#taking a gamble and posting this

[zu-is-here]

double game

[doctorsiren]

I’ve been thinking about Miles as Serizawa quite a bit 😁

[cuppajj]

"Once a lowly jelly worm with aspirations beyond anyone's belief, with a bit of magic (and perhaps convincing) it turned into something even stronger... finally, after rigorous training and a bit of dough, it has now achieved its dream and become a - dragon? That's a dragon, right? Whatever he is now, Jelly Dragon(?) Cookie is sure happy to finally have a chance to stick it to the cookies who once laughed at him!" - im being weird on my first crk post kasjhf look i love jelly wormy and i think he deserves to be a dragon... what if he went on a quest and cried so hard at one of the actual dragons that they made him one (air quotes). it was perhaps out of pity but more likely morbid curiosity to see what would happen if a jelly worm of all things got a little taste of power. like giving admin commands to a child on roblox

[aakaneeee]

Round 7 was.. definetly intense and I have many thoughts about it, so I did a whole analysis.. yes it's finally here!

Time to start :3 (I will mostly try to make this coherent and chronologically correct, I might fail though! because we know how freaky i can get when it comes to Luka)

without further ado, let's get into it!

tws: drug use, violence, blood, overall quite gore-ish;

I. ROUND 7

Round 7 starts with a low intro, sung first by Till, Luka following. Till has his energy back, or atleast part of it. Luka, as always, has his perfect voice, but he seems to be a little more expressive this time, as if he's enjoying the performance, just like the lyrics suggest. Everything goes seemingly smooth, and they receive holographic instruments that almost seem to parallel eachother: Till, an electric guitar, and Luka, a violin. And yet, as the second pre-chorus emerges, Luka approaches Till, putting his hands around his neck, a cruel reminder of Ivan. He is... dizzy, to say the least, even getting a nosebleed, but he doesn't stop singing until the very end, even though images of the one he's been taunted with appear on the screen behind them. His eyes seem to light up when he sees a familiar figure in the crowd, Mizi, somehow remembering her even with her hair completely different, veiled, and between millions of aliens. He reaches out, and Luka is obviously at least annoyed at this, either mad that his trick didn't work, or that Till destroyed a perfect performance. Even so, it's too late for Till: Right before getting a hold of Mizi's hand, he is shot in the neck, falling down. Mizi is.. devastated. A flashback of them as kids plays, with a xylophone instrumental. Then, the camera cuts back, from a happy, smiling Mizi, to one crying over Till's soon-to-be corpse. In his last moments, she takes his hair out of his face and cups it. He tries to caress her hand, and then his arm falls next to him as the light fades from his eyes, destined to look into the distance forever. The text "LUKA WIN" flashes on the screen, but even the double-winner is too distracted to care, as in a safe distance, yet right in front of him, is an injured Hyuna, crouched forward, without her usual, characteristic confidence. They stare blankly at eachother as the screen shows new text: SPECIAL GUESTS, paired with photos of a grieving Mizi and a shocked, in pain Hyuna. We are shown Luka advancing as the winner, the last one left, supposedly, and everything goes black.

II. LUKA

(I will have a lot to say for the both of them, unsurprisingly, but I feel like Luka is still a little bit in the lead... again. who is surprised)

From the first frames we see him in, his clothes are obviously more revealing that in previous rounds (using plural since we have seen part of his Round 4 outfit in the intro of ROMH), using not only the usual open back, but also a huge v-cut showing his chest, and his hip open, specifically where his branding is. I imagine Heperu would've chosen this to show off that it's his pet. Not only that, but his surgery scars are also shown off. I suppose it might be something to brag about here? Maintaining a pet human is probably already really expensive, so it's a differentiation of class if they also afford to have surgeries? I see it as probable. When he begins singing, we see something new. He's a lot more expressive, and it carries through the whole round. Not only that, but when his first high note reaches, he almost crouches down forward, as if he was struggling with it (even though he had more difficult notes in round 5.) Personally, for me, I don't think he was going to use his 'technique' from the start. Some may argue that it's his usual, but he got the biggest score in Alien Stage history in round 4 (I may be mistaken) against Durian, and Durian had no dead loved one that Luka could've used against... him? (I'm still confused about Durian, Acorn and.. Tortilla.😭) So he's obviously insanely talented and only uses it when he feels a threat. Most of Luka's actions in Round 7 felt risky, unplanned, and decided on the moment, which really is unlike him. This feels, like one of my previous posts say, like he was drugged, just like Till. In his daze, maybe he considered that Till would stop singing, or maybe, not even sing at all, and that he'll have an easy opponent. But no, Till proved strong, and then, it came to the next possible way he could 100% win: disorienting him. A thing others have pointed out.. Luka's fingers are probably very cold, and it mightve reminded Till that Ivan is a corpse now. One of the most cruel frames of an already very cruel series was, atleast for me, shown in this video: Luka holding in his laugh after his 'plan' (since, as i already said, i dont think it was actually planned) works. For me, it's another piece of proof that he wasn't in his right mind, the carefully built facade of his wouldn't have just broken by his own will. But, even though he could swear it worked, Till doesn't stop singing. Sure, he's dizzy, dazed, but he still is singing. Shock only comes again when Till sees Mizi in the crowd, and anger, or atleast annoyance, is easily readable on Luka's face. He even pauses singing, looking at Till reaching out for his God, always unattainable, now in the reach of his fingers, in a position I could describe as hesitant, confused. Even so, he gets a win as Till gets shot in the neck. Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to revel in the victory, as he watches in shock, as 'the love of his life' appears in front of him, yet at a safe distance, injured. They stare at eachother, but it's different, it wasn't a blank gaze like in Round 5, it feels a lot more vulnerable.

