the feeling was only growing stronger. It would have been different in a closed country town rarely visited by travelers, but this was the royal capital of a small country.

Beyond the city gate, he saw a castle with a spire. He had heard that many travelers and merchants visit this city, but most of the stores along the main street were closed.

Tilting his cup back, he decided to talk to the owner. The man, who was pouring sake from the barrel, gave him a suspicious look, before he shook his head.

“Demons have appeared. The roads have become practically impassable. Thanks to them, it’s like this.”

(Demons, huh...)

Such stories were not uncommon. In fact, one may encounter demons on one's journey. However, wild beasts encountered in the mountains and bandits who attack travelers and try to rob them of their money and goods were much more common than demons.

In any case, self-defense weapons were essential for traveling. If you step outside the gates of a castle, you immediately put yourself in a danger zone and can be attacked at any time.

"It was fine when the previous king was king, but since the princess took over the throne..." The shopkeeper's expression suddenly twisted into something complicated, and he stopped talking. “...Well, you should leave this town as soon as possible.” He finally said, turning away to avoid answering anymore questions.

Seeing as there was no longer a point to questioning him, the traveler decided to leave a silver coin on the counter. Leaving the half-empty cup of watery wine behind, he took the bundle that was propped up on the chair next to him. It was a long bow wrapped in a cloth. Slipping it over his shoulder, he spoke once more.

"Thanks for the drink.”

The customers went silent, waiting for him to leave. When he stepped out and shut the door behind him, a cool breeze blew in. It was dark out, and there was no one around.

“That wasn’t a good story to hear...”

After putting on his wide-brimmed hat, he started to walk along the cobblestone streets, which were beginning to get wet from the rain. He talked to several people who had come to this town, but they were all tight-lipped and reluctant to say too much. Now the only thing for him to do is to stay here for a few days and patiently gather more information.

(It can't be helped...but still, there's not a soul in sight.)

He looked around at the quiet, dark streets, but not even the lights of the houses were on. It was uncanny, as if it were an abandoned town. The sun had just set, but it was still too early to go to sleep.

He turned around, and then noticed the sound of a door opening and saw a small child peeking out. As soon as their eyes met, the child quickly withdrew into the house. Behind the briskly closing door, a mother's voice scolded him, “I told you not to go outside!”

(Not that there’s any people around...)

He thought dubiously, but walked away anyway. Some of the seemingly murky clouds in the sky seemed to be dyed red thanks to the moon hiding behind them. Though, it could also be because he was in the middle of the city.

As he crossed the stone bridge over the waterway, he noticed a figure stretching out behind him. After glancing at the surface of the river, he deliberately slowed his pace. Even after walking down a narrow street, the presence of a figure following him did not go away.

An old man, who seemed heavily drunk, was lying against the wall, holding a bottle of sake. Yujiro turned down the street, looked back, and began to run.

The sound of the other man's footsteps behind him also quickened, as if he were in a hurry. Before he knew it, the rain had intensified, and his cape and hat were completely soaked. The end of the path was a dead end.

Yujiro turned around and pulled out the dagger he had hidden at his waist. The tip of the dagger sliced through the sky. He was so close to reaching the throat of his opponent, who was closing in behind him.

But his opponent was even quicker and dodged, reflexively ducking down.

Seeing his opponent wobble for a moment, Yujiro kicked him on the ground and tried to kick him again.

“Wait, wait!” His opponent shouted in a panic and raised his hands as if he had no intention of attacking. He was not much older than Yujiro was, judging from his height and facial features. He, too, was obviously a traveler, wearing a hat and a cape. His shoulders were broad, and his arms and legs were muscular.

He probably trained here. His hair was tied back with an ivory ribbon. Rain was dripping from the tip of his deep hat.

“Don't attack me out of the blue,” he said.

“I don’t have to be polite to a rogue who sneaks after people," he said with a dark laugh, still holding the dagger in his hand.

