#sorry this took absolutely forever

[amischiefofmuses]

@riiese from continued from [HERE]

The sarcasm was enough to earn a frown as he straightened to stand upright, the swagger stick drawn away rather than pointed at her in the accusatory manner it had been. It was more than just a novelty to have a living person see him, that had yet to happen in his many years trapped on the grounds of Button house and this wasn't exactly how he'd imagined it would happen - at the very least she wasn't screaming and running, that was something. -- ❝Curse you? Heavens no- no, I can assure you that nothing of that sort is about to happen.❞ He dismissed with the wave of his hand, wanting to get that nonsense out of the way before they carried on with the conversation. It would do no good if she thought herself in harms way, that was the last thing he wanted. Well, that and perhaps the other ghosts finding out too soon, he wanted a good scope on the situation before that. -- ❝I must apologize for my approach, I simply wasn't expecting a living person to look right at me- I was more surprised than you, it seems. Have you always been able to see ghosts?❞

[slushglow]

he is listening to kingslayer by BMTH and babymetal btw

[theheartnexttophan]

I was finally able to upload the Denver preshow! My angle wasn’t great, cause they were on the floor for some reason (idk why, they didn’t mention it, but it made it so we couldn’t see them very well) Also so sorry I recorded this vertically, I think meeting Dan and Phil scrambled my brain! I’ll do it sideways in Grand Prairie!

[missingn000]

hey all! i wrote a what-if character study & action fic for if king fought sanji instead of zoro during the raid on onigashima. i'd really love if you gave it a read! thanks so much!

link

playlist

happy reading!

[wisteriagoesvroom]

Would you ever consider writing Carcar where Lando accidentally finds out about them and decides to wait for them to come clean…only it’s been nearly 6 months and Lando is fit to burst, but they both seem happy and he doesn’t want to meddle?!?

that would be a funny epilogue to at a constant speed wouldn’t it??

mainly it’s because oscar and carlos aren’t subtle like, at all. little hints here and there.

carlos starting to smile at oscar at the driver’s parade even if the fans only ever catch oscar staring for a beat too long, and never smiling back. the fans suspect oscar has food poisoning. the carcar believers think something is up.

oscar spends texting too long to carlos, talking about the history of like, lorries that cross the australian desert or something. lando asks if oscar is “writing an essay or something”. oscar blushes and says, “no, i’m making a point”. lando says “ah so you’re writing an essay then.”

carlos walks into the mclaren motor home, chats to lando, and tosses a pack of double-layered tim tams at oscar who catches it stoically. lando stares at them both and once carlos leaves, goes: “you’re on talking terms now?” and oscar says “if you noticed, we actually weren’t talking.” then goes back to staring at his chess game on his phone.

carlos and oscar go dolphin watching in the off season for some inexplicable reason. carlos thinks it will be funny. oscar is not sure why he goes along with this. it turns out to be kind of romantic. carlos never lies to lando and says “i am going dolphin watching.” oscar just says “i’m on a boat.” lando is getting very suspicious now.

and at one point:

carlos eats a specific type of spanish mackerel as part of his meal plan and lando is over at oscar’s monaco place and carlos has to quickly leave the house and hide somewhere (“this is undignified,” he tells oscar before he makes himself scarce). lando goes to open a cupboard to get some water and then sees the specific tin of fish and is like. OMG! I KNEW IT, BOTH OF YOU

there is also a polaroid that carlos took of oscar when they both cycled to a hilltop once. oscar eventually sticks that one near his sim rig. “spite motivation”, or so he tells himself.

[gennyrthewriter]

waiting on the second round of edits for book 2 is AGONIZING.

so, to stay sane while i wait around for the blorbos on my pages to become perfect, i made Spotify playlists for book 1 AND book 2!

Each song corresponds to its respective chapter, mostly based on vibes, but there are some meme picks in there. THE PLAYLIST FOR BOOK 2 IS SO HYPE LISTEN TO IT TO GET HYPE FOR THE HYPE BOOK

And of course, here's a link to the Amazon page for book 1

[xxweyussyenjoyerxx]

@jeffrey-combs-smash-or-pass here she is!!! Indigo, my queen!

[grimbeak]

i don't even really care about the possibility of never hearing from kevin again im mostly just mad about 250. like i never got the sense of loss from losing kevin i mainly got that from lauren. also the shock of that stupid ass abuse dialogue. but like. if we get an episode of kevin by himself without one of his partners (lauren / charles & donovan / cecil & carlos) then what's even the point.