I love how we've been shown past Luka's empty shell this round. Seeing him actually expressing himself, seemingly taking immense pleasure, almost in an euphoric, naive way, in the round around him. There is no way he genuinely enjoys it, or would've enjoyed it without.. exterior measures. We've seen him reacting to cameras around him in Sweet Dream. We can only imagine that was his truly 'sober' state. As I said, it's really amazing how we can see a more candid version of him.

III. TILL

From the start, it seems like Till has regained his spirit back. He's definetly more energetic than in Round 6, his hair is slightly messy again. His outfit, just like Luka's, is more revealing, but his branding has always been visible, unlike his opponent's. He is doing surprisingly well, not going down without a fight, maybe not going down at all! (I love being cruel) He's singing his heart out, every lyric he says showing desperation. And even though he was going so well, everything has an end. Because his declining mental state goes even more downhill as Luka acts like the freshly deceased Ivan, who left him with so many questions and dillemas. It feels like everything is crowding up on him, the huge stage feeling like a small box. His nose starts bleeding, and just as he was about to faint... He sees the love of his life, Mizi, in the crowd. She's reaching out to him. She's there to save him. He reaches towards her in happiness... Except he gets shot right before it. Mizi is finally reaching to him, right how he imagined when he felt like dying, after singing in that damned club. But just as you can't touch your own imagination, you can't touch a God.

Mizi is, and always will be unattainable. The moment he tried to touch her, the Universe is against him, once again. When he wanted to approach her, a powerful light engulfed him. When he died, it was back to pitch dark. In the flashback, it's implied that Till tried to escape, or atleast went against the rules, togheter with Mizi. They seem to be very close, as Mizi trusts him enough to hide, and bury her head into him. It feels affectionate, familiar, something Till holds onto, because he probably considers it one of his best memories. But nothing lasts. From a smiling, happy Mizi, it pans to the new her, now crying over Till, who was taking his last breaths. She gently brushes his hair out of his face, her hand holding it. In his last moments, atleast, he got what he wanted: Mizi's gaze on him, only on him, and just as always, he can't say anything to her. He just lightly chuckles, as his eyes lose light, and his arm falls next to him.

IV. IVAN

His intention was to make Till hate him. That's why he kissed him. He wanted to be forgotten. He already thought Till didn't care that much about him, so surely his actions would make him hate him? Wrong. Ivan was never Till's ray of hope. He was aware of it: Till only had eyes for Mizi. And yet, his death wasn't forgettable, like he thought. He used to mock Sua for her plan, saying that she'll only become trauma, and ironically, he did the exact same thing. Till sees Mizi as pure light, a goddess. Yet, he remembers Ivan in a shaky manner, a dark red veil over the flashback of the kiss. Mizi was his hope, and Ivan was his misery. Unfortunately, Ivan didn't realize this, considering himself to not be grief, but rather, nothing for Till. Oh, how wrong he was.

V. HYUNA

I really like the idea that the Patreon gave us. Its good to be confirmed that Hyuna, just like the others, is truly human, and by that I mean, flawed. Maybe I am interpreting it wrong, but from what my brain cooked up, she was.. somewhat willing to sacrifice a life (either Till or Luka) for the sake of humanity. (again, I might be wrong) We see another side to her in Round 7. She grabs Mizi and looks at her in a pleading way. She knows she's asking of her to see another of her friends die. Even so, she thinks it's better. I'm really curious about what she was doing on stage. Did she go after Mizi, because she saw she might've gotten caught again? Maybe.. she thought that Mizi was actually going to get Till, and she wanted to save Luka, too? You can never know.

VI. MIZI

First of all, she is still naive, which is so on brand for her. She went into a rescue mission, alone, with no weapons except for a smoke grenade. She still doesn't know what she has to do, and it's obvious. It seems like she took another route from Hyuna, who came up on the stage, while Mizi mixed with the crowd. Even so, I'm grateful that in his last moments, Mizi let Till rest. It was such an honest scene and I adored it. What I didn't adore was the parallels between her leaning over Tills body in Round 7, and her leaning over Sua's body in Round 1.