“I'm not a rogue. You can tell by the way I look!”

“You look like a lowlife to me.”

“Huh? What?”

“Your face, your atmosphere. I mean, if you're not a rogue, what are you? A bandit? An assasin? A thief?”

“That’s all basically the same thing!” He groaned and sighed, as if he was getting tired. Yujiro almost laughed at the way his expression changed so quickly, and returned the dagger to its sheath at his waist.

He was sure that he wasn’t lying about not being a rogue. But now, he was even more curious as to why he was following him.

(I guess it wouldn’t hurt to hear what he has to say...)

“So...what is it that you want?” Yujiro asked.

The guy looked at him with a serious expression. “I heard that there was another guy in this town who, like me, is looking for the one and only jewel in the world that can make his wish come true.” He spoke quietly, his voice was almost overlapped by the sound of the rain pounding in the alley.

The two of them silently stared at each other.

Yujiro lowered the brim of his hat, with only one small phrase quietly escaping his lips. “I see...”

(This guy is the same as me...)

[not-a-risk]

Want to hear a little theory I made? No? Great.

I'm fairly sure somebody has already said this but I noticed that Charlie's AI project in the Twisted Ones novel have a same sort of speech pattern to the little notes scribbled about in the post-it-note room in Fnaf SB.

Evidence 1:

There are a few more examples of this, all very similar through the book. They speak in a very fragmented way. Curiosly, one of the binary messages in the post-it-note room says: "Why is I." Huh. That's almost the same as the Charlie AI. But what does that mean?

Evidence 2: (The binary messages translate to "Why is I" and "Hide".)

The rest of the sticky notes are more coherent, and something more like what a small child would write definitely. But why are those binary messages there? Maybe all the post-it-note messages were written by an AI, maybe one growing up and learning, one behaving like a small child.

Maybe one with the memories of a small child.

Hmm...

We know that from the Fourth Closet, memories for robot children do not have to be real. They can be fabricated. Or recorded. Lots Charlie's memories were made by being filmed by Henry. I'd like to point out that the Crying Child was constantly filmed and recorded by Fredbear so one would have the database to create a robot that would have the personality of the Crying Child without requiring the actual soul. Hmmm...

Well okay then. Interesting point. Now what?

Well, here's a little timeline to think about.

As the Crying Child grows up, he is being recorded by Fredbear constantly. All his important memories are captured and downloaded. One fateful day, he suffers "The Bite" of Golden Freddy, transferring his soul to the Golden Freddy suit where it will eventually be with Cassidy. The physical body of the Crying Child dies after having horrific nightmares of terrifying animatronics (FNAF 4). William Afton cannot live with that and wants to put him back together, just like that suspicious fredbear line says.

Evidence 3:

He succeeds. He may not have CC's soul in the robot he makes, but he does have all his recorded memories, grief, and a simple AI. He works! He lives, and when he grows up his concious is transferred to an older-looking robot like how Charlie's is. He can't look so young forever...

So the robot is abandoned, sadly.

Shut down for what was supposed to be forever.

Sometime later the strange boy-looking animatronic is found hidden in an old Freddy's back room (by the people collecting Freddy's relics for the pizzaplex museum bit) in suprisingly good condition and taken to the pizza plex, because why would they waste a perfectly good robot?

But they cannot figure out how to turn it on and it not even a Freddy's character. Why would they put it on display? They leave it around the sewers where there is mountains and mountains of garbage. It is useless. But somehow, the robot turns on. It's had a little factory reset so it doesn't know what it's doing. It's just an AI now, equipped with some strange, foreign memories.

It writes on sticky notes to try and make sense of things. It tries to recreate its old life, making that little mannequin scene of the aftons. It can only write simple binary first. Eventually it grows and learns, so that it can piece all the parts together. It acts like a kid because that is all it's known at first but the AI helps it develop. It recognises the other boy. The boy which memories it has. The boy which it is, partially. It has now developed a personality of itself now, more confident than that Crying Child ever could have been.