[youredreamingofroo]

εїз Stardew Valley Profile εїз ʚ- Roo Norman -ɞ

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Made by : @bigeyedkitteh ( Profile maker ) Portraits from : Slightly Edited Portraits by Poltergeister Duck and Chicken icons from : Elle's Cuter Coop Animals by Elle/Uploaded by junimods

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(Just a fair warning, this got a LOTTTT longer than I expected it to 😭)

Because I got a little too invested in this, I'm gonna lengthily elaborate on most parts of the profile, enjoy :)

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Pequeño and Gräddkanna/Grädde

Pequeño is a 3 year old Mallard Duck. As a duckling, Pequeño lived with Marnie on her Ranch for a couple of weeks, Marnie was convinced he wouldn't live to see the next week, at this point, as he was scrawny and very obviously a runt compared to the rest of brood. In this same week, Roo was looking for another feathery friend to occupy his space with him and ended up visiting Marnie, and upon seeing the scrawny duckling, he asked Marnie if he could take him in, she warned him, but he was persistent- He left that Ranch with a duckling who could barely hold his own. It's taken three years of strenuous work to keep Pequeño well, but Roo didn't give up and now, at three years old, Pequeño is alive and, although he struggles from time to time, he is well and very happy. Roo calls him Pequeño because it means little, and Pequeño is a very little duck- Pequeño is also one of the only words Roo knows in Spanish. (Pequeño is also a reference to a tame I had in ARK LMAO)

Gräddkanna, or Grädde, is a 6 year old Cream colored Silkie Chicken. Roo has had Grädde for 4 years, like Pequeño, She was taken in from Marnie, although Grädde was in much better condition than Pequeño upon being adopted. Roo never considered himself to be a bird lover, and especially never considered himself to be a bird owner, but it was like love at first sight when he saw Grädde meandering Marnie's Ranch- So Roo began indirectly asking Marnie if Grädde (or Mila, as Marnie had originally named her) was available to buy, she said that Mila/Grädde was there to stay on her Ranch, but it was the saddened look in his eyes when he was exiting that had Marnie begin to reconsider her choice, and Roo left her place empty-handed. A week later, Marnie showed up at Roo's door, early in the morning with a Silkie chicken being cuddled in her arms, she knocked and was met with a rather grumpy Roo, however he lightened up when he saw Mila in Marnie's arms, She offered him Mila for a low price (15 dollars), while she was willing to give up Mila, she wasn't going to give up Mila for nothing- He happily paid Marnie and took Mila, now Grädde, in his arms. Grädde co-parented with Roo to raise Pequeño, Grädde was very happy and eager to take Pequeño under her wing (pun intended), and so she did. Grädde and Pequeño are now best friends and sometimes you'll see Pequeño hitching a ride on Grädde's back, this is more commonly seen when Roo is wandering the town and he isn't actively carrying Pequeño, he [Pequeño] does this mainly because he is too weak to walk for long and has to rest, and Grädde is just strong enough to carry around Pequeño for a moderate amount of time. Gräddkanna means Creamer and Grädde means Cream in Swedish, Roo named/nicknamed her that because of her Cream feathers and because the texture of her feathers reminds Roo of Cream.

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Roo Facts 1-5

- ♪ "Tends to wander town with Grädde and Pequeño" Roo loves his birds, and equally loves wandering as much as he does his birds, so during the day (during any season except Summer), you'll often find Roo wandering about in town or in the forest with Grädde and Pequeño, there's a couple different wandering variations, the most common being him carrying Pequeño with Grädde following suit, an uncommon variant will be of, as mentioned earlier, Pequeño on Grädde's back, and a rarer variant that will only occur later on during your playthrough (around year 2, and progressively becomes more common beyond year 2), is of Roo with only Grädde or Pequeño, this is due to Pequeño's condition and age and Grädde's age, Roo will only carry one of his two birds, as the birds age, Grädde becomes weaker and unable to walk as much and unable to carry Pequeño as long as she used to. As for Pequeño, he is unable to stay out for long at this point, meaning Roo has to leave him at home so he can stay warm, leaving Roo to carry Grädde around town (and vice versa, depending on how Grädde is doing). Another rare variant that only occurs VERY late in the playthrough (around year 4-5+, becomes more common in later years beyond year 6) is of Roo by himself- as mentioned, his birds are old at this point, and around year 4-6, they are too old to be able to even travel with Roo, this variant contains the least amount of dialogue lines from Roo and is the variant where most times, you will not be able to talk to him, due to him being sad about not having his birds (I did not want to include pet death in his story, so Roo's birds do live, however any year after year 6-8 will only include his last wandering variant)