VII. PARALLELS

1. Till reaching towards Mizi, both in his hallucinations, and right before his death, where she still remains untouchable.

2. "The dark crimson air embraces us" -> "In your place, there's only blood and cold air left" (Black Sorrow) + "Lost in forever's embrace" (CURE)

3. Mizi leaning over Sua's body (Round 1) and Mizi leaning over Till's body (Round 7)

4. "In a blink gone!", sang by Till, in this, the visuals parallel his Birthday reveal art.

5. Luka raising his hands to his face, parallels Ivan tracing his hands up his microphone (they even have the same timing from what I've seen).

6. Mizi looking at Till from her capsule in Round 2, with Mizi looking at Till through the screen during Round 7.

7. Mizi throwing the grenade and Till breaking Freddie in Round 2.

8. Luka's hands on Till's neck are a 'gentler' version of Ivan choking Till, so aliens wouldn't consider it as violence.

9. Luka and Hyuna looking at eachother in Round 5 and Luka and Hyuna looking at eachother at the end of Round 7.

10. The way Luka pulls Till's lip down reminds me of that one freaky Luka image..

VIII. LYRIC ANALYSIS

Blink Gone works for all characters, in my opinion. Every one of them lost something, in just a blink.

"The clock goes tick-tock, tick-tock" I can only imagine this referring to the fact that Till's life is soon to coming to an end.

Till sings the more pessimistic lyrics, while Luka sings the ones about forgetting what's in the past and enjoying the moment. As much as he could be taunting Till, he is, in a way, also reassuring himself. To forget everything: perhaps Hyuna. Hyunwoo's death. And not only these, but the experiments, surgeries, punishments he's been through. On this specific stage, he feels like he's truly alive.

As I've mentioned before: "The dark crimson air embraces us" -> "In your place, there's only blood and cold air left" (Black Sorrow) + "Lost in forever's embrace" (CURE).

IX. DISPELLING SOME THEORIES.

1. Till's microphone was closed.

Personally, when I first saw this... I was a bit.. yeah... I know this sounds rude, but I was a little bit startled when I saw how many people agreed😭 The light on Till's microphone is a heartbeat tracker, proven to be right by the fact it turned green when he saw Mizi. Even if it was closed, a microphone doesn't make you sound better. He wouldn't have been heard, which he was, so obviously, it wasn't closed.

2. The competition was rigged in Luka's favor.

I dont personally agree with this, especially considering the aliens' nature. They don't care about humans. I don't imagine them wanting the same winner twice. Personally, I find it more like them to rig it in Till's favor. Imagine: he won his first two round by external factors, a rookie, yet a musical genius, defeating a past winner. Doesn't that sound more like something they could market? This is my opinion, but I can't think about them rigging it in Luka's favor. (yes I made a whole rubric just for 2 theories that kind of..somewhat. annoy me)

X. MY THEORIES (This is MOSTLY incoherent)

First of all, I am sure that something BIG will happen next. They said Round 6 is only the half of ALIEN STAGE, so, without counting Sweet Dream, there should be 6 more videos. Minus round 7, five. Hyuna vs Mizi and then whoever wins versus Luka are only two, so there's no way that's everything thats going to happen. I find it really interesting that were going to have 5 videos with only 3 (SUPPOSEDLY) alive characters. I'm not sure about the theory of "they are still alive", since Vivimeng aren't really.. known for that. I'm quite 50/50 on it. I can't believe we went from "only Sua will die" to "Everyone will die"😭 Thats what I call development. Anyways, I'm just as excited as ever for what's next!

XI. CONCLUSION + MY OPINION

Honestly, I ADORED Round 7. It was so beautiful and gorgeous and deep and I simply love it. Im going to sound like a gatekeeper, or rude, but I'm quite dissapointed in the people that genuinely are starting to harass Luka fans, to say they hated Round 7, to hate on Vivimeng for the decision they made, saying that they destroyed it and that there's no satisfactory ending to it now.. MAYBE I'm just lucky and my favourite character is Luka, so I haven't felt the grief of losing my favourite yet, but even if I did, I wouldn't start blaming the AMAZING creators that work so hard. If you're curious, yes, as a Luka fan, I've been told off, I've been told I'm a horrible person, and it's only been 2 days, which is insane to me. There is just so much more about him than "ooh he's a manipulator!" again, I'm gonna sound extremely rude... I love that there are a lot of fans that came during Round 6, but I feel like the people 'leaving' the fandom right now are those same fans. maybe that's just me and I'm just angry at what's happening right now😭

I don't want to offend anyone, these are just my opinions, please take everything I said with a grain of salt!