Since it's a robot and part artificial intelligence, it's a whiz with computers. It has no records of itself in the pizzaplex database. It calls itself Gregory. Perhaps that's what the other boy was called as well?

So, there is my dumb theory. Please tear it to shreds so I can fix it . Have a nice day!

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Translation:

Sam Heughan: "A romantic comedy set in Madrid would be very passionate"

We went up to one of the most representative domes of the Madrid 'skyline' with the Scottish actor to talk about superpowers, time travel, Madrid and the characters in his life, such as Jamie Fraser from “Outlander” or the journalist from “ Love Again”, the romantic comedy that opens in theaters on May 12.

By Ana Pérez and Photography: Alfonso Ohnur / Styling: Jesús Cicero

04/19/2023

"A coffee and in five minutes we are ready. He's in a very good mood, by the way,” says Wendy, a cheerful and charming middle-aged Scottish woman who is featured as the hair and makeup manager in today's session, although we soon discover that she is much more than that. She belongs to the actor's circle of trust, so she goes down in advance to see that everything is in order. The Esquire team is already prepared in the spectacular 300 m 2 suite that the Four Seasons in Madrid has given us for the occasion. There are nerves, because it's not every day that you have a star like Sam Heughan on your hands(Galloway, Scotland, 1980) and everything has to go perfectly. While he goes down, the team from Sony Pictures and Movistar Plus+, the producer and distributor in Spain of Outlander , respectively (the series that has catapulted him to fame), review the outfits so that, once we start, everything goes smoothly.

Fendi trench coat, and Pedro del Hierro shirt and pants.

Finally Sam arrives at the suite. He is serious, but so charming that the nerves dissipate. Everything happens with astonishing agility under the watchful eye of Wendy, who reviews each shot with efficiency and alternates her suggestions (all of the most sound, really) with her enthusiasm for the work we're doing. There is nothing that this herculean Scotsman of almost two meters in height does not defend with solvency. He doesn't care about a modern Prada trench coat with green squares or an impeccable summer suit from Emporio Armani. Once the photo session was over we went to the suitepresidential, overlooking Calle Alcalá, where the interview will take place. “On my next trip I want to stay here!” She says, joking for the first time, as she crosses the threshold. We settle into some seats, facing each other, and I have to confess that when Sam Heughan gives you all his attention, he's intimidating. I perceive an obvious barrier of shyness, so I try to break through it and reach him through his characters.

Tell me, Sam, what is the first memory you have of being on stage?

I went to a very creative school, where the arts, music, theater were very encouraged... My first role was Bill Sikes, the drunken villain in Oliver Twist , in a school play. He hadn't acted before and he wasn't very good, but I vividly remember having a lot of fun on stage. Later, my first professional role was Romeo, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , already at acting school.

You became known to the general public with the Batman from the musical Batman Live . What was your favorite superhero as a child?

Batman , without a doubt, a very dark character who lost his parents very young. He dresses up as a bat, but in reality he is not a real superhero. He's just an ordinary human being, who has had privileged access to a lot of technology. And yet I think it's very interesting.

"Teleportation would make my life easier, because I would no longer have to travel continuously."

And if you could choose to have one superpower that you could use in real life, what would it be?

Perhaps teleportation, so he can travel wherever he wants. It would make my life easier, because I would no longer have to travel all the time. It would allow me to be anywhere in the world in a moment.

After Batman, Outlander and Jamie Fraser come into your life. What has this character meant to you?

Jamie has changed my life. Since I started playing it eight years ago, everything has completely changed. Until then, I was a normal actor; you know, towards theater, television... But Jamie really changed my world, he's given me a lot of opportunities, I've been able to create my own projects, write, produce... He's an incredible character that I've been growing up with, living with many experiences, I have grown old with him... It has been an incredible challenge to play him.