- ♪ "He hates Summer, so most of his summer schedule is spent in his home" It's as the fact states, Roo hates the Summer and thus doesn't leave his home much for most of the day. You're more likely to see him wander around around sunset, as it's cooler and isn't nighttime where his birds won't get lost. Due to this, it is significantly harder to befriend and/or romance Roo during this season- it's still possible, just a bit frustrating/difficult to do so. To get a brief/broader look at his schedule during the summer, here's a time chart of his weekly summer schedule:

Mon-Thurs, Sat : [ 9:00 AM: Waking up [ 10:00 AM: Tending to his birds [ 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Hanging out around his home with his birds, awaiting sunset [ 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM: Nap [ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Town wandering with his birds (or without, depending on the year)

Fri : [ 10:00 AM: Waking up [ 11:00 AM: Tending to his birds [ 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Cleaning house [ 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM: Nap [ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Town wandering with his birds (or without, depending on the year)

Sun : [ 11:00 AM: Waking up [ 12:00 PM: Tending to his birds [ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: More house cleaning [ 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM: Hanging out around his home with his birds, awaiting sunset [ 5:00 - 5:30 PM: Nap [ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Town wandering with his birds (or without, depending on the year)

- ♪ "Used to date Leo until he [Leo] moved to Zuzu City" Leo and Roo briefly dated/were friends with benefits (it was complicated), Leo was new to Pelican Town, and it didn't take long for him and Roo to hit it off, however, Leo did not fancy the small farm/town life, and left a couple of months later for Zuzu city, officially cutting it off with Roo. This took place before Roo got his birds and when he was also new to Pelican Town (albeit, not as new as Leo)

- ♪ "He resides in Cindersap Forest" Roo technically lives in Cindersap Forest, he lives in the forest gap between Cindersap Forest/Marnie's Ranch and 1 Willow Lane (Sam's house), i'm sure ya'll know what I mean, but here's where he is on the map (for all my visualizer homies out there):

Roo's home is unavailable during the very beginning of a playthrough, and you cannot meet him properly until the Flower Dance. It IS possible to meet him during the Egg Festival, however he is off to the side somewhere beyond the bar, over by Dusty- At this point, Roo won't really talk to you, and will only say "Hello." before going back to watching the festival from afar, this will not count as meeting him. Going back to the Flower Dance, he is found standing awkwardly off to the side by Elliott and Leah, you can talk to him, and he'll, like before, say "Hello." and this will count as meeting him, and you will see him around town from here on out. After meeting Roo, two new areas will be introduced, when going between Cindersap and Pelican town, you will instead go to a small threeway intersection instead of going directly to and fro- going upwards will take you to another small area which is where Roo's home is. I don't have an exact image of what his home looks like right now, but just know it does have a little fenced off area for his birds, and the inside of his home is pretty duck/chicken-proofed. Roo's home cannot be entered until you get 2 hearts with him, and after reaching 2 hearts and entering his home, you will have to further your relationship with him (4 hearts) to be able to enter his bedroom.

- ♪ "Roo rarely visits Calico Desert, but when he does, him and Sandy chat up a storm" Perhaps one of the biggest surprise facts LMAO Him and Sandy are really good friends, unfortunately he doesn't visit a lot cause he hates the warmth of the Desert, but he does occasionally visit her, and their vibes actually compliment each other well and they like to chat and even sometimes gossip between each other (although Roo doesn't like to gossip a lot so it's moreso them just chatting).

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Favorite Thing

I just wanted to briefly elaborate on this one, but it's kind of two things (ofc I couldn't put two), Leo is his favorite thing/person, but since Leo has left and since Roo has... mostly... moved on, Roo's new favorite "thing" is Elliott, he's absolutely enamored with him. (It seems Roo's growing type is long hair...)