( @cherry-blossom-sword80 here it is!! tagging some other people I'd like to see this :3 @verdantlights @sotogalmo @rockwgooglyeyes )

[shantechni]

I completely forgot that the Rise Turtles call themelves the Mad Dogs (haven’t done any rewatches). I was reminded when I was randomly browsing turtlepedia. I found that odd because (as far as I know) they’re the only iteration to call themselves something other than The TMNTs

But then I was thinking, I’m not sure many iterations actually do call themselves the TMNTs, besides like 80s and 03. Maybe nods to it (movie 3/We’re turtles. The teenage mutant ninja variety), or just in the singular (03 as a/when you’re a tmnt).

And then I think, not calling themselves that actually kinda makes sense, with the Rise iteration especially. TMNT is a cool name, but in universe, just very literal and descriptive. Imagine the Foot calling themselves the Adult Black Wearing Foot Themed Ninjas. Or the Purple Dragons the Dragon Tattooed Street Gang. The Rise turtles are probably fine describing themselves as TMNTs, but to call their group The TMNTs might come off as lame or lazy to them.

Wow, the Mad Dog thing was odd, but after thinking it through, I support it!

I have no idea why but the Mad Dogs scene sticks out so much to me💀I'm overdue for a rewatch but that and Donnie's little library rap invade my brain every month or so, completely unprompted. You're right though, calling themselves by literal terms makes little to no sense in-universe. Many iterations will acknowledge the terms and have someone go, "Yeah we're teens and we're green🐢," or whatever, but they don't go around calling themselves the TMNT lol.

And ngl, Mad Dogs hits better than whatever the heck '12 Leo was onto in S1.

[kaurwreck]

I like it when the fandom engages with Chuuya drinking problematically or Akutagawa smoking despite his lung disease or Fyodor indulging his gambling addiction.

Asagiri can't explore the same, there's a censorship regime in Japan for manga aimed at certain ages. But even if he doesn't care to, fan works should be transformative and exploratory; and fan works that do so while engaging with the source material and its themes like humanity and contradiction and culpability are even more golden for doing so.

The urge to lacquer fiction in performative didactism and aversion to moral turpitude is self cannibalizing.

[ali3nboyfriend]

obviously “therapy talk” can be really annoying and patronizing when used incorrectly but i’m ngl there’s something very satisfying about hitting my friend who has a tendency to verbally self-flagellate when they’re having a meltdown with “how can we express these feelings in a way that’s more constructive?” and watching those thought patterns unravel in real time as they have to sit there and actually think about what they’re feeling and why without being mean to themselves

[trans-queen-administrator]

During the talk with Phir Sē, it comes up that he has a daughter when he tells Taylor about how keenly aware he is of what he could be sacrificing to kill Behemoth.

And it's very odd to me that she's a hero, when her father is one of the men so monstrous that he's used as evidence for why the PRT should stick around. It's almost like the stereotypical superhero show plot where the plucky protagonist hero learns their dad is Doctor Evilman or whatever, but this is Worm. Later in the conversation Phir Sē reveals that he sacrificed family before in a similar scenario

And I can't help but feel that him sacrificing his wife and sons is connected to his daughter being a hero? Like imagine being her, and seeing your dad refuse to save the rest of your family because of the greater good. He could effortlessly step backwards in time but he stands there while their corpses cool instead. That could definitely crack a rift between them and cause his daughter to join the heroes in a desperate attempt to prove that you can save everyone. Hell, I could even see her dad letting her family die being a trigger event. And she's specifically one of the bright and popular heroes, one of the campy flashy ones like Mouse Protector. How much of that is because she can't bear to let herself be anything less than the ideal of a hero, because she can't stomach the thought of being someone who has to make a sacrifice like her father? Phir Sē says he'll live the rest of his life down in his bunker mourning her if he fails, but I think he's already been doing that. He's been consumed by the guilt of who he left in the past and how that ruined his only tie left, and he wants to do something that justifies his existence. If he kills Behemoth, the world celebrates, people are saved, and maybe his daughter will talk to him again. If not, he keeps living as he always has, alone and crippled by the weight of his actions.

I wonder how he felt, in his last moments. The bomb didn't kill the Endbringer, and Behemoth hunted down his bunker and killed him. He had to have seen that it survived, and while maybe he didn't fail so hard he vaporized the country, he didn't redeem himself, he didn't save anyone. He'll never know that his actions weakened Behemoth enough for Scion to finish the job, from his perspective he lost. I wonder if his daughter survived, and if she knows what he did to tip the scales of the battle. Would she even mourn him, assuming he caused her trigger and she knows he let her family die?

He liked Weaver because she reminded him of himself with her ruthless pragmatism and ability to make the hard choices, while also reminding him of his daughter with her idealistic nature. I think he saw a version of himself in her, one that didn't end up isolated in a bunker with no family left. One that has hope and still kept the humanity he feels he lost. She talks to him about working together with others, communicating, and he doesn't think it's something that's possible, he thinks humanity is a "wretched, petty species" and that infighting and lack of coordination would prevail even against an Endbringer. And I think he's right in thinking Taylor is like a younger version of him, because that's exactly what happens during Gold Morning until she makes them work together. He would feel vindicated, seeing Khepri.