Sam is wearing Giorgio Armani total look . ALFONSO OHNURESQUIRE

And what do you think is, in your opinion, the secret of the success of this series?

I think the incredible relationship that Jamie and Claire have, without a doubt; their romance, which never dies despite all the obstacles that come their way. No matter what, their love endures and I think that everyone would like to have a relationship like this. But this is to the credit of Diana Gabaldón [the American author of the saga of novels on which she is based]. She created these characters, who people love and season after season are waiting to see what will happen to them.

“Jamie has changed my life. Since I started interpreting him, everything has changed completely ”

In the seventh season, which premieres in Spain on June 17 on Movistar Plus+, will Jamie be alive from start to finish?

We are studying it... [laughs]. Yes, this story has to last even longer [recently it has been confirmed that the eighth will be the last season of the series]. Diana has written a tenth book, so we still have a long way to go.

If you could travel in time , as Claire's character, your wife, does in the series, what era would you travel to?

Wow, so I would love to go to Ancient Egypt, to Rome, and maybe I would also like to travel to the future to see what will happen in a hundred years.

Sam Heughan, in the dome of the Four Seasons hotel in Madrid with a total look by Zegna.

Although Heughan has often stated that it doesn't have much to do with his character in Outlander , what he does have in common with him is his Scottish origin, something he wears with pride, to the point of becoming its ambassador worldwide. In fact, in parallel to this series, he stars in another, Men in Kilts (its second season will also be available on Movistar Plus+ in the coming months), in which he tours Scotland accompanied by Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie, in the series), to divulge the secrets of their culture and customs. And he also makes his own whisky, which he has named Sassenach, after the Gaelic word for non-Gaelics and Jamie for his fictional partner.

Outlander has been very successful in Spain. What do we Spaniards and Scots have in common?

I think the energy and passion in Spain is incredible, similar to ours. Scots and Spaniards have many things in common: we are very warm, friendly, passionate about sports and we also like to party. We are very similar.

The first thing you premiere now is the romantic comedy Love Again (Sony Pictures) , on May 12, in which you share the bill with Priyanka Chopra and Celine Dion herself . What can you tell us?

The film revolves around a great romance, although underlying it there is also a tragedy: the protagonist loses her fiancé and writes text messages to his old mobile number, which my character has, a journalist named Rob Burns who falls in love her. It is tragic, but also very beautiful. It's a very sweet film, with the presence of Celine Dion, an authority on romance [laughs]. I think people are going to have a lot of fun watching it.

Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra in a scene from Love Again. LIAM DANIEL SONY PICTURES

[Notice to fans: Watch out for Heughan singing Celine Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now while taking a shower.]

In the case of the characters in the film, technology is crucial to finding each other. What do you think about using technology to find love?

I think technology helps us communicate and allows us to connect people who might not otherwise be able to, like the two characters in the movie. Dating apps and social media allow for more interaction, but maybe sometimes we rely too much on technology and hide behind it. I think an in-person connection is always better.

Perhaps Madrid could be the setting for your next romantic comedy... Where would it take place?

I love Madrid, it's great, romantic and full of energy. A romantic comedy set in Madrid would be very passionate. Perhaps in the Royal Palace, with a prince who meets a girl in the El Retiro park, but finds out that she is actually a professional soccer player. They see a game at the stadium and end with dinner and dancing in the San Miguel market.

Prada trench coat and Paul Smith pants. ALFONSO OHNURESQUIRE

In addition to work, you lead a project, My Peak Challenge, with which you collaborate in various solidarity initiatives. What is it about?

It is an online fitness program . The peakers , which is what the members are called, pay a fee for daily training, adapted to each one. They include yoga, mindfulness , nutrition program... In addition to the fee, 15% is contributed to charitable causes. It is about working for your health, for yourself, and at the same time helping others.

And what is the peak or challenge that has been the hardest for you to reach in your life?

Perhaps the large number of projects I have on my hands. Finding time to dedicate to all of them, but I am very lucky to be able to get them going.