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Favorite Villagers

His absolute favorite villager is Elliott, he could marry Elliott if he could, and while Elliott does like him back, Elliott has established that he doesn't want to take their relationship further. Following Elliott (in order of most liked to least), is Sebastian, they both share a very familiar emo/grunge-y vibe... Next is Sandy, who I've talked about- Then it's Alex, who's kind of a guilty-like/crush, Roo doesn't really like some of Alex's ideals/outlooks, but he can't help but catch himself admiring Alex's face when he's near- and lastly is Harvey, Roo thinks Harvey is cute and they're good friends, but Roo is a little weirded out by the fact that Harvey's name is... well, Harvey- If you know Roo lore, you'll know that Roo's birthname is Harvey and thus why Roo getting with Harvey would be a little strange. Saying Roo doesn't like any of the aforementioned villagers isn't right, he loves all his friends (and Elliott a little moreso), however there are a couple of villagers he doesn't like... 👀

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Other Random Facts

★ Roo and Elliott, ironically enough, have the same birthday hehe

★ While Roo is romancable, his sexuality is still in place, and is the only villager/character who is only romancable to male villagers/characters/farmers. If a female character tries to romance Roo (Asking him to the flower dance, Bouquet... etc), He will reject them and their advances, you'll lose a heart with him initially and if you try again a second time, you'll lose 2 hearts and if you REALLY just cannot give it up and try again, you'll lose all your hearts with him and all his dialogue with the farmer will change (basically being distant), you can regain hearts with him, but it takes twice as long and if you do end up trying again for a FOURTH TIME, he'll reject you and will become incredibly distant to the farmer, and you will not be able to regain hearts with him.

★ Most of Roo's disliked items are items that can only be acquired during the Summer (Spice berry, Hops, etc), which goes hand in hand with his general dislike for Summer altogether- While most of his liked items are catered towards Fall items (Fairy Rose, Wild Plum, Plum Jam, etc). Even though his likes/dislikes are catered toward preferred seasons, he also has separate reasons for liking/not liking those things (not liking Hops because he doesn't like beer / liking Fairy rose because of the color)

[thistledropkick]

Desperado made a few different tweets about Narita Ren joining HoT, some of which are pretty long. I've put them all in one post here.

"As partners and rivals working hard together, they became such an entertaining team

They developed such a good relationship, and their backstage comments went beyond expectations.

What a damn shame.

Such a half-hearted bastard.

I can see quite clearly why you're so impatient, but I'll deal with you as a member of STRONG STYLE after the Dome.

Don't underestimate us."

"I was pissed off and went back to the hotel room and drank with my senpai, but now I've cooled down a bit and thought this over.

The three of us didn't have that many chances to fight together on New Japan shows.

We won the belts, but we failed to defend them.

And after that, the timing for the three of us to challenge for them again just didn't work out.

From self-expression to pro wrestling ability, the members of our unit are absolute beasts, and there's nothing we can't do in that ring.

But also, the clumsy way that the company announced the "Reiwa Three Musketeers" and the massive expectations around it resulted in a backlash from the wrestlers in question. And then the whole situation was left awkwardly up in the air.

As for those involved:

Shota has a costume that makes him look like a star, uncontrollable backstage comments, and a Moxley-like entrance and fighting techniques, giving him a royal flush of personality.

Tsuji's next-level lucha technical abilities and all his hard work backing it up, his physical potential and his creative expressiveness, all come together to give him the voice of a champion.

But his studies under Shibata-senshu had too big an impact on him, so when he used what he'd learned under Shibata, people could only talk about him in comparison to Shibata.

Things don't change in an instant.

Especially not a person's value.

A kick that he no longer uses, by his own choice,

and shin guards that he removed as well,

and also the Cobra Twist that we thoroughly discussed the use of.

It hasn't even been a year yet.

What percentage of pro wrestling fans in Japan were able to see him in person and say "That's Narita Ren"?

It can take an entire year for a technique to be seen throughout Japan, and even then you don't know if it'll get over or not.

And that's especially true for guys like you and me, who wrestle in a straightforward and persistent style.

You lack the courage of your convictions."

"The whole reason STRONG STYLE originally began was because you were being bullied by House of Torture until me and Suzuki-san sent them scattering.

Did you already forget?

Are you stupid?"