Honestly I really wish he survived, he's such an interesting character and I would love to see more of him beyond a single random Tohu face. Most of this is headcanon but like, I think it fits pretty well, so who knows maybe it's the intended subtext.

[bugsongs]

well well well, look who's loitering around the preps instead of hanging with her loser friends 🧐

[mercless]

as the powder witch lounges: yone is away . doing god knows what at this hour , he doesn't like to share . she thinks he could be making his rounds . she thinks he could be sneaking off to that magical bar to drink — though that uprightness of his , even if he does fit the bill of a man down on his luck , makes it hard to take slugging alcohol as being his vice . maybe he is with luna . she thinks , she thinks , she thinks . but more importantly — she is alone with talon . this is shockingly not the first time the gunslinger has left her alone with them , but it is the first time he has does so at night . this is bigger of a responsibility than it seems , and rell wonders if yone has said as much to talon . how would he have worded it ? — there is no way he would have told them the full story ( not only to preserve her own privacy , but because he'd go way over the allotted amount of words a day he is willing to spare on talon , she thinks wryly , and she rolls her eyes ) — but then what , a stern , ' if she sleeps and you aren't staying put , leave the light on ? ' ugh . it sounds ridiculous to even think it to herself , to imagine his voice . and it is ridiculous . she is meant to be sixteen years old , outgrown the need to be babysat — not a responsibility . or maybe it isn't like that . he has never called it so . maybe she is just insecure . maybe she is just overthinking the fact that she has not since the first time had to wake up alone in the dark , and that she cannot remember the last time the gunslinger hadn't been there . yeah . she could lie to herself like that . she could believe . yeah ! and so yone has left rell alone with talon . she would like to think that it's because he trusts the demon with at least this much . she would also like to think that he trusts talon more than any of them would guess . she believes this to be the case , but perhaps this is also a lie she likes to tell herself . maybe he just trusts her to be able to take care of herself , to make sure that talon does not get up to anything nefarious . maybe he has not let her alone with them , but them alone with her . and there is true threat in this — not just in her magic , but the way she descends upon them then , curiosity rabid ; there are sometimes questions that can only be asked when either of them is away . can i ask somethin' , she asks , though it is more of a formality at this point . she can ask questions ; whether talon's answer will satisfy them is a whole other matter . but there are always questions she wishes to ask , of talon , of yone . there are also questions that she does not want to ask . yet , or ever , she is unsure . a strange silence follows , and it's as if she's fired a blank . she is in her casual garb , laying on the bed with her bare feet towards the head of the bed , and she stares up at the ceiling . ❛ you know what ? ❜ she suddenly says , pushing herself up . ❛ how about we get outta' here and find somethin' fun to do , save the questions for later ? ol' rickety bones don't gotta' know — we can leave a note if that matters . ❜ already is she looking for something to write with , to write on — the gears in her head turning , she eyes the carpet mat and ventures that if she just lifts up a corner ... @windchaser (hi uh . touches the ground . something happened here .)

It is a hushed evening in this homely little room the gunslinger left them in, while he went out on his righteous errands. Refusing to elaborate, let alone be accompanied on his business with their kind of ilk. And as Talon has their boots kicked up on the chair turned to face them, arms sizzling like an low oil flame across their chest and musty hat upon their face, they were of two minds about it; It was a break from Yone's constant vigilance. Finally, to not be beneath the weight of his suspicious glare no matter the action or lack thereof they committed. Not so long ago he made it his job for the evening to watch the demon - unblinkingly, mind you. They had stared right on back until their eyes stung to confirm. Made their afflicted skin crawl sometimes, he did. It had been a spell since they had last known the freedom that was the dark veil shrouding the range, to finally be the scariest thing in the night again, at least in the immediate area. But then, they weren't outside in the quiet eve, the chorus of crickets and woeful birds quieting upon their arrival; even without seeing a hellspawn, the land and it's critters instinctively knew when a stranger to their mortal world approached. No, they were cooped up in this little inn room Yone had dumped both the young powder witch and them in. With little more than the orders to stay safe until his return, which only he knew the hour of. Of course.

Talon cared very little for who in fact was watching who in this situation. They would be the last to underestimate the lengths of which Rell's powers could bend and twist metal, but it wasn't as if they couldn't leave unnoticed. If Talon really wanted to. But then, Rell would be alone... Which wasn't their issue. It would be the haunted gunslinger's fault, if anyone's. His form of retribution just wasn't something they were looking forward to receiving anytime soon. So they sat as comfortable as they could, oil lantern bright enough for a human's vision to see that the corners of the room existed.