After this interview, Waypoints came into my hands. My Scottish Journey (recently published in Spain by Principal de los libros), a kind of memoir in which Heughan alternates reflections on his life, parallel to a trip along a complicated hiking route, the West Highland Way, in the homeland of he. Among other things, he tells that he grew up without a father (he abandoned him at 18 months) and gives some clues that explain the man behind the actor. In fact, he is perfectly summed up in this fragment: “According to my mother, he was a little adventurer, although he could also be quite sensitive. When left to my own devices he could lead any attack, but in company he preferred not to be the center of attention. He wasn't shy: I just felt more comfortable watching from the rear."

Photography assistants: Dani García and Elisa María Lozano · Styling assistant: Aline Patiño · Makeup and hairdressing: Wendy Kemp Forbes · Tailor: Maribel Madrid · Photography editor: Carolina Álvarez · Production: Marta Sánchez · Acknowledgments: Hotel Four Seasons Madrid.

*This report appears in the May 2023 issue of Esquire magazine, on sale since April 21.

Now it is understood why Wendy Kemp Forbes was part of SH's speech in Madrid last year. His improvised speech was not for social reasons. His interest in women's participation was very doubtful. The credibility of his speech was put aside by his opportunism 🤨

[cosmicjoke]

First of all, I hope I'm not disturbing you. As I was reading your Q&A and analysis on Levi Ackerman tags, one of your answers caught my attention, I just wanted to mention it.

The part in Shiganshina where you say you will sacrifice himself, Hange and the others for the salvation of Levi, Erwin and Eren (canon manga summary) In a Japanese translation I read, Levi doesn't actually tell Erwin to get on Eren and go. He tells Erwin and the others to get on Eren and go. Here he is using the plural, not the singular

Frankly, without knowing this, I thought that there was a possibility that Eren's titan could also carry the Erwin and other soldiers. Because Eren's titan is big enough to carry everyone. It seemed logical for Levi to include the others in this translation I read.

I wanted to tell you this because I was curious about your thoughts (and because I think you should know) about it. If you are wondering about the translation:

https://www.tumblr.com/nenithil/671247123332874240/some-details-about-levis-plan-of-retreat?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/nenithil/673268724702363648/i-didnt-understand-well-who-was-levi-talking?source=share

So it's not unusual for manga (and other works) to have translation errors. Likewise, when eps 136 came out, the first translation we got when talking about the looks in Levi Armin's eyes was "To that kid who had the same look in his eyes as you", but after a while it turned out to be a wrong translation and it's not actually "as you". as all of you" turned out to be the correct translation. In the same way, he was speaking in the plural, not the singular. He was talking about other soldiers, not just Erwin.

I'm sure there are other sentences that we think are correct which are wrong translations.

Of course, this does not mean that every Japanese translators say that everything is true. Some people translate it with their prejudices, add their own ideas to what is written in the sentence, and present it to us as the correct translation. There may be a possibility that some of them will make mistakes due to lack of language.

Yeah, I was aware of that, actually, that Levi includes others in the suggestion, not just Erwin, which of course goes to further disprove what that anon was implying, that Levi didn't care about anyone else in that situation. I think Levi was hoping that they could save as many people as possible, he was also just aware that it would take a big distraction to keep the Beast Titan from following. If there were the hundred new recruits there, then Erwin, Eren, the rest of the 104th, Hange and her squad, etc... All total, that would be something like 120+ soldiers. Eren would have been able to carry more than just Erwin, obviously. So certainly, what you say is correct, Levi would have wanted Eren to carry as many soldiers as possible and still get away.