[nixii-sabre]

an art trade i did with @xenomorphicdna haiiii :3

[atigrado]

SPECULATION RAMBLE ABOUT NIIGO IN GENERAL THTAT I NEED TO POST BEFORE ENA5 SO I CAN EITHER SAY I CALLED IT OR LOOK LIKE A CLOWN

SO. ive been thinking if mizu5 might be establishing a pattern for the overarching structure of niigos story......

like. i feel like the whole mizuki being outed and hitting absolute rock bottom mentally kinda sorta mirrors mafuyus rock bottom in the main story. this is putting aside that mafuyu had been in a longer and more constant descent in contrast to mizuki more or less doing well prior to mizu5 but both of them hit a breaking point that leaves them completely dysfunctional and actively suicidal thats visually represented with the live2d hollow eyes.

so!! ive been thinking that having mizukis emotional state completely fixed with the next event would be Kinda lame considering the sheer gravitas mizu5s ending had, and thought it would be cool if, just like the events previous to sayonara my persona, where kanade ena and mizuki impart unto mafuyu important lessons that she then goes on to use to stand up to her mom (unconditional companionship, assertiveness about her boundaries, disengaging from a distressing situation), mizuki could also have events where the rest of niigo gives her advice that shows aspects of their character how that mirrors her just like niigo mirrors mafuyu, which she maybe could use to confront the way not only her peers treat her but also how school faculty enabled and heal from the trauma isolation and scrutiny left in her.

so i imagine this pattern could be

niigo member hits rock bottom (mfy main story, mizu5)

rest of niigo helps her out of rock bottom, while currently stable she still has emotional scars from rock bottom and whatever caused said rock bottom hasnt been completely resolved (mfy end of main story, ena5(?))

rest of niigo has paired event with niigo member where the one of them is explored through the lens of something she has that can help the other (someday this wish will transcend the morning sky, immiscible discord/mirage of lights, our escape for survival)

niigo member is able to confront whatever caused her to hit rock bottom and ends up in a better place where she is not being currently tormented and can properly begin healing (sayonara my persona)

if this is somewhat accurate then ena and kanade going through the above after another age up would make sooo much sense to me. both of them are unsure about what theyre going to do after high school

so like imagine if ena went to college as an art major and felt so strongly a gap in skill between her and her classmates, or could try to break into the art industry right after highschool to the same effect, feeling completely inadequate to the point of wanting to disappear because, just like her dad said, she isnt talented enough to be an artist, the thing she loves most in this world will forever be out of reach.

and kanade, who feels fundamentally worthless (evil, even) and needs to constantly justify her own existence by 'saving' others, sees the rest of niigo mentally stable (mafuyu specially), no longer needing to be 'saved' via her music, maybe in her eyes no longer needing HER, and begins wanting to disappear as she feels aimless after finishing highschool and no longer has physical proof that she is 'saving' someone (i dont think colopale would ever do this but how fucked would it be if her dad died and thats what pushes her over the edge.. more plausible would be if he had health complications i think)

i feel like kanade and ena's central conflicts are more abstract than mafuyu and mizuki's, while mafuyu and mizuki have actual people they can confront who caused their hurt (mfys mom, mzks classmates), kanade and enas are a lot more. idk, internal??? maybe not completely for ena as trying to make a living as an artist is extremely hard and she has her dad as an 'actual person who caused their hurt' but i think shin'ei is a bit different?? hes not as antagonistically presented as mafuyus mom is, i havent read knowing the unseen yet but from what little ive seen it seems like we get a lot of insight as to why shin'ei did what he did and the affirmation that he does love ena a lot, which i dont think we will quite get with mafumom, who was in no uncertain terms shown to only care about the mafuyu who is a good girl.

kanade though i think does represent this entirely more interal conflict, shes had to face so much death and decay through her moms health issues and eventual death coupled with her dads current health issues that sometimes her darkness feels so much more. idk. dramatic?? tragic?? raw?? when compared to even the rest of niigo who while suicidal never had to face the Actual Death of a Loved One to where i think kanades journey to healing will be turbulent with her issues so deeply held. i dunno maybe lm Being Shitty And Doing A This Character Has It Worse. idk.

↓out of topic kanade ramble sorry. i feel like i dont have that strong of a grasp on her character so if im off base you can kill me ^_^

kanade has always had a different vibe to her in my eyes though.. her childhood flashbacks that are present in all her focuses and central to her character are so tender but have such a sad undercurrent, the way her parents raised her with unconditional love and support allows her to in turn support the people she loves in the present but theres always this facf in of your head as you see them, kanade is alone now, her mom is dead and her dad, while alive, might as well also be dead since he doesnt remember her, hes unable to help her in the ways only a guardian could, not only that but seeing him is an eternal reminder to her to how in her eyes she is worthless, she almost killed her dad, how can she go on living having done that.