She had spoken up at some point, garnering a movement of Talon's head to now rest on an ear and face the source of her voice, their hat still covering every feature. But it had been some time since then. Enough cricket chirps has passed that they were left to wonder if the witch was stuck on what to ask first, and eyes consider closing and no longer take in the low light between strands and treated leather. Rell so did like to ask things of all sorts. Her constant questioning should be bothersome by now. Talon almost starts at the commotion, shuffling from their own lying position and lifting a hand to pull their hat away. Over it's jagged brim do they watch Rell rise from the mattress, and soon their own disgruntled boots meet the floorboards with two tired thuds. And even behind their exhausted features is there something new alight at her scheme; the clandestine plan, the potential antics, the threat of trouble if they meet it out in the night or they're caught returning late…

Fixing their hat atop their crown, Talon watches Rell look around the room and the small possessions their little entourage had stored for the night as curiosity tugs their head from side to side to follow along with her search. "What he don't know won't do no harm?" The corners of lips threaten to curl into a smile, even once she has begun to mess with the carpet. A little sign, that they were here once, but ultimately decided their time was better spent elsewhere. The thought of Yone finding it after a quick gander at the empty room, the imagined squint of his eyes and twist of his lips exposes Talon's teeth, for a breath. As long as the little witch returned unscathed... They finally stand with what effort remained unspent, the blades trailing behind them lifting and slithering daintily with a roll of their shoulders as to not get caught between chair rails. Watching as she lowered to the floor, they wait until hand has nearly met the boards to speak up again; "Go ahead if you wanna risk a scoldin' on property damage."

Humming in their throat, a hand rises to their hat again, taking hold of the brim as the top of their blond stands are revealed. "If we leave an additional alleviatin' sign, too..." With a final cant of their head in thought, Talon chucks the hat through the air, spinning and landing softly on the table where their abandoned chairs stood about. Making their way to the door, Talon reaches for the raggedy, beaten duster they insisted on keeping hold of. It came in handy to keep the suspicions of settlement inhabitants to the same level as they would be when any outsider walked their streets. Arms of brimstone and feathers respectively are tucked away into worn sleeves in turns, and their ashen eyes fix on Rell with a rare, quizzical look of their own.

"What do young witches get up to after dark for fun, these days?"

[mythallia]

shout out to colm greer

[luck-of-the-drawings]

when i was in highschool one o my biggest coping mechanisms was drawing all the kids i hated getting killed and eaten and killed. and well. time is a slowly ascending spiral. you will find patterns.(i work as a blackjack dealer. gamblers are FASCINATING

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Gambling Apocalypse Tenma AU

As I rewatch Kaiji I inevitably end up wanting to combine show I like with other show I like and stuffing fav characters into show. So here we are.

This was uh going to be a short summary type thing but I accidentally wrote a novella about it sorry

This AU starts off with a much more depressive Tenma. After Tobio's death, rather than immediately pour his grief into developing a robot version of his son, he recedes into himself, psychologically paralyzed, likely turning to alcohol to drown out his anguish.

His mental state is taken as an opportunity within the Ministry of Science to have him ejected from his position; Tenma was never the most well-liked director, and there were those with ambition to usurp him that would jump at the chance. Not that he especially cares in his state.

He's eventually dragged out of his stagnation by Ochanomizu - who, inadvertently, becomes the very catalyst pushing Tenma to develop a robot replacement to his child. This was not what he meant by encouraging Tenma to fill the void left by his son.

...But, well, he is no longer the director of the Ministry of Science. His access to limitless government funds and resources for "scientific research" has been cut off, and this is a project he cannot finance on his own. He can't ask Ochanomizu for help, but...interestingly...a representative of a certain shady organization known as the Teiai Corporation reaches out to him, offering to finance and support his project. A sane and well-minded Tenma might think better of it, but grieving and desperate, Tenma accepts their offer and is able to create a robot in the image of his beloved Tobio. For a while, there's joy in his life.

But the bill, as ever, comes due: Tenma must pay up, and the very resources that had been at his disposal will certainly ensure that he will, or else. Of course, he doesn't have the money; instead, he is given a choice. He can relinquish the robot Tobio in order to wipe out his debt - the child is a sophisticated and powerful robot, after all - or he can participate in a certain illicit event hosted by the Teiai Corporation.

It's nothing major...just a four-hour gambling cruise with a collection of desperate, damned souls that were also swept into debt with Teiai. The conditions are simple: Those who choose to participate are given a chance to clear their debts wholesale should they win. And should they lose...?

Well...no one really knows what happens to the losers seized by Teiai. It's said that they labour away their debts under Teiai's watchful eye and are freed once their work has covered their debts, though it's rumoured that most perish before they reclaim freedom.

There's only one answer Tenma can give, of course; he's not willing to lose Tobio again.

Thus is Tenma's debut into the Gambling Apocalypse, where he must become cutthroat in order to survive; if he wants to see his son again, he must make choices that will doom the hapless to miserable servitude, with a nonzero chance it ends in their death.