The thing that gets me about when people try to imply or just flat out accuse Levi of not caring about anyone but Erwin, is how they have to completely ignore all of his actions leading up to, during, and after the moment they try to highlight as "proof" of this. Before he made the suggestion to Erwin of how he and the others could escape, he'd nearly run himself ragged trying to save as many soldiers as he could, taking out as many 5 meter titans as he was able on his own, wanting desperately to hurry up so he could get to the other side of the wall and help Hange and the others with the Armored Titan, trying to get the new recruits to the wall and over it to protect them from the rocks Zeke was throwing at them, etc... All of these numerous actions of Levi's, and thoughts of Levi's, which prove beyond any doubt how much he cared about everyone there that day, and yet, these idiot haters just conveniently ignore all of that in favor of focusing in and having to twist the meaning of a single moment in which Levi, with his back against the wall, suggests a last ditch effort plan to get the two most vital people to humanities future chances out of there. According to these clowns, that means Levi only cares about Erwin, I guess. It's so, so stupid.

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

hi 💚 can I request you post a little snippet of each of those wips of yours, if you have one / would like to share one, please? love you!

Ooh, okay, uh, let's see.

There's nothing coherent enough of Hellfire to share just yet, but the other two are legible at least.

Under a cut, because these are long.

This is the opening of chapter one of The Price Of Victory:

Alex clicked the safety off of her handgun and peered down the sights. The laser pointer beamed against the opposite wall, bouncing back at her like an accusation. It was still calibrated perfectly – she should know, she'd done it herself. But it didn't stop her checking.

"Is that really necessary?" Jordan asked from beside her, not for the first time. "West might be a nutcase, but is he really going to be that dangerous?"

"For the last time Jordan, he's had the Necronomicon for six months. Who knows what he could have done with it? He was insane before he got his hands on that damn book, and I'm sure it hasn't exactly improved his mental capacity."

"But still, a gun?"

"Yes. A gun. And I'm not having this discussion again."

Alex moved further into the darkness, her ears on alert for anything that her eyes couldn't see. She heard Jordan huff from behind, but his footsteps fell into synch with hers.

Six months. Six months it had taken them to finally get a decent lead on Herbert West. Six months of searching across the country for reports of strange disappearances, six months of the same arguments.

The air between Alex and Jordan was chilly, and not just because the refinery was old. After Bedlam, they had tried to return to how they had been before. Before the insanity, before the Deep Ones, and Mother Hydra, and Father Dagon. Even before Cthulhu and Crafton.

They both wanted to. They'd both tried so hard to put the past behind them and move on. But while Cthulhu was out there, constantly trying to breach the walls of reality and flood the world, there was no moving on. There was only running away. And Alex couldn't do that any more.

And this is from chapter 10 of Swing My Way:

"Harrington, I'm going to wring your neck!" Robin rounded on him once she’d shut the door, and he backed away like she'd drawn a gun. "What did I say? What did we agree to?"

"That I wouldn't use my powers until I knew what I could do?" he hazarded, still unable to get the smile off his face despite Robin's fury.

"And on what planet does 'not using your powers' translate into 'stopping a bank robbery'? You were all over the news last night!"

Steve hadn't seen that; he'd fallen asleep as soon as he got back from the café, and hadn't had time to check the feeds this morning. His smile grew wider. "I made the news?"

"Yes, you idiot! 'Scarf-faced lunatic and dude in black suit stop fire' is everywhere! Even Nancy wrote something about it! Stop grinning!"

"But it's good, isn't it? Now people have seen me. They know I'm one of the good guys."

Robin shook her head like Steve was the dumbest man on the planet. "You're impossible. You couldn't have waited one more day?"

Finally, Steve felt a little anger of his own. "That bank was being robbed, Robin. I could stop it. So I did. I may have gotten these weird powers in some like, twist of fate, but I'm not about to just sit back when people need me. You know me better than that."

Robin sighed, and he saw some of the anger slip out of her. "I know, Steve. I just...you could have been seen. You could have been caught, or worse. If what you said about Brenner is true, you can guarantee that he'll be looking for you now."

"That's why I had the scarf!" He pulled it out of his pocket and waved it in front of her. "See? No one knew it was me!"