[drainbangle]

wait omg i’m curious about your unpopular thoughts about temenos writing wise.. i love when people discuss octopath writing it’s really enriching to see what we all have to say about certain story elements. plus you’re like a temenos representative to me. your thoughts about temenos make me go “so true!”

Aw, thank you! It took a while for me to decide on what to write here, since honestly I could go on for… frankly any aspect of this guy, especially in regards to treatment in fanon. But for now, I'll focus on my thoughts regarding how people treat tragedy in Temenos' story— namely, Crick's death— and why I personally dislike it as a writing decision and why I disagree with the idea that it is necessary.

Note: Goes without saying, but this is my personal opinion. If you believe otherwise, then that's all good. I'm not writing this to say that any one person is wrong, just to talk about an issue I have with the game's writing itself.

To start, I'll say that my main reason for disliking Crick's death in SH route is a matter of practicality. Killing him off causes Temenos to lose the main person that he had a fantastic relationship and banter with, and in my opinion, Temenos works best when he's bouncing off another person; not unlike most under the Sherlock-archetype.

Also, genuinely? It works wonders to keep Crick alive, if just because it provides a fantastic avenue to explore Temenos' institutional trauma. Having a character that's lived a different experience but within the same harmful institution opens up ways to explore the scope of its harm. And yes, this is for Crick specifically; not Ort, not the travelers, but Crick.

I think it really adds something that Temenos was raised by the church while Crick converted as a teenager during a really difficult time in his life. These two are good for each other. Crick sure as hell makes it a lot easier to write Temenos in fic.

(If you have a different experience, again, that's cool. I'm glad for you. I, however, will never fail to take the easy way out.)

(This is a lie, I'm over here making up fantasy church law for fic stuff but that's not related to this answer.)

I won't pretend that disliking Crick's death is an unpopular opinion. I mean, "Stormhail Fix-it" is an entire genre of fic on the OT2 Ao3 tag. What I do feel tends to go unaddressed though, is the fact that the idea that Crick's death is canon, therefore it is necessary, therefore it is the best decision; an idea that I wholeheartedly disagree with.

Within the text itself, Crick is killed off in order to give Temenos a personal reason to pursue Kaldena, thus putting him at odds with Kaldena's motivations being driven by her ideology and worldview that, "because humans committed the massacre, it was the gods' mistake to put us here". I also won't pretend that Kaldena's writing here isn't fucking awful, because Crick's death is also a device to make the player want Kaldena defeated even though she is just as much as a victim of the church; and that's to say nothing of her portrayal as an indigenous and dark-skinned woman.

These decisions are ones I disagree with. Killing Crick off was unnecessary to give Temenos reason to pursue the culprit, because Temenos already had someone close to him killed; and that's Pontiff Jörg. He raised Temenos from infancy, but due to the lack of focus on him outside of banter conversations, it's never relevant to his motivations outside of the desire for truth because a crime was committed. 

We also didn't need to kill Crick off to show that the church was a terrible institution, because Roi already went missing in action. The Sacred Guard is the main body of law within Eastern Solistia, it's not unreasonable to think that the reason why Temenos dislikes them is because they clearly didn't do shit to investigate his disappearance.

However, one thing I really don't agree with is the idea that Crick's death is necessary because Temenos' story is a tragedy. And if you asked me why, I'd ask this in turn: why is death the only form of tragedy? Furthermore, why must a tragedy contain only tragic events? That in mind, what gives anything value in a tragedy, then?

Pretend we cannot completely rewrite Temenos' story. Even then, changing Crick's death to a permanent injury, a coma, or whatever is still a tragic event; and that's nothing to say of living with the consequences. Isn't losing your faith a tragedy? Isn't losing something you worked for years to do a tragedy?

Similarly, I'd still argue that it's more valuable to make Stormhail a near-death experience because not only does it show Temenos succeeding in making someone question the church but also the terror that is feeling like you're doomed to repeat tragedy. Even if you really aren't, it's hard to dismiss that feeling; especially when it has to do with being victimized by institutions.

And before someone says, "but bad things happen to good people in real life", I'm not treating these characters as living, breathing people who are subject to things like gravity, hunger, and exhaustion. I'm treating them as choices, and choices made that I disagree with. 