He survives the cruise, but of course, it was hardly enough to clear his debt; the cruise was never going to be the end of it. Teiai doesn't let go of its victims that easily. He will be called on again: this is a weight that hangs over him, all while he returns to his son Tobio. The same hands that have pushed innocents into hell must now be the hands that can embrace his child.

He wants to protect Tobio from the truth and enjoy what peaceful moments he's allowed with his son, but it's difficult. It's difficult to be the parent of a child who cannot understand the danger that looms ahead; this "happy" home is not to last. Tenma angers quickly and easily. He turns that anger onto Tobio.

As Teiai's games become more and more vicious and unrelenting, as his conscience holds onto the last vestiges of thread that remain, Tenma even threatens, once, to give the boy in: it would all end, then; the debt would be clear and no longer would he have to endure Tobio's childish annoyances, his ungratefulness.

The next time that Tenma is beckoned, Tobio takes matters into his own hands. He does understand, now; and he would have, if only Tenma had bothered to explain sooner. If it's a debt that needs clearing, he will work. He will help his father clear his debts however he can. Of course, it's difficult to find work as a child; but a circus troupe finds amusement in the idea of a child robot, and takes him in. He is whisked into a certainly unpleasant working situation, but he remembers his father, and what he must be enduring. Tobio, also, will endure.

When Tenma returns, Tobio is gone.

All that held Tenma back from becoming something monstrous has disappeared. All that kept him going has disappeared. When he is called upon by Teiai, there is no knowing what sort of person might come out the other end; whether a monster clawing his way to freedom regardless of what actions he must take, or a desolate husk surrendering defeat.

There is still a light, however dim: Found by Professor Ochanomizu and rescued from the circus, Tobio - now Atom - is able to shed light on the situation which Tenma took great pains to keep hidden from his old friend. With time running out, Ochanomizu and Atom must do what they can to save Tenma - from Teiai, and from himself.

-----

UHHH and that's a wrap!!!! I couldn't quite decide which way Tenma would go after hitting Rock Bottom in this AU, and tbh it would really depend on the kind of mental state he's in at the time. On the one hand I like the narrative of Ochanomizu and Tobio racing to prevent Tenma from crossing a line (actual outright murder probably) - or having to pull him back into humanity (and yknow, his ensuing penance)

But on the other hand having him get sent to Teiai Evil Hell Prison would be interesting because a) there's a lot of narrative potential having Tenma faced with what Teiai is doing with the people that lose the games and b) need him to decimate the foreman at chinchirorin Kaiji style

Tenma's whole character is definitely a much different guy in this AU, he starts off pretty sympathetic, the guy you wanna root for, he just ends up having an inverse character arc where he gets worse instead of better. His conflict with "Tobio" is also kind of reversed, less about being unsatisfied with Tobio as a son and more not being able to handle the fact that he probably has intense PTSD now and isnt capable of coping with it in a way conducive to being a parent (or like, coping at all)

Anyway that's gambling apocalypse tenma!!!

[thedragonagelesbian]

every1 should be thinking about them*

*kyr & sosiel

[codecicle]

in better news, we are slowly climbing in sloints. we can hit 130k by the end of the elden ring hell if I play my gambling cards right

[indigo-flightly-falls]

It's a Quarter After One, I'm All Alone and I Need Someone

My gift to @staringamassivemistakeintheface for the MCYT Valentines Day Exchange :D (@mcyt-valentines)

---------------

Characters: Ren & Skizz

Ships: renskizz (focus), poly dogwarts (background)

Summary: (Newsies AU) The night after the failed protest and subsequent beating the newsies took, Ren confronts Skizz on a fire escape and they talk about stuff.

Trigger warnings: mentioned/discussed period typical homophobia (in the context of Ren's family pressuring him into marrying a girl), brief mentions of police brutality (talking about a past event), smoking.

Ao3 link: It's a Quarter After One, I'm all Alone and I Need Someone - Stars_In_Our_Paws - 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series [Archive of Our Own]

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"Alright, Sparrow, can you move your leg?"

Ren and Racetrack were currently helping Sparrow figuring out how bad his leg had gotten hurt during the raid.

"King, I walked back to here, I think I can move my leg." Sparrow sassed, his tongue sticking out to distract himself from the pain.

"That doesn't mean you can currently move it." Ren pointed out, raising his eyebrow. "Move it now, or I'll tell Bumlets that you're making your leg worse."

"Threats aren't fair." Sparrow grumbled, but he complied. He was able to move his leg a bit, but it clearly was hurting him. "Fuck this." He hissed, leaning back into Racetrack's arms. "I'm not listening to you."

"Alright, I'm not helping you if you won't listen." Ren threw his hands up, knowing Sparrow would rather listen to Racetrack anyways.

Ren stood up, stretching by reaching his hands to the sky. The lodging house was bustling, but it was quieter then normal. The beating they'd taken had been a blow, and even worse was Crutchie being taken and Jack unable to be found.