It's why I make different choices. I choose to make Crick have to deal with chronic pain onwards. I choose to make Temenos realize change is still possible. I choose to let them both leave Stormhail alive. Are these better choices? I don't know. But I'll never stop questioning the ones made by the writers regardless; much less stop disagreeing with them.

So, in summary: I dislike Crick's death. I dislike Temenos having to spend the rest of the story without someone he can talk to so easily because Crick's absence weakens a lot of his scenes in Temenos 4. But more than that, I dislike the idea that tragedy is necessary on top of the idea that it is superior. Tragedy's good, I adore the genre; but written in mindful doses and all that.

[ikishima]

.

[eatyourdamnpears]

“elevated ANA levels are usually markers for an autoimmune health condition!”

well, not when the rheumatologist you see is completely invalidating about it and your rheumatology blood panel comes back negative for anything!

[theartifxce]

Through the Eyes of a Stranger

FROM THE JUICY ANON RP PROMPT HERE: (sorry this took so long) 

The Copycat Killer

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There was a man in the mirror - but the reflection wasn’t his; down to the hair that fell over the scar on his right temple. The pale layered blonde strands, the perfect bridge of his nose, the v-shaped structure of his face along with his sharp jawline – none of it was truly his.  

Like clockwork, he got up every morning and greeted this stranger trapped in the glass with a grimace, burning his eyes upon the reflection that was his – but wasn’t really his.

His expression was always detached and mechanical as he stared into the eyes of a stranger. A rising hostility crawled along his skin at the sight of this invader.

His name was Elias Reinhardt.

He hated him.

But he could never destroy him.

Because he was him.

But he also wasn’t really him either.

While ignoring this broad shoulders and prominent muscular form – he saw the man in the marble he was meant to become. It had been etched upon his soul for as long as he could remember, drilled into him through every burn, bruise and drop of blood.

Carving up and mutilating his body wasn’t enough.

There were minor imperfections he corrected through mediocre means; like speech therapy and language studies and philosophy.

He had to play the part, perfect his craft for when the curtains fell.

Not only for his creator – but for the world.

‘He is me and I am him.” Elias reassured, drilling and reminding the ghosts of doubt that haunted at the back of his head.

Through the cracks in the mirror, he carefully put in his bright blue eye contacts, blinking out the tears before he gleefully witnessed the parts of himself he hated were concealed with little effort. Swiftly, he lifted his eyeliner to the outer corners of his upper lash-line and gently swiped its black ink with feather strokes in order to keep the look as natural as possible.

 He took his ring finger and lightly dabbed at the darker earthly eye shadow tones and applied the shading just at the inner corner of his eyelid and outer corner of his lash line to give his eyes the appearance of depth. Finally, he dabbed some concealer to hide the beauty mark from beneath his right eye and set it with powder.

Once again he looked in the mirror and was washed with a wave of relief – it was funny how a little bit of make-up could really bring out one’s true features. He curled his lashes and applied very light mascara to bring out his boyish charm. It was only then, did he have the courage to gaze down at the photo tucked in-between the wooden frame of the mirror.

Johan Liebert.

This was the only photo he had of his graven image; the beautiful devilish angel he was meant to become from the moment he was born. Elias held it up alongside the reflection of himself, comparing every aspect of Johan’s features to his own and was soothed by the realization that he could actually pass as his twin brother. 

 But there was still a gaping hole inside of him.

He could look like the man himself – but what of his thoughts that plagued him during the night?

What song of lamentations cantillated within his heart?

It wasn’t enough to merely look the part – he had to become down to the fibers of his being.

His father’s words haunted him in the back of his mind, the constant teaching and lashings that had been scarred upon his mind and skin were now whispers that simply wouldn’t leave. He dropped the photo in a rush to place his hands over his ears, desperate to drown out his father’s unhallowed voice.

“IT’S ALL WRONG. HE SMILED – HE SMILED AND YOU’RE CRYING?!”

A child forced to kill in order to give birth to a Monster he never wanted to greet. The image gnawed at the back of his mind – the beating he had received for crying over the deaths of his friends; the heart he was forced to throw away.

 “AH!!!!!!!!” He screamed in agony as he brought his fists against the mirror, shattering the image of that stranger along with it. He panted heavily, blood and shards of glass coating his pale skin. He looked up and saw only the broken appearance through the remnants of the mirror – and it was insane how at this small angle, he truly thought he looked like him.

But it wasn’t enough.

Of course, it wasn’t enough.

Because the cruel divine angel that spawned from the Red Rose actually had someone he held dear. The media soon learned that the Monster known as “J” had a twin sister. It took some coaxing through means of torture and blackmail; but Elias learned all about her; the one Johan Liebert was lost without. 

The blind old veteran was quite the chatterbox. According to the old man, ‘the one who the little boy loved more than all – was his sister.’  It didn’t take much to bash his head in with his own kettle to cover up his trail. But the information he gave is what spawned his new obsession – Anna Liebert, or better known as, Nina Fortner.

Without his other half – he would never be complete.

That’s why he never felt comfortable in his own skin.

But there was one thing that simply did not sit right with him upon making this new discovery.

Johan Liebert was a formidable darkness in the underworld; the mere mentioning of his name would shake the most despicable criminals down to the bone. The demon with the boyish charm haunted in shadows in corners of the room he never stepped foot in.

How could such a Monster be capable of something as unreasonable as love?

She was described by others as the apple of Johan’s eye - but for what reason?

What hold did she have over him?

Elias’ father was never made aware of the existence of Johan’s younger twin sister. Johan, even at a young age, was always ten steps ahead of the world. He concealed the identity of his sister because of what she meant to him.

 But what was she to him exactly? 

Did he value her solely because she was the proof of his existence? 

Was she just the extension of his identity?

The Nameless Monster of the West?

Was that the extent of his so-called ‘love?’

Could there be any other reason?

Elias could never truly understand Johan and become him down to the fibers of his being without understanding the core of all of his evil schemes that upon closer inspection, seemed to center around his sister. But Elias needed more information to draw his conclusions; details that would never be made public due to the government’s gag order on the infamous case of “J”. 

The only one who knew Johan better than anyone - was Nina Fortner.

And so he danced along the cobblestone streets, admiring her from afar at first; the way her sun kissed hair danced along the gentle winds; her lustrous pink lips, the tenderness warmth of her voice whenever she spoke, down to the sky blues that was of her eyes – she was like an angel.

Her mere existence and presence felt magnetic, the radiance surrounding her pulling him in with the desire to get closer. He felt almost desperate to get noticed by her – to feel her soft eyes resting on him and only him. But there was another part of him that left trails of goosebumps upon his skin at the thought of what her screams sounded like. Imagining that gentle face twisting into that of bloodlust solely for him filled him with the same level of excitement.

Was it the Johan inside that stirred these emotions?

Or was it…him?

He acted as phantom, purposely meeting her eyes from a distance only to disappear before she’d approach him. Each time he did this, he placed himself closer and closer to her.  The temptation was like a drug – what started out as a hard coded plan was now more like a game he enjoyed playing. He found the patterns to her habits; her coffee was 3 sugars and equal parts milk, a morning jog and how she worked herself to sleep over her desk late at night.

He had broken into her home many times before; never leaving a trace of his presence as he observed the little things that left the imprint of herself upon her home. She had plenty of photos with her friends, her late mother and father – but none of Johan. He laid in her bed and took in her scent, resting his head on her pillow only to open his eyes and imagine drowning in her deep blues as she laid next to him.

He caught himself half into the idea and sat up, coughing up the choke that welled in his throat from the emotions that creeped in. He tugged at the soft fabric of his black turtle neck as if it was responsible for his inability to breathe normally.

Finding out the existence of Johan’s one and only weakness did not bring him the solace he thought he would have. Instead, he felt even more lost and confused. Being her shadow was not enough. He wanted to understand in its rawest form, why a man of the underworld was chained down by such a dainty and impractical woman like her.

If he found out its truth, would it set him free?

He dressed in Johan’s attire, down to the length of his dark brown coat and waited for her arrival. The door opened and shut and he felt a tinge of excitement crawl up his skin as he stood, composed with his back to her as he peered out the window with his arms wrapped behind his back.

“Hello Nina.” He spoke her name with a refined soft tongue.

“It’s been a long time.” The words fell from his pale red lips like a caress before he turned, the shadows hugging his form in order to perfectly conceal his act. He witnessed from her expression how she was shocked to see not Elias but the ghost of Johan Liebert.

@xxxangeleyesxxx​