He took a small walk towards the windows leading up to Jack's 'penthouse', which was what he called the top of the fire escape.

Ren noticed a figure on the lower fire escape, almost thinking for a second it was Racetrack due to the smoke trails, before realizing with a shock that it was Skizz. And then he felt a bit silly because he could hear Racetrack berating Sparrow for stressing his bad leg.

Skizz had never smoked before. Ren wanted to figure out what was up.

Ren climbed out the window, taking a breath of the air, tinted with smoke. Skizz had his back to Ren, staring out at the city below.

"Hey, come here much?"

Skizz turned his head towards Ren, before looking back out at the city's lights.

"King, you know the answer." Skizz answered, not smiling like he usually did. He took another drag of the cigar, probably stolen from Racetrack.

"Drop the title please, you know I'm Ren to you guys." Ren walked over to lean on the railing next to Skizz, looking at the smoke trails.

"Yeah, but you're the king of the five of us."

Ren pulled Skizz into a side hug, leaning his head onto his boyfriend's.

"I like being just Ren around you guys."

Skizz huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes. "You picked the nickname King, you dug your own grave."

Ren gently punched him in the side for that, before the two of them drifted into quiet.

It was nice, after the day they'd had. Skizz had new bruises on his face, and Ren had bloodstained bandages on his wrist. It was the price they paid.

"How's Etho?" Skizz broke the silence, looking worried for his partner. Ren just sighed.

"You know how they are. They pretend not to care, but they care deeply 'bout everybody in this lodging house. Crutchie getting taken's shattered their confidence."

"Should I go check on them?"

Ren shook his head, exhaling. "Hand and B are with them."

Skizz nodded, still looking worried. "I'm glad they're not alone. Is everybody else okay?"

Ren made a so-so motion with his hand. "We're all bruised up, Les's arm is bothering him and Sparrow's leg flared up again, but we got away pretty good considering it was the bulls."

"I suppose it's better then it could be."

"Yeah." Ren agreed.

Once again the two drifted off into a easy quiet, knowing neither of them had much to say. They just watched the city together, as Skizz periodically exhaled a bit of smoke.

Ren used the time to reflect on his choices in the day, trying to figure out if he could've stopped Crutchie from getting taken.

"You know," Skizz started suddenly, "It's kinda funny how many formerly middle class or wealthy people are here."

When Ren raised his eyebrow, Skizz continued to explain.

"Well there's you, Sparrow, Nipper, Racetrack, Etho, Martyn, and probably at least one other." Skizz counted off on his hand. Ren just chuckled in amusement, with the smallest amount of bitterness mixed in.

"Yeah, and of course I'm the only one who gets badgered to come back home."

"Got another letter this morning?" Skizz questioned, evidently remember how downcast and angry Ren had been as they walked out of the lodging house.

"Yep." Ren said, stressing the 'p'. "They said they had a 'nice perfect girl' picked out for me, and if I went home and married her, they'd forget about my 'transgressions'." He growled the last word out, making fists with his hands.

"Ah, that's what got you upset?" Skizz asked, leaning against the wall.

Ren nodded, leaning onto his left hand while his right hung over the balcony.

"That sucks. They really are just pushing you to get married to a girl, aren't they?" Skizz asked, knowing exactly where Ren came from and what was at stake.

"I get caught in the Bowery once, and they all take it as a hint I'm gay." Ren held his finger up, shaking it. He then sighed.

"You are, though." Skizz said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, but I don't want them to know that." Ren said, hanging his head.

"People are stupid." Skizz commented staring off into space.

"Yeah." Ren laughed in agreement, smiling at Skizz. "I'm glad this place is at least open-minded enough to let us be together quietly."

"I mean, nobody talks about it, but there's the five of us, Racetrack and Sparrow have something going on, same with Blink and Mush. Crutchie has eyes for Jack, both Etho and Cosmo have been accepted as, quote, 'not a girl, not a boy, but space', and Racetrack's been pretty open about being born a girl, so..." Ren continued, listing off the many queer people in the lodging house.

"I don't know how this specific group of newsies is so gay." Skizz laughed, finally putting the cigar down.

"Yeah, but I guess if I have to die because of who I am, I'm glad I'll be dyin' with youes." Ren told him with a smile, showing off his pointed teeth.

"Don't say that!" Skizz cried playfully, pushing Ren to the side. "We're gonna live for years together!"

"I know, I know!" Ren laughed, just glad he had gotten Skizz's spirit up again.

The two of them fell into the same silence they always seemed to, just enjoying the night and each other. They linked their hands, watching the stars twinkle in the sky and tried to ignore how they should've been hearing the sound of two bodies above them.

Ren looked into Skizz's eyes, finding the exact same thing he was thinking.

'I'm so glad I met you'

Ren leaned into his side, feeling Skizz press a quick kiss onto his forehead.

This was nice.